Spent sulphuric acid regeneration (SAR) process

May-2012

Several chemical processes utilise concentrated sulphuric acid as a catalyst or dehydrating agent, in which the acid becomes “spent”; ie, weakened ...

Residue desulphurisation and conversion

Apr-2006

The current market forces that presage a boom in resid hydrotreatment are examined along with recently reported progress in technology

Diesel hydrotreating and mild hydrocracking

Oct-2011

Increased hydroprocessing capability must provide an acceptable long-term return on capital, while producing the desired product yields and qualities

Sulphuric acid recovery from sulphurous waste streams

Oct-1998

The WSA process is a catalytic system for producing concentrated sulphuric acid from any sulphur-containing offgas, without the use of chemicals

Linings for sulphur storage tanks

Apr-2015

Flexible spray coatings combat the corrosion mechanisms of sulphur stored in steel tanks.

LO-CAT: a flexible hydrogen sulphide removal process

Feb-2015

The hydrocarbon engineering industry faces tighter restrictions for hydrogen sulphide (H2S) emissions and expanding requirements for sulphur recovery. ...

Developments in H2S scavenging

Jun-2018

Advances in the application of triazine scavengers have significantly improved process efficiencies.

Operational challenges in sour water stripping

Jul-2019

How to keep a sour water stripper at optimum performance between shutdowns.

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 ...

Tail gas catalyst performance: part 2

Dec-2014

The second part of a two-part account of time and temperature effects on tail gas catalyst performance gives a background to reaction modelling and pilot ...

Solutions for the treatment of highly sour gases

Apr-2012

Process technologies for the cost-effective treatment of natural gas with high and ultra-high acid gas content

Importance of heat maintenance in sulphur recovery units

Mar-2016

While sulphur recovery in an SRU depends on the condensation and removal of elemental sulphur, its unintended condensation and accumulation can present ...

Refining/petrochemical integration - FCC gasoline to petrochemicals

May-2015

The global trend in motor fuel consumption favours diesel over gasoline, with gasoline often being in surplus. There is a simultaneous increase in demand ...

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 ...

Risks of accumulated sulphur in sulphur recovery units

Apr-2014

While recovering sulphur in an SRU depends on condensation of sulphur, its unintended condensation and accumulation can present problems.

Designing for sulphur removal and storage: part 1

Apr-2010

Selection of technologies for the sulphur block must serve legislative demands and the efficient operation of upstream processes

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 ...

Impact of low-sulphur bunkers on refineries

Mar-2009

Proposed IMO global sulphur specifications on bunker fuels market and options available to reduce fuel oil sulphur are reviewed

World’s biggest sulphur forming site

Jul-2014

The Habshan Sulphur Granulation Plant, located about 16km southeast of the existing Habshan Gas Complex in Abu Dhabi, is about to be the world’s largest ...

Clean diesel hydrotreating

Jan-2009

Design considerations for clean diesel hydrotreating. Critical issues are discussed when designing a hydrotreating facility to produce diesel fuel with ...

SOx and NOx emission abatement in the FCC

Feb-2018

The complexities of sulphur and nitrogen species formation in the FCC call for tailor made catalyst additive chemistry to limit formation of polluting ...

COS and mercaptans removal from gases

Apr-2023

Challenges with removing trace sulphur species can be better understood and resolved with a new kinetic model validated by plant data in its ability to ...

Hydrogen - the key refinery enabler

Aug-2012

In the 21st century, the term “scraping the bottom of the barrel” has become quite literal to the refining industry and hydrogen comes to the fore ...

Improving sulphur recovery units

Jul-2006

A new alternative to the Claus unit tail gas treatment has been found in the wet gas scrubber. This can maintain or increase acid gas feed rates to the ...

Challenges and opportunities of 10 ppm sulphur gasoline: part 1

Jul-2012

Prospect of a worldwide standard for ULSG and the challenges of increased heavy crude supplies demand careful consideration and selection of refinery ...

IMO 2020 - Maritime CEMS and refinery changes

May-2020

For several years, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has stipulated low levels of sulphur emissions close to densely populated coastal areas, ...

Boosting mild hydrocracking performance

Aug-2020

Optimising its mild hydrocracking operations using new catalyst developments enabled a refinery to meet more complex targets for fuel quality.

Pricing licences for gas processing units

Mar-2021

How technologies can be selected on the best licensing terms.

Start-up and shutdown issues in sulphur processing

Nov-2020

Knowing the limitations of the sulphur unit and what may occur during start-ups and shutdowns helps to prevent damage.

Acid gas fired reheater control

Jun-2021

Operating as close as possible to the stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio is advised for acid gas fired reheaters.

Suppressing the steam plume

Mar-2021

A process for wet scrubbing off-gases from the SRU helps preserve neighbourly relations.

Reducing CO2 and NOx while Increasing efficiency from fired heaters without selective catalytic reduction

May-2022

Fired heaters, also called furnaces, use the heat from combustion of hydrocarbons to increase the temperature of a fluid. Direct-fired heaters are common ...

Determination of total sulphur in biofuels from feedstock to endproduct according to ASTM D5453

Jul-2022

Sulphur is a natural component in both crude oil and biobased feedstocks that will be present in diesel and gasoline unless it is removed during the production ...

Sulphidation corrosion in a claus waste heat boiler

Aug-2021

Simulation enabled a refiner to avoid potentially dangerous operating conditions in a sulphur recovery unit.

IMO 2020: meeting the challenge

Sep-2020

Developments in fuel additive technology address challenges and uncertainties raised by the IMO 2020 regulations

Optimise your workflow and improve lab efficiencies

Oct-2020

XOS’ Sindie® series sulphur analysers offer a variety of features and capabilities aiming to improve your operational efficiencies. In addition, XOS’ ...

What steps do we need to take to keep our sour water stripper at peak performance following a shutdown?

Feb-2021

Responses to a question in the Q1 2021 issues Q&A Feature

Tail gas hydrotreating in a high H2S gas plant

Jun-2021

A tail gas hydrotreating catalyst delivers stable sulphur recovery operations, including low emission levels and energy savings, with a low rate of de ...

Cleaning amine units cost effectively

May-2021

Heat stable salts are dissolved or avoided by chemical products and cleaning methods during operations and turnarounds.

Wireless instruments in corrosive and hazardous locations

Jun-2018

Wireless instruments introduce a range of benefits in corrosive and hazardous process areas.

Catalytic strategies to meet gasoline sulphur limits

Apr-2015

Stricter regulations reducing average gasoline sulphur content will require further reduction of FCC gasoline sulphur

Importance of heat maintenance in sulphur recovery units

Mar-2016

While sulphur recovery in an SRU depends on the condensation and removal of elemental sulphur, its unintended condensation and accumulation can present ...

Simulation of Claus unit performance

Nov-2019

Simulating a sulphur recovery unit using a fundamental approach enables the effects of process changes on a host of performance metrics to be reliably ...

Revamp raises crude flexibility and profits (TIA)

Aug-2020

Hyundai Oilbank (HDO) has been operating an atmospheric residue desulphurisation (ARDS) unit, producing feed for the RFCC unit, at its Daesan, South Korea, ...

Enable cost savings and optimise production with real-time sulphur results

Sep-2020

The demand for biofuels has increased in recent years, with the EU requiring that 10% of the total transport fuel in its member countries to come from ...

Is there an alternative to conventional hydrotreating of FCC naphtha that will reduce octane loss?

Feb-2021

Responses to a question in the Q1 2021 issues Q&A feature

Trends and developments in gas analysis

Mar-2021

Technical and digital developments are modernising the way gas analysers are built and used.

Accurate analysis of chlorine in vacuum gas oil and low sulphur fuel oil

Apr-2021

Why measure chlorine in vgo and vlsfo? Vacuum gas oil, more commonly referred to as VGO, is primarily used as a feed for cracking units such as the fluid ...

Controlling hyper-active catalysts with injection (ERTC)

Dec-2021

Starting up a hydrocracker after a catalyst change-out can be complex and operationally challenging, especially when high-activity cracking catalysts have ...

Sulphur spiking agents for hydroprocessing units activation (ERTC)

Dec-2021

The hydroprocessing process employs catalysts in which the active species are molybdenum or tungsten sulphides promoted by cobalt or nickel sulphides. ...