Heat Transfer
Improve solvent recovery in wax production
The solvent-recovery section of the deoiling unit for wax production consumes substantial energy. In this study, the effects of operating conditions (pressure), energy consumption and cost, and proces..
Update temperature control for a Claus unit with neural networks
The Natref oil refinery in Sasolburg, South Africa, had experienced refractory problems in the sulfur recovery unit’s (SRU’s) combustion chamber since startup (Fig. 1). Even though the SRU w..
HP Innovations
ClearSign marks NOx reduction milestoneClearSign Combustion Corp. has cost-effectively reduced NOx to a record-setting 3 ppm. The results indicate that ClearSign’s technology may overcome many of..
Foster Wheeler to supply fired heaters for Russia refinery expansion
“The supply of all of the fired heaters required for this new complex at one of the largest refineries in Russia is one of the biggest and most critical packages we have awarded, and we are pleased to have selected Foster Wheeler,” said V.E. Somov, general director of Kirishinefteorgsyntez.
HP Innovations
Burner management system ideal for retrofitsPrincipal Technology Inc. offers a modern burner management system (BMS) (Fig. 1) specifically designed for the retrofit of legacy boilers, ovens, furnaces ..
Mitigate fouling in crude unit overhead—Part 1
In a refinery crude distillation column, up to 40% of the total heat removal may be found in the tower overhead condenser. The quantity of duty available makes heat integration (HI) between the column..
Improve pressure drop calculations for saturated water lines
When saturated water flows through pipes and components, it flashes—thus increasing its specific volume and limiting the fluid flowrate. Due to these conditions, the calculation and design for pi..
Achieve uniform heat flux in a coker furnace
A delayed coker unit thermally cracks vacuum residue (VR) and converts it into products like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, gasoil and petroleum coke. A majority of the thermal cracking takes..
HP Brief
Train accident raises concerns on safetyThe train derailment that killed at least 38 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, has heightened safety concerns about crude oil shipments by rail. It has been ..
Enhance refinery profitability with modeling innovations
Several improvements are on the horizon, which will add powerful optimization capabilities into the process modeler’s simulation work space in areas like heat integration, column optimization and economics.

- Envision Energy powers world's first green marine ammonia bunkering 7/25
- New catalyst breakthrough could make clean ammonia easier to produce 7/25
- U.S. Gulf refiners seek Middle East, S. American oil to offset Venezuela, Mexico losses 7/25
- CEO of Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara resigns after EU sanctions 7/25
- PetroChina makes FID for new northeast refinery complex 7/25
- Valero Energy beats Q2 profit estimates as refining margins improve 7/24