At times, engineers, bankers, scientists and accountants can be obsessed with numbers. Why? Because numbers are vital, especially in the design and operation of process units and equipment. Anniversar..
Any facility dealing with bulk hydrocarbons must monitor safety conditions at all times. A leak of flammable or toxic material can occur at any time, and explosion is an ever-present threat when combu..
The Natref oil refinery in Sasolburg, South Africa, had experienced refractory problems in the sulfur recovery unit’s (SRU’s) combustion chamber since startup (Fig. 1). Even though the SRU w..
The increased availability of natural gas supplies are redefining energy conditions. New natural gas reserves are shifting the order for producing nations. Shale gas reserves, once difficult to extrac..
In a refinery crude distillation column, up to 40% of the total heat removal may be found in the tower overhead condenser. The quantity of duty available makes heat integration (HI) between the column..
Since its development in 1936, the “modified Claus” technology has been the preferred process used by refineries and gas processing plants for the recovery of sulfur from acid-gas streams. M..
The handling capacity of gas sweetening plants using amine solutions is greatly affected by foaming problems. To mitigate foaming problems, antifoam is injected into the amine recirculating system at Oil and Natural Gas Corp.'s Uran refinery in India.
In early July 2013, BP announced that it has completed the commissioning and startup of a new, 250,000-bpd crude distillation unit at the Whiting refinery, marking a major achievement in the multi-bil..
A first-stage impeller in a synthetic gas compressor failed after 20 years of service. The compressor is a six-stage centrifugal compressor driven by a steam turbine. This case history discusses the i..
A recent survey of US executives by the KPMG Global Energy Institute supports growing optimism in the domestic energy and manufacturing industries. Much of the renewed enthusiasm is strongly linked to..