Creative Troubleshooting in the Chemical Process Industries

This unique volume defines for the first time a professional discipline for manufacturing support in the chemical process industries: PTS, or process troubleshooting. Emphasizing full diagnosis of the process problem before proceeding to implement a proposed solution, the author illustrates the subtle technical and human factors involved in elusive manufacturing system problems. Phenomena such as trace chemistry, operative beneath the process surface, and entrapment of minor components in distillation, which are rarely reported in the literature, are shown to be critical to the operability of many well-known processes.

Engineers and chemists involved in PTS will welcome the insightful and practical approaches to manufacturing process problems demonstrated in this pioneering volume. It may also make a useful addition to the libraries of research and design people interested in a wider context for exploiting their craft. The accessible treatment of operating process systems will introduce chemistry and engineering students to some subtleties of industrial settings.