Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

June 2021

Archive

Special Focus: Process Optimization

Increasing blue hydrogen production affordability
Shell Catalysts & Technologies: Liu, N.

Large-scale, affordable, “blue” hydrogen (H<sub>2</sub>) production from natural gas, along with carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), is necessary to bridge the gap until large-scale H<sub>2</sub> production using renewable energy becomes economic.

Vapor velocity guidelines for horizontal flare knockout drums
Covestro: Kim, J. S.  |  Dunsheath, H. J.
Bechtel: Lopez, J. P.

Flare knockout (KO) drums are important components of effluent handling systems.

Good distributor design for high-velocity feed debottlenecks a crude preflash tower
Bazan Group: Blum, B.
Fluor: Kister, H.
Koch-Glitsch: Tsang, R.

Bazan Group’s crude unit No. 3—not designed by any of the authors’ companies—was bottlenecked by the preflash tower.

Separating from the competition: Recovering profits after the pandemic
General Atomics: Christianson, J.  |  Scalco, V.

As recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic begins, so will a return to normal life.

Optimize product blending using Excel spreadsheets and LINGO software—Part 1
A.K.C. Technology: Coker, A. K.
Texas A&M University: Alsuhaibani, A.

Linear programming (LP) is an optimization modelling technique in which a linear function is maximized or minimized when subjected to various constraints.

Catalysts

Maximize refinery profitability with novel RFCC technologies
KazMunaiGas (KMG) Atyrau Refinery: Danbay, S.  |  Suleimenov, E.  |  Shoshanbasov, A.  |  Smarkin, O.  |  Makeev, D.
Grace GmbH: Popov, A.  |  González, R.  |  Jegorov, V.

The Atyrau Oil Refinery (AOR), the oldest refinery in Kazakhstan, was built in 1945.

Ethylbenzene plant debottleneck with a high-activity transalkylation catalyst
Tianjin Dagu Chemical Co., Ltd.: Liu, G.
ExxonMobil Chemical Co.: Sundararaman, R.
ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing: Cao, J.

Modern commercial ethylbenzene (EB) plants use liquid-phase alkylation processes with zeolite catalysts to achieve high product yields.

Understanding HCN in FCC: Formation, effects and mitigating options
BASF: Riva, S.
Chalcat Consulting: Challis, S.

In these challenging times, fluidized catalytic cracking units (FCCUs) aim to improve margins by processing poorer- or different-quality feeds, while maintaining good yield performance.

Sustainability

A critical analysis of CO2 capture technologies
Reliance Industries Ltd.: Jha, A.  |  Ravuru, V.  |  Yadav, M.  |  Mandal, S.  |  Das, A. K.

The use of fossil fuels as a source of energy continues to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, causing detrimental effects to the environment.

Digitalization

Process control reimagined
Yokogawa: Yamaguchi, A.  |  Ikegaya, Y.

Imagine visiting the control room of a typical process unit at a refinery.

Taking on petrochemical plant hurdles with networking smarts
Rajant Corp.: Rivero, A.

The petrochemical industry is facing one of the most significant challenges in its history.

Achieve zero execution errors through procedure clarity
Voovio Technologies: Montemurro, F.

It is well-documented that many unplanned manufacturing events could have been prevented if procedures were executed properly.

Process Controls, Instrumentation and Automation

Key instrumentation technologies to tackle the toughest measurement challenges
Emerson Automation Solutions: Oberle, C.  |  Bonkat, T.

Just as some people seek out extreme sports, process manufacturing has its extreme applications, and engineers who design for these environments must find ways to safely contain and monitor all manner of dangerous reactions and products.

Maintenance and Reliability

Risk mitigation procedure following criticality assessment and FMEA
T. A. Cook: Zou, T.

In asset performance management (APM), criticality assessment and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) are powerful tools that enable the identification of opportunities to minimize asset lifecycle costs during the development of equipment strategies.

Columns

Editorial Comment: Optimization: Advancing the industry’s evolution and benefits to the masses
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Optimization—the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource—is not a term that the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) takes lightly: it is a way of life.

Reliability: Exploring better compressor sour seal oil traps
Professional engineer: Bloch, H. P.

An interesting case involving sour seal oil traps in an offshore application recently came to our attention.

Digital: Safety, simplicity and productivity provide the value needed in plant operations
Endress+Hauser: David, A.

In today’s manufacturing environment, process automation professionals must choose from a multitude of widgets and innovations to help their plants run more smoothly.

Industry Perspectives
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

This month, <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> will be hosting two events—one to showcase the latest in processing technologies in the refining and petrochemicals markets, and the other to provide an update on the latest trends, initiatives and capital project investments in the global hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI).

Business Trends: Attracting digital talent for petrochemicals: You need a new brand strategy
Airswift: Sanches, M.

According to Deloitte, the future success of most chemical companies relies on three areas: growth and innovation, performance and cost optimization, and sustainability and the circular economy.

Innovations

What are the latest advancements in HPI technologies? This month’s Innovations section details the tools and technologies that are optimizing plant operations.

People
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Airswift appoints Albert Kahlow as Global Sales Director, IT and Technology