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Troubleshooting a heavy crude topper
Jul-2019
Thorough troubleshooting revealed the primary cause of a heavy crude topper’s poor availability: desalter operation. A comprehensive revamp resolved ...
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Savings in exchanger network cleaning (TIA)
Jun-2015
The Super Clean System (SCS), an online heat exchanger cleaning technology, is being used by a major oil refiner in Japan at a refinery equipped with a ...
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Addressing the sour gas challenge
Dec-2019
Recent developments in corrosion resistant alloys help operators to overcome the challenges of hydrogen sulphide induced cracking in pipelines and key ...
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Emulsion breaker and metal removal technology increased FCC residuum processing
Mar-2015
Frequent and unexpected changes in crude blending properties result in operational and performance challenges from the desalter to the catalytic crack ...
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Online cleaning of 
process equipment
Oct-2008
In the interest of time and cost savings, online cleaning prior to shutdown can reduce the duration and complexity of refinery turnarounds, as demonstrated ...
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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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Exchanger cleaning contest: chemicals vs jetting
Jun-2017
Chemical cleaning proved to be more effective than water jetting to increase the efficiency of a high heat flux exchanger
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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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Contaminants and their effects on operations
May-2003
You can have better operating amine and glycol systems, gas processing plants encounter a variety of operational problems in their amine and glycol un ...
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Jan-2019
Advanced data handling and sensitivity analysis enable fuller understanding of the influence of operating changes on salt formation.
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Solving hydrotreating fouling problems
Jul-2019
Upgraded antifoulant technology is helping refiners to overcome the increased hydrotreater fouling issues that result from more stringent fuel sulphur ...
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Mitigating corrosion in sweet gas units: a comparison between laboratory data and field survey
Feb-2014
An extensive review of acid gas removal units covering 5 decades and more than 120 amine units showed that units treating sweet gases (i.e. with CO2 only) ...
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Monitoring against process problems
Apr-2016
Careful monitoring for preheat exchanger fouling and H2S release during unloading is vital when tight oil blends are processed.
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Using continuous helical flow to reduce fouling
Mar-2021
It would not be an understatement to say that fouling is one of the most costly recurring problems in hydrocarbon processing, and that it hits process ...
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Corrosion control in ethylene plants
Apr-2022
Treatment concepts for corrosion control in ethylene production by steam cracking of hydrocarbons
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Utilising the checkerwall as a 
static mixer to improve SRU 
process performance
Oct-2010
A little more than a decade ago, as Blasch Precision Ceramics began to steadily grow their hex head ferrule business, they began to field requests from ...
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Decontamination of a crude/vacuum unit (TIA)
Apr-2016
A major oil company wanted to make a final validation of ITW Online Cleaning and ITW Improved Degassing/Decontamination technologies to use them strategically ...
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Development of a naphthenic acid corrosion model
Jul-2019
A model has been developed to predict and help prevent corrosion when processing high TAN crudes.
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Online cleaning improves operational excellence
Jan-2009
Online cleaning, followed by degassing and decontamination, can result in a significant reduction in downtime, increased run length, operation under cleaner ...
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Putting a better spin on combustion
Jul-2013
How the incorporation of a mixing checkerwall can increase acid gas enrichment plant capacity, eliminating the need for additional train
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Replacing a corroded column with packing internals
Jul-2018
A corroded column was replaced with a new column equipped with high capacity packing. The cross sectional area is less than half that of the original.
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Extending gasification runtime 
with antifoulant
Jul-2013
When fouling is observed in the syngas cooler, an antifoulant programme can provide a gasification unit with an extended runtime
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Online cleaning of 
production units
Apr-2008
Faster online cleaning avoids the production losses that occur when shutting down a unit for conventional cleaning. Other benefits, such as improved safety ...
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Aug-2019
Analysing desalter performance and improving crude blending capacity with multi-phase instrumentation and control.
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Mitigating fouling in the caustic tower
Oct-2013
Comprehensive analysis of foulants in an ethylene plant’s caustic tower led to the identification of an effective treatment programme
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Wastewater treatment for challenging crudes
Jan-2018
A new organic polymer treatment has enabled refiners to more effectively process a variety of opportunity crudes
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Stabilisation 
of asphaltenes
Jan-2009
Asphaltenes can plug refinery equipment and can decrease or stop production. Stabilisation of asphaltene particles is an efficient and cost-effective way ...
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Modelling to optimise natural gas dehydration
Apr-2009
Computer modelling can help processors to understand the severity of conditions in molecular sieves used for the dehydration of natural gas
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Eight critical process vessel, tower and column corrosion mitigation projects
Feb-2024
Integrated Global Services (IGS) discusses eight global process vessel, column, and tower corrosion mitigation projects. This paper explores innovative ...
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Removing salts and contaminants in glycol regeneration
Apr-2014
A new process combining candle filters and pressure plate filters enables more glycol to be safely recovered from natural gas than by conventional met ...
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Mitigation of heat exchanger fouling
Oct-2012
Detailed analysis of potential contributors identifies the root cause of fouling in naphtha hydrotreater feed-effluent exchangers
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Evaluating opportunity crude processing
Oct-2006
Is processing opportunity crudes for every refiner? Technical challenges and economic benefits from processing high-acid crudes and bottom-of-the-barrel ...
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Light tight oil crude unit fouling root causes and troubleshooting
Mar-2015
Fouling in preheaters, crude furnace and atmospheric tower bottoms exchangers directly impacts throughput and profitability, requiring rigorous evaluation ...
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Hydrogen-induced cracking and blistering
Apr-2009
Hydrogen damage to steel is a well-known consequence of corrosion in sour service. A corrosion inhibitor program can reduce hydrogen entry into the metal. ...
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Online cleaning and decontamination of a butadiene unit
Apr-2010
Chemical treatment by closed-loop recirculation reduced cleaning time for a butadiene unit turnaround from a typical 20 days to 24 hours
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Monitoring and controlling corrosion in steam generation
Oct-2010
At-temperature oxidation reduction potential (ORP) technology enables 
real-time measurement and control of corrosion potential in steam generat ...
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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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Best practice desalting Part 1: crude flexibility window
Jul-2017
A replacement programme of desalter treatment chemistry transformed the operation of crude units struggling to meet performance targets
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Tackling fouling in vinyl monomer manufacture
Jul-2003
Conventional and new approaches to the control of fouling in vinyl monomer processes are discussed in this article, which describes the fouling characteristics ...
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Corrosion monitoring improvements
Oct-2005
Case study examines prediction, monitoring and mitigation of corrosion-related effects at a West European refinery operating in a high temperature, naphthenic ...
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Maintaining reliability when processing opportunity crudes
Oct-2013
A risk-based approach that considers crude oil corrosivity can allow refiners to safely and reliably process increasing levels of opportunity crude
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High-acid crude processing enabled by unique use of computational fluid dynamics
Oct-2013
A methodology for applying CFD enables faster identification of pipe elements that are the most vulnerable to attack by high-acid crudes
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Enhanced heat transfer for improved throughput and energy consumption
Oct-2015
Customised revamps of heat exchangers optimise energy use and reduce 
costs in revamps.
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Corrosion and fouling control in 
process equipment
Oct-2015
Effective chemical treatment programmes can help to prevent plant damage 
and financial losses arising from corrosion and fouling
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Monitoring against process problems
Apr-2016
Careful monitoring for preheat exchanger fouling and H2S release during unloading is vital when tight oil blends are processed.
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Overcoming overhead corrosion (TIA)
Nov-2019
In the pursuit of efficient and profitable refinery operations, owner-operators must balance feedstock flexibility and product optimisation with asset ...
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Dec-2022
Both 316 and type 304 (L is low carbon for weldability) are susceptible, under certain conditions, to three forms of attack in cooling water containing ...
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How to improve energy efficiency, reliability and asset integrity
Feb-2023
A global inventory of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions recently published by One Earth suggests that global cumulative emissions could be reduced by up ...
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Linings for sulphur storage tanks
Apr-2015
Flexible spray coatings combat the corrosion mechanisms of sulphur stored in steel tanks.
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Rapid waste heat boiler retubing at IPL Mount Isa sulphuric acid plant
Feb-2017
Effective energy recovery in sulphuric acid plants can drive the economics of the plant every bit as much as the actual production of sulphuric acid.
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Advanced high alloy stainless steels
Dec-2016
The real solution to guard equipment against environmental stresses like corrosion is use of advanced high alloy stainless steels.
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Mitigating iron foulants in refinery processes
Sep-2016
Purification systems are designed to remove iron based particles without detriment to a catalyst bed’s permeability.
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Dealing with desalter cleaning challenges
Aug-2016
How to overcome lengthy and potentially dangerous challenges when cleaning a crude unit desalter.
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A two stage approach to controlling fouling on preheat trains at OMV’s Schwechat refinery
Aug-2016
Fouling in heat exchanger preheat trains is a well-known problem in the refining industry. Fouling reduces exchanger performance, increases furnace duty, ...
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Corrosion resistance in tropical environments
Aug-2016
Tests at NASA demonstrate how super-duplex tubes provide corrosion resistance at lower cost in a challenging environment
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Decontamination of a crude/vacuum unit (TIA)
Apr-2016
A major oil company wanted to make a final validation of ITW Online Cleaning and ITW Improved Degassing/Decontamination technologies to use them strategically ...
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Monitoring against process problems
Apr-2016
Careful monitoring for preheat exchanger fouling and H2S release during unloading is vital when tight oil blends are processed.
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Monitoring and simulation resolves overhead corrosion
Mar-2016
Online corrosion monitoring in tandem with simulation modelling identified the root cause of corrosion in a crude unit overhead
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Designing a divided wall column
Mar-2016
A refiner plans the application of divided wall column technology for greater energy efficiency in the distillation of multi-component reformate
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Removing contaminants from crude oil
Mar-2016
Natural and introduced contaminants limit crude desalting effectiveness, increasing fouling and corrosion risks in downstream units
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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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Corrosion and fouling control in 
process equipment
Oct-2015
Effective chemical treatment programmes can help to prevent plant damage 
and financial losses arising from corrosion and fouling
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Enhanced heat transfer for improved throughput and energy consumption
Oct-2015
Customised revamps of heat exchangers optimise energy use and reduce 
costs in revamps.
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Treatment programme overcomes high TAN problems
Oct-2015
Processing high TAN crude with low sulphur shale oil presented challenging corrosion problems for a refiner.
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Managing fouling in refinery networks
Jul-2015
Modelling heat exchanger and other networks enables the use of dynamic fouling models in performance assessment and predictive studies
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Savings in exchanger network cleaning (TIA)
Jun-2015
The Super Clean System (SCS), an online heat exchanger cleaning technology, is being used by a major oil refiner in Japan at a refinery equipped with a ...
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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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Tube alloy degradation in a steam cracking furnace
Apr-2015
Understanding catalytic coke growth mechanisms to better predict and optimise furnace service times with tube alloy degradation
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Linings for sulphur storage tanks
Apr-2015
Flexible spray coatings combat the corrosion mechanisms of sulphur stored in steel tanks.
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Emulsion breaker and metal removal technology increased FCC residuum processing
Mar-2015
Frequent and unexpected changes in crude blending properties result in operational and performance challenges from the desalter to the catalytic crack ...
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Light tight oil crude unit fouling root causes and troubleshooting
Mar-2015
Fouling in preheaters, crude furnace and atmospheric tower bottoms exchangers directly impacts throughput and profitability, requiring rigorous evaluation ...
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Safe removal of polymeric deposits
Jan-2015
Damaging polymeric fouling of internals can be cleaned in situ by safe 
chemical treatments. Butadiene polymer formation is not an unusual problem ...
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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