In this issue of Process Heating, we look at ways to improve products and processes. In “Choosing the Most Efficient Oxidizer,” Richard J. Geier of Corbett Industries Inc., Waldwick, N.J., compares regenerative, catalytic and thermal oxidizers. Geier notes that all heat the effluent to the point of destruction of 95 percent or more of VOC content in your exhaust stream. But which design is right for your process? This is an area where some can go wrong by choosing the wrong type for the process. Geier explains the pros and cons of each type.

Once a decision has been reached to purchase an air pollution control system, you should select several experienced vendors and provide them with specific design specifications and details that can be used as a basis for preparing formal proposals. So says Charles M. Martinson of the CMM Group LLC, De Pere, Wis., in “Specifying Air Pollution Control.” Martinson outlines the critical process information you should supply.

The formation and disposal of byproducts has long posed a problem for manufacturing companies. Undesirable side streams typically are a necessary evil associated with the processing and development of desired products. Careful system selection and specifying helped one processor turn a waste product into positive cash flow. “Waste Not, Want Not,” a case history, outlines how Sierra Aluminum Co., Riverside, Calif., uses a rotary tray dryer from Wyssmont Co., Fort Lee, N.J., to handle, sticky, difficult-to-process filter cake, converting it to a saleable product. Turn to page 34 for the details.

This issue also details how another processor found that careful equipment specification and selection led to process improvements. “Lean Manufacturing” explains how automation eliminated the “fat” from one ingredient maker's processing. FiberGel has two productions lines that include equipment such as a centrifuge, drum dryer and milling, sifting, bagging and sealing machines. It sells its products in several forms, but each starts as either a wet gel or a dry powder. To provide the heating needed for both processes, FiberGel chose boilers from Miura Boilers, Wheeling, Ill.

Rising natural gas and fuel oil prices have users of all kinds looking for cost-effective alternatives. One viable substitute is the use of landfill gas. “Landfill Gas Solution” outlines how one U.S. automaker has harnessed landfill gas for three turnkey conversion projects on its natural-gas-fired boilers, with the help of Hamworthy Peabody Combustion Inc., Shelton, Conn. As a result, the automaker is using landfill gas to power boilers used for both process heating and space/comfort heating.

Finally, as you page through this issue, you will notice a new look and feel. Just as our articles, columns and departments focus on helping you do your job more effectively, we've revamped the design of the magazine to make it a quicker, smarter experience. We've kept the features you've told us you like yet freshened them up. So sit back and enjoy! PH

Linda Becker
Associate Publisher & Editor
BeckerL@bnpmedia.com