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The article offers information on several investigating process incidents which can help in protecting chemical engineering firm from incidents related to explosion by mentioning fictional detective Sherlock Holmes approaches. Topics discussed include step-by-step instruction for investigating process incidents, management of several causes such as safety culture and identification of the management system root causes for preventing future incidents.

Nowadays there is a wide variety of models, sizes and configurations of mobile phones available for consumption. After the life cycle of this equipment, the recycling and reuse of the precious metals found in the printed circuit boards (PCB) of the mobile phones are principal objectives. Thus, the objective of this work was to characterize the gold and silver present in a PCB and develop a recycling route using alternative reagents for cyanide, such as sodium and ammonium thiosulfate. These reagents are less harmful to the environment and worker health. The first characterization of gold and silver was performed with aqua regia. The results show 86.26g Au/ton of PCBs and 123.85g Ag/ton of PCBs. The second characterization was performed with a commercial cyanide-based reagent and 112.02g Au/ton of PCBs and 26.13g Ag/ ton of PCBs were obtained. A leaching study with solutions based on thiosulfate was performed and an extraction of 9.02g Au/ton of PCBs and 33.88g Ag/ton of PCBs was obtained, compared to characterization results using a cyanide-based reagent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information related to industrial safety and health. It mentions the role of the Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practice (RAGAGEP) in incident prevention. It discusses the 2014 Spring Global Congress on Process Safety (GCPS). It presents the remarks of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE's) by Robert W. Johnson when he received the 2014 Norton H. Walton/Russell L. Miller Award in Safety and Loss Prevention of the AIChE Safety & Health Division.

What-If Analysis is one of the most commonly used methods for performing a process hazards analysis (PHA) of a potentially hazardous chemical process. It is used so widely because it is perhaps the simplest and quickest way to perform a PHA. The speed of the PHA method often sacrifices quality by missing important scenarios simply because the right what-if question was never asked. This article will show how the quality of a What-If Analysis can be enhanced using failure modes for system component types without significantly increasing study time. A 'smart' system using off-the-shelf computer software combined with specially designed subroutines or macros is used to demonstrate this process. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 33: 231-236, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk analysis is a topic of high relevance in chemical engineering. Courses on this topic are being introduced increasingly into the university curricula. The investigation of real cases is an interesting opportunity to consolidate the concepts taught in such courses and to get a better engagement of students through a creative work. The exercise proposed in this paper has to be performed by a group of students to whom a set of information has been provided. In the exercise, the students play the role of an expert team: they have to deliver a final report including diverse sections such as the description of the accident, the explanation of why and how it occurred, different calculations and finally, some conclusions. From the pedagogical point of view, the results obtained from this type of exercise are very positive and promote the students active and cooperative learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety of chemical processes and plants is a matter of high priority. The design of an inherently safer process is one of very beneficial ways of achieving this goal. The paper describes the method of designing an inherently safer process for a chosen set of equipment and materials involved by applying non-linear optimization. The optimization is aimed at finding an operational mode, which guarantees safety of the process under normal conditions and provides maximal attainable safety in case of one typical accident scenario -- cooling failure. Discussion covers problem statement, choice of the optimization criteria, appropriate methods for defining control variables. An important practical challenge is stability analysis of the optimized process mode with respect to permissible deviations of control parameters and variables from the estimated values. The original method for the stability analysis of a non-stationary process is proposed. It comprises simplified preliminary evaluation method followed by the more detailed numerical optimization-based analysis. Several examples illustrate application of the methods proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author presents an academic and research perspective on the impact of British inherent safety concept advocate Trevor Kletz on process safety. He provides a short summary of Kletz's education and career in chemical engineering. He explains further the inherent safety concept. The author also discusses the cost of implementing the concept, as well as the importance of root cause investigations.

Abstract: Safety of intensified processes was analyzed by a checklist-based approach. The checklist was formulated using the concept of layers of protection for a chemical process. With real cases, it was shown that several positive and negative effects on safety can be detected in process intensification. The general claim that safety is always improved by process intensification was questioned. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses safety measures in chemical process industries (CPI) in the U.S. It also examines process hazard analyses (PHAs) with regard to plant expansions and complex and costly control installations within plants. The authors argues that it is easier and cheaper for CPIs to incorporate inherently safer design (ISD) in their processes.

The article presents a discussion concerning risk management and inherently safer design (ISD) phases in plants in the chemical process industries (CPI). The authors examine the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase, hazard identification studies (HAZID), and conceptual design. The authors suggest that CPI companies actively seek ways to simplify complex designs during the detailed design phase.

Although autoignition temperature (AIT) is indispensable information to safely handle and operate flammable substances, the AITs reported in different data compilations are, however, very diverse. In this work, the AITs of six frequently used alcohols are measured in compliance with the ASTM E659 method. The measured AITs are (433.1 ± 8.7) °C, (368.8 ± 7.4) °C, (380.0 ± 7.6) °C, (397.1 ± 8.0) °C, (314.0 ± 6.3) °C, and (409.8 ± 8.2) °C for methanol, ethanol, propanol, 2-butanol, 1-butanol, and 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, respectively. It is found that the AIT reported in DIPPR 2009 is beyond the reproducibility in cases of ethanol, 1-butanol, and 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol, and the difference is up to 104 °C in the case of 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol. The International Programme on Chemical Safety’s (IPCS) INCHEM service reports the AIT beyond the reproducibility in methanol, 1-butanol, and 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol with differences of 33 °C, 31 °C, and 104 °C, respectively. The Sax’s dangerous properties of industrial materials only report the AIT of 2-butanol within the reproducibility. The Chemical Database reports the AIT of all investigated chemicals within the reproducibility except for the propanol with the difference of 32 °C which is only a little bit beyond the reproducibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the present study, a new method is presented for estimation of lower flammability limit (LFL) of pure compounds. This method is based on a combination of a group contribution method and neural networks. The parameters of the model are the occurrences of a new collection of 105 functional groups. Basing on these 105 functional groups, a feed forward neural network is presented to estimate the LFL of pure compounds. The average absolute deviation error obtained over 1057 pure compounds is 4.62%. Therefore, the model is an accurate model and can be used to predict the LFL of a wide range of pure compounds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The manufacture of chemicals in microstructured reactors (MSR) has become recently a new branch of chemical reaction engineering focusing on process intensification and safety. MSR have an equivalent hydraulic diameter up to a few hundreds of micrometers and, therefore, provide high mass- and heat-transfer efficiency increasing the reactor performance drastically, compared to the conventional one. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art of the MSR applied for multiphase reactions. The reactions are classified based on the number of phases involved: fluid−fluid, fluid−solid, and three phase reactions. In the first part of the review, limitations of conventional reactors are discussed in brief. Furthermore, different types of MSR and their advantages with respect to their conventional counterparts are described. Particular attention is given to the identification of the parameters that control the flow pattern formed in microcapillaries regarding the mass-transfer efficiency. Case studies of various multiphase reactions carried out in MSR are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the 2019 AIChE Spring Meeting and 15th Global Congress on Process Safety (GCPS) held from March 31-April 4. Topics include importance to chemical engineering practitioners and their employers, smart manufacturing, big data analytics, process intensification, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence.

The article offers information on safety, health and environmental issues as of September 2011. It says that the United Nations (UN) advisory panel on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) recommended the suspension of carbon-offsetting coal-fired plants. A minimally-invasive repair method for damaged human tissue was developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The U.S. Environmental Protection agency (EPA) plans to restrict use of specific glymes and glycol ethers across the U.S.

Information about the Teaching Safety in Chemical Engineering workshop held on January 2010 in Manchester, England is presented. Topics include the three ways of safety teaching, the importance of human factor in safety, and the overview of the hydrocarbon process safety course curriculum. The workshop featured several speakers including Martin Pitt, David Embrey, and Clifford Jones.

Information about several topics discussed at a conference sponsored by the journal "Gold Bulletin" on causes of cracks and defects found in manufacturing jewelry is presented. Topics include age-hardening heat treatments in conventional alloys, usage of gold-filled products in jewelry industry, and the metallurgy and properties of gold alloys. The conference featured several executives in the jewelry industry including Greg Raykhtsaum, Rick Greinke, and Ulrich Klotz.

One of many efforts to help instructors teach process safety‐related concepts to undergraduate chemical engineers includes using AIChE's web‐based Concept Warehouse, a real‐time, interactive teaching tool which can be used during lectures when teaching chemical engineering subjects. This article describes a student outreach effort by the AIChE Safety and Health Division to help populate the Concept Warehouse with vetted process safety‐related problems. The purpose of this article is to describe how we are bridging the gap between the practitioner volunteering their expertise and faculty members interested in incorporating current process safety‐related concepts into their classes. The goal for this effort is to provide a comprehensive instructional tool that can be used to help teach process safety‐related engineering design concepts, as well as to help teach the essential administrative process safety and risk management system concepts, using problems that describe both the engineering and administrative controls required for safe and reliable operations. The Concept Warehouse is an information database and instructional tool accessible to anyone teaching core chemical engineering topics such as thermodynamics, kinetics, or process safety anywhere in the world. This article defines and provides the framework of this effort to populate the Concept Warehouse with process safety‐related problems. As process safety risk reduction efforts continue to evolve, this article provides updates to traditional definitions that can be used to help orient those unfamiliar with these systems‐related process safety risk management strategies. The article concludes with a few example problems which could be used when teaching process safety‐related concepts. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 38: e12010, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Faculty Process Safety Workshops series that were held across the U.S. in 2016. Topics discussed include need of safety education at universities into the chemical engineering curriculum, views of the CCPS executive director Shakeel Kadri on chemical engineers training and views of Kevin Shaughnessy, director at Dow Chemical Co., on the workshops.

Documented here is the acceptance speech of the 2015 Norton H. Walton-Russell L. Miller Award of the Safety and Health Division of AIChE. The award was presented to Dr. Victor H. Edwards at the annual division banquet at the Global Congress on Process Safety in Austin, TX on April 28, 2015. The speech emphasizes the crucial role that process safety should play in the concept, siting, and design of process plants. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 35: 258-259, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the aspect of risk in chemical engineering and related industries. Topics discussed include the adverse consequences of risk taking in chemical industries, including human injury and environmental damage; the importance of keeping a chemical reaction in safe operating limits; and the efforts of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) to promote chemical engineering community's commitment to safety to general public.

A review of the article "Safety Awareness: A Chemical Engineering Imperative" by Robert Davidson which appeared in the periodical "AIChE Journal" in March 2018, is presented.

Manufacturers are constantly facing new challenges across a wide range of industries which means continual research and development is essential. This is particularly true of the oil and gas, petrochemical and chemical markets where proven performance and safety are critical to the success of a product. Flow technology specialist SPX combines its experience with innovation to ensure consistent operation and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChE) with Pertamina University for partnering on activities of mutual importance such as safety education in the undergraduate chemical engineering.

The article discusses the highlights of the 2014 Spring Meeting and 10th Global Congress on Process Safety held by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 31 to April 3, 2014. Topics discussed include process safety in chemical engineering, the revolution of shale gas and shale oil, and patent-related issues in the industry. Speakers and prominent figures at the event include communications expert T.J. Larkin and AIChE director Dan Lambert.

The authors highlight the important contributions of Trevor Kletz, a British author who introduced the concept of inherent safety, to chemical engineering safety. They discuss ways for universities and companies can help promote the concept of inherent safety. The authors also argue in favor of raising the status of safety people in companies.

An introduction to the articles published within the issue is presented including "Moving Process Safety Into the Board Room" and one about one's pursuit of passion for research.

A calendar of chemical engineering-related events in 2015 is presented which includes the Engineering Strategies for a Sustainable Food Supply Chain Workshop in Princeton, New Jersey from March 16 to 17, 2015, the Process Safety Boot Camp in Houston, Texas from April 13 to 16, 2015, and the Introduction to Maintenance and Reliability webinar on March 11, 2015.

The article discusses how the concept of normalization of deviation can result in unsafe practices and operations whether on occupational safety or process safety. Other topics discussed include an overview on the concept developed by sociologist Diane Vaughan in her study of the space shuttle Challenger accident, how the concept was used to explain gradual process through which inacceptable standards or practices become acceptable, and ways to prevent the concept in chemical engineering.

The author argues that engineers should implement safety and risk management measures in their private lives as well as on the job. Particular focus is given to the concept of management of change (MOC) in risk evaluation as it applies to defensive driving actions such as adhering to the speed limit and allowing proper following distances from other automobiles.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Determine the Right Eye Protection" in the September 2011 issue.

The article discusses the 3rd Latin American Conference on Process Safety (LACPS) that was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in August 2011 sponsored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). Topics included best practices for chemical processing management, risk assessment and decision-making, and the importance of creating an organizational process safety culture.

Abstract: An animated software teaching module was developed to teach a process safety technique to chemical engineering students in Hong Kong. In order to stimulate students’ interest, the module was designed to actively engage them through decision making based on a visualized process. The development consisted of three phases, with each phase extending the module based on evaluations by local and international peers and student users through iterative action research cycles. The process involved close collaboration between an academic department and a central educational development unit. Several evaluations were carried out including a software usability test, peer evaluation using both academic and industrialist feedback, a number of student evaluations from around the world, including Hong Kong, Australia, France and Northern Ireland. Results of these evaluations suggested that the module could be used as an effective learning tool in different contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A letter to the editor and a reply are presented in response to the articles "Living the Lessons We Learn from Experience" and "Safety in Numbers" in the August 2010 issue.