Environment & Safety
HP Insight: Catalysts – They just keep things reacting
Much of the HPI's processing improvements can be attributed to catalyst innovations. They are drivers that not only affect processing methodologies; they enable creating and modifying end-product tech..
HPIn SHE: 'Lies for children'
The expression "lies for children" is sometimes used to refer to the simplified ideas that are introduced early in the student's development, paving the way for more sophisticated ideas, which will be..
HP Insight: How much sulfur is 'too much' for clean fuels?
In the first half of '99, U.S. refiners have been hit with some tough blows. Last month, troubles began brewing when California requested to be excused from using MTBE in the RFG program and proposed ..
HPIn SHE: The sleep of reason
As Goya's famous etching reminds us: The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters*. Alas, the sleep of reason seems endemic in Europe, if not globally. Recently, in London, a young woman was shot in myst..
HP Insight: Killing the messenger – MTBE
Some amazing developments are unraveling in California. To a great surprise, California Gov. Gray Davis has banned MTBE usage in gasoline. After holding public hearings concerning the University of Ca..
HPIn SHE: E = M2C*
In process plants – as opposed to personal relationships – it is energy that makes the world go round. Energy makes pumps whizz, furnaces roar, and with a little help from catalysis, molecul..
HP Insight: More news on ethylene
Lots of activity is occurring within the HPI. In March, several major announcements were released concerning ethylene manufacturing. At their March ethylene technology seminar, Kellogg Brown & Root (K..
HPIn SHE: We haven't got a button
Recently, I was in Birmingham, England, attending Maintec 99, the international maintenance conference and exhibition. One morning, I found myself running short of pounds sterling. Thus, I had either ..
HPIn SHE: Open with care – tales from the mailbox
Open with care — tales from the mailbox
Modernization project yields a more competitive plant
Refinery is meeting its key business drivers: higher product quality, lower operating costs, increased manufacturing flexibility and improved regulatory compliance

- AFPM response to U.S. EPA actions on RFS small refinery waiver backlog 8/25
- Indonesia urges EU to remove biodiesel import curbs after WTO ruling 8/25
- Canada's Alberta eyes investment in Japan's refining to boost oil exports 8/25
- U.S. EPA approves biofuel waivers for small refiners, stirring concerns over demand 8/25
- Update: Russian oil supplies to Slovakia may resume as soon as today 8/25
- Liquid Sun launches eSAF production pilot with ABB, Finnair, Fortum and Finavia 8/25