Refinery Nonconventional Feedstocks: Influence of the Coprocessing of Vacuum Gas Oil and Low Density Polyethylene in Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit on Full Range Gasoline Composition

Gasoline coming from refinery fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit is a major contributor to the total commercial grade gasoline pool. The contents of the FCC gasoline are primarily paraffins, naphthenes, olefins, aromatics, and undesirables such as sulfur and sulfur containing compounds in low quantities. The proportions of these components in the FCC gasoline invariable determine its quality as well as the performance of the associated downstream units. The increasing demand for cleaner and lighter fuels significantly influences the need not only for novel processing technologies but also for alternative refinery and petrochemical feedstocks. Current and future clean gasoline requirements include increased isoparaffins contents, reduced olefin contents, reduced aromatics, reduced benzene, and reduced sulfur contents. The present study is aimed at investigating the effect of processing an unconventional refinery feedstock, composed of blend of vacuum gas oil (VGO) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) on FCC full range gasoline yields and compositional spectrum including its paraffins, isoparaffins, olefins, napthenes, and aromatics contents distribution within a range of operating variables of temperature (500–700 °C) and catalyst-feed oil ratio (CFR 5–10) using spent equilibrium FCC Y-zeolite based catalyst in a FCC pilot plant operated at the University of Alicante’s Research Institute of Chemical Process Engineering (RICPE). The coprocessing of the oil-polymer blend led to the production of gasoline with very similar yields and compositions as those obtained from the base oil, albeit, in some cases, the contribution of the feed polymer content as well as the processing variables on the gasoline compositional spectrum were appreciated. Carbon content analysis showed a higher fraction of the C9–C12 compounds at all catalyst rates employed and for both feedstocks. The gasoline’s paraffinicity, olefinicity, and degrees of branching of the paraffins and olefins were also affected in various degrees by the scale of operating severity. In the majority of the cases, the gasoline aromatics tended toward the decrease as the reactor temperature was increased. While the paraffins and iso-paraffins gasoline contents were relatively stable at around 5 % wt, the olefin contents on the other hand generally increased with increase in the FCC reactor temperature.

Conversion of low density polyethylene into fuel through co-processing with vacuum gas oil in a fluid catalytic cracking riser reactor

In this work, mixtures of vacuum gas oil and low density polyethylene, a major component of common industrial and consumer household plastics, were pyrolytically co-processed in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) riser reactor as a viable alternative for the energy and petrochemical revalorisation of plastic wastes into valuable petrochemical feedstocks and fuel within an existing industrial technology. Using equilibrium FCC catalyst, the oil–polymer blends were catalytically cracked at different processing conditions of temperatures between 773 K and 973 K and catalyst feed ratios of 5:1, 7:1 and 10:1. The influence of each of these processing parameters on the cracking gas and liquid yield patterns were studied and presented. Further analysed and presented are the different compositional distributions of the obtained liquids and gaseous products. The analysis of the results obtained revealed that with very little modifications to existing process superstructure, yields and compositional distributions of products from the fluid catalytic cracking of the oil–polymer blend in many cases were very similar to those of the processed oil feedstock, bringing to manifest the viability of the feedstock co-processing without significant detriments to FCC product yields and quality.

Analysis of Hyporheic Flow Induced by a Bar in a Gravel Stream: an Experimental Study

Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-01 00:03:02.939

The Price of Oil and Soviet/Russian Aggressiveness. CEPS Commentary, 16 January 2015

A decade-long period of a steadily rising oil prices (and that of other raw materials) has given Russia a feeling of strength, bordering on invulnerability, which has made the country more assertive, and ready to use any opportunity to deploy its military power. Based on his analysis of Russian behaviour over the past 50 years, Daniel Gros finds that the abrupt reversal of this trend since the summer of 2014 portends a much less aggressive Russian stance as long as the price of oil remains at present levels.

Total organic carbon, delta13C, biomarker, gas compilations and hopanoids analysis from IODP Sites 307-U1317 and 307-U1318

During the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 307 for the first time a cold-water coral carbonate mound was drilled down through its base into the underlying sediments. In the current study, sample material from within and below Challenger Mound, located in the Belgica carbonate mound province in the Porcupine Basin offshore Ireland, was investigated for its distribution of microbial communities and gas composition using biogeochemical and geochemical approaches to elucidate the question on the initiation of carbonate mounds. Past and living microbial populations are lower in the mound section compared to the underlying sediments or sediments of an upslope reference site. A reason for this might be a reduced substrate feedstock, reflected by low total organic carbon (TOC) contents, in the once coral dominated mound sequence. In contrast, in the reference site a lithostratigraphic sequence with comparatively high TOC contents shows higher abundances of both past and present microbial communities, indicating favourable living conditions from time of sedimentation until today. Composition and isotopic values of gases below the mound base seem to point to a mixed gas of biogenic and thermogenic origin with a higher proportion of biogenic gas. Oil-derived hydrocarbons were not detected at the mound site. This suggests that at least in the investigated part of the mound base the upward flow of fossil hydrocarbons, being one hypothesis for the initiation of the formation of carbonate mounds, seems to be only of minor significance.

Rock eval analysis of organic matter in sediment core 159-959D

The Cretaceous Equatorial Atlantic Gateway between the Central and South Atlantic basins is of interest not only for paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic studies, but also because it provided particularly favourable conditions for the accumulation and preservation of organic-rich sediments. Deposition of carbonaceous sediments along the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Transform Margin (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 159) was intimately linked to the plate tectonic and paleoceanographic evolution of this gateway. Notably, the formation of a marginal basement ridge on the southeastern border of the transform margin provided an efficient shelter of the landward Deep Ivorian Basin against erosive and potentially oxidizing currents. Different subsidence histories across the transform margin were responsible for the development of distinct depositional settings on the crest and on both sides of the basement ridge. Whereas the southern, oceanward flank of the basement ridge was characterized by rapid, continuous deepening since last Albian-early Cenomanian, marine sedimentation on the northern, landward flank was interrupted by a period of uplift and erosion in the late Albian, and rapid subsidence started after the early Coniacian. Organic-rich sediments occur throughout almost the entire Cretaceous section, but hydrogen-rich marine black shales were exclusively recovered from core sections above an uplift-related unconformity. These black shales formed when separation of Africa and South America was sufficient to allow permanent oceanic midwater exchange after the late Albian. Four periods of black shale accumulation are recovered, some of them are correlated with the global oceanic anoxic events: in the last Albian-earliest Cenomanian, at the Cenomanian-Turronian boundary, during the middle Coniacian-early Campanian, and in the mid-Maastrichtian. These periods were characterized by increasing carbon flux to the seafloor, induced by enhanced palaeoproductivity and intensified supply of terrestrial organic matter. Black shale depostion appears to be intimately linked to periods of rising or maximum eustatic sea level and to the expansion of the oxygen minimum zone, as indicated by foraminiferal biofacies. Intervals between black shales units, in contrast, indicate a shrinking oxygen minimum zone and enhanced detrital flux rates, probably related to lowering sea level. Upper Cretaceous detritral limestones with high porosities may provide excellent hydrocarbon reservoirs, alsthough their areal extent appears to be limited. Palaeogene porcellanites, capped by Neogene pelagic marls and clays, extend over a wider area and max provide another target for hydrocarbon exploration.

Spill risk analysis program : methodology development and demonstration /

Final report, Apr. 1977.

Satisfaction of the automotive fleet fuel demand and its impact on the oil refining industry. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Research and Development, Washington, D.C.

The Metula oil spill = El derramamiento petrolífero del Metula /

On cover: MESA, Marine Ecosystems Analysis Program.

Allen's commercial organic analysis; a treatise on the properties, modes of assaying, and proximate analytical examination of the various organic chemicals and products employed in the arts, manufactures, medicine, etc., with concise methods for the detection and estimation of their impurities, adulterations, and products of decomposition ...

Vols. 3-9 edited by W.A. Davis and Samuel S. Sadtler.

Petroleum System Analysis: Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, Colombia, South America

The purpose of this study is to create a petroleum system model and to assess whether or not the La Luna Formation has potential for unconventional exploration and production in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (MMVB), Colombia. Today, the Magdalena River valley is an intermontane valley located between the Central and Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. The underlying basin, however, represents a major regional sedimentary basin that received deposits from the Triassic through the Cenozoic. In recent years Colombia has been of great exploration interest because of its potentially vast hydrocarbon resources, existing petroleum infrastructure, and skilled workforce. Since the early 1900s when the MMVB began producing, it has led to discoveries of 1.9 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 2.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas (Willatt et al., 2012). Colombia is already the third largest producer of oil in South America, and there is good potential for additional unconventional exploration and production in the Cretaceous source rocks (Willatt et al., 2012). Garcia Gonzalez et al. (2009) estimate the potential remaining hydrocarbons in the La Luna Formation in the MMVB to be between 1.15 and 10.33 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE; P90 and P10 respectively), with 2.02 BBOE cumulative production to date. Throughout the 1900s and early 2000s, Cenozoic continental and transitional clastic reservoirs were the primary exploration interest in the MMVB (Dickey, 1992). The Cretaceous source rocks, such as the La Luna Formation, are now the target for unconventional exploration and production. In the MMVB, the La Luna formation is characterized by relatively high total organic carbon (TOC) values, moderate maturity, and adequate thickness and depth (Veigal and Dzelalijal, 2014). The La Luna Formation is composed of Cenomanian-Santonian aged shales, marls, and limestones (Veigal and Dzelalijal, 2014). In addition to the in-situ hydrocarbons, the fractured limestones in the La Luna formation act as secondary reservoirs for light oil from other formations (Veigal and Dzelalijal, 2014). Thus the system can be considered more of a hybrid play, rather than a pure unconventional play. The Cretaceous source rocks of the MMVB exhibit excellent potential for unconventional exploration and production. Due to the complex structural nature of the MMVB, an understanding of the distribution of rocks and variations in rock qualities is essential for reducing risk in this play.

Ross River virus disease in Australia, 1886-1998, with analysis of risk factors associated with outbreaks

Ross River virus (RE) is a mosquito-borne arbovirus responsible for outbreaks of polyarthritic disease throughout Australia. To better understand human and environmental factors driving such events, 57 historical reports oil RR Outbreaks between 1896 and 1998 were examined collectively. The magnitude, regularity, seasonality, and locality of outbreaks were found to be wide ranging; however, analysis of climatic and tidal data highlighted that environmental conditions let differently ill tropical, arid, and temperate regions. Overall, rainfall seems to be the single most important risk factor, with over 90% of major outbreak locations receiving higher than average rainfall in preceding mouths. Many temperatures were close to average, particularly in tropical populations; however, in arid regions, below average maximum temperatures predominated, and ill southeast temperate regions, above average minimum temperatures predominated. High spring tides preceded coastal Outbreaks, both in the presence and absence of rainfall, and the relationship between rainfall and the Southern Oscillation Index and Lit Nina episodes suggest they may be useful predictive tools, but only ill southeast temperate regions. Such heterogeneity predisposing outbreaks supports the notion that there are different RE epidemiologies throughout Australia but also Suggests that generic parameters for the prediction and control of outbreaks are of limited use at a local level.

Decision support system for inspection and maintenance:a case of oil pipelines

The existing method of pipeline health monitoring, which requires an entire pipeline to be inspected periodically, is unproductive. A risk-based decision support system (DSS) that reduces the amount of time spent on inspection has been presented. The risk-based DSS uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multiple attribute decision-making technique, to identify the factors that influence failure on specific segments and analyzes their effects by determining probability of occurrence of these risk factors. The severity of failure is determined through consequence analysis. From this, the effect of a failure caused by each risk factor can be established in terms of cost and the cumulative effect of failure is determined through probability analysis. The model optimizes the cost of pipeline operations by reducing subjectivity in selecting a specific inspection method, identifying and prioritizing the right pipeline segment for inspection and maintenance, deriving budget allocation, providing guidance to deploy the right mix labor for inspection and maintenance, planning emergency preparation, and deriving logical insurance plan. The proposed methodology also helps derive inspection and maintenance policy for the entire pipeline system, suggest design, operational philosophy, and construction methodology for new pipelines.

Risk-based maintenance model for offshore oil and gas pipelines:a case study

Offshore oil and gas pipelines are vulnerable to environment as any leak and burst in pipelines cause oil/gas spill resulting in huge negative Impacts on marine lives. Breakdown maintenance of these pipelines is also cost-intensive and time-consuming resulting in huge tangible and intangible loss to the pipeline operators. Pipelines health monitoring and integrity analysis have been researched a lot for successful pipeline operations and risk-based maintenance model is one of the outcomes of those researches. This study develops a risk-based maintenance model using a combined multiple-criteria decision-making and weight method for offshore oil and gas pipelines in Thailand with the active participation of experienced executives. The model's effectiveness has been demonstrated through real life application on oil and gas pipelines in the Gulf of Thailand. Practical implications. Risk-based inspection and maintenance methodology is particularly important for oil pipelines system, as any failure in the system will not only affect productivity negatively but also has tremendous negative environmental impact. The proposed model helps the pipelines operators to analyze the health of pipelines dynamically, to select specific inspection and maintenance method for specific section in line with its probability and severity of failure.

Reengineering helps improve materials procurement in Indian oil refinery

The materials management function is always a major concern to the management of any organisation as high inventory and inefficient procurement processes have a significant effect on profitability. The problems multiply in the face of a very dynamic business environment, as is the present case in India. Hence, the existing system of materials planning, procurement processes and inventory management require reviewing with respect to the changed business environment. This study shows a radical improvement in materials procurement function of an Indian petroleum refinery through Business Process Reengineering (BPR) by analysing current process, identifying key issues, deriving paradigm shifts and developing reengineered processes through customer value analysis. BPR has been carried out on existing processes of 'material planning and procurement' and 'warehousing and surplus disposal'. The reengineered processes for the materials management function triggered several improvement projects that were identified by the group of executives who took part in the reengineering exercise. Those projects were implemented in an integrated framework, with the application of state of the art information technology tools and building partnership alliance among all stakeholders. Considerable improvements in overall functions of the organisation are observed, along with financial benefits. Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.