Bloch, Heinz P.
Hydrocarbon Processing Staff, Montgomery, Texas
Heinz P. Bloch resides in Montgomery, Texas. His professional career commenced in 1962 and included long-term assignments as Exxon Chemical’s Regional Machinery Specialist for the U.S. He has authored or co-written more than 770 publications, among them 22 comprehensive books on practical machinery management, failure analysis, failure avoidance, compressors, steam turbines, pumps, oil mist lubrication and optimized lubrication for industry. Mr. Bloch holds BS and MS degrees (cum laude) in mechanical engineering from the Newark College of Engineering (NCE). He is an ASME Life Fellow and was awarded lifetime registration as a Professional Engineer in New Jersey. He is one of 10 inaugural inductees into NCE’s Hall of Fame, which honors its most distinguished alumni.
In the 1970s, an oil refinery discovered that 7% of its 3,200 process pumps experienced a disproportionate share of the facility’s yearly pump outage events. Slightly over 60% of the money spent ..
For many years, reliability-focused engineers have observed flawed procurement processes for mechanical equipment. Many requirements are supposedly aimed at the lowest possible lifecycle cost; however..
The US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) “Today in Energy” brief evaluated how US refineries are processing record amounts of crude oil (Fig. 1), with Midwest and Gulf Co..
Many HP readers are very familiar with the Texas A&M Turbomachinery (TAMU Turbo) and Pump Symposia events. The Houston-based 2014 forum, held Sept. 21–25, set new records in both attendance and n..
A recent HP webinar answered a number of compressor-related questions. This same webinar also generated a few additional ones. A viewer thought that two statements from this presentation were in contr..
Most downstream professions have heard of (or personally experienced) glitches in activities involving offshoring and outsourcing. Too often, some maintenance and purchasing agents travel the “go..
You may always have left scaffolding and access-to-work questions to an outside contractor to make the final decisions. But plant safety and timely work completion are everybody’s business. As a ..
Elastomer-based O-rings are used as secondary sealing components in millions of fluid machines. Although O-ring seals are primarily intended for fluid containment between different but nonrotating com..
Long service life and maintenance cost avoidance for equipment are of great interest to reliability professionals in the hydrocarbon processing industry. These goals are supported by a renowned gasket..
HP editors frequently attend technical conferences to keep informed on the many factors impacting the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI). The focus of these conferences often differs. However, one ..