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Archives :: Chementator :: Petroleum Refining

Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 stories.
December 1, 2012
A new way to obtain hydrogen from heavy oil
The volume of heavy, sour crude oil processed by North American refineries is steadily increasing, and along with it a commensurate demand for hydrogen to upgrade that oil. A steam-reforming process that would allow refiners to produce their own H2 from heavy oil and residuum is being developed by TDA Research, Inc. (Wheat Ridge, Colo.; www.tda.com). Currently, refiners make a lot of their own hydrogen by...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/A-new-way-to-obtain-hydrogen-from-heavy-oil_9974.html
November 1, 2012
Catalytic ethane-cracking process allows lower-temperature operation
Aither Chemicals LLC (South Charleston, W.Va.; www.aitherchemicals.com) is planning to build a commercial-scale plant based on a catalytic ethane-cracking process that uses 80% less energy and generates 60% less carbon dioxide than conventional steam-cracking of ethane.  The company has refined a mixed metal-oxide catalyst that was originally developed by Union Carbide in the 1980s. The catalyst...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Catalytic-ethane-cracking-process-allows-lower-temperature-operation_9897.html
June 1, 2012
Distillation: Avoid Problems During Tower Startup
A variety of performance problems can arise in distillation towers during startup. Many are caused by equipment, hardware or process conditions. Hardware issues may be related to instrumentation, tower internals or ancillaries. Instrumentation malfunctions are also common during startup and are predominantly related to liquid level indicators, online analysis of key components and in some cases...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Distillation-Avoid-Problems-During-Tower-Startup_9389.html
April 1, 2012
Integrated energy-efficient design boosts aromatics production
A Samsung petrochemicals facility in South Korea will be the first to feature a suite of energy efficiency technologies developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill., www.uop.com) for improved aromatics production. A number of UOP aromatics-processing design features and materials will be integrated to allow the facility to reduce its energy consumption by 33%. The facility will produce 1 million m.t./yr of para...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Integrated-energy-efficient-design-boosts-aromatics-production_9159.html
March 1, 2012
Improved heavy-crude conversion process boosts diesel yields
A proprietary nanoscale catalyst and an updated engineering design have allowed higher conversion rates for transforming the heaviest fractions of crude oil, known as vacuum residue, into high-value transportation fuels, such as diesel. Developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) and called Uniflex, the technology combines elements of the CANMET hydrocracking process used by Petro-Canada from...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Improved-heavy-crude-conversion-process-boosts-diesel-yields_9039.html
March 1, 2012
Improved heavy-crude conversion process boosts diesel yields
A proprietary nanoscale catalyst and an updated engineering design have allowed higher conversion rates for transforming the heaviest fractions of crude oil, known as vacuum residue, into high-value transportation fuels, such as diesel. Developed by UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.; www.uop.com) and called Uniflex, the technology combines elements of the CANMET hydrocracking process used by Petro-Canada from...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Improved-heavy-crude-conversion-process-boosts-diesel-yields_9169.html
January 1, 2012
PDVSA will commercialize a heavy-oil upgrading process
Venezuela’s state-run petroleum company, PDVSA Petroleo, S.A. (PDVSA, Caracas; www.pdvsa.com), will commercialize a company-developed process for upgrading heavy crude oil in its Puerto La Cruz refinery, about 300 km (190 miles) east of Caracas. The 210,000-bbl/d plant will employ PDVSA’s HDH Plus process (for hydrocracking...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/PDVSA-will-commercialize-a-heavy-oil-upgrading-process_8823.html
December 1, 2011
Commercialization is set for a new alkylation process
An improved sulfuric-acid alkylation process that reduces acid consumption by up to 50% from that of conventional processes will make its commercial debut in China. Developed by Lummus Technology, a CB&I company (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com), the technology will be used by Ningbo Haiyue New Material Co. in a grassroots alkylation plant to be built near Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. Scheduled for...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Commercialization-is-set-for-a-new-alkylation-process_8726.html
September 1, 2011
A simpler process to make PX from LCO
Anew process to make BTX (benzene, toluene and xylenes) from light cycle oil (LCO), an oversupplied product of petroleum refineries that can supplement the dwindling supply of BTX precursors, is being developed by JX Nippon Oil & Energy (JX Energy; Tokyo, Japan; www.noe.jx-group.co.jp). Whereas conventional technology requires...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/A-simpler-process-to-make-PX-from-LCO_8401.html
September 1, 2011
Solvent extraction method shows promise for recovering bitumen from tar sands
Today only a few percent of Canada’s oil sands resource is accessible by traditional surface mining, so the rest has to be recovered in situ, mostly by steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). In this process, steam is injected into a horizontal well in the oil formation to mobilize the viscous bitumen, which is recovered by a producer well at a lower level. An in-situ process that promises to be more...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Solvent-extraction-method-shows-promise-for-recovering-bitumen-from-tar-sands_8412.html
May 1, 2011
Coal slurry as a substitute for diesel fuel
An Australian team including CSIRO (Melbourne; www.csiro.au) and the Uni- versity of Newcastle (www.newcastle.edu.au) has developed an alternative pathway for producing ultra-low-ash coal that, the team believes, can be used to fuel diesel engines, thus providing the opportunity for diesel engines to replace steam engines for large-scale base-load power generation. The method involves slurrying and...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Coal-slurry-as-a-substitute-for-diesel-fuel_7932.html
April 1, 2011
New propylene and butadiene process could be utilized next year
By the end of this year, Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp. (Tokyo; www.asahi-kasei.co.jp) plans to complete development on two processes that utilize excess C2 and C4 fractions for producing propylene and butadiene, and if all goes smoothly, implement them by March 2012. The company has been developing its so-called E-Flex (for producing propylene) and BB-Flex (for producing butadiene) processes, and is now...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/New-propylene-and-butadiene-process-could-be-utilized-next-year_7739.html
May 1, 2009
Petroleum refiners seek to increase distillate yield, decrease emissions . . .
Strategies for extracting more distillate from petroleum to meet the growing demand for diesel fuel constituted a major theme of the recent annual meeting of the National Petrochemical and Petroleum Refiners Association (NPRA, Washington D.C.; www.npra.gov) in San Antonio, Tex. Worldwide, the demand for distillate is expected to increase by more than 5 million bbl/d over the next 10 years, says Richard...
http://www.che.com/chementator/petroleum_refining/Petroleum-refiners-seek-to-increase-distillate-yield-decrease-emissions-_4777.html

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