Distributor design and testing

Oct-2006

A new main fractionator designed to separate a range of feed streams incorporates multiple layers of structured packing and a slurry section. Flow testing ...

Vacuum unit troubleshooting

Sep-2003

Case studies show how accurate field-measured differential pressure can be interpreted incorrectly when troubleshooting refinery vacuum columns

Accurate front-end scope definition: the key to a successful revamp project

Mar-2014

One of the characteristics of a mature industry such as petroleum refining, particularly in the U.S., is that many capital projects are facility revam ...

Revamping atmospheric crude heaters

Sep-2007

Revamp of an atmospheric crude unit heater suffering from coking caused by asphaltene precipitation resulted in an increased heater run length

Online cleaning and decontamination of a butadiene unit

Apr-2010

Chemical treatment by closed-loop recirculation reduced cleaning time for a butadiene unit turnaround from a typical 20 days to 24 hours

Revamping crude towers for quality and yield

Nov-2016

A successful revamp of distillation towers for increased diesel quality and yield depended on reliable design and accurate assembly

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 ...

Delayed coking: valves make the difference

Jan-2009

Traditional manual methods of coke drum unheading are labour intensive, costly to maintain, expensive to repair and carry inherent risk for personnel on ...

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

Vacuum unit pressure control

Sep-2006

Operational issues such as higher heater duty and column pressure must be weighed against avoiding residue entrainment in HVGO

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 ...

Revamp process design — optimum crude unit product yields

Jul-1997

Designing a new crude unit is an unconstrained process, limited only by capital
investment targets, while revamping an existing unit to optimise ...

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 ...

Hydrocracker revamp for Grangemouth refinery

Jul-1998

BP Oil’s Grangemouth refinery has completed an extensive revamp of its hydrocracker and FCC, reducing production of fuel oil and upgrading to middle ...

Crude unit start-ups: the results of a 
high liquid level

Sep-2003

Pressure-measurement techniques can avoid the dangers of rapidly changing flow rates and levels during start-up

Dividing wall technology in distillation columns

Feb-2020

Increased throughput required the revamp of a gasoline unit. Space constraints and strict product requirements led to dividing wall column technology as ...

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 ...

Troubleshooting crude column constraints

Jul-2017

Multiple limitations to operating capacity were identified and resolved during a column turnaround

Strategies for improved naphtha processing

Oct-2013

To take advantage of dilbit from Alberta and light oils from shale formations, refiners must develop a strategy for processing additional naphthas and ...

Vacuum pressure control: impact on profitability

Jul-2001

Optimisation of flash zone pressure and temperature can improve feedstock quality to downstream units

Safe, reliable and maintenance-free coke drum unheading

Jun-2011

The process of coke drum unheading within oil refining has traditionally been one of the most dangerous activities in the industry. Even today such operations ...

Development of a refinery petrochemical master plan

Jan-1999

A master plan for a refinery/petrochemical complex justifies comprehensive study of all the variables, from market forecast to operating costs

Deep-cut vacuum unit design

Oct-2005

Process modelling and equipment know-how are needed to design deep-cut vacuum units that operate reliably at high temperature and low pressure

Achieving turnaround success

Oct-2016

Large maintenance overhaul projects are complex, expensive processes, often with unpredictable challenges that call for best practice techniques.

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

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

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 ...

Reactor effluent air cooler safety 
through design

Oct-2013

Quality-controlled replacement of carbon steel with Duplex 2205 for revamps can increase the service life and reliability of the REAC in the high-pressure ...

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, ...

High performance internals in severe service

Nov-2020

Application of a severe service grid achieved 10% higher throughput with improved reliability in a vacuum tower revamp.

Upgrading a vacuum distillation tower (TIA)

Feb-2021

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

Dividing wall revamp boosts octane and throughput

Jun-2021

Dividing wall column technology reduces energy and capex, but increasingly contributes to higher revenues from better products, as in this application ...

Taking a holistic approach to a revamp

Jun-2021

If all aspects of a system are carefully examined, even minor changes can lead to large gains in unit performance and profitability.

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 ...

Don’t let furnace emissions derail your expansion project

Nov-2021

Predicting emissions prior to actual furnace design is not just a mathematical calculation

Value engineering: a continuous front-end process (ERTC)

Dec-2021

The concept of front-end loading of projects is not new, where robust planning and design early in a project’s lifecycle helps to influence changes in ...

Impact of not integrating capex in shutdowns

Jan-2022

Capital projects must comply more with detailed practices and principles.

Optimising processes and operations for CO2 emissions reduction

Feb-2022

A proactive approach can achieve immediate CO2 emissions reduction with almost no investments while reducing operating costs.

Optimising planned maintenance outages in turnarounds

Apr-2022

Maintenance downtime affects the refiner’s bottom line every hour that production is offline, which is when temporary power suppliers can help a facility ...

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 ...

Safety in turnaround power services

Jul-2022

Renting power systems during a turnaround or unexpected shutdown must take into account the health and safety of contractors and plant personnel working ...

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 ...

Cost estimating for turnarounds

Jan-2012

Cost estimates for refinery turnarounds can lack accuracy, but lessons learned 
from capital project estimating could improve matters

Enhancing heat transfer in Texas Towers

Oct-2009

Retrofit technology enhances heat recovery in feed-effluent exchangers, increases throughput, reduces furnace load and provides cost benefits

Revamp cat feed hydrotreaters for flexible yields

Nov-2016

Revamping a cat feed hydrotreater to a flexible mild hydrocracker can be the most attractive economic option for adjusting the gasoline to diesel rati ...

Correcting vacuum column design flaws

Apr-2017

Conventional design practices have been proven inadequate when maximising diesel recovery and gas oil cut point

FCC gas concentration unit 
stripper revamp

Jul-2007

Unit charge rate and reactor conversion were increased by the elimination of stripper column flooding. Chemical-grade propylene specifications were me ...

Revamping a hydrocracker’s overhead condenser

Jul-2015

A stepwise approach solved seasonal issues affecting plans to increase a hydrocracker’s capacity

Troubleshooting crude column constraints

Jul-2017

Multiple limitations to operating capacity were identified and resolved during a column turnaround