July 2024

An unease around potential high temperature and pressures during fresh catalyst and adsorbent startups—which can lead to situations where designed pressures and temperatures are exceeded—led the authors’ company to create the Catalyst Safety Assessment (CSA) methodology.

Hydroprocessing units in refineries process crude oil feedstocks in the presence of hydrogen and catalysts at high temperatures and pressures to produce clean fuels (i.e., gasoline, diesel, jet) while meeting stringent environmental standards dictated by U.S. and EU frameworks.

The accidental release of emissions can happen at numerous locations throughout refineries and chemical plants.

Business philosophies often stress the importance of continuous improvement to gain sustainable competitive advantages.

Producing photographs of and within process plants requires special attention and discipline.

This article highlights the challenges faced by plant engineers in accurately determining damage mechanisms, discussing three common illusions of accuracy including temperature limits, reliance on single references, and confirmation bias during failure investigations.

Effective routine maintenance begins with effective leadership. Leadership requirements for a robust routine maintenance program include some high-level deliverables.

A smooth startup of an amine system begins with properly taking the system out of service.

In the petrochemical industry, olefin crackers utilize significant amounts of heat to crack hydrocarbons into essential chemicals, such as olefins and aromatics.

Petroleum refining is an energy intensive process. Although the level of energy efficiency, in general, is relatively higher in oil refining compared to the steel or cement sectors, there is still a scope for improvement.

Hydrogen is a critical resource for many industries, especially as sustainability remains a high priority.

The global pressures posed by climate change and other environmental challenges have elevated sustainability to a worldwide corporate priority.

The mixing of tank contents is required when components or additives must be blended into a product—typical examples include gasoline or lube oil blending where both components and additives must be blended to produce a uniform product.

This article provides an overview of the global petrochemicals sector’s workforce, as well as how AI is reshaping job roles, skills, adoption, popularity and policy awareness across the industry, and anticipate the major risks and opportunities it presents.

Compact, rugged PC built to connect the industrial floor to the cloud

Senior appointment deepens KBR’s digital engineering expertise