Showing papers in "Chemical Engineering in 2016"

Rapid prediction of prandtl number of compressed air

Abstract: Two methods are presented and compared for quickly calculating this important, yet neglected parameter Over the last few decades, a considerable effort has been directed to toward the evaluation of thermophysical and transport properties of air for a wide range of temperatures. However, relatively limited attention has been given to investigation of the compressed air Prandtl number at elevated pressures. In this article, two new approaches for the accurate prediction of Prandtl number (Pr) of compressed air are presented. The first approach is based on developing a simple-to-use polynomial correlation for predicting Pr of compressed air as a function of temperature and pressure. The second approach is based on the feed-forward back-propagation (FF-BP) artificial neural network (ANN) methodology, wherein the results demonstrate the ability of the presented ANN method to predict accurate Pr values of air at elevated pressures. A comparison of the two approaches indicates that the developed ANN-based model provides slightly more accurate results than the new empirical correlation.

Considering fugitive emissions during the conceptual design stage

Abstract: The industrialized nations of the world have all placed increased emphasis on the control of industrial emissions, to protect the atmosphere Many types of emissions result from process streams, and as such, can be controlled by operators with the right engineering interventions However, a considerable proportion of emissions are unanticipated fugitive emissions [ 1] Fugitive emissions are defined as a chemical, or a mixture of chemicals, in any physical form, released as a result of an unanticipated or spurious leak in an industrial site [ 2,3,4] Such leaks occur because of discontinuities in the solid barrier that is intended to maintain containment