October 2007

A new digital control system incorporating fieldbus provided substantial benefits

Manipulated variable analysis is much simpler than controlled variable analysis for determining controller health

A procedure using Markov chains provides insights based on HAZOP report information

Here's how to manage the many disparate technologies

The key issue is delivering enough power to a large number of field devices

This technology can improve reliability while reducing operating costs

The filtering technology has no time delay

PetroChina has improved ethylene production efficiency and plant safety

Using this simple correlation can help determine proper storage for these products

New guidelines help engineers fine-tune heaters to consume less fuel and improve thermal efficiencies

Cost and benefit criteria are applied to a multi-equipment system

New developments in alkylation processes mitigate risk while reducing operating costs

Improved refinery planning involves two-way communication with plant groups

Analyzing this element is essential for polyolefin producers to improve catalyst performance

The US Chemical Safety Board's fatal blast report makes it imperative to take a serious look at your plant's loss prevention practices, particularly the instrumentation and sensors that provide critical information for prompt action

Part 1 of this editorial (September issue) discussed a debutanizer control strategy (Fig. 1). Given that feed composition varies with ambient conditions, one could argue that unless you have advanced ..

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet a very experienced machinery reliability professional at a refinery in the UK. Among his many tasks was tracking mean-time-between-failures (MTBFs) of..

Safety culture is a term that was introduced in 1986 by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group in a report published after the Chernobyl disaster. A widely cited definition from the UK Health..

The controversy over bunker fuels is growing and broadening its reach. Dominic Boot, director of the Netherlands Petroleum Industries Association (VNPI) was recently in touch. He sees calls for a new ..

The liquefaction plant is the central component of the value chain linking natural gas (NG) reserves to end users. Because the liquefaction process is crucial to attaining optimum business performan..

The concept of using a special-purpose programmable logic control (PLC)/controller designed for fail-safe operation started over 25 years ago. The early programmable machines were designed applying th..

"HPIn Associations" offers event listings and keeps track of association leadership.  We interview professional staff and high-ranking advisory board members, asking about their goals, lobbying p..

Sensors for chemical industry applications InPro 4260 pH probes are said to integrate a patented polymer composition, XEROLYT EXTRA, with an open junction reference system to ensure the performance an..

  HNNG Development LLC has commissioned a nitrogen rejection unit (NRU) for Oso Oil & Gas Properties LLC to treat gas vented from an underground coal mine in Carbon County, Utah. HNNG's role in t..

  Integrated Biodiesel Industries Ltd. (IBI) has an agreement with biodiesel producer Diferal S.A. to buy a minority equity stake in the company and to market the total output of its plant. Dif..

  A subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Ltd.'s Global Power Group has a contract with Jyvaskylan Energia Oy for a 200-MWe (gross megawatt electric) circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generator. Th..

  Aker Kvaerner has a contract with Gemsa Petroleum Co. for operation, management and maintenance of the Al Zaafarana FPSO located offshore Egypt in the Red Sea. The contract value is NOK 200 mil..

  Aker Kvaerner has a contract with Reliance Petroleum Ltd. to provide project management, procurement and engineering services for a new polypropylene plant being built in a special economic zon..

  Emerson Process Management has completed the commissioning phase of a project with BP Angola for the automation of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO). The vessel, whi..

  Expanded line of electronic metering pumps  Neptune Chemical Pump Co. offers a 10-page brochure featuring its full line of Tacmina PZ series electronic metering pumps. Details in..

  Energy use in IEA "Improvements in energy efficiency have played a key role in limiting increases in energy use and CO2 emissions in IEA coun..

Imports of LPG into China peaked at 6.4 million tons in 2004. At the time, that amount wasn't expected to be the "peak." The anticipation then was of further LPG demand and import growth. However, LPG..

CMAI recently completed an annual global study covering the period 2002 to 2012 for the terephthalates and polyester markets. Major polyester chain products include terephthalic acid (TPA) and dimethy..

The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA), recently released its annual Refining and Storage Capacity Report. The report contains data supplied by the Energy Information Administration ..

The concern about acute labor shortages in the HPI has been receiving global focus. One avenue—drawing women into the engineering field and retaining their services—continues to be a parti..

Overall, the bioethanol industry is evolving from a base primarily of fermenting grain (corn, wheat, milo, etc.), sugar (sugarcane and beet) and starch (cassava, potatoes, etc.) to cellulose fermentat..

The call for protecting industrial automation and control system (IACS) computer environments from malicious cyber intrusions has grown significantly over the past decade. A combination of increased u..

 WENDY WEIRAUCH, Managing Editor       Comments? Write:WW@HydrocarbonProcessing.com In 2006, Asian oil demand grew by 336 thousand barrels/day (Mbpd), while glob..

The US biofuels market is developing rapidly, spurred both from President Bush's State of the Union address commitment to reduce dependence on foreign oil, and by a growing concern about the global en..

More processing to reach tighter fuel specifications and Europe's growing appetite for diesel means that carefully selected biofuels will have to bear the weight of efforts to reduce fuel-chain CO2 emissions