Petrochemicals

Energy and Capital Efficiency Differences in Benzene-Toluene Distillation Configurations

Mar 23, 2010

Benzene, toluene and xylene separation is a requirement for the production of the many valuable aromatic based materials used in consumer and industrial products. There are several options in performing these separations by distillation. This paper discusses the energy usage and capital cost...

Full Potential Conversion of Vacuum Resids

Mar 23, 2010

Irv Wiehe

Present vacuum resid conversion processes, either coking or hydroconversion, are far from achieving their maximum conversion. With the remaining petroleum resources, on average, having a greater fraction of the vacuum resid fraction, it is imperative that new resid conversion processes or schemes...

Development of a Model for the Prediction of Fouling in Heat Exchangers Processing Crude Oil

Mar 23, 2010

Graham T. Polley

(Please Note: the audio does not start until 5 minutes 20 seconds as the speaker's microphone was not turned on.) A number of models have been proposed for the prediction of fouling rates in heat exchangers forming the pre-heat trains used in crude oil distillation units. Most of these models...

Catalyst Technology for the Removal of Acetylenes, NOx and Oxygen from Olefin Streams

Mar 23, 2010

Richard Zoldak

While olefins can be readily produced by various technologies, they are generally not suitable for use until impurities such as acetylenes, NOx and oxygen are removed. Here two different catalyst technologies are presented to accomplish this task. With both catalyst technologies, acetylenes are...

Ethylene Decomposition in Meter Header - Sabine River Works Olefins Unit - Orange, Texas

Mar 23, 2010

J. Douglas White

An ethylene decomposition occurred on the evening of May 15, 2008 during an ethylene plant turnaround. Ethylene was being supplied to downstream consumers via the pipeline through a metering station adjacent to the ethylene plant. The metering header consists of two meter runs to allow maintenance...

State of the Art BMS Requirements – Upgrade of Old Furnaces and Implementation in New Furnaces

Mar 23, 2010

Kari Enqvist

About 10 years ago in Europe, a new regulation came into force, EN 746-2 “Safety Requirements for Combustion and Fuel Handling Systems”, which effectively mandated the use of Burner Management Systems (BMS) for fired heaters, including olefins cracking furnaces. The regulation required immediate...

Furnace Safe Park DCS Tool

Mar 23, 2010

Bryan McVicker

Properly managing the shutdown or “safe parking” of multiple steam-cracking furnaces during a plant-wide upset can be challenging. Alarm flood and multiple competing demands on operators are characteristics of such situations. The ExxonMobil Beaumont olefins plant has created a DCS interface to...

Technologies for Enhancing Refinery Gas Value

Mar 23, 2010

The trend of processing heavy and sour crude is resulting in 'fuel long' refineries which seek to export energy in the form of refinery fuel gas or are looking for other ways to extract value from the fuel gas system. There are common solutions that either are applicable to a few selected high-...

Catastrophic Failure of a Dissimilar Metal Weld in a High Pressure Steam Venturi

Mar 23, 2010

Carl G. Matherne

In mid-2009 at the BASF FINA Petrochemical L.P. Steam Cracker in Port Arthur, Texas, a venturi-type flow meter in super-high-pressure steam service ruptured catastrophically, resulting in a major release of pressure and trip of the plant. Initially a steam leak was observed at the flow meter, and...

Integrated Refinery Cracker, the New Paradigm

Mar 23, 2010

Osman Aboul-Nasr

The new trends in crackers are higher capacity and heavier feedstock. This makes the integration between refineries and crackers significantly more beneficial. The importance of integration becomes a more paramount issue. Since several new refineries and cracker / derivatives complexes are...

Options for Mercury Removal in Ethylene Plants

Mar 23, 2010

Jayant Gorawara

Ethylene producers have faced the challenge of feedstock contaminants for decades. However, with current industry transitions and surplus capacity, the low cost producer will have a real advantage in terms of survivability. The ability to leverage opportunities to improve the cost position on...

Summary of U.S. Goverment and EPA Regulatory Authority for Low Sulfur Marine Fuel Rules

Mar 23, 2010

Robert Joyce

EPA recently proposed &'Control of Emissions from New Marine Compression-Ignition Engines at or Above 30 Liters per Cylinder (published August 26, 2009)&' to reflect the emission limits recently adopted in amendments to Annex VI to the International Convention for the Prevention of...

Intensified Heat Transfer Technology – CFD Analysis to Explain How and Why IHT Increases Runlength in Commercial Furnaces

Mar 23, 2010

Alejandro Carrillo

Intensified Heat Transfer Technology (IHT) is the use of radiant coil inserts that have a twisted baffle integrated with their inner surface. The inserts have the same diameter and metallurgy as the radiant coil, and are placed strategically in the coil to create turbulence in the process fluid,...

Fuel Performance Parameters for Marine Engines

Mar 23, 2010

The regulations for sulfur reduction in marine fuels are impacting the whole spectrum beginning from the production of the fuel in the refineries to the end use in Marine diesel engines. To start with, from 1/1/2010, the European Union regulations call for use of fuel with a maximum of 0.1% sulfur...

Current Methods of Measurement of NO, NO2 and NH3

Mar 23, 2010

Dwight Hines

The measurements of NO, NO2 and NH3 have been a challenge for analytical chemists for many years. This paper will deal primarily with new advances in technology for on-line NO and NO2 analysis using the paper tape technology from CI Analytics. The evolution of the instrument from CI Analytics will...

Review of Developments in the Use of Fouling Models in Pre-Heat Train Design and Operational Analysis

Mar 23, 2010

Graham T. Polley

Models exist for the prediction of both the thermal and hydraulic effects of fouling on heat exchanger performance. In recent years these models have been applied in the analysis of fouling on the tube-side of shell-and-tube exchangers, in exchangers fitted with tube inserts, and in welded plate...

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