New concepts have been brought to a well proven catalyst cooler technology.  In this article reliability and flexibility of operation is assessed, and commercial experience of the technology in over 20 FCC units is discussed.
More

Although they were originally designed to deal with tube vibration and the equipment failures that this could cause, the use of Rodbaffles has spread to a wide range of applications in the petrochemical and other industries.
More

Description of a technology with the potential for continuous operation of ethylene pyrolysis furnaces without periodic shutdown for coke removal.  In this article the authors present their work in two parts: 1. Conceptual aspects of coke formation, and 2. Practical application in a Russian ethylene plant.
More

Some of the key issues involved in automation of heater firing are highlighted in this article, which aims to help operators improve firebox management.  Case studies are presented, along with common mistakes that cost money.
More

A coker heater at Conoco's Humber refinery in the UK was limiting production.  Some of its tubes were coking up and there were frequent shutdowns for decoking, with loss of production.  An assessment of the causes was required.
More

Increasingly, designers are using heat transfer enhancement at the conceptual design stages of a project to give themselves more flexibility, substantial cost savings and the prospect of much longer sustainable performance.
More

Two examples are used in this article to illustrate how changes in the process flow scheme can increase preheat train heat recovery.  While each refinery's crude unit design, operation and equipment constraints differ, a practical approach can be applied to any crude unit revamp.
More

Indirect heating of amine has been the traditional method in order to minimise the risk of overheating.  Two amine waste heat reboilers, which heat amine directly, have been supplied to Tunisia by Foster Wheeler.  They incorporate a number of features to ensure uniform heating, based on a flow model study.
More

Proper design of heat transfer systems should be based on the suitability of the fluid application needs.  This article describes, among other things, the fluid selection criteria that must be established before system design can begin.

More

Two advanced heat transfer technologies have combined to deliver increased onstream performance in heavy fouling service, using a reduced number of shell and tube exchangers, in a Germany refinery.

More

Electrical trace-heating has become the favoured method for temperature range processes, while innovations like self-regulating heating cables and control methods such as proportional ambient sensing control provide a new range of options for the design engineer.

More

Examples of how a technique known as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been employed to improve and optimise the design of the cracking furnace.  The authors describe simulation used for the radiant and heat recovery sections.

More

The technology of divided-wall columns using a single distillation tower, described in this article, is claimed to have investment and operating advantages over conventional two-column systems for hydrocarbon fractionation.

More

Deciding the best strategy for cleaning a heat exchanger network can be complex and time-consuming.  The authors describe an approach using spreadsheet-based software tools, found to be quick and practical and yielding significant benefits.

More

Fluid turbulence, viscosity and the degree of roughness or smoothness of the internal wall of a pipe are all factors influencing the movement of a fluid to its ultimate destination.  The authors describe a method for estimating these effects.

More

An account of the application of fluidisation theory and mass transfer principles to the study of tray design, which has resulted in the development of stripper internals capable of increasing catalyst handling capacity by as much as 50 per cent.

More

Positive displacement, rotary lobe blowers, says the author, are a cost effective solution to problems that can arise in gas compression applications.  He presents an in-depth review of the functions and proper handling of this equipment.

More