August 2020

Mixing tees—in which two fluid streams with different physical and/or chemical properties mix—are widely used in the petrochemical industry.

This article provides an overview of the actions carried out in recent years at Repsol’s Cartagena refinery in Spain to improve the mean time between repairs (MTBR) of the plant’s rotating equipment.

Process engineers must make many decisions to meet production targets, while maintaining the safe and efficient operation of a process unit.

After carbon steel, stainless steel remains the most commonly used material in the petrochemicals and oil and gas industries.

Many factors reduce centrifugal pump reliability. Internal factors include pump design aspects, manufacturing deficiencies, maintenance deficiencies such as lubrication, or process related problems. Other factors are external: the shaft coupling is one of the external elements causing reduced mean-time between failures (MTBF) and pump life through misalignment, friction and unbalance forces.

The oil and gas industry is increasingly installing Coriolis flowmeters as an alternative to the more traditional turbine and positive displacement meters.

Dyno Nobel runs a 2,300-metric tpd purifier plant in Waggaman, Louisiana.

One of the most important pieces of equipment used in many industries is the fire tube boiler.

Amine systems in refineries and gas processing plants are used to remove H₂S, CO₂ and mercaptans (RSH) from gas streams.

Deaerators are mechanical equipment used to remove dissolved gases from boiler feedwater to protect the steam system from the effects of corrosive gases.

The hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) uses various rotating machines, such as pumps, compressors, blowers and turbines.

Refineries, chemical plants and numerous other industrial facilities utilize open recirculating cooling systems equipped with cooling towers for cooling in scores of heat exchangers.

Time series data preparation in process manufacturing applications presents complex challenges, such as differences in data sampling rates, inconsistent or custom units, and the need to access data in multiple systems, among other issues.

Accurate laboratory grab sampling is a delicate process, requiring operators to follow sound best practices to ensure accurate analyzer measurements.

Closed-loop cooling water (CLCW) systems are utilized in areas where cooling is critical.

For more than 98 yr, Hydrocarbon Processing has provided the latest refining and petrochemical processing technologies, know-how and best practices to audiences around the world.

In 1987, a facility producing decaffeinated instant coffee was getting ready to start a novel process unit that included two large, vertically oriented, high-pressure reciprocating pumps in CO₂ service.

Gas-gas ejectors are seeing more applications in the oil and gas industry.

Digital transformation is the “buzzword du jour” in every industry, but nowhere is it more prevalent than in the oil and gas industry.

A low-pressure separator with 139-in. (inner diameter) × 0.59-in. thickness was found to have severe external thinning due to corrosion under fire (CUF) proofing.

In early July, Hydrocarbon Processing announced the finalists for its fourth annual awards.

Over the past several years, greenhouses gas (GHG) emissions have become a pressing global issue.

Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database is tracking nearly 1,400 projects around the world.