This web page is no longer being updated effective February 2003. The page with links to technical information is being kept available temporarily. Requests for articles may be sent via e-mail to asloley at distillationgroup.com. Most requests will be responded to within 72 hours.
The Distillation Group has the following areas of on-line technical resources:
The papers below come from three groups. Group One includes technical papers engineers at The Distillation Group have written on various subjects. Group Two covers papers written by other people that have some relevance to distillation technology. Group Three includes non-technical material and addenda of interest. Many of these are available upon request. Papers are requested by the paper's number. See our instructions for requesting papers.
Distribution will be via electronic mail with Adobe PDF format files.
Further material is always being prepared for publication in various journals and presentation at different meetings. Return often to keep track of new material.
Group One ( NA = copies not available)
109. Setting the Revamp Basis (NA)
108. Avoid Common Distillation Equipment Pitfalls
107. Troubleshooting for Improved Profits
106. Maximizing the Benefits
of Simulation Models (NA)
105. Modeling and Simulation
(NA)
104. Troubleshooting Vacuum Towers
103. Improve Tray Operations
102. Tray Zone Flooding for Valve and Sieve Trays
101. Troubleshooting Practice in the Refinery
100. Troubleshooting Refinery Vacuum Towers
099. Conventional Simulators for Advanced Distillation Processes
098. Designing and Revamping Crude Processing Sequences
097. Instrumentation: The Key to Revamp Benefits
096. Manage Fast-track Retrofits with these Guidelines
095. Liquid Levels and Densities: Case Histories with DP Cell
Problems (full text of paper)
094. Cat Naphtha Sulfur Management: Undercut or Not?
093. Retrofitting: How to
Have Successful Revamps Instead of Failed Projects
092. Proper Field Technique
with Sight Glasses and the Importance of Field Observation
091. Effectively Control
Column Pressure
090. Foam is a Major Source
of Column Operating Problems
089. How do we get Wrong
Liquid Levels
088. The Importance of Grasping
New Technology
087. Consider Modeling Tools
to Revamp Existing Process Units
086. Troubleshooting Petroleum
Refinery Vacuum Towers
085. Steady Under Pressure:
Distillation Pressure Control
084. Improving Gas Oil Cutpoint
and Capacity (NA)
083. Improving Gas Oil Cutpoint
and Capacity (NA)
082. Evaluation of Multiple
Revamp Options
081. Steady Under Pressure:
Distillation Pressure Control (full text of paper)
080. The Split Flow Option:
Pump Innovations Reduce Motor Size and Capital Cost
079. Water Damage to a Refinery
Atmospheric Crude Fractionator: Reliability Case History
078. Process Revamp Options
for Sidestrippers
077. Should You Switch to
High-Capacity Trays?
076. High-Capacity Distillation
075. FCC Product Recovery
Section Reliability and Operability Issues
074. Don't Get Drawn Into
Distillation Difficulties
073. High Capacity Trays
for Realistic Revamps
072. Simple Methods Solve
Exchanger Problems
071. Reducing the Danger
of Maintenance Exposure
070. High-Capacity Trays
- Basic Choices
069. Improve the Reliability
and Maintenance of Recovery Processes (full text of paper)
068. Technology versus Basic
Capabilities (NA)
067. Bridging the Gap - From
Theory to Application
066. Troubleshoot with Exchanger
Liquid Levels (full text of paper)
065. Customized Tower Revamps
- Success and Failure
064. Pay Attention to Reflux/Feed
Entry Design (NA)
063. Subdue Solids in Towers
(NA)
062. Vacuum Lubricant Distillation
Processes (NA)
061. Vacuum Lubricant Columns,
Revamping (NA)
060. Maximize Crude Unit
No. 2 Oil Yield Design and Operation
059. Computational Fluid
Dynamics Modeling Requirements for Mass-Transfer Analysis (NA)
058. Crude Unit No. 2 Oil
Yield Improvement - Design and Operation (NA)
057. Drawing Distillation
Products (NA)
056. Troubleshooting and
Human Factors
055. Avoid Problems with
Distillation Column Startups
054. Mediums and Messages:
Marketing Technical Services for the Small Concern
053. Properly Design Thermosyphon
Reboiler Systems
052. Trayed Distillation
Columns (NA)
051. Thermosyphon Reboilers,
Simulation, High Relative Volatility Systems (NA)
050. Thermosyphon Reboilers,
Simulation and Design (NA)
049. Teamwork, Ownership
and the Modern Project
048. Avoid Problems During
Distillation Column Startups
047. Ownership, Teamwork,
and the Modern Project (NA)
046. Recovery of Blended
Product Pipeline
045. Pay Attention to Reflux/Feed
Entry Design
044. Feeding and Drawing
Products: The Forgotten Part of Distillation (NA)
043. Distillation Column
Reliability: Case Histories (NA)
042. Application of Simulators
in Distillation Column Troubleshooting
041. Fast Track Revamp Project
Execution
040. Why Towers Do Not Work:
Part II
039. Refinery Vacuum Column
Troubleshooting (NA)
038. Why Towers Do Not Work:
Part I
037. Saturate Gas Plant Operation
for Maximum Octane With Reformulated Gasoline
036. Simulation of Flow Maldistribution
and Its Result on Mass-Transfer (NA)
035. Effectively Design and
Simulate Thermosyphon Reboiler Systems: Part 2
034. Effectively Design and
Simulate Thermosyphon Reboiler Systems: Part 1
033. Folded Distillation
Models for Heat Pump Process Design
032. Polymer Grade Propylene
from FCC C3s
031. Why Towers Do Not Work
(NA)
030. Don't Underestimate
the Importance of Reflux/Feed Entry Design for Trayed Fractionators
029. Simulation of Flow Maldistribution
and Its Results on Mass-Transfer
028. Refrigerant Fluid Selection
for Industrial Process Systems (NA)
027. Subdue Solids in Towers
026. Improve Gasoline Octane
with Isomerization Unit Revamp
025. Refinery and Petrochemical
Complex Propylene Optimization
024. Modernizing Lubricant
Vacuum Distillation Processes (NA)
023. Distillation Column
Inspection
022. Optimizing Lube Oil
Vacuum Column Design
021. Modern Glycol Dehydration
Unit Design
020. Refrigerant Fluid Selection
for Industrial Process Systems (NA)
019. Thermosyphon Simulation
in High Relative Volatility Distillation Systems
018. Process Modeling for
Control System Design and Analysis
017. Revamping Cryogenic
Gas Processing Plants: Minimum Investment Revamping
016. Simulation and Design
of Thermosyphon Reboiler Systems
015. Refinery and Chemical
Plant Water Treating: Air and Steam Stripping
014. Texas Refiner Expands
Aromatics Capacity 20% With Staged Revamp
013. Successfully Downsize
Trayed Columns
012. Reformulated Fuels Impact
FCCU Process Equipment
011. Mechanical Specification
of Mass-Transfer Equipment (NA)
010. Revamping FCC Main Fractionator
Energy Systems
009. Revamping FCC Unit Main
Fractionators
008. Heat Integrating Fluid
Catalytic Cracking Unit Fractionation Systems: Energy Recovery,
Control, Investment and Operability Issues
007. Revamping Lube Vacuum
Columns (NA)
006. Column Downsizing Techniques
005. Refinery Vacuum Column
Troubleshooting (NA)
004. FCC Main Fractionator
Revamps
003. Analysis Key to Correcting
Debutanizer Design Flaws
002. Simple Methods Solve
Vacuum Column Problems Using Plant Data (NA)
001. Improving Vacuum Crude
Column Operation
X003. Ejector system
troubleshooting
X001. Yield Correlations
Between Crude Assay Distillation and High Temperature Simulated
Distillation (HTSD).
Addenda.
A013. Materials Handbook:
A Concise Desktop Reference, book review, CEP, October
2001
A012. Where are We - The
Valuve of Benchmarking Done Properly, editorial, Hydrocarbon
Processing, December 1999.
A011. Contract Engineering:
Start and Build a New Career, book review, CEP, November
1999.
A010. The Simple Things,
editorial Hydrocarbon Processing, August 1999.
A009. Scientific Unit
Conversion, book review, CEP, March 1999.
A008. A Plea for Simplicity,
editorial, Control Design, December 1998/January 1999.
A007. Methods for Solving
Process Plant Problems, book review, CEP, December
1998.
A006. Process Resolutions,
editorial, Hydrocarbon Processing, December 1998.
A005. Dispelling Chemical
Engineering Myths, book review, CEP, September 1998.
A004. Keep in Touch with
the Basics, editorial, Hydrocarbon Processing, September
1998.
A003. Comments from 1997
NPRA Q&A Answer Book.
A002. Lubricant Base
Oil and Wax Processing, book review, CEP, June 1997.
A001. The Craft of Scientific
Writing, book review, CEP, May 1997.
B006. Simulation Subtleties,
editorial in CEP by Mark Rosenzweig, January 1998.
B005. Troubleshooting is
the Easy Part, editorial in CEP by Mark Rosenzweig, September
1997.
B004. Shoot Straight with
Troubleshooters, Editorial in CONTROL Magazine by Joe Feeley,
July 1997.
B003. Don't Shoot the Troubleshooter,
editorial in AIChExpress, April 1997.
B002. Moving Toward Proof
Positive, Chemical and Engineering News, April 14, 1997.
B001. The Undervaluing of
Experience, editorial in CEP by Mark Rosenzweig, May 1995.
H003. Distillation Operations Manual, Texas Energy Conservation
Program, 1978 (HTML-small
files, HTML-large
file, PDF)
H002. Distillation of Alcohol and Denaturing, F. B. Wright, 1907,
(High resolution PDF),
(Low resolution PDF)
H001. The Condensation
of Gasoline from Natural Gas, Bureau of Mines, 1915