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

Rotating Equipment

Safety: Process safety and risk management— An industry view

Petrotechnics: Jones, S.

In 2017, Petrotechnics released its process safety and risk management (PSM) survey.

Reliability: Could a company be its own worst enemy?

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

In a recent conversation with a “pump veteran,” we explored his 33 yr of experience with pump original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from 1984–1997 and with a widely known non-OEM (1997–2017).

Balanced oil sealing solution reduces lube oil leakage at compressor drive train

STASSKOL GmbH: Langela, M.

Reciprocating compressors use a piston rod connected to a drive train at the crosshead section.

Optimize operating parameters for C3 splitters to accommodate feed changes

Contributing Writer: Sami, M.

In the oil and gas sector, fractionation is a vital part of every plant.

Troubleshooting the repetitive failure and shaft seizure of a hot oil circulation pump

Saudi Aramco: Allah, W. K.  |  Al-Abood, A.  |  Ballard, F.  |  Brashler, K.

The Shaybah NGL recovery plant has a single-stage, double-suction between bearings, radial-split design for hot oil circulation.

Reliability: Choices—Treat the symptom or define and eliminate the cause?

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

In an urgent communication, a paper plant customer reported that the mechanical seals in one of its ANSI pumps were moving axially whenever an unexpected process problem caused the normally liquid pumpage to turn into a thick, odorous gel.

Revamp fired heaters with a common air-preheating system to increase capacity

Bechtel Corp.: Ahamad, S.  |  Vallavanatt, R.

In any process plant, fired heaters are generally considered to be one of the most optimally designed pieces of equipment.

Analyzing axial cooling fans’ high noise, vibration and failures

Saudi Aramco: Allah, W. K.

Shipping pumps with 1,800 hp are equipped with five cooling fans that cool the oil going to the lube oil pumps to lubricate the bearings.

Case study: Improve vacuum tower operation with VFD addition

Saudi Aramco: Alshaye, A.

The bottom pump in crude vacuum units is an area of concern for almost all petroleum oil refineries. The harsh operating parameters in which these pumps operate, including high product temperature and significant vacuum suction pressure, have resulted in frequent vacuum tower upsets and low mean time between failures (MTBF) for vacuum bottom pumps.

Digital: Transitioning from the spreadsheet to the Cloud

GE Digital: Renick, J.

The Industrial Internet of Things is expected to create a $225-B market by 2020, opening new opportunities for industrial organizations related to data and asset management.