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Tray revamp for demethaniser ethane recovery
Oct-2011
As a first step in an ethane extraction plant’s operational improvement plan, a 
tray revamp was performed to improve both tray efficiency and ...
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Minimising transfer line vibrations
Oct-2013
Computational fluid dynamics was used effectively to solve start-up problems in a transfer line
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Comparing packing efficiencies
Apr-2006
In mechanically demanding applications, grid packing can help control costs and product degradation. Important parameters such as grid surface area and ...
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Specifications — importance of getting them right
Mar-2003
Faulty equipment specifications sometimes carry unforeseen penalties, with loss of performance. It is the process design engineer’s responsibility to ...
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Column design using mass transfer rate simulation
Apr-2002
This article looks at examples of commercial columns used in CO2 removal and selective H2S treating, comparing performance test data to demonstrate benefits ...
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Performance optimisation of fixed bed processes
Apr-1999
An extensive range of hydroprocessing technologies has been developed through a combination of long-term R&D commitment and commercial experience
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Mar-2011
Developments in catalyst and internals technologies exploit the flexibility of
the ULSD unit. The economic incentive to produce diesel is substantial ... -
Advanced process control of distillation
Mar-2018
The introduction of model predictive control enabled a bio-products plant to raise throughput and automate product variation.
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Improving reaction furnace performance with the Blasch VectorWall mixing checkerwall
Sep-2013
Operators of large refractory lined combustion chambers, whether used as primary reaction furnaces, thermal oxidisers in tail gas units or miscellaneous ...
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Mar-2010
Near net shape refractory forming technology and its use to create significant process improvement. The vast majority of refractory, by volume, used in ...
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Zeolite membranes for xylenes separation
Jan-2015
Zeolite membrane separation in p-xylene production exhibits low energy demand, low capital cost and compact unit size
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Troubleshooting instability in a debutaniser tower
Dec-2019
Successful diagnosis and remediation of premature flood in a debutaniser tower demonstrate the value of good diagnosis for solving tower problems econ ...
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Turnarounds deliver process improvements
Nov-2016
An extended unit shutdown is relatively rare and an opportunity to take every advantage to improve performance.
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Troubleshooting a C3 splitter tower Part 2: Root cause and solution
Jan-2015
Distillation trays are prone to channelling and multi-pass maldistribution in large diameter towers. Multichordal gamma scanning is used for solving such ...
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Increased margin from updated internals and catalyst
Jul-2016
A low cost hydrocracker revamp delivered extra value to a refinery by increasing diesel yield, cycle length and safety.
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Crude unit revamp to increase diesel yield
Apr-2002
Account of a crude vacuum unit revamp where detailed calculation of the true performance of existing equipment raised diesel production by 14.5 vol% on ...
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Proper interpretation of freezing and hydrate prediction results from process simulation
Mar-2006
This paper focuses on the modelling of solid phase behaviour in systems that are frequently encountered in natural gas processing. The ability to perform ...
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Apr-2016
A sandwich catalyst system has given the additional activity needed to process difficult feed in a hydrotreater.
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Gas chromatography trends and troubleshooting in petrochemical analysis (part 1)
Mar-2014
Gas chromatography (GC) is at the fore in the petrochemical sector as an analytical method that can be applied across a broad range of applications.
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Wastewater stripper fouling cured
Jul-2014
Sulzer was contacted by two separate refiners who noted a continued fouling problem and short run lengths on their wastewater strippers. The configuration ...
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Key factors in selecting refractories for the hydrocarbon processing industry
Mar-2007
Longer campaigns, higher temperatures, and more oxygen all add up to increased wear and tear on process vessels and equipment and make proper material ...
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Improving performance through low-cost modification of tower internals
Jul-2010
Low-cost revamps of tower internals improve production from existing assets with a payback period of less than a year
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Revamping crude towers to meet 
bitumen specifications
Jun-2017
A revamp of crude column internals improved bitumen quality, increased output of light products, saved on energy costs and improved ease of operation
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The impact of tower internals on column performance
Mar-2016
Full scale testing and analysis of operation demonstrate the importance of tower internals on the performance of mass transfer packings
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Preventing yellow metal corrosion
Dec-2019
A novel corrosion inhibitor for yellow metal meets corrosion and environmental targets under halogen control.
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Silencing hammering in a condenser system
Dec-2017
Detailed analysis leading to correct diagnosis meant that only minor equipment changes were needed to cure severe hammering in a naphtha splitter.
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Sustainable technology for cleaning a crude preheat exchanger network
Aug-2019
Mitigating environmental impacts, saving time and reducing costs: cleaning a heat exchanger network using a renewable cleaning agent.
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Revamp process design — optimum crude unit product yields
Jul-1997
Designing a new crude unit is an unconstrained process, limited only by capital
investment targets, while revamping an existing unit to optimise ... -
Crude unit revamp to increase diesel yield
Apr-2002
Account of a crude vacuum unit revamp where detailed calculation of the true performance of existing equipment raised diesel production by 14.5 vol% on ...
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Post-combustion 
capture of CO2
Apr-2009
Case study of a generic amine-based absorption process. A lifecycle cost analysis for a power plant over a 40-year span clearly shows the advantages of ...
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Practical hydrocarbon dew point specification for natural gas transmission lines
Mar-2011
Hydrocarbon liquid dropout can cause a number of problems in gas transmission lines, including increased pressure drop, reduced line capacity and equipment ...
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Minimising transfer line vibrations
Oct-2013
Computational fluid dynamics was used effectively to solve start-up problems in a transfer line
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Improvements in random packing performance
Oct-2010
Developments in random packing design aim for increased efficiency 
and capacity. Random packing is used extensively in gas processing 
and ...
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Apr-2006
The recovery of pure aromatics feedstocks such as reformate or pyrolysis gasoline through solvent-based extractive distillation. The efficiency, purities ...
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Tray design for high load applications
Jul-2014
Distillation is an essential separation technology in refineries, gas processing, and the chemical industries. Internals for distillation columns can be ...
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Tray revamp restores crude column performance
Jan-2019
Retrofitting the packed top section of a crude atmospheric tower with high capacity trays improved separation efficiency
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How watt density specifications may be holding back optimal electric heat exchanger design
Mar-2020
Typical customer specifications for a direct electric heat exchanger (DEHE) in forced convection gas applications aim for efficiency and safety given the ...
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Increased margin from updated internals and catalyst
Jul-2016
A low cost hydrocracker revamp delivered extra value to a refinery by increasing diesel yield, cycle length and safety.
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Distributor design and testing
Oct-2006
A new main fractionator designed to separate a range of feed streams incorporates multiple layers of structured packing and a slurry section. Flow testing ...
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The impact of tower internals on column performance
Mar-2016
Full scale testing and analysis of operation demonstrate the importance of tower internals on the performance of mass transfer packings
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Some myths about mechanical cleaning
Aug-2018
Because it has long been the only option when unit cleaning becomes unavoidable, the true cost of mechanical cleaning has been overlooked.
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Feb-2007
Why there is no excuse for operating a dirty amine system. The benefits of reclaiming amine systems are trumpeted by many and doubted by others.
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Analysis method for determining bound and free alkanolamines in HSS contaminated solutions
Jul-1990
A conductometric titration method has been developed to determine the true available alkanolamine in solutions used for H2S and CO2 removal from refinery ...
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Modular design of smaller-scale GTL plants
Jan-2013
Modularisation is opening up opportunities for GTL plants to monetise small-scale natural gas deposits both on- and offshore
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Energy saving with tube inserts for heat exchangers
Apr-2023
When it comes to fouling in crude oil preheat trains, tube inserts can maximise heat transfer and reduce heat exchanger fouling, with an average six-month ...
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Debottlenecking product recovery using product pair distillation: Part II
Jul-2023
Advantages of using a thermodynamically efficient method to debottleneck existing distillation trains using fewer columns than traditional methods.
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How dynamic pressure can affect vacuum column readings
Jun-2016
Computational fluid dynamics confirmed field measurements to explain a vacuum unit’s poor quality HVGO and was used to redesign the tower internals
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Troubleshooting vacuum unit revamps
Jul-1998
While vacuum unit revamps increase gasoil yield, management is pushing the intervals between turnarounds to four or five years
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Proper interpretation of freezing and hydrate prediction results from process simulation
Mar-2006
This paper focuses on the modelling of solid phase behaviour in systems that are frequently encountered in natural gas processing. The ability to perform ...
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Comparing packing efficiencies
Apr-2006
In mechanically demanding applications, grid packing can help control costs and product degradation. Important parameters such as grid surface area and ...
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Catalyst filling in a fixed bed tubular reactor
Apr-2017
A reactor filling methodology ensures even reactant distribution and pressure drop
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Balanced distillation equipment design
Feb-2017
Fouling resistance and efficiency requirements for distillation equipment are balanced and optimised for reliable unit performance.
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Dec-2016
Feed containing fines, in-organic matter, sludge, rust etc. can cause excessive pressure drop build-up issues in hydroprocessing reactors.
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Improved distillation efficiency
Dec-2016
Dividing wall column technology applied to a xylenes separation project delivered superior energy efficiency compared to a two-column arrangement.
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Turnarounds deliver process improvements
Nov-2016
An extended unit shutdown is relatively rare and an opportunity to take every advantage to improve performance.
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Loss into gain in high-capacity trays Part 2: reverse vapour cross flow chanelling
Aug-2016
Systematic troubleshooting diagnosed two complex problems that limited the capacity of an atmospheric crude distillation tower
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Enhancing fractionator efficiency
Jul-2016
Properly designed vapour and liquid distribution devices enable more effective distillation column efficiency.
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Increased margin from updated internals and catalyst
Jul-2016
A low cost hydrocracker revamp delivered extra value to a refinery by increasing diesel yield, cycle length and safety.
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Improved stripper efficiency raises upgrader production
Jun-2016
Revamping a heavy oil upgrader’s steam stripping tower increased tray efficiency and achieved record throughput.
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Loss into gain in high capacity trays - Part 1: excursion
Jun-2016
Systematic troubleshooting diagnosed and solved two complex and independent problems that limited the capacity of an atmospheric crude distillation to ...
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How dynamic pressure can affect vacuum column readings
Jun-2016
Computational fluid dynamics confirmed field measurements to explain a vacuum unit’s poor quality HVGO and was used to redesign the tower internals
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Apr-2016
A sandwich catalyst system has given the additional activity needed to process difficult feed in a hydrotreater.
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The impact of tower internals on column performance
Mar-2016
Full scale testing and analysis of operation demonstrate the importance of tower internals on the performance of mass transfer packings
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Feb-2016
An understanding of process basics and fouling mechanisms enables increased run length in problem columns.
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Foaming in fractionation columns
Oct-2015
By understanding the foaming process and its root causes, steps can be taken to eliminate or minimise the formation of foaming.
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Optimising preflash for light tight oil processing
Jul-2015
For a crude unit handling light tight oil feedstock, a semi-preflash column can deliver significant advantages in energy saving, capacity gain and revamp ...
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High performance trays for a fractionator in an aromatics plant
May-2015
Distillation is a very important separation technology in refineries and downstream chemical processing. Mass transfer internals in distillation columns ...
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Enhancing energy efficiency in the CDU
Apr-2015
Revisiting your crude distillation unit may expose hidden potential for major energy savings
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Zeolite membranes for xylenes separation
Jan-2015
Zeolite membrane separation in p-xylene production exhibits low energy demand, low capital cost and compact unit size
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Troubleshooting a C3 splitter tower Part 2: Root cause and solution
Jan-2015
Distillation trays are prone to channelling and multi-pass maldistribution in large diameter towers. Multichordal gamma scanning is used for solving such ...
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Less is more: how a dividing wall column maximises LPG recovery
Oct-2014
Maximising LPG recovery from fuel gas using a dividing wall column. Refiners have a challenge to recover LPG from mixed fuel gas streams due to the difficulty ...
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Reflux in a gas dehydration plant
Oct-2014
Gas dehydration by adsorbent processes may lead to the damaging regeneration reflux phenomenon during adsorbent regeneration
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Overcoming tight emulsion problems
Oct-2014
A refiner’s trials of a membrane coalescence mechanism were scaled up to plant level and delivered significant product recovery from tight aqueous e ...
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Troubleshooting a C3 splitter tower Part 1: evaluation
Oct-2014
Distillation trays are prone to channelling and multi-pass maldistribution in large diameter towers. Multichordal gamma scanning is key for solving such ...
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Structured packing in a CO2 absorber
Oct-2014
Solvent regeneration is the biggest energy consumer in an amine treating unit but efforts to minimise energy consumption should be made cautiously