Process Engineering Beginner's Guide

Value of a Chemical Engineering Degree to the Process Engineer in a Refinery

Most of what we need to do our jobs as Refinery Tech Service process engineers, we learned in high school. The time we spent in university seems, in retrospect, to be a waste of time and money. We were simply not instructed in the methods needed to solve process problems, which is pretty much what we have been hired to do.

The key to refinery profitability is not market conditions, or management, or operator expertise. It is effective process engineering technical service. As we were not taught this in university, could we learn to become effective process engineers by learning from older guys we work with? In 1965, when I started work for American Oil, this was the method I used. But, it won’t work now. Too much knowledge has been lost. You’re on your own now.

So let me suggest you learn by running performance tests. For example, some of the tests I have run, from which I learned a lot, were:

• Optimizing pumparound circulation rates.
• Varying steam pressure to vacuum ejector.
• Changing tower operating pressures.
• Varying stripping steam rate to gas oil stripper.
• Increasing pitch angle on blades to air cooler.
• Slowing down turbine driven pump.
• Opening adjustable head-end clearance pocket on reciprocating compressor.
• Varying liquid levels on circulating thermosyphon reboilers.
• Effect on fractionation efficiency with incremental reflux.

Having run such tests, see if you can interpret the results, using your ...