Europe
Total plans €400M upgrade for low-sulfur fuels at France’s Donges refinery
Total is investing €400 million to upgrade its Donges refinery in France to capture profitable new markets with low-sulfur fuels to meet new European Union (EU) specifications.
EU chemicals industry reports stagnant growth, weakening confidence
“The lack of growth in 2014 was partly due to falling exports," said Cefic director general Hubert Mandery. "Though the price of oil has fallen here in Europe, lowering producer costs, long-term problems persist, especially the challenge of securing affordable energy supplies.”
Alfa Laval to supply heat exchangers for ethylene project in Turkmenistan
The Alfa Laval OLMI heat exchangers will be used to increase the yield and recover energy in the production of ethylene at the Turkmenistan project, according to company officials.
GasLog acquires two LNG carriers from BG Group
The two vessels, built in 2010, are the Methane Becki Anne and Methane Julia Louise and each have a cargo capacity of 170,000 m3 and have on-board reliquefaction plants.
Top seven causes for lost olefin production
Long-term trends in production losses, showing total loss production measured in seven biennial studies, are discussed in this article to determine if these losses are increasing or decreasing over time.
Use vapor distributors to improve fractionation column performance
Vapor distribution has often been neglected in fractionation columns. Although the importance of liquid distribution is well understood and has been a consideration in column design from the early sta..
How Cr compounds discolor refractory brick walls of an ethylene cracking furnace
Unusual pink coloration was noticed on the entire refractory brick wall in the radiant section of an ethylene cracking furnace of a petrochemical plant. The problem was investigated by evaluating the ..
Update on the catalytic cracking process—Part 2
One of the prime challenges in the operation of a fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) is keeping the catalyst circulating. Compared to other challenges with FCC operations, correcting erratic catalys..
HP Editorial Comment: Accessing the value of methane and the North American petrochemical revolution
The North American (NA) petrochemical industry is experiencing a renaissance of new project announcements and manufacturing expansions. This wave of activity is supported by abundant, low-cost natural gas supplies. In particular, many ethylene projects are under various stages of development.
HP Reliability: The true cost of poor quality
Knoxville, Tennessee-based System Improvements, Inc., has been in the forefront of teaching structured root-cause analysis throughout the world. System Improvements, Inc. has used its proprietary soft..
- hte conducts research for JGC to advance decarbonization by identifying suitable catalysts for ammonia cracking 6/26
- TES and CPC Finland to develop 500-MW e-NG project in Finland 6/26
- Vietnam says its refineries not yet affected by Middle East tensions 6/26
- PureFive™ resin advances toward qualification with Procter & Gamble brands 6/26
- Gulf Energy Information and CompareNetworks announce strategic media partnership to elevate pharma and lab content at ChemE Show 2026 6/26
- Update: Brazil raises biofuel levels, sees gasoline self-sufficiency 6/26
