September 2007

Here are guidelines for maximizing the reclamation of valuable byproducts to ensure the highest possible return on investment

Emerging technologies to produce gasoline and diesel from renewable biological resources will reshape the agricultural, chemical and refining industries

New catalyst systems fine-tune cracking heavy refractory feeds for FCC and hydrocracking units

Vegetable oil-based diesel can offer better integration within crude-oil refineries for fuels blending

Better communication between various refinery departments enables smoother site operations with increased throughput

The Alberta government is working with industry on ways to diversify the markets for increasing oil sands output to include the export of gasoline, diesel and petrochemical products

Future energy demand will involve innovative methods that can upgrade residual products

Flexible design strategies increase refining profitability

Lessons learned from past winter season provide innovative solutions for ultra-low-sulfur diesel

A simple analysis can help in determining the root cause of the failure

New calculations of pressure loss and predictions of flow pattern in bends

The latest connection and sealing options offer zero-leak integrity and minimized maintenance

Proper unit monitoring is necessary to achieve this goal

Implementing this novel method can save your company money

Life cycle costs will affect feedstock selection for renewable fuels

Consider the distillation column in Fig. 1. It is called a "stabilizer" and removes LPG from naphtha. Every refinery has at least three of them, and often five or more, one each in every crude unit, r..

As is so often the case, compressor components undergo design changes as experience accumulates. Over the years, improved floating-ring shaft seals have become key elements in the uptime improvement ..

Ask a control engineer from the petrochem industry if he/she has heard of the ISA-88 and 95 standards and he/she will likely say "yes," followed by a comment along the lines of "they are the batch sta..

I have to admit that I have problems with the concept of "security of demand." If you build a large, efficient production plant, you'll probably be justified in calling for the market to be able fre..

Gas interchangeability is a common issue for natural gas (NG) distribution networks. Interchangeability must be addressed in major gas markets in which gas is supplied from many different sources with..

Oil and gas companies are facing increasing demands fo..

Demand for motor fuels in the US has steadily grown over the past 15 years. Motor gasoline and diesel demand alone rose by over 3 million barrels/day (MMbpd), from a combined 8.6 MMbpd to 11.7 MMbpd b..

Growth in oil products supply from outside of the refining system will lead to a potential oversupply situation in 2010. So predicts a new downstream report from Wood Mackenzie (www.woodmac.com). Non..

The construction industry continues to grow while its workforce declines. According to the US Department of Labor, construction is one of the top industries in terms of projected job growth. The Bure..

In first-half 2007, German chemical companies profited from stable growth in domestic and world markets. This growth has had positive effects on corporate earnings, the labor market and investments. ..

Driven by a stronger emphasis on plant asset management (PAM) and safety applications, the worldwide market for pressure transmitters is expected to grow an average 5.2%/yr over the next five years. ..

With risks to the supply of reliable, affordable energy escalating, an integrated national strategy is required. So says a major new report by the National Petroleum Council (NPC), a federal advisory ..

The US Department of Energy (DOE) plans to invest $375 million in three new bioenergy research centers that will be located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Madison, Wisconsin; and near Berkeley, California. ..

 Welcome to the debut of the "HPIn Associations" page of Hydrocarbon Processing. Every month, this will be your resource for information on the activities of the advocacy and professional develop..

Horizontal liquefied natural gas storage tanks Mustang Engineering and Wood Group have been awarded a US patent for their LNG Smart Horizontal Storage Tanks. These full-containment tanks offer an alte..

System for corrosive chemical applications The Pyroflex sheet membrane system for corrosive chemical processing applications is said to provide maximum durability and lasting pliability in the demandi..

  BASF started up its new alkylethanolamines plant in Geismar, Louisiana. The new plant complements existing amine production facilities at that site that now include 20 different specialty amine..

  Aker Kvaerner has completed two offshore sulphate removal units (SRUs) in Brazil. The work was executed by Aker Kvaerner Process Systems. The SRU on Petrobras FPSO P50 has a capacity of 220,000..

  The first commercial Frame 5-2E gas turbine manufactured by GE Oil & Gas was shipped recently for installation at Yara Sluiskil B.V.'s fertilizer plant in The Netherlands. The new 30-megawatt c..

  Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has a contract to provide the basic design package for a 900-tpd sulfur recovery unit (SRU) for the Khursaniyah gas plant in Saudi Arabia. The new SRU will recover..

  Aker Kvaerner has a contract with BP, Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) and DuPont to execute the front-end engineering and design for a planned new bioethanol plant in the UK. Aker Kvaerner's..

  Total has a contract with Sonatrach to build a petrochemical complex in Arzew, Algeria. The project encompasses the construction of an ethane cracker and three product lines. It is expected t..

  Specialty gas and equipment Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc.'s new specialty gas and equipment catalog features gas-handling equipment recommendations for over 90 specialty and electronics pure gases and..

  HPI spending marches upward Continued growth for the HPI is expected to lead to increased global spending in 2008. The industry's capital, ma..