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

Distillation

Optimal gas analysis decisions improve ethylene plant operation

Emerson Automation Solutions: Kamphus, M.  |  McMillen, D.

One of the most common and important building blocks in the petrochemical industry is ethylene, constituting a huge and fast-growing worldwide industry. Ethylene is an intermediate chemical used to manufacture many commercial products—approximately 200 MMt will be produced in 2020.

Construction

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Equatorial Guinea plans to invest $1 B to build several energy projects, including the construction of two new refineries, each with a capacity of 30,000 bpd–40,000 bpd, as well as oil storage facilities, a methanol-to-gasoline plant and an LNG expansion project.

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.

Use submerged combustion systems to efficiently destroy hazardous plant waste

Selas-Linde North America: Predatsch, E.  |  Armstrong, P.

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.

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.

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.

Diversifying the future: Incentives for worldwide adoption of renewable fuels and chemicals—Part 1

Bio-based, renewable fuels and chemicals can reduce the environmental footprint of maintaining global transportation and product demands, while also supplementing traditional fossil fuels in a global environment with increasing energy demand.

Hydrocarbon Processing Awards

<i>Hydrocarbon Processing,</i> the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the finalists for its third annual awards.

Modified shed decks tackle crude tower fouling problems

Valero Energy Corp.: Hanson, D.  |  Brown Burns, J.

Many tray designs have been complicated by the hunt for the “perfect distillation tray” design.