Refining
Editorial Comment: Honoring the industry’s best … take 2!
Due to Tropical Storm Imelda, Hydrocarbon Processing issued its first force majeure in postponing the third annual HP Awards.
Sustainability and the water management company’s role
Water is key to the hydrocarbon processing and chemical processing industries. Yet, it is not an infinite resource, which creates operational, financial and regulatory risks. The true cost of water can include insurance and litigation costs and disposal costs, plus the capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) of water infrastructure.
Using ball valves in high-temperature applications
Ball valves are often an economical solution for controlling flows in refinery high-temperature applications, but their application can be complex, particularly in high-temperature uses.
Improved cooling system performance begins with data
Refineries consume large amounts of energy and water to refine crude oil into products. Up to 10% of crude oil’s energy content is consumed during processing, and it takes 1.5 bbl of water to process one barrel of crude oil. Refining processes also generate large quantities of excess thermal energy that needs to be expelled into the environment using a once-through or recirculating cooling system.
Use submerged combustion systems to efficiently destroy hazardous plant waste
In the production of clean fuels, plastics and other hydrocarbon-based products, refineries and petrochemical facilities generate unwanted (waste) byproducts. Having no market value, the undesired byproducts must be recycled, minimized or eliminated. Depending on the feedstocks, end products and reactant materials, the unwanted materials can be gases, liquids or multiphase materials.
When digital transformation hits all four sustainability buckets
Sustainability is emerging as a critical business topic, as many companies focus resources toward lowering emissions, waste and energy use in their production processes. This important concept can apply broadly to company operations, especially when considering the expansive view of the triple bottom line that measures the impact of company operations on profits, people and the planet.
Diversifying the future: Incentives for worldwide adoption of renewable fuels and chemicals—Part 2
Bio-based, renewable fuels and chemicals can reduce the environmental footprint of maintaining global transportation and product demands, while also offering supplementation of traditional fossil fuels in a global environment with increasing energy demand. The renewable energy sector is large and growing rapidly.
FCC catalyst deactivation studies to mimic refinery conditions for high-propylene applications
The fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is a conversion unit located at the heart of many refineries. Its main purpose is to crack crude oil-derived feedstocks into valuable liquid products, primarily LPGs (propylene and butylenes), and gasoline and light-cycle oil (LCO) precursors. The process uses a fluidizable catalyst, comprising an alumina-silica framework and tailored for each refinery to meet its specific needs. Often, the changing of a catalyst includes catalyst testing evaluations, employed by about 50% of the FCCUs in the world. The testing process is cumbersome, in which multiple methods are available to refineries.
Unlocking FCC potential with an innovative catalyst solution
In 2010, a JV embarked on the deployment of a MHY zeolite technologyb developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This novel zeolite technology improves traditional zeolite catalysts through the introduction of highly interconnected channels of medium pore size, which enhance diffusion of feed molecules inside zeolite crystals, leading to higher-value product yields, improved process efficiency and increased refinery profitability.
Hydrocarbon Processing Awards Winners
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing,</i> the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the winners for its third annual awards. The <i>HP</i> Awards celebrate innovative technologies and people that have been instrumental in improving facility operations over the past year.
- Fire at Tupras oil refinery in Turkey wounds 12 11/5
- Thai SCG halts operations at $5.4-B Vietnam petrochemical complex 11/5
- Solvay licenses hydrogen peroxide process technology to North Huajin Refining and Petrochemical Company 11/5
- HYCO1 achieves first commercial operation of its CO2 conversion technology, TRL-9 status 11/5
- South Korean refiners' losses deepen in 3Q, margins set to improve in 4Q 11/5
- Marathon, Teamsters to resume contract talks as Detroit refinery strike enters second month 11/5
