Activity

  • Designing for Reliability: Engineered Solution in Powder Discharge Systems Podcast

    Jim Cahill
    Polyethylene and polypropylene are polymer plastics that are widely used in packaging applications. Powder discharge systems handle polyethylene and polypropylene powders during the discharge process. The valves used in this process are challenged due to high-speed requirements, frequent cycling, and the abrasive and intrusive presence of the powder particles. In this episode , Emerson’s Ashwin Kannan joins me to discuss…

  • Using Smart Positioners to Make Smart Decisions

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange 2025 Conference, Control Southern’s Jordan Cain and Emerson’s Daniel Busch presented “Using Smart Valve Positioners to Cut Downtime and Optimize Outages”. Here is their presentation abstract. Valve positioners are vitally important to the accuracy and reliability of a process control loop. Southeastern Combined Cycle Plant utilizes AMS ValveLink to extract real-time control valve health with…

  • Innovative Technologies for Gas Transmission and Distribution

    Jim Cahill
    Technology plays an essential role in the energy transition, particularly among natural gas and propane producers, transporters, and distributors. In an Energy, Oil & Gas magazine article, Innovation with impact , Emerson’s Trent Decker shares ways these innovations contribute to more sustainable operations. Trent shared the challenges faced by natural gas transmission and distribution operators in applications such…

  • H2 Electrolyzer Control Valve Considerations

    Jim Cahill
    Large-scale solar and wind energy projects play a key role in meeting the global demand for renewable energy, but effective energy storage solutions are needed to provide consistent electricity during cloudy or dark hours, and during windless periods. Hydrogen electrolyzers are one such solution, converting excess energy into hydrogen (H2) for storage, transport, and eventual use. Our article in the June 2025 issue…

  • Minor Oil Separator Upgrades Lead to Major Savings

    Jim Cahill
    Oil separators perform a crucial task in upstream petroleum operations, but process control instability can cause product losses and downstream equipment fouling. One facility in Canada faced serious reliability issues with its oil separator, significantly reducing uptime and curtailing throughput. In our article in the November issue of World Oil , titled “Production technology: How a minor instrument upgrade led to…

  • Preventing Desuperheater Nozzle Failures with Routine Testing

    Jim Cahill
    Desuperheaters play a critical role in many steam processes, spraying water into steam to protect downstream equipment from overheating. The heart of a desuperheater is its spray nozzle, but these nozzles are often installed and forgotten until they fail, resulting in expensive repairs and downtime. Our article in the May 2025 issue of Automation.com Monthly , titled “How Desuperheater Nozzle Testing Prevents or Predicts…

  • An Overview of API-6DX

    Jim Cahill
    The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently issued the 25th edition of their API 6D standard, which includes design, testing, and documentation requirements for valve actuators, as outlined in API 6DX. My article in the June 2025 issue of Pipeline & Gas Journal , titled “What Does API 6DX Mean for the Energy Industry?”, provides an overview of the API 6D and 6DX standards, and it informs users about the documentation…

  • Specialized Valves for Effective LNG Operations

    Jim Cahill
    Processing, storing, and transporting LNG requires a host of valves that must perform reliably under very challenging conditions. These valves must deal with cryogenic temperatures, while meeting strict requirements for tight shutoff and low fugitive emissions. Our article in the July 2025 issue of LNG Industry on pages 20-24, titled “Valve equipment and accessories improve operations,” shows how specially designed…

  • New and Improved Severe Service Urea Valves

    Jim Cahill
    The urea process poses extreme challenges for control valves, including high pressures and pressure drops, elevated temperatures, and corrosive carbamate solutions. Our article in the June 2025 issue of Hydrocarbon Processing , titled “New alternatives for severe service urea letdown valve applications,” describes recently introduced control valve designs that extend service life, simplify maintenance, and are more readily…

  • Improving Commissioning and Startup with Control Valve Solutions

    Jim Cahill
    Commissioning and startup of a large process plant is often a difficult task, with hundreds, if not thousands, of workers scrambling to complete their assigned tasks. Amid this chaos, valves and critical accessories are commonly misplaced, damaged, or installed incorrectly, increasing costs and causing production delays. Our article in the May 2025 issue of Processing, titled “Avoid control valve issues during plant…

  • Innovative Diaphragm Technology for Pressure Relief Valves

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Marcelo Dultra shared a presentation, Crosby JDS: Revolutionizing PRV Applications with Diaphragm Technology, at the Emerson Exchange 2025 Conference. Here is his presentation abstract. Dive into the benefits of Crosby JDS’s balanced diaphragm technology as an alternative to traditional bellows in pressure relief valve (PRV) applications. This session will address the limitations of bellows-style PRVs, including…

  • Solving Tough Applications with Severe Service Valves

    Jim Cahill
    At the Emerson Exchange 2025 Conference, Emerson’s Chris Vergos , Justin Goodwin , and Shelby Daniels presented Toughest Application Challenges Solved with Severe Service Innovations. Here is their presentation abstract. Emerson and its Impact Partners assist end users with the specification and selection of the proper control valves for severe service with access to the industry’s most complete line of severe service…

  • Pressure Relief Valve Digital Position Monitoring

    Jim Cahill
    Let’s close out this week with a video of a digital position transmitter to help spot releases on a pressure relief valve. This 4:31 YouTube video, Fisher FIELDVUE 4400 Digital Position Transmitter for Crosby J-Series Pressure Relief Valves , provides a closer look at how this digital position transmitter enables real-time, high-accuracy valve lift data to track pressure relief events and calculate volumetric release…

  • Success in a Challenging Tailings Relocation Project

    Jim Cahill
    I came across a great story of an Australian coal mining company that was looking to extend the life of its mine. The challenge was that the area where they wanted to expand mining operations was currently being used as a tailings storage facility (TSF). Moving the TSF involved relocating 30 million cubic meters of tailings and necessitated modifications to the existing water management system to ensure efficient reclamation…

  • Introductory Electric Valve Actuator Video Series

    Jim Cahill
    Electric valve actuators solve many of the emissions challenges that other forms of valve actuation have. Here you can find an excellent introductory video series on electric valve actuation . The series begins with the basics and explores operation, technology, control, monitoring, and diagnostics. It concludes with an introduction to the Bettis electric actuation portfolio . Here are the videos in the series: …

  • Elevate Your Maintenance Game: The Power of Smart Positioners and Emerson’s Experts Analysis

    Jim Cahill
    During a recent presentation at Emerson Exchange 2025, Daniel Busch, Emerson Senior Valve Condition Monitoring Analyst, and Jordan Cain, Account Manager at Control Southern Inc., presented “Using Smart Positioners to Make Smart Decisions.” An attendee asked, “Do you think AI can replace the Valve Condition Monitoring Analyst role? What are the advantages and limitations of AI in valve monitoring compared to the expertise…

  • Alternative Valve Classes Provide Up to 50% Savings

    Jim Cahill
    When selecting a valve pressure class, users often limit consideration to familiar ASME B16.34 Standard Classes, but awareness of lesser-known ASME classes can lead to significant cost, size, and weight reductions, especially for high-pressure weld end valves. My article in the June 2025 issue of Valve World , titled “ Leverage ASME classes to reduce valve cost by over 50% ,” discusses how manufacturers and purchasers…

  • Experience the Efficiency of Vanessa Triple Offset Valves for Valve Replacement Podcast

    Jim Cahill
    Triple offset valves, such as the Vanessa Series 30,000 triple-offset valve and finding more and more applications, including the replacement of gate, globe, and ball valves. In this Emerson Automation Experts podcast,   Andrea Sutti joins me to discuss the advantages of triple offset valve technology and why it continues to find homes in an increasing number of applications due to its capital expenditure and operational…

  • Wireless Pressure Relief Monitoring for MON Mandate Compliance

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Andrew Cureton presented Don’t Overthink It–Wireless for Chemical Industry MON Mandate Compliance at the 2025 Emerson Exchange Conference. His session explored the monitoring requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules for pressure relief valves. Here is Andrew’s presentation abstract. Can wireless sensors be used to meet EPA monitoring requirements? It sure would eliminate a lot of the…

  • Driving Performance with Digital Valve Controllers

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Jaime Alvarado Millan , Nathan Krasnovsky , and Naman Tahan teamed up to present, Harnessing the Power of Digital Valve Controllers: Introducing Valve Reliability Suite Solutions, at the Emerson Exchange 2025 Conference. Here is their presentation abstract: Ensuring valve reliability starts with acquiring and analyzing data from your digital valve controllers. However, effectively leveraging this data can…

  • Navigating Control Valve Choices

    Jim Cahill
    With so many options available, choosing the right control valve for a specific application can be a daunting task. My article in the March/April issue of Control Engineering , titled “ Choosing the best control valve style for your application ,” provides an overview of typical valve body styles to help end users make the right choice for their application.   Application considerations Deep application understanding…

  • Regulatory Compliance Monitoring Pressure Relief Valves

    Jim Cahill
    Chemical Processing magazine has an excellent article, Understanding Pressure Vessels: Design, Safety and Uses . It highlights types of pressure vessels and their design considerations for safe and reliable operations. I caught up with Emerson’s Michael Machuca, who highlighted the importance of pressure relief technology in pressure vessels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation 40 CFR Part 63 , National…

  • Reducing Wellhead Fugitive Emissions with Electric Actuators

    Jim Cahill
    Fugitive emissions are the unintentional release of gases or vapors. Countries and regions across the globe have regulations to mitigate the environmental and health effects from these releases. Here in the U.S., the Clean Air Act, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, targets volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from industrial facilities. This scope includes valves. The American Petroleum Institute (API…

  • Overcoming safety, sustainability, reliability, and productivity challenges

    Jim Cahill
    Advances in pressure relief valves and associated monitoring systems help process manufacturers reduce emissions, increase performance, and make other improvements. Process manufacturers are faced with many challenges, and in this column, we will discuss how to best cope with these issues in the areas of safety, sustainability, reliability, and productivity. More specifically, we will examine how pressure relief valves…

  • Control Valves for Ammonia Production Efficiency

    Jim Cahill
    Ammonia is well known for being a base ingredient for numerous chemical products and fertilizers. In recent years, amid growing emphasis on sustainability and decarbonization, ammonia has emerged as an energy source and an efficient energy storage and transportation medium. It offers significant logistical advantages over hydrogen, such as easier storage and transportation, positioning it as a practical carrier for hydrogen…

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