This is the 2nd of 3 articles discussing relief issues for Hydroprocessing units. Last month, we discussed backflow prevention (CLICK HERE for 1st article). As a reminder, the three main lessons from that article are: Backflow protection must be provided on low-pressure to high-pressure interfaces including feed streams, wash water streams, and lean amine streams […]

Over the next few months I will cover relief issues for Hydrotreaters and Hydrocrackers. This topic will be the subject of an AFPM Safety Bulletin to be released in 2Q, 2023. Relief design and operation for hydroprocessing units has unique requirements compared to other refinery units because of the high-pressure-to-low-pressure interfaces.  The trick is to […]

CLICK HERE to view Part 1 of this series Tenets of Catalyst Selection I have had several suggestions to write about catalyst selection. This is a popular topic in many journals and blogs with some authors taking controversial stands on several issues.  I thought I would approach the subject by describing the important tenets that […]

Reactor Runaways – Automatic Depressuring or Manual Depressuring? Recently, I have had several discussions and inquiries regarding reactor runaway events and whether automatic depressuring systems are needed for hydroprocessing units. Short Answer ALL Hydrocrackers should have an Automatic Depressuring System Other units that use catalysts with high activation energy should consider an Automatic Depressuring System […]

Most of the people that have worked around refineries for some time, feel that they have mastered the basics of the major refining technologies and feel that they have some knowledge of the main strengths and vulnerabilities of those technologies.  In this blog, I’d hope to go beyond the basics and provide a deeper knowledge […]