Pi in the Sky: Another Simple Trick

“The trick is growing up without growing old.” -- Casey Stengel (American Baseball Player and Manager, 1891-1975)
Searching for technical literature on pi complexation – an important key phrase in desulfurization research – can be tricky.  That’s because searching for “pi complexation” yields a different set of results than searching for “π complexation.”

To illustrate … when we search Google scholar for articles containing “pi complexation” in the title, the result is 52 hits …

 Desulfurization of transportation fuels by [pi]-complexation sorbents: Cu (I)-, Ni (II)-, and Zn (II)-zeolitesAJ Hernandez-Maldonado, FH Yang, G Qi… - Applied Catalysis B: …, 2005 - Elsevier
New π-complexation-based sorbents were studied for desulfurization of diesel, gasoline,
and jet fuels. The sorbents were obtained by ion exchanging faujasite type zeolites with
Cu+, Ni2+ or Zn2+ cations using different techniques, including liquid phase ion exchange ...
Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092633730400503X

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Perform the same search using “π complexation” and the result is 92 hits.
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Desulfurization of liquid fuels by adsorption via π complexation with Cu (I)-Y and Ag-Y zeolitesAJ Hernández-Maldonado… - Industrial & engineering …, 2003 - ACS Publications
Fixed-bed adsorption using different π-complexation adsorbents for desulfurization of liquid
fuels was investigated. Cu (I)-Y (autoreduced Cu (II)-Y), Ag-Y, HY, and Na-Y zeolites were
used to separate low-concentration thiophene from mixtures including benzene and/or n- ...
Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie020728j

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So how do you search for “π“ (the symbol) vs. “pi” (the word)?

Here’s a simple trick …

Open Word
Click the Insert tab
Click the Symbol icon
Locate and click the “π” symbol
Select the “π” symbol that appears in your Word document
Copy it to your clipboard
Go to your Google Scholar window and paste the “π” symbol into the search box
Add the word “complexation”

That’s it.  Simple, yet effective.  That’s the kind of tips and tricks we like to provide in the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com). Here’s another simple trick … add the Blog as a feed on your organization’s Web for a continuing stream of useful tips.
 

Google Scholar Search Strategies Made Easy

“I have little patience with scientists who take a board of wood, look for its thinnest part, and drill a great number of holes where drilling is easy.” -- Albert Einstein (German born American Physicist, 1879-1955)

Google© Scholar has made it easy, with its advanced search feature, to create sophisticated search strategies to retrieve what you need while reducing the amount of time you spend wading through irrelevant results.

Here, from simple to increasingly complex, are four examples, each illustrated with samples from the results list.  To get the most out of the examples, navigate to Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws), then click “Advanced Scholar Search.”  All search strings are restricted to a publication date of “2011.”

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The simplest of all search strategies is to search for one key word …
Search String: DESULFURIZATION
One result (out of 3440):
Journal of Catalysis, Volume 279, Issue 2, 25 April 2011, Pages 269-275
Oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene and diesel over [Bmim]3PMo12O40
Jian Zhang (a), Anjie Wang (a, b), Xiang Li (a, b), Xuehu Ma (b)
ajwang@dlut.edu.cn
a State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116012, PR China
b Liaoning Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Technology and Equipments, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116012, PR China
Abstract
A hybrid material ([Bmim]3PMo12O40) was synthesized by reacting H3PMo12O40 with the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide. SiO2-supported [Bmim]3PMo12O40 showed a high catalytic activity in the oxidation of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with 29% H2O2 aqueous solution as the oxidant. Maximum activity was observed at a loading of 20 wt.% [Bmim]3PMo12O40 on SiO2, and 100% DBT conversion was achieved at 60 °C, atmospheric pressure, and an oxygen to sulfur (O/S) molar ratio of 3.0 in 100 min. The high performance of [Bmim]3PMo12O40/SiO2 might be attributable to its amphiphilicity, which enhances adsorption of both H2O2 and sulfur-containing compounds. [Bmim]3PMo12O40/SiO2 could be easily separated by centrifugation and reused without deactivation after seven runs. Quinoline and carbazole had slightly positive effects on DBT oxidation, whereas indole had a negative effect. The high performance of [Bmim]3PMo12O40 was verified in the sulfur removal from a real diesel by means of oxidation followed by dimethylformamide extraction.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951711000285
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Focus  your search by adding a second key word.  Type the two key words into the “with all the words” box …
Search String: desulfurization diesel
One result (out of 685):
Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, Volume 18, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages 264-268
Sono-desulfurization oxidation reactivities of FCC diesel fuel in metal ion/H2O2 systems
Yongchuan Dai (a), Dezhi Zhao (a), Yutai Qi (b)
ych_dasic@yahoo.com
a Department of Petroleum Chemical Engineering, School of Petroleum Chemical Engineering, Liaoning Shihua University, Fushun 113001, PR China
b School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 115001, PR China
Abstract
The objective of this work was to probe experimentally the characteristics of the use of Fe2+ or Cu2+ ions in the ultrasound-assisted oxidation desulfurization (UAODS) of diesel fuels and to develop a model that appropriately represented the mechanism. The influence of metal ions (Fe2+ or Cu2+) on aqueous phase pH values of the UAODS of diesel fuels was investigated. The UAODS proceeded rapidly only within a limited pH range from 1.9 to 2.1. It was observed that the UAODS of diesel fuels fitted pseudo-first-order kinetics under our experimental conditions. In UAODS of diesel fuels the apparent reaction rate constants can be greatly enhanced by addition of metal ions and/or using ultrasound. The combination of ultrasound and the metal ions can also reduce the apparent activation energy rapidly. The order of the apparent reaction rate constants in UAODS of diesel fuels is US–Fe2+–H2O2 system > US–Cu2+–H2O2 system > US–H2O2 system > H2O2 system.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417710001045 ///////
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Refine your search by adding a Boolean OR statement.  Type “desulfurization” in the “with all the words” box.  Type “diesel gasoline” in the “with at least one of the words” box.  The resulting Google Scholar search string will be …
Search string: desulfurization diesel OR gasoline
Two results (out of 904):
Journal of Environmental Sciences, Volume 23, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 975-982
Desulfurization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) by a novel strain Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 isolated from diesel contaminated soil
Ashutosh Bahuguna (a), Madhuri K. Lily (a), Ashok Munjal (b), Ravindra N. Singh (c), Koushalya Dangwal (a),
ashubahuguna@gmail.com
kdangwall@yahoo.co.in
a Department of Biotechnology, Modern Institute of Technology (MIT), Dhalwala, Rishikesh 249201, Uttarakhand, India
b Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Banasthali 304022, Rajasthan, India
c Department of Biochemistry, S.B.S. P.G. Institute of Biomédical Sciences and Research, Balawala, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India
Abstract
A new bacterial strain DMT-7 capable of selectively desulfurizing dibenzothiophene (DBT) was isolated from diesel contaminated soil. The DMT-7 was characterized and identified as Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 (NCBI GenBank Accession No. GQ496620) using 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. The desulfurized product of DBT, 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2HBP), was identified and confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis respectively. The desulfurization kinetics revealed that DMT-7 started desulfurization of DBT into 2HBP after the lag phase of 24 hr, exponentially increasing the accumulation of 2HBP up to 15 days leading to approximately 60% desulfurization of the DBT. However, further growth resulted into DBT degradation. The induced culture of DMT-7 showed shorter lag phase of 6 hr and early onset of stationary phase within 10 days for desulfurization as compared to that of non-induced culture clearly indicating the inducibility of the desulfurization pathway of DMT-7. In addition, Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 also possess the ability to utilize broad range of substrates as sole source of sulfur such as benzothiophene, 3,4-benzo DBT, 4,6-dimethyl DBT, and 4,6-dibutyl DBT. Therefore, Lysinibacillus sphaericus DMT-7 could serve as model system for efficient biodesulfurization of diesel and petrol.
source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001074210605049

Energy Fuels, 2011, 25 (9), pp 3940–3949
Catalytic Mechanism of MCM-41 Supported Phosphoric Acid Catalyst for FCC Gasoline Desulfurization by Alkylation: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation
Rong Wang†, Yonghong Li*†‡, Benshuai Guo†, and Hongwei Sun§
yhli@tju.edu.cn
Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of State Education Ministry, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China
National Engineering Research Center for Distillation Technology, Tianjin 300072, P. R. China
Department of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, P. R. China
Abstract
The desulfurization of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) gasoline by alkylation over solid acid catalysts is considered to be a viable and less costly path to meet environmental regulations of sulfur emissions. However, side reactions in the process lead to significant levels of coke, which will greatly reduce the lifetime of the catalyst. In this paper, the catalytic mechanism of MCM-41 supported phosphoric acid catalyst for gasoline desulfurization by alkylation has been investigated by using experimental methods and quantum chemical calculations to study the catalytic behavior for the adsorption and reaction of different reactants, which can help optimize the reaction conditions and preparation methods of the catalyst for a more efficient alkylation process. The results showed that both the typical main and side reactions in the alkylation process started from a stable alkoxide intermediate that was formed by protonation of olefin adsorbed on the catalyst. Thiophenic compounds were more inclined to be adsorbed on the alkoxide intermediate than olefins for further reaction, and the activation energy for the alkylation of thiophenic sulfurs with alkenes was obviously lower than that for alkene oligomerization. Moreover, the thiophene alkylation was exothermic while the olefin oligomerization was endothermic. On the basis of these findings obtained by experimental and theoretical investigation, two methods that might be useful to further inhibit the occurrence of side reactions and improve the catalyst performance in the alkylation process were proposed
source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef200705b?mi=v8k6so&af=R&pageSize=20&searchText=Gasoline+desulfurization
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Fine tune your search by adding a key phrase.  Type “diesel gasoline” in the “with at least one of the words” box.  Type “deep desulfurization” in the “with the exact phrase” box.  The resulting Google Scholar search string will be …
Search string: diesel OR gasoline "deep desulfurization"
One result (out of 166):
China Petroleum Processing and Petrochemical Technology, 2011,Vol. 13, No. 3, pp 16-20, September 30, 2011
Deep Desulfurization via Adsorption by Silver Modified Bentonite
Tang Xiaolin; Le Zheting; Shi Li
(State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science andTechnology, Shanghai 200237)
Abstract:
In order to further reduce the sulfur content in liquid hydrocarbon fuels, a desulfurization process by adsorption for removing alkyl dibenzothiophenes was investigated. Desulfurization of model gasoline by bentonite adsorbents loaded with silver nitrate was studied. The test results indicated that the bentonite adsorbents loaded with Ag+ ions were effective for adsorbing the alkyl dibenzothiophenes. The crystal structure of bentonite adsorbents was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and their acidity was measured by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Several factors influencing the desulfurization capability, including the Ag+ loading, the baking temperature,  as well as the reaction temperature, were investigated. The desulfurization efficiency was enhanced by increasing the Ag+ loading and the best result was obtained at a silver loading of 7 m%. It was found that the adsorption capacity of the alkyl dibenzothiophenes on bentonite loaded with Ag+ ions increased with a decreasing temperature. Baking of the adsorbent could also improve the desulfurization capacity and the optimum baking temperature was 423 K
View Full Text At No Charge: http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:QRxzGLXFtUIJ:scholar.google.com/+diesel+OR+gasoline+%22deep+desulfurization%22&hl=en&as_sdt=0,6&as_ylo=2011&as_yhi=2011
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The key words to take away from this post …

1) Search
2) Focus
3) Refine
4) Fine Tune

Oh, and one other key word …

5) Subscribe … to the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/), that is, for more tips on finding what you need on the Web.

It's All in the Presentation

“The mind of man is like a clock that is always running down, and requires constantly to be wound up” -- William Hazlitt (British Writer, 1778-1830)
All of us are asked, from time to time, to make a presentation of some sort.  Today’s post aims to help you get started on preparing a presentation when the clock is ticking.

When you are presenting to an audience of colleagues who are conversant with the topic, you probably already have a good framework in mind when preparing the presentation.

Other times, however, you are presenting to an audience who has, at best, only a vague notion of basic concepts of your topic.  The audience may be composed of corporate executives, laypeople, or even scientists in other fields of research.

Preparing for such an audience requires a different strategy.  I suggest that you begin with two quick sources that will provide the parameters you need to begin organizing your thoughts.

Wikipedia
Google
Wikipedia is viewed askance by many in the technical community.  Push prejudice to one side … look at Wikipedia as a good source for helping you to frame the basic concepts you wish to convey, in a way that non-experts can understand.

Pretend, for the moment, that you have been asked to present on the topic of sulfur as it affects solid oxide fuel cells.
First, visit Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/) and enter the search string “solid oxide fuel cell”

The result includes  …

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Result of Wikipedia search: “solid oxide fuel cell”
[EXCERPT]"
Introduction
“Solid oxide fuel cells are a class of fuel cell characterized by the use of a solid oxide material as the electrolyte. SOFCs use a solid oxide electrolyte to conduct negative oxygen ions from the cathode to the anode. The electrochemical oxidation of the oxygen ions with hydrogen or carbon monoxide thus occurs on the anode side. More recently, Proton Conducting SOFCs (PC-SOFC) are being developed which transport protons instead of oxygen ions through the electrolyte with the advantage of being able to be run at lower temperatures than traditional SOFCs.

“They operate at very high temperatures, typically between 500 and 1,000 °C. At these temperatures, SOFCs do not require expensive platinum catalyst material, as is currently necessary for lower temperature fuel cells such as PEMFCs, and are not vulnerable to carbon monoxide catalyst poisoning. However, vulnerability to sulfur poisoning has been widely observed and the sulfur must be removed before entering the cell through the use of adsorbent beds or other means.”///////

Second, visit Google©.  This is trickier than Wikipedia, because, as you know, you can spend days wandering in the Google desert until you stumble on that oasis of information that you can actually use.  Plus, since time is of the essence, you want to restrict results to full text.  Try this …

Google Search String tip: in the search box, enter the following search string …
sulfur "solid oxide fuel" pdf
Results will include only items that include the words sulfur and PDF, and the phrase “solid oxide fuel.”

One result, for example, is the following thesis.  Theses are excellent for this purpose.  They nearly always include a thorough discussion of the background of the thesis topic, and a sentence or two describing why the author thinks he can contribute to progress in the field.

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SULFUR-TOLERANT CATALYST FOR THE SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLA thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering

 Joe Frank Bozeman Iii (2010)Master of Science in Engineering (MSEgr), Wright State University, Renewable and Clean Energy, 2010
Abstract
JP-8 fuel is easily accessible, transportable, and has hydrogen content essential to solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operation. However, this syngas has sulfur content which results in a poisonous hydrogen sulfide that degrades electrochemical activity and causes complete SOFC failure in some cases. The goal is to synthesize and verify a cost-effective, catalyst supported on cerium oxide that either stabilizes ionic conductivity in the presence of hydrogen sulfide and/or is highly sulfur-resistant. After thorough computational analysis, it was concluded that the platinum-copper skin catalyst was the most cost-effective, sulfur-resistant catalyst. Experimental synthesis of copper, platinum, and platinum-copper skin catalysts supported on cerium oxide was verified. Further experimentation must be performed to establish the platinum-copper skin catalyst supported on cerium oxide operational affects on the SOFC system in a sulfur environment.
Full Text Available At: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi/Bozeman%20Joe%20Frank%20III.pdf?wright1276835949 ///////

So, the next time you are presented with a presentation project …

Visit Wikipedia
Explore Google (or Yahoo! or Bing) with a carefully crafted keyword search

And remember to bookmark the Desulfurization Blog (www.desulf.blogspot.com) for future time-saver tips on researching the technology of your choosing.  Better still, add a feed of the Blog to your organization’s Web.

Fueling Innovation

“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” -- Mia Hamm (American female Soccer Player. b.1972)
 
It’s good to stay on top of trends that affect your area of research.  Magazines like Hart Energy’s Fuel help you do that.  The latest issue has a number of articles that will interest desulfurization researchers.  Two of them are …

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Rare Earth Element Costs Go Sky Highby Greg Haas
Until new mines and suppliers come online mid-decade, China will remain the world’s monopoly supplier.
My view: The rising cost of rare earth could influence the direction of research in desulfurization catalysts. Some researchers will be looking for processes less reliant on rare earth elements

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Big Oil Sees the Future and It’s Renewablesby Kristie Sotolongo
Advancing the technology for next-generation renewables, from proof-of-concept to commercial reality will require major investment, a need that is being filled in part by oil giants and other industrial players.
My view: Just because it’s "renewable" doesn't mean sulfur is not an issue.  The fact that the majors are pursuing renewables suggests that they are also researching how to desulfurize renewable products

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Today’s tip … visit Hart Energy’s Fuel Web (http://www.hartfuel.com/).  There you will find a link to the current issue.

Bonus tip … alert your team members and colleagues to the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)  It specializes in providing online research tips in bite size chunks that are easy to digest that will make their lives much more pleasant.

Remember CTRL-F

“When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not.” -- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

The K.I.S.S. principle states, “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”  Now, I’m not stupid, and if you follow this blog, neither are you.  But it is easy to forget, sometimes, how some of the simplest techniques can simplify one’s life.

CTRL-F falls into the category of easily forgotten simple techniques.

For example, when searching ScienceDirect using this search string …

Solid oxide fuel cell sulfur

… you will be presented with several hundred results, even if you limit the search to the current year.

Let’s say you are in a hurry.  You want to view only those results that have the word sulfur somewhere in the little snippet that appears on the results list.

What do you do? Hit CTRL-F.  This command opens up a search box where you can type in the word sulfur.  Click “Next” to jump to each entry on the page that contains the word.   The word you seek will be highlighted in each entry.

The same technique works when you are searching patents.  For example, search Google Patents (http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en) using the same search string as above, i.e. …

Solid oxide fuel cell sulfur

The results include the following …

High Temperature Fuel Cell System and Method of Operating the Same

Inventors: Swaminathan Venkataraman, Matthias Gottmann, John Finn

Original Assignee: Bloom Energy Corporation

source: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=PlPrAQAAEBAJ&dq=solid+oxide+fuel+cell+sulfur

Now, patents are a rich source of technical information.  But finding the part of the patent that most interests you can be very time consuming.  How can you focus on those parts of the patent that pertain to sulfur?  Once again, CTRL-F to the rescue!

CTRL-F works for those PDF files that open up without the tool ribbon at the top.  Hit CTRL-F and the PDF search box opens up.

This blog is all about making it easy to find technical literature on the Web … many of the tips may be old news to you, but remember the newer member of your team.  Help them get up to speed by suggesting they follow the Desulfurization Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)

Peruse PTQ Q4

“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” -- Mark Twain (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly Quarter 4 issue is now available.  It includes a number of desulfurization related articles …
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Future of opportunity crudes processingBrett Goldhammer, Claire Weber, Patrick Christensen, Serena Yeung, Thomas Garrett and Thomas Yeung
Hydrocarbon Publishing Company

Fast turnaround for a SRU tail gas scrubberSteven Meyer and Andrea Trapet
MECS

Diesel Hydrotreating and Mild HydrocrackingAndrew Tyas, DuPont Sustainable Solutions Clean Technologies

Assessment of crude Oil BlendsVivek Rathore, Rajiv Brahma, Tushar S. Thorat, P V C Rao and N V Choudary, Bharat Petroleum Corp///////

Three tips to maximize the usefulness of PTQ …

Register with ePTQ (www.eptq.com)  to be notified when a new quarterly issue is ready for download
Scroll to the end of an article for useful biographical information
Google an author by including his/her company name in the search string

Registration (Tip #1) is free.  Benefits of registration include …

Free access to PTQ digital edition
eMail notification when a new edition of PTQ is available
Free access to the Technical Q&A forum

Biographical information on authors is available at the end of each article.  Even if you don’t read the entire article, be sure to scroll (Tip #2) to the end to see this valuable information.

For example, at the end of the following article …

FCC Catalyst optimization in response to rare earth pricesSolly Ismail, BASF Refining Catalysts
At the end of the article is this mini-bio …

Tip #3 …Google the author for more info.  When you do, remember to include the name of his/her company affiliation in the search string.  Researching the author of the following author, for example …
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Diesel hydrotreating and mild hydrocrackingAndrew Tyas
DuPont Sustainable Solutions Clean Technologies///////

Your Google search string would be: Andrew Tyas Dupont
Some of the Google results on the first page …
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Andrew Tyas - United Kingdom profiles | LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Andrew/Tyas - United KingdomCached
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Andy Tyas. Title: Regional Engineering Manager at DuPont; Demographic info: Guildford, United Kingdom | Oil & Energy. Current: Regional Engineering Manager ...

[PDF] 
Download - DuPontwww2.dupont.com/.../SEA4%20JST8%20paper%20-%20DuPont.pdfSimilar
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Carlos Cavalca(1), Tom Hightower(1), Glenn Liolios(2), Andrew Tyas(2), Nick Confuorto(3), Ronan Goff(4) and. Stuart Thomas(4). DuPont Clean Technologies ...

[PDF] 
Diesel Hydrotreating and Mild Hydrocrackingcore.theenergyexchange.co.uk/.../1450H_Andy_Tyas_-_DUPONT.p...
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File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
Andrew Tyas. Clean Technologies Regional Engineering Manager. DuPont Sustainable Solutions. Europe, Middle East and Africa. World Refining Association ...

MEPEC2011www.mepec.org/Abstracts.htmlCached
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Supply Chain Optimization. Session Co-Chairs:Abdullah Al-Enaizan (Sabic, Saudi Arabia) Andrew Tyas (DuPont, USA), Session Co-Chairs: Ahmed Al Shaikh ...

WRA World Refining Associations - Our Events - Downstream Asia 2010www.wraconferences.com/downstream-asia-2010/s4/a112/?...Cached
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Andrew Tyas, Regional Engineering Manager, DuPont Clean Technologies. 11:45. · Overview of the alternative fuels market in Asia ...///////

Today’s final tip …
Consider emailing the Desulfurization Blog link (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/) to your professional colleagues … They will appreciate you doing so.

Conference Alert: LARTC (Latin America Refining Technology Conference)

“The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” - Bill Gates (American Entrepreneur and Founder of Microsoft Co., b.1955)

Visit GTF - Global Technology Forum web (www.gtforum.com) to find upcoming conferences you and your colleagues may want to attend.  For example …
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LARTC Annual Meeting, 28-29 February 2012, Miami
We are currently working on the programme and it will be available soon. For speaking opportunities, please contact Vicki Pope at vicki.pope@gtforum.com

Global Technology Forum is delighted to announce the launch of the inaugural LARTC Annual Meeting taking place 28th - 29th February 2012 in Miami.

With 16 years of unparalleled close collaboration with the refining and petrochemical industries, GTF brings the success of their established ERTC and ARTC Annual Meetings to the region of Latin America thus providing the meeting place and platform for the Latin American downstream industry to exchange best practices and learn about the latest technical advancements in refining and petrochemicals. Attendees will include refining, technical and operational management as well as process and technical engineers.

Global Technology Forum has commissioned an advisory board, comprising of industry experts to make the paper selections for the conference. You are now invited to submit one or two original papers for this conference. Acceptance criteria will be originality and technical innovation. At this stage, the only requirements are a working title, subject area and brief description of the proposed content (typically a 200 word abstract).

Preference will be given to papers giving case histories and actual operating experience. We would be pleased to receive abstracts from supply companies that are co-authored with refining companies. Some suggested hot topics for the conference programme are as follows but are not restricted to:

Changing product specifications
ULSD and sulphur reduction technologies
Heavy crude processing and bottom of the barrel upgrading
Catalyst technologies
How to increase jet fuel and diesel production to meet the regions demand
Best practices / refiner case studies
Investments opportunities, what is driving long term strategy, new refining pirojects and joint ventures
Global downstream trends
Regulation impacts
source: http://events.gtforum.com/lartc///////

Today’s Time Saver Tip: Register to be notified of GTF sponsored events.
Bonus Tip … Feed the Desulfurization  Blog (http://www.desulf.blogspot.com/)  to your Web page for continuing online search tips to help you maximize your online research results.