Environment & Safety
Rethink fired heater design for emissions
As environmental regulations are becoming more stringent on reduced nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions, burner designs are changing to meet revised regulations. The heater design must complement the chosen burner for optimal performance. Although design duty is considered to be the main focus of the heater design, the range of heater operation and its impact on heater safety and emissions needs are often neglected.
Inspection: Best practices for inspecting guyed structures
Guyed structures are common in petrochemicals, oil and gas and chemical industries. Half of the installed flare structures at many facilities are guyed. Various routine inspection programs are in place to examine these structures. This work describes some very basic checks, which should be in place to maintain their mechanical integrity.
Construction
Total plans to take a final investment decision (FID) on the Nigeria LNG expansion project by the end of this year. If greenlighted, the 7-MMtpy LNG train would increase the Bonny Island LNG terminal’s capacity to nearly 30 MMtpy. If built, Train 7 is expected to be operational by 2023.
Editorial Comment: Honoring the industry’s best … take 2!
Due to Tropical Storm Imelda, Hydrocarbon Processing issued its first force majeure in postponing the third annual HP Awards.
Sustainability and the water management company’s role
Water is key to the hydrocarbon processing and chemical processing industries. Yet, it is not an infinite resource, which creates operational, financial and regulatory risks. The true cost of water can include insurance and litigation costs and disposal costs, plus the capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) of water infrastructure.
Improved cooling system performance begins with data
Refineries consume large amounts of energy and water to refine crude oil into products. Up to 10% of crude oil’s energy content is consumed during processing, and it takes 1.5 bbl of water to process one barrel of crude oil. Refining processes also generate large quantities of excess thermal energy that needs to be expelled into the environment using a once-through or recirculating cooling system.
Use submerged combustion systems to efficiently destroy hazardous plant waste
In the production of clean fuels, plastics and other hydrocarbon-based products, refineries and petrochemical facilities generate unwanted (waste) byproducts. Having no market value, the undesired byproducts must be recycled, minimized or eliminated. Depending on the feedstocks, end products and reactant materials, the unwanted materials can be gases, liquids or multiphase materials.
When digital transformation hits all four sustainability buckets
Sustainability is emerging as a critical business topic, as many companies focus resources toward lowering emissions, waste and energy use in their production processes. This important concept can apply broadly to company operations, especially when considering the expansive view of the triple bottom line that measures the impact of company operations on profits, people and the planet.
Diversifying the future: Incentives for worldwide adoption of renewable fuels and chemicals—Part 2
Bio-based, renewable fuels and chemicals can reduce the environmental footprint of maintaining global transportation and product demands, while also offering supplementation of traditional fossil fuels in a global environment with increasing energy demand. The renewable energy sector is large and growing rapidly.
FCC catalyst deactivation studies to mimic refinery conditions for high-propylene applications
The fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is a conversion unit located at the heart of many refineries. Its main purpose is to crack crude oil-derived feedstocks into valuable liquid products, primarily LPGs (propylene and butylenes), and gasoline and light-cycle oil (LCO) precursors. The process uses a fluidizable catalyst, comprising an alumina-silica framework and tailored for each refinery to meet its specific needs. Often, the changing of a catalyst includes catalyst testing evaluations, employed by about 50% of the FCCUs in the world. The testing process is cumbersome, in which multiple methods are available to refineries.
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- Russian oil refineries' peak maintenance expected in January and September 1/30
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