ARTICLES
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Managing fouling in refinery networks
Jul-2015
Modelling heat exchanger and other networks enables the use of dynamic fouling models in performance assessment and predictive studies
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Processing high TAN crude: part I
Jan-2010
Huizhou, which is the first refinery for processing 100% high TAN crude, started up in 2009. This article describes the challenges of an opportunity crude ...
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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
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Choosing a neutralising amine corrosion inhibitor
Jul-2004
A review of physical and chemical properties of commonly used amine-based corrosion inhibitors. The authors highlight the relative strengths and weaknesses ...
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Stripping sour water: the effect of heat stable salts
Oct-2012
Mass transfer rate-based simulation models sour water stripping and assesses the distribution of ammonia in conventional amine treating systems
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Removing contaminants from crude oil
Mar-2016
Natural and introduced contaminants limit crude desalting effectiveness, increasing fouling and corrosion risks in downstream units
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Combating green oil formation in a CCR reformer
Jul-2013
The addition of a chloride adsorber guard bed solved a refiner’s issues with contamination affecting a CCR reformer’s rich gas compressor
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Detecting and dealing with hydrate formation
Apr-2010
A review of cause, detection and treatment of hydrate plug formation in gas pipelines. Gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds, which have a structure ...
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Chloride removal in refineries
Mar-2011
A review of catalytic removal of chlorides from refinery streams and a critique of current analytical techniques for estimating chloride content
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Microbiological causes of corrosion
Jul-2014
Many of the most serious problems with corrosion of refinery equipment have a microbiological basis
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Controlling corrosion in amine treatment units
Apr-2011
A range of measures can be taken to minimise corrosion in amine units. The amine unit plays a vital role in the petroleum refining, gas processing, coal ...
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Preventing ammonium salt fouling and corrosion
Jan-2018
Best practices and opportunities to reduce the risk of salt deposition and damage
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Control of foaming in amine systems
Sep-2007
Amine solutions foam. Solution foaming causes plant upsets. It is the disengagement or break time that differentiates normal, desirable froth from undesirable ...
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Mitigating fouling in the caustic tower
Oct-2013
Comprehensive analysis of foulants in an ethylene plant’s caustic tower led to the identification of an effective treatment programme
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Feb-2016
An understanding of process basics and fouling mechanisms enables increased run length in problem columns.
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Olefins plant cracker gas compressor fouling
Apr-2007
Monitoring and treating process gas compressors to prevent corrosion and fouling. Several examples of improved compressor performance through the utilisation ...
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Hydrogen-induced cracking and blistering
Apr-2009
Hydrogen damage to steel is a well-known consequence of corrosion in sour service. A corrosion inhibitor program can reduce hydrogen entry into the metal. ...
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Multiple corrosion mechanisms in crude distillation overhead system
Jul-2009
Extensive troubleshooting efforts determine distinct corrosion mechanisms simultaneously attacking multiple areas of an atmospheric tower overhead sys ...
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Removing salts and contaminants in glycol regeneration
Apr-2014
A new process combining candle filters and pressure plate filters enables more glycol to be safely recovered from natural gas than by conventional met ...
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Foaming in fractionation columns
Oct-2015
By understanding the foaming process and its root causes, steps can be taken to eliminate or minimise the formation of foaming.
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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 ...
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Safe removal of polymeric deposits
Jan-2015
Damaging polymeric fouling of internals can be cleaned in situ by safe chemical treatments. Butadiene polymer formation is not an unusual problem in ...
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Preventing salt fouling in FCC main fractionators
Apr-2001
Results of using salt dispersant additives on a badly fouled FCC unit has shown that the method allows refiners to avoid more costly methods of naphtha ...
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Mitigation of heat exchanger fouling
Oct-2012
Detailed analysis of potential contributors identifies the root cause of fouling in naphtha hydrotreater feed-effluent exchangers
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Minimise corrosion while maximising distillate
Jul-2012
Reducing atmospheric fractionator overhead temperatures to maximise middle distillate production requires a full understanding of resulting corrosion ...
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Managing fouling in refinery networks
Jul-2015
Modelling heat exchanger and other networks enables the use of dynamic fouling models in performance assessment and predictive studies
-
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
-
Processing high TAN crude: part I
Jan-2010
Huizhou, which is the first refinery for processing 100% high TAN crude, started up in 2009. This article describes the challenges of an opportunity crude ...
-
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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Combating green oil formation in a CCR reformer
Jul-2013
The addition of a chloride adsorber guard bed solved a refiner’s issues with contamination affecting a CCR reformer’s rich gas compressor
-
Removing contaminants from crude oil
Mar-2016
Natural and introduced contaminants limit crude desalting effectiveness, increasing fouling and corrosion risks in downstream units
-
Choosing a neutralising amine corrosion inhibitor
Jul-2004
A review of physical and chemical properties of commonly used amine-based corrosion inhibitors. The authors highlight the relative strengths and weaknesses ...
-
Detecting and dealing with hydrate formation
Apr-2010
A review of cause, detection and treatment of hydrate plug formation in gas pipelines. Gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds, which have a structure ...
-
Microbiological causes of corrosion
Jul-2014
Many of the most serious problems with corrosion of refinery equipment have a microbiological basis
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Improving turnarounds and operations with online cleaning
Sep-2020
Case histories illustrate the financial and operational gains achieved by replacing mechanical cleaning with online, closed-loop operations. The conventional ...
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Stripping sour water: the effect of heat stable salts
Oct-2012
Mass transfer rate-based simulation models sour water stripping and assesses the distribution of ammonia in conventional amine treating systems
-
Controlling corrosion in amine treatment units
Apr-2011
A range of measures can be taken to minimise corrosion in amine units. The amine unit plays a vital role in the petroleum refining, gas processing, coal ...
-
Foaming in fractionation columns
Oct-2015
By understanding the foaming process and its root causes, steps can be taken to eliminate or minimise the formation of foaming.
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Feb-2016
An understanding of process basics and fouling mechanisms enables increased run length in problem columns.
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Avoiding unplanned reactor shutdowns
Feb-2019
In hydroprocessing operations, prevention is better than just dealing with the effects of corrosion and fouling problems.
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Monitoring and simulation resolves overhead corrosion
Mar-2016
Online corrosion monitoring in tandem with simulation modelling identified the root cause of corrosion in a crude unit overhead
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Heat exchanger fouling analytics
Sep-2020
Modelling the effects of fouling on the performance of heat exchangers and its impact on product values as well as energy losses
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Oct-2020
Response to a question in the Q3 2020 issue of PTQ
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Control of foaming in amine systems
Sep-2007
Amine solutions foam. Solution foaming causes plant upsets. It is the disengagement or break time that differentiates normal, desirable froth from undesirable ...
-
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 ...
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Operational challenges in sour water stripping
Jul-2019
How to keep a sour water stripper at optimum performance between shutdowns.
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Multiple corrosion mechanisms in crude distillation overhead system
Jul-2009
Extensive troubleshooting efforts determine distinct corrosion mechanisms simultaneously attacking multiple areas of an atmospheric tower overhead sys ...
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Problems in processing discounted crudes Part 1: definition and crude preheat
Feb-2019
Project costs must be considered to fully understand whether or not an opportunity crude really does deliver on savings.
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Nov-2017
Thorough tank cleaning means removing all of the sludge and restoring the vessel’s full storage capacity.
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Preventing ammonium salt fouling and corrosion
Jan-2018
Best practices and opportunities to reduce the risk of salt deposition and damage
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High efficiency contaminant removal - Improving new and existing acid gas sweetening processes
Nov-2022
Gas sweetening processes using amine solvents are often challenged to meet productivity and reliability targets due to the impact of solid and liquid contamination. ...
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Chemical cleaning and fouling removal technologies
Nov-2022
Chemical cleaning technologies for the removal of hazardous gases and problematic fouling deposits are explained.
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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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Ceramic coating application in a refinery steam methane reformer furnace
Jun-2022
Increase an SMR’s thermal efficiency by applying a high emissivity ceramic coating on the furnace box walls.
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An introduction to fouling in fired heaters – Part 2: exterior fouling
Apr-2022
An important fouling mechanism on the fireside is corrosion fouling, especially for oil fired equipment.
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An introduction to fouling in fired heaters: part 1
Apr-2022
Fouling is the accumulation and formation of unwanted materials on the surfaces of processing equipment.
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Corrosion control in ethylene plants
Apr-2022
Treatment concepts for corrosion control in ethylene production by steam cracking of hydrocarbons
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Mar-2022
Improving level control in desalters to aid in use of opportunity crudes
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Mitigating overhead corrosion and reducing downstream costs
Jan-2022
A combination of onstream measurements, closed-loop control, and corrosion measurement enabled significant reductions in caustic addition rates and FCC ...
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Premature foam-flood in an amine absorber: Part 2
Jan-2022
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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Optimising critical level control in desalters by using multiphase level measurements
Dec-2021
Refineries are a complex set of various operating units designed to process crude oil into refined products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuels and feedstocks ...
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Managing ammonium salts corrosion and fouling
Nov-2021
An additive overcame corrosion and fouling issues in a FCC unit, avoiding costs arising from water wash.
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Modelling and optimising bitumen hydrocracking
Nov-2021
A rigorous hydrocracking model for the quoted catalysts is used for predicting hydrogen consumption and product yields to maximise operating revenues.
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Retrofitting the thermal stage of a SRU unit (TiA)
Nov-2021
The original burner at a site was a multi-flame burner with low pressure drop on the Claus gas side.
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Desalter chemical programmes for opportunity crudes
Nov-2021
Opportunity crude processing can present many challenges including incompatibility, high calcium and tramp amines.
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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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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.
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Protecting your hydroprocessing reactor
Jun-2021
Owners and operators respect a hydroprocessing reactor’s minimum pressurisation temperature but can fail to understand factors other than the temper ...
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Using continuous helical flow to reduce fouling
Mar-2021
It would not be an understatement to say that fouling is one of the most costly recurring problems in hydrocarbon processing, and that it hits process ...
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Advances in damage modelling (TIA)
Feb-2021
High temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA) is a serious damage mechanism that can affect hydroprocessing, catalytic reforming, and hydrogen production units ...
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Our desalting rate drops away quickly when we use heavier feeds. What is the problem here?
Feb-2021
Responses to a question in the Q1 2021 issues Q&A Feature
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Feb-2021
Responses to a question in the Q1 2021 issues Q&A feature
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Raising diesel yield by chemical treatment
Dec-2020
A chemical treatment programme combined with process monitoring enables increased production of middle distillates.
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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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Mitigating corrosion with a digital twin
Nov-2020
Data-driven engineering helps engineers to identify ways to improve predictions of corrosion. Processing plants depend on assorted metallic equipment and ...
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