Maintenance & Reliability
Editorial Comment: Optimization: Advancing the industry’s evolution and benefits to the masses
Optimization—the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource—is not a term that the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) takes lightly: it is a way of life.
Reliability: Exploring better compressor sour seal oil traps
An interesting case involving sour seal oil traps in an offshore application recently came to our attention.
Taking on petrochemical plant hurdles with networking smarts
The petrochemical industry is facing one of the most significant challenges in its history.
Risk mitigation procedure following criticality assessment and FMEA
In asset performance management (APM), criticality assessment and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) are powerful tools that enable the identification of opportunities to minimize asset lifecycle costs during the development of equipment strategies.
Process control reimagined
Imagine visiting the control room of a typical process unit at a refinery.
Good distributor design for high-velocity feed debottlenecks a crude preflash tower
Bazan Group’s crude unit No. 3—not designed by any of the authors’ companies—was bottlenecked by the preflash tower.
Vapor velocity guidelines for horizontal flare knockout drums
Flare knockout (KO) drums are important components of effluent handling systems.
Thick-wall reactor shell repair procedure after damage detection at an interface in a hydrocracking unit
The vessel and reactor operating in a refinery may undergo various deteriorations due to their operating conditions.
Ensuring safety in dynamic chemical manufacturing environments
As with all industries, chemical manufacturing is evolving in response to technical innovations, new customer requirements and increased global competition.
Engineering Case Histories: Case 112: Remote failure analysis consulting
An article on “Remote training of personnel”1 is interesting and appropriate at this time of COVID-19. It outlines the difficulties in presenting remote training courses and suggests methods that can help.

- Vioneo awards Lummus polypropylene contract for world's first industrial scale fossil-free plastics from green methanol facility 8/19
- Research: Developing an energy-saving, carbon-capturing method for making ethylene glycol 8/19
- Emerson announced the release of its new Rosemount 3144S temperature transmitter 8/19
- Chinese refiners sweep up Russian oil after Indian demand falls 8/19
- Indonesia plans quick-to-build oil refineries for U.S. crude 8/19
- Russia's ultra low-sulfur diesel exports from Primorsk scheduled to rise in August 8/19