Refining/petrochemical integration: a new paradigm

Sep-2013

The global trend in motor fuel consumption favours diesel over gasoline. There is a simultaneous increase in demand for various petrochemicals such as ...

Optimising preflash for light tight oil processing

Jul-2015

For a crude unit handling light tight oil feedstock, a semi-preflash column can deliver significant advantages in energy saving, capacity gain and revamp ...

Improving VGO hydrotreater operation

Jan-2009

A practical, industrial data-derived tool can give refiners confidence in simulating the actual benefits of additional hydrogen for improved VGO hydrotreater ...

Enhancing energy efficiency in the CDU

Apr-2015

Revisiting your crude distillation unit may expose hidden potential for major energy savings

Reliability vs recovery for delayed coking fractionators

Apr-2009

When selecting tower internals, numerous choices are available for coker main fractionator configurations, each offering benefits and trade-offs. Some ...

Impact of acid gas loading on the heat of absorption and voc and btex solubility in amine sweetening units

Mar-2007

In amine sweetening units, the heat of absorption and VOC and BTEX solubility have been found to vary significantly with acid gas loading, as well as with ...

A balanced approach to vacuum tower flash zone/wash section design

Sep-2010

Revamping an existing vacuum column to operate at a higher feed rate, higher flash zone temperature, lower pressure, and different feed stock characterisation ...

Overcoming tight emulsion problems

Oct-2014

A refiner’s trials of a membrane coalescence mechanism were scaled up to plant level and delivered significant product recovery from tight aqueous e ...

High capacity distillation revamps

Oct-2001

Understanding how high-capacity trays work assists in the selection and design process and can also help in the avoidance of failures

Selective control for a total reflux column

Jul-2014

Operating problems with a de-ethaniser column led to the development of a new strategy for an advanced process control system

Online cleaning of an integrated distillation unit

Oct-2013

Online cleaning technology was validated during a scheduled turnaround at the second largest refinery in Poland.

Hydrocarbon removal from amines demonstrated experience

Mar-2006

Bringing amine system contaminants down to low levels has reduced operational problems. Several large operating facilities are now using the latest technology ...

Accurate prediction of tower relief

Apr-2014

A comparison of conventional and dynamic simulation methods applied to a project to debottleneck a deisobutaniser

Optimised reactor internals for a hydroprocessing unit

Apr-2012

Optimised distributor and quench box design can improve catalyst performance and unit reliability

Modular design of smaller-scale GTL plants

Jan-2013

Modularisation is opening up opportunities for GTL plants to monetise small-scale natural gas deposits both on- and offshore

CFD study of a VDU feed inlet device and wash bed

Oct-2009

Analysis of vapour velocity profiles at the entry to the wash zone of a VDU column enables a higher feed rate and improved output quality

Less is more: how a dividing wall column maximises LPG recovery

Oct-2014

Maximising LPG recovery from fuel gas using a dividing wall column. Refiners have a challenge to recover LPG from mixed fuel gas streams due to the difficulty ...

Debottlenecking an FCC gas concentration unit

Jan-2018

Component trapping by physical carry-over of water can cause capacity bottlenecks that are not easily predicted

Retrofitting a glycol contactor to 
prevent carryover

Oct-2013

A revamp of glycol contactor column internals, following CFD studies, resolved problems with gas production caused by glycol carryover

An evaluation of general “rules of thumb” in amine sweetening unit design and operation

Mar-2010

Many “rules of thumb” are widely used in the design and operation of amine sweetening units. These rules have been developed over the years and most ...

High performance trays for a fractionator in an aromatics plant

May-2015

Distillation is a very important separation technology in refineries and downstream chemical processing. Mass transfer internals in distillation columns ...

Increasing vacuum tower performance

Oct-2004

Advantages of using gravity flow liquid distributors in services where, historically, spray nozzles have been used, specifically in refinery vacuum tower ...

Clean diesel project

Jan-2011

A process review, including the improvement of atmospheric and vacuum distillation columns, for the reformulation of the diesel pool

Risks of accumulated sulphur in sulphur recovery unit

Aug-1998

Follow-up data to an October 1997 article proves with refinery experience that caustic neutralisation does not improve system operations

Scale Catcher technology

Dec-2016

Feed containing fines, in-organic matter, sludge, rust etc. can cause excessive pressure drop build-up issues in hydroprocessing reactors.

Troubleshooting premature tower flooding

Aug-2020

Thorough analysis of field data and tray hydraulics together with gamma scanning were key factors in the successful troubleshooting of premature flooding ...

PackView™ liquid retention scale is a quantitative analysis of packing maldistribution

Sep-2020

PackView™ can be used to compare operational parameters with engineering design

Baseline scans prove critical in diagnosing any potential future column problems

Sep-2020

A baseline scan establishes a reference point, a historical marker for column performance

Pre-turnaround scans enable better critical path planning

Sep-2020

Tru-Scan™ and Tru-Grid™ Scan results help determine whether to enter a particular column during the turnaround outage or remove it from the critical ...

Tru-Grid™ scans detect solids build-up to assist in determining the appropriate maintenance path

Sep-2020

PackView™ liquid retention scale included on Tru-Grid™ Scan results provide customers the amount of build-up, relative density and growth patterns ...

ThruVision™ scans are the next step to investigate liquid maldistribution

Sep-2020

ThruVision™ technology allows for a complete understanding of liquid distribution, saving days of production losses and massive costs of a unit shut ...

Tru-Scan™ identifies abnormal process conditions and helps optimise vessel efficiencies

Sep-2020

Tru-Scans™ provide valuable data aiding operations in achieving 115% of unit capacity

Horizontal incinerator reactor scans identify catalyst loss and provide insight to repair efficiency issues

Sep-2020

Tracerco technology can see inside the very heart of operations to determine why processes are not operating as expected.

Increase production rates with Tracerco’s FrothView and Tru-Scan technologies

Sep-2020

How Tru-Scan™ and FrothView™ results help increase production, and remove the debutanizer tower, which seemed to be the bottleneck for the unit.

Detecting leaking PSVs helps a refiner avoid potential emission fines and penalties

Sep-2020

A Tracerco Diagnostics™ Leak study identifies leaks resulting in massive savings from environmental fines, without any interruption to production.

Upgrading a vacuum distillation tower (TIA)

Feb-2021

Reliable and efficient vacuum towers are key to ensuring optimal performance and yield.

Upgrading a vacuum distillation tower (TIA)

Aug-2021

When a major oil refinery in India was constrained by its vacuum tower, it turned to Sulzer Chemtech to find a solution that would not only solve existing ...

Optimising heat recovery in a heat exchanger network

Apr-2022

Maintaining equal heat capacity flow rates for heat sink and source provides maximum heat recovery from an exchanger network.

Sulzer’s VIEC technology provides the solution with single-stage early separation

Nov-2022

The principle of “easiest first” applies as much in the oil industry as in most other enterprises. This in no more evident than in the state of the ...

Practical considerations for the design of adsorbent beds

Jul-2023

Refineries have to achieve outstanding reliability and in order to obtain this, they must ensure they optimise the lifetime of molecular sieves. Oil and ...

Enhancing energy efficiency in the CDU

Apr-2015

Revisiting your crude distillation unit may expose hidden potential for major energy savings

Improved distillation efficiency

Dec-2016

Dividing wall column technology applied to a xylenes separation project delivered superior energy efficiency compared to a two-column arrangement.

Improved stripper efficiency raises upgrader production

Jun-2016

Revamping a heavy oil upgrader’s steam stripping tower increased tray efficiency and achieved record throughput.

Get 20% more hydrogen than nameplate in your next turnaround

May-2020

A foil-supported catalyst meets increased hydrogen demand within a 
normal turnaround.

Maximising heat exchanger cleaning

Jun-2018

Powerful chemical cleaning programmes reduce downtime and increase the efficiency of heat exchangers.

Loss into gain in high capacity trays - Part 1: excursion

Jun-2016

Systematic troubleshooting diagnosed and solved two complex and independent problems that limited the capacity of an atmospheric crude distillation to ...

Accurate prediction of tower relief

Apr-2014

A comparison of conventional and dynamic simulation methods applied to a project to debottleneck a deisobutaniser

Tray technology 
enhances extraction

Oct-2007

A case study involving the revamp of two rotating disc contactors in aromatics service highlights the most important design considerations for enhancing ...

Overcoming tight emulsion problems

Oct-2014

A refiner’s trials of a membrane coalescence mechanism were scaled up to plant level and delivered significant product recovery from tight aqueous e ...

Replacing a corroded column with packing internals

Jul-2018

A corroded column was replaced with a new column equipped with high capacity packing. The cross sectional area is less than half that of the original.