96/02471 Thermodynamically controlled catalysis: equilibriaIn Flscher.Tropsch synthesisBell, M. C. Can. Metall. Q., 1995, 34, (4), 331-34l.Previous treatments of the thermodynamic equilibria in Fischer-Tropschsynthesis have ignored the thermodynamic properties of the catalyst. Whenthe assumption is made that the metal is the catalyst, the oxidation state ofthe gas is fixed at the PcozlPco ratio, at which the metal catalyst oxidizes.Thermodynamic equilibria show that only cobalt and iron have PCQl to Pcoratios, required to maintain the catalyst element as metal, that permit longerchain hydrocarbons to form.

96/02472 Understanding catalysis at the molecular level:Challenges and perspectivesBell, a. T. Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., 1995, 92, 63·72.Discusses the impact of advances in the molecular understanding of cata­lyst structure and structure-property relationships in three areas: Fischer­Tropsch synthesis, selective catalytic reduction of NO, and zeolite synthe­sis. In each case, it is shown that the development of novel catalysts can beguided by using knowledge gained at a fundamental level.

96/02473 Zr promotion of Co/Si0 2 for Flscher-TropschsynthesisAli, S. et al., J. Catal., 1995, 157, (1), 35-41.The paper reports on an investigation of the influence of Zr promotion of20 wt% Co/SjO, on ITS using catalysts prepared in different ways andhaving different loadings of Zr (up to 8.5 wt%).

Economics, Business, Marketing, Policy

96/02474 Accounting and taxation Implications of oil fut uresand options contractsMuir, P. and Gadd, F. Petroleum Review, Dec. 1995, 49, (587), 543-545.Discusses the rapid development and complexity of futures and optionscontracts (and derivatives generally) has, in most cases, left regulatory,accounting and tax treatments lagging behnind.

96/02475 Argentina - Privatisation gives a new lease of li feCranfield, J. Petroleum Review, Dec. 1995, 49, (587), 564-566.The author discusses the oil and gas industry in Argentina.

96/02476 ASCo forges new linksOffshore Engineer. Dec. 1995, 30-31.

Reports that North Sea operators and their suppliers are radically rethink­ing their supply chain business strategies in the wake of rapid changes intechnology and a shift towards process innovation.

96/02477 Broader business horizonsMorgan, D. Offshore Engineer, Dec. 1995, p. 43.A short report on the Stolt organisation in Aberdeen.

96/02478 End to restrictive pract ices in lubricant salesReader, C. Petroleum Review, Dec. 1995, 49, (587), p. 562.The short article discusses the new European Commission Regulation oncar distribution which has been welcomedby lubricant suppliers, in partic­ular by the European Union of Independent Lubricant Manufacturers.

96/02479 Law of December 31, 1992: Pseudo-Reform of thePetroleum SystemBroussolle, Y. Revue de l 'Energie, Jan. 1996, (1), 39-49. (In French)In keeping with the Communities policy requirements, the French legisla­tive body undertook to reform and liberalize the legal framework that hadso long dominated the country's petroleum import sector in the spirit ofstrong government intervention. It seems, though, that the law of Decem­ber 31,1992, does not thoroughly reform the French petroleum syrern, butrather does no more than confirm and complement a regulation-drivenliberalization process that was begun in the seventies under the terms of thelaw of March 30, 1928. This is so because this law granted major discre­tionary powers to the executive branch, by allowing the government toapply greater or lesser restrictions to free enterprise by decreasing thecontent of the authorized imports.

96/02480 The PETA training allianceJackson, K. Petroleum Review, Dec. 1995, 49, (587), 558-560.Discusses how the momentum of political upheaval across the globe inrecent years and the implementation of restructuring, privatization and der­egulation programmes has led to the creation of worldwide demand forpetroleum education and training as companies strive to meet the demandsfor today's safety, quality and cost-conscious international market-place.The new group, known as The Petroleum Education and Training Alliance(PETA), was forged in April 1995 in order to meet the challenge.

02 Liquid fuels (derived Jjquid fuels)

96/02481 Petroleum measurement manual part XVII : Guide tohydrocarbon loss accounting and control In petroleum refineryoperationsInstitute of Petroleum, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Boffins Lane, Chichester,Wesl Sussex, POl 9 iUD, UK, £40.00, Oct. 1995, 34pp.The guide provides a summary of procedures that are regarded as 'goodpractice' by representatives of the UK oil industry. The outcome of acooperative programmeby the UK oil refineries, this publication is uniquein offering refinery loss controllers procedures that can account for, iden­tify and reduce losses appropriate to their refinery's configuration. It pro­vides a systematic loss accounting system which will generate data thatenable, firstly, refinery loss objectives to be set and monitored and sec­ondly, meaningful inter-refinery comparisons of losses to be made. Theguide draws attention to potential sources of refinery loss and describesways in which they may be controlled.

96/02482 Switching codesOffshore Engineer, Dec. 1995, p. 29.

Reports that the flow of senior oil company engineers into key positionswith North Sea contracting organisations has gathered pace in recentmonths. Among the latest to switch codes is Robin Pinchbeck who wasBP's technology director before joining Aberdeen-based Atlantic Powerand Gas as managing director. Discusses the challenges facing Pinchbeck.

96/02483 Technical, economical, and ecolog ical characteris­tics of methanol application as a fuel for internal combustionenginesZvonov, V. A. et al., Ekotekhnol. Resursosberezhenie, 1995, (4), 11-18.(In Russian)Presents the properties of MeOH and the prospects of using MeOH ininternal-combustion engines, with emphasis on technology, economics,and emissions,

96/02484 Thriving in the parkMorgan, D. Offshore Engineer, Dec. 1995, p. 25.The author discusses the offshore industry in the Grampian and NortheastScotland region.

Deri ved Liquid Fuels

96/02485 The aryl ether bond reactions with H-donor sol-vents : guaiacol and tetralin in the presence of catalystsAfifi, A. I. et al., Fuel, Mar. 1996, 75, (4), 509-516.The effect of homogenous catalysis, Fe and Ru, on the conversion ofguaiacol in tetralin to catechol and phenol has been investigated as a modelfor the behaviour of the aryl-oxy linkage that is found in wood, peat andyounger coals. In the absence of catalyst and at low ratios of guaiacol totetralin, the primary product is catechol. Kinetic analysis has confirmedthat the rate constant for this primary and rate determiningstep is given byan Arrhenius pre-exponential factor of 1013

.8S·

l with an activation energy of215 klmol' . The activation energy found is in good agreement with thoseof other investigators and lies between the values proposed for homolyticfission (>240kJmol,1and for a concerted or pericyclic reaction (188 klmol1).

96/02486 Blosolubilizat ion of coal: A future approachMiki, K. Shigen 10 Kankyo , 1995,4, (3), 191-195. (In Japanese)The paper discusses non-oxidative biosolubilization of coal for potentialapplication to production of non-polar coal liquid fuels. Reductiveenzymes were shown to bring about carbon-carbon bond scission of thestructure of coal and to yield volatile materials as products.

96/02487 Catalyst performance in resld containing recyclesolventsAnderson, R. K. et al., Fuel Process. Technol., 1995, 45, (2), 109-122.A number of problems were encountered in evaluating catalyst perform­ance in full-range liquefaction recycle solvents containing sizable amountsof resid, unconverted coal and ash. In a liquefaction plant in which onlydistillate products are produced, resid is recycled to extinction. In such aconfiguration the feed to the plant will contain a distillate to coal ratio ofless than one with the remaining portion of the solvent made up of residualmaterial having reduced donor capacity.

96/02488 Coal liquefaction using atomically dispersedmetalsReynolds, S. D. et al., (Assigned to) Exxon Research & EngineeringCo.,US Pat. US.5,454,934, O CI. 1995.Solid carbonaceous materials are converted to liquid products by first treat­ing the solid carbonaceous material with a aqueous composition of a metalcarbonate or bicarbonate. This results in the metal being atomically dis­persed in the carbonaceous material. The carbonaceous material is thensubjected to liquefaction conditions.

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