Chemicals & Materials

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...

Availability of pure olefin monomers is a key step in the production of polymers. These olefins are mainly produced by steam crackers. KataLeuna offers a wide range of catalysts and adsorbents to purify the various steam cracker cuts. This contribution will report on the latest catalyst...

Increased emphasis is being placed on renewable, sustainable, domestic forms of energy, including transportation fuels, at national, state and local levels. Successful deployment of alternative solutions to petroleum-based liquid fuels for the transportation industry is dependent upon technical,...

Furnaces and fired heaters are utilized throughout refineries. A common problem in furnaces is instability in the burner flames. If the instability is not corrected, it can lead to a flame-out, a dangerous condition in which unburned fuel is left in the fire box. If a flame-out occurs, the unit...

The energy efficiency and throughput of pre-heat trains can be improved by using process integration and through fouling mitigation. In this paper we show how the approaches can be combined in a systematic way. If fouling behaviour is ignored the use of process integration can lead to revamps in...

This paper describes two case histories of corrosion failures. The first case history describes metal dusting of the tubes and tubesheet from the process side in the horizontal TLE. The tubesheet of TLE was overlayed with Alloy 625 to prevent erosion. Deposition on the waterside allowed higher than...

Use of aviation fuel currently corresponds to 2-3% of the total fossil fuels used worldwide, or 13% of fossil fuel used in transportation fuel. Aviation fuel use is the second biggest sector after road transportation, which consumes 80 percent. Further, the aviation industry is expecting to grow at...

Fired heaters are in the refining and petroleum industry. In the current scenario, it is important to maximize fired heater efficiency to the maximum achievable. Revamping is a cost effective way to maximize fired heater efficiency: FIS has carried out several heater revamp projects in the past 5...

An Operator Training Simulator (OTS) of a new SUPERFLEXTM unit has been designed and built to provide highly realistic process and operations training to operators of a first of a kind petrochemicals plant. The OTS, which was delivered to Sasol in 2005, and otherwise called the Sasol Superflex OTS...

All refiners—and manufacturers in general—face daunting logistical challenges including supply chain, changing product specifications, carbon legislation, and regulatory compliance. In addition, the industry faces knowledge management issues due to the reality of an aging work force. Information...