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Turbines

HP Reliability: How the best lubricant provides added value

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

In November 2012, a highly competent lubrication engineer and I met again at the ExxonMobil Maintenance and Productivity Improvement Symposium in San Antonio, Texas. We talked about the small, but pes..

HP Reliability: Top three ways to improve pump service life

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

Experienced reliability professionals know that even the premier equipment standards used in the HPI occasionally fall short of defining the best, most reliable, or safest available technology.

HP Innovations: Innovations

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Blume, Adrienne

UK firm patents mid-scale LNG technologyGasconsult Ltd. has announced the award of a patent for its new ZR-LNG liquefaction process. ZR-LNG has best-in-class energy efficiency for mid-scale liquefied ..

HP Reliability: TAMU Turbo and Pump symposiums still leading

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

Beginning in 1971, the Turbomachinery Laboratory of Texas A&M University (TAMU) organized the first of now 41 consecutive annual turbomachinery symposiums, now known as the TAMU Turbo. In 1984, Texas ..

HP Reliability: Upgrade the design of vertical, multistage centrifugal pumps in low-temperature services

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

The overall mechanical design of most API-style vertical-column pumps (Fig. 1) comes close to meeting the expectations of modern pump users. Such pumps are often equipped with self oil-lubricated bear..

HP Reliability: Closed-oil-mist systems and maintenance cost avoidance

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

A recent Hydrocarbon Processing (HP) article conveyed an industry finding that dates back several decades: Oil mist successfully lubricates operating machinery, protects and preserves standby equipmen..

HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 70: Twenty rules for troubleshooting

Consulting Engineer: Sofronas, A.

In previous Engineering Case History columns, I have discussed checklists and their value in avoiding errors during startups. While the rules cannot replace common sense or a logical and methodical ap..

HP Reliability: Consider best-of-class lubrication practices

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

Last month’s column explained that all hydrocarbon processing (HP) facilities use machinery, and these machines require lubrication. Periodically auditing one’s lubrication practices is part..

HP Impact: The modern world of steel

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Thinnes, Billy

The World Steel Association recently published the 2012 edition of “World Steel in Figures.” This study provides essential facts and statistics about the global steel industry, including inf..

HP Reliability: Rethink your auditing of lubrication practices

Hydrocarbon Processing Staff: Bloch, Heinz P.

All hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) facilities use machinery, and every one of these machines requires lubrication of some type. Modern, profitability-minded plants thoughtfully manage their lub..