The Chem Show will be held Oct. 31–Nov. 2 at the Javits Center in New York City. In addition to more than 300 exhibitors on the exhibit floor, the Chem Show will host 35 technical seminars in the classroom — offering potential solutions to practical challenges that chemical engineers and plant managers face every day.
The Chem Show seminars are free to all attendees and exhibitors. Conducted by exhibitors during the three days of the show, these seminars will focus on process applications that affect production line performance, efficiency and best practices.
35 seminars target engineers & production managers
Seminars at the Chem Show are very effective in reaching process engineers, according to Barry A. Perlmutter, president and managing director of the Filtration, Mixing, and Recycling Divisions at BHS-Sonthofen Inc. Perlmutter is among this year’s seminar speakers. “The technical exchange generates new ideas and are forward-thinking to provide engineers with a forum to learn and help them do their jobs better. Improved performance at the engineering level results in improved company performance for higher production yields, safer operations and improved cost-efficiencies,” he said.
Another speaker, Mark Sullivan, director of education and marketing at the Hydraulic Institute (HI), a trade association that serves the pump industry, added, “Process engineers that attend have direct responsibilities to a wide range of pumping systems. Many have process challenges in moving liquid chemicals and need technical engineering support and data to make a fluid transfer process more energy efficient and reliable. A pumping system that has any downtime in the chemical industry lowers productivity and profitability.”
Seminar snapshots
Thomas Hielscher, general manager of Hielscher Ultrasonics will be presenting two seminars: “Ultrasonic Processing from Bench-top to Industrial Production: Applications, Process Intensification & Scale-up” and “Induce and Enhance Phase Transfer Catalysis with Ultrasonics.” “In the first seminar, we present the ease with which ultrasonic processes can be tested and developed in [a] very small and thereby an inexpensive way,” Hielscher said. “With a sophisticated ultrasonic bench-top setup, all parameters can be optimized to obtain a highly efficient process. Afterward, the scale-up can be done completely linearly. The second seminar is more reaction-related and includes specific examples of where power ultrasonics can improve chemical reactions significantly.”
Perlmutter’s seminar, “Transitioning to Continuous Pressure and Vacuum Filtration Technologies from Batch Operations,” will discuss lab testing, pilot testing and scale-up for converting chemical processes to continuous filtration technologies from batch filtration operations. He will present three case histories that illustrate the benefits of continuous pressure or vacuum filtration, cake washing, and drying. Process engineers can use these scenarios to develop optimum continuous pressure or vacuum filtration solutions for high-solids slurry applications. “We will also cover traditional and innovative lab testing as well as pilot testing to develop an optimum process solution,” Perlmutter said. “The three applications – pharmaceutical, specialty chemical using dimethyl ether (DME) under pressure as a liquid rather than as a gas, and biochemical – are diverse to attract a large audience.”
HI will present two seminars at the 2017 Chem Show. Sullivan will team up with Dominik Fry, business development engineer and HI member, to present “Increase Reliability and Reduce Energy Costs with Pump & Piping Analysis Using Flow Modeling Software.” This seminar will focus on the value of predictive capabilities of fluid flow modeling software and how it serves as a powerful simulation tool to better understand the performance of piping and pumps in chemical plants, as well as the value of optimizing a piping system and reducing energy consumption. “The seminar will provide key information and data on how to model any fluid system using advanced software, and to look at possible solutions with modeling to make engineering improvements without changing the current system,” Sullivan said.
The other Hydraulic Institute seminar “Minimizing Nozzle Loads and Pipe Stresses to Optimize Chemical Pumping Systems” will be presented by HI member Lloyd Aanonsen, PE, along with Sullivan. This seminar will summarize the primary sources of nozzle loading and pipe stress, such as installation misalignment pipe strain, shock and vibration loads, and pressure thrust forces, that can be detrimental to chemical pumping systems. “In addition, piping systems create vibration and problems that can affect the overall performance of moving the actual fluids,” Sullivan said. “This seminar will cover the engineering aspects of expansion joints and how they can improve piping systems.”
Sharing knowledge
Chem Show seminars impart knowledge to thought leaders and decision makers in the chemical process industries. “We offer visitors knowledge and new processing options, Hielscher said. “Through these seminars, we get the possibility to transfer new processing ideas to engineers and process developers.”
And this knowledge can provide answers to the practical challenges that chemical engineers and plant managers face every day. To learn more about all of the 2017 Chem Show seminars, visit chemshow.com/free-seminar-program.
