January 1999

These data can help in deciding which reliability improvement efforts are feasible and reasonable

Understand the principles and substantially reduce costs

Fig. 1. Life spans of machinery commponents and ..

 Table 1. Machinery availability / reliability.Industry covered: HPI Basis:8,760 hr/yrYear: 1996 DowntimeForced outage     IMR&O,Forced DT,Proactive Mtc.,MTBF,I..

Different techniques and technologies help increase efficiency

A combination of metallurgy and surface-coating materials mitigate coke formation on furnace tubes

Comprehensive policy defines what management and employees are to do and how to do it

Effective methods can minimize or prevent HPI plant accidents

There are many chemical trading sites on the Internet, and 1st Chemical Market is one of my favorites. You must register to use this site, but you can get a 30-day free trial to see if you like it, so..

Not too long ago, MTBE was the rising petrochemical star of the HPI. Unfortunately, controversy surrounds this oxygenate. MTBE gained national prominence under the clean fuels program from the CAAA. T..

Long ago, I used to write "appreciations" (i.e., informed guesswork) about likely technology developments of the Evil Empire. Surprisingly to an outsider, there was great emphasis on honesty. Our depa..

This past year was quite a rough one for the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) and the oil industry in general. Many "records" were broken or came close to being broken. These "records" include so..

I recently completed a consulting assignment to develop a line-of-business model. It was for a firm that had developed a suite of leading-edge software and associated services to serve all aspects of ..

Ultrasonic flowmeter approved for CTAs In custody transfer application (CTA) trading, highly accurate flowmeters are essential when measuring crude oil and oil products. KROHNE's Altosonic V is clai..

ABB, Zurich, Switzerland, an international engineering and technology group, has received approval from the European Commission (EC) to complete its acquisition of Elsag Bailey Process Automation N.V...

Bacharach, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has purchased Exidyne Instrumentation Technologies (EIT), Exton, Pennsylvania. EIT is now part of the worldwide family of Bacharach companies. Through the ..

Safety relief valve solutions The 19000 series consolidated portable safety relief valve was developed to meet the changing needs of today's plant operating systems. The series claims to provide sup..

The Air Liquide Group inaugurates hydrogen plant The Air Liquide Group has inaugurated one of its largest hydrogen plants in Corpus Christi, Texas. The plant is located in a large industrial region...

Ultrasonic NDT newsletter The fall/ winter edition of Krautkramer's "NDTimes" ultrasonic nondestructive testing newsletter is now available. The six-page publication contains articles on testing app..

The U.S. chemical industry had a $13.5 billion positive trade surplus in 1998. Thus, it retained its record as the nation's number one exporter. Data from the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) ..

The outlook for the global methanol market was analyzed at a World Methanol Conference, Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 8–10, 1998, organized by CMAI. Highlights from selected presentations summarize th..

Corporate realigning within large firms in the HPI continues. In December, Royal Dutch / Shell announced a major restructuring program. In a response to difficult economic times, the reorganization is..

The latest World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency (IEA) aims to identify and discuss the main issues and uncertainties affecting world energy demand and supply to 2020. IEA proje..

The North American continent is the largest market for natural gas in the world, with over 30% of worldwide consumption. While the market is already very large, "it will undergo significant expansion ..

As with oil demand in general, the current sad state of most Asia-Pacific economies has taken a bite out of kerojet demand growth over the next two to three years. This is according to a recent report..

Petroleum refining processes are very energy-intensive, often requiring large amounts of power and process heat. A new DOE publication, Energy and Environmental Profile of the U.S. Petroleum Refining ..

More about closed loop optimization Following my guest editorial of August '98, "More about closed loop optimization," I have been receiving mail and e-mail from control engineers whose companies..

Relax, I'm only kidding. Call off the inquisition task force. This is only a hypothetical story and would never happen to you or your company, certainly not in America! But suppose, for the sake of ..

Silicon Valley, that area of California so aptly named due to its large concentration of high-tech electronics firms, has some developments coming down the pike that could have a significant impact on..