The Main Column

Unplanned shutdowns are always challenging for large industrial facilities. For decades, many energy-intensive industries have relied on costly backup generators to provide emergency power during outages. However, companies are now looking to a new, more reliable technology: microgrids.

Hydrocarbon Processing sat down with Cliff Keeler, Vice President, Business Development, SunGas Renewables, to discuss his company's $2-B Beaver Lake Renewable Energy green methanol project, as well as the use of biomass gasification as a pathway to produce clean fuels for the shipping, aviation, chemicals and industrial sectors.

This episode will outline the key benefits of real-time visibility, the technology making it possible and the trends shaping the future of chemical supply chains.

In the debut episode of the WGLC Podcast Series: Empowered to Lead, Conference Director Rachel McGhie sits down with Lauren Levicki Courville, President of Dress for Success Houston, to explore what empowerment looks like for women navigating economic independence, career growth and leadership. Lauren shares the incredible work of DFS Houston—an organization that has impacted close to 50,000 women and 65,000 children through professional development, mentorship and community support. From the first suit to sustained career advancement, she paints a vivid picture of how confidence and community are transformative forces, as well as the shared mission of DFS Houston and WGLC in advancing women’s leadership in energy and beyond. This episode is a reminder that leadership doesn’t start in the boardroom—it starts when a woman realizes she deserves a seat at the table. Learn more and register for WGLC 2025, taking place in Houston on October 28–29, at wglconference.com.

Leslie Johnson, Technical Service Manager, Crystaphase, sat down with Hydrocarbon Processing to address reactor optimization, including recognizing and addressing bed movements, and new technologies and models being used to boost reactor efficiency.

Hydrocarbon Processing sat down with Rajesh Gattupalli, President and CEO, Honeywell UOP, to discuss operational efficiency and profitability in refining and petrochemical operations. This includes various topics such as AI-driven tools that increase unit uptime and throughput, SAF production and adoption, emissions mitigation, digital tools shaping the workforce of the future, and much more.

Can a coating system eliminate corrosion under insulation (CUI)? In this episode, Neil Wilds, Global Product Director of CUI and Testing, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine, discusses how thermal coating solutions can mitigate, and possibly eliminate, CUI in operations.

In this episode, Hydrocarbon Processing spoke with Nav Sharma, Director of Product Management, Cybersecurity, Honeywell, on safeguarding assets from cyber attacks. This includes behavioral analytics and deception technologies, and what a truly proactive cyber defense system looks like in OT environments.

Hydrocarbon Processing spoke with Amy Hebert, CEO, Arcadia eFuels, regarding her organizations development of multiple eFuel plants in Europe and the U.S. In this episode, Ms. Hebert discusses the scope of these facilities, current status, technology, drop-in performance for these produce fuels, as well as her keynote address at Hydrocarbon Processing's IRPC event in early October, and much more.

In this episode, Hydrocarbon Processing spoke with Pramesh Maheshwari, President and CEO, Honeywell Process Solutions, on various aspects of the processing industry's digital transformation. This includes adoption, AI, predictive operations and maintenance, advanced process control, cybersecurity, building the digital workforce of the future, and much more.