March 2005
Special Report: Instruments and Networks
Benefits include improved quality control, safety and environmental stewardship, and reduced maintenance costs
The technology is a major advancement toward achieving interoperability of intelligent field instrumentation incorporating different fieldbus protocols
The key is a planned evaluation of the measurement systems and procedures
HNE-DS method is based on an expansion factor similar to the gaseous media to account for changes in mixture density
Bonus Report: Process Safety
Founded from a tragedy, this organization is leading the way in process safety
Heat Transfer/Corrosion
Use these guidelines to prevent condensation of acidic gases
Management Guidelines
Converting all problems into this framework could stifle the organization
Columns
Following is an interview with Dr. Babak Khosrowshahi, the founder of APC-network.com. What is APC-network and what are its objectives? "APC-network brings together a virtual advanced process contro..
Perhaps you too are working for a company that is asking challenging questions, or demanding certain implementation strategies for which it has not laid the necessary groundwork. Such seems to be the ..
Last month, I went off into some blue skies thinking about the energy shortfall, gasification, hydrogen and CO2 capture and storage. This month, I want to grab the string on that balloon and p..
Trends and Resources
New process raises yield of low-sulfur diesel Axens has developed an innovative low-to-medium pressure hydrocracking technology to upgrade vacuum gasoil into low-sulfur diesel. It allows refiners to..
Handy pressure calibrator Compact hand-held MC2 pressure calibrator is said to be practical and offer plenty of features and functions for pressure and electrical calibratio..
ConocoPhillips submitted a construction application to the US Coast Guard for a new offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification facility in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed Beacon Port Clean E..
ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing, LLC has an agreement with Huntsman Petrochemical (UK) Ltd. to license ExxonMobil's tubular process technology for its new low density polyethylene (LDPE) plan..
USFilter, a Siemens company, is providing ORYX GTL Ltd. (Q.S.C.)'s new gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, with two separate water treatment systems for water reuse. Both ..
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) is using Basell's Lupotech T technology for a new 250-ktpy, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant to be built at Maoming in Guangdong Province, People's Repu..
Fluor Corp. is providing engineering, procurement and construction management services to Sasol Ltd. at its Natref refinery near Sasolburg, South Africa. Contract value was not disclosed. The projec..
Sealing solutions for oil and gas applications John Crane EAA's new brochure illustrates how the company's many sealing solutions help keep process operations running more s..
For US-based integrated oil companies, 2004 is providing exceptional third- and fourth-quarter performance figures. Several factors converged in 2004 to support these favorable earnings and net income..
A fundamental and lasting recovery in the chemicals, plastics and fibers markets is "fully underway," according to a new analysis from CMAI (www.cmaiglobal.com). The strength and duration of this up-c..
The underlying technology that enables traditional supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) functionality is changing dramatically. Emerging technology is enabling SCADA systems to be tightly ..
As consumers suffer from record-high natural gas prices, a new report prepared by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) identifies over 30 environmental policy and regulatory constraints that hinder US na..
ISO has recently published revised, improved versions of its ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 standards. The upgrade is expected to put the benefits of implementing an environmental management system (EMS) wit..
For US exporters, Germany is the largest single market in the 25-country European Union (EU), with chemicals export sales of $3.3 billion in 2003. These exports represented 13% of the $26.5 billion in..
Misc
The international symposium "Bhopal and Its Impact on Process Safety" was held at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, December 1 – 3, 2004. Twenty years ago on December 3, 1984, ..
Consider these processing criteria to minimize investment and reduce maintenance expenses for this unit
- ARA gasoline exports to West Africa hit multi-year lows in September 10/3
- Singapore's middle distillates stocks snap three-week fall 10/3
- Update: U.S. crude oil inventories rise as refining activity dips 10/3
- Repsol supports ECI Group in licensing first 150,000-tpy copolymer plant using ECI Group’s hybrid reactor technology 10/3
- INNIO Group welcomes strategic partnership between Heaten and AI Alpine 10/3
- BCCK and Carbon Clean sign agreement to deliver carbon capture solutions across U.S. 10/3