"May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility." Mary Anne Radmacher
Fast and Easy Freeze Protection with Pre-Assembled Self-Regulating Heating Cable
Heat tracing a pipe, from start to finish can be time consuming. Selecting the various components, starting with the heating cable itself, extends through termination kits, controllers, mounting hardware and other electrical hardware needed to put the heating system in operation. BriskHeat has a product that, for many applications, offers a very simple and quick solution.Pre-assembled self regulating heat cable is available in two voltage ranges, two watt densities, and prefabricated lengths up to 150 feet. Each cable is terminated at each end, saving the installer time. The cable is flexible enough for a spiral installation or to wrap around valves in the piping system. The self regulating aspect of the cable negates the need for a controller and power switching devices. Assemblies targeted for 120 volt applications are provided with a factory installed plug. The 208-277 volt cables will arrive with bare wire leads for installation of a customer provided connector. The cable can be easily installed using fiberglass or aluminum tape. Suitable insulation applied over the finished work will improve the performance of the heating system.
For more information about freeze protecting pipes, valves, tanks, or vessels contact M.S. Jacobs. Call them at 800-348-0089 or visit their web site at https://msjacobs.com.
Saying Thanks to Our Veterans
Veterans Day is set aside to honor the men and women who have sacrificed so much in order to serve in the armed forces of the United States. It is a day of observance and celebration for those who have served in our military.
Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day because of the November 11 Armistice that ended World War I. In 1954 it was officially changed to Veterans Day to include Veterans of all wars.
This day is set aside to honor those who took an oath to defend the United States and our Constitution, from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Through the observance of Veterans Day, we remind ourselves of our Veterans patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
M.S. Jacobs thanks our Veterans, past and present, for serving our country and protecting our freedom.
Minimize Controllable Feedwater Heater Losses Through Heat Rate Awareness
A feedwater heater is a device used in a power plant to pre-heat water being delivered to a steam generating boiler. Preheating the feedwater prior to steam generation improves the thermodynamic efficiency of the system. Heat rate is a measure of how efficiently a power plant uses heat energy. You can measure heat rate by the number of BTUs the power plant requires to generate a kilowatt hour of energy. As your heat rate goes up, so do your fuel costs. Considering fuel expenditures account for 70 to 80 percent of production costs and millions of dollars per year, improving heat rate one percent could generate five hundred thousand dollars in annual savings for a 500 megawatt power plant.
To contain fuel costs, power plants must maximize the efficiency of their feedwater heaters. That's why many companies today are focusing on improving heat rate as a way to use their feedwater heaters more effectively and significantly reduce their fuel costs.
The video above (courtesy of Magnetrol) explains ways to focus on heat rate awareness to minimize controllable losses from the feedwater system.
For more information, contact M.S. Jacobs and Associates. Call them at 800-348-0089 or visit their web site at https://msjacobs.com.
Plating Application: Chromic Acid Tank Level
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| Plating acid tanks. |
A large international plating company located in the USA needed a cost effective liquid level switching that would perform flawlessly on their chemical plating baths.
Problem
The chemicals used in plating, specifically Chromic Acid, are extremely corrosive. Many times these chemicals need to be kept at elevated temperatures, resulting in corrosive vapors. Controls installed in and around areas where vapors are present are adversely affected. For this customer, the tank level instruments near the chromic acid tanks were the most problematic.
Solution
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| Levelpro PLF |
The PLF series can be used to indicate high and low levels, notification of upset conditions or turn pumps or valves on-off. They are also an excellent choice for redundant high| low level indication when used in conjunction with a continuous level sensor.
For more information, contact M.S. Jacobs and Associates. They can be reached at 800-348-0089 or you can visit their web site at https://msjacobs.com.
Coriolis Flow Meter Improves Fuel Oil Control and Efficiency at Power Plant
The solution was installing TRICOR’s TCM-28K Coriolis flow meter. The TCM 028K Coriolis Mass Flow Meter has a maximum mass flow rate of 28,000 kg/hr (1029 lb/min) or 4227 bbl/day and nominal size of DN25 (1”), and is rated for process pressures up to 100 bar (1450 psi). Standard accuracy for the TCM 028K is 0.3%, but with a custom calibration, 0.1% accuracy is possible. These meters have good overall accuracy, zero stability, and pressure drop. The simple self-draining U-shape tube design provides for easy cleaning/flushing.
After installation, all mentioned problems disappeared. Moreover, with the flexibility of TRICOR installation length, TRICOR was able help the customer in this challenging application to avoid extra installation costs.
ADVANTAGES:
- Increased burner availability
- Less downtime
- More efficient burner management
- Reduced maintenance costs Increased productivity
For more information, contact M.S. Jacobs by calling 800-348-0089 or visit their web site at https://msjacobs.com.
US Power Grids, Oil and Gas Industries, and Risk of Hacking
A report released in June, from the security firm Dragos, describes a worrisome development by a hacker group named, “Xenotime” and at least two dangerous oil and gas intrusions and ongoing reconnaissance on United States power grids.
Multiple ICS (Industrial Control Sectors) sectors now face the XENOTIME threat; this means individual verticals – such as oil and gas, manufacturing, or electric – cannot ignore threats to other ICS entities because they are not specifically targeted.
The Dragos researchers have termed this threat proliferation as the world’s most dangerous cyberthreat since an event in 2017 where Xenotime had caused a serious operational outage at a crucial site in the Middle East.
The fact that concerns cybersecurity experts the most is that this hacking attack was a malware that chose to target the facility safety processes (SIS – safety instrumentation system).
For example, when temperatures in a reactor increase to an unsafe level, an SIS will automatically start a cooling process or immediately close a valve to prevent a safety accident. The SIS safety stems are both hardware and software that combine to protect facilities from life threatening accidents.
At this point, no one is sure who is behind Xenotime. Russia has been connected to one of the critical infrastructure attacks in the Ukraine. That attack was viewed to be the first hacker related power grid outage.
This is a “Cause for Concern” post that was published by Dragos on June 14, 2019.
“While none of the electric utility targeting events has resulted in a known, successful intrusion into victim organizations to date, the persistent attempts, and expansion in scope is cause for definite concern. XENOTIME has successfully compromised several oil and gas environments which demonstrates its ability to do so in other verticals. Specifically, XENOTIME remains one of only four threats (along with ELECTRUM, Sandworm, and the entities responsible for Stuxnet) to execute a deliberate disruptive or destructive attack.
XENOTIME is the only known entity to specifically target safety instrumented systems (SIS) for disruptive or destructive purposes. Electric utility environments are significantly different from oil and gas operations in several aspects, but electric operations still have safety and protection equipment that could be targeted with similar tradecraft. XENOTIME expressing consistent, direct interest in electric utility operations is a cause for deep concern given this adversary’s willingness to compromise process safety – and thus integrity – to fulfill its mission.
XENOTIME’s expansion to another industry vertical is emblematic of an increasingly hostile industrial threat landscape. Most observed XENOTIME activity focuses on initial information gathering and access operations necessary for follow-on ICS intrusion operations. As seen in long-running state-sponsored intrusions into US, UK, and other electric infrastructure, entities are increasingly interested in the fundamentals of ICS operations and displaying all the hallmarks associated with information and access acquisition necessary to conduct future attacks. While Dragos sees no evidence at this time indicating that XENOTIME (or any other activity group, such as ELECTRUM or ALLANITE) is capable of executing a prolonged disruptive or destructive event on electric utility operations, observed activity strongly signals adversary interest in meeting the prerequisites for doing so.”
Custom Sanitary Coriolis Flow Meter Makes Better Mayonnaise
All the ingredient measurements must be made by sanitary instruments because this is an FDA regulated food application. Measurements must also be maintained at relatively low system pressures. This is difficult due to the viscous nature of the product. Because both starch and mayonnaise are shear thinning materials, precise viscosity data is not available, therefore engineering observation of the process was necessary to identify the proper size Coriolis meters.
For more information, contact M.S. Jacobs by calling 800-348-0089 of visiting https://msjacobs.com.
Level Instrumentation for Steam Generation
Magnetrol, a world-leading manufacturer of level and flow instrumentation, has assembled an excellent application summary for the use of level instrumentation in steam generation.
The Ashcroft Ordering Handbook
The Product Ordering Handbook includes descriptions, part numbers, and specifications for all Ashcroft products.
Download the Ashcroft Ordering Handbook from the M.S. Jacobs web site here.
Required Information for Sizing the Correct Thermal Mass Flow Meter for Your Application
Thermal mass flow meters offer accurate, repeatable, and dependable measurements of liquids and gases for both industrial and environmental processes. They are used in a multitude of applications including landfills, GHG emissions, flare gas, natural gas measurement, pollution control, petrochemical, chemical processing, measuring hydrogen gas, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, semi-conductor manufacturing, sub-metering of clean process gases, and power / utility.When sizing a thermal mass flow meter, the following information is required in determining the correct flow meter for your application:
- Fluid
- Insertion or inline meter
- Minimum and maximum line pressure
- Minimum and maximum flow rate
- Minimum and maximum fluid temperature
- Pipe diameter, schedule and material
- Standard, sanitary or ultra-high purity finish
- Desired process connections
- Flow direction
- Available power for transmitter
- Transmitter output
M.S. Jacobs and Associates
https://msjacobs.com
800-348-0089
Pipe, Valve, Fitting and Instrument Insulation: Silver Series by BriskHeat
The BriskHeat Silver-Series insulators are a configurable insulation system made of durable, high-temperature cloth that allows for very easy installation and removal. The Silver-Series provides 1” thick, needle-punched fiberglass insulation with hook & loop closures. The innovative design applies very efficient thermal insulation for hot or cold pipes, valves, instrumentation, tanks and vessels in industrial and commercial environments. Custom designs can be manufactured for unique requirements.
For more information, contact M.S. Jacobs & Associates.
https://msjacobs.com
800-348-0089
New Product Alert: WIKA High Pressure Valves
High-pressure valves are being added to the WIKA portfolio of pressure, temperature, level, flow and WIKA USA includes ball valves, needle valves, check valves, and instrument manifold valves with pressures from 15,000 psi to 60,000 psi. in 1/4" to 1" sizes.force measurement. With the acquisition of SAMI Instruments S.R.L. by the WIKA Group is expanding its portfolio of specialty valves. The new portfolio of standard and specialty valves available through
Products include:
- Medium and High Pressure Needle valves and Manifolds
- Medium and High Pressure Ball Valves
- Medium and High Pressure Soft and Ball Check valves
- Medium and High Pressure Fittings
- Medium and High Pressure Adapters
How They Work: Magnetically Coupled Liquid Level Indicators (Mag Gauges)
Magnetically coupled liquid level indicators are in widespread use throughout today's process industries.
Originally designed as an alternative to site and gage glass devices, MLI’s are now commonly utilized in both new construction and plant expansions. Orion Instruments magnetic level indicators are precision engineered and manufactured to indicate liquid level accurately, reliably, and continuously.
As shown in this video, a float designed for the specific gravity of the process liquid travels inside the MLI chamber tracking the rise and fall of the process media.
This float contains an internal magnetic assembly that couples with the external visual indicator. The individual “flags” or “flippers” rotate 180 degrees as the level rises and falls, indicating the position of the liquid inside the MLI, and therefore, indicating the level of the liquid in the vessel.
These units are completely sealed and require little to no periodic maintenance. MLI’s also eliminate fugitive emission and glass breakage concerns common with site and gage glasses.
To complement these products, level switches and transmitters are available to further expand the control and alarm capability of the MLI.
For more information on magnetic level indicators, contact: M.S. Jacobs and Associates by calling 800-348-0089 or by visiting https://msjacobs.com.
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