Drivers

Improve monitoring and troubleshooting of reciprocating compressors

Geitner, F. K., Consultant; Bloch, H. P., Professional engineer

The terms surveillance and monitoring for reciprocating compressors can be used interchangeably. With few exceptions, the monitoring and/or surveillance tasks are assigned to the unit operators. They ..

HP Project Management: Pipeline expansion uses rerating to debottleneck services

Piripavel, M., Schneider, S., Flowserve Corp.

The Colonial Pipeline connects refineries primarily on the US Gulf Coast with customer service markets across the southern and eastern US. In 2010, Colonial’s 5,500-mi pipeline was transporting a..

Update on secondary seals for fluid machines

Bloch, Heinz P., Hydrocarbon Processing Staff; Carmody, C., AESSEAL plc

Elastomer-based O-rings are used as secondary sealing components in millions of fluid machines. Although O-ring seals are primarily intended for fluid containment between different but nonrotating com..

HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 80: Sudden temperature change in a centrifugal compressor

Sofronas, A., Consulting Engineer

A process upset occurred that caused the gas temperature of a centrifugal compressor to increase from the design condition of Tstart = 300°F to Tinf = 600°F in t = 0.25 hours. Some engineers..

HP Viewpoint: Optimize control systems with preventive maintenance

Parisi, P., Compressor Controls Corp.

Ensuring equipment integrity by conducting thorough maintenance provides multiple benefits, from maximizing machine uptime and minimizing process shutdowns, to prolonged equipment service life and imp..

HP Reliability: Things to know and do before starting new initiatives

Bloch, Heinz P., Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

HP editors frequently attend technical conferences to keep informed on the many factors impacting the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI). The focus of these conferences often differs. However, one ..

A chemist’s perspective on organic fouling in ethylene operations

Hancock, J. M., Nalco Champion; Van Zijl, A. W., Robson, I., Vachon, J., Hashmi, A., SABIC Technology & Innovation

Since organic fouling cannot be completely eliminated, ethylene producers must use operational, chemical and mechanical methods to minimize heat transfer losses and equipment downtime.

Automate furnace controls to improve safety and energy efficiency

Mickity, D., Phillips 66

Furnace firing is the biggest single operating expense in any refinery. Consider a medium-size refinery (250,000 bpd) that consumes 2,000 MMBtu/h. At a cost of $5/MMBtu, that’s $87.6 MM/yr being ..

Use online conditioning to monitor electric motors

Wilhelm, B., GE Measurement and Control; Neti, P., GE Global Research Center

Quality and health assessments of motor insulation are important aspects during the manufacturing, as well as the operation, of electrical motors. Today, there are several offline insulation quality a..

HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 79: Integral compressor failures

Sofronas, A., Consulting Engineer

Recently, the author received information regarding the failure of a large reciprocating compressor. In this example, the pistons for power and compressor cylinders are powered by the same crankshaft...