A process column is a pressure vessel, but pressure is often not the only thing that decides how it is built. Once a shell is tall and slender, its wall is thin relative to its…

A reactor that works on paper can still fail in the plant. The usual causes are a gasket that creeps at temperature, an alloy that suits the product but not the impurity in the feed,…

Choosing between duplex and super duplex stainless steel is one of the most consequential material decisions in chloride-bearing, offshore, desalination and chemical process systems. Pick too low a grade, and you risk pitting, crevice corrosion,…

Designing an agitator for aggressive chemicals involves two separate engineering problems that have to be solved together. The first is hydraulic: what flow, shear, and circulation does the process need? The second is material and…

Heat exchangers sit at the center of most industrial processes, moving thermal energy between fluids so that reactions, separations, and utility systems run at the temperatures they were designed for. Because a poorly matched exchanger…

A vessel specification says “ASME Section VIII Division 1, U stamp,” or Division 2 with an ASME U2 stamp. Bidders send certificates that all look valid. The useful question isn’t whether they hold a stamp,…

  A pressure vessel datasheet may contain just a few key figures: design pressure, design temperature, corrosion allowance, shell thickness, material, and construction code. But behind each number is an engineering decision. The real challenge…