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

Engineering & Design

EnerMech partners with KENT for FAST project at ExxonMobil's Fawley petrochemical complex

EnerMech has become the integrated service contract supplier of choice to KENT Energies Ltd. for ExxonMobil’s new low-sulfur diesel facility at its Fawley Petrochemical Complex, located in Hampshire, UK.

Alarm management and operator training: Case studies for a sulfur recovery unit

Fluor Daniel India (1): Singh, P. V.
Fluor Daniel India: Chaudhuri, D.

This article will provide an in-depth insight of an operator training simulator, as well as the basic features of creating a virtual plant in which the operators are allowed to train and test various operating scenarios. It will also highlight the inbuilt scenarios inside the model—most importantly, the startup, shutdown and specific upset scenarios.  

Retrofitting CO2 capture in a petroleum refinery

Bechtel India: Singh, R. B.

This article examines the application of solvent absorption-based post combustion capture for refinery/site-specific factors and quantifies the impact this will have on CCS CAPEX/OPEX. This analysis helps to determine the optimum approach for any individual refinery site.

Zero-liquid discharge: A stepping stone to water sustainability—Part 2

Fluor: Kumar, S.  |  Ekmekci, B.  |  Sonia G. S.  |  Ranwe, A.

This article will evaluate zero-liquid discharge technologies and the preliminary treatment, disposal or further treatment for a preliminary treated system.  

Refinery/petrochemical makeup water treatment: A general guide for technical personnel—Part 2

Buecker & Associates: Buecker, B.

A very important—and sometimes overlooked—unit operation within processing facilities is makeup water treatment for steam generators and other processes. Many cases have been documented in which makeup system upsets have led to boiler tube failures that partially or completely shut down unit processes. This article serves as a guide for those employees who may be on a steep learning curve when it comes to makeup system understanding.

Bridging the innovation gap in the chemical industry

Productive collaboration between established chemical companies and agile climate startups is key to bridging this gap and accelerating decarbonization within the global petrochemicals/chemicals industry.

Haffner Energy, Bambbco partner to optimize biomass procurement for clean fuels production

The signing of this partnership will enable Haffner Energy and Bambbco to offer a turnkey solution for the production of green energy, with guaranteed feedstock availability and cost all year round. It builds on Haffner Energy’s strategy to diversify sustainable biomass procurement.

Thermal decomposition of particulate mercury sulfides in petroleum—Part 1

Chevron Energy Technology Co.: Das, T.  |  Hatakeyama, E.  |  Hoelen, T. P.
Contributing Author: O'Rear, D.

Traces of particulate mercury sulfide (HgS) in stabilized crude oils transform to elemental mercury below 400°C in refinery distillation units. The authors evaluated this transformation and measured reaction rates and activation energies in crude oil and Hg-spiked mineral oil, using glass vessels at atmospheric pressure and a microunit at 1,000 psig.

Deliver sustainable benefits through site-wide process digital twins

Saudi Aramco: Bazuher, E. A.
KBC, a Yokogawa Company: Chellani, J.

Refiners have used offline process models for decades. The next generation of solutions is anticipated to operate automatically, integrate with legacy systems and provide transparency site-wide.  

Prompt engineering: Extracting operational excellence knowledge from AI—Part 1

CEPSA: Larraz, R.

Prompt engineering is an emerging discipline at the intersection of AI and process engineering and will undoubtedly contribute to the hydrocarbon and green molecules processing industries. Parts 1 and 2 (October 2024) of this article explore and provide a glimpse of how this technique can help process engineers and operators to manage the power of advanced AI models to optimize processes, contribute to solve complex problems, and improve operational efficiency in refineries and petrochemical plants.