Refining
Case study: Improve vacuum tower operation with VFD addition
The bottom pump in crude vacuum units is an area of concern for almost all petroleum oil refineries. The harsh operating parameters in which these pumps operate, including high product temperature and significant vacuum suction pressure, have resulted in frequent vacuum tower upsets and low mean time between failures (MTBF) for vacuum bottom pumps.
Improve H2O measurement in catalytic reformer H2 recycle streams
Catalytic reformer units convert naphtha into high-octane aromatic compounds called reformates, which are used in gasoline blending and formulation. UOP developed the catalytic reforming process and brought the first unit into operation in 1949.
Modified revamp process to reduce energy use in an SDA unit
Solvent deasphalting (SDA) is emerging as a low-cost, bottom-of-the-barrel upgrading process to recover valuable oil from short residue. This oil can either be further processed to make lube-oil-based stocks or cracked in secondary processing units.
People
Randy Schmidt has been named Managing Director of the Burns & McDonnell Terminals and Pipelines group, replacing Ted Born, who is retiring.
Innovations
Siemens has been working closely with the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on a cyber security project.
Global Project Data
<i>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</i> Construction Boxscore Database is tracking more than 1,700 active downstream projects around the world.
Industry Metrics
US gasoline demand increased with the shift to summer fuels and higher export opportunities to Latin America.
Business Trends: The digital frontier and the process industry
Is a digital revolution underway in the process industry? For years, we have been hearing more and more about the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industry 4.0, Connected xxx (plant, enterprise, field, performance, etc.), smart Clouds, smart devices and so on. These concepts share numerous similarities, usually with a slightly different twist depending on who is promoting or selling them. But is the hype and buzz rapidly spreading to day-to-day applications and implementations? Not quite.
Industry Perspectives: The digitalization of the downstream industry
The digitalization of the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) is in full swing. Numerous companies have created, and are optimizing, digital technologies to improve plant operations, increase energy efficiency and lower costs.
Digital: Transitioning from the spreadsheet to the Cloud
The Industrial Internet of Things is expected to create a $225-B market by 2020, opening new opportunities for industrial organizations related to data and asset management.
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