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Copyright of Iraq Journal of Market Research & Consumer Protection / Al-Mağallaẗ al-ʿIrāqiyyaẗ li-Buḥūṯ al-Sūq wa-Ḥimāyaẗ al-Mustahlik is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Flowsheets based on the results of experimental studies and detailed kinetic modeling were suggested for oxidative cracking of oil refinery gas components to obtain ethylene, CO, and hydrogen. The calculations show that oxidative cracking alone does not allow production of ethylene and СО in ratios required for the further catalytic carbonylation and hydroformylation of ethylene. Matrix conversion of a part of oxy-cracking products is suggested as an additional step for producing CO and hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilbur Nelson introduced the concept of complexity factor in the 1960s to relate the performance level of refineries with different capabilities and processing technologies. Refinery complexity has been used for many years to describe the sophistication and capital intensity of refineries, but foundational issues and the limitations associated with the metric have not been examined. A more precise and rigorous approach to complexity factors is presented based on the application of cost functions. Two alternative formulations are introduced and compared to the traditional approach and lead to new descriptive statistics and insight. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The problem of prompt speed and density profile mapping based on mathematical modeling of particle motion in the acceleration section of catalyst pneumotransport lines is discussed. An algorithm is developed to calculate the distribution of these parameters along the longitudinal coordinate of reactor-lifts to improve ergonomic efficiency of operation of reaction-regeneration systems used in oil refining and petrochemical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refineries’ production plan modeling with simple planning models such as the fixed yield planning models fail to reflect the operating conditions of the processing units. In this work, an integrated optimization strategy including production planning optimization, search of operating parameters and the operation optimization of fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) units was proposed. The solution of optimal integration was validated by case studies of a monthly plan for a whole refinery, which included three FCC units. The results indicated that the optimization strategy was efficient in determining a practically executed optimal plan and corresponding operating conditions of FCC units. The integrated refinery planning model predicted higher profit and could provide the feasible or optimal FCC operation conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A typical petroleum refinery makes use of vacuum gas oil by cracking the large molecular weight compounds into light fuel hydrocarbons. For various types of fast pyrolysis bio-oil, successful analogous methods for processing heavy fractions could expedite integration into a petroleum refinery for fuel production. This paper investigated the applicability of bio-oil distillation residues (i.e., ‘bottoms’) toward end-use and/or post-processing through the use of various physical and chemical characterization methods, including FTIR, NMR and their decomposition in a micropyrolyzer (Py–GC–MS). We compared distillate bottoms from both the recently developed tail-gas reactive pyrolysis (TGRP) and traditional pyrolysis bio-oils, emanating from switchgrass and horse manure feedstocks. Based on the FTIR and NMR measurements, we found the traditional bio-oil bottoms to contain more reactive functional groups, whereas TGRP bottoms are highly aromatic and exhibit a lack of functional groups. Manure-based bottoms consistently contained more aliphatic carbons than those of switchgrass origin. However, irrespective of the origin of the feedstock, all bottoms samples possessed high HHVs making them suitable for solid fuel application, such as direct combustion (30 MJ/kg for traditional bio-oil bottoms; 37 MJ/kg for TGRP bottoms). A preliminary evaluation using Py–GC–MS to test their suitability for use in refinery cracking processes revealed that the TGRP-based bottoms all produced significant yields of pyrolyzate (20–50%), with nearly all detected compounds comprising alkyl benzenes and alkyl phenols. However, the manure-based TGRP bottoms produced a higher proportion of C 8 –C 18 paraffin compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning from experience is one of the four pillars of Risk-Based Process Safety [CCPS, Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety, New York, 2007]. Incidents that occur at one facility often provide opportunities to strengthen management systems at other facilities. Sharing the technical lessons learned from incidents is morally right and vital to improving process safety performance across the process and related industries. Most incidents also involve human factors, often as a key causal factor. Understanding these performance shaping factors can also be essential to minimizing future failures. Most articles regarding case studies on process safety incidents are written and presented by a third party who was not directly involved in the incident. As such, the articles may lack the human element and other insights that can only be properly appreciated and articulated by someone directly involved in the incident. In his early career the author was involved in two major incidents while managing the day-to-day operation of refinery process units. This article describes the first incident involving two major fires. In both incidents, the author found himself decidedly too close for comfort and could easily have become a casualty himself. This article will raise awareness of lessons learned relating to a number of elements of Risk-Based Process Safety [CCPS, Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety, New York, 2007] and human factors. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 32: 255-259, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat integration is commonly skipped when evaluating a process' relief systems design. Failing to evaluate the heat integration (or energy balance) for a process can result in overly conservative results and possibly lead to costly expenditures. Evaluating the effects of heat integration in relief systems design is a process that evaluates the physical limitations of the system and does not require taking credit for control system response. It is important to understand the effects that heat integration has on both individual relief devices, and in some cases, the significant affect it can have on flare system design. This becomes even more imperative in cases where relief devices that once discharged to the atmosphere are modified to discharge into a closed flare system. This article covers two examples where evaluating the effects of heat integration on the relief systems prevented costly modifications to those systems. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 32: 244-247, 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) is a dominant refining conversion process in China's most refineries. After decades of development, China has already become one of the major FCC technology licensors in the world. In this review, the research and development (R&D) activities on FCC riser termination device (RTD) technologies in China are reviewed and discussed. Emphasis is put on the R&D of a series of advanced RTD technologies led by China University of Petroleum, Beijing, which initiated in the early 1990s when more and more China's FCC units chose to process more residue feedstock. Followed by the guideline of three "quick"s and two "high"s, two early types of RTD systems with coupled zones for gas-solids centrifugal separation and pre-stripping were developed and applied successfully in commercial units. Significantly reduced yields of coke and dry gas due to restrained post-riser reactions and satisfactory particle recovery efficiency were achieved. These were the fender-stripper cyclone and vortex quick separator systems designed for external- and internal-riser FCC units, respectively. Later, further improvement efforts led to the development of another two RTD systems, i.e. the circulating-stripper cyclone system for external-riser units and super vortex quick separator system for internal-riser units. By now, nearly 50 applications were commissioned with a sum FCC capacity of 40.0 Mton/a, nearly one-third of China's total FCC processing capacity. Besides, other research efforts, such as the geometry optimization efforts on LD² type separator, the studies on RTD for down-flow riser FCC units, and the idea of non-disengager FCC unit are also discussed in this review. To accommodate to degraded feedstock, more stringent environmental regulations and new FCC process technologies, future R&D efforts on RTD technologies should be put on improvements to further satisfy the three-"quick"s and two-"high"s requirements with changing FCC operating conditions and different process requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main process in oil refinery technologies is the cracking of the heavy fraction of oil into light and valuable hydrocarbons. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors, working at atmospheric pressure and low temperature, is one of the newest methods for cracking hydrocarbons, which has been successfully used to crack low-carbon-containing molecules. Therefore, in this paper, the cracking of n-hexadecane as a heavy hydrocarbon fed by using the cylindrical DBD reactor (nonthermal plasma) has been investigated. We studied the effects of gas type, applied voltage, and gas flow rate quantitatively and qualitatively by using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector and mass spectrometry detector. Results showed that methane has better effects on both conversion and cracking percentage in comparison with air. Also, it has been shown that increasing the applied voltage and working gas flow rate enhances the conversion and the cracking percentages. The highest conversion percentage obtained was 9.26% when the applied voltage and methane flow rate were 12 kV and 50 sccm. In this condition, the cracking percentage obtained was 84.34% of the products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influence of rapeseed oil additives to oil tar on the results of thermal cracking is studied. In the mixing of oil tar with rapeseed oil, the change in the yield of cracking products is found to be nonadditive. The composition of cracking mixtures is investigated as a function of the amount of rapeseed oil introduced into oil stock. We also show the fundamental possibility of integrating thermal processing of plant oils into the technological structure of oil refineries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel high-severity FCC process that maximizes propylene production is under development by research teams in Saudi Arabia and Japan. The process has been proven in a 30-BPD demonstration plant at Saudi Aramco's refinery, Saudi Arabia, and at a 500-BPD cold flow model at Nippon Oil Corporation, Japan. The HS-FCC process combines mechanical modifications to conventional FCC with changes in process variables and catalyst formulations. The process main operating features are a down-flow reactor system, high reaction temperature, short contact time, and high catalyst to oil ratio. Experimental runs were conducted in a downer- and riser-type pilot plants and a demonstration plant using various catalysts, additives and feed oils. The experimental results demonstrated the advantage of downer in suppressing backmixing, thus increasing the yield of light olefins (ethylene, propylene, and butylenes) and reducing dry gas. Using paraffinic crude base VGO feed and proprietary USY FCC catalyst, propylene yield of 25 wt% (feed basis) and gasoline yield of 30 wt% were obtained under HS-FCC reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategic problem of making oil refining more exhaustive consists of qualified refining of high-molecular-weight petroleum residual and distillate products (vacuum resids, asphalts, heavy gasoils from thermal processes and catalytic cracking) with production of the maximum possible amount of light, high-quality motor oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy oil upgrading is a very important process in the petroleum industry, but is very difficult because it has a high impurity content. A variety of heavy oil upgrading technologies have been developed in the world, including the catalytic hydrocracking process, which can process various heavy oils with a high yield of liquid products. Although this technology is one of the most widely used methods for upgrading heavy oil, the use of expensive molecular hydrogen is costly. The heavy oil upgrading technology with alternative hydrogen is very important. The catalytic hydroconversion of Gudao residue with different catalysts using water-syngas as an alternative hydrogen was investigated in this study. Hydrogen is provided in-situ for hydrocracking through the water-gas shift reaction (WGSR). The experimental results show that catalysts play a very important role in catalytic hydroconversion of Gudao residue using water-syngas as an alternative hydrogen. Addition of catalysts to residue was found to improve the distribution or properties of cracking products and inhibit the asphaltene or TI formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modernization of cat cracker reactor block equipment in the G-43-107M/1 combined unit, which significantly increases the unit’s efficiency and reliability, is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on VNIPIneft Co.'s experience in designing cat crackers at oil refineries in Russia. Conversion to a zeolite-containing catalyst; Operating pressure and temperature; Implementation of the reactor-regenerator unit and system for preparation of stack gases for recovery; Diagram of the fractionation and gas separation unit.

Reports on VNIPIneft Co.'s experience in designing hydrocracker units at the oil refinery in Russia. Operating pressure and temperature; Use of a double-flow reactor block and stabilization unit scheme; Output of the unit in feedstock per year for the winter and summer diesel fuel version; Advantages of the T-Star process;

The crack state in the regenerator of the heavy oil catalytic cracking unit of Daqing Petrochemical Complex is summarized. The reasons for a large number of welding seam cracks in the regenerator-third-stage cyclone system of the heavy oil catalytic cracking unit are analysed. Correlated countermeasures to prevent cracks and several repair plans for the present cracks are proposed. The key technology and measures of repairs are described and could be used as guides for crack repair of similar equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on problems related to petroleum refining. The end products obtained by the distillation of crude petroleum are found in virtually fixed proportions. By using various cracking processes, the middle distillates such as kerosene and gas oil may be converted into gasoline-plus-residual-oil or into gasoline-plus-coke. Since the introduction of cracking in 1913, the refiner's problem has no longer been a matter of selecting a single optimal rate of output, but rather an optimal product-mix. There is a decreasing marginal rate of substitution between the various refined products. Petroleum refiners are facing problems related to the operating conditions of the cracking reaction. Vapor phase cracking needs higher temperatures, lower pressures, and a shorter reaction time. With the higher temperature, which occurs in vapor phase cracking, there is associated an increase in the yield of residual oil. It may be profitable for the refiner to sacrifice yields in order to enhance octane ratings.

Many oil refineries experience problems with the reliability of the main column bottoms system in the fluid catalytic cracking unit, reports Bryan Orchard. As MCB pumps play a critical role in ensuring the reliability of the whole system, it is essential that every effort is made to optimize pump working life. This has been achieved by the development of the fully lined slurry pump. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]