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Construction

Jacobs wins work on RSPL India soda ash project

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is providing detailed engineering, project management, procurement and construction supervision services for RSPL’s greenfield project. The capacity of the facility is estimated at 500,000 tpy of light soda ash. Officials did not disclose the contract value.

Petrobras picks Foster Wheeler for engineering on Brazil gas-to-chemicals project

Foster Wheeler will act as integrator for the entire complex. The project is expected to produce in excess of 1 million tpy of ammonia and urea fertilizers, methanol, acetic acid, plus formic acid and melamine, helping to reduce Brazil's imports of these products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

KBR lands construction deal to expand Canadian gas processing plant

KBR will execute construction and related site support for the expansion of the Dawson Creek facility, increasing the existing capacity to 100 million standard cubic feet/day. The award follows KBR’s recent work for delivering pipe-rack fabrication and module assembly for phase one of the expansion.

Chemtex awarded loan guarantee from US to build cellulosic ethanol refinery

Once operational, the facility is expected to convert 600,000 tpy of energy grasses into an estimated 20 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol using a proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis process. The plant will produce biofuels for eastern transportation markets using non-food biomass feedstocks.

Evonik begins building German polybutadiene plant, plans mid-2013 startup

The plant is scheduled for completion in the middle of 2013. Functionalized polybutadienes, which Evonik plans to market under the name POLYVEST HT, are used mainly in sealing compounds for insulated glass windows and for adhesives used in the automotive and electronics industries.

CB&I wins work on BASF Belgium butadiene project

This award, valued in excess of $50 million, builds on CB&I’s existing relationship with BASF as licensor of its butadiene technology, according to the companies. The plant is scheduled to start up during 2014.

Utility piping: Why over-engineering is inefficient

Victaulic: Wilkerson, G.

Grooved mechanical piping can offer improved constructability, speedy expansion, retrofit and turnaround, and also reduce safety risks. It is a quality pipe-joining method.

Consider new developments for variable-speed electric motors

WorleyParsons Services: Almasi, A.

New challenges, recent developments, the latest mechanical issues and main reliability factors for large variable-speed electric motor drivers in HPI plants are presented here.

Improve performance monitoring of your turbomachinery

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.: Bhachu, U.  |  Francis, J.

This case study documents the performance variables to consider and apply when monitoring and tracking the efficiency deterioration for a steam turbine using DSs in a PI process book.

Case history: Improve refrigeration compressor performance

Fluor Canada Ltd.: Ghaisas, N.

This case examines the mechanical distress and performance deterioration of a critical refrigeration compressor that was installed at a world-scale petrochemicals complex.