September 2008

New process most-effectively stretches sulfure recovery capacity

Here are the advantages and disadvantages from this technology

Have a full economic representation without significantly increasing complexity

Oil sands based crudes bring extra processing challenges for crude units and wastewater treatment plans

Four case studies reveal that by outsourcing their preheat monitoring, refiners can achieve substantial benefits regardless of unit charge rates or types of crudes processed

This refiner processed an exceptionally difficult feed and wanted to increase light products production with minimal modifications and costs

An alternative safer, easier method to activate catalysts

Corrosion and fouling in the second preheat exchangers were eliminated

Most complex equipment can be simplified

A practical, less-complicated method for different emergency cases

People do not speak much about advanced process control (APC) of alkylation product separation. Why? Precise product separation is crucial to alkylation unit economics. Alky reactor effluent is separa..

 While the operating characteristics and run-length capabilities of all dual-mechanical seals are strongly influenced by the condition of the fluid in the sealing cavity, seal life expectancy is ..

Last month, I wrote my column on the day of the launch of T. Boone Pickens' 10-year plan for a less energy-dependent America. This was followed a week or so later by Al Gore's challenge to the US to a..

Despite global economic uncertainty, the market for process manufacturing and automation remains strong. This is especially evident in the global distributed control systems (DCS) market, which grew b..

Words of wisdom from API's retiring chief Red Cavaney is stepping down later this fall from his position as president and CEO of the American Petro..

'Revolutionary' portable video borescope GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies has released the XL Go VideoProbe. Weighing only 3.8 lb, it is claimed to be the most portable, lightweight, high-resoluti..

Defense against harmful alarm system changes Auditing alarm settings identifies discrepancies between a known good alarm profile and a current profile. This ensures that you, your site, your business ..

CB&I has a contract in excess of $100 million with a major North American refiner to design and build a sulfur processing complex. This project was awarded in the second quarter of 2008 and is schedu..

Venezuela and Ecuador plan to build a joint-venture 300,000-bpd refinery on Ecuador's Pacific coast. Ecuadorean Energy and Mines Minister Galo Chiriboga said the project will include a petrochemical ..

M. W. Kellogg Ltd. (MWKL) has a contract to provide detailed engineering and procurement services for a coker revamp project at StatoilHydro's Mongstad refinery near Bergen, Norway. The project will ..

BILLY THINNES, News Editor       Comments? Write: BT@HydrocarbonProcessing.com ConocoPhillips and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co...

Sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. have an agreement to construct a 10 million-tpy refinery and chemical complex in Nansha, China. The complex is expected to be built with a proposed investment of $7..

Climate change Viewpoint reaction In the July 2008 issue (p. 21), Hydrocarbon Processing Editor Les Kane wrote a Viewpoint editorial titled, "Climate change and computer models." What follows is a sa..

Global policies constrain oil supply The world will experience a serious oil supply crunch within 5 to 10 years unless there is a collapse in oil d..

A comprehensive research study by the American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF) and Navigant Consulting, Inc. indicates that the US has 2,247 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas reserves. This amoun..

Many organizations in the engineering and construction industry recognize the importance of a lessons-learned program (LLP), which plays an essential role in knowledge management systems. In such orga..

The number of projects reported in the HPI Construction Boxscore continues to reach new highs. Projects increased by 12% from 2007 levels to total 5,029. This increase occurred despite increasing worr..

At a time when rising energy demand is generating fears of sky-high prices, a supply crunch or both—and when a military conflict has directed the world's focus on Russia—the activities of ..

A new report released by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy suggests strategies to deal with the current turmoil in the global energy markets, including the role of petrodollars in t..

ALLEN AVERY, Contributing editor       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com Natural gas (NG) has become an important part of the ener..

New research is identifying processing routes to convert cellulosic biomass into transportation fuels

Spanish refiner uses next-generation simulation tools to cost-effectively select new catalysts