 Process
Equipment
Process equipment
is one of those phrases that is
hard to categorize and can mean all sorts of things. The word "process"
itself comes from the Latin word processus which means movement
or any equivalent term, i.e., motion, procedure, action or event.
As a naturally occurring or manufactured series of events, a process
has duration, i.e., takes up time, and is spatial or occupies space,
i.e., has length, width, height and depth. In the industrial world,
process is invariably tied to the concept of an outcome, phase,
state or product.
The Industrial Process
Unlike a naturally
occurring event, a manufactured or industrial process requires some
sort of knowledge, skill set, expertise or some other human resource,
which generates a product or desired end. An
industrial process differs from other human guided processes, i.e.,
craft or laboratory processes, by the amount of investment required.
Most industrial processes are so complex, and require such enormous
amounts of raw materials, that they require much larger monetary
investments in machinery and labor.
From an engineering
point of view, industrial processes refer to those series of movements
or procedures involving chemical or mechanical steps that help in
the production of a product from a raw material. Apart from the
outcome that it brings about, it is the necessity of the result
that differentiates the industrial process from the natural process
that occurs in a contingent fashion. The changes created in the
properties of one or more objects under the influence of a process
helps us to identify that process as belonging to a certain category,
i.e., the separation of solids or transfer of heat.
Kinds of Process Equipment
There are many different
kinds of process equipment. Combustion equipment burns fuel to produce
heat, chemicals, and gases. Centrifuges separate solids from liquids.
Distillers apply and remove heat to separate a liquid or gas mixture
into states of desired purity. Heat exchangers transfer heat from
one stream of liquid or steam to another steam without mixing the
two.
A process, as well as the tools and equipment that is used to bring
it about, can be divided or classified in terms of ways in which
matter can exist according to temperature and pressure, i.e., as
a liquid, gas or solid. In general, there are three main categories
of process equipment that correspond to ways in which matter or
objects can exist: as liquids, gases and solids (or powders). Further
classifications can also arise from the application of heat or pressure
to bring about these three different phases, and from the results
themselves, i.e., a product or phase.
Industrial process
equipment falls into the following categories: 1)
heat transfer, 2) combustion, 3) separation, 4) flow control and
5) steam handling equipment. Devices from heat exchangers to steam
traps, check valves, centrifuges, fired heaters and thermal oxidizers
are all utilized in a diverse range of industrial processes to produce
everything from alcohols, organics, chemicals, minerals, plastics,
pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, solvents, fuel, waste and nuclear
power.
1. Heat Transfer Equipment
Heat transfer is a process of moving thermal energy from a hot to
a cold object. When matter in a particular state, i.e., liquid or
gas, is at a different temperature than its surroundings or another
body, transfer of thermal energy, also known as heat transfer, happens
in such a way that the body and the surroundings reach thermal equilibrium.
According to the second law of thermodynamics, heat always moves
from a hot object to a cold one. This transfer takes place through
conduction, convection or radiation. This process is of special
interest to engineers, who attempt to manipulate the flow of heat
through the use of heat exchangers,
steam traps and other devices.
2. Combustion Equipment
Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of chemical reactions
between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat
or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames. Flare
systems, burners, oxidizers
or a process fired heater, are all
examples of combustion equipment used to provide heat for a process
or can serve as reactor which provides heats of reaction.
3. Separation Equipment
The separation of solids from liquids is a core process in many
manufacturing process. To separate different liquid phases and solids
from each other, separation equipment like centrifuges provide
a continuous mechanical separation of liquids from solids, i.e.,
dry sludge from municipal, industrial and solids waste. The basic
physics behind the decanter is the natural settling action that
gravity forces on suspended solids. The decanter
centrifuge, for instance, is based on the simple idea of a clarifier
or settling tank, in which particles, sediment and solids gradually
fall to the bottom due to the force of gravity. It separates solids
from liquids efficiently and with great accuracy, in a manner that
is easy to control.
4. Flow Control Equipment
Controlling the movement of liquids in industrial processes is typically
handled by a valve of some kind. Our control valves offer unique
solutions to fluid flow handling covering temperature control,
pressure regulators and Non-Return check
valves. Both self actuated and air actuated
valves are available from our range. Check valves are offered
in wafer style and spring loaded inline types
in a variety of body and seat materials.
5. Steam Handling Equipment
Steam is an extremely useful way of transferring heat from one location
to another. For steam to perform efficiently, there can be no accumulation
of condensate or other gases in the system. It is the job of a steam
trap to remove condensate, as well as air and other incondensible
gases, out of the system, while allowing the steam itself to reach
its destination in as dry a state/condition as possible. For efficient
steam systems, you need zero steam loss traps,
boiler control valves and a complete range
of process equipment related to monitoring and efficient operation
of steam systems.
Call us today. Tel: 905.940.0961
or by Email: info@valutechinc.com
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