FRI Member Companies

To be able to design large distillation columns properly and safely, we at BASF rely on a wealth of data from production-scale measurements for packings and trays. These measurements are usually very time-consuming and expensive. The membership in FRI enables us to access and share an extensive data pool in collaboration with other companies and institutes. At the same time, we benefit from results of various research projects aimed at a better understanding of the numerous phenomena within distillation columns. Our active engagement in the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the Technical Committee (TC) as well as the exchange with other members, especially also with suppliers of packings and trays, helps us to identify topics we will focus on in the future.  For us, this commitment pays off, as it allows us to reduce the investment as well as the operating costs for new columns.

Mass transfer technology is the core of our business.  FRI is a wonderful and valuable opportunity for us to gain new insight on distillation and also contribute to the knowledge and capabilities of our industries.  Generally speaking, we all move forward together.  If FRI membership can help you to avoid or fix one problem column a year or substantially improve the operation of one column, the fees are easily justified. 

One of our operating facilities is considering a capacity expansion project, but also needs to occasionally run at very low rates.

The report that Tony Cai and Mark Cavett put together has been an exceptionally useful reference for me to share with the folks at the site, to help them better grasp the potential for problems if we are not thoughtful about how we approach covering the full desired operating range. 

In particular the embedded video clips, in conjunction with explanatory text, drive home the potential concern about vibrations during extended low rate operation in a way that several past attempts at explanation on my part could not.

FRI's efforts in capturing the information gleaned during the DST-23 study, and summarizing it so clearly, are both useful and appreciated.

Member Testimonial

Many times the companies, we work for, have established a set of guidelines as good Distillation practice. The DPC provides new good ideas that challenge these established practices and keep them “evergreen.” The DPC handbook is a wonderful resource that can provide an unbiased “second opinion” to many of today’s challenging Distillation needs.