Process Optimization

Decarbonization opportunities in refinery and petrochemical complex-organic Rankine cycles

In an organization’s pursuit of decarbonization, significant opportunities exist in recovering waste heat from high-temperature streams instead of rejecting it to heat sinks. This article analyzes the economics of using the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to recover waste heat and generate electricity.

Editorial Comment: Maintenance and inspection pathways/technologies to optimize unit reliability

Unit uptime is one of the most important aspects in refining and petrochemical plant operations. Work stoppages due to any number of causes can be detrimental to profitability; therefore, it is imperative to utilize best practices, technologies, techniques and know-how to ensure processing units operate efficiently and safely.

Improve energy efficiency of assets

Cloud for industries: Why the time is now?

Industrial AI for guided diagnosis of KPI deviations in production operations

An innovative process for simultaneously producing high-purity benzene and U.S.-grade gasoline from FCC C₆ heartcut

Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSAT) II regulations restrict the average benzene level in gasoline sold in the U.S. to 0.62 vol%. In India and in several other countries, benzene in gasoline is presently restricted to 1 vol%. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline contributes to nearly 10%–20% of the gasoline pool in a typical refinery.

Decarbonize the FCCU through maximizing low-carbon propylene

As the global energy system continues to be threatened by geopolitical tensions, the refining industry continues to demonstrate an outstanding capacity for adaptation.

Pellet handling system for polyolefin plants: Are you specifying it correctly?

Product pellets produced in polyolefin plants—such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP)—require transportation from the unit to the end users that process these pellets to manufacture different end-use plastic products.

Navigating the complex LNG value chain

Throughout the last two decades, LNG technology improvements have built a global natural gas market. This globalization has led to an increase in demand, but also an increase in instability, as changing global events and the drive towards increased sustainability in energy sources have created market fluctuations from all directions.

Editorial Comment: As petrochemicals demand increases globally, novel processes, systems and technologies continue to evolve

Over the next 25 yr, global petrochemicals demand is forecast to increase exponentially, rising from approximately 450 MMtpy in 2025 to > 500 MMtpy in 2035 and upwards to nearly 600 MMtpy by 2050.