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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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Ambient conditions impact CO and NOx emissions: part II
Jul-2009Effects of air temperature and humidity on burner NOx emissions are discussed, including considerations for factoring in these effects
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Comparison of thermal cracking and hydrocracking yield distributions
Sep-2011Obtaining the maximum performance from existing residua upgrading equipment is achieved by maximum asset utilisation.
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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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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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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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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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FCC gas concentration unit stripper revamp
Jul-2007Unit charge rate and reactor conversion were increased by the elimination of stripper column flooding. Chemical-grade propylene specifications were me ...
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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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Troubleshooting steam ejectors
Oct-2014Some causes and practical solutions concerning problems with refinery steam vacuum ejectors
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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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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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FCC fundamentals: turnaround best practices
Apr-2009Basic procedures and activities are presented for the unit engineer and other support personnel, designed to ensure a successful and safe FCC turna ...
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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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Maximising premium distillate by catalytic dewaxing
Feb-2011Advances in technology for catalytic dewaxing of distillates by isomerisation provide improved activity
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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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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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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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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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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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Cost estimating for turnarounds
Jan-2012Cost estimates for refinery turnarounds can lack accuracy, but lessons learned from capital project estimating could improve matters
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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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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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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 ...
Most Popular
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Opening the crude flexibility window: enhancing crude unit capabilities
Mar-2018Innovative online analysers help refiners to mitigate crude unit threats in real time and provide new insights into existing problems.
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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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Avoiding unplanned reactor shutdowns
Feb-2019In hydroprocessing operations, prevention is better than just dealing with the effects of corrosion and fouling problems.
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Technology selection for a natural gas plant
May-2019Selecting equipment for a sulphur block requires balancing technical performance and costs, as well as local conditions and regulations.
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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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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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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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Gases: identifying hazards and mitigating risks
Feb-2012Although critical for the operation of refineries and petrochemical plants, industrial gases can be associated with a spectrum of possible hazards and ...
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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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Submerged combustion vaporisers for LNG distribution facilities
Apr-1997Submerged combustion vaporisers, used to vaporise LNG stored under low temperature, are ideal for peak shaving and base load facilities
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Improving refinery distillation operations
Apr-2008The 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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Delayed coking: valves make the difference
Jan-2009Traditional manual methods of coke drum unheading are labour intensive, costly to maintain, expensive to repair and carry inherent risk for personnel on ...
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Reliability vs recovery for delayed coking fractionators
Apr-2009When selecting tower internals, numerous choices are available for coker main fractionator configurations, each offering benefits and trade-offs. Some ...
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Using pinch technology in operations?
Sep-2013Pinch 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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Increase refinery profitability using Innovative FCC catalysts to process residue feedstock (1)
Oct-2013Use catalyst fundamentals to select the best catalysts. Globally, around 35% of FCC units’ process predominantly vacuum gasoil (VGO) feedstock and 65% ...
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Characterising and tracking contaminants in opportunity crudes
Jan-2014The specific properties of contaminants in opportunity crudes affect the selection of crude slates for existing facilities and the design of revamps and ...
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Sour water stripping Part 1: non-phenolic water
Aug-2014Most non-phenolic sour water strippers for removing ammonia and hydrogen sulphide from are built with 30 to 60 trays and are usually designed using equilibrium ...
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Maximising profitability with FCC feeds from opportunity crudes
May-2015Case studies show how to achieve optimal monetisation value with opportunity feeds through operating strategies, innovative catalysts and technical st ...
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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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Loss into gain in high capacity trays - Part 1: excursion
Jun-2016Systematic troubleshooting diagnosed and solved two complex and independent problems that limited the capacity of an atmospheric crude distillation to ...
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High efficiency zero export steam reforming
Sep-2016Development of a new hydrogen production technology based on steam methane reforming.
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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 ...
Most Recent
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Are you ready for the new ASTM D8252 Ni & V method using XRF?
Sep-2019To meet the increased demand for finished product while consistently improving overall profitability, refineries and terminals are dealing more and more ...
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Improving level control in desalters to aid in use of opportunity crudes
Sep-2019Refineries are a complex set of various operating units designed to process crude oil into refined products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuels and feedstocks ...
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A comparison of chlorine levels in aromatics
Aug-2019Petroleum 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-2019Significant advances have been made in understanding the hydrocracking chemistry of residuum oils and in the catalytic systems required for deep conversion ...
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Optimising desalter control
Aug-2019Analysing desalter performance and improving crude blending capacity with multi-phase instrumentation and control.
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Best practice for refinery flowsheets
Aug-2019Refinery-wide flowsheets can demonstrate the true representation of changes in key operating variables and their associated impact on refinery operati ...
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Piston design method makes recips
Aug-2019more reliable Gas leaking past piston rings and rider bands is a significant problem for many reciprocating compressors.
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Sustainable technology for cleaning a crude preheat exchanger network
Aug-2019Mitigating environmental impacts, saving time and reducing costs: cleaning a heat exchanger network using a renewable cleaning agent.
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The future of fuels analysis
Aug-2019Every fuel producer and fuel tester understands that innovation is key for growth. Far too long the status quo has been uncontested, leading to stagnation ...
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VUV Analytics extends jet fuel and gasoline analysis capabilities
Aug-2019VUV Analytics is pleased to announce a series of momentous accomplishments; the approval of ASTM D8267 for jet fuel analysis, the approval of a revision ...
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Desalter interface control optimises crude processing (TIA)
Aug-2019To improve margins, refiners continuously look to optimise feedstock blends. Variability can bring significant operational challenges during the refining ...
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Rust to robust for Spanish refinery (TIA)
Aug-2019The efficient prevention and minimisation of corrosion induced deterioration in distillation columns is a key aspect helping refineries to remain productive ...
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NOx control additives continue to reduce emissions (TIA)
Aug-2019Johnson Matthey’s (JM) NoNOx technology, in conjunction with a non-platinum CO promoter like JM’s COP-NP, can reduce NOx emissions below increasingly ...
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Catalytic lube dewaxing defeats feed contamination (TIA)
Aug-2019A base stock manufacturer was experiencing poor lube plant feed quality stemming from refinery equipment problems. The hydrocracker producing the feed ...
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Digitalisation is transforming KPI setting
Aug-2019Digitalisation means turning numbers on a dashboard into profit on your income statement.
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The great data transformation: how the industry is capitalising on digitalisation (Part 2)
Aug-2019Real-life examples from Shell, Transocean, and SBM Offshore. In the first part of this paper, we explored how TransCanada, Petronas, and ADNOC Onshore ...
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Understanding the effects of silicon contamination
Jul-2019Refiners throughout the petroleum and biofuels industry are taking a closer look at the dangers of silicon in gasoline and ethanol.
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Improving the flow, installation experience with a new reformer flue gas tunnel system
Jul-2019For decades, down-fired steam methane reformer furnaces have used flue gas tunnels (or ‘coffins’) along the radiant section floor to collect and improve ...
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Thermal imaging CO2 absorbers
Jul-2019The availability of devices capable of creating an image of the infrared radiation emitted by an item of process equipment such as the CO2 absorber in ...
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The right valves even for exceptional applications
Jul-2019Finding exactly the right valves for every customer is a problem which OHL Gutermuth solves every day. This company, based in Altenstadt, Hesse, also produces ...
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The great data transformation: how the industry is capitalising on digitalisation (Part 1)
Jul-2019Real-life examples from TransCanada, Petronas, and ADNOC Onshore. As the oil and gas industry becomes increasingly digitised, torrents of data are being ...
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Real-world catalyst testing
Jul-2019Catalysts are tested in laboratory and pilot plant units for purposes of catalyst research, catalyst development, and catalyst selection. Hoekstra Trading’s ...
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Comparison of interface level between differential pressure and multiphase level measurement
Jul-2019This paper will explain the difference in technology in measuring interface level between Differential Pressure (DP) level and Multiphase Level Measurement ...
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Refinery catalyst testing
Jul-2019Selecting the best catalyst for a unit demands thorough evaluation of the available options.
White Papers
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Decarbonization, electrification and the case for modern electric process heaters
Apr-2020(White Paper) - Companies in liquified natural gas (LNG) and other industries have been taking bold steps to reduce their carbon footprint. The overall ...
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How to measure chlorides in crude oil
Apr-2020(White Paper) - Organic chlorides do not occur naturally in crude oil; however, they can make their way into crude oil as a result of cleaning operations ...
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Pre-reformer catalyst in a hydrogen plant
Apr-2020(White Paper) - Good operation following recommended practice with technical support highlight the successful performance of a pre-reformer catalyst
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The digital refinery
Apr-2020(White Paper) - How MOL used a new approach to data to improve plant diagnostics, adopt alternate crudes and save millions. The petroleum industry is once ...
