Reactors
Thermal decomposition of particulate mercury sulfides in petroleum—Part 1
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.
Prompt engineering: Extracting operational excellence knowledge from AI—Part 1
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.
Monitoring cyclone reliability in fluid catalytic crackers
The authors’ company has developed a novel approach with a digital algorithm to effectively estimate the current cyclone erosion and predict future erosion based on operating conditions. With this approach, refiners get an automatic way to better predict abrasion lining erosion for both reactors and regenerator cyclones daily from digital analytics, thus helping refiners quantify their monitoring.
YECC awards ECI Group licensing contract for 150,000-tpy copolymer plant
ECI Group has signed a licensing agreement with Shaanxi Yanchang China Coal Yulin Energy & Chemical Co., Ltd. (YECC) to deliver a 150,000-tpy copolymer plant project, using ECI Group’s proprietary hybrid reactor technology.
SAFFiRE Renewables breaks ground on SAF pilot plant in Kansas (U.S.)
The SAFFiRE plant, located at Conestoga Energy's Arkalon Energy facility in Liberal, Kansas, will ultimately be capable of processing 10 tons of corn stover daily, yielding cellulosic ethanol that can be upgraded into SAF with a carbon footprint at least 83% lower than conventional jet fuel.
ABP awards CONSER tech licensing contract for 50,000-tpy maleic anhydride plant in Oman
MAIRE announced that NEXTCHEM (Sustainable Technology Solutions), through its subsidiary CONSER, has been awarded by Al Baleed Petrochemical Company the technology licensing, the process design package and catalyst supply for a 50,000-tpy maleic anhydride plant in the Salalah Free Zone, Oman.
Technip Energies and KBR selected for a major LNG project by Lake Charles LNG
Lake Charles LNG has awarded a JV between Technip Energies and KBR an engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction contract for its 16.45-MMtpy LNG export terminal in Louisiana (U.S.).
LanzaTech signs MLA with SEKISUI to develop multiple commercial-scale waste-to-ethanol plants across Japan
LanzaTech Global has signed a Master License Agreement with SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO. to deploy, at commercial scale, a jointly developed platform that converts syngas derived from municipal solid waste and industrial solid waste into ethanol.
Stamicarbon awarded technology and PDP contracts for urea plant in Egypt
MAIRE announced that NEXTCHEM (Sustainable Technology Solutions), through its subsidiary Stamicarbon, has been awarded the licensing and the process design package for the upgrade and expansion of El Delta Company for Fertilizer and Chemical Industries’ urea plant in Talkha, Egypt.
Gevo granted U.S. patent for its novel ethanol-to-olefins process technology
Gevo, Inc. announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted to Gevo a patent for its ethanol-to-olefins process, focusing on bio-based renewable fuel and chemical production from alcohols.

- Digital Feature (sponsored): Three questions oil and gas companies should ask to improve their operations risk management 3/6
- Nextchem awarded engineering/technology services contract from SATORP (Saudi Arabia) 3/6
- PBF Energy's Martinez refinery (California, U.S.) repairs to cost $30 million 3/6
- Lummus Technology, Resynergi announce commercialization of microwave-powered plastic pyrolysis technology 3/6
- Mercedes-AMG Petronas to use sustainable carbon fiber composites in Formula 1 racecars 3/6
- Vopak to build ethane tanks to support Thailand's petrochemical production 3/6