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March 2020

The March issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering includes features on catalysts, corrosion protection, digitalisation, safety, heat technology, blending technology and biofuels. This month’s regional report from Nancy Yamaguchi takes a magnifying glass to the US diesel industry, looking at demand, pricing, quality, production, and trade.


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Contents

US diesel in focus
Nancy Yamaguchi, Contributing Editor, takes a magnifying glass to the US diesel industry, looking at demand, pricing, quality, production, and trade.

Six steps for success
John Gugel, Honeywell UOP, USA, outlines six criteria fundamental to pursuing a long-term capital investment strategy.

Shepherding hydrocracking profitability
Bi-Zeng Zhan, Ling Jiao, and Hyunuk Ryu, Advanced Refining Technologies, USA, alongside Woody Shiflett and Theo Maesen, Chevron Lummus Global, USA, outline a new approach to stem the bleeding from recycle hydrocracking operations.

Ticking all the right boxes
Pretreat catalysts are crucial to increasing the profit margin of a hydrocracker. Rahul Singh, Haldor Topsoe Inc., USA, explains why.

Transforming reactor performance
Sarah McFarland and Mallory Taylor, BP, alongside Pankaj Desai, Edwin Maas, and Julien Sigaud, Shell Catalysts & Technologies, look at how to unlock high performance from an ageing hydrocracker with reactor internal design innovations.

Breaking PDH production barriers
The gap between propylene demand and supply is growing. Kyle Mankin and Cai Zeng, Clariant Catalysts, USA, and Chul-Jin Kim, SK Advanced, South Korea, explain how new catalyst technology is raising PDH production levels to meet this.

Dealing with the Delhi dilemma
Shruti Parkar and Raghavendra Swami Kannaraya, CECO Environmental, India, outline how India’s new fuel regulations are driving refinery modernisation.

The first line of defence
Cody Evans, ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants, USA, outlines how a proper lubrication strategy can help refiners in the fight against corrosion.

Automated corrosion monitoring
Dr William Vickers, Ionix Advanced Technologies, UK, explores modern methods for non-invasive corrosion monitoring and how these help improve operational safety, efficiency, and productivity.

Testing your way to success
Simon Daly, Hempel A/S, UK, surveys the issue of corrosion under insulation, and highlights the impact of new standards designed to tackle this problem.

Peace of mind
Eliminating the risk of unwanted and disruptive downtime, problems with corrosion, leaks and accidents is vital. Jonas Höwing, Sandvik Materials Technology, Sweden, emphasises the importance of selecting the right hydraulic and intrumentation tubing for onshore and offshore plants.

Digital data improvement
Dr Tetsuya Otani, Yokogawa Electric Corp., Japan, examines how digitised data can be used for automated analytics in predictive maintenance and root cause analysis applications.

Making a digital difference
Ryan Streeter, MISTRAS Group, USA, introduces modern approaches to inspection reporting in the downstream sector.

Smarter revenue generation
Leading petroleum refineries are continuously pressured to achieve, sustain and reach the next level of performance. Andrew McCloskey, AVEVA, USA, looks at how digitalised operations and processes can help to accelerate decision making and boost revenues.

HART of gold
Bernd Schäfer and Alexandre Terentiev, HIMA, Germany, use a practical example to show how the HART communication protocol can be used to enhance predictive maintenance in the process industry.

The health and safety implications of spills
Reuben Ritchings, Adler and Allan, UK, explains what must be considered when safeguarding employees and clients following a spill.

Sound advice
Jochen Schaal, SoundPLAN GmbH, Germany, examines the steps that can be taken to help mitigate excessive noise.

A heated story
Koen Verleyen, nVent, Belgium, provides a brief history of heat tracing technology in oil and gas applications.

The right heating choice
Hydrodesulfurisation units are crucial in the downstream oil and gas industry. Ilan Toledano, Wattco, Canada, looks at the role of these units and how the right heating choices enable a reliable and efficient process.

Everyone's a winner
Carl Rentschler, Engineering Consultant, and Goutam Shahani, ShureLine Construction, USA, look at supply agreements as the route to reaching a win-win for all parties organising procurement for downstream projects.

Butane blending
Tom Edwards, Technics Inc., USA and Dr Suresh S. Agrawal, Offsite Management Systems LLC, USA, discuss the economic benefits obtained through optimisation of butane content within gasoline.

Taking analysis online
Didier Lambert, Claude Saint-Martin, Michel Sanchez, Bernard Ribero, and Vincent Marchal, Topnir Systems, France, with Aldemar Figueroa Loza, Ecopetrol S.A., Colombia, look at continuous online diesel blending optimisation using modern technology and how this has been performing at the Barranca Refinery since 2007.

Fuels of the future
Arne Jakobsen, Wärtsilä Biogas Solutions, reveals why alternative fuels are a major investment target for marine industry providers.

Running round in circles
David Sudolsky, Anellotech, USA, talks practical solutions for a circular economy, highlighting plastic waste as an alternative feedstock pathway for virgin polymers.


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