The Most Read HPS Articles of 2018
With 2019 now underway, we thought we’d take a look back to find the top ten most-read articles on the HPS blog in 2018. If you follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms, you may have noticed last month that we counted down the most popular blogs using the hashtag #HPSMostPopularBlogs2018.
So, here are the top 10, pipe pigging and industry related blogs of 2018.
Want to get involved? Please let us know your favourite and give us suggestions for future blog posts. We look forward to hearing from you!
10. Contamination and Cross-Contamination in Paint Manufacture
The focus of this blog article is on contamination and cross-contamination in paint and coatings manufacture. Contamination is a major issue impacting paint manufacturers, as it not only poses a risk to product quality but also to a company’s reputation and consumer confidence.
As well as providing an overview of the different types of contamination, this blog looks at the implications of environmental regulations and the shift toward waterborne paints. It also details why product recovery (‘pigging’) systems are in wide use by paint and coatings manufacturers.
You can read more at Contamination and Cross Contamination in Paint Manufacture
9. Pig Launchers and Pig Receivers
Pig Launchers and Pig Receivers also made the top ten in ‘Best of 2017 – HPS’s Most Popular Blogs of 2017’. Pig launch and receive stations are important components of hygienic process pigging systems. Their function is to introduce the pipeline pig (or pigs) safely to the line and propel the pig to and from source and destination.
This blog article provides an overview of the fundamental components. It also includes information on what they do and how they work.
Read more: Pig Launchers and Pig Receivers
8. Sustainability in the Cosmetics and Personal Care Industry
Sustainability is a major strategic issue for all industries, including the Cosmetics and Personal Care Industry. This blog article looks at what some manufacturers are doing to cut waste, reduce the use of energy, raw materials and natural resources and thus reduce their environmental impact.
It also looks at how cosmetics and personal care companies can achieve significant environmental gains by implementing pipeline product recovery systems into their processing plants.
Read more: Sustainability in the Cosmetics and Personal Care Industry
7. Pipeline Pig Tracking
This blog article provides an overview of pipeline pig tracking equipment in hygienic (or sanitary) pigging systems. Pig tracking is important as it enables manufacturers to know the precise location of the pig as it travels through the pipeline. This, in turn, enables the system to run safely, effectively and efficiently.
Forms of pipeline tracking include magnetised pigs and pig detection systems.
You can read more at Pipeline Pig Tracking
6. How Do Pigs Move Along Pipes
A frequent question we often get asked is ‘how do pigs travel through pipelines’, so we dedicated a blog article to it. This article includes information on the pressure required to pig a system, the speed at which pigs travel, the different types of propellent i.e. gas or liquid that move the pig along the pipe or tubing, plus much more.
Read more: How Do Pigs Move Along Pipes?
5. How to Prevent Aeration During Liquid Processing
Aeration and foaming can cause major problems for liquid processing companies, as it can cause delays and, worst case scenario, may render the product unusable. This blog article identifies some of the causes of aeration and foaming. It also looks at how pigging (specifically the double-pig system) can stop liquid foaming in pipelines.
The double-pig pigging systems are frequently used with products susceptible to foaming, as well as those that would be comprised by coming into contact with air such as wine.
You can read more atHow to Prevent Aeration During Liquid Processing
4.The Sugar Tax – What’s the (Sweet) Alternative?
The UK Sugar Tax, formally known as the ‘Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ was introduced in April 2018, with the aim to reduce consumption of sugar and combat the childhood obesity epidemic rife in the UK. This blog article provides an overview of the sugar tax and looks at the challenges facing soft drink companies including reformulation.
It also reviews some of the options available to companies, including natural sweeteners (Stevia), artificial sugar substitutes such as sucralose, and natural alternatives (honey).
Read more: The Sugar Tax: What’s the Sweet Alternative?
3. Beer Industry: Environmental Concerns and Regulations
Beer is a multi-billion-dollar industry and is predicted to exceed $750 billion in sales by 2022. Despite this, the beer industry continues to face numerous challenges, including environmental issues, and regulatory challenges.
This blog article provides an overview of these challenges and looks at why many breweries are optimising their processes and adopting sustainable technologies such as pigging into their operations. Pigging offers many benefits to beer companies, such as improving production efficiency, reducing water, energy usage and minimising contamination risks.
Read more: Beer Industry: Environmental Concerns and Regulations
2. Facing Challenges in the Chocolate and Confectionery Industry
The chocolate and confectionery industry is a key industry that HPS provide pipeline pigging products, services and equipment for. This blog article looks at some of the challenges facing chocolate manufacturers that have an impact on their bottom line. Challenges include fluctuations in raw material pricing, government regulation, competitive pressure as well as the weakening of the pound. It also looks at some of the routes available to manufacturers to overcome these challenges.
The article also explains how pigging can help chocolate and candy manufacturers. As well as enabling manufacturers to recover as much product during the manufacturing process as possible, pigging reduces product wastage, lowers costs and speeds up processing.
Read more: Facing Challenges in the Chocolate and Confectionery Industry
And the winner of #HPSMostPopularBlog2018 is…
1. The Impact of Industry 4.0
For the second year running, ‘The Impact of Industry 4.0’ takes the top spot and is our most read and popular blog for 2018.
This article provides an overview of Industry 4.0, also referred to as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. It looks at some of the challenges and opportunities offered to industries such as the food and beverage industry. The food and beverage industry is poised to benefit significantly by the implementation of industry 4.0 with improvements expected in productivity, efficiency, quality assurance and vigilance over food safety.
This blog article also looks at the role of pigging systems in Industry 4.0, specifically automated pigging solutions.
Read more: The Impact of Industry 4.0
Thank You for Reading Our Blogs
Thank you to all those who read our blog articles last year. We’re constantly publishing new posts on the HPS blog, with key information and insights about pigging, company news, as well as industry-related posts, so make sure to visit our blog page often. Also don’t forgot to follow us on social media, as we regularly provide updates including when our blog has a new post.
If you have any questions about pigging, product recovery and liquid transfer solutions, simply contact HPS!