How to design a lab: Part 2 of a series of posts

“My mind is my laboratory” -- Albert Einstein (German born American Physicist. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. 1879-1955)

The Laboratory Design Guide, by Brian Griffin, is one book you might consider purchasing.  However, it is only one of several which might be helpful.  How can you decide whether to purchase this one?

One way is to read selections from the book.

TIP: Search Google Books (https://books.google.com/) using the book title and author name as a search string.  If you’re lucky, you will find full text selections from the book which you can read online.

For example, a Google Books search for Laboratory Design Guide Brian Griffin results in a hit.  Click the Preview link, and then the View All link, and begin reading.

While you will not usually be able to read the entire book online, you often can read enough of it to determine whether it is one you want to add to your collection.

How to design a lab: Part 1 of a series of posts

“What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can assume it will be pretty bad.” -- Dave Barry (American Writer and Humorist best known for his weekly newspaper column. b.1947)

Designing a laboratory is a seriously complex task.  If you have never designed one, how do you even start?

One place to begin is reading what experts in the field have written.  And a possible first step on the path to discovering what experts have written could be an Amazon.com search.

TIP: On the Amazon.com Web, select the Book department.  Then enter the following Amazon.com search string: laboratory design

Results from the above search include ….

BOOK TITLE	Year	Author(s)
Laboratory Design Guide	2004	Brian Griffin
Laboratories: A Guide to Master Planning, Programming, Procurement, and Design	2001	Fernand Dahan
Guidelines for Laboratory Design: Health, Safety, and Environmental Considerations	2013	Louis J. DiBerardinis, Janet S. Baum, Melvin W. First, Gari T. Gatwood, Anand K. Seth
The Sustainable Laboratory Handbook: Design, Equipment, Operation	2015	Egbert Dittrich
Sustainable Design of Research Laboratories: Planning, Design, and Operation	2010	Kling Stubbins
Laboratory Design, Construction, and Renovation: Participants, Process, and Product	2000	Comm. on Design, Construction and Renov. and Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Building Type Basics for Research Laboratories	2008	Daniel D. Watch and Stephen A. Kliment
Laboratory Design Handbook	1994	E. Crawley Cooper
Laboratory Design: Establishing the Facility and Management Structure	2010	Scott V. W. Sutton

OK, fine, but how can you tell which of the books you’ve discovered will fit your purpose?  Our next posts will address this issue.  Stay tuned.

ANOTHER TIP: Visit www.JeanSteinhardtConsulting.com to find tips and tricks on other online research topics.

Aramco Fuel Research Center (AFRC): One of a fleet of Saudi Aramco research centers

“Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion.” -- Francis Bacon, Sr. (English Lawyer and Philosopher. 1561-1626)

Matching fuel to emerging engine technologies is the focus of Aramco Overseas’ facility in Paris.
Source: source: https://aramcooverseas.com/innovation/our-research-centers/paris/

The Aramco Fuel Research Center opened in Paris, France, in 2013.  It is one of a number of Saudi Aramco sponsored advanced research centers.  Each center focuses on a particular area of technology, and is located near a community of expertise in that area of technology.

According to a 2012 press release …

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Delft was the first of the Aramco Overseas international satellite research centers and specializes in seismic data processing and imaging.

The Delft Research Center was opened in 2012 and is located inside the Delft University of Technology, where a collaborative 'open door' culture enables access to the wealth of expertise, including the Delphi Consortium, of which Saudi Aramco is a sponsor.

The main task of the Delft Research Center is to aid and improve seismic data processing to get a sharper image of the subsurface, which allows it to obtain more reliable information upon which drilling decisions can be based.

The second group at King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), undertakes projects related to biocapture, robotics, fuel technology, chemicals, membranes and advanced materials. Five additional stand-alone research centres are also well under way.

The second technology office, located in Aberdeen, Scotland, is nearing completion and will handle partnerships, collaboration and other business functions largely related to production and drilling technologies.

A centre in Houston will span all upstream disciplines. Houston, a major hub for oil and gas research and development (R&D) activities, is near chemical and oil field fluids manufacturers. It is also close to service companies' R&D labs, as well as top petroleum engineering universities.

A stand-alone centre is also under way in Cambridge, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to support computational reservoir modelling, nanotechnology and advanced gas membrane systems. This centre will host both EXPEC ARC and R&DC teams.

Beijing will be the location for another research centre with emphasis on research in reservoir and production chemistry and geophysics.

A southeast Michigan centre will focus on carbon capture from mobile sources and fuel technology research, and the company’s Fuel Technology Team - in collaboration with leading research organisations - will be conducting joint research on fuel and engine development in Paris.

source: http://archive.pipelineme.com/news/regional-news/2012/10/saudi-aramco-opens-first-overseas-rd-facility/
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TIP: Google® Aramco research center to find more detail on Saudi Aramco’s global research activities.

Sulfur Review

“Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.” -- James A. Michener (U.S. novelist and short-story writer, 1907-1997)

Hydrocarbon Engineering’s April 2015 issue includes that publication’s annual Sulfur Review. It offers a comprehensive overview of the key sulfur technologies available to plant/refinery operations.

Hydrocarbon Engineering is an excellent publication to follow for innovative applications of current technology in plant scale environments.  There is no free access to the full text of the magazine   To benefit from the information in the annual Sulfur Review and the articles on the other topics of interest to the hydrocarbon community, you simply have to subscribe.  No way around it.

However, if you are not a subscriber, but might consider signing up, there are a number of free samples you can read online to test the quality of the publication.

TIP: Google® “hydrocarbon engineering” (in quotes) and browse the results to explore the free full text articles from that publication that have been posted.

For your convenience, here are a few of the items I found as the result of the above search …

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Sulfur yesterday, today, and tomorrow: part one

A world of change separates the sulfur industry from what it was 20 years ago to what it is today, and what it will become. Major projects, namely in the Middle East, will change the face of sulfur supply around the world. In 2013 and 2014, global sulfur production was on the order of 60 million t with approximately 25% coming from North America, the largest regional producer.1 By 2019, it is forecast that new projects will bring production on the order of 70 million tpy, resulting in a 5 million t surplus compared to today’s near balance between supply and demand.2

A bit of history
Sulfur has been used since antiquity, but the first real jump in use came about in the 13th century when the Chinese discovered black powder, which contains sulfur. With developments in chemistry in the 17th century, and the chemical industry in the 18th century, sulfur came to be known for the source of sulfuric acid, a versatile mineral acid used in a variety of everyday processes today.

Initially, sulfur demand was satisfied from volcanic deposits, extensive in Sicily, Italy. The volcanic production dominated the market until the discovery of the Frasch mining process in the late 19th century. From 1950 onward, sulfur recovery from natural gas processing and petroleum refining increased significantly. While Frasch has seen a drastic decline in sulfur production, that from natural gas processing and petroleum refining has only increased and will dominate into the future as the major source of sulfur.

Uses
Concurrent with the expansion of recovered sulfur from oil and natural gas, the fertiliser industry made tremendous gains and in doing so increased consumption of sulfur dramatically. In the 1950s and 1960s, more concentrated phosphate materials, such as diammonium phosphate (DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) came into dominance. Phosphoric acid, required for DAP production, needs 0.8 - 1.1 t of sulfur per t of phosphate produced. Today, more than 50% of annual sulfur consumption is within the fertiliser industry.

Recovered sulfur from oil and gas
Sulfur is found in sour natural gas as free hydrogen sulfide and in crude oil as organic sulfur compounds. While refining crude oil, the portion of the refinery stream is subjected to hydrogenation to convert sulfur compounds into gaseous hydrogen sulfide. With both oil and natural gas, further processing occurs and the solution is stripped of its hydrogen sulfide content, yielding concentrated hydrogen sulfide or acid gas.

Most commonly, acid gas is treated using the Claus process for sulfur recovery. The Claus process burns approximately one third of the hydrogen sulfide under controlled conditions to produce sulfur dioxide. The sulfur dioxide is mixed with the remaining hydrogen sulfide and reacts to produce high quality elemental sulfur, which is then collected as liquid sulfur. Greater removal efficiency can be achieved by the further processing of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide through catalytic converters.

Another recovery source
Elemental sulfur is the desired feedstock to make sulfuric acid. Sulfur burning plants can be designed to use solid or liquid feedstock. Sulfur is burned to produce a gas stream containing sulfur dioxide. The sulfur dioxide is then treated to form sulfuric acid. The sulfur recovery to acid rate can approximate 100%. Also, it is noteworthy that during this process approximately 1 t of steam is recovered for every ton of sulfuric acid produced, playing the important role of power production in the economics of the process.

Iron pyrites are another source of sulfuric acid. Pure iron pyrites contain an average of 53% sulfur, while commercial grades normally range from 40 - 50% sulfur. The pyrites industry is still important in China, but plants to produce sulfuric acid from pyrites are considered expensive and have led to the climb in processing from the oil and gas industries.

References
1.CHAUHAN, M. Integer Research, ‘Sulphur market dynamics’, presented at The Sulphur Institute’s Sulphur World Symposium 2014, Long Beach, California, USA, 9 April 2014.
2.GUSTIN, K. CRU, ‘The movers and the shakers: a sulphur market outlook’, presented at Sulphur 2014 International Conference and Exhibition, Paris, France. 3 - 6 November 2014.

Written by Donald Messick, The Sulphur Institute, USA. This is an abridged article taken from the April 2015 issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering. Part two will be available soon.
Published on 02/04/2015
source: http://www.energyglobal.com/downstream/special-reports/02042015/Sulfur-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow-part-one-570/
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, December 2014 (Entire issue)
http://49221e82b71d8eb279ac-4c440124eb4d1c495a36d3b50d7e92f0.r20.cf3.rackcdn.com/HydrocarbonEngineering/December-2014/index.html#12
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, November 2013
Within Reach: Michael A. Silverman, Carlos A. Cabrera and Michael D. Hillerman, Ivanhoe Energy USA, Disucss How HTL Enables Monetisation of Heavy Oil In Remote Locations
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=14&ved=0CC4QFjADOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ivanhoeenergy.com%2Fs%2Farticles.asp%3FReportID%3D683690&ei=d-giVZSBFsmCsAW1z4DIAw&usg=AFQjCNFBkvUNZJiViFsHzxEclHdlU_IzEA&bvm=bv.89947451,d.eXY
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, February 2012
When Speed Matters: Loek van Eijck, Yokogawa, The Netherlands, questions whether rapid analysis of gases and liquids can be better achieved through use of a gas chromatograph or near infrared analyzser.
http://www.yokogawa.com/us/technical-library/downloads/when-speed-matters-hydrocarbon-engineering.htm
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, August 2002
Integrated Gas Supply
G.H. Shahani and R.C. Best, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., USA, and S. Sekhri and M.P. Ralston, Technip, USA, discuss the market forces reshaping the worldwide refinery market and outline several options for the simultaneous supply of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and utilities.
http://www.h2alliance.com/pdf/338_0101.pdf
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, November 2014
Optimising Emissions Reporting
Esam Al Sayid and Muath Hashem, Saudi Aramco, and Hung-Ming Sung, Adam Williams and Arun Kanchan, Trinity Consultants, USA, discuss means of overcoming challenges to enterprise emissions reporting.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=31&ved=0CB0QFjAAOB4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trinityconsultants.com%2FWorkArea%2FDownloadAsset.aspx%3Fid%3D6576&ei=y-4iVezKOoiYNoqDgNgC&usg=AFQjCNGV-Y7wBtOX8JiSjpbOgZ4cbfV4KQ&bvm=bv.89947451,d.eXY
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, April 2010
Long Distance
Fadi Ghajar and Curtis Steuckrath, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia, and Yiannis Bessiris, Hyperion Systems Engineering, Cyprus, present a novel approach to operator training simulation.
http://www.hyperionsystems.net/images/stories/docs/HydrocarbonEngineering-LongDistanceOperatorTraining.pdf
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, April 2014
LO-CAT®: A Flexible Hydrogen Sulfide Removal Process
By William Rouleau & John Watson - Merichem Company
http://www.merichem.com/LO-CAT-Flexible-H2S-Removal-Process
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, October 2012
The Calm Before the Storm
'The Calm Before The Storm’, a Gordon Cope article which appeared in the October 2012 edition of Hydrocarbon Engineering, provided yet another prediction of the forthcoming elemental sulphur surplus. With increased and enhanced oil and gas production and the increased utilization of sour oil and gas reserves, elemental sulphur production is growing quickly. Placement of elemental sulphur poses a challenge to the oil and gas industry – a challenge that is only expected to grow. Cope calls for an increase in sulphur consumption through the opening up of new markets to modern agriculture and for a solution to the massive sulphur stockpiles that have been accumulated in the oilsands region of Northern Alberta.
http://sulvaris.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Cope-Calm-Before-The-Storm.pdf
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Hydrocarbon Engineering, November 2013
Don't Be Medieval, Make More Diesel!
Hydrocarbon Engineering, November 2013. Bi-Zeng Zhan and Theo Maesen, Chevron Lummus Global, USA, Jay Parekh and Dan Torchia, Advanced Refining Technology, USA, describe how catalyst technology approaches and processing tactics can be used to optimise hydrocracker unit operation in order to meet the future needs for diesel and gas oil production.
http://www.chevron.com/Products/Sitelets/RefiningTechnology/Documents/2013,HENovZhanMaesenParekhTorchiaArticle.pdf
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Always remember, and never forget … Jean welcomes invitations to join his LinkedIn network (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch )

Call For Papers: Global Technology Forum

“What we know about the global financial crisis is that we don't know very much.” -- Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) American economist, first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

GTC-Global Technology Forum has issued a call for papers for three upcoming GTC events:

ERTC 20th Annual Meeting - Deadline: Friday 3rd April
PARTC 3rd Annual Meeting - Deadline: Friday 3rd April
ERTC Petrochemicals Conference - Deadline: Friday 1st May

The ERTC 20th Annual Meeting will be taking place on 17-19 November at the Rome Cavalieri Hotel, Italy. http://events.gtforum.com/ertc-annual-meeting
The PARTC (Pan-African Refining Technology Conference) 3rd annual meeting occurs at Cape Town, 8-9 September 2015
http://events.gtforum.com/partc
The ERTC Petrochemicals Conference occurs in Rome on the 18th and 19th November
http://events.gtforum.com/petrochemicals

TIP #1: While GTC has a good track record, it can’t hurt to conduct a due diligence Google® search.

Typical results on such a search reveal that Incisive Media acquired Global Technology Forum, “the leading independent organizer of conferences and training for the oil, gas and petrochemical refining and processing industries” in 2007. (Source: http://db.riskwaters.com/public/showPage.html?page=458675

Digging deeper, a further Google® search would locate …

Incisive Media agrees debt for equity swap with Alchemy Partners (Investment Week, 08 Jan 2015
Investment Week publisher Incisive Media has agreed a refinancing deal which sees private equity firm Alchemy Partners take a majority stake in the business.
(Source:  http://www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment-week/news/2389364/incisive-media-agrees-debt-for-equity-swap-with-alchemy-partners)

ADDENDUM to TIP #1: Spend a few Google moments on any conference you might want to attend. Search the venue organizer, a few of the presenters, and anything else that comes to mind. Worst case: you might decide not to attend.  Better case: you will get more out of the conference when you do attend.