Current Issue: March 2021

The refining industry links the upstream production of crude oil with the end markets for fuel products, as well as for the petrochemical/chemical industry.

Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plants are the popular downstream derivatives of ethylene crackers or petrochemical fluidized catalytic cracking (petro-FCC).

Pyrolysis gasoline (pygas) is a by-produced fraction of hydrocarbons generated from a steam cracker.

Styrene monomer production plants continually face a need to slow polymerization rates in the purification section of the production process to increase monomer production rates, reduce polymerization/fouling and tar formation, and protect against equipment plugging, especially in the event of unplanned shutdowns.

Sour water stripping is a common process in petroleum refineries and other processes where hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is present.

It is often incorrectly assumed that the burner tile is simply a piece of refractory or firebrick. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In 1896, Whitham¹ reported the successful use of twisted tapes (originally called retarders, and now also called turbulators) to increase heat transfer in boiler fire tubes—their effectiveness in increasing heat transfer is well known.

A critical objective of engineers who design an automatic protection system is to lower the false trip rate and to lower a key metric called average probability of failure on demand (PFDavg).

Centrifugal compressors are designed with different suction nozzle orientations and impeller layouts in casing.

Where process fluid must be maintained within a certain operating temperature window, the piping will likely require the application of a thermal maintenance system.

The volatile impact of the coronavirus pandemic hit at the same time the petrochemical industry was entering a downcycle.

Failure of a piping section at the outlet of pressure safety valves (PSVs) and control valves—where significant differential pressure exists (particularly in gas processing industries)—is a common problem in industries.

Operational discipline (OD) describes human behavior in complying with required systems, every time, to consistently achieve organizational goals and overall operational excellence.^1,2

For nearly a decade, capital investments in new petrochemical capacity have skyrocketed. This

By universal agreement, the safety and reliability of facilities in the hydrocarbon processing industry—and most other industrial plants—are of highest importance.

In the practice of engineering, we sometimes wish for better hindsight or foresight.

We have all learned that technology alone will not improve our operations.

Russia hopes to become one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of petrochemicals and LPG by 2025 by doubling its domestic output and exports.

Digital transformation is a broad term that can mean vastly different things to different people.

The hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) is steadily advancing through the energy transition.

Over the past five years, the industrial evolution has been propelled by the same technologies that have dramatically changed our private lives.

U.S. refinery margins extended their upward trend for the fifth consecutive month, exhibiting the largest upturn relative to other regions.

After a tumultuous year, many active capital projects have been deferred, delayed or even abandoned.

SPECTRO Analytical Instruments has introduced the newest version of its SPECTROGREEN inductively coupled plasma optical emissions spectrometry (ICP-OES) analyzer: the SPECTROGREEN TI, featuring SPECTRO’s proven twin interface (TI).

Motion Industries Inc. promotes Jim May to director of corporate development