-
Boosting tube-side heat transfer
Jun-2021
Tube insert technologies can improve heat exchanger performance by enhancing tube-side heat transfer coefficients in two-phase applications.
-
Olefin purification: Why selecting the right adsorbent matters
Nov-2023
Removing difficult-to-detect contaminants helps minimise adsorbent reactivity while avoiding side reactions and excessive heat release.
-
Crude preheat train fouling and fix-up
Nov-2022
Rigorous modelling of crude preheat train exchangers allows for fouling progression of the heat exchangers to be monitored throughout the crude unit run ...
-
Use of tube inserts in fired heaters
May-2022
In 1896 Whitham reported the successful use of twisted tapes (originally called retarders, and now also called turbulators) to increase heat transfer in ...
-
Determining temperature class for electric process heaters
Jan-2020
Electric process heaters that interface with flammable materials in explosive environments need to be properly evaluated to protect the equipment against ...
-
Adding CHP to refinery power infrastructures
Feb-2024
CI scores and delivered economic impact at downstream facilities improve when adding CHP units to increase electrical and thermal efficiency.
-
Achieving Fit for 55 emission reduction targets by 2030
Feb-2023
Options available to oil refineries in reducing CO2 emissions while providing a clearer vision on possible roadmaps.
-
Electrification and medium voltage process heater systems
Feb-2022
Decarboniation efforts worldwide, led both by industry leaders and legislation, have increased efforts to shift fossil fuel use to renewables. One way ...
-
Heater experts solve common problems with IR thermography
Dec-2020
Many owner operators in the oil/gas and petrochemical industry know infrared (IR) thermography is a pillar of any robust inspection program. At Becht Fired ...
-
Preventing corrosion resulting from renewables conversion
Feb-2023
Many oil and gas companies are repurposing refineries to produce renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and other renewable biofuels and products. ...
-
Feb-2024
A new approach to the costly problem of biofilm formation in refinery and petrochemical operations.
-
Fresh look at accelerating electrification and the role that thermal plays
Sep-2021
The goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement are now playing out, with companies and governments making drastic changes to hit its ambitious targets.
-
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 ...
-
Benefits of spiral and welded plate heat exchangers (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Nexson is a French company based in Garchizy in the Nièvre region. Aware of environmental issues, the company helps manufacturers optimise their manufacturing ...
-
Reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in fired heaters
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 ...
-
Enhancing profitability using high-efficiency heat exchangers (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Alfa Laval has been in the refinery industry for more than 40 years, with more than 3,000 high-efficiency heat exchangers installed worldwide. The company’s ...
-
Cut time, costs and complexity with the integrated capabilities of an F4T controller
Nov-2021
Many of today’s complex industrial heating systems have several devices to ensure continuous operations and efficient performance. The application may ...
-
Increasing efficiency of catalytic reformer unit fired heaters
Oct-2023
Application of ceramic coating on CRU heater tubing and refractory avoids oxidative scale formation, significantly lowering fuel consumption and CO2 f ...
-
How refineries are saving time and money protecting assets
Feb-2023
The oil and gas industry is seeing a rise in demand and is taking vital steps to avoid disruption in production by preventing corrosion in process vessels, ...
-
Understanding the value of arc flash management and mitigation for large electric process heaters
Jun-2022
While larger medium voltage process heaters are relatively new in hydrocarbon processing, the safety issues surrounding medium-voltage equipment are well ...
-
A systems approach at work to solve electrification challenges at scale
Sep-2023
Industrial organisations can push decarbonisation forward by shifting process heater systems from fossil fuel-burning to electric. This kind of electrification ...
-
Reducing fuel usage in the midst of a new gas demand reduction plan
Feb-2023
Processing facilities, including refineries, power plants and petrochemical complexes, are soon likely to be feeling the effects of Europe’s latest Gas ...
-
Three steps to optimise fractionator performance with plate technology
Oct-2022
The refining industry has dealt with various challenges throughout its history, but the current pressure from a range of factors, such as energy optimisation, ...
-
Steam methane reformer tube lifecycle improvement best practices
May-2024
(White Paper) - Reformer tube life assessment can be done via online monitoring, non-destructive testing, and tube harvesting with historical operating, ...
-
Catalyst filling in a fixed bed tubular reactor
Apr-2017
A reactor filling methodology ensures even reactant distribution and pressure drop
-
Low-cost methods to improve FCCU energy efficiency
Jul-2000
The first step to finding low-cost ways of improving FCC unit efficiency under new environmental regulations is to determine the true limits of the existing ...
-
Passivation of ethylene cracker transfer line heat exchangers
Jul-2009
Case study based on fours years of applying DEHA-based passivation treatment technology to the TLEs of Egyptian Petrochemicals’ ethylene crackers
-
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 ...
-
Improving FCCUs: bottoms system upgrades
Jul-2003
A review of process flow scheme fundamentals and basic equipment operating and design principles that have improved unit operating profitability through ...
-
Explosion protected portable flow metering - (TIA)
Apr-2015
Ruhr Oel refineries in Germany are among the first to employ the world’s first ATEX-certified portable flowmeter, the F Fluxus F/G608 from Flexim.
-
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.
-
Managing heat efficiently - The manufacture of plate-fin heat exchangers
Jun-2017
The most complex task for manufacturers of plate-fin heat exchangers is the process of brazing. Millions of brazing joints are required to ensure that ...
-
Enhanced energy recovery for 
crude preheating
Jun-2018
Replacing shell and tube heat exchangers with a compact welded exchanger increased heat transfer efficiency and reduced fouling issues in a crude unit ...
-
How ceramic solutions simplify field installation and address skilled labor gap
Oct-2018
Innovative ceramic designs simplify field installation and address critical manufacturing skills gap.
-
Demonstrating the viability of small scale LNG terminals (TIA)
May-2019
The project was intended to create small scale LNG infrastructure and establish the port of Klaipeda as an LNG hub for the Baltic region and northeastern ...
-
Fouling and cleaning analysis of a heat exchanger network
Dec-2019
Analysis of a complex heat exchanger network employs a digital twin model to establish a programme for fouling and cleaning.
-
Enclosure heating leads to process heater failures (TIA)
May-2020
It has generally been assumed in energy process heaters that pins attaching heating elements to the power terminal do not generate heat on their own. That ...
-
Decarbonisation, electrification and the case for modern electric process heaters
Jul-2020
Companies in liquified natural gas (LNG) and other industries have been taking bold steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
-
Three steps to optimise fractionator performance with plate technology
Oct-2022
The refining industry has dealt with various challenges throughout its history, but the current pressure from a range of factors, such as energy optimisation, ...
-
Reducing fuel usage in the midst of a new gas demand reduction plan
Feb-2023
Processing facilities, including refineries, power plants and petrochemical complexes, are soon likely to be feeling the effects of Europe’s latest Gas ...
-
Enhancing profitability using high-efficiency heat exchangers (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Alfa Laval has been in the refinery industry for more than 40 years, with more than 3,000 high-efficiency heat exchangers installed worldwide. The company’s ...
-
A systems approach at work to solve electrification challenges at scale
Sep-2023
Industrial organisations can push decarbonisation forward by shifting process heater systems from fossil fuel-burning to electric. This kind of electrification ...
-
Increasing distillate production at zero capital cost
Oct-2014
Significantly increasing distillate production can at the earliest stages require no more than process tweaks before significant capital revamps are r ...
-
Practical considerations for crude unit revamps
Oct-1998
Two examples are used in this article to illustrate how changes in the process flow scheme can increase preheat train heat recovery
-
Oct-2014
When natural gas was to be added to a refinery’s fuel gas system, detailed dynamic simulation of the new system ensured stable operation and a shorter ...
-
Restoring fired heater furnace heat transfer efficiency
Nov-2023
Convection section cleaning of process heaters at an Egyptian facility achieved more than 90% treating of all tube and surface areas. Inefficient heat ...
-
Benefits of spiral and welded plate heat exchangers (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Nexson is a French company based in Garchizy in the Nièvre region. Aware of environmental issues, the company helps manufacturers optimise their manufacturing ...
-
Olefin purification: Why selecting the right adsorbent matters
Nov-2023
Removing difficult-to-detect contaminants helps minimise adsorbent reactivity while avoiding side reactions and excessive heat release.
-
Heat integration projects for 
refining processes
Oct-2013
Heat integration projects can deliver substantial savings, but they require detailed simulation and case-specific heat integration analysis
-
Applying pinch technology to 
energy recovery
Oct-2013
A pinch technology-based study of heating and cooling of material streams in a large-scale olefins plant identifies major opportunities for energy sav ...
-
Improving the distillation energy network
Oct-2013
Energy-efficient design applied to the refit of a distillation unit was achieved through optimisation between the distillation column and heat network ...
-
As cold as ice, liquefying LNG beyond the arctic circle
Aug-2013
Building a low-carbon economy is one of the great challenges of our time. In order to protect the climate, the world needs clean energy and natural gas ...
-
A novel approach to cleaning 
furnace coils
Jul-2013
A modified pigging operation aims to greatly reduce the time required for coke removal from furnace coils
-
Selecting the “Best” fired heater
Jun-2013
Fired heaters are extensively used in the chemical process industry to heat process fluids and generate steam. Typically, fired heaters consume the largest ...
-
Driving down costs in hydrogen production
Mar-2013
An optimised hydrogen plant design achieves the right balance of minimising both Capex and Opex costs, while meeting the specific objectives of the end ...
-
Optimising a process scheme for platforming heaters
Jan-2013
Thermal imbalance resulting from an existing process scheme for CCR platforming furnaces is addressed by process schemes for distributing heat load more ...
-
Mitigation of heat exchanger fouling
Oct-2012
Detailed analysis of potential contributors identifies the root cause of fouling in naphtha hydrotreater feed-effluent exchangers
-
Challenges of heavy crude processing
Oct-2012
A review of upgrading options and refinery configurations to process heavy crudes profitably. Refiners have long faced a major dilemma when designing refineries ...
-
Value of monitoring exchanger networks
Oct-2012
A rigorous exchanger simulation model can be used to calculate the true cost of fouling in crude preheat networks
-
Energy recovery with compact 
heat exchangers
Jan-2012
Compact heat exchangers are used for heat recovery applications where high efficiency is vital, space constraints apply, or exotic materials are requi ...
-
Optimising steam systems: part II
Jul-2010
A second article on steam system optimisation addresses steam at point of use and good engineering practice to remove and return condensate
-
Optimising steam systems: part I
Apr-2010
Simple techniques to reduce the cost of ownership of a refinery’s steam distribution system and condensate return using steam traps and separators
-
Monitoring heat exchange systems
Jan-2010
Anticipating final federal standards, the cooling tower monitoring programs at two refineries have been beneficial in estimating VOC emissions from the ...
-
Enhancing heat transfer in Texas Towers
Oct-2009
Retrofit technology enhances heat recovery in feed-effluent exchangers, increases throughput, reduces furnace load and provides cost benefits
-
Passivation of ethylene cracker transfer line heat exchangers
Jul-2009
Case study based on fours years of applying DEHA-based passivation treatment technology to the TLEs of Egyptian Petrochemicals’ ethylene crackers
-
Advances in delayed coking heat transfer equipment design
Nov-2008
The delayed coking process is used to crack heavy oils, normally vacuum residue, into more valuable light liquid products, with less valuable gas and solid ...
-
Why vacuum unit fired heaters coke
Oct-2004
A description of the internal workings of vacuum heaters and the causes of coke formation within them
-
Consider retrofits to handle high-viscosity crudes
Mar-2004
In 2000, ConocoPhillips’ refinery in Sweeny, Texas, began processing 16° API gravity blends of extra-heavy crude oils, including Merey 16 and BCF 1 ...
-
Improving FCCUs: bottoms system upgrades
Jul-2003
A review of process flow scheme fundamentals and basic equipment operating and design principles that have improved unit operating profitability through ...
-
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 ...
-
Low-cost methods to improve FCCU energy efficiency
Jul-2000
The first step to finding low-cost ways of improving FCC unit efficiency under new environmental regulations is to determine the true limits of the existing ...
-
Practical considerations for crude unit revamps
Oct-1998
Two examples are used in this article to illustrate how changes in the process flow scheme can increase preheat train heat recovery
-
Steam methane reformer tube lifecycle improvement best practices
May-2024
(White Paper) - Reformer tube life assessment can be done via online monitoring, non-destructive testing, and tube harvesting with historical operating, ...