In the production of clean fuels, plastics and other hydrocarbon-based products, refineries and petrochemical facilities generate unwanted (waste) byproducts. Having no market value, the undesired byproducts must be recycled, minimized or eliminated. Depending on the feedstocks, end products and reactant materials, the unwanted materials can be gases, liquids or multiphase materials.
The fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is a conversion unit located at the heart of many refineries. Its main purpose is to crack crude oil-derived feedstocks into valuable liquid products, primarily LPGs (propylene and butylenes), and gasoline and light-cycle oil (LCO) precursors. The process uses a fluidizable catalyst, comprising an alumina-silica framework and tailored for each refinery to meet its specific needs. Often, the changing of a catalyst includes catalyst testing evaluations, employed by about 50% of the FCCUs in the world. The testing process is cumbersome, in which multiple methods are available to refineries.
Hydrocarbon Processing, the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the winners for its third annual awards. The HP Awards celebrate innovative technologies and people that have been instrumental in improving facility operations over the past year.
Cheviron, G.,
Martinez Gacio, J.,
Mitschler, M.,
Le Coz, O.,
Yallambalse, M.,
Schwalje, D., Axens
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.
Hydrocarbon Processing, the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the finalists for its third annual awards.
Many tray designs have been complicated by the hunt for the “perfect distillation tray” design.
Hydrocarbon Processing sat down with senior-level executives of Merichem Company, Cyndie Fredrick (CF) and Kathy Young (KY), Senior Vice Presidents and General Managers of Merichem’s two business units, to discuss the state of the downstream industry, where it is heading in the future and how their company is helping operators meet their sustainability goals.
In mid-June, I joined Thad Pittman, Senior Research Analyst, Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database, to provide Hydrocarbon Processing subscribers with a global analysis on the downstream processing industry’s capital projects landscape.
The plate-and-shell (P&S) heat exchanger has three significant advantages over the shell-and-tube (S&T) type traditionally used in refinery processes.