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The article discusses the case study of Germany-based Total Deutschland's Leuna refinery which investigated the potential use of Advanced Process Control (APC) in the complex's energy systems. The Leuna refinery developed its approach to APC over time and a learning curve was created by carefully evaluating and selecting from a list of options that many APC decision-makers face.

The article discusses the things to consider to use pinch technology effectively in the daily operations of the petroleum chemical industry. The authors talk about the inefficiencies that are typically found in existing preheat trains, the three main categories of retrofit projects. They also tackle the ways to identify effective improvement projects, such as the cross-pinch elimination procedure and systematic revamp approach.

The article focuses on using pinch technology in daily operations in the plant. The technology is rigorous, systematic and best documented methodology for process design. The energy targets for optimum energy use are determined in the design of a process unit. Composite curves represent heat availability and heat demand profiles.

The article reports on the methods of energy conservation on distillate hydrotreaters used in the refineries. It states distillate hydrotreaters consumes large part of the energy in the refineries. Hence methods to conserve energy are suggested in the article. It states retrofitting distillate hydrotreaters is one of the options to improve energy efficiency. Installation of a hot separator, usage of alternative heat exchange techniques like twisted tubes, are also ways to conserve energy.

The article discusses the need of increasing energy efficiency by refiners to effectively maximize operating profits. It has been stated that the best way for being energy efficient by any refiner is to focus on behavioral and organizational factor. It has been stated that a clear energy strategy, along with motivated and informed personnel is necessary for an organization to be energy efficient.