May 2008

The results were reduced vibration and seal leaks at this plant

An electronic stethoscope, digital recorder and computer program can detect and diagnose many incipient equipment failures

A US refiner significantly reduced flowmeter maintenance costs and improved safety by changing to ultrasonic flowmeters for coker furnace feed flow. A second refiner chose to install ultrasonic meters from the start.

Here's how the erosion and corrosion problems were solved

Savings can be realized by using the most suitable API seal flush plan

Excessive thermal stresses can be the cause

Internet-based technologies improve managing environmental and safety information in petrochemical facilities

Recovering lost heat energy can improve the bottom-line for any refinery

The significance of the acceleration term in pressure drop calculations is investigated

As with any new and significant development, plant managers may eventually wonder how they were able to effectively perform their work before this technology existed

New calculation improves estimating minimum flash temperature for petroleum products

Here is the typical scenario: An explosion rips through a refinery (and when an explosion happens, the heat is on). As usual, the organization reacts swiftly. The customary failed assets remediation t..

Could it be that a financially talented cadre managing fantastic swathes of wealth has not only "bought" peak oil theory, but has been investing massively in what amounts to a classic bull market sque..

LORAINE A. HUCHLER, Contributing Editor    Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com If legionella bacteria were present in the..

Mini-LNG concept plants operating worldwide Global Cryo Systems, a member of the Dubai-based Global Process Systems Group, has developed an innovative concept for mini-liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) plan..

  Fieldbus Foundation, HART and Profibus work together The Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation and Profibus are working together..

Custom-fabricated ASME pressure vessels Company offers "design to delivery" capability to fabricate custom ASME-coded pressure vessels. With over 27 years of experience, South Gate Engineering has per..

The MapleLNG liquefied natural gas project in Goldboro, Canada, took another major step forward, receiving a positive decision on the comprehensive study report from the Canadian environment minister..

Skanska has a contract to build a hydrodesulphurization (HDS) unit at a Refap refinery in Brazil. Skanska's contract amount totals $150 million. The contract covers construction of the HDS unit at R..

Technip has a lumpsum front-end engineering design (FEED) contract with Shtokman Development Co. for the onshore portion of the first phase of the Shtokman gas project in Russia. The Shtokman gas fie..

CB&I has a contract for approximately $40 million for several large water storage tanks to be built at an independent water and power plant project in the Middle East. The project is scheduled to b..

Alfa Laval has an order for plate heat exchangers to the power industry in China. The order value is about SEK 90 million. Delivery is scheduled for 2010.   The Supreme Council of Datus Alimao..

Showcasing sensor and control products Gems Sensors & Controls' new 12-page product overview brochure showcases its family of level, flow and pressure sensors, and valves and relay cont..

Industry perspective Our key challenge is to squeeze even more from an energy system that already produces about 420 million gallons of oil equival..

China will continue its high growth momentum over the next two years. But with an expected slowdown in world economy and the Chinese government's determination to cool the economy, growth will likely ..

In 2007, global LNG demand reached approximately 172.4 million metric tons (MMton), a rise of roughly 13 MMton (or 8%) compared to 2006. The largest growth on a percentage basis occurred in the Americ..

While most European firms are very aware of the EU's newest rules on chemicals and their safe use, many North American companies are falling behind in their knowledge of the law's impact and scope. So..

Technologies for propylene oxide (PO) production are undergoing a flurry of activity, according to a new outlook from global energy consultancy Nexant, Inc. (www.nexant.com). Since the commercializati..

The cyclicality of the ethylene business has been a constant for many years. Balancing the addition of new capacity against a forecast for demand growth in a manner that does not create significant l..

World demand for biofuels will expand nearly 20%/yr to 92 million metric tons in 2011, despite recent concerns about the impact of biofuels on the environment and world food supplies. A recent outlook..

The conventional method is expanded and a series of guidelines are developed

Give and take on peak oil This is a good column on peak oil production ("HPIn Europe," March 2008, p. 11). I have been watching this topic since 2000 when I was at BP. Factoring in the rapidly growin..

DAVE WOLL, Contributing editor       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com Several months ago the ARC Advisory Group conducted user-dr..

Heat-integrated distributed distillation in crude oil fractionation can reduce energy consumption and emissions