Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Analyzers

Thermal decomposition of particulate mercury sulfides in petroleum—Part 1

Chevron Energy Technology Co.: Das, T.  |  Hatakeyama, E.  |  Hoelen, T. P.
Contributing Author: O'Rear, D.

Traces of particulate mercury sulfide (HgS) in stabilized crude oils transform to elemental mercury below 400°C in refinery distillation units. The authors evaluated this transformation and measured reaction rates and activation energies in crude oil and Hg-spiked mineral oil, using glass vessels at atmospheric pressure and a microunit at 1,000 psig.

Prompt engineering: Extracting operational excellence knowledge from AI—Part 1

CEPSA: Larraz, R.

Prompt engineering is an emerging discipline at the intersection of AI and process engineering and will undoubtedly contribute to the hydrocarbon and green molecules processing industries. Parts 1 and 2 (October 2024) of this article explore and provide a glimpse of how this technique can help process engineers and operators to manage the power of advanced AI models to optimize processes, contribute to solve complex problems, and improve operational efficiency in refineries and petrochemical plants.  

Control Station launches System Health Monitoring offering, delivers industry-spanning operational insights

Control Station has launched System Health Monitoring (SHM), a tiered service offering that leverages intelligence captured by the company’s PlantESP Loop Performance Monitoring solution.

Emerson to join the Margo initiative, an open-standard pathway to optimize edge applications

Emerson is joining the Linux Foundation’s Margo, a new open-standard initiative designed to make edge applications, devices and orchestration software work together seamlessly across multi-vendor industrial automation environments.

Utilizing pilot plant operations for new chemical process technology development: A roadmap to scale up success and commercial plant safety

AVN Corp.: Clark, B.  |  Nunley, M.  |  Phillips, G.

To demonstrate a new chemical process technology (flowsheet, raw materials, product) or improve an existing one, pilot plants are designed and operated at a scale between laboratory benchtop and commercial scale—often with specific goals for operability, product quality, economics and process safety. Identifying where potential safety, technical risks or uncertainties may occur is always a key goal in evaluating a new process.

Utilize a hydrogen reactions lab to optimize renewable fuels processing

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Lebrecht, T.  |  Duhamel, D.

Leading technology developers in the refining space are utilizing various catalysts to enhance the adjusted reaction chemistry, but this does not directly address how to optimize hydrogen utilization for the hydrodeoxygenation and isomerization/cracking processing steps. To ensure the right equipment outlay and calibration for these hydrogenation applications, replicating the process in a lab setting can help identify efficiencies and yield improvements for a fraction of the cost that a refiner would incur attempting to achieve that optimization through modifications at commercial scale. 

Innovations

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Emerson has released its Rosemount™ 9195 Wedge Flow Meter, a fully integrated solution consisting of a wedge primary sensor element, supporting components and a selectable Rosemount pressure transmitter.

Planet launches first Tanager-1 hyperspectral satellite to monitor methane emissions

Planet has announced that its first hyperspectral satellite, Tanager-1, along with 36 SuperDoves (Flock 4BE), were successfully launched into orbit during the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission with SpaceX, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday.

Process technology: SICK and Endress+Hauser sign strategic partnership

German sensor company SICK and the Swiss measurement and automation technology specialist Endress+Hauser have agreed on a strategic partnership. Endress+Hauser will take over worldwide sales and service of SICK’s process analyzers and gas flowmeters, with a JV to be established for their production and further development.

SUEZ and hte collaborate for the catalytic valorization of biomass

This collaboration focused on the screening of various catalytic materials to convert biomass-derived feedstocks into sustainable gases.