Environment
Refining: Despite decline, Group 1 base stocks are here to stay
Given increasingly stringent automotive specifications and the advent of the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 sulfur regulations, the continued decrease in Group I base stocks demand should come as no surprise for anyone in the industry.
Reliability: Reliability engineering on offshore platforms
Offshore platforms have had their fair share of successes and failures over the years, and to say that their reliability experiences contain lessons for all of us is an understatement.
Business Trends: The downstream dilemma: Past, present and future of downstream energy
The oil industry’s interest in the downstream segment of the business has known ups and downs. This article reviews the past, present and projected future of the downstream sector and its companies.
Industry Perspectives: The Main Column podcast: Crucial topics shaping the industry
In the February issue of Hydrocarbon Processing, the editors asked our global readership what topics they would like to hear on the publication’s new podcast series: The Main Column.
IMO 2020 and the importance of nonlinear blending properties calculation
With 2020 here, fuel blenders, shipowners, and fuel oil producers and users are concerned about what will happen this year, with the sulfur content in bunker fuel reduced from 3.5 wt% to 0.5 wt%, as per International Maritime Organization 2020 (IMO 2020) rules.
Octane enhancement avoiding both high reformer severity and alkylation
An innovative refinery process arrangementa converts butane-rich, light paraffinic streams—preferably containing a high proportion of isobutane—into butylene by dehydrogenation.
Cost-effective naphtha hydrotreating unit revamp to increase high-octane reformate production
India, which is the third-largest economy in the world, is home to nearly 18% of the world’s population (nearly 1.4 B).
Safe and sustainable alkylation: Performance and update on composite ionic liquid alkylation technology
Market and regulatory factors are pressuring refiners to adopt safe and sustainable processes for the production of clean-burning and environmentally friendly fuels.
Safety: Where foresight replaces hindsight: How AI impacts the future of oil and gas safety
According to the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), there were 31 fatal incidents across the industry in 2018.
Demineralized water system design: Considerations for the petrochemical industry—Part 1
Site utility leads, engineers and other professionals in the hydrocarbon/chemical processing industries (HPI/CPI) are facing a perfect storm of increasing demineralized water demand, end of life of existing demineralized water plant equipment, changing source water quality, corporate directives to diversify water sources, and pressure from regulators and community stakeholders to minimize the volume of waste generated from water treatment.

- Mitsui Chemicals studying use of ethanol to make petrochemicals 5/16
- Lotte Chemical to start operating Indonesia cracker in H2 2025 5/16
- hte, Mitsubishi Chemical partner to screen MMA oxidation catalysts 5/16
- U.S. EPA to rule on backlog of small refinery biofuel exemption requests 5/16
- Some Brazil sugar mills weighing switch to ethanol 5/16
- AFPM honors top refining and petrochemical facilities 5/16