A bit of advice for players in the petrochemical market: Hold on to your hats!
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.
Three primary drivers exist for recycling polyethylene terephalate (PET) bottles.
The energy transition is gathering momentum as pressure from society leads policy makers and investors to demand faster and deeper cuts to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from all industrial sectors.
Hydrocarbon Processing was pleased to speak recently with Mark Fonda, Executive Vice President, Engineering and Chief Technical Officer for Meridian Energy Group, which is building two grassroots refineries in the US.
Alternatively fueled vehicles (AFVs) are getting plenty of press these days, but their market penetration is still a long way from critical mass.
While the ultimate purpose of operating a refinery is to produce gasoline, diesel or asphalt, key objectives include improving return on investment (ROI), net profitability and cash flow.
Whether it is heating process fluids to achieve enough temperature in crude atmospheric and vacuum distillation units, or reaction temperatures inside furnace tubes to produce ethylene, vinyl chloride monomer, synthetic gas and continuous catalytic reformer reactors, or simple process heating (thermal fluid), process furnaces play a critical role in refineries and petrochemical complexes.
The persistent volatility of energy prices is well known, and sustained price movements have fueled a boom-and-bust cycle in different energy sectors for decades.