April 2005

The region's HPI is well-positioned to support plant expansions

New separation methods effectively remove aerosols and particulates that compromise heat-transfer surfaces

Only when propylene is scarce does this technology become cost effective

Mega-sized methanol facility yields numerous opportunities for petrochemical and energy markets

Using heat integration for the distillation unit and applying a heat recovery system can save a substantial amount of energy in purification operations

Solving the problem wasn't so easy

Consider 'target-opening nonlinear control' for interface level

Keys are proper selection, installation and maintenance

Using this simple technique to predict unfavorable conditions can save time and cost

Reliability specialists are encouraged to make good use of industry standards. Well-written standards improve equipment uniformity and quality. Take for example the recently released National Electric..

LARRY O'BRIEN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com Fieldbus, as a digital replacem..

The top tier of oil majors held a fairly united front almost to the end over the Clean Air Act and Auto Oil, but the split in our industry has never been so marked as it is over climate change. Now th..

Selecting a company to assess safety requirements as part of an IEC61508/61511/ISA 84.01 safety life cycle process can be challenging. How can you be sure that they know what they are doing and will p..

Catalytic technologies mitigatesulfur, SOx and NOx GRACE Davison Refining Technologies claims its catalytic solutions can help refiners meet stricter regulations on refinery emissions and tighter su..

Ultrasonic technology for high temperatures The new WaveInjector is said to extend the FLUXUS clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter's temperature range. It enables a non-intrusive flow measurement at temper..

A Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. subsidiary has a contract with Shell Canada Ltd. to provide front-end engineering and detailed design to optimize Shell's Waterton natural gas and sulfur processing com..

Foster Wheeler Iberia, S.A., a Foster Wheeler Ltd. subsidiary, has a contract to supply and construct a new fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) gasoline selective hydrotreater unit. The FCC unit technology ..

Foster Wheeler International Corp., a Foster Wheeler Ltd. subsidiary, has been awarded a project management consultancy (PMC) contract by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO) to develop what is claim..

The Dow Chemical Co., Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), Brazil's state-controlled oil company, and Elekeiroz have a memorandum of understanding to study constructing an acrylic acid complex in Brazi..

ExxonMobil Chemical is expanding its steam cracker capacity in Singapore. The facility, which is claimed to be ExxonMobil Chemical's single largest investment in the world, started up in 2001. This pr..

Analytical solutions for the power industry   Efficiency reductions and equipment failures attributable to corrosion and deposition cost the power industry billions of d..

  Plastics demand generally high The US polymers and plas..

The notion of limited downstream opportunities and other misperceptions were challenged by Edward G. Galante, senior vice president, ExxonMobil Corp. He presented his insights in a keynote address dur..

Asian gas markets will remain tight in 2005, 2006 and 2007, although a lot more capacity is coming onstream bound for the Atlantic basin. New supplies will come after 2008, but the demand pressure wil..

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) has endorsed the US Clear Skies Act of 2005. This hotly debated environmental legislation has been proposed to improve air quality and provide incentives for utili..

Global demand for lubricants is forecast to increase 2.2%/yr to 39.3 million metric tons in 2008, valued at $36 billion. Growth will be driven by healthy advances in developing countries in Asia, Lati..

The US EPA regularly reports on its Gas STAR program and the participants' efforts in realizing methane emissions reductions. One latest documented opportunity involves zero-emissions dehydrators. C..

A majority of US and European chemicals executives believes that the Chinese chemicals market will provide an attractive growth opportunity over the coming years, according to results of a recent Acce..

The European chemical industry is faced with lower demand growth rates in the EU-15 zone. The industry has resorted to various measures to counter the challenges posed by the economic scenario, says a..

Use this technique for crude oil composition tracing and gasoline blend component quality prediction

Single-wall and other small-diameter carbon nanotubes, a type of fullerene, are thought by many scientists and industry leaders to represent a transforming technology in producing and delivering to ma..