Thesis--Cornell University. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 419-432).

The oil industries constitute a significant part of global economic, depending on whether the value of its output, exports or jobs created. The industry affects directly the national economy, and contributes to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Oil industries are considered the main supplier for many sectors such as industrial, transportation and so forth. On the other hand, the oil industry has faced many problems such as environmental impact, exhausts, climate change, waste, and safety; as well as customers' and employee dissatisfaction. Errors and waste in the oil industry have serious costs and consequences. Hence, a systematic methodology of quality in the oil enterprise has become an urgent necessity to minimize or eliminate waste and provide a health, safety, and environment (HS&E) performance. One of the most efficient systems of quality is the integration between Six Sigma methodology and Lean Enterprise. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has become widely used in several areas such as manufacturing, service, and health care. The research literature does not provide a framework for implementing Lean and Six Sigma in the oil industry. A systematic general framework of the LSS implementation is developed which includes eight steps - statement, leadership, committee, deployment, prioritize, implement, review, and finalize. Then, the effectiveness of the LSS methodology of solving problems that the oil industry faces was demonstrated by providing several case studies applied successfully in different areas in the oil enterprise.

More and more transient gas-liquid operations in pipes are being successfully applied in the oil and gas industry. Pigging in two-phase pipelines, to remove liquid accumulation or for cleaning purposes, is an important transient operation. Another important operation is the injection of (-)-as to transport the accumulated liquid in the pipeline to process facilities. Analysis of such transient two-phase flow in a pipeline is necessary not only for designing the liquid and gas handling facilities, but also for safe operating procedure. In pipeline-fiser system such operations cause even more severe changes in flow conditions. A two-fluid model has been developed to determine the transient behaviour of fluids during these operations. The derived one-dimensional set of equations for each flow pattern describe the flow of fluids in all regions. Semi-implicit finite difference schemes were used to solve the initial and boundary value problem for each phase of the process - gas/pig injection, gas shut-in, slug production and gas flow out of the system. An extensive experimental program has been carried out to acquire two-phase transient flow and pigging data on a 67m long, 0.0525m diameter, 9.9m high pipeline-riser system. A computer based data acquisition system has been utilised to obtain rapidly changing and detailed information of the flow behaviour during the transient tests. The model results compare well with the experimental data for characteristics such as inlet pressure, hold-up and pig velocity.

In the offshore oil and gas industry in the UK, one of the most common forms of structure is the fixed steel jacket type of offshore platform. These are highly redundant structures subject to many random or uncertain factors. In particular, they are subject to uncertainties in the load distribution through the components, and to time-varying and cyclic loads leading to deterioration through fatigue. Operators are required to ensure the integrity of these structures by carrying out periodic inspections and repairing when necessary. Decisions on inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) actions on structures involves making use of various tools and can be a complex problem. Traditionally, engineering judgement is employed to schedule inspections and deterministic analyses are used to confirm decisions. The use of structural reliability methods may lead to more rational scheduling of IRM actions. Applying structural reliability analysis to the production of rational inspection strategies, however, requires understanding the inspection procedure and making use of the appropriate information on inspection techniques. There are difficulties in collecting input data and the interpreted results need to be combined to form a rational global solution for the structure which takes into account practical constraints. The development of a knowledge base system (KBS) for reliability based inspection scheduling (RISC) provides a way of making use of complex quantitative objective analyses for scheduling. This thesis describes the development of a demonstrator RISC KBS. The general problems of knowledge representation and scheduling are discussed and schemes from Artificial Intelligence are proposed. Additionally, a system for automated inspection is described and its role in IRM of platforms is considered. A RISC System integrating suitable databases with fatigue fracture mechanics based reliability analysis within a KBS framework will enable operators to develop rational IRM scheduling strategies.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Biotechnology, Durban Institute of Technology, 2003. / Water is a precious and very valuable resource. Water resource shortages are problems that are plaguing the world. There is therefore a high demand for tightening water quality standards for both potable water and waters in the environment. It is becoming a necessity to treat and reuse wastewaters, especially wastewaters from industries, as these waters are of concern due to their toxic effects on the environment. In South Africa one of the industries of major concern is that of the edible oil industry and there are over a dozen ofthese industries in South Africa alone. Each of these industries utilises approximately 1.75 million m3 of water and discharges approximately 0.61 million m3 to the sewer each year. This wastewater that is being released has very high organic, inorganic and fats, oils and greases loads. Depending on the type of refinery process conducted on the crude oil, the effluent quality and quantity varies on a day to day basis. The two types of refinery procedures are the physical refining, where water is used or chemical refining where caustic soda is used. The organic load ofthe untreated effluent can range from 1 100 to 8 990 mg COD/L, the oils and greases can range from 80 to 1 360 mg/L and the pH can range from 1.8 to 10.5. / M

No description available.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Biotechnology, Technikon Natal, 2001. / The vegetable oil industry produces effluent containing quantities of fat, oil, sodium, phosphates as well as other pollutants. Oils and greases tend to clog sewers and pumps, thus creating difficulties within the municipal wastewater treatment works. Physico-chemical treatment methods, such as (Dissolved Air Flotation) OAF, gravity separation and the use of coagulants have been attempted providing a considerable reduction in organic loading; however, discharge standards are still not met. Thus, biological treatment methods are being sought after. Aerobic treatment has been attempted however, shock loads cause problems while running such a process. The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of anaerobic digestion to degrade Vegetable Oil Effluent (VOE) as well as the efficiency of the Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR). Anaerobic digestion involves the breakdown of organic matter by the action of microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, producing methane-rich biogas. The VOE was characterized, providing significant information on its chemical composition. It was found that the effluent had high sulphate content as well as a high COD content. High sulpahte content of wastewaters have known to promote growth of Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRB), which utilize the same energy source as Methane Producing Bacteria (MPB) and therefore compete for the same energy source. Sulphate and lipid reduction pretreatment experiments were carried out, using barium chloride and gravitational separation respectively. The results obtained, showed that the use of barium chloride to reduce sulphate content in VOE was successful, with significant sulphate reduction. The lipid reduction experiments however, did not show any significant lipid reduction. Batch tests were conducted in serum bottles to assess the extent of biodegradation of the VOE in its raw state as well as with reduced sulpahte content. Methanogenic toxicity tests on the raw and pretreated VOE provided a range of toxicity results. These assays are relatively simple and inexpensive. Gas production was monitored to determine the rate and extent of biodegradation. The efficiency of digestion was assessed by COD reduction. Results indicated potential inhibition of the methanogenic bacteria responsible for methane production by the / M

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-281). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-281). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Australian National University, 2006.