Fossil Fuels

There are many methods to tune PID controllers. This presentation provides a tutorial on tuning PID process controllers using Internal Model Control (IMC) concepts. This tuning methodology allows the user to “coordinate” the response of related controllers to optimize the process performance rather...

Principal Components Analysis (PCA) is a statistical technique that aims at reducing the problem dimensionality by progressively eliminating redundancy in data. The method has found extensive use in exploratory data analysis as it aids visualization of complex data. Interestingly, the method is...

The Calcium Looping Process (CLP) is being developed to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of producing hydrogen and electricity from coal-derived synthesis gas. It integrates the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction with in-situ carbon dioxide, sulfur, and halide removal at high temperatures in...

E85 (85 vol.% ethanol and 15 vol.% gasoline) is a partly renewable fuel, which is commercially available in gas stations. Hydrogen rich gas production from E85 for fuel cell or internal combustion engine applications is being considered as a potential way to reduce CO2 emissions with increasing...

Process manufacturers lose millions of dollars each year due to process variability and poor control performance, often unaware they even have a problem. Control engineers and instrument technicians are typically overworked and ill-equipped to monitor and maintain the hundreds of control loops and...

Hydrocarbon and other commodity prices are increasingly volatile due to factors which include speculation, reduced inventory and a lack of spare capacity. Energy prices are likely to trend higher as we replace depleted crude oil and natural gas fields and reduce emissions. In this environment...

In recent years, there has been a marked surge in the search for alternative sources of energy that wean the world off of dependence on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon foot-print on this world. After a boom in U.S. corn-based ethanol in the early part of the 21st century, the interest has...

This paper intends to discuss one of the most neglected areas in the LNG plants. This area involves the ship-and-shore operating philosophy and interaction and BOG (boil-off gas) management. It involves the design considerations, operating philosophy and safety aspects of the LNG plants. It also...

Crude oil distillation accounts for a large fraction of the energy used in oil refining. Crude oil contains a variety of substances which tend to deposit as fouling layers in heat exchangers, and this results in decreased energy recovery and requires increased energy input to the furnace. CDU pre-...

Can the instrumentation, control, and protective systems for fired heaters as defined by the prescriptive API recommended standard 556 be reconciled with IEC 61511 / ANSI/ISA 84 by implementing an Integrated Control and Safety System? What cost savings can be identified and measured from both the...