January 2007
Special Report: Gas Processing Developments
Innovative application of gas processing technologies enables clean-up of landfill methane
Improve hydrogen sulfide removal techniques for quality control
This technology offers unique advantages for short-distance transportation
Asset Management
Here's a business model for improved operational excellence and value creation
Distillation
Better tray design techniques reveal dynamics to improve minimum liquid load conditions
Engineering Case Histories
A pipe partially filled with a hot cycling fluid can cause weld failures
Instrumentation/Process Control
Other benefits of this BP project included increased production and reduced energy consumption and emissions
Piping/Fluid Flow
The Colebrook equation can be solved by using the Lambert W function. Algorithmic routines are also given to do the calculation
Process Technology
A new simulation method selectively uses key components to optimize various refining units
Rotating Equipment/Reliability
Follow these guidelines to improve reliability
Columns
This January marks the 30th anniversary of the article on eliminating cooling water from general-purpose pumps and drivers.1 The article documented why, in the early and mid-1970s, many of the world's..
Pumps are the second most utilized machines in the world. According to the Hydraulics Institute (HI), industry's primary forum for exchange of pump information, industrial pumping systems account for ..
Five hundred announced projects. Sixty-six new refineries. A total of 180 upgrading projects and another 180 for clean fuels. The numbers were both stunning and somewhat implausible at this year's Eur..
Global natural gas (NG) demand is expected to double by 2020. Result: There is an increased activity in NG exploration. Globally, 75% of the NG produced is transported through pipelines, and the remai..
Many good things are happening in the world of functional safety. At the top of the list is the acceptance and adoption of IEC 61511 by companies of the hydrocarbon processing industries. ANSI – ..
Trends and Resources
Improved flare modeling analysis for plant safety design A link developed between SimSci-Esscor's VISUAL FLOW safety system design software and DNV Software's PHASTFX flammable effects software module..
Marathon Oil Corp.'s board of directors has approved an estimated $3.2 billion project to expand the crude oil refining capacity at its Garyville, Louisiana, refinery. This project will increase Garyv..
CompactGTL plc and PETROBRAS have an agreement to construct and jointly test a gas-to-liquids pilot plant using proprietary, compact reactor technology developed by CompactGTL. The pilot plant will pr..
Aker Kvaerner has a contract to deliver process modules to Aker Floating Production's SMART floating production storage offloading (FPSO) vessels. Total contract value for Aker Kvaerner is approximate..
Uhde has a contract to supply an EnviNOx tail gas treatment unit to Omnia Fertilizer Ltd., South Africa. The plant will be installed at a nitric acid facility located in Sasolburg. Contract scope comp..
GE's Oil and Gas is supplying three Frame 6B gas turbines that will provide a total of approximately 120 MW of power for Qatar Liquefied Gas Co. Ltd.'s liquefied natural gas production facilities 2, 3..
Aker Kvaerner Process Systems has a contract with Reliance Industries Ltd. to design and deliver a monoethylenglycol (MEG) reclamation system for Reliance's KG-D6 gas project. Total estimated contract..
Tank cleaning video Gamajet Cleaning Systems, Inc's new video highlights a better way to clean all sizes and types of tanks, vessels and totes. The technology of impingement cleaning and its use in va..
  Chevron budget up 20% in 2007 Chevron Corp., the second-largest integrated oil major in the US, is pla..
Forces that are redrawing the global gasoline and oil market include higher gasoline prices, tightening environmental requirements, changing demographics, growing world oil demand and expanding fuel o..
Growing reliance on gas is an emerging trend, and gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology will play an increasingly significant role as crude oil resources are depleting, says Tony Schenk, business developmen..
Latest technological innovations, processes and core industry issues were the focus of the ERTC Annual Meeting (Paris, November 2006). Tackling the key strategic challenges facing European refiners ov..
In a sign that gas availability remains problematic, Saudi Arabia has decided to run its independent power project at Ras al-Zour on crude oil, rather than natural gas. This is described as a "retrogr..
National industrial and energy strategies do not always develop in the seamless way that government planners originally envisaged in competitive globalized markets. South Korea is going through "a per..
In the 11th plan from 2006 to 2010, the six major Chinese utilities will install 300 new SO2 flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. "To put this in perspective, the US is the leading constructor of s..
The Distributed Control System (DCS) market experienced the strongest growth in a decade between 2004 and 2005, surging nearly 9%. This strong growth is expected to continue through 2010, with the glo..
Letters to the Editor
Vibration limits for gas turbines Thank you for Mr. Bloch's "HPIn Reliability" column, "Vibration limits for gas turbines" (October 2006). Any attempt to establish alarm limits for predictive mainten..
Misc
Compact, lightweight integrated compression system Claimed to be a major advance in centrifugal compressor technology, Dresser-Rand Company has developed a fully Integrated Compression System (ICS) en..
Using this new technology can improve the bottom line
- MOL Group, KazMunayGas partner on exploring petrochemical production 11/21
- Solvay uses waste wood to power soda ash and bicarbonate plant in Germany 11/21
- Syensqo expands U.S. production capacity for advanced polymers 11/21
- Container shippers hedging green transition with dual-fuel vessel orders 11/21
- Singapore middle distillates stocks rise for fourth week to six-week high 11/21
- EIA: U.S. crude, gasoline inventories rise, distillates draw down 11/21