Part 1 appeared in the February 2007 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine. The article discusses the manufacture of pipe and fittings, plastic lined pipe, hygienic piping, ASTM standards and many other basic elements of pipe and fittings the process engineer and designer should be familiar with.This article was published in two Parts.
Part 2 appeared in the March 2007 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine. This article discusses many of the basic elements regarding ASME type flanges. In it you will find the various types of flanges described, what pressure ratings mean, how they are arrived at, how to determine what flange may be needed for an application, and much more.
Part 3 appeared in the June 2007 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine. In discussing the various aspects of piping design this article touches on piping specifications, design pressures and temperatures, maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP), pipe internal surface finishes, pipe weld seam factor, charge build-up in lined pipe systems, and more.
Piping Design Part 4 appeared in the October 2007 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine. This article touches on various pipe joining methods, both welded and mechanical, and includes corresponding codes and standards. It provides insight as to how to determine which piping code shold be followed for a given project.
This article was published in the April, 2008 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine. The assembly, installation, and cleaning of piping systems are the final steps in a well thought-out and executed piping project. Planning is essential in making these final steps happen in a well orchestrated manner. Selecting the type of fabrication and installation can make the difference between on-time within budget delivery of a project and a failure. Cleaning and flushing out the installed systems is a pre-planned element to job complettion, not a last minute decision as to how it should be done. This article discusses those activities in detail.
Part 6 apperared in the June 2008 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine. Leak testing is the final qualifying test of an installed piping system. It is essential that this part of the program be pre-planned, executed, and documented in the proper manner. This article discusses how to do just that.
Published in the June 2010 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine, this article touches on preventative design for protecting personnel, facilities, and equipment from the inherent risk of working with processes that contain hazardous fluids. It provides real examples of catastrophic events, their cause, and how they may have been prevented. It goes on to discuss various industry Codes and how they should be utilized and interpreted.
This article, first published in the October 2010 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine, walks the reader through the current (2009) issue of the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment (BPE) standard. The article describes the wide use of this standard and each of its nine Parts. It goes on to discuss some of the major additions to the standard including an entirely new Part on Process Instrumentation. This is a must read for any designer or engineer involved in bioprocessing technology.
This article, published in the January/February 2011 issue of the PDA Journal, discusses the development of industry standards, their application, and how closely related codes & standards are made to harmonize; in other words, the effort that goes into preventing conflicts among the codes & standards that are frequently used together. The article describes how the standard developers work together, using ASTM and ASME as typical examples. In addition to describing the content of the ASME-BPE standard the article describes a circumstance in which ASTM and ASME-BPE work together to resolve a material welding problem. The resolution of the problem resulted in supplemental material requirements in the ASTM standard that was then referenced in the ASME-BPE standard.
Published in the July 2011 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine this article describes the purpose and broad use of the new Chapter X High Purity Piping section in ASME B31.3. It discusses the current and timely need for such an addition to the widely used code for Process Piping. With the ever increasing use of bioprocessing techniques in the chemical process industry the need for standardized, well thought out design built on consensus could not have come at a more opportune time. Working in conjunction with the ASME BPE standard, Chapter X focuses on safety and integrity as it relates to High Purity Piping.
Published in the November 2013 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine, this article discusses essential elements of piping design that need to be considered when designing piping systems handling potentially lethal chemicals. It touches on the decision process in determining what fluids should be designated as Category M fluid services in accordance with B31.3. It goes on to explain the various levels and forms of chemical toxicity.
Published in the March 2014 issue of Chemical Engineering magazine, this article describes the process by which the FDA conducts audits of facilities that come under their purview. It explains methods, as they pertain to piping and equipment, in which the facility owner can be better prepared for an FDA audit and how best to make the most of such an opportunity, which is probably the best mental approach or attitude to assume during this process. The Form FDA 483 is the initial document used by the FDA to inform the facility owner of a non-compliance issue. There are certain unpublished guidelines of this process that can help in minimizing the number of Form 483's incurred during an audit.
This article, published in the March/April issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering, presents interactions between the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment (BPE) Standard and ASME B31.3 Process Piping Code Committees following the addition of Chapter X High Purity Piping to the 2010 edition of B31.3. This collaboration of ASME Committees will help to assure both safety and cleanability of high purity piping systems.
This article touches on leak detection monitoring from the pure necessity standpoint of good housekeeping, lost revenue, and safety. It includes a discussion on the need to comply with regulatory requirements. It looks at the mechanisms for leaks such as various forms of corrosion and poorly designed or installed mechanical joints, to programs established by regulatory fiat in an attempt to identify, on a regular basis, leaks that exist with the intent to mitigate and control those leaks. It talks about the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), showing its progress and describes who in industry is affected. If you are involved in the wide range of Chemical Processing Industries this would be a good read.
This historical narrative on the founding and development of the ASME Bioprocessing Equipment (BPE) Standard, in addition to the author's own experience with the industry during this same period of time, includes a compilation of interviews and discussions with many of the individuals directly responsible for the existence of the BPE Standard. Those individuals served as first-hand account resources and were instrumental in helping weave a substantive account of its creation and development.
This a complete version of the article published in the June 2010 issue of Chemical Engineering Magazine. The potential for an accidental occurrence of a fire in a process facility or plant is something that is very much on the minds of folks that work in and manage these facilities as well as those of the community fire departments responsible for the protection of both personnel and property within and around such a facility. Incorporating fire safety into plant design takes on two fundamental goals: That of trying to prevent the occurrence of fire and the other to protect the initially uninvolved piping and equipment long enough for operations personnel to perform their duties and for emergency responders to get the fire under control. This article touches on the many issues to consider in the design, construction, and operation of such a facility
This is a complete version of the article that appeared in the October 2016 issue of Chemical Engineering Magazine. Safety considerations in the design, construction, and operation of a CPI facility is not simply a rhetorical aspect of the design function, it is instead the very essence of the codes and standards that effect the safety and well-being of, not only the operations and plant personnel, but in many cases, the people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. This article therefore touches on, not only the history of industrial codes and standards, but their application as well.
This is the complete version of the article published in the January 2017 issue of Chemical Engineering Magazine. Manufacturing and fabricating high purity components and equipment is a highly specialized field that requires technically qualified and disciplined personnel and procedures at all levels. This article explains the framework and parameters in which high purity processing takes place. These are crucial elements of design, construction, and operation required to manufacture at high purity levels.
