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CONTENTS

March 2022 Volume 27 Number 03 ISSN 1468-9340

05 Comment 07 Guest comment 09 World news 12 US fuels emerging from the pandemic

Nancy Yamaguchi, Contributing Editor, explores the state of the US fuels market as the country begins its slow climb back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

21 Maximising value with C5 olefins

Nikolas Larsen and Nicholas Newlon, Marathon Petroleum Corp., alongside Namal de Silva, Daniel Neuman, Yorklin Yang and Brian Killeen, BASF Corp., detail the companies’ collaborative investigation to demonstrate that C5 olefin maximisation can be delivered through FCC catalysts.

25 Keeping things flexible

Jitendra Chellani, KBC (A Yokogawa Company), and Hans Lidman, Nynas, outline how to improve margins through feedstock flexibility.

31 Fuels of the future

Kevin Bockwinkel, Randy Peterson and Samantha Presley, Elessent Clean Technologies, explore the role of gasoline in the clean fuels market.

37 Tackling unusual desalter challenges

Wole Olowu and Tim Oubre, Athlon, a Halliburton Service, USA, offer solutions to some unique desalter challenges that the company has helped refiners to overcome.

45 A race to the bottom

Neil Richards, PS Filter, Canada, explains why buying the cheapest product is not always the best solution.

49 Can electric pull its weight?

Decarbonisation efforts worldwide have accelerated the shift from fossil fuels to renewables. One way many industrial organisations can embrace this is by changing process heater systems from fuel-burning to electric. Dennis Long and Roly Juliano, Watlow, USA, detail why.

53 Embracing change

Ilan Toledano, Wattco, Canada, evaluates how downstream oil and gas industry leaders are managing the energy transition.

55 Safety: more than a buzzword

Fred J. Gossen, Jr, Hallwood Modular, USA, discusses the importance of facility siting in order to ensure worker safety in high-risk environments.

60 Not rocket science

Sam Miorelli, Siemens Energy, USA, presents a simplified, four-step approach to stronger cybersecurity in downstream operations.

66 The value of digital assistance

Samuli Bergman, NAPCON, Finland, explains how machine learning can aid operators of oil refineries and petrochemical facilities.

71 Out with the old

Phil Millette, Honeywell Process Solutions, UK, discusses how timely technology upgrades extended the life of critical assets at Petroleum Development Oman’s government gas plant.

75 Closed-loop neural networks

Gil Cohen and Abishek Mukund, Imubit, outline the requirements to automate key operating strategies in closed-loop to achieve optimal plant profitability.

THIS MONTH'S FRONT COVER

Athlon, a Halliburton Service, provides industrial water and process treatment solutions to refinery, petrochemical, ammonia/fertilizer, and heavy industrial operations. Through onsite technical service and engineering support, Athlon helps customers with their business goals, including improving reliability, increasing throughput, and enhancing the efficiency and flexibility of operating units.

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