Troubleshooting in the Chemical Process Industries

Troubleshooting is an activity on which process engineers spend a relatively large portion of their time throughout their career. And yet, it is a topic not adequately covered in chemical engineering curricula. While the fundamental principles surrounding the field of chemical engineering are taught, they are presented as fragments and, like pieces of a puzzle, must be put together when analyzing a potential problem. Troubleshooting in the Chemical Process Industries offers readers practical guidance on problem-solving in the chemical process industry from a process engineering perspective. It links fundamental principles of chemical engineering together, considers the data gathering and analysis steps in the problem-solving process, and details how they can be effectively used to identify root causes of and resolve operating problems. The book highlights the importance of troubleshooting as a response to abnormal process behavior that threatens or prevents achievement of targets, such as production volume, product sales specifications, and environmental and process safety performance.

• Considers troubleshooting in three categories: for existing facilities, during retrofit of an existing facility, and for new plants
• Covers plant performance monitoring and discusses the source of process data relative to instrumentation and associated errors
• Discusses process simulation in troubleshooting, strategies for dealing with the empirical aspects of processes, and manipulation of raw process data into meaningful performance information
• Explores the perspectives of process engineers and process operators, comparing and contrasting both functions, considering human factor issues
• Features industrial case studies

With this practical book, process engineers are given the know-how to solve real-world problems they are likely to encounter in industry through the application of sound process engineering methodologies.