In Search of Expertise (Part 5): OGJ

“Brilliance is typically the act of an individual, but incredible stupidity can usually be traced to an organization” -- Jon Bentley (American Writer, b.1951)
Each edition of that  old stalwart, Oil & Gas Journal (www.ogj.com), typically includes one or two technical articles.  At the end of each such article will be a brief bio of the author(s).  This is another rich potential source when searching for experts in a given field.

If you subscribe to OGJ, take advantage of this feature.  Even if you don’t, however, you may be able to access it through a commercial database like ABI Inform Complete.  Ask your organization’s librarian how to access it.

Here is the abstract of one recent OGJ technical article, including the bios at the end of the article …

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Understanding fines in coking more important now
Abstract
Growth in the need to upgrade heavy crude oils, such as Athabasca bitumen and others, into synthetic crude oils as well as the need to process heavier conventional crudes is increasing the use of coking. Fines, or solids, in delayed-coker feedstocks reduce the ability of the coker to utilize capacity fully. This first of two articles on the presence and effects of fines in delayed-coker feedstocks discusses the nature and sources of fines that enter a coking operation. Fines enter delayed-coker feed from several different sources. Both inorganic and organic fines degrade delayed-coker reliability and overall refinery economics. In some cases, sudden changes in the refinery or a major upset in the refinery's desalter can bring down the delayed coker within hours. In most cases, problems with solids fed to the coker are not as dramatic but still major. Organic fines are primarily hydrocarbons but typically have some inorganic constituents, such as metals, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
AuthorAffiliation
The authors
Scott Sayles (ssayles@kbcat.com ) is a principal consultant for KBC Advanced Technologies Inc., Houston, with more than 30 years of refinery and petrochemical experience, ranging from refinery plant manager to research engineer.His technical areas of expertise include operation and design, ebullated-bed residua hydrocracking, hydrotreating, FCCU, and practical understanding of most processes. Sayles is a member of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. He holds a BSChE from Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich., and an MSChE from Lamar University, Beaumont, Tex.
Sim Romero (sromero@kbcat.com ) is a principal consultant for KBC Advanced Technologies Inc. with more than 30 years as a chemical engineer. He spent 11 years with ConocoPhillips in delayed coking, then 7 years with BP Oil in heavy oils and delayed coking. He moved to ARCO then back to the Conoco/Bechtel Alliance in delayed coking, with a short stay with ExxonMobil, and then spent 7 years with Valero as director of heavy oils and delayed coking, before joining KBC. Romero is a member of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and sits on the technical steering committee for Coking.com. He holds a BS in chemical engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Source:
Sayles, S., & Romero, S. (2013, Jan 07). Understanding fines in coking more important now. Oil & Gas Journal, 111, 82-84,86-87. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1269690631?accountid=144790
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Today’s tips …

TIP #1: Get to know your organization’s librarian.  He or she will tell you about the organization’s subscribed databases and how to access them
TIP #2: Join my LinkedIn network.  Send an invitation to: www.linkedin.com/in/jeansteinhardtresearch/