Traci Purdum

13 hours ago | chemicalprocessing.com | Traci Purdum

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 thorough root cause analysis using methods such as 5-why analysis and fishbone diagrams.

3 days ago | chemicalprocessing.com | Traci Purdum

In this episode, Trish and Traci discuss the catastrophic failure at Queensland's Callide Power Station C4 on May 25, 2021, which caused power outages for 470,000 people.  During a routine switching operation to replace DC battery systems, a voltage drop was misinterpreted as an AC fault, triggering a cascading failure. Both AC and DC systems failed, leaving the turbine without lubrication while it continued spinning backwards at 3,000 RPM.

1 week ago | chemicalprocessing.com | Traci Purdum

The first swipe at President Trump’s budget plan has been inked. The proposal calls for $163 billion in cuts to federal spending. Sent to Susan Collins, chair of the Committee on Appropriations, the cover letter from Russell T. Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, states:This letter provides President Trump's recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026.

2 weeks ago | chemicalprocessing.com | Traci Purdum

Slideshow: Top Reading in April 2025Deregulation, plastics alternatives, how-to on pressure vessels, vacuum tower troubleshooting and the fate of the Chemical Safety Board were among the most popular articles in April.

2 weeks ago | chemicalprocessing.com | Traci Purdum

That last bit has been on my mind since Jan. 20, when the second Trump administration took office. I’ve contacted sources within the CSB and those who deal with the independent federal agency to ask whether they know the fate. No one has answered, and I am guessing it’s because they don’t know, either. And I’m not pressing this issue because I’m superstitious and don’t want to jinx things. However, I did attend CSB’s quarterly meeting April 24 to see if any hand-tipping would happen.