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Process and energy analysis for cost savings and CO2 reduction
Jul-2010Applying heat pinch technology and process know-how to maximise energy savings. In an increasingly carbon-conscious market, improving energy efficiency ...
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Residue desulphurisation and conversion
Apr-2006The current market forces that presage a boom in resid hydrotreatment are examined along with recently reported progress in technology
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Maximising premium distillate by catalytic dewaxing
Feb-2011Advances in technology for catalytic dewaxing of distillates by isomerisation provide improved activity
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Catalytic oxidation of spent caustic
Jul-2011A process to oxidise spent caustic in an existing treatment plant by a catalytic route in the presence of air enhances the quality of wastewater relea ...
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Practical hydrocarbon dew point specification for natural gas transmission lines
Mar-2011Hydrocarbon liquid dropout can cause a number of problems in gas transmission lines, including increased pressure drop, reduced line capacity and equipment ...
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Sour water stripping Part 2: phenolic water
Aug-2014In addition to ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, and carbon dioxide, phenolic sour water may contain a host of so-called heat stable salts (HSSs), hydrogen cyanide, ...
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Hydrogen-induced cracking and blistering
Apr-2009Hydrogen 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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Multiple corrosion mechanisms in crude distillation overhead system
Jul-2009Extensive troubleshooting efforts determine distinct corrosion mechanisms simultaneously attacking multiple areas of an atmospheric tower overhead sys ...
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Diesel and VGO recovery
Oct-2005Fundamental design considerations influencing diesel and vacuum gas oil (VGO) recovery when revamping existing or designing grassroots crude units. By ...
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Natural gas fuels the integration of refining and petrochemicals
Jul-2012Maximising the use of natural gas in a refinery-petrochemicals complex offers higher margins and lower carbon emissions
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Hydrotreating in the production of green diesel
Apr-2010A novel scheme enables co-processing of light gas oil and tall diesel to produce a renewable diesel meeting EN 590 specifications
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Process improvements in the direct hydration of olefins to alcohols
May-2014Synthetic alcohols produced by direct hydration have wide application in the process industries as solvents, in the production of cosmetics and as intermediates ...
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Entrainment issues in vacuum column flash zones
Jan-2010For a vacuum tower to operate effectively, the flash zone and the wash section must work together to provide the best possible feed quality to the sections ...
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Simulation of a visbreaking unit
Apr-2011Simulation 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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Managing vanadium from high metals crude oils
Sep-2003Improvements in process and equipment design with regard to crude unit and delayed coker distillation column performance can reduce metals content
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Mercury treatment options for natural gas plants
Jan-2014Removing mercury as close as is practicable to the front end of a natural gas processing system is the best choice
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Choosing the proper regulator for high-purity applications
Feb-2008Regulators are highly technical, highly specialised fluid-handling components. So, the next time you need one please do not just grab one out of the supply ...
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Optimised hydrogen production by steam reforming: part I
Jan-2012Modelling optimisation of process and design parameters for minimising natural gas consumption in hydrogen production by steam reforming
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Troubleshooting steam ejectors
Oct-2014Some causes and practical solutions concerning problems with refinery steam vacuum ejectors
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Designing the CDU/VDU for opportunity crudes
Oct-2012New units for processing heavy crudes should not be designed using conventional practices or run length will be short, and product yields and quality ...
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Sour water stripping Part 3: waste water treatment
Sep-2014Mass transfer rate-based simulation is used in a case study to examine two of the important factors that determine the performance of a 2-Stage Chevron ...
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Maximise olefins through catalytic cracking Indmax FCC process
Apr-2008The 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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Controlling the dew point of natural gas
Jul-2015Meeting water and hydrocarbon dew point specifications for natural gas without acid gas components
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Divided-wall columns – a novel distillation concept
Oct-2000The technology of divided-wall columns using a single distillation tower, described in this article, is claimed to have investment and operating advantages ...
Most Popular
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FCC unit revamps at minimum cost
Oct-2016Selective modifications for FCC unit revamps can deliver the best return on investment
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Scale Catcher technology
Dec-2016Feed containing fines, in-organic matter, sludge, rust etc. can cause excessive pressure drop build-up issues in hydroprocessing reactors.
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Simplifying hydrogen production
Jun-2017Catalyst systems developed for the purification and reforming sections of the hydrogen plant target significant barriers to efficient production.
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Maximising FCC performance and yields with catalyst innovations (ERTC)
Nov-2017BASF analyses equilibrium catalyst (Ecat) and operating data from over 200 units worldwide. These data provide valuable information on refinery conditions ...
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Maximising propylene and isobutylene from the FCC
Aug-2018A combination of recent catalyst and additive developments raised a refinery’s output of FCC propylene and isobutylene.
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Real-time total chlorine monitoring to ensure optimal desalter performance
May-2019Chlorides are always present in raw crude oils and their concentrations vary greatly. Depending on origin, transportation methods, and process conditions, ...
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Optimise hydrocracker operations for maximum distillates
Apr-2012Estimation of an accurate operating window for a hydrocracker enables refiners to minimise yields of light ends and maximise diesel production
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The future for hydrocracking: part 1
Nov-2017Hydrocracking technology faces challenges and opportunities amid diesel emission scandals, low sulphur marine fuels, and the growing position of electric ...
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Failure analysis of burner piping
Jul-2014Investigation of the causes of a severe refinery fire leads to recommendations for burner piping design to prevent such incidents
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Understanding FCC feeds and benefits to refinery operation
Apr-2015In this work, over one hundred FCC feed samples, originating from diverse geographic locations and consisting of assorted FCC refinery streams, were a ...
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Acid gas treatment upgrade for Qatargas
Jul-2016Upgrading acid gas treatment at the world’s largest LNG facility safeguards the plant’s design capacity and its ability to process increasingly sour ...
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Relative economics of mixed C4 processing routes
Jan-1998Ethylene producers are seeking ways to upgrade the mixed C4 stream from ethylene plants to improve operating economics
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FCC air/steam rings
Oct-2011Ring distributors are a simple yet effective means of improving air/steam distribution within the FCC unit
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Simulating and monitoring H2 plant operations
Oct-2012A computer program was developed to enable a refinery to monitor its hydrogen production daily to foresee potential operating problems
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Refining/petrochemical integration: a new paradigm
Sep-2013The global trend in motor fuel consumption favours diesel over gasoline. There is a simultaneous increase in demand for various petrochemicals such as ...
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Reactor effluent air cooler safety through design
Oct-2013Quality-controlled replacement of carbon steel with Duplex 2205 for revamps can increase the service life and reliability of the REAC in the high-pressure ...
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Myth of high cutpoint in dry vacuum units
Apr-2014Accurate measures of true boiling point cutpoints are essential to correctly evaluate vacuum unit performance
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Removing contaminants from crude oil
Mar-2016Natural and introduced contaminants limit crude desalting effectiveness, increasing fouling and corrosion risks in downstream units
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Maximizing refinery energy optimisation
Jan-2018Flexicoking™ technology is a highly differentiated unique resid upgrading process resulting in significantly lower environmental emissions than other ...
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Understanding centrifugal compressor performance
Apr-2002In a connected process system, expensive changes to the compressor and driver can be avoided with system debottlenecking modifications
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Hydrogen management in a GHG-constrained refinery
Mar-2011Recently the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants and oil refineries starting ...
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Maximising ethane in liquids crackers
Jan-2013Economics 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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21st century reciprocating compressors for downstream applications
May-2016Technology, like time, marches on. Think about the advancements in technology that have taken place in the last 50 years. Advancements have taken us from ...
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The challenges of crude blending - Part 2
Jun-2016The second part of a two-part article details the importance of crude selection and blending strategies to prosper in a low cost yet volatile market.
Most Recent
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Flexible upgrading of heavy feedstocks
Feb-2019Adding tailor-made options for upgrading heavy crudes to existing assets can adapt refineries to changes in market conditions and regulatory demands.
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Chasing the bias – gasoline matrix matching to improve ASTM D2622 sulphur
Jan-2019With the implementation of the US EPA Tier III, Euro 5, and upcoming Euro 6 gasoline sulphur regulations (Table 1), there is an increasing concern with ...
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Reliable and secure treated water (ERTC)
Jan-2019The downstream oil and gas industry faces a number of challenges: emissions and environmental targets, changes in supply and quality of feedstock, and ...
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Spherical catalyst carriers with unprecedented size uniformity (ERTC)
Jan-2019An increased demand for small diameter (less than 4 mm) spherical catalyst carriers led to the development of Saint-Gobain NorPro’s Accu® Spheres.
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Pitfalls in managing precious metals assets (ERTC)
Jan-2019Throughout Sabin’s 75 years in business, we have worked with a great number of petroleum and petrochemical companies, shipping, processing and recycling ...
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Greatly increase FCC residue processing through simple steps of additive control (ERTC)
Jan-2019With oncoming challenges of IMO and further gaseous emissions control regulations, it is becoming a challenge for refiners in the European area to stay ...
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Reconsidering the business case for catalytic dewaxing (ERTC)
Jan-2019Most refineries try to optimise their product mix to satisfy market demand for ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) with good cold flow properties during cold ...
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A new generation of catalyst is born: TK-6001 HySwell (ERTC)
Jan-2019There have been tremendous improvements in catalyst technology over the past 20-30 years to comply with ultra-low sulphur fuel legislation and to maximise ...
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Analysis, active filtration unlock guard vessel stability (ERTC)
Jan-2019For the first time in years, they did not need jackhammers to unload the guard vessel. It was another short cycle, and there was another crust layer.
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A flexible and innovative solution to temporarily mitigate FCC catalyst losses (ERTC)
Jan-2019In the fluid catalytic cracker (FCC), fluidisation of the catalyst is essential to ensure continuous operation of the unit.
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Getting the best out of your hydrocracker unit with new Equiflow® internal reactors (ERTC)
Jan-2019In today’s complex environment, refineries and petrochemical plants around the world are on the lookout for advanced solutions to help them reach operational ...
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In-line H2S analysis during sulphiding (ERTC)
Jan-2019Real-time, in-line analysis of the H2S concentration during hydroprocessing catalyst activation with DMDS Evolution E2 reduces the risk of exposure to ...
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Hydrocarbon Processing Gas Analysis Magazine - Issue 4 2019
Jan-2019Accurate, reliable oxygen (O2) measurements are essential in many HP applications, delivering the readings that support process efficiency, safety and ...
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Planning for a refinery turnaround
Jan-2019A consistent approach, coupled with an aligned team, leads to successful preparation at the front end of a turnaround.
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Mitigating overhead corrosion
Jan-2019Advanced data handling and sensitivity analysis enable fuller understanding of the influence of operating changes on salt formation.
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Resisting metal dusting corrosion
Jan-2019Metal dusting corrosion can limit operating conditions, but recent developments in alloys are helping to combat the phenomenon
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Savings using divided wall columns
Jan-2019Divided wall columns can provide substantial energy and capital cost savings compared to conventional distillation methods.
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Feed conditioning technologies for gas processing plants
Jan-2019Recent contactor developments remove soluble gas phase contaminants from the feed gas stream.
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Front end filtering of unconventional oil
Jan-2019Processing unconventional oils requires technologies such as electrostatic separation to handle higher amounts of filterable solids.
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Dynamic simulation to estimate tower relief
Jan-2019When applied in the correct circumstances, dynamic analysis can help avoid unnecessary scope and project delays.
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Artificial intelligence for refiners
Jan-2019First define the problem, then artificial intelligence can be the way forward to higher operational efficiencies.
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Liquefaction technology selection for offshore FLNG projects
Jan-2019Development of a successful offshore floating LNG project depends on an appropriate liquefaction process that best meets project objectives
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New catalytic systems for converting hydrocarbons
Jan-2019Novel schemes for the development of catalysts with high selectivity for hydrocarbon processing.
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Tray revamp restores crude column performance
Jan-2019Retrofitting the packed top section of a crude atmospheric tower with high capacity trays improved separation efficiency
White Papers
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A comparison of chlorine levels in aromatics
Aug-2019(White Paper) - Petroleum refining processes have evolved over the years to maximise efficiency and output as crude oils are turned into finished products. ...
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Residuum hydrocracking: chemistry and catalysis
Aug-2019(White Paper) - Significant advances have been made in understanding the hydrocracking chemistry of residuum oils and in the catalytic systems required ...
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Optimising desalter control
Aug-2019(White Paper) - Analysing desalter performance and improving crude blending capacity with multi-phase instrumentation and control.
Not all ... -
Best practice for refinery flowsheets
Aug-2019(White Paper) - Refinery-wide flowsheets can demonstrate the true representation of changes in key operating variables and their associated impact on refinery ...
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Sustainable technology for cleaning a crude preheat exchanger network
Aug-2019(White Paper) - Mitigating environmental impacts, saving time and reducing costs: cleaning a heat exchanger network using a renewable cleaning agent
