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

Gasoline

Taking back what’s yours: Extractive desulfurization minimizes octane loss in FCC naphtha hydrotreating

INVISTA Performance Technologies: Aggus, B.  |  Massa, M.

Generating octane barrels has always been a tough road for refiners. In 2020, this road got a lot tougher with olefin saturation and octane destruction being collateral damage as refiners strive to achieve the sulfur limit in the gasoline pool.

Conventional FCC to maximum propylene production

TechnipFMC Process Technology: Singh, R.  |  Lai, S.  |  Dharia, D.
W. R. Grace: Cipriano, B.  |  Hunt, D.

Fluid catalytic cracking is one of the most important conversion processes used in refineries. This process converts heavy petroleum fractions into lighter, higher-value products, such as gasoline, propylene and others.

Industry Metrics

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Refinery margins in the U.S. Atlantic basin rebounded. Deeper refinery intake cuts, as well as the low feedstock price environment, helped offset unappealing demand-side signals.

Intensification of sulfur processing units by oxygen enrichment and process flowsheet optimization

Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd.: Yang, W.
Advisian, a Worley Company: Lewis, J.  |  Racz, A.

The consistent global trend toward improvements in air quality and tighter regulations on emissions, as well as the International Maritime Organization’s shipping regulations, continue to mitigate sulfur levels—not only in conventional transport fuels (petrol and diesel), but also in jet fuels, fuel oils and other heavier distillates.

Maximizing diesel hydrotreater profit by multivariable optimization: A case study

Haldor Topsoe: R. Bandyopadhyay  |  Alkilde, O. F.

A diesel hydrotreater (DHT) is a critical unit within an oil refinery. A DHT processes the diesel range fractions obtained from different units of the refinery—such as from the crude distillation unit and the delayed coker unit—to adhere to diesel fuel market specifications.

Industry Metrics

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Refinery margins came under added pressure, affected by the downturn in product consumption inflicted by COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

Business Trends

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Rovuma LNG, a JV comprised of ExxonMobil, Eni and China National Petroleum Corp., will likely delay its final investment decision (FID) on the group’s $30-B Mozambique LNG project.

Octane enhancement avoiding both high reformer severity and alkylation

CDE Projects Ltd.: Kauders, P.

An innovative refinery process arrangementa converts butane-rich, light paraffinic streams—preferably containing a high proportion of isobutane—into butylene by dehydrogenation.

Cost-effective naphtha hydrotreating unit revamp to increase high-octane reformate production

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.: Ramesh, K.  |  Phukan, D.

India, which is the third-largest economy in the world, is home to nearly 18% of the world’s population (nearly 1.4 B).

Safe and sustainable alkylation: Performance and update on composite ionic liquid alkylation technology

Well Resources Inc.: Chung, W.
Beijing Zhongshi Aojie Petroleum Technology Co.: Zhang, R.  |  Zhang, X.
PetroChina Harbin Petrochemical Co.: Song, D.

Market and regulatory factors are pressuring refiners to adopt safe and sustainable processes for the production of clean-burning and environmentally friendly fuels.