Europe
Automate furnace controls to improve safety and energy efficiency
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 ..
Targeted liquid injection improves shed deck performance
This case study shows how the installation of an unique piping and lance design achieved targeted liquid injection, quenched vapor hot zones and reduced resid entrainment into the heavy coker gasoil product.
HP Reliability: Normalization of deviance can kill
On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart just 73 seconds after launch. The seven-member crew of the shuttle lived until 3 minutes and 58 seconds after launch, w..
HP Automation Strategies: Working toward a more profitable model-based control technology
Last November, the European Union (EU) Autoprofit project held a workshop near Amsterdam for academia, users, and suppliers. The workshop organizers presented the results of the soon-to-be-completed m..
HP Project Management: Better strategies avoid project delays—Part 3
The first two parts of this series analyzed the root causes of project delays and proposed strategies to avoid schedule overruns. This final part reviews construction planning.Construction planningOne..
HP Petrochemicals: Future vehicle design will need collaboration among HPI and auto manufacturers
The US automotive market is under stress to meet new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) targets of 50 mpg for 2025 model vehicles. The tighter fuel specifications will bring together automobile man..
HP Water Management: What should cooling tower owners do about legionella?
The first awareness of the risks of legionella bacteria in cooling water was the outbreak of Legionellosis at the hotel hosting the Legionnaires’ Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1976..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 79: Integral compressor failures
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...
HP Viewpoint: Transformation of downstream automation and information systems
One of the more interesting aspects about working in the energy sector, as I have done for the last 36 years, is that this industry is always changing—technically, economically and even political..
HP Industry Perspectives: Is the glass half full or half empty?
This year is nearly half over; however, the energy industry is more optimistic about the market and economy according to Ernst & Young’s (EY’s) recent 10th biannual Oil and Gas Capital Confi..
- Hungary's Orban asks EU to go verify Druzhba pipeline damage 2/26
- South Korea approves nearly $1.4-B petrochemical restructuring deal as supply glut weighs 2/25
- Romanian largest refinery to shut down in March for scheduled turnaround 2/25
- Malaysia's Prefchem cuts refinery output after shutting gasoline unit 2/25
- U.S. Chemical Safety Board faults Pemex in 2024 Deer Park refinery's fatal accident 2/25
- Global diesel flows further reshuffle on EU sanctions, discounted Russian exports 2/25
