Troubleshooting steam ejectors

Oct-2014

Some causes and practical solutions concerning problems with refinery steam vacuum ejectors

Controlling film temperature in fired heaters

Jan-2013

Film temperature control is critical to the successful design of fired heaters, especially for heaters employed in upgrading heavy feedstocks

Sulphur tail gas thermal oxidiser systems

Dec-2008

SRUs (sulphur recovery units) in refineries and gas plants remove sulphur compounds from sulphur containing fuel gases and from natural gas and crude oil ...

Air pre-heater improves energy efficiency

Apr-2014

A corrosion resistant air pre-heater enables valuable heat recovery from corrosive and fouling refinery flue gas streams

Maximising ethane in liquids crackers

Jan-2013

Economics for energy and feedstock supply favour ethane feed cracking, but plant constraints must be examined rigorously before maximum ethane feeds are ...

Estimation of heat losses from process piping and equipment

Apr-2010

An accessible predictive tool calculates surface heat losses from refinery piping and equipment. The most important part of the energy management strategy ...

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 ...

Failure analysis of burner piping

Jul-2014

Investigation of the causes of a severe refinery fire leads to recommendations for burner piping design to prevent such incidents

Recovering tungsten from spent hydrocracking catalysts

Apr-2014

When catalyst is no longer serviceable for hydrotreating, it takes a metallurgical route to supply tungsten for steelmakers

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

Residue conversion options to meet marine fuel regulations

Jul-2010

Slurry hydrocracking to match demand for lower-sulphur marine fuel oils and to maintain distillate production targets

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.

A refinery’s journey to energy efficiency

Mar-2016

Identifying a series of areas for improvement transformed the energy performance of a refinery with a 60-year history

Minimising the cost of hydrogen production

Apr-2013

Feed and fuel costs or the demand for export steam drive the choice of plant architecture and operating parameters in SMR hydrogen production

Diagnostic tools and control parameters for refinery heaters

Apr-2013

To optimise or manage furnace operation more effectively and safely, engineers and operators need to understand and control the entire process

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 ...

Lessons learned from Mpc revamp of two naphtha crackers

Apr-2013

A project overview includes changes made at the regulatory and advanced control level, and results obtained. Techniques and tools used in the project are ...

Maximising the use of process energy

Apr-2014

Integrating a flash drum in an atmospheric and crude distillation unit offers the potential for savings and capacity enhancement

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

Flame interaction and rollover solutions in ethylene cracking furnaces

Apr-2013

During plant expansion or construction of new facilities for olefins plant, it is important to keep in mind the interactions of flame, fuel and lower ...

Reliability in recovery

Apr-2014

Reliability is a buzz word used a lot these days. You hear it a lot and it means different things to different people based on their job description.

Insulating tank terminals

Apr-2013

Energy-efficient tank insulation systems result in lower energy costs, less maintenance, and a prolonged lifespan of contents and equipment

Retrofitting lower emission burners into existing ethylene cracking furnaces

Sep-2014

The increasing supply of global shale gas feedstocks has rekindled interest worldwide in olefins production. Many petrochemical companies are restarting ...

Down-fired salt thermal oxidisers

Jun-2009

Applications requiring the use of a thermal oxidation system to incinerate and eliminate wastes are widely diverse. UOP Callidus provides engineering and ...

De-mystifying vacuum ejector systems

Feb-2023

First-stage inter-condenser design and performance are critical for reliable vacuum system performance.

Introduction to refractory

Dec-2022

De-mystifying vacuum ejector systems

Feb-2023

First-stage inter-condenser design and performance are critical for reliable vacuum system performance.

Debottlenecking product recovery using product pair distillation: Part I

Apr-2023

Advantages of using a thermodynamically efficient method to debottleneck existing distillation trains using fewer new columns than traditional methods ...

Troubleshooting steam ejectors

Oct-2014

Some causes and practical solutions concerning problems with refinery steam vacuum ejectors

A refinery’s journey to energy efficiency

Mar-2016

Identifying a series of areas for improvement transformed the energy performance of a refinery with a 60-year history

Controlling film temperature in fired heaters

Jan-2013

Film temperature control is critical to the successful design of fired heaters, especially for heaters employed in upgrading heavy feedstocks

Maximising ethane in liquids crackers

Jan-2013

Economics for energy and feedstock supply favour ethane feed cracking, but plant constraints must be examined rigorously before maximum ethane feeds are ...

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

Cooling tower acceptance testing

Dec-2022

In a recent blog, August 8, 2022, the subject of an independent check-rate or rating of a cooling tower’s thermal design was discussed.

Fouling in VDU ejector systems

Feb-2023

Review of critical ejector-condenser interplay, with an overview of fouling in VDU ejector systems, including a case study where fouling impacted a refiner's ...

Reactor runaways - automatic or manual depressuring?

Feb-2023

Recently, I have had several discussions and inquiries regarding reactor runaway events and whether automatic depressuring systems are needed for hydroprocessing ...

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 ...

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.

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. ...

Sulphur tail gas thermal oxidiser systems

Dec-2008

SRUs (sulphur recovery units) in refineries and gas plants remove sulphur compounds from sulphur containing fuel gases and from natural gas and crude oil ...

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

Insulating tank terminals

Apr-2013

Energy-efficient tank insulation systems result in lower energy costs, less maintenance, and a prolonged lifespan of contents and equipment

Reconfiguration of naphtha splitters using divided wall column technology

Feb-2023

Integration of DWCs into existing refining configurations reduces energy consumption and GHG emissions in distillation systems while also lowering operating ...

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.

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 ...

Failure analysis of burner piping

Jul-2014

Investigation of the causes of a severe refinery fire leads to recommendations for burner piping design to prevent such incidents

Residue conversion options to meet marine fuel regulations

Jul-2010

Slurry hydrocracking to match demand for lower-sulphur marine fuel oils and to maintain distillate production targets

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 ...

Minimising the cost of hydrogen production

Apr-2013

Feed and fuel costs or the demand for export steam drive the choice of plant architecture and operating parameters in SMR hydrogen production

Air pre-heater improves energy efficiency

Apr-2014

A corrosion resistant air pre-heater enables valuable heat recovery from corrosive and fouling refinery flue gas streams

Steam methane reformer tube lifecycle improvement best practices

May-2024

Reformer tube life assessment can be done via online monitoring, non-destructive testing, and tube harvesting with historical operating, monitoring, and ...