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

Loss Prevention

Refinery tower inspections: Discovering problems and preventing malfunctions

Phillips 66: Cardoso, R.
Fluor Corp.: Kister H. Z.

A previous survey identified installation mishaps to be one of the top five causes of tower malfunctions.

Water Management: Minimize white rust in galvanized cooling systems

U.S. Water Services Inc.: Mowbray, M.

Galvanized coatings for cooling tower systems (cooling towers, evaporator tube bundles, etc.) have been used in the industry since the 1950s due to their relatively low cost and long service life.

Refining: Despite decline, Group 1 base stocks are here to stay

ExxonMobil: Nadasdi, T.

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

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

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.

Industry Perspectives: The Main Column podcast: Crucial topics shaping the industry

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

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.

Octane enhancement avoiding both high reformer severity and alkylation

CDE Projects Ltd.: Kauders, P.

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

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.: Ramesh, K.  |  Phukan, D.

India, which is the third-largest economy in the world, is home to nearly 18% of the world’s population (nearly 1.4 B).

Safety: Where foresight replaces hindsight: How AI impacts the future of oil and gas safety

Advisian Digital, part of the Worley Group: Stewart, H.
SaltGrid: Aitken, C.

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

Advisian, a Worley Company: Fan, J.  |  Ananthanarayan, S.  |  Hodgkinson, A.

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.

Variable capacity control technology facilitates efficient operation for reciprocating compressors

Siemens: Sanford, J.

Reciprocating compressors are used extensively in refinery and petrochemical operations to keep feedstocks and products moving through miles of piping.