Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Furnaces

Best practices in boiler maintenance and replacement

Rentech Boiler Systems: Lara, G.

Refineries cannot afford a sudden boiler failure (FIG. 1). Regularly assessing the condition of boilers is vital.

Understand API and ASME standards to prevent oversizing PSVs

Anvil Corporation: Taylor, B.

If you have ever sized or selected a pressure safety relief valve (PSV) using vendor sizing programs or hand calculations, you have probably run into a strange anomaly.

Process design consideration for a deep-cut vacuum distillation unit—Part 1

In the recent past, many US refineries have been reconfigured to process heavy opportunistic sour crudes.

Understand the installation of steam tracing for long-term application success—Part 1

QMax Industries Inc.: Hannah, C. C.  |  Perry, T. W.

One of the most misunderstood and misused components of conductive steam tracing systems is heat transfer compound (HTC).

A game-changing approach to furnace safeguarding

Phillips 66: Mickity, D.

This work is a follow-up article to “Automate furnace controls to improve safety and energy efficiency,” which was published in the June 2014 edition of <i>Hydrocarbon Processing.</i>

Additive solutions to SOx emissions in FCCUs

Tüpraş: Genç, M.  |  Dalgıç, E.  |  Karani, U.  |  Emiroglu, I.  |  Er, I.  |  Gül, A.  |  Avcilar, S.
Johnson Matthey Process Technologies: Ventham, T.

Sulfur oxide additives are typically based on hydrotalcite or magnesium aluminate spinel-type structures. Magnesium alumina is the pickup agent present in the most effective SO<sub>x</sub> additives on the market; therefore, to optimize SO<sub>x</sub> reduction, it is critical to maximize the amount of the critical magnesium component in the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) in an efficient and cost-effective way.

Business Trends

Siemens PLM Software: Aglave, R.
Porter McGuffie Inc.: Defilippo, A.  |  Mcguffie, S.

It is never a good sign when a piece of equipment exhibits unsafe behaviors—such as large, unexpected vibrations, or cracks forming around instrument ports—particularly in the thermal reactor of a sulfur plant, where high-temperature gaseous streams chemically react as part of the process that produces elemental sulfur.

Develop competence in the process industry with a digitalized operator learning path

Industrial digitalization is changing the standards for operator training in the global process industry.

Energy losses from the radiant firebox wall of pyrolysis furnaces

Braskem S.A.: Bueno, A.  |  Regueira, V.
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro: Leite, L.

The steam cracking unit is highly energy demanding, requiring high-severity pyrolysis furnaces to break the carbon-carbon bonds, as well as high pressure for the purification of its products.

Ensure uniformity of air preheater flow to obtain maximum heat transfer efficiency

Reliance Industries Ltd.: Badshahwala, M.  |  Patil, R.  |  Gupta, A.

Uniform flow distribution inside process equipment is desirable for maximizing performance.