Maintenance & Reliability
Project Management: Protect operating margins with outsourced asset management
The oil and gas sector is under pressure to maintain operating margins. Although oil prices have stabilized in recent months, they have, nonetheless, fallen dramatically in the last year. This has bee..
Engineering Case Histories: Case 89: Cracking of welds due to weld fatigue
Pressure vessels, piping and fabricated structures adhering to recognized welding codes rarely fail in static loading, unless they are damaged or severely overloaded.
Troubleshoot operation of a steam ejector vacuum system
A crude vacuum unit operating properly generates high gasoil yield vs. low-value vacuum residue.
Improve facility safety by understanding process and personal safety
The lack of knowledge and understanding about process safety is still apparent in many industries where hazardous materials are processed and handled.
Control fouling on preheat trains with a two-stage approach
Fouling in heat exchanger preheat trains is a well-known problem in the refining industry.
Reliability: Interpreting API Standard 618 for reciprocating compressors
A rotating machinery engineer working for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor in India is often involved in selecting reciprocating compressors for hydrocarbon processing plants.
Engineering Case Histories: Case 88: Normal operating loads do not usually cause failures
Equipment of all types are designed for normal operating conditions, usually with some margin for unknowns.
HP Innovations
The FM-approved FireChek thermal shutoff valve with resettable memory shape alloy can now be used to automatically shut down a pneumatic control system when a nearby fire occurs, or when the ambient temperature reaches 135°F, 150°F or 165°F.
Use dynamic simulation to increase reliability of hydrogen generation
Through this plant study, a licensor demonstrates effective use of rigorous dynamic simulation tools to implement the new control schemes and configurations.
HP Reliability: Consider high-pressure throttle bushings made from fluoropolymers
In February 2004, I reported on how horizontal multistage pumps could be upgraded with a high-performance plastic produced by DuPont, Vespel CR-6100.
- Kazakhstan to build a new $10-B, 10-MMtpy refinery 2/18
- U.S. EPA expected to send 2026 biofuel blending quotas to White House this week 2/18
- Kent awarded pre-FEED contract for Eq.flight, an advanced power-to-liquids SAF project 2/18
- ABB launches integrated carbon capture measurement solution to accelerate industrial decarbonization 2/18
- CONSER awarded technology licensing/PDP contract for DMS and BDO plant in China 2/18
- Singapore marine fuel sales maintain strong start in early 2026 2/18
