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

February 2021

Archive

Special Focus: Digital Transformation

Reduce OPEX and improve sustainability through digital energy optimization strategies
Schneider Electric: Lau, C.

Oil and gas companies are looking for quick ways to reduce OPEX amid the pandemic and oil and gas market crises.

Data historian-based machine condition monitoring
Brüel & Kjær Vibro A/S: Hastings, M.

Machine condition monitoring has been playing an increasingly important role in industrial asset healthcare for many years.

Improve reliability and reduce maintenance with advanced analytics
Seeq Corporation: Buenemann, A.

A common misconception in largescale process manufacturing is that minimizing downtime by increasing reliability is the key to increasing profitability.

Unlock margin by interconnecting refinery optimization silos with closed-loop AI
Imubit: Cohen, G.

Refineries and chemical processing plants are complicated to model, control and optimize.

Smart manufacturing standardization: Driving global interoperability for enabling factories of the future
ABB: Singh, S.

Smart manufacturing is a topic that has generated considerable discussions within industry and standards organizations.

Process Optimization

Successes and challenges installing the first proprietary closed-coke slurry system
LOTOS Asfalt: Kaminski, M.
Chevron Lummus Global: Manral, V.  |  Heeswijk, B. V.
TRIPLAN GmbH: Graeter, F.  |  Knuedel, S.

The authors’ company<sup>a</sup> licensed a two-drum delayed coking technology process unit to Grupa LOTOS in Gdansk, Poland.

Optimizing for viability—VDU revamp in a brownfield project

Revamping an existing column in an operating plant for higher throughput is a challenge, especially when the column is already operating at its rated capacity.

Specifying internals in sour water strippers—Part 1
Trimeric Corp.: McIntush, K.  |  Farone, J. P.  |  Piggott, B. D.  |  Beitler, C. M.

A sour water stripper (SWS) system is a common process in petroleum refineries and other processes where hydrogen sulfide is present.

Maximize margins in a light naphtha isomerization unit by producing additional C6 products
DWC Innovations: Bhargava, M.  |  Sharma, A. P.  |  Ahmad, N.

The increasing demand for more efficient and low-emissions fuels due to stringent environmental policies and growing environmental awareness is leading refiners to find options to enhance the research octane number (RON) of the final product.

Maintenance and Reliability

Troubleshoot flooding problems in a crude distillation column
Tüpraş: Öztürk, G.  |  Kibar, S.  |  Akyildiz, G.

Crude oil is separated into more valuable products, such as naphtha, kerosene, light diesel, heavy diesel and atmospheric residue, in crude distillation units (CDUs).

A compliant solution for repairing corroded acid lines with composite materials
CSNRI: Green, M.  |  Rodriguez, R.

Composite materials have been utilized for the repair of corroded or damaged piping in refineries, chemical plants and other highly aggressive operating and production plants around the world for decades.

Valves, Pumps and Turbomachinery

Benefits of using a master station for actuator supervision and control in metering skids
AUMA: Loth, S.

Valve automation in metering skids for the oil and gas industry is a challenging task.

Supply Chain

Avoid costly stockouts through inventory sharing
M/s Indorama India Private Ltd. (1): Iyer, K. R.

Inventory sharing, per se, is not a new concept; rather, it is a popular practice in the wholesale and distribution business.

Environment and Safety

Implement effective operational discipline programs to improve process safety performance—Part 1
ABSG Consulting Inc: Klein, J. A.

Operational discipline (OD) describes human behavior in complying with required systems, every time, to consistently achieve organizational goals and overall operational excellence.<sup>1,2</sup>

Columns

Editorial Comment: The tools advancing the HPI into the digital age
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

The HPI has been going through a digital transformation, increasingly adopting digital technologies to improve existing processes and structures to improve performance.

Reliability: Plan startups wisely and involve SMEs
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

DE, a retired former colleague of mine, recounted his experience as an expert witness for ABC in litigation against XYZ. (Note that I picked the letters A through M for the plaintiff’s side; N through Z are assigned to the defendants.)

Executive Viewpoint : The importance of digital twins and cloud-based services
AVEVA: McCloskey, A.

<i>Hydrocarbon Processing </i> spoke with Andrew McCloskey, Chief Technology Officer and Head of R&D at AVEVA, about how digital twins and cloud-based services are used, their benefits and challenges, security issues, etc., as related to the downstream oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals industries.

Digital: Optimize plant turnarounds with AI-powered software
Actenum Corp.: Plowman, O.

How much time and costs can be saved by scheduling with an AI-powered solution?

Valves, Pumps and Turbomachinery: Using 3D metallic printing for manufacturing refinery pump impellers
Siemens Energy: Navrotsky, V.

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D metallic printing, is identified as one of the game-changing technologies in recent years for the oil and gas industry.

Executive Viewpoint: Edge computing in the COVID-19 recovery period
Stratus Technologies: Allemand, C.

As the COVID-19 pandemic forces businesses to rethink standard operations, many are considering how technologies can help in the upcoming period of recovery.

Industry Perspectives: H2Tech Solutions: Advancing hydrogen technologies
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

As announced in the January issue of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i>, Gulf Energy Information—publisher of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> and <i>Gas Processing & LNG</i>—has launched the publication <i>H2Tech</i>.

Business Trends: Are chemical companies ready for the future of work?
Deloitte Services: Dickson, D.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant, short-term disruption to the chemical industry, potentially leading to long-term impacts.

Global Project Data
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

<i>Hydrocarbon Processing’s</i> Construction Boxscore Database is tracking nearly 1,400 projects around the world.

Industry Metrics
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Global refining margins showed mixed results.

Innovations
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Rhodes, Mike

Cowan Dynamics has made advancements to its “C-PAC Module” Pneumatic Manifold and launched the C-PAC store.

People

BCCK Holding Co. (BCCK) appoints Fraser McDowell as Director of strategy and business development (renewables)