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Europe

Technip wins process design work on new Finland biomass-to-liquid plant

Technip will develop the process design package of the hydrogen production unit of the plant, based on its steam reformer proprietary technology, and will prepare the FEED for the hydrogen production, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and refining units. Work is scheduled to be completed in early 2014.

Phillips 66 to sell Ireland's only oil refinery

Phillips 66 is selling its downstream businesses in Ireland, including the Whitegate refinery in Cork. The move reflects the challenges refiners are facing in Europe, where lower demand for fuel and higher costs of feedstock have put pressure on profits and led some companies to close down plants.

IEA seeks new energy policy to cut GHG emissions

The International Energy Agency called on governments around the world to act to adopt better energy-efficiency measures, cut back on the use of inefficient coal-fired power plants, minimize methane emissions from oil and gas production, and accelerate the removal of fossil fuel subsidies.

Neste Oil to buy algae oils from Cellana to use as biofuels feedstock

The agreement will enable Neste Oil to purchase Cellana's algae oil for use as a feedstock in the future for producing renewable fuel. The deal is contingent on Cellana's future production capacity and on compliance with future biofuel legislation in the EU and US, among other factors.

Japan, Europe launch joint study to cut LNG prices

Supply and demand situations should decide prices, and the two sides will study how they can eliminate oil-link pricing and the possible ramifications by such an elimination, a top Japanese official said.

Troubleshoot and optimize debutanizer columns in hydrocrackers

Saudi Aramco: Ramaseshan, V.  |  Al-Khani, A.

Saudi Aramco’s Riyadh refinery operates a series-flow, single-stage hydrocracking unit (HCU) in recycle high-conversion mode. The unit underwent a revamp in 1983 and presently processes a mixture..

Case history: New developments with lower catalyst-to-feed ratios for FCC units

RAS, A.V. Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas: Levinbuk, M.
JSC, Gazpromneft: Maksimov, I.  |  Kuznetsov, S.
Gazprom Neft: Galkin, V. V.  |  Makhiyanov, V.

A study was conducted using a series of FCC catalysts that included reduced rare-earth content and increased zeolite Y quantity systems. The goal was to raise gasoline yield along with greater yields of olefins.

How to select the ‘best’ fired heater for your operations

Linde Engineering North America, Inc.: Shahani, G.  |  Remster, J.  |  Ma, D.  |  Hashmi, O.

With the fluctuation of natural gas pricing, it is important to evaluate technically feasible solutions and choose the most economical alternative. Ultimately, this leads to a simpler and more cost-effective solution.

Successfully design fired heaters using ultra-low-NOx burners

Bechtel Corp.: Ahamad, S.  |  Vallavanatt, R.

Recent environmental regulations mandate that refinery and petrochemical industries reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Emissions legislations are constantly under review, and they differ from coun..

Can process automation increase energy efficiency?

Energy efficiency doesn’t imply producing less to reduce energy consumptions, but rather improving plant productivity and effectiveness, allowing plants to produce the same amount of product with fewer resources.