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Sour water: where it comes from and how to handle it
Sep-2011
Sour water strippers are common in gas processing facilities, sulphur recovery units, wellhead facilities, and refinery applications. Understanding the ...
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Optimising pumparound reflux for 
zero-cost energy savings
Apr-2012
By increasing pumparound ratios in principal units, refinery engineers were able to recover energy for process heating and reduce stack emissions
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GC-MS: an ideal tool for forensic analysis
Mar-2011
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) presents the ideal analytical tool for forensic analysis in the petrochemical industry.
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Methanol from CO2: a technology and outlook overview
Apr-2023
Optimal capture of CO2 towards methanol production compels development of sustainable renewable solutions like green methanol.
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The role of tail gas treating unit 
quench towers
Jun-2016
A quench tower cools gas entering a tail gas amine unit but also protects the amine against SO2 breakthrough.
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The petrochemistry of paraxylene

Feb-2015
Understanding the basics of the paraxylene manufacturing process.
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The design temperature of flare systems
Apr-2017
A key objective when setting flare system design conditions is to maintain the integrity of the system during fire relief
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Assessment of crude oil blends
Oct-2011
A refiner’s assessment of the compatibility of opportunity crudes in blends aims to avoid the processing problems introduced by lower-quality feedst ...
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Co-processing alternative feedstocks through the FCC
Apr-2023
Decarbonise your FCC by co-processing alternative feedstocks, and enhance the incorporation of biogenic carbon in products.
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Combating green oil formation in a CCR reformer
Jul-2013
The addition of a chloride adsorber guard bed solved a refiner’s issues with contamination affecting a CCR reformer’s rich gas compressor
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Recovery of olefins from refinery offgases
Oct-1998
The Lummus process eliminates the multi-stage feed gas compressor yet maintains over 90 per cent recovery of ethylene while cutting capital cost and reducing ...
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Mar-2012
The source of a fouling problem in a FCC CO boiler was identified by systematic analysis of fresh catalysts, additives and equilibrium catalysts
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Refinery power failures: causes, costs 
and solutions
Aug-2013
Power outages typically lead to damaging costs for refiners. Strategies are 
needed to minimise them.
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Bioethers impact on the gasoline pool
Feb-2007
Benefits of producing bioethers compared to blending bioethanol are examined for the total European gasoline pool. The result of maximising ethanol use ...
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Microbiological causes of corrosion
Jul-2014
Many of the most serious problems with corrosion of refinery equipment have a microbiological basis
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When excess air becomes too much
Jul-2020
Excessive use of excess air impacts operating costs through fuel efficiency, furnace reliability, and stack emissions
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Mercury removal in hydrocarbon streams
Mar-2009
The presence of mercury in refinery hydrocarbon streams results in detrimental effects, including catalyst poisoning, corriosion and safety issues
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Oct-2011
Ring distributors are a simple yet effective means of improving air/steam distribution within the FCC unit
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Ambient conditions impact CO and NOx emissions: part II
Jul-2009
Effects of air temperature and humidity on burner NOx emissions are discussed, including considerations for factoring in these effects
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Cost estimating for turnarounds
Jan-2012
Cost estimates for refinery turnarounds can lack accuracy, but lessons learned 
from capital project estimating could improve matters
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Simulation of a visbreaking unit
Apr-2011
Simulation of a commercial visbreaking unit supports optimisation of the unit’s performance. The visbreaking unit utilises vacuum residue as a feed and ...
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Apr-2007
Utilisation of refinery offgases for hydrogen production. Three basic schemes of ROG integration into a steam reformer plant were investigated. These schemes ...
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Delayed coking and LC-Fining technology - a winning combination
Apr-2008
The high price of oil and increasing global demand for refined products have resulted in unprecedented refining margins, especially for those refiners ...
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Mercury treatment options for natural 
gas plants
Jan-2014
Removing mercury as close as is practicable to the front end of a natural gas processing system is the best choice
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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
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On-demand propylene from naphtha
Jun-2017
A new catalytic process targets economic production of propylene from naphtha at relatively low capital and operating costs
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Reducing NOx emissions from an FCC unit (TIA)
Aug-2018
Refinery processes account for a considerable share of the overall emissions of air pollutants in Europe. The Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) is the ...
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Pre-reformer catalyst in a hydrogen plant
Apr-2020
Good operation following recommended practice with technical support highlight the successful performance of a pre-reformer catalyst.
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Waste recycling: an opportunity for refiners?
Aug-2020
The Circular Economy has been established as the number one priority in the European Green Deal and innovative recycling technologies are helping refiners ...
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How refiners can capitalise on the petrochemical industry
Aug-2020
As the demand for refined products is falling and demand for petrochemical products is increasing, it is vital that refiners consider petrochemical integration, ...
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Improving turnarounds and operations with online cleaning
Sep-2020
Case histories illustrate the financial and operational gains achieved by replacing mechanical cleaning with online, closed-loop operations. The conventional ...
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What is sintering in relation to catalyst deactivation and how can it be avoided? (PTQ Q&A)
Oct-2020
Response to a question in the Q3 2020 issue of PTQ
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Modelling ensures a successful revamp
Nov-2020
Pre-turnaround computational modelling built confidence in the benefits of introducing design changes to a FCC regenerator revamp.
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FCC catalyst boosts bottoms upgrade
Nov-2020
A combination of novel matrix technologies in a new FCC catalyst increased bottoms upgrading of residual feeds and improved profitability.
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What type of catalyst do we need for low pressure hydrotreating of middle distillates?
Feb-2021
Responses to a question in the Q1 2021 issues Q&A Feature
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Energy network monitoring and optimisation
Jun-2021
A software program for optimisation of an energy network supports decisions on equipment use in refineries that produce and import power.
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Increase reliability and profitability in delayed coking units
Sep-2021
Global refiners are always seeking new techniques to optimise their refinery assets with the purpose of maximising their profitability.
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An introduction to fouling in fired heaters: part 1
Apr-2022
Fouling is the accumulation and formation of unwanted materials on the surfaces of processing equipment.
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Importance of testing for vacuum ejectors in refinery service
Jun-2022
Efforts should be made to identify and avoid errors in the specification, engineering, and manufacturing of vacuum system equipment before they manifest ...
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Production optimisation for refining and olefins: how best to achieve it
Aug-2022
To suceed, companies must decisively implement production optimisation strategies using the latest AI-driven technologies, like digital twins and prescriptive ...
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Navigating environmental complexities at pace
Nov-2022
Revamping existing hydrogen plants can provide a significant and lasting impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions towards net zero.
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Should we be using phthalate-free polypropylene? (TIA)
Feb-2023
With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, people are getting more familiar with products made of polypropylene resin, such as the ubiquitous face masks and omnipresent ...
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Role of FCC process and catalysts in the energy transition
Aug-2022
In the evolving circular economy, proper leveraging of FCC technology and operations can deliver value for refiners in the decades going forward.
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Detection of VOCs demands continuous innovation in calibration gases
Oct-2011
With an ever-increasing number of processing plants coming on stream worldwide to keep up with the burgeoning petrochemical industry, the focus on the ...
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Refining-petrochemicals integration: an Indian view
Mar-2018
Integrating a refinery with a petrochemicals complex offers high value products and a boost to gross margin.
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Interpreting FCC equilibrium 
catalyst data
Apr-2018
Regular Ecat and fines analysis provides information to support optimum performance from the FCC.
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Evaluating quickly deactivating catalytic systems (TIA)
Nov-2018
Avantium provides contract research services for high throughput catalysis R&D. For some years now, Avantium has been helping refineries select the best ...
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Automating catalyst evaluation (TIA)
Nov-2019
Accurate evaluation of catalysts performance is an important step in optimising catalytic refinery processes with respect to product yields, run length, ...
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Pricing licences for gas processing units
Mar-2021
How technologies can be selected on the best licensing terms.
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Transition to net zero: steps to decarbonise the oil refining industry
May-2022
A review of the solutions being employed by oil refineries to reduce their Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.
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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 ...
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CO2-derived bio-based polycarbonate: A route towards sustainability (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
The continuous depletion of fossil-based feedstock and excessive emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) has affected the ecological environment and become ...
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Cost-driven natural gas vs hydrogen power for generators (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Regulatory policies promoting green hydrogen are accelerating, but natural gas (NG) is far more competitive on a per-cost basis.
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Enhancing environmental sustainability in the oil and gas industry: the REE concept (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
The oil and gas industry stands at a crossroads, facing the urgent need for sustainable practices amid global environmental concerns. Hoerbiger, a global ...
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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 ...
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Guiding the crude-to-chemicals complex towards a net-zero future (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
In today’s world, the expanding chemical value chain requires superior processing flexibility to shift hydrocarbons from fuels to olefins and aromatics ...
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How to keep your risk-based inspection program functioning efficiently (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
As owner-users continue to rely on existing risk-based inspection (RBI) programs, the question of how to keep an RBI program functioning and compliant ...
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Hybrid loading of regenerated and fresh catalyst for a lower carbon footprint (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Catalysts are typically one of the largest controllable costs for a refiner. Reusing properly regenerated catalysts avoids unnecessary spending and complements ...
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Increasing chemicals by integrating refinery with petrochemicals (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
This article explores the integration of refineries with petrochemicals to increase chemical production.
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K Model: The future of blending (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
In a refinery operation, the profitability margin is increased when heavy crude fractions are blended with light crude without affecting processabilit ...
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Novel reactor for three-phase hydroprocessing applications (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
Hydroprocessing treats heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks with hydrogen to create high-quality fuels in a heterogeneous, exothermic process.
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Nuclear gauges and alternative level technologies in critical refinery applications (Ri 2023)
Nov-2023
In order for important equipment in an oil refinery to function in a smooth and productive manner, accurate level measurement is an essential componen ...
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Transforming hydrogen production for a greener future with water electrolysis (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
There is a global trend toward producing clean hydrogen to achieve the ambitious net zero emissions target by 2050.
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Used lubricating oil in India: treasure or trash? (RI 2023)
Nov-2023
To achieve smooth writing, one must eliminate resistance between pen and paper, right? This resistance to the motion is nothing but a phenomenon known ...
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Assessing LNG feed gas depressurisation
Nov-2023
Methods and models for estimating time-dependent profiles of mass discharge rates, pressures, and temperatures for LNG feed gas non-adiabatic depressurisation ...
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Crude to chemicals: Part 1 - The basic concept of crudes
Nov-2023
Reactor platforms with novel heat integration designed around advanced separation techniques and catalyst systems achieve 75% yields from selected cru ...
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Catalyst testing for renewable fuels and chemicals
Nov-2023
The possibilities and best practices to run renewable feedstocks in high throughput units are presented.
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Identifying high catalyst losses
Nov-2023
Multiple approaches to assessing FCC catalyst losses require an assessment of the unit’s mechanical system’s impact on fluidisation efficiency.
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Simulation VGO and waste lubricating/cooking oil co-hydroprocessing
Nov-2023
Software used to build a simulation case for industrial hydrocracking of VGO, WCO, and WLO validates predicted values of gasoline and middle distillates ...
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Estimating natural gas demand at a petrochemical complex
Nov-2023
A robust model has been developed to predict a plant’s natural gas demand, accounting for fluctuating capacities and anticipated fuel gas and steam ...
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Optimising fouled distillation units
Nov-2023
Case studies discuss optimisation strategies and enhanced distillation unit performance against fouled conditions.
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Managing life cycle assessment and life cycle thinking in refining
Nov-2023
LCA and LCT facilitate the ability to quantitatively determine the impact on integrated environmental management benefits as demonstrated at 10 processing ...
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Enabling safe FCC unit operational changes through ionic modelling
Nov-2023
How ionic modelling assisted in the management of change in FCC unit operations.
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Big changes in the US octane market
Nov-2023
Strategies for enabling higher margin capture in today’s highly volatile crude and product markets.
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Enhancing FCC reliability: The impact of cyclone technology developments
Nov-2023
How optimising cyclone design and implementing advanced internal hardware enhance operational reliability, illustrated with three real-world examples.