Desulfurization

It’s a gas, gas, gas! A White Paper from SPECTRO Analytical Instruments

2012-02-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

“Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers.” -- George Carlin (American stand-up Comedian, Actor and Author. b.1937)

SPECTRO Analytical Instruments has published a new white paper: "Sulfur Determination from Crude Oil to Gasoline." by Product Manager, Scott Fess.

As with all white papers, its primary purpose is to market specific products. But the first four pages of the paper describe sulfur determination techniques from a point of view that is not tied to specific products.

Even if you are well versed in sulfur determination techniques, the paper is worth reading for a couple of reasons …

1) It provides a good basis for a presentation to your management team, who may well be unaware of the nuances of the various techniques
2) Are you preparing a conference presentation? The white paper may save time in articulating your knowledge of the topic. This is especially helpful when your audience includes people who, while interested in your topic, are not intimately acquainted with the sulfur determination technology you use in your research.

You can download a PDF of the white paper at: http://www.elementalanalysis.org/petrochem/

I was alerted to the white paper by an email from "Oil, Gas & Petrochem Equipment." (http://www.ogpe.com/index.html) Visit their Web so you can decide whether to register for their free email alerts.

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No registration required to follow the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com). Visit it often for search tips on researching ANY technology topic on the Web.

Finding Nemo … And Other People, Too

2012-02-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

"I suffer from short term memory loss. It runs in my family... At least I think it does... Where are they?" -- Dory in the animated film "Finding Nemo"

When you find a company of interest, you may want to contact directly specific people within that company.

Take Sulphur Experts Inc. (www.sulphurexperts.com) for example. Its Web lists key personnel, with a brief bio of each. This information is helpful. However, no contact information for these individuals is provided.

Today’s tip: Google® the “@” sign

This does not always work. But it is worth a try. So, if you Google® the following search string …

“@sulphurexperts.com”

One of the results …

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Sulphur Experts International Inc - BCInsight Online Buyer's Guide
www.bcinsightsearch.com/companydetails.aspx?id=5213&url=Cached
103 Beacon Hill Mullins St. Peter BB26026 Barbados. Tel: +1 246 422 4988. Web: Website: www.sulphurexperts.com. E-mail: john.sames@sulphurexperts. com ...
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John Sames, as we know from the Sulphur Experts Web, is president of the company. Now that we know his email address, we can surmise that the same pattern applies to the email addresses of other key personnel.

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Bruce W. Klint, B.Sc.ChE., P.Eng., Director – Engineering
Probable email address: bruce.klint@sulphurexperts.com

Gerald E. Bohme, B.Sc.ChE., P.Eng., Staff Consultant / Production Manager
Probable email address: gerald.bohme@sulphurexperts.com

Peter R. Dale R.E.T. Senior Staff Technologist / Technical Coordinator
Probable email address: peter.dale@sulphurexperts.com
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As I said, this trick is not fool proof. But it costs nothing to try.

One thing that IS fool proof … adding the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com) to your favorite feeds. And let your colleagues know about this continuing series of online research tips and tricks.

Expert Alert: Sulphur Experts Inc.

2012-02-02T06:36:00.000-08:00

“Space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind union of the two will preserve an independent reality” -- Albert Einstein (German born American Physicist, 1879-1955)

Sulpur Experts Inc. ( http://www.sulphurexperts.com/), a Canada based consulting firm, looks to be an organization of interest to anyone in the desulfurization business. I did a quick search to gather a little background on the firm. Some of the search results appear below.

But first, let me show how I found them in the first place.

But even firster (as a blogger, I exercise the power to make up words that suit my purpose), let me explain why I want to show you how I found them in the first place.

The answer: while the Web is a powerful resource for finding useful information, it is even powerfuller (another neologism) when searched iteratively.

I found Sulphur 2011, 7-10 November 2011, Houston Texas while searching for something else (Score one for serendipity.)

It looked interesting. I explored its Web and noticed that someone from Sulphur Experts Inc. was a presenter. Googling® Sulphur Experts, I found on its Web the names of key people in the organization. I then Googled each of these individuals. A sample of the results appear below.

The thing to take away from this case study is … Creative search techniques = Useful results.

So here is a sampling of the results obtained from the search strategy outlined above …

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Sulphur Experts is an independent process engineering company focused on providing leading edge evaluation services for Sulphur recovery and Amine plants, Filtration systems and Energy efficiency

CONTACTS

Barbados

Tel: +1 (246) 422 4988

Help@SulphurExperts.com

Canada

Tel: +1 (403) 215 8400

Fax: +1 (403) 215 8419

CAN@SulphurExperts.com

Europe

Tel: +31 71 408 8036

EUR@SulphurExperts.com

United States

Tel: +1 (281) 336 0848

Fax: +1 (866) 407 3485

USA@SulphurExperts.com

source: http://www.sulphurexperts.com/

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Sulphur Experts is an independent process engineering company comprised of fifty dedicated staff including engineers, scientists, technologists and support personnel. We are best known for providing services to the gas processing and refining industries under the following Divisions:

■Sulphur Experts■Amine Experts■Filtration Experts■Energy Experts

What sets Sulphur Experts apart from our competition is our size and technical strength. We have the ability to field up to ten test crews simultaneously with all the equipment and engineering support required to meet the specialised on-site testing and evaluation needs of our clients. And with offices in Canada, the Netherlands and the United States, we can generally mobilise efficiently, to meet the most demanding situations and schedules in a timely manner.

Sulphur Experts has been providing solutions to sulphur plant problems for more than 30 years under the internationally-recognized name – Western Research. The company comprises the same engineers and technologists, products and services that were pioneered by the process engineering group of BOVAR Western Research. Sulphur Experts continues the tradition of providing quality process engineering consulting and sulphur plant optimization services to industry.

We also produce the world’s most sophisticated sulphur plant simulation software (Sulsim®) and provide operations training both through our international technical training courses and customized on-site training programs.

Amine Experts was incorporated as a Division of Sulphur Experts in 1998 to meet client needs upstream of the sulphur plant. It was a logical step that was driven by customer need and took full advantage of our plant testing and analytical expertise, and our applied process and operations knowledge.

Filtration Experts is the newest member of the Sulphur Experts team, added in 2009. The significant benefits that effective separation and filtration technology brings to oil and gas processing should go without mention. However, it is an area that is often overlooked. Sulphur Experts recognized this opportunity and now provides expert design and troubleshooting services to industry through Filtration Experts.

Energy Experts focuses on improving energy efficiency in all types of oil and gas facilities with two objectives in mind – conserve our valuable non-renewable energy resources and reduce the environmental footprint associated with their production. Our Energy Experts team can help reduce fuel gas and energy consumption while reducing the Greenhouse Gas emissions that challenge the industry.

Sulphur Experts, together with all its divisions, have a common objective in mind – to help the industry operate in the most cost-effective and environmentally sound manner possible.

Source: http://www.sulphurexperts.com/aboutus/CompanyProfile.aspx

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John A. Sames, M.E.Chem.E., P.Eng.

President & CEO

John is a chemical engineer and recognized worldwide as an authority on sulphur recovery, particularly in the field of plant operations and process optimization. His company, Sulphur Experts, (and its predecessor Western Research) is focused on the efficient operation of sulphur recovery processes in oil and gas applications and has earned a reputation as the technical leader in process knowledge and plant evaluation. John has established a number of divisions under the Sulphur Experts’ banner to extend this expertise to related processes including: Amine Experts; offering similar services to amine processing plants; Energy Experts, focusing on energy conservation and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction; and Filtration Experts providing process support for separation and filtration units.

John has been involved in every aspect of the optimization of sulphur recovery processes for over 30 years, initially working in a large gas plant in northern Alberta, and for the past 30 years at Western Research/Sulphur Experts.

John is the author of over 30 technical papers on various subjects relating to sulphur recovery and is the co-author of the definitive text on the subject. He is the principal speaker at the Sulphur Experts’ internationally recognized Sulphur Recovery and Amine Treating courses and has participated in more than 200 courses throughout the world.

Bruce W. Klint, B.Sc.ChE., P.Eng.Director - Engineering

Bruce is a Chemical Engineer with over 28 years experience in the gas processing and sulphur recovery industry. He has a combination of design engineering, plant operations and process optimization/troubleshooting experience and is Sulphur Experts’ Director of Engineering.

Over the past 23 years Bruce has been directly involved in all aspects of the process engineering consulting work conducted by Sulphur Experts. He has provided expert advice and consulting services in the area of plant inspections, testing and plant optimization for the sour gas and oil refining industries. This includes working on plant optimization projects in more than 200 operating facilities around the world.

Bruce is one of the primary speakers at Sulphur Experts’ world recognized Sulphur Recovery Technical Training Course which has been presented at nearly 100 sites around the world. He also has primary responsibility for co-ordinating and completing all engineering tasks related to Sulphur Experts’ sulphur plant simulation package Sulsim® which is recognized as the leading process simulation package for sulphur recovery processes in the industry.

Prior to joining Sulphur Experts (and its predecessor companies), Bruce spent 6 years operating, designing and constructing both upstream and downstream oil and gas facilities including: well head equipment, pipelines, gas treating units, sulphur recovery units and gas compression equipment.

ARTICLES:

Low Quality Natural Gas

http://www.netl.doe.gov/kmd/cds/disk28/NGP8.PDF

Low quality natural gas sulphur removal/recovery

http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/DOE/_conf_proc/MISC/Conf-931156/931156%20Complete%20Conf/931156,%20Part%207,%20Pages%20416%20-%20497,%205.83MB.pdf

Gerald E. Bohme, B.Sc.ChE., P.Eng.

Staff Consultant / Production Manager

Gerald is a chemical engineer and senior consultant with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the process engineering work conducted by Sulphur Experts. In addition, Gerald is Sulphur Experts’ Production Manager and fills a very demanding role overseeing all of Sulphur Experts’ field crews and technical reports for both domestic and international projects. Gerald’s expertise is global and includes plant inspections, testing and plant optimization for the sour gas and oil refining industries, including completion of optimization projects in more than 200 operating facilities in more than 50 countries.

Gerald is also a regular speakers at the Sulphur Experts’ world recognized Sulphur Recovery Technical Training Course and is very active in training plant operators and engineers through our specialized on-site training programs.

Peter R. Dale R.E.T.Senior Staff Technologist / Technical CoordinatorPeter is Sulphur Experts’ Technical Coordinator and has responsibility for all analytical systems and test procedures. His primary function is to co-ordinate and supervises all technical aspects of sulphur recovery unit performance testing. Other duties include the design and construction of gas chromatograph systems, developing test methods and procedures and training of technical personnel.

Peter joined the Western Research/Sulphur Experts organization in 1974 and was involved in pioneering many of the highly specialized sampling and analytical procedures employed today. He is an integral part of our analytical team and is our “go-to” person to address unique and challenging sampling and analytical issues. Over his 35+ year career, Peter has been directly involved in sulphur plant optimization projects at more than 150 operating facilities around the world. Peter has also designed and manufactured over 35 "Sulphur Analytical Systems", Sulphur Experts proprietary gas chromatograph analytical system.

James A. Swallow, MEng (Chemical), P.Eng., P.E.Regional Manager – US and Latin America

Jamie has a master’s degree in chemical engineering and nearly 25 years experience in the petroleum industry. He joined Sulphur Experts in 2004 following careers in the environmental service industry, facility operations and instrumentation and controls system design.

Jamie is Sulphur Experts’ Regional Manager responsible for all projects, marketing and sales in the United States and Latin America. He is intimately familiar with all aspects of the process engineering consulting work conducted by Sulphur Experts having completed more than 50 sulphur plant optimization and engineering studies worldwide. In addition, his well-rounded experience includes participation in our other core businesses including amine, filtration and energy optimization projects.Jamie is one of the key presenters at the Sulphur Experts international sulphur recovery seminars and routinely participates in both the Kananaskis and Kemah seminars.

Jan B. Kiebert, B.Sc. MERegional Manager - Europe, Middle East and AsiaJan Kiebert has B.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering andBusiness Economics and is the Regional Manager for Sulphur Experts European, Middle East and Asia operations. He has over 20 years of experience and has been directly involved in all aspects of the process engineering consulting work conducted by Sulphur Experts. He has conducted numerous sulphur plant inspections, design evaluations, testing and optimization projects for a wide range of facilities and clients. Jan is also a specialist regarding burner systems for sulphur recovery plants and process incinerators.

Jan is one of the primary speakers at Sulphur Experts’ world recognized Sulphur Recovery seminar. Since 2005 Jan has worked in more than 30 countries, conducting in-house training courses and assisting with optimization and improvement of Sulphur Recovery Units. Prior to joining Sulphur Experts, Jan was Marketing and Sales Manager with Duiker Combustion Engineers and involved in world wide sales of combustion equipment.

Graham P. Latonas, B.Sc., MNRM, P.Biol.

Regional Manager - Canada

Graham is an environmental professional with over 30 years experience in the environmental industry. His broad experience covers all aspects of regulatory approvals, environmental impact assessment and waste management studies in Canada and internationally. Graham joined Sulphur Experts in 2008 to lead market development and management of the company’s eco-efficiency and energy management business. He has been involved in a number of energy and sulphur-related projects since joining the company and is currently Regional Manager of Sulphur Experts’ Canadian operations.

Graham has extensive project management and regulatory affairs experience through senior management positions with Western Research, Manitoba Hazardous Waste Management Corporation, BOVAR Waste Management and Gartner Lee Limited.

Ben H. Spooner, B.Sc. PetE., P. Eng

Senior Process Engineer / Product Champion - Amine

Ben is a Petroleum Engineer with over 15 years experience providing technical support to the amine industry as an operator, technical specialist and as a consulting engineer. He joined Amine Experts in 2003 and has worked in over 25 countries on hundreds of various amine systems, providing expert assistance and advice regarding plant operations, troubleshooting, optimization and operator training.

Ben has written and presented papers worldwide at various conferences such as Laurence Reid, SOGAT, NACE, and Sulphur. Ben is one of the primary speakers at Amine Experts’ world recognized Amine Treating course and heads our amine service practice area. As Product Champion, Ben is responsible for aligning our amine services with customer needs and ensuring our position as a world-leader in this area is maintained. Ben is the key technical contact for clients seeking information and support on amine-related issues.

ARTICLES:

Amine Plant Sulphur‐Related Corrosion

http://www.nacecalgary.ca/pdfs/Sulfur-related%20Corrosion%20of%20Amine%20Plants%20and%20Sour%20Water%20Strippers.pdf

Maximizing Co2 Slip In Mdea Tail Gas Treating Units

Sulphur 2011, 7-10 November 2011, Houston Texas

http://www.crugroup.com/content/events/41425/41481/41511/Technical_Absracts-_SULPHUR_and__SULPHIDES.pdf

David B. Engel, Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry)

Staff Consultant / Product Champion - Filtration

David is a chemist with over 15 years of industrial experience in a variety of areas ranging from chemical synthesis to phase separation technologies. David is the inventor in over 12 United States Invention Patents (and 15 patent applications) on various subjects relating to technology development for sensors, nanotechnology, coatings, pharmaceuticals, pipeline systems, chemical additives and separation technology. David has also presented a number of seminars on a variety of technical subjects throughout the Americas.David joined Sulphur Experts in 2009 and leads our Filtration Experts service area. As the Product Champion, David is responsible for developing our separation and filtration services and providing ongoing technical support to clients in this area. He brings his unique research skills and process knowledge to troubleshoot issues with existing separation and filtration systems and provides practical solutions. David is also a key speaker at the Sulphur Experts’ Amine seminars and has developed a stand-alone seminar on Separation and Filtration for the gas processing and refining industries.

Michael T. Cundall, B.Sc., M.Sc. P.Eng.

Senior Process Engineer / Product Champion - Sulphur

Mike has a master’s degree in chemical engineering with nearly ten years experience focused primarily on sulphur plant optimization and engineering. He has spent his entire career at Sulphur Experts providing consulting services in the area of plant testing and optimization for various configurations of sulphur recovery and tail gas clean-up units in the sour gas and oil refining industries. Prior to joining Sulphur Experts, Mike conducted his master’s research, specializing in catalytic and reaction engineering related to sulphur recovery.

Mike has used his specialized knowledge to help train plant operations and engineering staff through our on-site training seminars. He also participates as a speaker at the Sulphur Experts’ Sulphur Recovery Technical Training Courses. Mike is our Product Champion for all sulphur-related services including plant testing, optimization and engineering services. Mike’s responsibilities include internal strengthening of our sulphur analytical and engineering services as well as being the primary technical contact for all sulphur-related inquiries.

ARTICLES:

Direct oxidation of hydrogen sulphide to sulphur using impregnated activated carbon catalysts

Ajay K. Dalai*, Michael T. Cundall, Mahuya De

The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 86, Issue 4, pages 768–777, August 2008

Catalysis and Chemicals Reaction Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N5C9

Abstract

Low concentrations of H2S were directly oxidized to sulphur and small quantities of SO2, over seven different activated carbons with or without impregnation. The effectiveness of virgin activated carbon was tested at 175°C, 700 kPa, and O2/H2S ratio with 5% greater than stoichiometry. The conversion of H2S was 99.9 mol% with SO2 production of 3–6%, for 360 min runtime for Fisher coconut shell activated carbon and 648 min for Envirotrol bituminous (EB) activated carbon. Then the activated carbons became deactivated due to deposition of sulphur on the surface. Under these conditions mesoporous activated carbons such as EB and Hydrodarco had the longest breakthrough time. The addition of 5.5 wt% ammonium iodide, potassium iodide and potassium carbonate individually to EB decreased the production of SO2 while having minimal effect on the overall H2S conversion. The addition of 5.5 wt% NH4I decreased the average SO2 production from 2.5% to 0.9%. The activation energy for the H2S oxidation on the 5.5 wt% NH4I on EB activated carbon was determined to be 40 kJ/mol.

Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cjce.20034/abstract

Farsin Derakhshan, B.Sc, P.Eng. Senior Process Engineer / Regional Engineer, Europe & Middle East

Farsin is a professional engineer with over 16 years of experience. He joined Sulphur Experts in 1996 initially working out of the Germany Office and has been directly involved in all aspects of our process engineering consulting work since that time. Now residing in Canada, Farsin is one of our most experienced and well-travelled sulphur plant engineers, providing expert advice and consulting services to clients around the world. His specialty areas include sulphur plant troubleshooting and process optimization.

Farsin is the Regional Engineer for Europe and the Middle East; technically responsible for all projects in these regions. Farsin is also a speaker at our internationally-recognized Sulphur Recovery seminars.

Philip Olesky, B.S. (Chemical Eng.)

Senior Process Engineer / Regional Engineer – United States

Phil is a Chemical Engineer with over 25 years experience, nearly half of which has been with Sulphur Experts. He joined Sulphur Experts in 1999 in the United States and has been directly involved in all aspects of our process engineering consulting work since that time. Phil is the Sulphur Experts’ Regional Engineer for the United States and is responsible for all plant testing and optimization projects conducted in the US.

Phil’s career with Sulphur Experts has focused on troubleshooting and optimization of gas treating systems at both refineries and gas processing facilities. Phil has provided engineering services for clients in the US and around the world.

Juan Carlos Ruiz, B.Sc. (ChemEng), M.Sc. (Refining) P.Eng.

Senior Engineer / Regional Engineer - Latin AmericaJuan is a chemical engineer with a master’s degree in Refining Engineering and Gas Processing. He has over 10 years experience, six years of which was spent as an operations engineer responsible for the sulphur plant and amine units at a refinery in Venezuela. Juan joined Sulphur Experts in 2007 and has participated in a large variety of sulphur plant and amine system projects including start up and shut down activities, operations support and facility optimization.Juan was recently appointed as Sulphur Experts’ Regional Engineer responsible for all projects in Latin America

source: http://www.sulphurexperts.com/aboutus/SeniorStaff.aspx

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To recap … the search strategy the produced the above results was …

Sulphur 2011, 7-10 November 2011, Houston Texas à Google® Sulphur Experts Inc à Sulphur Experts Web à Names of Sulphur Experts people à Google® Individual Members of Sulphur Experts Inc

It’s all a matter of detective work … for a continuing stream of online research detective strategies, follow the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) … and advise your colleagues to do so, as well.

Conference Alert: Saudi Aramco Global Reliability Forum

2012-01-27T10:37:00.001-08:00

“I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them” -- Susan Sontag (American Writer, Activist and Critic, 1933-2004)

Saudi Aramco (http://www.saudiaramco.com) is the world’s largest oil producer. During the last two decades, it has also become a major refiner, with refineries in Saudi Arabia and China. Accordingly, when Aramco announces an upcoming conference, it makes sense to pay attention.

The upcoming “Saudi Aramco Global Reliability Forum” is worth considering for another reason … it is being held in Houston, Texas. For those of you in the U.S., that means that you don’t even have to travel around the globe to attend.

Below is a call for technical presentations. It includes a description of the event, as well as the person to contact for more information.

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Call for Technical Presentations

Planning is underway for the second annual “Saudi Aramco Global Reliability Forum” – hosted by U.S. subsidiary Aramco Services Company – and we are searching for presenters to share their innovative ideas on the reliability and efficiency of process equipment.

Last year’s forum proved to be an overwhelming success. Several hundred engineers and others from major oil, gas and chemical companies – including Saudi Aramco and Aramco Services Company – as well as engineering services companies and manufacturing groups all joined together to share information on best practices and new technologies.

This year’s forum promises to be another landmark event. It has been expanded to two days and scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, June 27 – 28, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Houston.

Attendees will again gather in several general sessions with acclaimed keynote speakers and then participate in one of four concurrent tracks: Electrical Power Distribution Systems, Fixed Equipment and Materials, Instrumentation and Control Systems, and Machinery. A vendor expo and networking reception will round out the event.

Technical presentations should focus on any one of the following areas of interest. Additional ideas for topics on operational reliability and process equipment efficiency are welcomed.

· Asset management systems

· Instrumentation and control system lifecycle management

· Reliability-centered maintenance

· Equipment obsolescence

· Design for reliability

· Essential elements for a successful reliability program

· Reliability and risk analysis

· Next generation reliability modeling and prognostics

· Case studies on reliability and efficiency improvements

· Effective reliability testing

· Failure modes and effects analysis

· Condition monitoring/management

Are you interested in serving as a presenter? If so, please contact Louis Archuleta, event coordinator, at ascengineering@aramcoservices.com or (713) 432-5936 by Friday, March 9. Respondents will be contacted with follow-up information.

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The Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) is produced by Jean Steinhardt (LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch)

Conference Alert: 6th Refining China

2012-01-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

“Honey is sweet! but the bee stings” -- Proverb

Today’s tip is short and sweet: register with ePTQ (http://www.eptq.com/)

Your organization probably already subscribes to ePTQ as a part of its subscription to PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly.

Even so, consider registering as an individual. Registration is free, and provides the following advantages …

· Access to the ePTQ Technology Q&A forum. The comments in this section are amazingly detailed. They are like one-paragraph technical articles, written in response to specific problems encountered by forum participants.

· Email alerts: Like the calendar reminders on your cell phone, the alerts will let you know when a new issue of PTQ is available. And they will inform you of upcoming ePTQ affiliated conferences, like the 6^th Refining China event.

For your convenience, here is an excerpt from the 6th Refining China Web (www.refiningchina.com)

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6th Refining China

Beijing 28 March 2012 – 29 March 2012

The 6th REFINING CHINA conference will be held at the Regent Hotel, Bejing, 28-29 March 2012

REFINING CHINA, the only international refining technology conference held in China, has now been running for six years in partnership with SINOPEC. This partnership ensures the continuing strong level of producer company delegates not only from Sinopec but also from CNPC/Petrochina and CNOOC companies and a high level of local speakers.

Our current line-up for 2012 is as follows:

· Cao Xianghong, Chairman, Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China Selecting refining production technology in China

· Ling Yuqun, Vice president, Sinopec Energy saving and low emission technologies in China's refineries

· Sun LIli, Vice General Manager, Sinopec Engineering Inc Refinery design to meet low-carbon requirements

· Yan Shaochun, President, Luoyang Petrochemical Engineering Corporation Technological developments in the China coal liquefaction industry

· He Shengbao, Vice President, CNPC

· CNOOC speaker

· ExxonMobil Producing clean fuel gas

· BP Measuring PBS values for crude oil selection

· Saudi Aramco Increasing energy recovery in Preflash tower preheat train network

· Jacobs Improving refining performance: where to start?

· Prague Institute of Chemical Technology Biofuel developments

· Mangalore Refinery Leveraging carbon emissions pinch analysis

· Hindustan Waste water management: a case study

· Hart Energy Clean fuels outlook

· Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry (RIPI) Tehran Evaluation of the Effects of Feed Characteristics and Operating Variables on the Naphtha Isomerization Process

· Soteica Online utilities real time optimisation at a large Chinese petrochemical complex

· Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Perú Diesel hydrotreating: modelling and simulation

· Baker Hughes Heavy crudes processing

· Intercat Reducing FCC heavy fuel oil yield

· Air Products Technical innovations in on-purpose H2 making solutions

· Sage Environmental Leak detection and repair techniques

· Albermarle Achieving clean fuels with hydroprocessing

Seminar: Baker Hughes Using Petroleum Additives to Maximize Profit and Improve Product Quality

source: www.refiningchina.com

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Join my LinkedIn Network. View my profile (www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch) and send me an invitation.

Winter of our great content: Recent Diesel Articles

2012-01-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York

William Shakespeare.- Richard III (1.1.1)

Below is a handful of recent diesel articles. I found them by browsing through results from a Google® Scholar search.

The Google Advanced Scholar search string:

Diesel [in title]

Published between dates: 2011-2012

The titles shown here are all available in full text at no charge. There are lots more articles with interesting looking titles and abstracts, but all of them require either a subscription or an online purchase.

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FREE FULL TEXT DIESEL ARTICLES

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Transactions of the ASABE. 2011 Mar-Apr, v. 54, no. 2, p. 571-579.

Specific Gravity and API Gravity of Biodiesel and Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) Blends.

Dunn, R.O.
USDA, ARS

The present study addresses the need to develop a better understanding of how blending biodiesel with ULSD affects specific gravity (SG).

Free Full Text Source: http://hdl.handle.net/10113/49609

Army Tank Automotive Research Development And Engineering Center Report, 09 AUG 2011

Accession Number : ADA547468

Military Fuel and Alternative Fuel Effects on a Modern Diesel Engine Employing a Fuel-Lubricated High Pressure Common Rail Fuel Injection System

Brandt, Adam C. ; Muzzell, Patsy A. ; Sattler, Eric R. ; Likos, William

Army Tank Automotive Research Development And Engineering Center Warren Mi

A large number of current commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) diesel engines available to the U.S. Military employ High Pressure Common Rail (HPCR) fuel injection systems. Overall performance and endurance of these HPCR systems has the potential to vary with use of military or alternative fuels.

Free Full Text Source: http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA547468

PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly, 2011 Q2

Modeling for ULSD optimization

Klas Dahlgren Apex Optimisation/Dynaproc

An Rigden Chevron Henrik Terndrup Apex Optimisation

On-line coordination and optimization of refinery process units led to a 10% increase in middle distillate production. Day-to-day operation of the two downstream HTUs is challenging as throughput has to be maximized subject to a variety of process constraints

Free Full Text Source: http://www.apex-opt.com/content/documents/The%20Story%20of%20ULSD%20Optimisation.pdf

Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science, 2011, 1, 65-71

Case Study of Biodiesel-Diesel Blends as a Fuel in Marine Environment

Tianxi Zhang1, Yapeng Chao1, Nan Liu1, Joe Thompson2, Manuel Garcia1, Brian B. He2, Jon Van Gerpen2, Shulin Chen1*

chens@wsu.edu

1Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, USA

2Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho, Moscow, USA

Formation of insoluble material in biodiesel blends has drawn great attention as it causes clogging of filters. One reason that blends-containing biodiesel is prone to formation of insoluble material is the relatively high temperature of crystallization (or solidification) compared to petro-diesel.

Free Full Text Source: http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperDownload.aspx?paperID=4612

Fuel, 30 September 2011 (Uncorrected proof)

Diesel engine gaseous and particle emissions fueled with diesel–oxygenate blends

Xiangang Wang a, C.S. Cheung b, Yage Di a,b, Zuohua Huang a,⇑

a State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, PR China

b Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, PR China

It is difficult using traditional methods to simultaneously reduce NOx and PM in diesel engine due to the existing of trade-off curve between NOx and PM. One possible method to solve this issue is to use oxygenated fuels or to blend oxygenated fuels with diesel to provide sufficient oxygen and promote combustion and decrease emissions.

Free Full Text Source: http://gr.xjtu.edu.cn:8080/upload/PUB.1643.4/JFUE+5553.pdf

PATENT

Hydrotreating and hydrocracking process and apparatus

Patent number: 8002967

Issue date: Aug 23, 2011

Application number: 12/067,611

Inventors: Michael Glenn Hunter, Angelica Hidalgo Vivas, Lars Skov Jensen, Gordon Gongngai Low

Original Assignee: Haldor Topsøe A/S

Partial conversion hydrocracking process comprising the steps of (a) hydrotreating a hydrocarbon feedstock with a hydrogenrich gas to produce a hydrotreated effluent stream comprising a liquid/vapor mixture and separating the liquid/vapor mixture into a liquid phase and a vapor phase, and (b) separating the liquid phase into a controlled liquid portion and an excess liquid portion, and (c) combining the vapor phase with the excess liquid portion to form a vapor plus liquid portion, and (d) separating an FCC feed-containing fraction from the controlled liquid portion and simultaneously hydrocracking the vapor plus liquid portion to produce a dieselcontaining fraction, or hydrocracking the controlled liquid portion to produce a diesel-containing fraction and simultaneously separating a FCC feed-containing fraction from the vapor plus liquid portion. The invention also includes an apparatus for carrying out the partial conversion hydrocracking process.

Bull. Korean Chem. Soc. 2011, Vol. 32, No. 6, pp. 1965-1969

Synthesis and Evaluation of Stearic Acid Derivatives as Cetane Number Improvers

Ambadas B. Rode, H. Thajudeen, Keunwoo Chung,† Young-Wun Kim,† and In Seok Hong*

ishong@kongju.ac.kr

Department of Chemistry, Kongju National University, Chungnam 314-701, Korea.*

†Green Chemistry Research Division, Surfactant and Lubricant Research Team, KRICT, Daejeon 305-600, Korea

The cetane number (CN) measures the readiness of the fuel to auto-ignite when injected into an engine. It is one of the most important properties to specify the ignition quality of any fuel for internal combustion engines. An increase in CN decreases the delay time between fuel injection and ignition. Shorter ignition delay times have been directly correlated with a faster startup in cold weather, reduced NOx and particulate matter emissions from diesel engines, and smoother engine operation.1,2

Free Full Text Source: http://newjournal.kcsnet.or.kr/main/j_search/j_download.htm?code=B110623

2011 Ndia Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering And Technology Symposium

Power And Mobility (P&M) Mini-Symposium, August 9-11 Dearborn, Michigan

Autoignition Characteristics Of Low Cetane Number Jp-8 And Approaches For Improved Operation In Military Diesel Engines

Naeim Henein, PhD

Walter Bryzik, Ph.D.

Chandrasekharan Jayakumar

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI

Eric R. Sattler

Nicholas C. Johnson

Nichole K. Hubble

U.S. Army RDECOM –TARDEC, Warren, MI

Problems resulting from the use of low-Cetane Number (CN) JP-8 in military diesel engines are mainly caused by the poor autoignition quality of the fuel that requires a long period between the start of injection and the start of combustion. A detailed analysis of the processes which occur during the ignition delay period clearly shows that the start of combustion is preceded by a long period where the Low Temperature (LT) combustion chemistry (cool flame) prevails in which the rates of burning are very limited.

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA547470

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By the way, the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) is also free … and it’s a great way to keep abreast of desulfurization technology AND effective online search tips. Bookmark it, follow it, add it to your Intranet.

Conference Alert: Downstream Technology Conference

2012-01-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

“Quotation, n: The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.” -- Ambrose Bierce (American Writer, Journalist and Editor, 1842-1914)

Although I’ve said so before, it bears repeating that this blog is not just about desulfurization ... it is about effective online research on ANY technology of interest. So, for example, if you want to identify upcoming conferences that pertain in some way to desulfurization, you can Google® the following ...

Conference desulfurization 2012

Browsing the results, you may find …

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Downstream Technology Conference

19-22 February 2012 Hilton Kuwait Resort, Fahaheel, Kuwait

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One item featured in the conference is …

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Pre-conference workshop A: Sunday 19 February 2012

10:00 - 16:00 Workshop A: Heavy oil upgrading and desulfurization

Environmental considerations, including the reduction of sulfur emissions, are growing factors that affect refining efficiencies. When processing heavy oil, refineries and petrochemical plants are implementing new technologies, such as residue desulfurization, to produce cleaner, environmentally friendly fuels and to partly convert the residues to produce low-sulfur fuel oil and hydrotreated feedstocks.

By attending this workshop you will :

Learn necessary methods for reducing sulfur to ppm levels during the production of lighter fuel to save costs and minimise environmental harm

Gain knowledge about the latest technologies in heavy oil upgrading

Reduce the challenges of minimising sulfur gas emissions in refineries

Evaluate all major environmental factors to mitigate energy wastage and increase ROI

Workshop leader:

Dr. Haitem Hassan-Beck

Senior Process Engineer

Takreer

source: http://www.iqpc.com/Event.aspx?id=646506

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As interesting as the above may be, today’s tip is that you can use the same strategy to search for upcoming conferences on ANY technology. Take “geothermal,” for example. Substituting “geothermal” for “desulfurization,” one of the items in the results is …

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GEA Geothermal Events

January 18, 2012, GEA Geothermal Energy Finance and Development Forum - San Francisco, CA

February 14-16, 2012, Renewable Energy World Conference and Expo - Long Beach, CA

May 23, 2012, GEA International Geothermal Energy Showcase - Washington, DC

August 7-8, 2012, GEA National Geothermal Summit 2012 - Sacramento, CA

Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2012, GEA Geothermal Energy Expo® and GRC Annual Meeting - Reno, NV

Source: http://www.geo-energy.org/

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So, at the risk of repeating myself, remember that every search tip and technique that appears in the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) is applicable to whatever technology you and your colleagues are pursuing.

Speaking of which, please consider becoming my colleague … visit my LinkedIn profile (www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch) and send me an invitation to join your network.

Sulfur Limits For Marine Bunker Fuel Oils

2012-01-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

“Fortunately in my work there's always a choice: I can choose to do it willingly or unwillingly” -- Ashleigh Brilliant (English Author and Cartoonist, b.1933)

Hydrocarbon Engineering (http://www.energyglobal.com/magazines/latestissue/hydrocarbon-engineering.aspx) is one of my favorite magazines. It provides a continuing stream of articles describing the latest proven technologies in the field of hydrocarbon processing.

UNfortunately, the magazine’s publishers have chosen to make it very difficult to access without a paid subscription to the magazine. It is not available in any of the online subscription databases.

FORTUNATELY, every once in a while you can find an article or two on an engineering company’s Web site

For example, an article authored by Garu M. Sieli, Chevron Lummus Global, USA, “explores process options designed to address the International Maritime Organization's fuel oil sulfur limits.”

You can find a PDF version of the article at http://www.cbi.com/media-center/publications/technical-articles-conference-papers/, courtesy of CB&I. CB&I (www.cbi.com) is, according to its Web site, “one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement and construction companies and a major process technology licensor.”

The author points out that sulfur limits for marine bunker fuel oils are set to go into effect soon. He offers refiners a number of potential residue treating processing solutions.

He provides, among other things, a list of options available to refiners as they prepare to address the new limits …

1) Continue business as usual. While a change to lower sulfur crude is possible, the higher cost of these crudes makes this a costly option.

2) Exit the residue fuel oil market completely. Refiners may decide to implement bottom of the barrel upgraders, such as delayed coking and residue desulfurization (RDS) and residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) combination, enabling production of more low sulfur distillates, including marine diesel.

3) Continue to serve the bunker market by investing to reduce the sulfur content of the fuel oil. Investments should be carefully evaluated to take full advantage of available process options and the associated benefits of these options.

You can find the full text of other articles provided by other companies by Googling “Hydrocarbon Engineering” and browsing the results.

Another thing you can do … add the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) as a feed to your organization’s Web page.

Choosing Online Databases - A Cheat Sheet

2012-01-05T04:56:00.000-08:00

“No, we don't cheat. And even if we did, I'd never tell you.” -- Tommy Lasorda (American Baseball Player and Coach, b.1927)

Any organization that conducts serious research has to provide its researchers with one or more subscribed online databases. The problem is that there are so many to choose from. How do you determine the products that are best for your organization?

A place to start is to see what your local university library subscribes to. Here, for example, is an excerpt from the engineering related databases that the University of Southern California subscribes to.

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Choosing Online Databases-University of Southern California

Engineering

Applied Science & Technology Full Text

The complete contents of approximately 200 full-text journals indexed in this database are included in OmniFile Full Text.Topics include chemistry, engineering, geology, physics, math, robotics, and neural networks.

Access is through WilsonWeb (choose OmniFile Full Text, then "Applied Science & Technology" under the subject area to specifically search this database).

ArticleFirst

Contains the table of contents pages and holdings information from more than 13,000 journals in science, technology, medicine, social science, business, the humanities, and popular culture. Although most of the journals are published in English, journals in other languages are also included. Updated daily.

Compendex

CompendexWeb is the most comprehensive bibliographic database of engineering research literature, containing references to over 5000 engineering journals and conferences. It covers literature that makes a definite contribution to knowledge in the subject areas of engineering and applied science. About half the citations (from 2600 journals and conferences) include abstracts and indexing in the records. Online coverage is from 1884 to the present, and files are updated weekly. The highest percentages of journal literature are in the fields of chemical and process engineering (15%), computers and data processing (12%), applied physics (11%), and electronics and communication (12%) In addition Compendex includes civil engineering (6%) and mechanical engineering (6%).

eBooks on EBSCOhost (previously NetLibrary)

This web site provides access to the full-text content of 4,274 e-books purchased by the USC Libraries from netLibrary. The books are searchable by both author and title. In addition, all books included in this collection are accessible through Homer.

Engineering Research Database

Bibliographic coverage of the international serial and non-serial literature for research in civil, earthquake, environmental, mechanical, transportation engineering, forensic engineering, engineering services, education, theoretical mechanics and dynamics, mathematics/computation, design, construction, and latest technological developments. ProQuest Deep Indexing: Engineering supplements the database with access to millions of indexed charts, figures, graphs, maps, and tables from the scholarly research and technical literature.

Engineering Village 2

Ei CompendexWeb is the most comprehensive bibliographic database of engineering research literature, containing references to over 5000 engineering journals and conferences. Ei covers literature that makes a definite contribution to knowledge in the subject areas of engineering and applied science. About half the citations (from 2600 journals and conferences) include abstracts and indexing in the records. Online coverage is from 1884 to the present, and files are updated weekly. The highest percentages of journal literature are in the fields of chemical and process engineering (15%), computers and data processing (12%), applied physics (11%), and electronics and communication (12%) In addition Compendex includes civil engineering (6%) and mechanical engineering (6%). USC's subscription to the Engineering Village 2 (EV2) platform includes access to the Compendex and Inspec databases.

Scirus

Scirus searches an international collection of institutional repositories and other resources, so it can be a good way to find technical reports, preprints, and other less common publications. Scirus includes basic and advanced search functions, and sorts results into journals vs. web sites. Elsevier ScienceDirect journals are prominently featured in the journal results, with direct links. USC subscribes to the majority of ScienceDirect titles, so Scirus is a good way to search those online journals. For more detailed information, see this electronic resources review in the online peer-reviewed journal Issues in Science and Technology Libraries

source: http://www.usc.edu/libraries/databases/category.php?cat=17154

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Visit the USC site to see descriptions of the other databases to which the university subscribes. Better yet, take a few hours to visit your local university library. You may be able to search some of the databases directly, which will help you decide whether they are right for your organization.

Are you a LinkedIn member? Visit my LinkedIn profile (www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch), and send me an invitation to join your network.

Some People Just Gotta Google©

2011-12-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

“Cessation of work is not accompanied by cessation of expenses.” -- Cato The Elder

Today’s action item: Ask your vendor rep about automatic authentication.

In order to be effective researchers, your team needs to keep up with published results from researchers working in other organizations.

You know this.

So your organization has chosen, at great expense, to subscribe to one or more online databases. And yet, your people persist in Googling or Yahooing or Binging to find what they need.

Fortunately, many online vendors like ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/) will work with you to enable your team members to access, through the magic of automatic authentication, the full text of subscribed content even if they find it on a search engine like Google©. Your vendor rep probably will be able to explain how to do this. No doubt you will have to get IT involved. Oh, well.

It will be well worth the aggravation Not only will you increase usage of the expensive subscription service, you will get ideas on how to promote its use within your organization to make the subscription a go-to source at least as important as the popular search engines.

To illustrate …

Imagine a researcher on your team is looking for recent articles dealing desulfurization using ionic liquids. She or he finds the following on Google© Scholar …

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COSMO-RS based predictions for the desulphurization of diesel oil using ionic liquids: Effect of cation and anion combination

R Anantharaj… - Fuel Processing Technology, 2011 - Elsevier
... COSMO-RS based predictions for the desulphurization of diesel oil using ionic liquids: Effect
of cation and anion combination. ... Abstract. Ionic Liquids ILs provide an important alternative in
removing aromatic sulphur compounds by Liquid–Liquid Extraction (LLE). ...

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When your researcher clicks the hyperlink he / she sees …

If you have set everything up correctly, your researcher will be automatically authenticated to access the full text of the article with no further action on her / his part.

And, you may be able to use results like this to nudge your team in the direction of searching the subscribed database directly … which is why you subscribed in the first place.

Today’s bonus action item: Add the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) as a feed on your organization’s Intranet. It will provide a continuing series of tips on how to search the Web for valuable research results.

Pilot Plant Search Strategy

2011-12-20T07:47:00.001-08:00

“In keeping his heading by the stars, a pilot must remember that they move” -- Charles Lindberg

The tip of the day … Bench scale v. Pilot scale
Technology research fits into three broad categories. They bleed into each other, but the categories are …

Basic
Bench scale
Pilot scale

It is typical for an abstract to mention the phrase “bench scale” or “pilot scale” to clue the reader as to the research being described.

Take advantage of this fact. When you are interested in seeing what’s being done at bench scale, include the phrase in your search strategy. For example …

One result …

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Environmental Engineering Science (Online Ahead of Print: November 1, 2011)
Optimization of Thiophene Removal by an Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Desulfurization Process
Teng-Chien Chen, 1,2
Yun-Hwei Shen, 1
Wen-Jhy Lee, 2,3
Chih-Chung Lin, 4
Meng-Wei Wan 5
peterwan@mail.chna.edu.tw
1 Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
2 Resource Recycling and Management Research Center National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
3 Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
4 Department of Environmental Engineering and Science, National Ping Tung University of Science and Technology, Ping Tung, Taiwan.
5 Department of Environmental Engineering and Science, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan, Taiwan.
Abstract
Thiophene (T) is considered one of the most refractory organic sulfur compounds in oxidative desulfurization. This study used an ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization process to optimize T oxidation on a bench scale. Four control factors, including durations of sonication, the amounts of transition metal catalyst (TMC), phase transfer agent (PTA), and hydrogen peroxide, were carefully examined. The best operation condition, evaluated by using the analysis of variance, was found at mass ratios of T: H2O2:PTA:TMC at 1:1.5:0.005:0.01 with 20 min of sonication, where almost 73.5% of T, 89.9% of benzothiophene (BT), and 100% of dibenzothiophene (DBT) were oxidized to their corresponding sulfones. Moreover, the electron density on the sulfur atom of various compounds, including T, BT, and DBT, and their methyl-substituted derivatives and oxidation rate constants were also examined. The oxidative reactivity of sulfur compounds increased with the increasing electron density on sulfur atoms. The T that is commonly considered more difficult to the oxidized is attributed to the combined effect of low electron density of the sulfur atom and low boiling temperature under mild oxidation reaction. This information is essential for the deep desulfurization process under oxidative conditions.
Source: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ees.2011.0123 ///////
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Conversely, if you are interested in research that is closer to actual implementation, replace “bench scale” with “pilot scale” in your search statement. Here is one result …

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2011 International Conference on Computer Distributed Control and Intelligent Environmental Monitoring (CDCIEM), Changsha, 19-20 Feb. 2011, page(s): 1737 - 1741
Study on Flue Gas Desulfurization of Sintering in Pilot-Scale Experiment
Wu Fuzhong; Wang Wenhao;
Mater. & Metall. Coll., Guizhou Univ., Guiyang, China
Abstract
The pilot-scale experiment is done to speed up the pace of industrial application. The results show that the whole set of devices runs smoothly, the process for pilot-scale experiment is reasonable, the desulfurization rate can be above 92% for long time, the rate of leaching Mn2+ can be over 80%;The product of MnSO4 can arrive the fertilizer level(GB1622-86) and feed level (GB5252-876).
source: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=5748153 ///////
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And remember, no matter what scale you are interested in, the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/} will help you research it. Tell your friends and colleagues.

Harvesting eMail Addresses

2011-12-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

“What's it all about, Alfie?” -- Jude Law (English Actor, b.1972)

This Desulfurization Blog is about more than desulfurization technology. It is about how to make the most effective use of your time no matter what technology you research.

So today we offer another timesaver tip. It is one of those tips that seem so obvious, and yet until you are reminded of it, you might not think of it.

The tip: Cursor and copy.

This works especially well for ScienceDirect. It is typical of this database to provide hyperlinks to author emails. When you click on the hyperlink, it opens up an email window in your Microsoft Exchange or other email client account.

But what if you want to save the email address, but are not yet ready to send an email?

Or, what if you have no email client configured on your laptop?

Try this …

· Rest your cursor on the eMail icon

· Look at the email address displayed in the lower left corner of your screen

· Type the address into your favorite application

The screenshot below illustrates the procedure …

A second tip … Make new friends among your colleagues by telling them about the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)

Go Boolean to Save Time

2011-12-08T07:02:00.001-08:00

“Few companies that installed computers to reduce the employment of clerks have realized their expectations.... They now need more, and more expensive clerks even though they call them 'operators' or 'programmers.'” -- Peter F. Drucker (American Educator and Writer, b.1909)

Half the battle in keeping up with important developments in your field lies in efficient use of your time to do so. Today we offer you a time saver tip …

Use Boolean operators when you search Google Patents.

Let’s pose a hypothetical … you are interested in seeing recent desulfurization-related patents produced by a number of catalyst companies.

So you navigate to Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en), click the Advanced Search link, and enter the following into the search form …

In case the screen shot is too small to read, the search strategy is …
Find results with: desulfurization
Assignee: UOP
Date – Return patents between 2001 and 2011

The result is about 300 hits, including the following:

SELECTIVE NAPHTHA DESULFURIZATION PROCESS AND CATALYST

patents.google.comUS Pat. App 12605730 - Filed Oct 26, 2009 - UOP LLC
... (54) SELECTIVE NAPHTHA DESULFURIZATION PROCESS AND CATALYST (75) Inventors: Lorenz J. Bauer, Schaumburg, IL (US); Suheil F. Abdo, Lincolnshire, IL (US); ...

You repeat the search strategy, substituting “BASF” for “UOP” in the assignee field.
You repeat again, this time searching for “Albemarle” in the assignee field.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could search for ALL THREE vendors at the same time?

Yes, it would. And yes, you can.

Here’s how. In the assignee field enter the three vendor names separated by the Boolean operator OR.

The result is a list of patents produced by EITHER UOP or BASF or ALBEMARLE during the past 10 years. You now have only one search to perform, and one list to browse through.

Follow the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com) for a continuing stream of time-saver tips. Even better, add it as a feed to your organization’s Web.

Spring Into Action … Add Value to Your Journal Subscriptions

2011-12-02T08:18:00.001-08:00

“It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” -- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)
A recent edition of Hydrocarbon Engineering (http://www.palladian-publications.com/) included the following article.

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Slimming Down Sulfur: Part Three
Alan Kramer, Albemarle, USA, explores the rare earth free solutions to FCC sulfur problems. The final installment of this three part article focuses specifically on fuel sulfur reduction, with a particular examination of the problems caused by gasoline range sulfur.
Source: http://www.energyglobal.com/magazines/issue.aspx?seo=hydrocarbon-engineering&month=12&year=2011
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The article inspired me to post two tips on how to maximize the cost of a subscription to this or any other journal.

Google® the author
ScienceDirect the affiliation (If we can turn Google into a verb, we can do the same with ScienceDirect)

Everybody knows how to Google®. My job is to show you how to do so more effectively.

When you Google® Alan Kramer, for instance, you get over 18 million hits.

Google® Alan Kramer Albemarle, however, and you get something in the range of 6 million hits. That’s still more than you would want to scroll through, but you can use the same concept to refine your search string even more. Add sulfur to the search string …

Alan Kramer Albemarle sulfur
… and you now have only about one million hits.

As good as Googling is, you need to add ScienceDirecting to your tool kit. Which leads us to Tip Number 2 …

When you visit ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), consider clicking the Advanced Search link.

Here’s an example of how this strategy can make your day a little easier.

Type Albemarle in the search box, then click the Search button. The result is over 3000 hits. Very few of them will be useful if you are interested in Albemarle the corporation.

Return to the Advanced Search page. Type Albemarle again. This time, restrict the search to Affiliations, illustrated below.

You’ve now narrowed the field to about 500 hits. Each article has been authored by someone affiliated with Albemarle, the corporation.

Push the envelope further by ANDing the above with desulfurization. You now have just 6 hits, including the following …

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Studies in Surface Science and Catalysis, Volume 162, 2006, Pages 143-150
Scientific Bases for the Preparation of Heterogeneous Catalysts
Preparation of monolithic catalysts for hydrodesulfurizationJ. Tsoua, J. Carneiroa, A.F. Pérez-Cadenasa, S. Eijsboutsb, M. Makkeea, J.A. Moulijna
a Reactor & Catalysis Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL D
b Albemarle Catalysts, Research Centre, P.O. box 37650, 1030 BE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
AbstractThe aim of this research project is the design and synthesis of optimal monolithic reaxctors and its use in deep desulfurization. In order to do so, stateof-of-the-art HDS compared to the monolithic catalysts. These monolithic catalysts were prepared from cordierite and coated first with two layers of α-Al₂O₃ followed by one layer of γ-Al₂O₃. The coated monoliths were then impregnated with NiMo solutions (optimized for the powder catalysts) and some parameters were optimized (such as impregnation time and drying procedure). Finally, monolithic catalysts with the same characteristics as powder catalysts were obtained.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167299106809018
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So, as interesting as is the Slimming Down Sulfur article, by using it as a springboard we have added value to it with a minimum of effort on our part.

Try out this approach the next time you read a thought-provoking article.

Speaking of which, the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) is a quick way to add value to your online searching. Add the blog to your toolbox.

Of Faucets and Information Flow

2011-11-25T07:26:00.001-08:00

"Lie down and listen to the crabgrass grow, the faucet leak, and learn to leave them so" -- Marya Mannes (American Writer, 1904-1990)
A couple of decades ago I read somewhere, I wish I could remember where, of a vision promulgated by an information executive ... a vision of creating a world in which information flows much as water flows in a municipal water system. Just as we pay a modest monthly fee for access to clean drinking water, we would pay a reasonable fee for useful information.

Are we there yet? Some would say that Google-Yahoo!-Bing serve the function of an information spigot. If all you need is the latest news on Justin Bieber ... yup.

But if you are interested in the full text of peer reviewed technical articles that can provide the kind of high quality information you need to advance the goals of your organization ... nope.

Full text journal articles, in most cases, cost money. Turn the Google spigot wide open and you may get a drip or two, if you're lucky.

In order to provide the quality information their employees need, many organizations subscribe to online services like ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/). Problem solved, right? No, not quite. Although they overlap, each online service is unique in the content it provides.

None of the following items, for example, is available in ScienceDirect.

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Oxidative Desulfurization of Gasoline Oil Using K2FeO4 over SO42–/ZrO2 Solid SuperacidHua Song, Deng Wang, Yong Wei Zhang
Abstract
A catalyst comprising SO42–/ZrO2 superacid was prepared by impregnation and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and BET. A novel procedure for oxidative desulfurization of simulated light fuel oil using K2FeO4 over the SO42–/ZrO2 solid superacid was developed. The effects of the oxidantion and extraction conditions on desulfurization were investigated. At temperature of 30 ?C, SZ of 0.2 g, K2FeO4 of 0.2 g, reaction time of 1 h, 20 mL of oil is oxidized, followed by methanol extraction at 15 ?C for 10 min with the volume ratio of solvent/oil of 1, the results display desulfurization rate for simulated light fuel oil and straight-run gasoline were 88.2% and 89.2%, respectively
source: http://www.scientific.net/AMR.183-185.2086
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The computer optimization control system for the catalytic cracking unit of gasoline qualityJing Chen;
Heilongjiang Univ., Harbin, China
Cross Strait Quad-Regional Radio Science and Wireless Technology Conference (CSQRWC), Harbin, 2011, Date: 26-30 July 2011, page(s): 1169 - 1171
Abstract
In the process of refining petroleum, the gasoline-final boiling point and the steam pressure 10% point, which are major indicators of gasoline quality, can not be real time measured online. Therefore, controlling gasoline quality has become a major difficulty in the field of industrial processing control. This paper introduces the designing thoughts and the realization method of computer optimization control for gasoline quality. By means of soft-meter [1] monitoring and optimizing techniques, along with setting up the dynamic mathematics model of gasoline-final boiling point online, the complicated technologies of computer monitoring and optimal controlling of gasoline quality for the catalytic cracking unit can be carried out.
source: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=6037168
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Petroleum Science and Technology
Volume 29, Issue 22, 2011
A New Approach to Dearomatization of Gasoline by Ionic Liquid and Liquid–Liquid ExtractionN. Farzin Nejad (a, b) & E. Karimi Zand (a)
a Analytical Department, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Tehran, Iran
b Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
The objective of this article was the development of a separation technology for the selective recovery of the aromatic compounds such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) from gasoline by extraction. A liquid–liquid extraction method using ionic liquid (IL) was optimized simultaneously for some aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline. 1-Butyl-3-methyl imidazolium tetrachloroaluminate ionic liquid or [BMIM][AlCl4] was used to extract aromatic compounds from gasoline. [BMIM][AlCl4] was found to be effective for the selective removal of aromatic hydrocarbons from gasoline. The dearomatization experiments were carried out with a 1:1 volume ratio of ionic liquid to gasoline for 60 min at 50°C. The aromatic hydrocarbons removal selectivity followed the order benzene > toluene > xylene > ethylbenzene.
source: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10916461003716665
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10th International Conference on Engines & Vehicles, September 2011, Naples, ITALY, Session: SI Combustion Experiments, Paper Number: 2011-24-0057
Optical Investigation of the Effect on the Combustion Process of Butanol-Gasoline Blend in a PFI SI Boosted EngineSimona Silvia Merola - Istituto Motori CNR
Cinzia Tornatore - Istituto Motori CNR
Gerardo Valentino - Istituto Motori CNR
Luca Marchitto - Istituto Motori CNR
Felice Corcione - Istituto Motori CNR
Abstract
The addition of alcohol to conventional hydrocarbon fuels for a spark-ignition engine can increase the fuel octane rating and the power for a given engine displacement and compression ratio. In this work, the influence of butanol addition to gasoline was investigated. The experiments were performed in an optical ported fuel injection single cylinder SI engine with an external boosting device. The engine was equipped with the head of a commercial SI turbocharged engine having the same geometrical specifications (bore, stroke and compression ratio). The effect of a blend of 20% of n-butanol and 80% of gasoline (BU20) on in-cylinder combustion process was investigated by cycle resolved visualization. The engine worked at low speed, medium boosting and wide open throttle. Changes in spark timing and fuel injection phasing were considered. Comparisons between the flame luminosity and the combustion pressure data were performed. The fuel was injected both at closed intake valve (CV) and open intake valve (OV). The spark timing was changed to identify the maximum brake torque and the knocking limit. Butanol blend allowed working in more advanced spark timing without occurrence of abnormal combustion. For the blend BU20, the duration of injection (DOI) was increased to obtain a stoichiometric mixture. For both fuels, at stoichiometric conditions, DOI in OV was maintained shorter than that in CV, due to the lower amount of fuel deposited on intake port and on piston surface
source: http://papers.sae.org/2011-24-0057
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Catalysis in Industry, Volume 3, Number 2, 157-160
Improving catalysts for the refining of straight-run gasoline fractions of petroleumE. V. Urzhumova, L. M. Velichkina, A. V. Vosmerikov and A. E. Ermakov
Abstract
We propose a method for modifying catalysts based on a high-silica zeolite of the ZSM-5 type using Ni nanopowder to improve catalysts for the refining of straight-run gasoline fractions. The proposed method, which involves solid-phase mechanical mixing with Ni nanopowder, is more environmentally friendly than conventional methods of impregnation and ion exchange; the developed Ni-containing zeolite catalysts allow us to lower the temperature for the refining of low-octane gasoline fractions by 20–40°C and to increase the yield of target products containing high amounts of high-octane components, i.e., isoalkanes. The acidic and catalytic properties of high-silica zeolites containing different amounts of Ni nanopowder were studied. The activity of the catalyst systems in the conversion of straight-run gasoline fractions of petroleum was analyzed. The optimum catalyst composition and the process conditions for obtaining a maximum yield of the target product, i.e., high-octane gasoline, are determined.
source: http://www.springerlink.com/content/g89w08gq3m07w629/
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Energy Fuels, 2011, 25 (9), pp 3940–3949
Catalytic Mechanism of MCM-41 Supported Phosphoric Acid Catalyst for FCC Gasoline Desulfurization by Alkylation: Experimental and Theoretical InvestigationRong Wang†, Yonghong Li*†‡, Benshuai Guo†, and Hongwei Sun§
yhli@tju.edu.cn
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of State Education Ministry, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China
National Engineering Research Center for Distillation Technology, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China
Department of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
Abstract
The desulfurization of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline by alkylation over solid acid catalysts is considered to be a viable and less costly path to meet environmental regulations of sulfur emissions. However, side reactions in the process lead to significant levels of coke, which will greatly reduce the lifetime of the catalyst. In this paper, the catalytic mechanism of MCM-41 supported phosphoric acid catalyst for gasoline desulfurization by alkylation has been investigated by using experimental methods and quantum chemical calculations to study the catalytic behavior for the adsorption and reaction of different reactants, which can help optimize the reaction conditions and preparation methods of the catalyst for a more efficient alkylation process. The results showed that both the typical main and side reactions in the alkylation process started from a stable alkoxide intermediate that was formed by protonation of olefin adsorbed on the catalyst. Thiophenic compounds were more inclined to be adsorbed on the alkoxide intermediate than olefins for further reaction, and the activation energy for the alkylation of thiophenic sulfurs with alkenes was obviously lower than that for alkene oligomerization. Moreover, the thiophene alkylation was exothermic while the olefin oligomerization was endothermic. On the basis of these findings obtained by experimental and theoretical investigation, two methods that might be useful to further inhibit the occurrence of side reactions and improve the catalyst performance in the alkylation process were proposed.
source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef200705b?mi=v8k6so&af=R&pageSize=20&searchText=Gasoline+desulfurization
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45th International Petroleum Conference, June 13, 2011, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Comparison of conventional gas chromatography and comprehensive twodimensional gas chromatography for the detailed analysis of aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline samplesRoman Gorovenko, Jan Krupcik, Ivan Spanik
Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology,
STU, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava,
Slovakia
e-mail: romagorovenko@gmail.com
The precise and accurate determination of aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes (BTEX) as well as the level of total aromatic compounds in gasolines is important for control of refining processes and for government regulatory compliance. Capillary gas chromatography is a separation technique which is used in analytical praxis to separate hydrocarbons in gasoline samples. Flow modulated comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography equipped bothwith flame ionization detector (GC×GC–FID) as well as with quadrupole mass spectrometric detector (GCxGC-QMSD) were used for quantification of C6 through C12 aromatic hydrocarbons. A 25 m capillary with 0.25 mm i.d. and 0.25 µm film thickness of non-polar stationary phase (first dimension) was coupled via flow modulator to 5 m capillary with 0.25 mm i.d. and 0.25 µm of polar ionic liquid capillary column (second dimension). Normalized percents were used to express quantitative data for all individual aromatic hydrocarbons. For total aromatic compounds good agreement with the more complex conventional multidimensional GC technique was obtained. The identification of the aromatic hydrocarbons was confirmed by GC×GC–MS.
source: http://www.vurup.sk/sites/default/files/downloads/45_gorovenko_symposium.pdf
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THESIS
Simulation of Combustion and Mixture Formation for Gasoline Direct Injection Engine ApplicationChen Huang (2011)
Department of Applied Mechanics, Combustion, Chalmers University of Technology
Abstract
The development and introduction of new engine technologies are primarily motivated by the need to comply with increasingly stringent emissions legislation and to reduce fuel consumption. One of the most important of these new engine technologies is direct gasoline injection, which is considered to be an important and cost-effective measure to meet both targets. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and optical methods are important tools in the development of direct injection gasoline engines. The aim of the work described in this thesis was to develop models, methods, and a numerical platform for simulating the behavior of Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) engines using a variety of fuels, including gasoline-ethanol blends. One of the most important goals of this work was to devise improvements to OpenFOAM (a free, open source CFD package) that would increase its utility as a tool for studying SIDI engines, as there is strong industrial demand for inexpensive software. The work described in this thesis addressed two important problems relevant to modeling combustion in a DISI engine. First, to facilitate the simulation of turbulent burning and pollutant formation, a chemical mechanism for the combustion of gasoline-ethanol blends was refined and thoroughly validated under various conditions (equivalence ratios F, initial temperatures Tu, and pressures p). The gasoline surrogate used in this project was composed of iso-octane, toluene, and n-heptane in volumetric ratios of 55%:35%:10%, respectively. The hydrogen to carbon ratio (the H/C ratio) of this blend is similar to that of gasoline, which is around 1.87, as is its equivalence ratio; this is particularly important when studying DISI engines. The integrated mechanism for gasoline-ethanol blends features 120 species participating in 677 reactions and is suitable for use in CFD engine modeling. The mechanism was tested against experimental data on ignition delay times and laminar flame speeds, obtained for various n-heptane/iso-octane/toluene/ethanol-air mixtures under various equivalence ratios, initial temperatures, and pressures. Second, the gasoline and ethanol hollow cone sprays released by an outward-opening pintle-type piezo-controlled injector commonly associated with GDI engines were studied numerically, since accurate simulation of fuel-air mixing and the flow field is critical for subsequent combustion modeling. A pintle injector model was implemented into OpenFOAM in order to simulate the spray discharged by an outward-opening piezo injector. The flow field calculated using the pintle injector model is more realistic than that predicted by the default unit injector model normally used in OpenFOAM. A number of modifications were made to the standard spray submodels in OpenFOAM, including the LISA, TAB and Reitz-KHRT breakup models and the O'Rourke and Trajectory collision models. For instance, three different modified Reitz-KHRT models were implemented into OpenFOAM; these modifications were found to have noticeable effects on the accuracy of the simulated liquid penetration and SMD. Extensive sensitivity studies were carried out on the hollow cone sprays, focusing on the effects of varying the initial and boundary conditions, spray model constants, and other parameters. Validation studies showed that several combinations of spray submodels yield acceptable results in liquid penetration and SMD, including the combination of the Rosin-Rammler + Reitz-Diwakar models and that of the uniform droplet size + Reitz-KHRT models; the latter combination offered the best performance under the studied conditions.
source: http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/cpl/record/index.xsql?pubid=137351
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The eight items above come from eight different online sources.
Scientific.net (http://www.scientific.net/)
IEEE (ieeexplore.ieee.org)
TandF Online (http://www.tandfonline.com/)
SAE (papers.sae.org)
Springerlink (http://www.springerlink.com/)
ACS (pubs.acs.org)
Vurup (http://www.vurup.sk/)
Chalmers (publications.lib.chalmers.se)

Subscribing to one or two or three of them may well provide most of the full text that your people need. But there will always be a need to purchase items ad hoc, i.e., outside of a subscribed online service. The easiest way to address ad hoc purchases is to give each employee a credit card. You may not want to do this, because of cost control and accountability issues. So you may need to designate one or more gatekeepers to make ad hoc purchases on behalf of your people.

Here are today’s tips …

Compare online database content to see which services best serve your organization’s needs
Design an ad hoc purchase policy that will control costs without unduly hampering access to full text

A final tip … let your people know about the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/). Encourage them to follow it. The Blog provides tips that will help them improve their online search effectiveness no matter what technology they are researching.

Pi in the Sky: Another Simple Trick

2011-11-17T13:37:00.001-08:00

“The trick is growing up without growing old.” -- Casey Stengel (American Baseball Player and Manager, 1891-1975)
Searching for technical literature on pi complexation – an important key phrase in desulfurization research – can be tricky. That’s because searching for “pi complexation” yields a different set of results than searching for “π complexation.”

To illustrate … when we search Google scholar for articles containing “pi complexation” in the title, the result is 52 hits …

Desulfurization of transportation fuels by [pi]-complexation sorbents: Cu (I)-, Ni (II)-, and Zn (II)-zeolitesAJ Hernandez-Maldonado, FH Yang, G Qi… - Applied Catalysis B: …, 2005 - Elsevier
New π-complexation-based sorbents were studied for desulfurization of diesel, gasoline,
and jet fuels. The sorbents were obtained by ion exchanging faujasite type zeolites with
Cu+, Ni2+ or Zn2+ cations using different techniques, including liquid phase ion exchange ...
Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092633730400503X

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Perform the same search using “π complexation” and the result is 92 hits.
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Desulfurization of liquid fuels by adsorption via π complexation with Cu (I)-Y and Ag-Y zeolitesAJ Hernández-Maldonado… - Industrial & engineering …, 2003 - ACS Publications
Fixed-bed adsorption using different π-complexation adsorbents for desulfurization of liquid
fuels was investigated. Cu (I)-Y (autoreduced Cu (II)-Y), Ag-Y, HY, and Na-Y zeolites were
used to separate low-concentration thiophene from mixtures including benzene and/or n- ...
Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie020728j

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So how do you search for “π“ (the symbol) vs. “pi” (the word)?

Here’s a simple trick …

Open Word
Click the Insert tab
Click the Symbol icon
Locate and click the “π” symbol
Select the “π” symbol that appears in your Word document
Copy it to your clipboard
Go to your Google Scholar window and paste the “π” symbol into the search box
Add the word “complexation”

That’s it. Simple, yet effective. That’s the kind of tips and tricks we like to provide in the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com). Here’s another simple trick … add the Blog as a feed on your organization’s Web for a continuing stream of useful tips.

Google Scholar Search Strategies Made Easy

2011-11-11T17:34:00.001-08:00

“I have little patience with scientists who take a board of wood, look for its thinnest part, and drill a great number of holes where drilling is easy.” -- Albert Einstein (German born American Physicist, 1879-1955)

Google© Scholar has made it easy, with its advanced search feature, to create sophisticated search strategies to retrieve what you need while reducing the amount of time you spend wading through irrelevant results.

Here, from simple to increasingly complex, are four examples, each illustrated with samples from the results list. To get the most out of the examples, navigate to Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws), then click “Advanced Scholar Search.” All search strings are restricted to a publication date of “2011.”

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The simplest of all search strategies is to search for one key word …
Search String: DESULFURIZATION
One result (out of 3440):
Journal of Catalysis, Volume 279, Issue 2, 25 April 2011, Pages 269-275
Oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene and diesel over [Bmim]3PMo12O40
Jian Zhang (a), Anjie Wang (a, b), Xiang Li (a, b), Xuehu Ma (b)
ajwang@dlut.edu.cn
a State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116012, PR China
b Liaoning Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Technology and Equipments, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116012, PR China
Abstract
A hybrid material ([Bmim]3PMo12O40) was synthesized by reacting H3PMo12O40 with the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide. SiO2-supported [Bmim]3PMo12O40 showed a high catalytic activity in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with 29% H2O2 aqueous solution as the oxidant. Maximum activity was observed at a loading of 20 wt.% [Bmim]3PMo12O40 on SiO2, and 100% DBT conversion was achieved at 60 °C, atmospheric pressure, and an oxygen to sulfur (O/S) molar ratio of 3.0 in 100 min. The high performance of [Bmim]3PMo12O40/SiO2 might be attributable to its amphiphilicity, which enhances adsorption of both H2O2 and sulfur-containing compounds. [Bmim]3PMo12O40/SiO2 could be easily separated by centrifugation and reused without deactivation after seven runs. Quinoline and carbazole had slightly positive effects on DBT oxidation, whereas indole had a negative effect. The high performance of [Bmim]3PMo12O40 was verified in the sulfur removal from a real diesel by means of oxidation followed by dimethylformamide extraction.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951711000285
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Focus your search by adding a second key word. Type the two key words into the “with all the words” box …
Search String: desulfurization diesel
One result (out of 685):
Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages 264-268
Sono-desulfurization oxidation reactivities of FCC diesel fuel in metal ion/H2O2 systems
Yongchuan Dai (a), Dezhi Zhao (a), Yutai Qi (b)
ych_dasic@yahoo.com
a Department of Petroleum Chemical Engineering, School of Petroleum Chemical Engineering, Liaoning Shihua University, Fushun 113001, PR China
b School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 115001, PR China
Abstract
The objective of this work was to probe experimentally the characteristics of the use of Fe2+ or Cu2+ ions in the ultrasound-assisted oxidation desulfurization (UAODS) of diesel fuels and to develop a model that appropriately represented the mechanism. The influence of metal ions (Fe2+ or Cu2+) on aqueous phase pH values of the UAODS of diesel fuels was investigated. The UAODS proceeded rapidly only within a limited pH range from 1.9 to 2.1. It was observed that the UAODS of diesel fuels fitted pseudo-first-order kinetics under our experimental conditions. In UAODS of diesel fuels the apparent reaction rate constants can be greatly enhanced by addition of metal ions and/or using ultrasound. The combination of ultrasound and the metal ions can also reduce the apparent activation energy rapidly. The order of the apparent reaction rate constants in UAODS of diesel fuels is US–Fe2+–H2O2 system > US–Cu2+–H2O2 system > US–H2O2 system > H2O2 system.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417710001045 ///////
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Refine your search by adding a Boolean OR statement. Type “desulfurization” in the “with all the words” box. Type “diesel gasoline” in the “with at least one of the words” box. The resulting Google Scholar search string will be …
Search string: desulfurization diesel OR gasoline
Two results (out of 904):
Journal of Environmental Sciences, Volume 23, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 975-982
Desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) by a novel strain Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 isolated from diesel contaminated soil
Ashutosh Bahuguna (a), Madhuri K. Lily (a), Ashok Munjal (b), Ravindra N. Singh (c), Koushalya Dangwal (a),
ashubahuguna@gmail.com
kdangwall@yahoo.co.in
a Department of Biotechnology, Modern Institute of Technology (MIT), Dhalwala, Rishikesh 249201, Uttarakhand, India
b Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Banasthali 304022, Rajasthan, India
c Department of Biochemistry, S.B.S. P.G. Institute of Biomédical Sciences and Research, Balawala, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India
Abstract
A new bacterial strain DMT-7 capable of selectively desulfurizing dibenzothiophene (DBT) was isolated from diesel contaminated soil. The DMT-7 was characterized and identified as Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 (NCBI GenBank Accession No. GQ496620) using 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. The desulfurized product of DBT, 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2HBP), was identified and confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis respectively. The desulfurization kinetics revealed that DMT-7 started desulfurization of DBT into 2HBP after the lag phase of 24 hr, exponentially increasing the accumulation of 2HBP up to 15 days leading to approximately 60% desulfurization of the DBT. However, further growth resulted into DBT degradation. The induced culture of DMT-7 showed shorter lag phase of 6 hr and early onset of stationary phase within 10 days for desulfurization as compared to that of non-induced culture clearly indicating the inducibility of the desulfurization pathway of DMT-7. In addition, Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 also possess the ability to utilize broad range of substrates as sole source of sulfur such as benzothiophene, 3,4-benzo DBT, 4,6-dimethyl DBT, and 4,6-dibutyl DBT. Therefore, Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 could serve as model system for efficient biodesulfurization of diesel and petrol.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001074210605049

Energy Fuels, 2011, 25 (9), pp 3940–3949
Catalytic Mechanism of MCM-41 Supported Phosphoric Acid Catalyst for FCC Gasoline Desulfurization by Alkylation: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation
Rong Wang†, Yonghong Li*†‡, Benshuai Guo†, and Hongwei Sun§
yhli@tju.edu.cn
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of State Education Ministry, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China
National Engineering Research Center for Distillation Technology, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China
Department of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
Abstract
The desulfurization of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline by alkylation over solid acid catalysts is considered to be a viable and less costly path to meet environmental regulations of sulfur emissions. However, side reactions in the process lead to significant levels of coke, which will greatly reduce the lifetime of the catalyst. In this paper, the catalytic mechanism of MCM-41 supported phosphoric acid catalyst for gasoline desulfurization by alkylation has been investigated by using experimental methods and quantum chemical calculations to study the catalytic behavior for the adsorption and reaction of different reactants, which can help optimize the reaction conditions and preparation methods of the catalyst for a more efficient alkylation process. The results showed that both the typical main and side reactions in the alkylation process started from a stable alkoxide intermediate that was formed by protonation of olefin adsorbed on the catalyst. Thiophenic compounds were more inclined to be adsorbed on the alkoxide intermediate than olefins for further reaction, and the activation energy for the alkylation of thiophenic sulfurs with alkenes was obviously lower than that for alkene oligomerization. Moreover, the thiophene alkylation was exothermic while the olefin oligomerization was endothermic. On the basis of these findings obtained by experimental and theoretical investigation, two methods that might be useful to further inhibit the occurrence of side reactions and improve the catalyst performance in the alkylation process were proposed
source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef200705b?mi=v8k6so&af=R&pageSize=20&searchText=Gasoline+desulfurization
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Fine tune your search by adding a key phrase. Type “diesel gasoline” in the “with at least one of the words” box. Type “deep desulfurization” in the “with the exact phrase” box. The resulting Google Scholar search string will be …
Search string: diesel OR gasoline "deep desulfurization"
One result (out of 166):
China Petroleum Processing and Petrochemical Technology, 2011,Vol. 13, No. 3, pp 16-20, September 30, 2011
Deep Desulfurization via Adsorption by Silver Modified Bentonite
Tang Xiaolin; Le Zheting; Shi Li
(State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science andTechnology, Shanghai 200237)
Abstract:
In order to further reduce the sulfur content in liquid hydrocarbon fuels, a desulfurization process by adsorption for removing alkyl dibenzothiophenes was investigated. Desulfurization of model gasoline by bentonite adsorbents loaded with silver nitrate was studied. The test results indicated that the bentonite adsorbents loaded with Ag+ ions were effective for adsorbing the alkyl dibenzothiophenes. The crystal structure of bentonite adsorbents was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and their acidity was measured by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Several factors influencing the desulfurization capability, including the Ag+ loading, the baking temperature, as well as the reaction temperature, were investigated. The desulfurization efficiency was enhanced by increasing the Ag+ loading and the best result was obtained at a silver loading of 7 m%. It was found that the adsorption capacity of the alkyl dibenzothiophenes on bentonite loaded with Ag+ ions increased with a decreasing temperature. Baking of the adsorbent could also improve the desulfurization capacity and the optimum baking temperature was 423 K
View Full Text At No Charge: http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:QRxzGLXFtUIJ:scholar.google.com/+diesel+OR+gasoline+%22deep+desulfurization%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0,6&as_ylo=2011&as_yhi=2011
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The key words to take away from this post …

1) Search
2) Focus
3) Refine
4) Fine Tune

Oh, and one other key word …

5) Subscribe … to the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/), that is, for more tips on finding what you need on the Web.

It's All in the Presentation

2011-11-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

“The mind of man is like a clock that is always running down, and requires constantly to be wound up” -- William Hazlitt (British Writer, 1778-1830)
All of us are asked, from time to time, to make a presentation of some sort. Today’s post aims to help you get started on preparing a presentation when the clock is ticking.

When you are presenting to an audience of colleagues who are conversant with the topic, you probably already have a good framework in mind when preparing the presentation.

Other times, however, you are presenting to an audience who has, at best, only a vague notion of basic concepts of your topic. The audience may be composed of corporate executives, laypeople, or even scientists in other fields of research.

Preparing for such an audience requires a different strategy. I suggest that you begin with two quick sources that will provide the parameters you need to begin organizing your thoughts.

Wikipedia
Google
Wikipedia is viewed askance by many in the technical community. Push prejudice to one side … look at Wikipedia as a good source for helping you to frame the basic concepts you wish to convey, in a way that non-experts can understand.

Pretend, for the moment, that you have been asked to present on the topic of sulfur as it affects solid oxide fuel cells.
First, visit Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/) and enter the search string “solid oxide fuel cell”

The result includes …

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Result of Wikipedia search: “solid oxide fuel cell”
[EXCERPT]"
Introduction
“Solid oxide fuel cells are a class of fuel cell characterized by the use of a solid oxide material as the electrolyte. SOFCs use a solid oxide electrolyte to conduct negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. The electrochemical oxidation of the oxygen ions with hydrogen or carbon monoxide thus occurs on the anode side. More recently, Proton Conducting SOFCs (PC-SOFC) are being developed which transport protons instead of oxygen ions through the electrolyte with the advantage of being able to be run at lower temperatures than traditional SOFCs.

“They operate at very high temperatures, typically between 500 and 1,000 °C. At these temperatures, SOFCs do not require expensive platinum catalyst material, as is currently necessary for lower temperature fuel cells such as PEMFCs, and are not vulnerable to carbon monoxide catalyst poisoning. However, vulnerability to sulfur poisoning has been widely observed and the sulfur must be removed before entering the cell through the use of adsorbent beds or other means.”///////

Second, visit Google©. This is trickier than Wikipedia, because, as you know, you can spend days wandering in the Google desert until you stumble on that oasis of information that you can actually use. Plus, since time is of the essence, you want to restrict results to full text. Try this …

Google Search String tip: in the search box, enter the following search string …
sulfur "solid oxide fuel" pdf
Results will include only items that include the words sulfur and PDF, and the phrase “solid oxide fuel.”

One result, for example, is the following thesis. Theses are excellent for this purpose. They nearly always include a thorough discussion of the background of the thesis topic, and a sentence or two describing why the author thinks he can contribute to progress in the field.

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SULFUR-TOLERANT CATALYST FOR THE SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering

Joe Frank Bozeman Iii (2010)Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr), Wright State University, Renewable and Clean Energy, 2010
Abstract
JP-8 fuel is easily accessible, transportable, and has hydrogen content essential to solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operation. However, this syngas has sulfur content which results in a poisonous hydrogen sulfide that degrades electrochemical activity and causes complete SOFC failure in some cases. The goal is to synthesize and verify a cost-effective, catalyst supported on cerium oxide that either stabilizes ionic conductivity in the presence of hydrogen sulfide and/or is highly sulfur-resistant. After thorough computational analysis, it was concluded that the platinum-copper skin catalyst was the most cost-effective, sulfur-resistant catalyst. Experimental synthesis of copper, platinum, and platinum-copper skin catalysts supported on cerium oxide was verified. Further experimentation must be performed to establish the platinum-copper skin catalyst supported on cerium oxide operational affects on the SOFC system in a sulfur environment.
Full Text Available At: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Bozeman%20Joe%20Frank%20III.pdf?wright1276835949 ///////

So, the next time you are presented with a presentation project …

Visit Wikipedia
Explore Google (or Yahoo! or Bing) with a carefully crafted keyword search

And remember to bookmark the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com) for future time-saver tips on researching the technology of your choosing. Better still, add a feed of the Blog to your organization’s Web.

A Scholarly Approach to Online Research: Using Goggle Alerts to Create Your Own Alerts

2011-11-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche (German classical Scholar, Philosopher and Critic of culture, 1844-1900.)

So much information … so little time. Finding the information we need when we need it is a problem everyone grapples with these days.

Well designed Google® Scholar Alerts can help alleviate the problem for you and members of your research team.

Let’s say your team focus is on, for example, dibenzothiophene. In addition to an initial literature search, you may want to know when newly published technical literature is available.

Today’s first tip: create a Google® Scholar Dibenzothiophene Alert

This will result in sporadic notifications in your email inbox like the following …

///////Progress in Deep Hydrodesulfurization Techniques of Diesel Fuel
W Fang - Guangzhou Chemical Industry, 2011 - en.cnki.com.cn
... 5, WANG Qian, NIE Hong~*, LONG Xiangyun(Research Institute of Petroleum Processing,
SINOPEC, Beijing 100083, China);Effects of H_2S on HDS Reaction of Dibenzothiophene and
4,6-Dimethyl-dibenzothiophene over NiW/Al_2O_3 and CoMo/Al_2O_3 Catalysts[J ...
Related articles - Cached

Geochemical characteristics and oil family classification of crude oils from the Markit Slope in the southwest of the Tarim Basin, Northwest China
J Cui, T Wang… - Chinese Journal of Geochemistry, 2011 - Springer
... Fluorene (F), dibenzofurans (DBF or OF) and dibenzothiophene ... Lin Renzi and Huang Guanghui
considered that dibenzofurans and dibenzothiophene can reflect oxidation and reduction of
sedimentary environment (Lin Renzi et al., 1987; Huang Guanghui, 1987). ...

Mo-Ni-P/SBA-15-γ-Al_2O_3 catalyzed hydrodesulfurization of straight-run diesel oil
W Baoyu, S Jian… - Petrochemical Technology & Application, 2011 - en.cnki.com.cn
... 4, WANG Qian, NIE Hong~*, LONG Xiangyun(Research Institute of Petroleum Processing,
SINOPEC, Beijing 100083, China);Effects of H_2S on HDS Reaction of Dibenzothiophene and
4,6-Dimethyl-dibenzothiophene over NiW/Al_2O_3 and CoMo/Al_2O_3 Catalysts[J ...
Related articles - Cached///////

The word “dibenzothiophene” appears somewhere in the text of the articles above. Some, maybe many, of these will be irrelevant to your research. This leads to …

Tip number 2: Specify that the word “dibenzothiophene” has to appear in the title of the article. The result will be articles that are far more likely to be right on target. For example …

///////A novel alumina-activated carbon composite supported NiMo catalyst for hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene
F Liu, S Xu, Y Chi… - Catalysis Communications, 2011 - Elsevier
A novel alumina-activated carbon composite (AAC) was studied as the support of NiMo
catalyst for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) and characterized by
BET, XRD and TPR techniques. The AAC exhibited a mesoporous feature while Al2O3 ...
Cited by 1 - Related articles

Oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene and diesel over [Bmim] 3PMo12O40
J Zhang, A Wang, X Li… - Journal of Catalysis, 2011 - Elsevier
A hybrid material ([Bmim] 3PMo12O40) was synthesized by reacting H3PMo12O40 with the
ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide. SiO2-supported [Bmim] 3PMo12O40
showed a high catalytic activity in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with 29% ...
Cited by 4 - Related articles - All 2 versions

Oxidation of dibenzothiophene by hydrogen peroxide in the presence of bis (acetylacetonato) oxovanadium (IV)
G Silva, S Voth, P Szymanski… - Fuel Processing …, 2011 - Elsevier
In the presence of bis(acetylacetonato)oxovanadium(IV), dibenzothiophene was oxidized by
hydrogen peroxide to form sulfoxide and sulfone products. The percentage of dibenzothiophene
remaining after the oxidation and the ratio of these oxidation products, as determined by 1 ...
Related articles///////

Tip number 3: Add value to your alerts by sharing the results with your team members, and other colleagues. Edit out the articles that are of no interest, leave the rest, and send the edited results to people on your distribution list. In other words, create your own alert from your Google® Scholar Alerts.

Creating Google® Scholar Alerts is easy, as you can see from the following screenshots.

1) Look for the “More” drop down box on Google® main page. Click “Scholar.”

2) On the Google® Scholar main page, click “Advanced Scholar Search.”

3) On the Advanced Scholar Search page, enter words or phrases that are as specific as possible. Your goal is to reduce the amount of stuff you have to slog through each day to find the stuff you can use.

Tip number four, then, is to give careful thought to the key words and phrases that will produce the results you want.

Consider selecting the “in the title of the article” option to make your search results more tightly focused.

4) Click “Search.” If you chose to restrict the search to the title, your search string will look something like this …

5) Scroll to the bottom of the results page. Click “Create email alert.” Fill in the information requested, and you are done!

To recap today’s tips …

Create a Google® Scholar Alert on a topic or topics important to your team
Specify that the key words you choose are to appear in the title of the article. The result will be articles that are far more likely to be right on target
Add value to your alerts by sharing the results with your team members, and other colleagues. Edit out the articles that are of no interest, leave the rest, and send the edited results to people on your distribution list. In other words, create your own alert from your Google® Scholar AlertsBe careful … Choose key words and phrases that will produce the results you want.

A final word ... consider adding the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) as a feed to your Web. It will help your team make more effective use of their online research time.

Fueling Innovation

2011-10-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” -- Mia Hamm (American female Soccer Player. b.1972)

It’s good to stay on top of trends that affect your area of research. Magazines like Hart Energy’s Fuel help you do that. The latest issue has a number of articles that will interest desulfurization researchers. Two of them are …

///////
Rare Earth Element Costs Go Sky Highby Greg Haas
Until new mines and suppliers come online mid-decade, China will remain the world’s monopoly supplier.
My view: The rising cost of rare earth could influence the direction of research in desulfurization catalysts. Some researchers will be looking for processes less reliant on rare earth elements

///////
Big Oil Sees the Future and It’s Renewablesby Kristie Sotolongo
Advancing the technology for next-generation renewables, from proof-of-concept to commercial reality will require major investment, a need that is being filled in part by oil giants and other industrial players.
My view: Just because it’s "renewable" doesn't mean sulfur is not an issue. The fact that the majors are pursuing renewables suggests that they are also researching how to desulfurize renewable products

///////

Today’s tip … visit Hart Energy’s Fuel Web (http://www.hartfuel.com/). There you will find a link to the current issue.

Bonus tip … alert your team members and colleagues to the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) It specializes in providing online research tips in bite size chunks that are easy to digest that will make their lives much more pleasant.

Remember CTRL-F

2011-10-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

“When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not.” -- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

The K.I.S.S. principle states, “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Now, I’m not stupid, and if you follow this blog, neither are you. But it is easy to forget, sometimes, how some of the simplest techniques can simplify one’s life.

CTRL-F falls into the category of easily forgotten simple techniques.

For example, when searching ScienceDirect using this search string …

Solid oxide fuel cell sulfur

… you will be presented with several hundred results, even if you limit the search to the current year.

Let’s say you are in a hurry. You want to view only those results that have the word sulfur somewhere in the little snippet that appears on the results list.

What do you do? Hit CTRL-F. This command opens up a search box where you can type in the word sulfur. Click “Next” to jump to each entry on the page that contains the word. The word you seek will be highlighted in each entry.

The same technique works when you are searching patents. For example, search Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en) using the same search string as above, i.e. …

Solid oxide fuel cell sulfur

The results include the following …

High Temperature Fuel Cell System and Method of Operating the Same

Inventors: Swaminathan Venkataraman, Matthias Gottmann, John Finn

Original Assignee: Bloom Energy Corporation

source: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=PlPrAQAAEBAJ&dq=solid+oxide+fuel+cell+sulfur

Now, patents are a rich source of technical information. But finding the part of the patent that most interests you can be very time consuming. How can you focus on those parts of the patent that pertain to sulfur? Once again, CTRL-F to the rescue!

CTRL-F works for those PDF files that open up without the tool ribbon at the top. Hit CTRL-F and the PDF search box opens up.

This blog is all about making it easy to find technical literature on the Web … many of the tips may be old news to you, but remember the newer member of your team. Help them get up to speed by suggesting they follow the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)

Peruse PTQ Q4

2011-10-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” -- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly Quarter 4 issue is now available. It includes a number of desulfurization related articles …
///////
Future of opportunity crudes processingBrett Goldhammer, Claire Weber, Patrick Christensen, Serena Yeung, Thomas Garrett and Thomas Yeung
Hydrocarbon Publishing Company

Fast turnaround for a SRU tail gas scrubberSteven Meyer and Andrea Trapet
MECS

Diesel Hydrotreating and Mild HydrocrackingAndrew Tyas, DuPont Sustainable Solutions Clean Technologies

Assessment of crude Oil BlendsVivek Rathore, Rajiv Brahma, Tushar S. Thorat, P V C Rao and N V Choudary, Bharat Petroleum Corp///////

Three tips to maximize the usefulness of PTQ …

Register with ePTQ (www.eptq.com) to be notified when a new quarterly issue is ready for download
Scroll to the end of an article for useful biographical information
Google an author by including his/her company name in the search string

Registration (Tip #1) is free. Benefits of registration include …

Free access to PTQ digital edition
eMail notification when a new edition of PTQ is available
Free access to the Technical Q&A forum

Biographical information on authors is available at the end of each article. Even if you don’t read the entire article, be sure to scroll (Tip #2) to the end to see this valuable information.

For example, at the end of the following article …

FCC Catalyst optimization in response to rare earth pricesSolly Ismail, BASF Refining Catalysts
At the end of the article is this mini-bio …

Tip #3 …Google the author for more info. When you do, remember to include the name of his/her company affiliation in the search string. Researching the author of the following author, for example …
///////
Diesel hydrotreating and mild hydrocrackingAndrew Tyas
DuPont Sustainable Solutions Clean Technologies///////

Your Google search string would be: Andrew Tyas Dupont
Some of the Google results on the first page …
///////
Andrew Tyas - United Kingdom profiles | LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Andrew/Tyas - United KingdomCached
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Andy Tyas. Title: Regional Engineering Manager at DuPont; Demographic info: Guildford, United Kingdom | Oil & Energy. Current: Regional Engineering Manager ...

[PDF]
Download - DuPontwww2.dupont.com/.../SEA4%20JST8%20paper%20-%20DuPont.pdfSimilar
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Carlos Cavalca(1), Tom Hightower(1), Glenn Liolios(2), Andrew Tyas(2), Nick Confuorto(3), Ronan Goff(4) and. Stuart Thomas(4). DuPont Clean Technologies ...

[PDF]
Diesel Hydrotreating and Mild Hydrocrackingcore.theenergyexchange.co.uk/.../1450H_Andy_Tyas_-_DUPONT.p...
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Andrew Tyas. Clean Technologies Regional Engineering Manager. DuPont Sustainable Solutions. Europe, Middle East and Africa. World Refining Association ...

MEPEC2011www.mepec.org/Abstracts.htmlCached
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Supply Chain Optimization. Session Co-Chairs:Abdullah Al-Enaizan (Sabic, Saudi Arabia) Andrew Tyas (DuPont, USA), Session Co-Chairs: Ahmed Al Shaikh ...

WRA World Refining Associations - Our Events - Downstream Asia 2010www.wraconferences.com/downstream-asia-2010/s4/a112/?...Cached
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Andrew Tyas, Regional Engineering Manager, DuPont Clean Technologies. 11:45. · Overview of the alternative fuels market in Asia ...///////

Today’s final tip …
Consider emailing the Desulfurization Blog link (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) to your professional colleagues … They will appreciate you doing so.

Conference Alert: LARTC (Latin America Refining Technology Conference)

2011-10-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

“The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” - Bill Gates (American Entrepreneur and Founder of Microsoft Co., b.1955)

Visit GTF - Global Technology Forum web (www.gtforum.com) to find upcoming conferences you and your colleagues may want to attend. For example …
///////
LARTC Annual Meeting, 28-29 February 2012, Miami
We are currently working on the programme and it will be available soon. For speaking opportunities, please contact Vicki Pope at vicki.pope@gtforum.com

Global Technology Forum is delighted to announce the launch of the inaugural LARTC Annual Meeting taking place 28th - 29th February 2012 in Miami.

With 16 years of unparalleled close collaboration with the refining and petrochemical industries, GTF brings the success of their established ERTC and ARTC Annual Meetings to the region of Latin America thus providing the meeting place and platform for the Latin American downstream industry to exchange best practices and learn about the latest technical advancements in refining and petrochemicals. Attendees will include refining, technical and operational management as well as process and technical engineers.

Global Technology Forum has commissioned an advisory board, comprising of industry experts to make the paper selections for the conference. You are now invited to submit one or two original papers for this conference. Acceptance criteria will be originality and technical innovation. At this stage, the only requirements are a working title, subject area and brief description of the proposed content (typically a 200 word abstract).

Preference will be given to papers giving case histories and actual operating experience. We would be pleased to receive abstracts from supply companies that are co-authored with refining companies. Some suggested hot topics for the conference programme are as follows but are not restricted to:

Changing product specifications
ULSD and sulphur reduction technologies
Heavy crude processing and bottom of the barrel upgrading
Catalyst technologies
How to increase jet fuel and diesel production to meet the regions demand
Best practices / refiner case studies
Investments opportunities, what is driving long term strategy, new refining pirojects and joint ventures
Global downstream trends
Regulation impacts
source: http://events.gtforum.com/lartc///////

Today’s Time Saver Tip: Register to be notified of GTF sponsored events.
Bonus Tip … Feed the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) to your Web page for continuing online search tips to help you maximize your online research results.

Calling All Cars: Refining China 2012 (Beijing 28-29th March 2012): Call For Papers And Attendance

2011-10-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

“If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? Five? No, calling a tail a leg don't make it a leg.” -- Abraham Lincoln (American 16th US President (1861-65), who brought about the emancipation of the slaves. 1809-1865)

PTQ – Petroleum Technology Quarterly – produces some of the finest technical articles on petroleum technology available.

I recently received the following email notification from PTQ

///////

Refining China 2012 (Beijing 28-29th March 2012): Call For Papers And Attendance

We are now issuing a Call for Papers for the 6th Refining China 2012 conference, to be held at the Regent Hotel, Beijing, 28-29th March 2012. Please note that the deadline for the submission of proposed presentations is 28 October 2011.

Attached find a pdf with further details. If you experience any problems viewing this pdf, let us know and we'll send you a text version. And do pass this pdf on to anyone else who might be interested.

If you wish to take advantage of the opportunity to present such a case study to senior engineers and other decision-makers from Sinopec, Petrochina and CNOOC institutions and plants from across China, please submit a draft title and abstract for consideration, indicating your topic and how your paper meets the above requirements, to proposals@refiningchina.com

///////

Today’s tip … register with PTQ (www.eptq.com). Registration is free. Once you register, you will be able to …

· Access the Technical Q&A section, one of the best sources of specific technical advice I have found

· Download the digital edition of each edition of PTQ

PTQ offers both services at no charge.

And, you will receive notification of upcoming PTQ sponsored conferences.

Expert Alert: Yuv Mehra

2011-10-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

“Our work is the presentation of our capabilities.” -- Edward Gibbon (English Historian, 1737-1794)

Three for three … Today’s post serves up three search tips … and one tip has three sub-tips.

1. Use LinkedIn

2. Explore patents

3. Add Yuv Mehra to your list of experts

Beginning with the first tip, take a look at Yuv’s LinkedIn Profile (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/yuv-mehra/23/a60/343). Three things jump out at me (the three sub-tips I mention above)

a. Presentation: In his profile, Mr. Mehra has mastered a key concept. Where others see a place to post their CV, he has chosen to market his expertise by presenting a list of his patents

b. Patents: Mehra’s profile exemplifies the value of patents as technical literature. Googling his publications, you will find his most significant work embodied in the patents he has produced

c. Groups: Are you impressed by Mehra’s accomplishments? Consider joining some of the LinkedIn groups he has chosen to join. You may well find other experts of interest to you.

So, here’s a simple action plan …

· Study Mehra’s LinkedIn profile for inspiration on improving your own profile

· Browse the description section of each of his patents for interesting technical reading

· Consider joining some of the LinkedIn groups Mr. Mehra has joined

Here is Yuv Mehra’s LinkedIn profile summary, and a few of his patents …

///////

Yuv Mehra's LinkedIn Profile: Summary

Yuv R. Mehra, a licensed professional engineer (California & Texas), joined Saudi Aramco in June 2000 and is currently serving as Gas and Light-ends Process Engineering Consultant in the Process & Control Systems Department. During 2003–04, Yuv contributed to Saudi Aramco as General Supervisor for the Upstream Process Engineering Division. Yuv is an Alumnus of the Saudi Aramco Leadership Forum.

Yuv, an inventor, holds M.S. & B.E. Degrees in Chemical Engineering (UCLA 1973 & IIT Roorkee 1971) and offers over 38 years of invaluable, hands-on practical, process engineering experience related to processing of hydrocarbons (natural gas, refining and petrochemicals) from the standpoints of major owner/operating as well as E&C companies.

Yuv focuses on identifying value-oriented opportunities, effectively communicating and following through assignments to conclusion. He has demonstrated his vast process engineering knowledge of the entire hydrocarbon value chain. His results-oriented effectiveness in process optimization, front-end engineering, project evaluations, troubleshooting, development of engineering standards, expert witnessing, assessment of intellectual property including marketability, development and offering topical courses, and integration of refining & petrochemicals is recognized industry wide. Twenty-eight US Patents related to natural gas processing (16), refining (3), and petrochemicals (9), about 60% of which are in commercial use, substantiate the depth of his knowledge and experience. Authored over 65 publications and conference presentations.

As an expert witness, participated in:
* A legal challenge related to an industrial release of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. My role was to investigate and advise on the cause of the accidental release.
* Investigation of the root causes of two industrial accidents resulting in fire and damage to fa-cilities. Both facilities restarted only after implementation of my recommendations.

A Few of Yuv Mehra's

· Process for increasing hydrogen partial pressure in hydroprocessing processes / United States Patent 6,740,226

· Absorption process with solvent pre-saturation / United States Patent 5,687,584

· Absorption process for rejection of reactor byproducts and recovery of monomers from waste gas streams in olefin polymerization processes / United States Patent 5,681,908

· Retrofit unit for upgrading natural gas refrigeration plants / United States Patent 5,561,988

· Absorption process without external solvent / United States Patent 5,551,972

A final thought … feed the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) to your organization’s Intranet. It’s free. It will offer continuing search tips and tricks to everyone in your organization.