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

Cracking

Monitoring cyclone reliability in fluid catalytic crackers

Honeywell UOP: Jawandhiya, A.  |  Panchal, D.  |  Gellaboina, M. K.

The authors’ company has developed a novel approach with a digital algorithm to effectively estimate the current cyclone erosion and predict future erosion based on operating conditions. With this approach, refiners get an automatic way to better predict abrasion lining erosion for both reactors and regenerator cyclones daily from digital analytics, thus helping refiners quantify their monitoring.

Catalytic cracker, distillation units at Venezuela's Amuay refinery resume operations

A catalytic cracker and two distillation units at Venezuela's Amuay refinery, the country's largest, have resumed operations following a power interruption earlier this month.

Sinopec and Técnicas Reunidas JV awarded large petrochemical unit in Kazakhstan

A consortium led by KazMunayGas, Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company, has awarded the development of a steam cracker to a JV formed by the Chinese group Sinopec and the Spanish company Técnicas Reunidas.

Gevo granted U.S. patent for its novel ethanol-to-olefins process technology

Gevo, Inc. announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted to Gevo a patent for its ethanol-to-olefins process, focusing on bio-based renewable fuel and chemical production from alcohols.

Zeopore prepares for global production of economical, premium hydrocracking meso-zeolites

Zeopore is initiating discussions with candidate partners to jointly commercialize its unique zeolite mesoporization route. Combining improved hydrocracking (HDC), Zeopore’s optimized HDC zeolites bring 3 wt%-7wt% more middle distillates, depending on feedstock and process conditions.

Catalyst for 'one-step' conversion of methane to methanol

Scientists demonstrate highly selective catalyst for low-temperature, direct conversion of natural gas to liquid fuel.

BASF outlines its sustainable roadmap towards a circular economy

BASF’s Performance Materials division revealed its strategic roadmap toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and highlights key milestones on its way to a circular economy.

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. 

Meet gasoline quality and process safety requirements through new alkylation technologies

Petrobras: Da Silva, M. W.

The catalytic alkylation process is very attractive to countries with high gasoline consumption and a sizable availability of LPG. This process can produce high-octane gasoline with low levels of contaminants, although there are high capital investment and operational costs associated with this technology.  

BASF introduces Fourtiva FCC catalyst to increase high-octane gasoline blending feedstock

BASF announced the commercial launch of Fourtiva™, a new fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst for gasoil to mild resid feedstock.