Fossil Fuels

It is becoming a widespread norm that refineries are processing an increasing quantity of heavy and sour crudes than ever before. The depleting oil reserves of light sweet crudes have resulted in the need for deeper exploration. Considerable finds in the Orinoco belt of Venezuela, California and...

The amount of heat recovery achieved in the pre-heat train used ahead of the fired heater feeding a crude oil distillation unit does not just affect fuel efficiency of the process by controlling the heating that must be undertaken in the fired heater. It can also affect the fouling encountered...

Chemical reaction fouling is principally controlled by two factors: wall temperature and local fluid shear stress. Computer programs for the design of shell-and-tube exchangers generally calculate a mean heat transfer coefficient for the tube bundle. In reality both heat transfer coefficient and...

Fouling behaviour is a crucial consideration in the selection and design of heat exchangers to be used in refinery pre-heat trains. We make the following observations regarding fouling associated with the heating of crude oil: 1. The fouling rate decreases with increase in wall shear stress 2. The...

CHALLENGES IN USING REFINERY FUEL GAS FEEDSTOCK FOR STEAM REFORMING BASED HYDROGEN PLANT Peter V Broadhurst & Graham Hinton (Johnson Matthey Catalysts, PO Box 1, Belasis Avenue, Billingham, Cleveland TS23 1LB, UK) ABSTRACT Operators of steam reforming based hydrogen plants are seeking feedstock...

Refineries using Canadian Crude as feed stock are experiencing high emulsion wastewater from Desalter mud wash operation. This waste is high in COD /BOD loading and will exert shock to the aeration system by scavenging dissolved oxygen and resulting in misoperation and NPDES exceedences. Emulsion...

Effect of the Characteristic Dimension of Catalytic Wall Microchannels and Microslits on the Performance of Microreactors Coupling the Methane Steam Reforming and Combustion Reactions: A CFD Simulation Study G. Arzamendi 1 , I. Uriz 1 , P.M. Diéguez 1 , M. Montes 2 , M.A. Centeno 2 , J.A. Odriozola...

A predictive mechanical integrity (MI) program is based on the following: * Damage mechanisms that affect process equipment. * Rate at which degradation progresses. * Ability of the inspection group to identify and correct equipment damage before equipment failure. Operational temperature, pressure...

Many of the practical problems in achieving high performance feedback control for challenging applications have been addressed by modifications to the basic PID control law. These modifications include set-point filters that allow both load rejection and set-point following objectives to be...

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its February 2007 report &'Public Safety Consequences of a Terrorist Attack on a Tanker Carrying Liquefied Natural Gas Need Clarification&', stated that &'The leading unaddressed priority ... was the potential for cascading...