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As students are returning to schools and office buildings are being reopened, it’s important to consider the safety of the buildings after extensive closures. Proper precautions need to be taken to ensure building readiness, which introduces a critical question:
How do you return the HVAC system back to normal operations (and continued operations)? Continue reading “Back to School: Precautions for Building Readiness”
When walking through the grocery store and picking up a bag of flour or sugar, you’ve probably never thought about the process that it took to get these items packaged. The small particle size of these materials requires specialized handling to ensure there is minimal damage or loss, which is called pneumatic conveying.
A pneumatic conveying system works by moving the material through an enclosed conveyor line using a combination of pressure differential and the flow of air (or another gas) from a blower or fan. Pneumatic conveying systems can be used to transport cement, starch, sugar, salt, polymers, plastic powder, and other powdered/granular bulk materials. The two most common forms of pneumatic conveying systems are dilute phase and dense phase.
Continue reading “An Introduction to Pneumatic Conveying”
Jaguar. Ford. Ferrari. Three iconic automakers with storied racing pedigrees that have made some of the fastest and most beautiful cars in the world, each draped in a coat of paint of their own signature color: British Racing Green, Ford’s Grabber Blue, and Ferrari’s Rosso Corsa.
Beyond providing a bit of personality and character, a car’s paint also serves a practical purpose: protecting the body, frame, and other components from the elements, preventing rust and corrosion from destroying the raw material underneath. The earliest paint jobs were done by craftsmen such as furniture makers and carriage builders who applied varnish primers and oil-based enamel paints by hand. These finishes were inky, with low opacity and coverage, requiring multiple coats and lengthy drying times. And even with all that work involved, the paint would soon become brittle and start chipping away. Continue reading “Controlling Temperature in Paint Booth Heat Exchange Systems”
The crisp touch of a page, the smoothness of a glossy photograph. Despite using paper for so much throughout our lives, many do not know much about how paper is created besides the vague notion that it comes from trees. In fact, there are several steps for paper to transition from the forest into your hands.
Unless it’s recently stopped running (or run away), you probably haven’t paid much attention to your refrigerator lately. Despite enjoying status among the largest and most frequently used appliances in your home, the refrigerator is a bit of an unsung hero, quietly humming away in your kitchen, keeping lettuce crisp and ice cream velvety smooth. But refrigeration is about so much more than fresh greens and tasty frozen treats; the humble fridge is also the first line of defense against foodborne illness.
Historical trivia: The first practical, ice-cooled refrigerator rail car was invented in Chicago for Swift & Co. in 1878, revolutionizing the meat packing industry and changing the way we eat forever. (Wikipedia – Gustavus Franklin Swift)
According to the CDC, there are 31 pathogens known to cause foodborne illness. In the United States, these pathogens, including norovirus, salmonella, and even Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), are responsible for an estimated 9.4 million cases annually. Many of these cases go beyond typical food poisoning symptoms, resulting in 56,000 hospitalizations and 1,300 deaths.
