A novel approach to cleaning 
furnace coils

Jul-2013

A modified pigging operation aims to greatly reduce the time required for coke removal from furnace coils

Why vacuum unit fired heaters coke

Oct-2004

A description of the internal workings of vacuum heaters and the causes of coke formation within them

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

Useful tips for fired heater optimisation

Apr-2012

Model predictive control that is native to the regulatory control processor provides high-speed, redundant and robust control for process fired heater ...

Role of fired heater safety systems

Jul-2013

A fully automated burner management system operating as a SIS for burner control can meet minimum safety targets, improve system availability and lower ...

Column preheat improvement to debottleneck furnace operation

Apr-2012

Simulation helped to identify and mitigate the root cause of a furnace bottleneck to maximise the removal of light ends in the feed to a preflash colu ...

Practical flare gas recovery for minimising flaring

Apr-2015

Flares play a critical role as a safety device in refineries, and in most oil and gas producing or processing facilities.

Visbreaker optimisation: 
a step change

Apr-2009

Optimising visbreakers is not just a matter of monitoring and adding chemicals. Opportunity crudes demand a more integrated approach

Selecting the “Best” fired heater

Jun-2013

Fired heaters are extensively used in the chemical process industry to heat process fluids and generate steam. Typically, fired heaters consume the largest ...

Fired capital equipment: key plant components

Oct-2015

Fired capital equipment is an often neglected asset associated with 
plant operations. The global petrochemical and refining industries remain volatile ...

Reducing refinery heater revamp costs

Oct-2005

This article discusses the importance of being able to deliver a safe, cost-effective heater revamp, in the shortest possible shutdown

Avoiding unscheduled shutdowns

Apr-2001

Case studies have demonstrated that correct heater design and consequent performance will determine crude unit run length

Troubleshooting vacuum unit revamps

Jul-1998

While vacuum unit revamps increase gasoil yield, management is pushing the intervals between turnarounds to four or five years

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 ...

Vacuum unit design effect on operating variables

Jul-2002

To revamp vacuum units, process modelling and equipment design know-how are needed, and the understanding of connected equipment performance can lead to ...

Energy management: raising profitability, reducing CO2 emissions

Oct-2010

Case studies show how lower energy demand via revamps and improved maintenance can save money and abate CO2 emissions in refinery operations

Effect of reactor inlet temperature 
in a hydrotreater

Sep-2018

Solving a problem of pressure drop in a naphtha hydrotreater led to fresh insights into the role of reactor inlet temperature.

Cost efficient revamps in hydrogen plants

Jul-2001

Revamping of existing equipment is often seen as the cheapest and most cost effective solution, but this calls for a thorough knowledge of the plant, its ...

Managing the molecule: an update on 2005

Jul-2002

An overall look at the opportunities for gas-to-liquids projects in Europe as tighter gasoline and diesel specifications loom

Raising boiler efficiency (TIA)

Apr-2015

When you are processing 100000 b/d or more of crude, reliability is of the utmost importance. There is no justification for unscheduled shutdowns due to ...

Structured catalyst for steam reforming

Sep-2018

A catalyst system for steam methane reforming for improved heat transfer, pressure drop and catalyst effectiveness.

Claus waste heat boiler economics Part 1: process considerations

Feb-2019

The design of the waste heat boiler has a critical role to play in determining process operations, reliability and economic performance in the sulphur ...

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 ...

Best practices in boiler replacement (TIA)

Nov-2018

When you are processing 100 000 barrels or more of crude in a day, reliability is of the utmost importance. There is no justification for unscheduled shutdowns ...

When excess air becomes too much

Jul-2020

Excessive use of excess air impacts operating costs through fuel efficiency, furnace reliability, and stack emissions

A novel approach to cleaning 
furnace coils

Jul-2013

A modified pigging operation aims to greatly reduce the time required for coke removal from furnace coils

Effect of reactor inlet temperature 
in a hydrotreater

Sep-2018

Solving a problem of pressure drop in a naphtha hydrotreater led to fresh insights into the role of reactor inlet temperature.

When excess air becomes too much

Jul-2020

Excessive use of excess air impacts operating costs through fuel efficiency, furnace reliability, and stack emissions

Selecting the “Best” fired heater

Jun-2013

Fired heaters are extensively used in the chemical process industry to heat process fluids and generate steam. Typically, fired heaters consume the largest ...

Fired capital equipment: key plant components

Oct-2015

Fired capital equipment is an often neglected asset associated with 
plant operations. The global petrochemical and refining industries remain volatile ...

Why vacuum unit fired heaters coke

Oct-2004

A description of the internal workings of vacuum heaters and the causes of coke formation within them

Useful tips for fired heater optimisation

Apr-2012

Model predictive control that is native to the regulatory control processor provides high-speed, redundant and robust control for process fired heater ...

Column preheat improvement to debottleneck furnace operation

Apr-2012

Simulation helped to identify and mitigate the root cause of a furnace bottleneck to maximise the removal of light ends in the feed to a preflash colu ...

Practical flare gas recovery for minimising flaring

Apr-2015

Flares play a critical role as a safety device in refineries, and in most oil and gas producing or processing facilities.

Claus waste heat boiler economics Part 1: process considerations

Feb-2019

The design of the waste heat boiler has a critical role to play in determining process operations, reliability and economic performance in the sulphur ...

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

Raising boiler efficiency (TIA)

Apr-2015

When you are processing 100000 b/d or more of crude, reliability is of the utmost importance. There is no justification for unscheduled shutdowns due to ...

Role of fired heater safety systems

Jul-2013

A fully automated burner management system operating as a SIS for burner control can meet minimum safety targets, improve system availability and lower ...

Structured catalyst for steam reforming

Sep-2018

A catalyst system for steam methane reforming for improved heat transfer, pressure drop and catalyst effectiveness.

Visbreaker optimisation: 
a step change

Apr-2009

Optimising visbreakers is not just a matter of monitoring and adding chemicals. Opportunity crudes demand a more integrated approach

Troubleshooting vacuum unit revamps

Jul-1998

While vacuum unit revamps increase gasoil yield, management is pushing the intervals between turnarounds to four or five years

Avoiding unscheduled shutdowns

Apr-2001

Case studies have demonstrated that correct heater design and consequent performance will determine crude unit run length

Energy management: raising profitability, reducing CO2 emissions

Oct-2010

Case studies show how lower energy demand via revamps and improved maintenance can save money and abate CO2 emissions in refinery operations

Reducing refinery heater revamp costs

Oct-2005

This article discusses the importance of being able to deliver a safe, cost-effective heater revamp, in the shortest possible shutdown

Best practices in boiler replacement (TIA)

Nov-2018

When you are processing 100 000 barrels or more of crude in a day, reliability is of the utmost importance. There is no justification for unscheduled shutdowns ...

Cost efficient revamps in hydrogen plants

Jul-2001

Revamping of existing equipment is often seen as the cheapest and most cost effective solution, but this calls for a thorough knowledge of the plant, its ...

Managing the molecule: an update on 2005

Jul-2002

An overall look at the opportunities for gas-to-liquids projects in Europe as tighter gasoline and diesel specifications loom

Vacuum unit design effect on operating variables

Jul-2002

To revamp vacuum units, process modelling and equipment design know-how are needed, and the understanding of connected equipment performance can lead to ...

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 ...

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 ...