Loss Prevention
Design atmospheric aboveground storage tanks for accident prevention
The design and construction of oil, gas and petrochemical facilities is continuously improving, as increasing compliance with ever-changing codes and standards, such as the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), is resulting in fewer atmospheric above-ground storage tank (AAST) accidents.
Project Management: Bridging the gap in revamp projects—From business need to design basis
Revamp projects are notorious for scope creep, cost and schedule overruns.
Upgrade the ALARP model as a holistic approach to project risk and decision management
The ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) model was developed by the UK Health and Safety Executive to establish and justify risk acceptability limits.
FCC collector tray leaks impact column operation
In the collective experience of the authors, one of the most troublesome pieces of refinery fractionation equipment is the collector tray.
XOS launches analyzer for testing critical elements in petroleum refineries
ALBANY, N.Y. — XOS has announced the worldwide release of Petra MAX, a new D4294 analyzer with combined analysis of 13 elements from P to Zn. Petra MAX delivers high-precision sulfur analysis in addition to rapid monitoring of critical elements like Ca, Fe, K, Ni, and V at sub-ppm levels.
Using an improved method of capitalized cost to evaluate alternatives
The method of capitalized cost is often used to determine the most desirable economic alternative. In its most simplified form, it consists of the original cost of an alternative plus the capital cost of a perpetuity needed to generate funds to replace the item at known intervals of useful-life.
Rethinking the risk mitigation process and revitalizing operational safety
For the past 2 yr, oil prices have been in free-fall. At the time of writing, the WTI price is around $50/bbl, up slightly since OPEC’s May 2017 announcement to extend its September 2016 production cut of 2.2%.
Identify the cause of liquid maldistribution inside packed beds
Diagnosing liquid maldistribution problems inside packed beds that can cause mass transfer efficiency loss is a challenge to process engineers.
Carburization inspection robots for radiant tubes inside ethylene cracking furnaces
In an olefins plant, the reliability of ethylene cracking furnaces is one of the deciding factors used to indicate whether or not the plant can be operated at its design productivity.
Does your control valve talk?
Pneumatic operated control valves (POCVs) are consistently the most used control final element for process control across most industries—in some cases, they are also part of the safety instrumented systems (SISs) layer.

- OCI Global completes $1.9-B sale of OCI Methanol to Methanex Corporation 6/30
- Partnership for sustainability: Pekutherm and POLYVANTIS launch circular economy initiative 6/30
- Lloyd’s Register signs strategic collaboration with DAI Infrastruktur for green ammonia Project Ra 6/30
- Alleima expands product portfolio for the urea industry with SAF™ 2906 6/30
- UK's Lindsey oil refinery insolvent, 420 jobs at risk 6/30
- Turkey to set SAF mandates for airlines, suppliers 6/30