Refining
Comparative analyses of common project execution alternatives
With major projects (FIG. 1), alternatives are generally considered in overall project execution and in construction.
Industry Metrics
All main US products performed positively as refinery product outputs declined considerably and led to a fall in inventory levels, fueling bullish sentiment.
Assess remaining life for heater tubes
Refineries and petrochemical plants form some of the major sections of the hydrocarbon industry and consume much of the fuel that is burned in furnaces (heaters and specialty furnaces, such as reformers and crackers) to meet process heating requirements.
Improve CCR reforming profitability using a novel high-density catalyst
Catalytic reforming has been a staple in petroleum refining since 1949.
Develop reactor internals for optimizing reactor design - Part 2: High-performance mixing chamber
Most hydroprocessing reactors are fixed-bed reactors comprising several catalyst beds that are divided by quench zones containing mixing chambers that introduce a vapor-quenching medium.
Coke drum and blowdown system overpressure protection design - Part 1
The blowdown (BD) system in delayed coking units (DCUs) receives waste streams generated during the coke drum (CD) decoking process to recover valuable hydrocarbons and water. In recent DCU designs, the CD pressure relief valves (PRVs) also discharge to this system and then to the flare system via the BD PRVs.
FCC operational changes to boost gasoline octane
The fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is one of the main units providing gasoline with high-octane numbers to the refinery gasoline pool.
Ultra-deep desulfurization of FCC gasoline: Reactive adsorption strategy
With an increase in concern for the environment, countries around the world are implementing stringent environmental regulations and are continuously pressuring refiners to reduce the amount of sulfur in transportation fuels—primarily gasoline and diesel—to combat airborne pollution caused by vehicles.
Innovations
Engineers tasked with finding a green solution to waste gas emissions from hydrocarbon storage tanks during loading and unloading operations will find that the ST100 series thermal flowmeter from Fluid Components International (FCI) supports tank vapor recovery systems, which help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Industry Metrics
In the US, soaring gasoline stocks and poor fuel oil performance were offset by strong heating oil demand and higher product prices caused by weather-related refinery outages.
- 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
