Engineering & Design
Increase FCC processing flexibility by improved catalyst recycling methods
The dynamic global refining market emphasizes the need for greater operating flexibility in the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit.
Bio-isobutanol: The next-generation biofuel
This article highlights the technology, feedstocks and market growth opportunities for isobutanol, with a focus on potential new market offerings in the very near future.
Successful fouling control hinges on effective monitoring
Equipment reliability, processing flexibility and energy conservation are key objectives for modern refineries. Refiners today are routinely using lower quality, more difficult to process feedstocks t..
What are the benefits of rigorous modeling in heat exchanger design?
This article examines three applications where rigorous heat exchanger models can boost value derived from process simulation and provide more accurate results.
Prevent external corrosion of boiler tubes under refractory lining
A leak developed on the water wall for several boiler tubes within five months of the commissioning of a plant boiler. In this case, the boiler tubes were partially covered with a castable refractory ..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 70: Twenty rules for troubleshooting
In previous Engineering Case History columns, I have discussed checklists and their value in avoiding errors during startups. While the rules cannot replace common sense or a logical and methodical ap..
HP Automation Safety: ‘Sticktion’: A dangerous failure mode
I set a wet glass on the old wooden kitchen table at our home. It sat there all night. The next morning, when I went to grab the glass, it stuck to the table. Yes, this event has happened before. But,..
HP Construction: North America
CB&I has a contract from Enterprise Products Partners L.P. for the license and basic engineering of a propane dehydrogenation unit on the Texas Gulf Coast. The unit will use the CATOFIN propane dehydr..
HP Construction: South America
Honeywell has been selected to upgrade the safety and control system at Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname’s refinery to Honeywell’s Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) solution. The u..
HP Construction: Middle East
Saipem has signed a lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical for the naphtha and aromatics package of the PETRORabigh II Project, expan..

- CNOOC completes construction on $2.9-B, 1.8-MMtpy refinery-petrochemicals integrated complex in east China 8/22
- bp's Whiting refinery (U.S.) continues to flare days after severe thunderstorm 8/22
- Bachmann introduces latest version M-Target for Simulink 8/22
- U.S. to rule on biofuel waivers, but big oil refiners may need to wait 8/22
- Chinese independent refiner Hongrun buys Canadian, Brazilian crude 8/22
- thyssenkrupp Uhde completes pre-FEED for HAMR Energy’s renewable fuels project in Australia 8/21