Pumping slurries : Save energy by tailoring particle size distribution

The increasing demands of environmental regulations have forced many companies to seek software-based solutions to track the associated volume of data. Off-the-shelf software packages can minimize the amount of time spent gathering, calculating and sorting such data. PPG Industries'Lake Charles, La., facility recently conducted a two-year evaluation of competing data-management options, in search of a software package to assist in performing air emissions calculations and Title V compliance. The following steps, undertaken by PPG, are discussed in this article: mapping existing data-management processes, defining facility-wide requirements, forming an evaluation team, meeting with vendors and writing a formal request for information, and implementing the system. These steps may be applied successfully to the evaluation of any data-management tool.