Beyond Wet Cooling Towers: Geothermal Strategies to Improve Refinery Efficiency
101 Series, Sustainability
Refineries face critical challenges in heat management and water conservation, with aging infrastructure and increasing regulatory pressures. Traditional wet cooling towers are becoming increasingly unsustainable, presenting an urgent need for innovative cooling solutions. This presentation explores geothermal technologies as a transformative approach to addressing refineries' cooling and energy efficiency challenges. Modern refineries typically operate with billion BTUs of excess heat, representing a significant opportunity for energy optimization. Geothermal cooling strategies offer multiple benefits, including substantial water savings, reduced energy consumption, and potential for waste heat monetization. By leveraging absorption chillers, thermal energy networks, and advanced heat exchange technologies, refineries can unlock new economic and environmental efficiencies.
Key discussion points will include:
- Quantifying waste heat potential in refinery operations
- Geothermal cooling technologies for process units
- Water scarcity mitigation strategies
- Economic benefits of thermal energy network implementation
- Case studies demonstrating successful heat management interventions
- This presentation provides process engineers and executive leadership a comprehensive overview of geothermal cooling's potential to revolutionize refinery thermal management, offering a pragmatic pathway to improved operational sustainability.
Moderator:
Alex Bruns, Nalco Water
Presenter:
Jay Egg, Egg Geo LLC
Mimi Egg, Egg Geo LLC
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Breakfast in the HUB
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Registration
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Contractor Panel: Attracting and Keeping Young Engineers in Hard Crafts — Pt. 1
Maintenance
Facilitator:
Andy Woods, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
Speakers:
Jim Griffin, San Jacinto College
Ferril Onyett, BrandSafway
Brian Novicki, Valero Energy Corporation
Will the energy industry have enough operating and design & construction personnel to operate and maintain existing assets and build and operate the infrastructure planned for the future? How can we address the changing needs of the generation about to enter the workforce? Are companies adopting and implementing advanced technologies to enhance safety, quality, and efficiency on each jobsite?
The panel, consisting of owners, EPCs, academia, and construction workforce training and development experts, will discuss how we can develop, engage, train and sustain enough personnel to meet the projected energy and infrastructure needs across the country.
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Topic
Crude/Coking Q&A — Pt. 1
Crude, Coking
Review and answer submitted questions with a select panel of experts questions regarding crudes/coking.
Moderators:
Hector Gamboa-Arizpe, CITGO Petroleum Corporation
Jacob Young, Petroval S.A.
Panelists:
Mark Cox, Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Gary Gianzon, Becht
Kamur Bantwal Rama, HF Sinclair Corporation
Graylon Williams, Nalco Energy Services
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