Mel Larson - KBC ( a Yokogawa company)
The abundance in LNG along with the change in ship bunker fuel sulfur allowance has put a focus on the bottom of the crude oil barrel. The world crude oil qualities and demands are constantly changing even more so in the last ten years. The emphasis to reduce pollution is applying pressure on how to manage the carbonaceous bottoms. Delayed coking has been the most often chosen pathway.
There are emerging technologies to add hydrogen to the bottom of the barrel to maximize the liquid yield for more valuable products ranging from fuels to petrochemical feedstocks. The commercial application of these technologies is limited and yet the overall “demand” to reduce oil consumption is a driver to maximize the utilization of the molecules and hence reduce the “demand” of raw crude.
The presentation provides an overview of the issues and options facing the industry.
Mel Larson is a Principal Consultant at KBC with over 31 years of experience as a Chemical Engineer. His responsibilities include specialty consulting in FCC, serving as Project Manager on various KBC projects. He specializes in process troubleshooting and profit improvement analysis in the FCC, Unsaturates Gas Plant, Alkylation and Naphtha Reformer areas. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and his hobbies include music, exercise, fine wine and scotch.