Refining
Conventional FCC to maximum propylene production
Fluid catalytic cracking is one of the most important conversion processes used in refineries. This process converts heavy petroleum fractions into lighter, higher-value products, such as gasoline, propylene and others.
Shape the refinery of the future through integration—Part 1
The negative impact of fossil fuels on the environment has become widely accepted, and our global society has begun to focus on alternative fuels. The pollution of the local, regional and global environment has become a primary concern.
Business Trends: Autonomous operations in process manufacturing—Part 1
Progress in the driverless car segment has served to illuminate one of the major future goals in industrial and process manufacturing: autonomous operations in process plants—in other words, the autonomous plant. While AO for process plants has received interest from the process automation and control industry, limited serious discussion has taken place in the process operations and IT domains.
Industry Perspectives: Save the date: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Top Projects Awards
Over the past several years, <ital>Hydrocarbon Processing</ital> has honored the feats of capital project excellence with its Top Projects Awards. The winners and nominees encapsulate important contributions to the global hydrocarbon processing industry, whether that is through significant capital intensity, diversifying product offerings or adding a significant amount of refining and/or petrochemical processing capacity.
Digital: Five best practices for adopting new digital technologies in the HPI
There is much discussion and information about digital transformation, but many HPI companies are taking a different approach to integrating new digital technologies and to differentiate themselves from their peers, and are seeing truly transformative business results. HPI digital technology leaders reveal the following five best practices.
Supply Chain: How to reduce piping inventory
Piping represents a significant part of the plant cost, ranging from 15%–25%.1 Materials stored in warehouses or storage facilities cost companies in terms of personnel, materials, time, space, insurance, risk, etc. This article proposes cost-saving strategies for inventory reduction. Further, it emphasizes consistent naming conventions to avoid creating duplicate/redundant items.
Project Management: Reduce installation schedule for column trays
The implementation of a project schedule must avoid slippage, which can lead to budget overruns and delays in commissioning and production. Conversely, a reduction in project schedule results in an early startup of the plant, creating advantage for stakeholders. Customers often demand reductions in schedule timelines, which can be difficult for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors to implement. New innovations like concurrent engineering, modular construction, prefabricated pipe racks and structures, etc., are already in practice.
Editorial Comment: Optimizing operations and recognizing achievements
Over the next two months, <ital>Hydrocarbon Processing</ital> will host two separate events for a global audience. One will gather the brightest minds in the industry to share the latest innovations and technologies in the industry, while the other will recognize the leaders in advancing the industry toward safer and more reliable, sustainable and profitable operations. Both events—<ital>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</ital> IRPC and the HP Awards—will be streamed on digital platforms and free to view.
Advanced analytics drive IIoT success
Refineries and petrochemical plants face similar challenges in daily operations. Each must mitigate risk, anticipate maintenance, optimize operations and minimize expenses. To achieve these goals, plant personnel rely heavily on data to drive decisions.
OT/IT integration for profit-driven operation
Operational technology/information technology integration is required for sharing information among all levels of manufacturing organizations to achieve profit-driven operation, which helps process industry companies implement real-time production performance improvements that are aligned from the management level to the plant floor.
- Fire at Tupras oil refinery in Turkey wounds 12 11/5
- Solvay licenses hydrogen peroxide process technology to North Huajin Refining and Petrochemical Company 11/5
- ADNOC, AIQ developing first-of-a-kind agentic AI solution for global energy transformation 11/4
- SEEC to use thyssenkrupp nucera’s electrolyzer for caustic soda production 11/4
- Oman's OQ to list up to 49% stake in methanol, ammonia and LPG arm 11/4
- U.S. exports of ethane and ethane-based petrochemicals rose 135% from 2014 to 2023 11/4
