The purpose of this article is to demonstrate an autonomous operations (AO) vision, along with its feasibility, by conceptualizing a roadmap where meaningful progress can be achieved in a horizon of 3 yr–20 yr.
Hydrocarbon Processing has announced the nominees for its annual Top Projects awards.
Each year, Hydrocarbon Processing hosts events to bring together professionals in the oil and gas industry to share ideas and knowledge on the latest advancements in processing technologies and operations.
Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is one of the most important conversion processes used in petroleum refineries and has been in use for more than 75 yr.
Part 1 of this article, which appeared in the September issue, discussed various aspects of evaluating options that enable an existing refiner to make investment decisions to optimally diversify into petrochemicals through integration. Part 2 will detail a case study that illustrates the synergies of refinery-petrochemical integration through a propylene recovery unit from an FCC-based refinery, as well as financial, configuration and sensitivity analyses.
Hydrocarbon Processing, the downstream processing sector’s leading technical publication, has announced the winners for its third annual awards.
Tank and terminal facility profitability ultimately rests on a handful of key performance indicators (KPIs). The ability to maximize tank capacity utilization—while minimizing the time it takes to load and unload ships, trucks and rail cars—drives the bottom line. All those transfers must happen quickly and accurately, while avoiding product contamination.
This special section details all finalists within each category for the fourth annual HP Awards. The winners will be announced on Oct. 1.
In a growing and competitive industry, ethylene producers are turning to catalyst suppliers for solutions to innovate. Until recently, a solution to the difficulties inherent to acetylene hydrogenation in ethylene plants has challenged the catalyst industry. Due to their lower total production cost, “front-end” process flowsheets are now predominantly selected for new projects.
Paraxylene production is a highly cyclical business that is subject to changes in the global economy and dependent on feedstock costs, alternative dispositions for aromatics, utilities costs and plant locations, among other factors. With the large PX capacity added by recently started crude-to-chemicals complexes and the expected impact of the economic recession on commodities demand, many aromatics complexes face a significant slowdown in the coming months or, possibly, years.