June 2014

There are many ways to enhance the user experience of next-generation simulators by borrowing concepts from crowdsourcing, data mining and related fields.

Dual-enhanced (DE) tubes are widely used in shell-and-tube heat exchangers (HEXs) in a range of industries. They have become a standard in multiple clean services for the hydrocarbon processing indust..

Since organic fouling cannot be completely eliminated, ethylene producers must use operational, chemical and mechanical methods to minimize heat transfer losses and equipment downtime.

Furnace firing is the biggest single operating expense in any refinery. Consider a medium-size refinery (250,000 bpd) that consumes 2,000 MMBtu/h. At a cost of $5/MMBtu, that’s $87.6 MM/yr being ..

Quality and health assessments of motor insulation are important aspects during the manufacturing, as well as the operation, of electrical motors. Today, there are several offline insulation quality a..

In the next couple of years, collapsing Russian supply of straight-run fuel oil (SRFO) will undermine foreign supply of feedstock to the US Gulf Coast.

This case study shows how the installation of an unique piping and lance design achieved targeted liquid injection, quenched vapor hot zones and reduced resid entrainment into the heavy coker gasoil product.

As much as the lubricants industry might wish it otherwise, base stocks production is becoming more commoditized, and it is intertwined inextricably with mainstream refining operations. The vast major..

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart just 73 seconds after launch. The seven-member crew of the shuttle lived until 3 minutes and 58 seconds after launch, w..

Last November, the European Union (EU) Autoprofit project held a workshop near Amsterdam for academia, users, and suppliers. The workshop organizers presented the results of the soon-to-be-completed m..

The first two parts of this series analyzed the root causes of project delays and proposed strategies to avoid schedule overruns. This final part reviews construction planning.Construction planningOne..

The US automotive market is under stress to meet new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) targets of 50 mpg for 2025 model vehicles. The tighter fuel specifications will bring together automobile man..

The first panel session of Gastech 2014 examined gas pricing, infrastructure requirements and market evolution, from a demand-side perspective.

The first awareness of the risks of legionella bacteria in cooling water was the outbreak of Legionellosis at the hotel hosting the Legionnaires’ Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1976..

Recently, the author received information regarding the failure of a large reciprocating compressor. In this example, the pistons for power and compressor cylinders are powered by the same crankshaft...

The latest resurgence of the US petrochemical industry is reflected in the planned construction of new ethylene and methanol (MeOH) capacities throughout the country.

One of the more interesting aspects about working in the energy sector, as I have done for the last 36 years, is that this industry is always changing—technically, economically and even political..

This year is nearly half over; however, the energy industry is more optimistic about the market and economy according to Ernst & Young’s (EY’s) recent 10th biannual Oil and Gas Capital Confi..

Chemical companies honored with energy efficiency awardsThe American Chemistry Council (ACC) honored 16 of its member companies for implementing energy-efficiency improvements in 2013. The ACC present..

The total liquid supply growth by non-OPEC countries continues to rise and is estimated to reach 54 million bpd (MMbpd) in 2014. Increasing crude oil supplies from North America are contributing to sh..

BASF SE’s supervisory board has elected Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht as its new chairman. Dr. Hambrecht succeeds Dr. h.c. Eggert Voscherau, who took over as chairman following the 2009 annual shareh..

Refrigerating/heating circulators provide precise temperature control for cold properties testing PolyScience refrigerating/heating circulators are offered for use with cloud-point, freeze-point,..

The shale gas boom has largely been associated with North America. The luck of this region regarding shale gas is the result of 20 years of hard R&D efforts by Texas oilman George P. Mitchell and the ..

In its first-ever supplement covering recruitment trends and best practices in the downstream industry, Hydrocarbon Processing spoke with professionals and organizations active in hiring and training ..

At the beginning of this now-not-so-new millennium, the US was faced with great tragedy, a loss of security and uncertainty in the future. Today, the nation has rebounded, thanks to a robust energy se..

The strains on labor capacity in oil and gas construction markets worldwide are becoming increasingly well known. These strains continue to affect forecasted project costs, and several large capital p..