Maintenance & Reliability
Chile regulator eyes refinery sanction over environmental failures
SANTIAGO (Reuters) -- Chile's environmental regulator, the SMA, said on Tuesday that it was considering sanctions of state-run energy producer ENAP after finding infractions relating to emissions and noise at its Aconcagua oil refinery.
Rosneft faces $100-MM bill to boost safety at Bashneft refineries
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia's top oil producer Rosneft will have to spend up to $100 million to improve standards at ageing refineries it bought last year, industry sources have told Reuters.
Oxea declares force majeure on Butyl Acetate in Europe
Monheim am Rhein, Germany – The international chemical company Oxea declares force majeure on Butyl Acetate in Europe until further notice. Due to technical issues at its production plant in Marl, Germany, Oxea is unable to maintain the manufacture and supply of Butyl Acetate.
Lack of preparation risks 'chaotic' shift to cleaner shipping fuel
ANTWERP (Reuters) -- The biggest change in shipping fuel for decades is three years away, but shipping and refining companies need to be taking action now to ensure the world will have the millions of barrels of cleaner fuel it will need.
Innovations
Siemens Water Solutions has chosen a ceramic flat-sheet membrane for use in a powdered activated carbon technology (PACT) membrane bioreactor (MBR).
Put acid gas hydrocarbons in their place with staged regeneration
Common organic contaminants of Claus sulfur recovery unit (SRU) acid gas (AG) feed include: heavy hydrocarbons, in general; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX), in particular; and methanol (CH3OH).
Improve metering pump reliability through maintenance training
While equipment reliability is not a new concept in hydrocarbon processing facilities, it is increasingly becoming the top priority for plant managers. Plant managers realize that operational efficiency is far from being a passing trend, and is closely linked to the quality and reliability of the equipment used.
Maintain the simplicity of maintenance work processes
In the processing industries, companies rely on their physical assets to guarantee that they are always producing at the same capacity, or preferably higher, than they began. To achieve these high levels of production, assets must be readily available.
Design operations-and-maintenance-friendly skid-mounted units
Skid-mounted units are omnipresent in the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI), as facilities are scattered in remote locations, and site construction is time-consuming and expensive. Skid units are equally popular in downstream refineries and the chemical processing industry (CPI).
Determine the standard hoop density of spiral-wound gaskets on flanges
The use of spiral-wound gaskets on flanges has resulted in good sealing performance. However, most gaskets do not perform well when the flange is improperly installed.

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