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Desulfurization

Hydrocarbon Processing Awards 2020—FINALISTS

This special section details all finalists within each category for the fourth annual <ital>HP</ital> Awards. The winners will be announced on Oct. 1.

Intensification of sulfur processing units by oxygen enrichment and process flowsheet optimization

Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd.: Yang, W.
Advisian, a Worley Company: Lewis, J.  |  Racz, A.

The consistent global trend toward improvements in air quality and tighter regulations on emissions, as well as the International Maritime Organization’s shipping regulations, continue to mitigate sulfur levels—not only in conventional transport fuels (petrol and diesel), but also in jet fuels, fuel oils and other heavier distillates.

Maximizing diesel hydrotreater profit by multivariable optimization: A case study

Haldor Topsoe: R. Bandyopadhyay  |  Alkilde, O. F.

A diesel hydrotreater (DHT) is a critical unit within an oil refinery. A DHT processes the diesel range fractions obtained from different units of the refinery—such as from the crude distillation unit and the delayed coker unit—to adhere to diesel fuel market specifications.

Business Trends

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Nichols, Lee

Rovuma LNG, a JV comprised of ExxonMobil, Eni and China National Petroleum Corp., will likely delay its final investment decision (FID) on the group’s $30-B Mozambique LNG project.

Brazilian developments in the biofuels market

Since the 1970s, Brazil has been a world reference in automotive biofuels, especially bioethanol produced from sugarcane. In 1973, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forced a sharp rise in oil prices, triggering a massive slowdown in the country’s economic growth, which had been going through what was dubbed the “economic miracle,” with growth at an average of 12% of GDP. This study gives an overview of the biofuel sector in Brazil, along with the main business challenges and opportunities in this area.

IMO 2020 stability and compatibility headaches

Refinery Automation Institute, LLC: Curcio, E.  |  Barsamian, A.

The year 2020 will be a mess from the fuel oil stability and compatibility points of view. The year will be price-driven, so the temptation to “cut corners” is great—meaning that a highly variable number of blend components to manufacture the fuel oil will open a “Pandora’s box” of complex and questionable fuel formulations.

Refinery residue and bitumen upgrading: Gasification

Advisian: Abazajian, A.  |  Sloley, A.

Gasifiers take the bottom of the crude barrel and move the residue into the C1 value chain. Refiners have had a variable record of running gasifiers for a time and then shutting them down. Reasons for this include inexperience with gasifier operations, lack of knowledge on how to extract profits from the C1 value chain and market difficulties in catering to clients operating in different business environments.

HP Top Project Awards

The editors of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing</i> have identified nine projects that are anticipated to significantly impact the global or regional downstream industries. The winners and nominees of the HP Top Project awards will have a considerable impact on the HPI, whether through CAPEX, satisfying domestic or regional demand, diversifying product offerings, or adding to the resurgence in refining and/or petrochemical processing capacity.

Diversifying the future: Incentives for worldwide adoption of renewable fuels and chemicals—Part 2

Bio-based, renewable fuels and chemicals can reduce the environmental footprint of maintaining global transportation and product demands, while also offering supplementation of traditional fossil fuels in a global environment with increasing energy demand. The renewable energy sector is large and growing rapidly.

Diversifying the future: Incentives for worldwide adoption of renewable fuels and chemicals—Part 1

Bio-based, renewable fuels and chemicals can reduce the environmental footprint of maintaining global transportation and product demands, while also supplementing traditional fossil fuels in a global environment with increasing energy demand.