November 2018

The sheer volume of equipment in a refinery—from vessels, columns, huge structures and mazes of pipes to pumps, valves, controllers and instruments—is staggering.

In this study, a dynamic model of a flare gas recovery system (FGRS) with a high-pressure eductor compression system was developed in a dynamic simulation for process design verification, control scheme evaluation and an availability study.

For more than 30 yr, advanced process control (APC) has established itself as an important and relatively routine and valued part of the industrial process control and operation landscape.

Miles of cables of various diameters are routed into new process plants, industrial plants, petrochemical plants, refineries and other industrial applications.

The reformate market is changing.

In the recent past, many US refineries have been reconfigured to process heavy opportunistic sour crudes.

Steam ejector vacuum systems are the most common means of creating and maintaining a vacuum in the process units of oil and gas processing facilities.

As the technology surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones (FIG. 1), continues to advance, so too do the ways they are used.

The oil and gas industry is no stranger to the power of Industry 4.0 solutions that aggregate sensor and planning/forecasting data into a single shared view, as well as deliver valuable analytics and real-time alerting capabilities.

Flow distribution is widely encountered in refinery operations, such as air distribution to burners, fluid distribution to parallel heat exchangers and the distribution of reactants in reactors.

If you have ever sized or selected a pressure safety relief valve (PSV) using vendor sizing programs or hand calculations, you have probably run into a strange anomaly.

In this editorial comment and the next, we look back at the downstream processing industry in 2018, and into 2019 and beyond.

Suppose you are among the average mid-size plants that simply cannot afford to hire, train or otherwise employ subject matter experts (SMEs) in every one of the different disciplines within your company.

Steam boiler explosions happen all over the world, as an internet search will reveal.

The digitalization of chemical processes is becoming a critical factor in ensuring the profitability of chemical plants.

Effective change leadership critical for successful digital transformation

In April, ExxonMobil launched its 2018 Basestocks Industry Pulse Report. Supported by survey responses from 300 base oil decision makers around the world, the report reveals their own perspectives into the key market trends and industry drivers in the base oils business.

Until a few years ago, the term Industrial Revolution referred to the significant technological changes that began in the late 1700s with the advent of the steam engine, leading to the mechanization of work and the unprecedented economic growth and prosperity that followed.

Digital transformation in oil and gas: Is the hype justified and is the industry going far enough?

As mentioned in the editorial comment of the October issue of Hydrocarbon Processing, the nominees for the 2018 Top Project awards are out.

The oil and gas industry is at a turning point.

Refinery margins weakened on retreating demand and backlash from nature, despite the onset of peak refinery maintenance season.

Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database is tracking more than 1,300 active projects in the hydrocarbon processing industries worldwide.