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Desalting chemistry and monitoring methods to help expand crude basket
Feb-2023
Widening the crude basket increases the challenges of maintaining asset reliability and plant performance, including formation of rag layers.
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Apr-2019
With the market for high sulphur fuel oil under pressure, refiners with delayed cokers can instead opt for higher value power and steam generation.
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Crude to chemicals: Part 1 - The basic concept of crudes
Nov-2023
Reactor platforms with novel heat integration designed around advanced separation techniques and catalyst systems achieve 75% yields from selected cru ...
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Focused revamp increases diesel and HVGO recovery
Jul-2023
Refiners have the best opportunity to maximise return through identification of creative solutions during a focused capital revamp.
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Maximising stripping section performance
Aug-2021
The design of a crude unit stripping section affects diesel and gasoil yields, energy usage, and unit reliability.
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Jun-2021
Upgraded crude scheduling enabled a refiner to increase its use of opportunity crudes for higher margin.
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Online monitor slashes biocide dosage (TIA)
Nov-2018
In many systems, fouling and deposits are a serious problem which results in shutdowns, cleaning actions and unexpected costs for the customer.
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Considerations for crude unit preflash drums and preflash towers
Feb-2024
A guide to debottlenecking, revamping, designing, and operating crude unit preflash facilities based on literature and the authors’ experience.
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Debottlenecking product recovery using product pair distillation: Part I
Apr-2023
Advantages of using a thermodynamically efficient method to debottleneck existing distillation trains using fewer new columns than traditional methods ...
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Reconfiguration of naphtha splitters using divided wall column technology
Feb-2023
Integration of DWCs into existing refining configurations reduces energy consumption and GHG emissions in distillation systems while also lowering operating ...
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Identifying the root cause of underperforming ejector systems
Nov-2022
Underperforming ejector systems illustrate the importance of the long air baffle, its proper operation, and how to quickly identify problems when they ...
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Amine anomaly in a mild hydrocracker
Jun-2021
Simulation and operational changes help to crack the riddle of frequent amine carry-over from a high pressure amine absorber.
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Premature foam-flood in an amine absorber: Part 1
Nov-2021
Troubleshooting and hydraulic analysis identified vapour channelling in fixed valve trays as the root cause of premature foam-flooding in a high pressure ...
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Jan-2022
Improvements in performance and energy efficiency were achieved during the turnaround of a crude distillation unit.
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Column revamp boosts diesel production
Nov-2020
Revamping the internals of a main fractionator column enabled a refinery to increase its diesel throughput.
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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 ...
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Unicracking unit flow scheme optimisation and integration
Nov-2023
How an optimisation and integration approach can assist in maximising refinery margin for a residue upgrading project.
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Front end filtering of unconventional oil
Jan-2019
Processing unconventional oils requires technologies such as electrostatic separation to handle higher amounts of filterable solids.
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Anti-fouling additives to improve heavy oil processing
Apr-2023
A continuous pilot testing evaluation shows how magnesium sulphonated-based nano-additive is highly effective in mitigating and reducing upgrader/refinery ...
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Crude preheat train fouling and fix-up
Nov-2022
Rigorous modelling of crude preheat train exchangers allows for fouling progression of the heat exchangers to be monitored throughout the crude unit run ...
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Processing lower cost crudes with greater confidence and improved reliability
Dec-2020
For more than 100 years, it has been understood in the petroleum refining industry that certain crude oils or, more accurately, crude oil fractions contain ...
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Managing vacuum tower wash beds
Sep-2020
ThruVision™ scans monitor the rate of coking in vacuum tower wash beds to get the most out of bed productivity.
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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.
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Apr-2022
A vacuum column’s economics can be greatly improved with a low cost modification to the ejector system
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Crude oil processing scheme for reducing operating costs in the CDU
Feb-2023
Development of crude oil distillation processing schemes to significantly reduce external energy and stripping steam demand.
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Crude column relief mitigation
Oct-2011
Mitigation of plant-wide relief loads can greatly improve the safety of the plant, reduce flaring and be used as the basis for building smaller relief ...
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Turnarounds deliver process improvements
Nov-2016
An extended unit shutdown is relatively rare and an opportunity to take every advantage to improve performance.
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A two stage approach to controlling fouling on preheat trains at OMV’s Schwechat refinery
Aug-2016
Fouling in heat exchanger preheat trains is a well-known problem in the refining industry. Fouling reduces exchanger performance, increases furnace duty, ...
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Considerations for crude unit preflash drums and preflash towers
Feb-2024
A guide to debottlenecking, revamping, designing, and operating crude unit preflash facilities based on literature and the authors’ experience.
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Dealing with desalter cleaning challenges
Aug-2016
How to overcome lengthy and potentially dangerous challenges when cleaning a crude unit desalter.
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Online cleaning of 
process equipment
Oct-2008
In the interest of time and cost savings, online cleaning prior to shutdown can reduce the duration and complexity of refinery turnarounds, as demonstrated ...
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Energy-efficient vacuum systems
Apr-2013
Case analysis of the techniques available to reduce energy consumption in vacuum systems reveals the potential for cost savings
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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.
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Loss into gain in high-capacity trays Part 2: reverse vapour cross flow chanelling
Aug-2016
Systematic troubleshooting diagnosed two complex problems that limited the capacity of an atmospheric crude distillation tower
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Front end filtering of unconventional oil
Jan-2019
Processing unconventional oils requires technologies such as electrostatic separation to handle higher amounts of filterable solids.
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Unlocking current 
refinery constraints
Apr-2008
When processing heavy feeds, technology based on residuum supercritical solvent extraction provides higher volumes of gas oil and DAO for conversion units. ...
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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
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Designing a crude unit heat 
exchanger network
Oct-2012
Preheat train design for heavy Canadian crudes can be very challenging, requiring an approach not normally required with other crudes
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Improved conceptual process design avoids revamp scope growth
Mar-2002
For grassroots design, defining project scope is a straightforward exercise. Grassroots projects can follow optimum execution procedures for engineering ...
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Reducing the danger of maintenance exposure
Apr-1998
Maintenance cost overruns result from inadequate cost estimating and the emergence of unidentified work that has to be done
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Revamping conceptual process design
Jan-2002
With the desirability of getting the maximum use out of existing equipment when revamps are planned a rigorous approach to CPD is required to avoid scope ...
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Specifications — importance of getting them right
Mar-2003
Faulty equipment specifications sometimes carry unforeseen penalties, with loss of performance. It is the process design engineer’s responsibility to ...
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ULSD production: improved feed stream quality
Apr-2003
Much of hydrotreater revamp investment costs in future will be in dealing with the most difficult-to-remove sulphur species, because of their low reaction ...
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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
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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
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Jan-2007
Gamma scanning is a powerful tool that can be used to determine the cause of flooding and regain column efficiency. Debutaniser capacity and performance ...
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Identifying very small 
equipment leaks
Jan-2008
Very small leaks in feed/effluent exchangers can be identified using chemical tracing. This online technique can detect leaks as low as 5.0 ppm, avoiding ...
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Improving crude vacuum 
unit performance
Mar-2008
When simulating or designing an unconventional heavy oil/bitumen vacuum crude unit, the sharing of operating data on cracked gas make, stripping section ...
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Demystifying the zero entrainment myth for vacuum column flash zones
Apr-2009
One of the recurring questions about refinery vacuum tower operation is the issue of flash zone entrainment and the operation of the wash section.
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Online real-time optimisation helps identify energy gaps
Oct-2010
Real-time supervision of a refinery’s energy system enables optimisation of its fuel consumption and emissions levels
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Entrainment issues in vacuum column flash zones
Jan-2010
For 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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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
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Cost-effective and reliable revamps
Jul-2009
Test run hydraulic measurements and analysis, together with equipment know-how, can help refiners identify profitable, low-cost revamp opportunities
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Demystifying the zero entrainment myth for vacuum column flash zones
Apr-2009
One of the recurring questions about refinery vacuum tower operation is the issue of flash zone entrainment and the operation of the wash section.
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Stabilisation 
of asphaltenes
Jan-2009
Asphaltenes can plug refinery equipment and can decrease or stop production. Stabilisation of asphaltene particles is an efficient and cost-effective way ...
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Online cleaning of 
process equipment
Oct-2008
In the interest of time and cost savings, online cleaning prior to shutdown can reduce the duration and complexity of refinery turnarounds, as demonstrated ...
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Unlocking current 
refinery constraints
Apr-2008
When processing heavy feeds, technology based on residuum supercritical solvent extraction provides higher volumes of gas oil and DAO for conversion units. ...
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Improving crude vacuum 
unit performance
Mar-2008
When simulating or designing an unconventional heavy oil/bitumen vacuum crude unit, the sharing of operating data on cracked gas make, stripping section ...
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Identifying very small 
equipment leaks
Jan-2008
Very small leaks in feed/effluent exchangers can be identified using chemical tracing. This online technique can detect leaks as low as 5.0 ppm, avoiding ...
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Canadian crude processing challenges
Jan-2008
Vacuum unit design influences liquid volume yields, run length, product 
yield and product quality when processing bitumen crude oils
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Oil/water interface control for desalters
Oct-2007
Profiling instrument provides vertical real-time phase density measurement in desalter vessels. Benefits include reduced process upsets from interface ...
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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
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Identifying poor heat exchanger performance
Sep-2007
Identifying root causes of poor crude unit debutaniser reboiler performance and low-cost solutions that help meet exchanger original design conditions
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Sep-2007
Primary goals of a lube vacuum column revamp were to increase lube product fractionation and minimise HVGO product contaminants
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Crude overhead system design considerations
Jul-2007
Proper crude unit overhead system design is important when building a new unit or revamping an existing one to process different crudes
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Jan-2007
Gamma scanning is a powerful tool that can be used to determine the cause of flooding and regain column efficiency. Debutaniser capacity and performance ...
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Vacuum unit design for high 
metals crudes
Jan-2007
Vacuum unit design can influence vacuum gas yield, product quality and run length. A wet vacuum unit with residue stripping achieves the highest cutpo ...
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Evaluating opportunity crude processing
Oct-2006
Is processing opportunity crudes for every refiner? Technical challenges and economic benefits from processing high-acid crudes and bottom-of-the-barrel ...
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Sep-2006
Operational issues such as higher heater duty and column pressure must be weighed against avoiding residue entrainment in HVGO
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Refinery CO2 challenges: part III
Jul-2006
For the prediction of CO2 emissions from a refinery, simple correlations are not always sufficient. A rigorous simulation tool that includes fractionation ...
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Apr-2006
When designing vacuum units for processing heavy Canadian crudes, reliability costs can be high if the feedstock’s thermal instability is not fully ...
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Jan-2006
Cost-effective exchanger network solutions need to rely on more than just pinch technology if they are to be successful
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Oct-2005
Fundamental design considerations influencing diesel and vacuum gas oil (VGO) recovery when revamping existing or designing grassroots crude units. By ...
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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
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An atmospheric crude tower revamp
Jul-2005
Overall gas oil yield was maintained with heavier crudes due to a crude tower revamp. The revamp allowed for a crude heater outlet temperature reducti ...