January 2001

Archive

Environment/Loss Prevention

Indoor air quality and hydrocarbon processing research
Tetley, P. A., Strobic Air Corp. a subsidiary of Met-Pro Corp.

A case study on eliminating containment and re-entrainment of laboratory workstation fume-hood exhaust

Loss Prevention/Process Technology

Control corrosion factors in ammonia and urea plants
Nair, M. P. Sukumaran, Special Secretary to Government of Kerala, and Chairman, Chemical Engineering Division Board of the Institution of Engineers

Processing conditions for ammonia and urea are highly corrosive; using metallurgical advancements can mitigate such forces

Control corrosion factors in ammonia and urea plants Fig 1
Nair, M. P. Sukumaran, Special Secretary to Government of Kerala, and Chairman, Chemical Engineering Division Board of the Institution of Engineers

Fig. 1. Steam-reforming ammonia process. ..

Control corrosion factors in ammonia and urea plants Fig 2
Nair, M. P. Sukumaran, Special Secretary to Government of Kerala, and Chairman, Chemical Engineering Division Board of the Institution of Engineers

Fig. 2. Urea process flow diagram. ..

Control corrosion factors in ammonia and urea plants Fig. 3
Nair, M. P. Sukumaran, Special Secretary to Government of Kerala, and Chairman, Chemical Engineering Division Board of the Institution of Engineers

Fig. 3. Various forms of process corrosion. ..

Control corrosion factors in ammonia and urea plants Fig. 7
Nair, M. P. Sukumaran, Special Secretary to Government of Kerala, and Chairman, Chemical Engineering Division Board of the Institution of Engineers

Fig. 7. Operating limits for steels in hydrogen service. ..

Maintenance and Retrofitting

Consider compressor upgrade options
Price, B., Polaris Veritas Inc.

Substantial savings in time and money can be achieved

A case study in rapid machinery turnarounds
Beck, R., Turbocare; Johs, D., Shell Chemical

Here’s how several major repairs were accomplished in less than a month

Gas-lubricated mechanical seals for pumps
Vanhie, E., Burgmann Seals America, Inc.

New designs decrease the conversion cost for older pumps and improve reliability

Process Analyzers

Enhance furnace tube resistance to carburization and coke formation
Bayer, G. T., Alon Surface Technologies, Inc.; Kurlekar, A., CONDEA Vista Co.

Applying diffusion coatings on ethylene furnace tubes may increase run times between decoking

Get the most out of your NIR analyzers
Barsamian, A., Refinery Automation Institute, LLC

Follow these application, selection and installation guidelines

Optimize pour point control to save money
Au, J., Phase Technology

New developments improve online and process control of distillates and lubricants

Monitoring wastewater with UV spectrophotometry
Busatto, C., Total Raffinage Distribution, Center de Recherches; Langellier, C., Total Raffinage Distribution; Pouly, E., Thomas, O., Tourad, E., Ecole des Mines d'Ales

Multiparameter analyzers allow online wastewater management

Project Management/Loss Prevention

Be a safety champion
Terrell, M. S., Duke Engineering & Services

Project managers who place a premium on integrating safety into their jobs ensure better overall performance

Columns

HP Control: Optimization at NPRA
Kane, L., Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) held its annual Computer Conference & Showcase, Nov. 13 - 15 in Chicago. Papers were presented on applications for infrared and ..

HP Insight: Back to basics
Hartmann, H. C. M., Consultant

I could not help but draw a comparison between problems encountered in the U.S. presidential election and several interesting issues confronting the hydrocarbon processing industry. Not..

HP Water Management: Select the right caustic for strong base anion demineralizers
Huchler, L. A., MarTech Systems, Inc.

Select the right caustic for strong base anion demineralizers

HP Automation Safety: SIL verification
Goble, W., exida LLC

Regular readers have a good understanding of the safety life cycle (SLC), one of the fundamental concepts presented in the ANSI/ISA84.01 and IEC61508 functional safety standards. Since ..

HPInformer

Flo P. Stephens, Editor, Departments/International       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProces..

HP In Brief: HPIn Brief
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

Gas-to-liquids (GTL) fuels from natural gas earn 'alternative' designation. The U.S. Congress recently designated domestically produced GTL fuels made from natural gas an alternative fuel as defined u..

HP Impact: HPImpact: Scenarios project increases in both energy use, emissions
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

World energy consumption will grow 2%/yr from now until 2020, and carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), which contribute to unwanted climate change, will rise at about the same rate. Most of these increases..

HP Impact: HPImpact: Risk reduction: prime factor in automation safety systems growth
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

The increased desire of manufacturers to reduce risk, improve their corporate image and reduce insurance premiums is fueling the growth of the automation safety system market, according to a recent st..

HP Impact: HPImpact: Positive displacement pumps: what intensifies the competition?
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

A new study by Frost & Sullivan (F&S) reveals that both product performance and specification are increasingly motivating purchasing decisions within the industry. However, price remains a critical fa..

HP Impact: HPImpact: EIA forecasts key energy trends
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

While most attention in energy markets is focused on near-term issues of world oil supply and prices, U.S. natural gas prices and the transition to restructured electricity, a longer term forecast has..

HP Impact: HPImpact: What motivates HPI capital investment?
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

Companies involved in the business of chemistry have a number of reasons or purposes for investing in new plant and equipment. The American Chemistry Council (www.americanchemistry.com) has collected ..

HP Impact: HPImpact: Gas industry partners save $54 million
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Natural Gas STAR Program announced that its industry partners have reduced methane emissions from unit operations and equipment leaks by 27 billion c..

HP Impact: HPImpact: HPI safety record improves
Weirauch, Wendy, Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

For the Western Europe downstream oil industry, the number of injuries sustained at work is declining, according to a new report from CONCAWE. Fig. 2 lists the safety performance of member companies f..

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor

Correction The red coloring was inadvertently dropped from Table 1 of the article "Evaluating liquid distributors in hydroprocessing reactors," by G.E. Jacobs and A.S. Milliken, Novembe..

Misc

Mine’s bigger than yours!

Bill Crowley, Contributing Editor       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com We just thought the..

International

Flo P. Stephens, Editor, Departments/International       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com AECI L..

Consider turboexpanders
Bloch, Heinz P., Hydrocarbon Processing Staff

Turboexpanders are expansion turbines, rotating machines similar to steam turbines. By common usage, the terms "expansion turbines" and "turboexpanders" specifically exclude steam and c..

HPIn Construction

Flo P. Stephens, Editor, Departments/International       Comments? Write: editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com ABB aw..

Rotating equipment risk-based assessment and benchmarking

Joint industry project on steam turbines identifies high risk areas and helps prioritize maintenance resources