Sutton Technical Books publishes a series of concise, practical primers covering key topics in the process and energy industries. These primers are written for professionals: engineers, operators, regulators, and technical managers — those who work in chemical plants, refineries, offshore platforms, pipelines, and storage terminals.Each primer provides a focused overview of a specific topic in…
This article provides an introduction to the concept of Net Zero by 2050, and how it could affect the energy and process industries.IPCCThe phrase ‘Net Zero by 2050’ comes from a report published by the IPCC — the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC is one of the world’s leading authorities on climate change trends.This organization <the IPCC> was founded in the…
The Substack letter 2022: A Net Zero Future makes some forecasts (not really predictions) for the year 2022. The focus is on businesses and industries that are adopting Net Zero programs.Companies and businesses will increasingly lead the response to climate change — not because they want to “do good”, but because they want to be commercially successful. Governments will support but not lead…
The term “Kodak Moment” originally referred to a rare or special occasion that was captured on (Kodak) film. The term has also come to describe a situation in which a company fails to foresee structural changes in its industry such that the company eventually falls into bankruptcy.The Kodak company was a world leader in film photography. Management of the company understood that digital cameras…
Faster! Faster!In Lewis Carroll’s famous story Through the Looking-Glass the protagonist, Alice, meets the Red Queen. Suddenly they start running.Alice never could quite make out, in thinking it over afterwards, how it was that they began: all she remembers is, that they were running hand in hand, and the Queen went so fast that it was all she could do to keep up with her: and still the…
The information provided here is taken from the post An Age of Limits.Climate change is a topic that receives a lot of attention. It is also the focus of the articles and posts at this site. However, it is far from being the only predicament that we face. There are many other related issues, some of which are shown in the above sketch. Together they make up an ‘Age of Limits’. (Many other items…
The material in this article is taken from the post An Energy Evaluation System: Part 4 — An Energy Grid.We continue our series of posts on how to evaluate and compare different energy sources. The first three posts in the series are:Part 1 — An OverviewPart 2 — PropertiesPart 3 — HSE (Health, Safety and Environmental)The remaining elements in the framework are:Part 4 —An Energy Grid;Part 5 —…
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The material in this article is taken from post An Energy Evaluation System.The post An Energy Evaluation System introduced the concept of the ‘Net Zero Energy Grid’. The post showed what an energy grid may look like in a Net Zero world — a world in which virtually all of our energy needs are met by renewable or “green” sources of one type or another. Fossil…
IPCC: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
This material is taken from the post Another Clunky Sentence. The phrase ‘Net Zero by 2050’ comes from an IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2018 report. The pertinent paragraph reads as follows,In model pathways with no or limited overshoot of 1.5°C, global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions decline by about 45%…
Published: July 2021 In September 2020 the company BP published their 2020 Energy Outlook. The report's Summary states,The Energy Outlook explores the forces shaping the global energy transition out to 2050 and the key uncertainties surrounding that transition.The company makes it clear that they are not predicting the future. The report’s purpose is to outline how energy consumption and…
The Primer Distillation is priced at $25 (U.S.) It can be purchased here. The Kindle link is here.DistillationThis distillation primer provides a structured introduction to distillation principles, column design, reboilers, reflux systems, and operating practices used in refineries, chemical plants, and batch-processing industries. It is written for engineers, operators, and technical…
This Primer, DOT-117 Tank Car Insulation, is priced at $25 (U.S.) It can be purchased here.Summary of DOT-117 Tank Car InsulationThis primer provides a clear, technically grounded overview of tank car insulation systems and the DOT-117/TC-117 standard that governs the transport of Class 3 flammable liquids in North America.The primer explains how modern tank cars are constructed,…
We are publishing a series of posts to do with evaluating alternative sources of energy. This article is based on the post Energy Evaluation: Properties describes a method by which different fuels and energy sources can be compared.The Properties category summarizes the technical features of each energy source. They are summarized in the structure shown in the Table, which provides values…
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The information provided here is taken from the post Energy Storage. If we are to achieve the ‘Net Zero by 2050’ goal then wind and solar are going to make up a large fraction of the total energy supply mix. As discussed in the post Solar and Wind, attractive though these energy sources may be, they have important limitations. In particular, they have a low…
Isolation MethodsPositive isolation methods are those which remain effective even if there is equipment failure or operator error. These techniques apply not only to vessels, piping and tanks but also to pneumatic and hydraulic equipment.The sketch shows some of the various isolation techniques that can be used to protect workers in the process industries. The process containing toxic or…