January 1998

Since reliability is a trendy term, which is used by the both the weakest and strongest players in the HPI, it is prudent to occasionally remind ourselves of the meaning of this word. Reliability is..

We've all heard of the American Petroleum Institute (API) and all it does for the industry. But, if you are like me, you may have never heard of the API EnCompass. EnCompass was created in 1954 by a g..

The Kyoto conference on global warming has produced several energy-rationing decisions that will impact all nations. No one is completely satisfied. Environmentalists claim that there are too many con..

Two women were crossing the U.S. in a hot air balloon. During the night, a violent storm blew, wrecking all their navigational systems. The storm stopped just before dawn, and as daylight came, they f..

Events unfolding in California over the past few months could signal the end of the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive. Arising concerns over water contamination from leaking gasoline underground stor..

Return on investment (ROI) is a key meter of performance on executive management's "dashboard." This is because ROI – sometimes called return on capital employed or return on assets – is use..

Terra to add ammonia loop to methanol plant Terra Industries Inc. has awarded a contract to Foster Wheeler USA Corporation (FWUSA) to provide services for a project to add an ammonia production loo..

Asia's methanol demand varies significantly among the many countries within this region. Each is at different development stages. The area's methanol market is divided into several regions: Northeast ..

The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has established a program to conduct research and demonstrate technologies related to fine particle matter, an air pollutan..

Ozone concentrations in the lower atmosphere can have an adverse impact on human health. The World Health Organization (WHO)-Europe has recommended an air quality guideline of 120 µg/m3 (8-hr ave..

A recent survey from The Associated Octel Co. Ltd., London, UK, details the quality and consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel marketed worldwide during 1996. The following are key highlights from th..

 Fig. 1   Toxic Release Inventory, millions of pounds reported. ..

U.S. demand for ethylene is forecast to grow from 50 billion pounds (Blb) in 1996 to 63 Blb in 2005. This is a compound average growth of 2.9% or growth at a rate of 1.25 times GDP. So says a recent r..

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has become an accredited International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000 Quality System Registrar. This new API Quality Registrar (APIQR) service pr..

The European Program on Emissions, Fuels and Engine Technologies (EPEFE) has done significant research on the interactions between engine technologies and fuel quality on exhaust emissions. A CONCAWE ..

A bus that runs with an extra clean and silent engine has been developed through cooperative efforts of three Dutch organizations. DAF, Vialle and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientifi..

We will hold our second annual Process Optimization Conference and Exhibit, March 23 – 27, at the Marriott Westside Hotel in Houston. This conference is unique in that it brings together many asp..

Wendy Weirauch, Technical Editor       Comments? Write: WW@HydrocarbonProcessing.com Petroleum dem..