Identifying the causes, penalties and possible solutions to coking in the FCC reactor vapour line, particularly with regard to inlet nozzle coking affecting unit capacity, conversion, reliability, pressure and heat balance.
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Designers need to be aware of all the factors influencing packed bed performance such as feed zone mixing problems.  Accurate assessment of temperature variations above and below fractionation zones can pinpoint efficiency problems.
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The plant of a large refinery has been revamped using high-capacity trays and other hardware revisions to significantly increase the recovery of C3s and to reduce the C4s content of the FCCU gasoline.
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Smart sensors with self-diagnostic capabilities, advances in closed-loop process controllers, and instruments that monitor online conditions and anticipate problems can be integrated into a plant's monitoring and control netowrk during a turnaround.
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Points of transition, where streams enter or leave the tower, are some of the most common and sever tower bottlenecks. Combining hydraulic evaluation with field data and gamma scan analysis is key to identifying and eliminating such bottlenecks.
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Pressure-measurement techniques can avoid the dangers of rapidly changing flow rates and levels during start-up.  Also, column internals directly above and below flash zones need to be designed for higher uplift forces.
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To achieve a safe and profitable upgrade, the many factors affecting revamp project scope must be taken into account.  The authors focus on the automation components that maximise performance of process equipment.
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Hotspots in fired heaters can lead to accelerated rates of coking and tube failure.  Two examples show how integrating fireside and oil-side calculations can help identify and correct conditions leading to high localised peak flux rates.
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A systematic approach to revamping a low-pressure HDT. 10 ppm diesel production at the BP Coryton refinery was possible without the expense of building a new high-pressure unit.
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A complete risk assessment of severe crude unit overhead corrosion reduced corrosion-related failures.  Costly equipment upgrades were avoided and significant savings generated without any increase in operating expenditure.
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Case study examines prediction, monitoring and mitigation of corrosion-related effects at a West European refinery operating in a high temperature, naphthenic acid environment, and shows how metal loss was prevented when processing heavy acidic crudes.
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A multi-billion dollar heavy oil upgrader project emphasised the importance of maintenance management considerations during project development.  The author reviews the critical role that maintenance played in this successful start-up.  Key phase considerations are outlined.
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Monitoring time-varying corrosion with technology that inputs corrosion as a real-time process variable lets operators correlate corrosion excursions with operating and process parameters and helps manage chemical and other corrosion prevention treatments.
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Combined project management, risk assessment and asset management tools and methodologies can achieve the optimum systems integration capable of addressing every aspect of a project.
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How one process facility avoided excessive boiler feed water leaks and steam venting between major turnarounds.  A shear plug system helped maintain steam system temperatures at the desired letdown rates, eliminating significant imbalances.
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