Maintenance & Reliability
HP Reliability: Maintain proficiency in root-cause-failure analysis
Earlier in the year, the author attended a series of client and organizers’ presentations at the 2013 TapRooT Summit in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. TapRooT is a structured failure analysis and trouble..
HP Reliability: Why users must update design contractors’ understanding
In early 2012, a rotating equipment engineer was involved in a machinery quality assessment (MQA).1 Located halfway around the globe, this engineer’s new job was to oversee the engineering, procu..
HP Integration Strategies: Could remanufactured control components place HPI plants at risk?
The hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) must address a number of potentially catastrophic safety issues. One issue, in particular, is the growing use of remanufactured equipment and components from ..
HP Viewpoint: Increase the visibility and reliability of all major plant assets
Turbomachinery, essential to refining and petrochemical operations, has significant impact on plant production, maintenance and energy consumption. One of the most effective ways to improve turbomachi..
HP Engineering Case Histories: Case 75: Analyzing wear when troubleshooting
Wear occurs frequently on machinery. In its simplest terms, it is the undesirable removal of material. When troubleshooting the root cause of wear in equipment, the engineer’s interest should be ..
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..
Novel use of sulfiding agent prevents refinery shutdown
When an insufficient supply of acid gas threatened to shut down operations at a US refinery, quick thinking, along with the novel use of a sulfiding agent and a strong supply chain made all the difference.
HP Reliability: Leaders must allocate time for technology updates
Just as a good medical doctor is expected to have wide knowledge on modern treatment options, we would expect reliability professionals to be equally informed on technology advances. There are numerou..
HP Innovations: Innovations
Noncorrosive bearings have high load capacityEDT Corp. has added Type E Solution bearings (Fig. 1) to its Solution line of severe service bearings. Type E Solution bearings have high load capacity and..
Optimize your compressor maintenance program
One deviation alone might not be enough to bring on a compressor failure, but, when several more deviations combine, the failure risk is known to increase exponentially.

- Carbon capture tops agenda at GPAE Conference 2025 6/17
- INEOS to cease phenol production at German site, cites high European energy costs and CO2 tax policy 6/17
- Petrobras signs $892 MM in contracts to complete RNEST Train 2 refinery expansion 6/17
- China's May refinery throughput at 9-month low on plant overhauls (1) 6/17
- bp completes turnaround work at 250,000-bpd refinery in Washington (U.S.) 6/17
- Japan's Eneos restarts 77,000-bpd Kawasaki CDU after unplanned shutdown 6/17