April 2021

As refiners consider renewable, low-carbon alternatives, renewable diesel—refined from agricultural products using petroleum refinery processes—is gaining traction.

Alkylation is a process used to produce highly branched isoparaffins from the reaction of lighter olefins and isobutane in the presence of sulfuric acid as a catalyst.

Many companies are modifying existing crude refineries or building grassroots renewable diesel facilities to produce drop-in, green renewable diesel from a variety of agriculturally derived triglyceride feedstocks.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standards in 2017, requiring all U.S. gasoline producers to adhere to an annual 10-ppm average sulfur limit.

On January 1, 2020, a new requirement limiting the sulfur content of marine fuel to a maximum of 0.5 wt% went into effect.

Renewable diesel: this greener, cleaner fuel has taken our industry by storm.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a sequence of changes across all industries, and the chemical sector has not been immune to the impact of this global health crisis.

Job requirements and scope are well defined in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts because they are designed and engineered from scratch.

Retrofitting/revamping—also referred to as modernization, derating or rerating—is an update of a plant or an existing piece of equipment to improve efficiency and/or capacity, and to make it adequate for a new design or operating condition through the modification or replacement of some of its parts.

The flaring of gases released from normal process vents and safety valve discharges following an overpressure scenario is widely practiced in refineries, petrochemical and chemical plants.

Standards such as API, ASME and NFPA are applied widely in the refining industry.

Maintaining pressure control in bulk storage tanks is a vital challenge faced by operators of both process plants and storage terminals.

Weak organic amines are commonly used in crude unit overhead systems to prevent acidic corrosion from chlorides and other acidic contaminants via a neutralization reaction.

The carbon dioxide compressor is one of the key major equipment in a urea production plant that produces fertilizers.

The following describes how an adequate implementation of alarm management is a fundamental part in process safety management (PSM).

Over the past several decades, the hydrocarbon processing industry has invested heavily in new processing units to produce low-sulfur and ultra-low-sulfur (ULS) transportation fuels.

Taking ownership of issues during a critical or troubling time is just as important as assuming responsibility during times of opportunity and benefit.

Hydrocarbon Processing (HP) was pleased to speak with Thorbjoern Fors (TF), EVP of Industrial Applications, Siemens Energy, to discuss the decarbonization of the oil and gas industry and the technologies that are helping companies meet their sustainability goals.

I recently gave a presentation at the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) Women in Industry event, where I spoke to more than 100 attendees on leading during uncertain times.

In the second half of 2021, Hydrocarbon Processing is hosting two events to showcase the leading technologies and people in the refining, petrochemicals and gas processing/LNG industries: The International Refining and Petrochemical Conference (IRPC) and the HP Awards. A “call for abstracts” has opened for both events.

Sprea Misr has awarded Nuberg EPC an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a 500-tpd sulfuric acid plant in Ramadan City, Egypt.

U.S. refinery margins extended their upward trend and showed the largest gains relative to the other regions due to a rise in refinery outages as extreme cold temperatures caused partial and complete refinery shutdowns.

According to Gulf Energy Information’s Global Energy Infrastructure database, new capital project investments have increased each month since November 2020.

DeZURIK, a leading valve manufacturer in the industrial and municipal markets, offers a wide variety of valve solutions for environmental wastewater systems, including grey water intake, pump isolation, pump surge control and membrane bioreactor isolation.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America appoints Michael Sicker as President of Oil & Gas Division