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

Octane

Refining: Despite decline, Group 1 base stocks are here to stay

ExxonMobil: Nadasdi, T.

Given increasingly stringent automotive specifications and the advent of the International Maritime Organization’s 2020 sulfur regulations, the continued decrease in Group I base stocks demand should come as no surprise for anyone in the industry.

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.

Construction

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Nigeria LNG (NLNG), a consortium comprised of Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), Shell, Total and Eni, has greenlighted the expansion of the Bonny Island LNG terminal.

Executive Viewpoint: Fuels and petrochemicals will continue to help humanity thrive

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM): Thompson, C.

A 15-yr rise in U.S. exports of refined products continued in 2019 with the nation exporting more than ever, underscoring the importance of these products to fueling a growing world. In the latter half of the last decade, U.S. petrochemical production capacity increased—with more than $20 B invested in domestic petrochemical projects in the last 2 yr alone—and exports of petrochemicals and petrochemical feedstocks rose, as well.

FCCU catalyst reformulations: Reducing risk and guaranteeing value with collaboration/testing

Hellenic Petroleum: Kyriakou, S.  |  Plellis, C.  |  Tatsis, V.  |  Damianou, C.  |  Gkanis, D.
W. R. Grace: Burgess, T.  |  González, R.

Hellenic Petroleum S.A.’s Aspropyrgos refinery is located near Athens, Greece. It has a total refining capacity of approximately 7.5 MMtpy and a Nelson complexity index of 9.7. The refinery was built in 1958 and has undergone several upgrades, including the installation of a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU).

A new liquid-phase isomerization process for xylene loop debottleneck and energy savings

Reliance Industries Ltd.: Mhatre, S.  |  Warke, V.
ExxonMobil Chemical Co.: Choi, A.  |  Molinier, M.  |  Saple, A.

In a typical xylene loop, C<sub>8</sub> aromatics are fractionated out of a heavy reformate C<sub>8</sub>+ aromatics stream and collected in the xylene column overhead. Then, paraxylene (PX) from the C<sub>8</sub> aromatics stream is recovered as product—usually by an adsorption or crystallization process—in the PX recovery section.

HP Top Project Awards

The editors of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> have identified nine projects that are anticipated to significantly impact the global or regional downstream industries. The winners and nominees of the HP Top Project awards will have a considerable impact on the HPI, whether through CAPEX, satisfying domestic or regional demand, diversifying product offerings, or adding to the resurgence in refining and/or petrochemical processing capacity.

Hydrocarbon Processing Awards Winners

<i>Hydrocarbon Processing,</i> the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the winners for its third annual awards. The <i>HP</i> Awards celebrate innovative technologies and people that have been instrumental in improving facility operations over the past year.