Chemical Processing Distilled
The Chemical Processing Distilled podcast extracts essential elements to serve engineers designing and operating plants in the chemical industry.
Episodes
The ‘Safe Pair of Hands’ Problem in Succession Planning
In a chemical facility, choosing the person who feels safest is understandable. These are high-risk environments where poor decisions can affect production, people and plant. Nobody wants to experiment with leadership when the consequences of getting it wrong can be dire.
The problem is that competence is not the same as readiness, and familiarity is not the same as low risk. When succession decis
Operational Flexibility Is an Energy Asset — If You Manage It Right
Schneider Electric's Thomas Kwan explains why chemical plants should map their loads before buying software, and why "the optimizer decides" isn't an operating philosophy.
Jonathan Katz, executive editor of Chemical Processing, recently spoke with Thomas Kwan, an energy transition expert at the Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute, about his most recent Energy Saver column for Chem
Courts, Settlements and Capacity Bets
In September's Distilled News, a federal appeals court strikes down the EPA's methylene chloride ban, three chemical makers agree to pay $455 million over PFAS, and BASF and Kemira look at new production.
Reverse Osmosis: When It's Time to Ditch the Softener
In this episode of the Chemical Processing Distilled Podcast, Brad Buecker of SAMCO Technologies joins editor-in-chief Traci Purdum to dig deeper into reverse osmosis for boiler makeup water. Buecker contrasts RO with sodium softening, explaining how RO removes up to 99% of dissolved ions, cutting corrosion, scaling and blowdown compared to softening alone. He stresses that raw water quality and p
A Chemical Engineer's Guide to Leading
An Eastman Chemical veteran-turned-leadership coach explains why technical excellence doesn't translate to leadership skill — and how organizations can close the "broken rung" that pushes women out of the pipeline right after their first promotion.
U.S. Chemical Makers Ride Iran War's Oil-Gas Price Gap
ICIS's Al Greenwood explains why ethane-fed commodity producers are cashing in while specialty chemical makers struggle to pass on higher costs. Read the full article.
Distilled News: CSB Ties Clairton Blast to Valve Procedure, Argonne Advances Lithium Extraction, DOE Funds Minerals Workforce
This month, we cover the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's final report on the fatal Aug. 11 explosion at U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, Argonne National Laboratory's progress on extracting lithium and other critical minerals from oilfield wastewater, and a new $100 million DOE initiative to train the next generation of critical-minerals workers.
Condensate Recovery: Know What’s In the Water
From steam trap sprawl to a phenol plant that ignored 400x the recommended organic carbon limit, Brad Buecker walks through why condensate return demands real chemistry — and the tools (ion exchange, activated carbon, film-forming amines) that make it work.
Solution Spotlight: Get Your Coriolis Tube Design Right — or Pay for It Later
Selecting the right Coriolis flow meter tube design goes beyond pressure, temperature and flow rate specs — it can reduce how much a plant spends on pumps and energy for the life of a pipeline. In this Solution Spotlight episode of Chemical Processing Distilled, Al Dhanji, chemical industry manager for the Americas at KROHNE, breaks down straight tube versus bent tube designs and how each handles
Solutions Spotlight: Closing Measurement Gaps Without Shutting Down the Plant
Emerson's Michael Machuca explains how non-intrusive flow, temperature, corrosion and acoustic monitoring help chemical manufacturers boost safety, reliability and sustainability without cutting into pipes or halting production. Sponsored by Emerson
Distilled News: CSB Faults Woodland Pulp and Bio-Lab as Brazil Tariffs Raise Reshoring Concerns
This month: fatal H2S release investigation findings, the final Conyers warehouse fire report, ACC's pushback on Brazil tariffs and a call for unified EPA-OSHA chemical safety rules and a reality check on AI in advanced process control.
EPA, HHS Move Microplastics from Fringe Concern to Federal Priority
In this episode Traci Purdum discusses Lynn Bergeson’s latest article "EPA, HHS Move Microplastics from Fringe Concern to Federal Priority"
July 15, 2026
For a long time, microplastics were treated as a recycling problem or a marine litter problem. That changed this spring. On April 6, 2026, two federal agencies moved on the same day in ways that push microplastics squarely into the compliance con
Why Sodium Softeners Make or Break Boiler Water Chemistry
In this episode of Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast, host Traci Purdum talks with Brad Buecker, senior technical consultant at Samco Technologies, about sodium softening — the workhorse treatment for industrial boiler makeup water. Buecker explains how hardness ions cause scale, why residual bicarbonate drives corrosive condensate return lines, and how to spot early warning signs of a poorl
Double Check Your Physical Properties Data
Inconsistencies found across major references for common substances raise a harder question about what we assume we know and whether that's enough for design, operation and troubleshooting.
This podcast is an In Case You Missed It of the column that appeared on our site July 1. You can read it here.
Powder, Progress, and 250 Years: The Chemistry Behind American Independence
Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, a group of delegates in Philadelphia signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. Today, we are going to talk about how chemistry made it all possible.
Mergers, Layoffs and Geopolitical Risk Reshape the Chemical Industry
Olin and Huntsman announce a $12.5 billion tie-up, Evonik cuts 3,200 jobs and BASF's CEO warns of an oil shock — while Covestro bets on biology to clean up aniline production.
Pumps, Flow and the Fight Against Wasted Energy
This episode digs into three plant-floor challenges that look simple until physics intervenes—bulk solids handling, heat pump-driven distillation savings and a water pump's mysterious cycling problem traced back to Bernoulli's principle.
Sources: "Bulk Solids and Powders: Flow, Storage and Conveyor Design in Chemical Plants" by Amin Almasi (Equipment Insights, June 8, 2026) | "Heat Pumps Slash Was
Trevor Kletz Warned Us
Decades before the Strait of Hormuz closed and refineries started burning, process safety's great philosopher mapped exactly how pressure corrupts risk decisions.
Distilled News: Dow-X-energy Nuclear Milestone, Fatal West Virginia Chemical Release and More
This month's top stories cover an NRC environmental clearance for an advanced reactor in Texas, a deadly hydrogen sulfide incident under CSB investigation, SOCMA's regulatory priorities and new industry developments.
You've Told Your Team to Speak Up. But Are You Actually Listening?
In every organization, informal hierarchies determine who gets heard, who gets interrupted and whose concerns get taken seriously. In process safety, the cost of getting it wrong is high. In this In Case You Missed It episode, Editor Traci Purdum reads a column from Lauren Neal, Chemical Processing's Workforce Matters expert. You can read the column here.
Perceptual Invariants: The Hidden Key to Operator Expertise
Experienced operators don't just know what to do — they know what to watch, regardless of how conditions change. That ability hinges on perceptual invariants: the critical relationships and variables that remain meaningful even as everything else shifts. Human factors engineer Dave Strobhar explains how identifying and reinforcing these invariants is the key to effective operator training. Rather
What Do Chemical Engineers Do, Anyway?
If you're a regular listener, you already know the deal — you work in this industry. You've spent your career in control rooms, on plant floors, in engineering offices, running calculations and managing processes that most of the world never thinks about. You know what a distillation column is.
But this episode is meant to be shared with a spouse, a parent, a kid, a friend — someone who's asked yo
Concentrate On Critical Thinking
The complexity of the human body makes critical thinking an essential skill for doctors. It’s also important in our work. However, engineers often learn the value of critical thinking the hard way. Dirk Willard, by way of Editor Traci Purdum's spoken word, tells us not to over-concentrate on the zebras... and let the horses run free.
Microplastics, Leadership Shifts and Industry Honors: April's Top Stories
From a $144 million federal push to address microplastics in drinking water to a CEO transition at Dow and Edison Award wins for chemical giants, here's what moved the needle in April 2026.
Operator Training: When the Subtask Is the Whole Task
Throwing operators into full simulator scenarios sounds thorough, but it can mask the one critical subtask they actually need to master. Human factors engineer Dave Strobhar argues that effective operator training starts by identifying which subtasks carry the highest consequences — loss of containment, asset destruction, major downtime — and drilling those specifically before integrating them int
Water Is Water — And Other Costly Myths
In this episode of Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast, editor-in-chief Traci Purdum speaks with water treatment expert Brad Buecker about the dangers of the "water is water" mindset in industrial settings. Buecker shares real-world examples of costly boiler failures caused by ignoring water chemistry, explains how water's near-universal solvent properties create scaling and corrosion risks an
The Alchemist Signs Off
After nearly two decades, Seán Ottewell retires from Chemical Processing, leaving behind a legacy that spans battlefield bones, Neanderthal adhesives and one particularly memorable hedge. In this episode, Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum highlights some of his best work...including taking a tinkle on his neighbor's landscaping.
Strait of Hormuz Chaos, TSCA Reform and More — March 2026 in Chemical Processing
Supply chain shocks from the Iran conflict, a contested overhaul of chemical safety law, an ethylene oxide rollback and a green chemistry advance — the month's biggest stories summarized by Executive Editor Jonathan Katz.
The Hidden Costs and Risks of Cross-Training Operators
Cross-training process plant operators sounds simple, but execution is often flawed. Human factors engineer Dave Strobhar explains that effective cross-training must be based on job complexity and demonstrated competency — not arbitrary time requirements. Common pitfalls include inconsistent crew procedures that cause negative transfer of training, inadequate alarm management for operators returni
CP Notebook: ACD's Eric Byer on Iran, Tariffs, and the Fight Over Rail
In this bonus episode, Executive Editor Jonathan Katz highlights main points from his recent interview for his Chemical Processing Notebook series.
Eric Byer lives and works in Washington, D.C., where he fights for more than 400 companies that make up the Alliance for Chemical Distribution. As CEO and president of ACD, he backs the interests of chemical distributors by lobbying on issues such as
Solutions Spotlight: Don't Let the Wrong Mag Meter Cost You
Corrosive acids, erosive slurries, viscous polymers, fluids with variable conductivity — these are the kinds of process streams that prove most challenging. Selecting the wrong technology or materials can mean frequent failures, costly downtime or, worse, a safety incident. Electromagnetic flow meters — also known as mag meters — have been a workhorse of the chemical industry for decades. But ther
When Experience Becomes a Blind Spot
Workforce Matters columnist Lauren Neal explains what happens when experience stops sharpening judgment and starts dulling curiosity. The comfort and danger of “we’ve seen this before.”
You can read the full column here.
This was read by Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum.
Distilled News: Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs, Dow's AI Bet and the EPA's Climate U-Turn
Executive Editor Jonathan Katz reviews this month's chemical industry news, which covers a landmark tariff ruling, Dow's AI-driven layoffs, the rollback of the EPA's Endangerment Finding, BASF's India expansion and a new leader for global plastics treaty talks.
Train Operators for Real-World Chaos, Not Perfection
Chemical processing operators need training that mirrors real-world conditions, not idealized scenarios. The final six guidelines from Walter Schneider's research emphasize maintaining motivation through consequences, presenting complex contexts with distractions, intermixing tasks to build switching skills, and incorporating time pressure. Training should capture expert strategies that minimize w
eChem Expo Brings High-Value Training to Manufacturers
eChem Expo, recently acquired by Chemical Processing’s parent company EndeavorB2B, returns April 7-9, 2026, in Kingsport, Tennessee. Conference Director Damon Shackelford discusses the event's evolution from a regional gathering to a comprehensive three-part experience featuring an expo floor with nearly 200 vendors, professional conference sessions and technical seminars. This year's theme, "Ener
Most Read: Amid Regulatory Uncertainty, Chemical Industry Navigates Innovation
From light-driven catalysts to EPA debates, chemical sector balances technological advances with safety, economic and environmental challenges. Editor-in-Chief digs into what the audience was reading.
What Topped Chemical Industry News in January 2026?
The chemical industry faces flat growth, formaldehyde regulation debate, Venezuela oil investment push, winter storm threats and a cheesy viral moment.
Chemical Compliance: What to Expect in 2026
Global chemical regulatory ‘best guess’ for 2026 amid political shifts, litigation and evolving U.S. and European Union policies.
Each year, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group, and consortia management affiliate B&C Consortia Management, L.L.C., prepare a summary overview of things to come in the new year. We are pleased to present our Forecast 2026.
Master 5 Critical Guidelines for Effective Operator Training
In this Chemical Processing podcast, Traci Purdum and Dave Strobhar discuss training guidelines for operators. They cover five of 11 guidelines based on Walter Schneider's research: promoting consistent processing to build automaticity (where tasks become automatic), designing training for repeated practice of critical skills, avoiding memory overload through reference materials, varying training
2026 Chemical Industry Outlook
Cautiously Optimistic Despite Near-Term Headwinds
U.S. chemical sector shows resilience with long-term growth potential amid trade uncertainties and uneven recovery.
Martha Gilchrist Moore, chief economist for the American Chemistry Council, offers her predictions for the coming year.
Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum reads the column.
You can read the article here.
EPR and Recycled Plastics: Why Chemical Safety Is the Next Compliance Frontier
Alexandra Savino explains why new data showing recycled plastics contain more hazardous substances than virgin materials is driving Extended Producer Responsibility reforms that link compliance to chemical performance.
Key Highlights
EPR now includes chemical safety, increasing scrutiny on contaminants like metals, PFAS and PAHs in post-consumer recycled plastics.
Upstream accountability is growin
Chemical Processing Distilled News: 2025 in Review
Welcome to the year-end edition of Distilled News. To wrap up 2025, we will review some of the top stories coming from the chemical industry over the past 12 months.
Fail-Safe Pump Technology Wins Vaaler Award
This episode of Distilled features the final 2025 Vaaler Award winner: Flowserve's INNOMAG TB-MAG Dual Drive. This sealless pump technology provides secondary containment through the pump itself rather than the motor, unlike canned motor pumps. The system prevents catastrophic leaks of toxic and corrosive fluids while handling up to 30% solids. Nick Rentzelos, the technology's inventor and Flowser
AI Technology Autonomously Optimizes Complex Chemical Processes
Yokogawa's Vaaler Award-winning reinforcement learning algorithm reduces implementation time, balances plant objectives and achieves rapid learning in trials.
Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming, or FKDPP, a reinforcement learning AI developed by Yokogawa and the NARA Institute of Science and Technology and applied by Yokogawa to process industries is the first reinforcement learning AI to
Corrosion Under Insulation is 86’d by Sherwin-Williams
Vaaler Award winning technology allows operators to forgo traditional insulation systems and all the associated labor, materials, inspection, and maintenance expenses in favor of a spray-applied coating that retains process heat, protects personnel, and eliminates corrosion under insulation.
Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum chats with Neil Wilds, global product director, Corrosion Under Insulation Tes
Chemical industry braces for turbulent year ahead -- November 2025 News
Deloitte forecasts 0.2% production decline as industry faces "confused sea state," German sentiment plummets, and environmental groups challenge Trump's chemical plant exemptions.
Welcome to Distilled News, where Jonathan Katz, executive editor of Chemical Processing, looks back at the top stories each month on Chemicalprocessing.com.
Flow Measurement Technology Fosters Safer, Efficient Plants
There are many things to consider with flow measurement technology, including prioritizing safety features for hazardous processes and remote locations. Additionally, the proper instrumentation prevents leaks and environmental incidents while supporting efficiency and operations. To help us better understand all things involved, Chemical Processing spoke with David Wright, global product manager a
Leadership Potential Isn’t Fixed, It’s Shaped by Who’s Looking
Two years ago, an operator was told she wasn’t “management material.” But only six months later – new manager, new opportunity – she was leading a cross-site safety improvement project.
Her potential didn’t change. The lens did.
In chemical facilities, we monitor pressure to the decimal. We track every deviation in flow, temperature and system response. But when it comes to people — especially how
Halloween Edition of Chemical Industry News Roundup
Executive Editor Jonathan Katz gets all spooky with this month's news. Major chemical companies accelerate development using artificial intelligence and robotics, even as economic pressures force European plant shutdowns and project delays.
Solving Corrosive Flow Measurement
In this sponsored Solutions Spotlight, KROHNE experts discuss flow measurement technologies for chlor-alkali processes, covering mag meters, Coriolis meters, entrained gas management and safety integrity levels.
Three Key Takeaways
Virtual reference technology eliminates leak paths in mag meters by using a non-wetted grounding methodology, reducing costs and maintenance risks in corrosive applica
6 Training Myths that Sabotage Operator Performance
In this episode, Traci Purdum and Dave Strohbar explore why traditional training approaches fail operators in chemical processing plants. They examine misconceptions about practice, simulator fidelity, motivation, accuracy versus acceptable performance, early assessment reliability, and the gap between theory and practical skills.
Crawl, Walk, Run: AI Transforms Materials Discovery
This episode discusses how AI accelerates materials discovery in the chemical industry. While challenges exist—messy data, black box models, and skills gaps—AI enables simulations that once took days on supercomputers to run in seconds on laptops. Young advocates a "crawl, walk, run" approach for implementation, starting with low-stakes trials before full integration. He envisions an "in silico-fi
Jungle Fumble - The Ecuador Lawsuit Against Texaco/Chevron
Environmental consultant Dave Russell recounts his involvement in the Ecuador lawsuit against Texaco/Chevron over Amazon rainforest contamination. Hired in 2003 to assess cleanup costs, Russell produced a $6.1 billion estimate based on unverified assumptions—a "SWAG" (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) that helped secure a $9.5 billion judgment. However, his soil samples revealed the primary toxins were m
The Lowdown on Electromagnetic, Ultrasonic and Coriolis Flowmeters
In this bonus episode, which was originally recorded for Chemical Processing's sister brand, Processing, KHRONE's Joe Incontri, director of marketing, discusses the company’s flow meter lineup.
This episode is sponsored by KROHNE
EPA Targets Dissent, Regulatory Changes, Breaking Research
EPA fires staff over dissent letter while industry groups push for faster chemical reviews before 2026 TSCA reauthorization deadline are among the top news stories in September 2025.
Executive Editor Jonathan Katz reviews all you need to know.
Oversupply and Policy Shifts Squeeze Chemical Producers
With 5 million tons of new polyethylene capacity hitting saturated markets and Trump's legislative agenda threatening green investments, chemical firms are scrambling to adjust, says Maine Pointe's Stephen Ottley.
Radar Level Measurement: Challenges, Benefits and Innovations
Joe Incontri from KROHNE explains how radar level measurement devices work using high-frequency time measurement technology. He covers radar's advantages over ultrasonic alternatives, including better resolution and smaller antennas, while addressing challenges like density measurement limitations and interference from dust or agitated surfaces. The conversation highlights radar's cost-effectivene
Workforce Matters: Who Protects the Protectors?
Consider safeguarding senior leaders from burnout in high-stakes projects as an extension of design for safety.
In Case You Missed It brings the written word to life. In today’s episode, Chemical Processing's Editor in Chief, Traci Purdum, will be reading an article from Lauren Neal, CP’s Workforce Matters Columnist. Who Protects the Protectors?
Which was published to chemicalprocessing.com on Se
August 2025 News Roundup: Chemical Setbacks, Breakthroughs Reshape Industrial Landscape
Executive Editor Jonathan Katz reviews the top news for August 2025:
Eastman Chemical faces setbacks as it appeals the Trump administration's cancellation of $1.2 billion in funding for its Texas plastic recycling facility, while seeking alternative locations for its methanolysis technology. International climate efforts stalled when UN plastics treaty negotiations in Geneva failed to reach an agr
Troubleshooting Sticky Solids: Solutions for Particulate Flow Problems
If you spend enough time dealing with particulate solids, you’ll encounter very sticky solids and end up spending countless hours cleaning out a plugged distributor, opening a discharge chute or banging on the vessel to get the solids to flow. There are many reasons solids clump or stick to surfaces. Let’s face it: sticky solids need special attention. But first, we must identify the source of the
Plant Insights: Bubble-Cap Tray Trade-offs
While bubble-cap trays excel in low-leakage and turndown applications, operators should also be aware of additional challenges such as vapor blowing that can occur at high vapor rates and low liquid rates.
Navigating the PFAS Maze
This episode discusses the complex challenge of managing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals amid evolving regulations. Phil Molé from Velocity EHS explains that companies struggle to identify PFAS in their inventories due to vague product names and changing chemical compositions.
PFAS are persistent, bioaccumulative toxins that resist biodegradation and contaminate the environmen
ExxonMobil, Honeywell Discuss 50 Years of Distributed Control System Evolution
In a recent episode of Amplified from Control magazine, host Keith Larson interviews Brian Reynolds (Honeywell CTO), Alicia Kempf (Honeywell Director Offering Management), and David Patin (ExxonMobil TDC Modernization Program Lead Engineer). The discussion took place at the 2025 Honeywell User Group meeting, celebrating 50 years since the first Honeywell TDC 2000 installation in 1975.
The conversa
EPA Shakeups, Ethane Carrier Christened and Dow Shutters Three Plants
This week's episode includes exclusive, unpublished content related to Trump administration's R&D cuts within the EPA and their potential effects on environmental research priorities.
Recent chemical industry developments highlight regulatory tensions and operational changes. EPA workers are protesting new leadership under Zeldin, with 139 employees placed on administrative leave amid accusati
Why Protective Coatings Damage Metal Artifacts — and How to Fix It
Using new 3D fluorescence imaging, scientists have identified how aging polymer coatings generate corrosive compounds, leading to improved preservation strategies for cultural artifacts.
In today’s episode, Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum will be reading a column from editor-at-large Seán Ottewell – “Why Protective Coatings Damage Metal Artifacts — and How to Fix It,” which was posted to our site on
Outlook of the Chemical Industry: Confused Sea State
Get your sea legs ready. The economy is getting choppy, according to Martha Gilchrist Moore, chief economist and managing director, economics and statistics at the American Chemistry Council (ACC).
Why Chemical Plants Are Burning Cash Instead of Recovering Heat
Are you leaving $7.7 million on the table? A single chemical plant identified annual energy savings worth that much through an analysis that took just months to complete. The payback period? Less than two years. The solution? None other than your chemical engineering 101 heat integration through pinch analysis and heat exchanger network optimization.
Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum reads the latest E
June Wrap-Up: CSB’s Bleak Future, Eastman Expands Recycling, DOE Develops Photosynthesis-Inspired Catalyst
The Trump administration has proposed to eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board by October 2026, citing fiscal responsibility and redundancy. Industry experts oppose this move, warning it would remove crucial disaster prevention oversight despite the agency's modest $14 million budget. Meanwhile, recycling advances continue: Eastman expanded molecular recycling operation
Celebrating International Women In Engineering Day
Did you know that today — June 23 — is International Women in Engineering Day (INWED)? Launched by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in the UK in 2014, the event has since grown into an internationally recognized awareness campaign celebrated by various organizations, institutions, and individuals around the world. Each year, INWED adopts a specific theme to focus on women’s contributions to e
Turn Training Hopes Into Measurable Success
In this episode, Traci and Dave focus on training evaluation as the final component of instructional system design. Dave explains that evaluation has two aspects: specific (assessing whether students learned what was taught in a particular course) and global (determining if training improves actual job performance).
The key insight is that evaluation methods should align directly with learning obj
Small Acts, Big Impact: How Micro-Behaviors Shape Teams
In Case You Missed It brings the written word to life. In today’s episode, Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum will read an article from Lauren Neal, Chemical Processing’s Workforce Matters columnist. This column “Small Acts, Big Impact: How Micro-Behaviors Shape Teams” was published to our website June 4, 2025
You know that feeling. You’re in a team meeting, presenting a solid idea, and someone smirks.
Trump Cuts, EPA Restructures, ExxonMobil Expands
In this episode, Executive Editor Jonathan Katz reviews the top news stories for May 2025.
Trump's budget cuts and EPA changes reshape the chemical industry amid expansion.
Operator Training Inefficiency Costs Millions
In Chemical Processing's Distilled Podcast, we discuss flaws in operator training, focusing on "time to train." Companies can waste millions of dollars by not optimizing training duration, often using fixed-length programs regardless of trainees' prior experience. Feedback loops to adjust training time based on individual competency and learning objectives are imperative. Indeed, proper assessment
9 Best Practices for Reliability and Maintenance
This episode from Chemical Processing's Distilled podcast shares industry best practices for chemical plant reliability and maintenance. Key recommendations include understanding equipment failure modes through predictive maintenance techniques like vibration analysis and thermography, developing balanced preventive maintenance programs that avoid over-maintaining equipment, and conducting thoroug
Chocolate: From Theology and Processing to Functional Food
With Easter just behind us and chocolate consumption hitting its second-quarter 2025 peak, it’s a good time to reflect on the theological and processing developments that have got us where we are today.
In this In Case You Missed It Episode, Chemical Processing's Editor-in-Chief Traci Purdum brings the written word to life, and Seán Ottewell, editor-at-large, provides the story.
The original colum
Environmental Policy Shifts Reshape Chemical Industry Landscape
Executive Editor Jonathan Katz highlights the news of April 2025.
Trump's EPA eases regulations while confusion stalls recycling innovation and Dow delays climate investments.
Why Advice Alone Won’t Get You Promoted in the Chemical Industry
Olivia followed all the right steps. As a chemical engineer at a major manufacturing plant, she had a mentor – a senior colleague who gave her great advice on career growth, technical skills and workplace challenges. She networked, took on projects and worked hard.
Yet, after years of effort, she was still in the same role, watching others get ahead.
Then she met Rahul, a senior executive who didn
Earth Day — Lax Regulations Burn Rivers
This Earth Day, the chemical industry finds itself at a crossroads in an era of deregulation.
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, you learn early on all the things that put the city on the map. Two local cartoonists, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, gave the world Superman. The city pioneered traffic safety with the world's first electric signal in 1914, forever changing how streets operate. The Rock and
The Missing Step in Operator Training? Practice
In this episode, Traci and Dave discuss the importance of practice in operator training programs. Practice is often overlooked despite being crucial. Realistic scenarios that mimic real-world conditions, including time constraints and environmental challenges, are beneficial to anchoring lessons learned. Feedback loops are also necessary to evaluate individual performance and improve training prog
Helping Process Manufacturers Enhance Sustainability Efforts
In a recent episode of Ear on Processing from Chemical Processing’s sister brand Processing, chief editor, Jesse Osborne, sat down with Greene Tweed’s business development manager for life sciences markets. They discussed the importance of sustainability for process manufacturers and outlined how Green Tweed’s FFKM products are assisting in that regard.
Enjoy this bonus episode of Distilled.
