April 2002
Special Report: Plant Design and Retrofitting
The ‘stretch’ thinking of project team members produced an innovative building in just one and a half years
A comprehensive workflow methodology and supporting technology framework offer a solid approach to strategically managing assets, before a company invests major resources
Here are the major considerations and contractor evaluation tips
Here are practical tips to help prepare for a journey to the real world of process plants
Having access to detailed, current engineering designs is essential for the safety and efficiency of process plants
Engineering Case Histories
Thermal upsets can cause this problem
Instrumentation/Safety
An organization's safety culture can help bridge this void
Rotating Equipment/Reliability
Several basic steps can give good results
Valves/Heat Transfer
Bolt-on jacketing works in 95% of jacketed applications and eliminates risk of failure
Columns
The information revolution has profoundly changed our lives. The changes have primarily been focused on how we deal with information on a personal level and how companies deal with the..
In September 1999, we met with the reliability team of a well-known petrochemical company - let's call them "WKPC" - to discuss ways to improve the company's reliability performance. A..
It seems like everything I touch lately that has software in it is going bad. My desktop (PC) performance has deteriorated so badly that I decided to give it a lobotomy and reformat th..
If you find yourself in the downstream marketing of gasoline, here is a site you must become very familiar with (http://www.sigma.org/). This site is particularly necessary if you are an ..
The furor surrounding MTBE twists and turns this Spring. In mid-February, results from the Stillwater Associates' draft report, "MTBE phase out in California," to the California Energy ..
Reverse osmosis (RO) technology has improved and become a common method to purify water for boiler makeup. A wealth of technical information is available that addresses how RO systems ..
Trends and Resources
Despite widespread workforce reductions in the U.S. during the last several months, the "war for talent" continues, with leadership and management leading senior executives' lists of t..
Examining strategies and approaches to meet North America's current and future energy needs, including the option of a continental energy strategy, was the focus of a multinational con..
The worldwide magnetic flowmeter market is expected to show solid growth over the next several years. Worldwide sales of magnetic flowmeters totaled $574 million in 2000 and are projec..
Pipe support optimization aids front-end design ASD Global offers a Pipe Support Optimizer product, claimed to addvalue to its existing Optimized Plant Design suite. The product isbased on advanced so..
Exida.com, LLC, Sellersville, Pennsylvania, is forming an operating and engineering companies consortium in the process industries. The goal is to develop procedure and reference data ..
Epoxy grout forms mounting pads, rebuilds concreteDeep Pour Grout is a 100% solids, filled-epoxy compound that issaid to be suitable for forming mounting pads to 6 in. deep;rebuilding spalled concrete..
CB&I completes LNG project CB&I has completed the design, detail engineering, material supply, fabrication, project management, construction, startup and operator training for the 4 bil..
Reformulyzer analysis of gasoline containing ethanolApplication note outlines how AC Analytical Controls Inc.'sReformulyzer ensures gasoline meets environmental regulations. Thisfully automated gas ch..
California decides to delay ban on MTBE as a fuel additive. On March 15, Governor Gray Davis issued a new timeline for MTBE phaseout to be extended one year - to January 2004. The Gove..
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) have joined in a framework agreement regarding changes to the fuels provision of a Senate energy bill. ..
The Thai petroleum industry follows the Thai economy. "For the first time in years, there seems to be a slow but positive underlying trend toward recovery," says a report by Dr. Fereid..
In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Tier II sulfur mandates, as part of the Clean Fuels Program. These required lowering the sulfur concentration in gasolin..
In a competitive and high-risk industry like the construction industry, cooperation among individual contractors, subcontractors, owners and designers is imperative. Technological impr..
Orders for scrubbers and adsorbers will grow from $4.6 billion in 2002 to $5.8 billion in 2006, according to a new forecast from the McIlvaine Co. (www.mcilvainecompany.com). Included ..
In the wake of the Enron scandal, President Bush has announced a plan he said would improve corporate disclosure, add to the oversight of accountants and create new penalties for execu..
Misc
A new cracking route reduces cost of benzene while coproducing ethylene
It's risky to predict the course of economic trends, particularly for refined products' demand and pricing. But analysts continue to make attempts at prognostication. Recently, several..
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