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Role of fired heater safety systems
Jul-2013
A fully automated burner management system operating as a SIS for burner control can meet minimum safety targets, improve system availability and lower ...
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Capture and convert - handling mercaptans in hydrocarbon streams
Dec-2008
With the development of increasingly difficult hydrocarbon streams, mercaptans emerge as a major nuisance. The removal and conversion of mercaptans is ...
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Catalyst stripper improves FCC unit performance
Jul-2012
Stripper internals with improved mass transfer characteristics improve the performance of an FCC unit
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Enhancements in Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol manufacturing technology
Aug-2017
The markets for ethylene oxide (EO) and ethylene glycol (EG) continue to see attractive growth. This means that at least one or two new plants will need ...
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Enhanced sulphur recovery from lean acid gases containing COS and mercaptans
Apr-2010
Claus configurations are available for more effective sulphur recovery from lean acid gas containing significant concentrations of organic sulphur com ...
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Estimating silicon accumulation in coker naphtha hydrotreaters
Mar-2012
Improved sampling and analysis of silicon in the feed enable a significant gain in the cycle life of coker naphtha hydrotreater catalysts
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Submerged combustion vaporisers for LNG distribution facilities
Apr-1997
Submerged combustion vaporisers, used to vaporise LNG stored under low temperature, are ideal for peak shaving and base load facilities
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Heat exchange reforming in gas synthesis
Mar-2012
An exchange reformer design offers a very high reforming temperature and the option to reduce primary reformer size
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Bitumen processing: crude unit revamps
Jul-2011
The ability to process bitumen offers a competitive advantage, but revamps of crude and vacuum units to process bitumen require significant changes
to ...
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Chemical analysis in amine system operations
Jul-2013
The array of contaminants that can disrupt the operation of alkanolamine systems needs to be precisely characterised and analysed
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Jul-2006
Issues to consider for extending the turnaround schedule of a delayed coking unit. Theory behind coke drum failure is discussed, with detailed solutions ...
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The hazards of fired heater flooding
Nov-2020
Heater flooding is a serious and potentially dangerous condition which must be dealt with properly and quickly.
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FCC reactor design: 
part II
Jan-2009
In part I, reaction kinetics, cracking chemistry, pressure balance, catalyst and vapour residence times, and fluidisation were considered. In part II, ...
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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 ...
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The ART of trapping silicon and arsenic
Feb-2013
In an effort to lower costs and improve refining margins, refiners often look for opportunities to purchase lower cost crudes or other feedstocks
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Delayed coking as a sustainable refinery solution
Jun-2021
Fuel grade coke is a serious environmental pollutant but the producer, the delayed coking process, can be a contributor to future sustainable development ...
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Myth of high cutpoint in dry 
vacuum units
Apr-2014
Accurate measures of true boiling point cutpoints are essential to correctly evaluate vacuum unit performance
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Medium-sized hydrogen plants based on convection reforming
Feb-2009
Topsoe offers clients flexible and tailor-made solutions for hydrogen production by integrating catalyst and technology. The integrated approach ensures ...
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Efficiency factors in natural gas fired steam boilers
Jul-2020
A study to obtain maximum operating efficiency from a set of refinery steam boilers.
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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 ...
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More petrochemicals with less capital spending
Sep-2020
Even in nations with exceptional dependence on transportation fuels like Brazil, better integration with petrochemicals production is essential for re ...
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Novel processing ideas for a 
condensate refinery
Apr-2016
Synergised unit flow schemes for a condensate refinery aim for high value refined products.
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Additional hydrogen production by heat exchange steam reforming
Oct-2010
Applying the heat exchanger principle in hydrogen manufacture can significantly reduce the consumption of hydrocarbon feedstock
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Oct-2011
Stochastic simulation provides a refinery operator with the information needed to optimise storage in the tank farm
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Conversion of syngas to diesel
Apr-2008
An overview of Fischer-Tropsch technologies for the production of diesel from syngas using a variety of feedstocks
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Jan-2006
How much CO2 can a refinery release into the atmosphere? This is one of the many challenges facing refineries when it comes to reducing CO2 emmisions
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Maximise olefins through catalytic cracking Indmax FCC process
Apr-2008
The primary purpose of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) process historically has been to convert low-valued, heavier petroleum streams into gasoline, ...
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Desalting heavy Canadian crudes
Oct-2012
Effective desalting requires large desalters and attention to all variables associated with good desalter performance
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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
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Apr-2017
Predictive analytics is an evolving technology with many potential applications in and gains for the process industries
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Crude oil sourcing: price and opportunity
Apr-2017
Sourcing crudes for the best refining margin needs to be supported by a detailed procurement strategy.
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Dividing wall columns for gas plants
Jul-2018
Uniting two unit offerings into one column shell can lead refiners to improve the profitability of their gas plants.
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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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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 ...
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Planning for a refinery turnaround
Jan-2019
A consistent approach, coupled with an aligned team, leads to successful preparation at the front end of a turnaround.
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Avoiding unplanned reactor shutdowns
Feb-2019
In hydroprocessing operations, prevention is better than just dealing with the effects of corrosion and fouling problems.
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Understanding centrifugal compressor performance
Apr-2002
In a connected process system, expensive changes to the compressor and driver can be avoided with system debottlenecking modifications
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Choosing quench interbed technology
Jan-2010
A design for hydroprocessing interbed internals favours separate mixing of gas and liquid phases before contacting of the two phases occurs
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Choose the right hose: a practical guide to hose selection
Mar-2013
The right hose keeps your process performing safely and cost effectively. The wrong hose could undermine your process, put personnel at risk and compromise ...
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Predicting middle distillate properties
Apr-2019
Development of on-stream correlation models to predict cloud point, flash point and freezing point and increase production of on-spec jet fuel using a ...
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FCC gasoline desulphurisation for Tier 3 sulphur compliance
Sep-2017
FCC gasoline desulphurisation is used widely in refineries around the world. It is growing in importance because of new regulations that require sulphur ...
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Myth of high cutpoint in dry 
vacuum units
Apr-2014
Accurate measures of true boiling point cutpoints are essential to correctly evaluate vacuum unit performance
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Improving refinery distillation operations
Apr-2008
The outline of a route map or staged approach to unit process improvement follows similar steps to those taken when installing advanced controls on a ...
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The ART of trapping silicon and arsenic
Feb-2013
In an effort to lower costs and improve refining margins, refiners often look for opportunities to purchase lower cost crudes or other feedstocks
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High efficiency zero export steam reforming
Sep-2016
Development of a new hydrogen production technology based on steam methane reforming.
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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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Centrifugal compressor operations
Jul-2004
The wet gas compressor is used as an example in this article reviewing compressor performance, operating conditions and basic control philosophy
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Using pinch technology in operations?
Sep-2013
Pinch Technology is a well established concept, and a tool used to optimise waste heat recovery and design efficient heat integration schemes in a wide ...
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Accuracy of measured lean amine 
H2S loading
May-2018
When solvent regeneration is done robustly the most accurate assessment of lean loadings can be by simulation rather than by measurement.
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Problems in processing discounted crudes Part 2: crude and vacuum columns
May-2019
Project costs must be considered to fully understand whether or not an opportunity crude really does deliver on savings.
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Stahl Columns: An alternative to molecular sieves?
Jun-2022
Case study and independent cost estimations lay out what may someday become the standard way to achieve deep dehydration of produced gas streams.
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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 ...
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Achiving decarbonisation targets with innovative digital capabilities
Jun-2022
For oil and gas companies to achieve mandated decarbonisation targets, they need to increase the use of data and innovative digital capabilities, including ...
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Achieving 95% direct CO2 reduction for hydrogen plants
Jun-2022
Decarbonisation solutions targeting existing refinery hydrogen plants enable refiners to achieve long-term CO2 capture while minimising site space requirements ...
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Olefins and octane from FCC operations
Jun-2022
The worldwide olefins market is valued at over $322 billion by 2026 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.0% for the 2022 to ...
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Revamp of a methanol wash column
Jun-2022
Installation of high performance trays and internals enabled a successful revamp for a syngas purification process.
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Energy management and sustainability of the downstream industry
Jun-2022
Energy management must feature in any strategy in the downstream industry for both environmental impact and economic competitiveness.
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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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Artificial intelligence for sustainable development
Jun-2022
AI and machine learning technologies support the modern hydrocarbon processing industry by adopting business strategies and developing artificial solu ...
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Meeting future Indian gasoline market demands
Jun-2022
The role Indian oil refiners can take in meeting gasoline demand with production of clean burning components.
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Digital twin optimises FCC operations for real separator behaviour
Jun-2022
Digital twins based on process simulation models are invaluable for overcoming limitations in the design or operations phases to optimise plant profit ...
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Rejuvenated catalysts optimise refinery margins in high severity ULSD applications
Jun-2022
Rejuvenated catalysts compare well with fresh catalysts for performance in high pressure ULSD applications with added cost savings.
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Using future rows capacity to debottleneck fired heaters
Jun-2022
Opportunistic usage of the future row provision can lead to a multitude of benefits, provided the refiner knows what they are looking for during the r ...
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Sustainability rankings matter
Jun-2022
From the workers on the production floor to corporate management pursuing higher returns, the common bond in the 100+ year old refining business is cultivation ...
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The optimum installation torque (TIA)
Jun-2022
Determining the required installation torque for a tight flange system is a daily challenge for industrial valve manufacturers and plant operators alike. ...
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A circular solution to plastic waste (TIA)
Jun-2022
Sulzer Chemtech has finalised an agreement with Encina Development Group, LLC. Sulzer will provide technology to recover high purity circular aromatics ...
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Producing renewable liquid products from different lipid feedstocks (TIA)
Jun-2022
The refining landscape is shifting dramatically, and refiners are looking to adapt. This process often involves revamps or retrofits of existing asset ...
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Ceramic coating application in a refinery steam methane reformer furnace
Jun-2022
Increase an SMR’s thermal efficiency by applying a high emissivity ceramic coating on the furnace box walls.
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Economical structural design of natural gas processing plants
Jun-2022
Case study of a butane treatment unit illustrates effective structural design procedures and highlights construction challenges encountered in new and ...
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Worldwide gas industry goes full throttle
Jun-2022
As the world transitions to low-carbon energy sources like LNG, gas markets are diversifying further into hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and petrochemica ...
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Digital twins heat up the capabilities of energy storage plants
Jun-2022
How to support future energy security by enhancing energy storage with automated digital twins.
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The enduring role of natural gas
Jun-2022
Conflict, energy independence goals, and the onus on diversifying the energy industry value chain rely on natural gas to serve as a stable platform during ...
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Jun-2022
How digital solutions help energy companies achieve short and long-term sustainability.
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Part 1: structural analysis concepts for beginner mechanical engineers
May-2022
Admittedly, this blog post will be geared toward a small audience. It’s for a recent (or maybe not so recent) graduate with a Mechanical Engineering ...
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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 ...