ptq

Q3 2017

PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY

REFINING
GAS PROCESSING
PETROCHEMICALS

SPECIAL FEATURES

PROCESS OPTIMISATION & CONTROL

ROTATING EQUIPMENT & FLUID FLOW

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 ptq
PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY
3


5

15


An Indian summer
Chris Cunningham

ptq&a

Troubleshooting crude column constraints

Jill Brown Burns, Kristen Becht and Brandt Mueller
Valero Energy

27 Olefins and butanes to gasoline

Arvids Judzis Jr, Romain Lemoine, Jackie Medina and Stephen D Williams
Q3 (Jul, Aug, Sep) 2017 CB&I
www.eptq.com
37 Optimising the health of rotating equipment
Martin Turk Schneider Electric

43 APC in a mild hydrocracker fractionator

Arnold Kleine Bning Bayernoil
Stephen Finlayson AMT
Y Zak Friedman Petrocontrol

53 Crude fingerprinting and predictive analytics
Conrad Teran GE Water & Process Technologies

65 Higher margin from the bottom of the barrel

Victor Scalco General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems

71 Best practice desalting

Part 1: crude flexibility window
Brad Mason Nalco Champion

77 Leveraging hydrocracking to upgrade low value streams

Adrienne Van Kooperen
Criterion Catalysts & Technologies/Zeolyst International

89 FCC product fractionation for maximum LCO

Phillip Niccum, William McDaniel and Howard Pollicoff
KP Engineering

99 Modelling the processing of gasifier feed

Ankit A Jain and Ajay Gupta Reliance Industries Limited

103 Improving FCC unit profitability

Stelios Kyriakou, Costas Plellis-Tsaltakis and Dimitrios Gkanis
Hellenic Petroleum S.A.
Emmanuel Smaragdis, Matthias Scherer and Daniel McQueen
W.R. Grace

109 Controlling the hydrocarbon dew point of pipeline gas

Saeid Mokhatab Gas Processing Consultant
Scott Northrop ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
Michael Mitariten Air Liquide

119 Modelling catalytic naphtha reforming

Reza Seif Mohaddecy and Sepehr Sadighi
Research Institute of Petroleum Industry
Ershad Amini University of Tehran

127 Technology in Action

Cover
High pressure section of the hydrocracking unit at Galp Energias Sines refinery, Portugal

Photo: Galp Energia

2017. The entire content of this publication is protected by copyright full details of which are available from the publishers. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
The opinions and views expressed by the authors in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher and while every care
has been taken in the preparation of all material included in Petroleum Technology Quarterly and its supplements the publisher cannot be held
responsible for any statements, opinions or views or for any inaccuracies.

ed com copy 14.indd 1 15/06/2017 13:58

 You deserve
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is a top priority, youve come to the right place.

Thats because with its continuing record of success, Albemarles

ACTION is the only commercially proven FCC catalyst to maximize
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our exceptional portfolio of products and services, call
REFINING SOLUTIONS +1 281 480 4747 or visit www.albemarle.com.
24 ALBEMARLE CATALYST COURIER ISSUE 86

courier_86_v8.indd
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14/06/2017 11:50 10:56
 ptqPETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY
An Indian summer

Vol 22 No 4
Q3 (Jul, Aug, Sep) 2017

W
ith Indias own international refining conference, PTQs sister
Editor event Refining India, approaching its fifth run-out at the end of this
Chris Cunningham northern summer,* this is an opportune moment to review some of
editor@petroleumtechnology.com the challenges to be discussed by international technology suppliers and the
nations refiners at the event.
Production Editor Last year, Indias government took its next big step towards lowering emis-
Rachel Storry
production@petroleumtechnology.com
sions from road vehicles with the decision to implement the Bharat Stage VI
(BS-VI) standard by April 2020. The standard is based on Euro VI and calls for
Graphics Editor a 68% reduction in NOx emissions from diesel engines, along with a limit of
Rob Fris 4.5 mg/km of particulate matter emissions in engines with direct fuel injection.
graphics@petroleumtechnology.com By 2023, BS-VI will demand that a particulates limit applies to diesel engines.
In addition, vehicles will need to improve their fuel efficiencies, for instance a
Editorial vehicle weighing around a tonne will have to improve its efficiency from a cur-
tel +44 844 5888 773
fax +44 844 5888 667
rent 18 km/l of fuel to 22 km/l by 2022.
For petroleum refiners, the chief requirement of BS-VI is to bring sulphur lev-
Business Development Director els in road fuels and lubes down to an ultra-low 10 ppm level. Given Indias
Paul Mason heavy dependence on oil imports and the governments determination to rely
sales@petroleumtechnology.com more on domestic crude production, refiners face the challenges of achiev-
ing target contaminant levels whilst processing a highly variable slate of feed-
Advertising Sales Office stocks, much of it heavy and/or sour.
tel +44 844 5888 771
fax +44 844 5888 662
However, the technical burden of BS-VI falls chiefly on vehicle manufacturers
who will need to deliver the power trains, injection systems, particulate traps
Publisher and the rest to make their production lines legal in the coming decade.
Nic Allen Talking of vehicle performance, it is worth noting that the new fuel standard
publisher@petroleumtechnology.com follows a selection of more incremental measures introduced to combat severe
levels of pollution in Indias major urban centres.
Circulation
An interesting case in point arose with the introduction of the current stan-
Jacki Watts
Louise Shaw
dard, BS-IV. A V is missing from the planned sequence because the govern-
circulation@petroleumtechnology.com ment decided on a leap forward on standards to further overcome the emer-
gency of heavily polluted cities. In its turn, and in proper sequence, BS-IV
Crambeth Allen Publishing Ltd replaced the much more polluting BS-III. To expedite the introduction of the IV
Hopesay, Craven Arms SY7 8HD, UK standard, Indias Supreme Court slapped a ban on the sale and registration of
tel +44 844 5888 776 BS-III compliant vehicles from April this year. The issue here for vehicle man-
fax +44 844 5888 667
ufacturers is that the ruling has left behind a large stock of unsaleable vehicles.
In a spirit of no problem unsolved, a government policy think tank, the
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI), believes that blending meth-
PTQ (Petroleum Technology Quarterly) (ISSN anol with more conventional fuel can enable BS-III vehicles to become BS-IV
No: 1632-363X, USPS No: 014-781) is published
quarterly plus annual Catalysis edition by Crambeth compliant as well as help to reduce the nations reliance on crude imports.
Allen Publishing Ltd and is distributed in the US The business model that NITI is working towards has a couple of key issues
by SP/Asendia, 17B South Middlesex Avenue,
Monroe NJ 08831. Periodicals postage paid at New to resolve: the development of a conversion kit that will enable those stranded
Brunswick, NJ. Postmaster: send address changes to BS-III vehicles to take to the road; and the creation of a domestic methanol
PTQ (Petroleum Technology Quarterly), 17B South
Middlesex Avenue, Monroe NJ 08831. industry capable of meeting hefty and (if the organisations ambitions are
Back numbers available from the Publisher achieved) potentially enormous production targets.
at $30 per copy inc postage.

CHRIS CUNNINGHAM

*Refining India 2017, 18/19 September, Lalit Hotel, New Delhi,

www.refiningindia.com

PTQ Q3 2017 3

ed com copy 14.indd 2 12/06/2017 17:30

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 ptq&a
Q What quality factors should we employ for recycle water
from the second stage of our desalter?
A Mike Dion Global COE Leader, Refinery Process
Separation, GE Water & Process Technologies, Michael.Dion@
ge.com
The inter-stage wash water (second stage effluent brine
to first stage desalter) should contain typical contami-
nants such as solids and salts removed from the crude
oil. It should be kept oil free to prevent recycling of sur-
factants into the first stage desalter.
If pH modification is employed at the desalters to
enhance the extraction of tramp amines, the acid prod-
uct should be injected into both stages to facilitate
the extraction of amines from the raw crude and the
desalter wash water. If pH is not controlled in the sec-
ond stage desalter, a situation may occur where tramp
amines in the wash water to the second stage partition
back into the desalted crude and return to the fraction-
ator, cycling up the amine concentration in the overhead
and increasing the amine salt point temperature. (Note:
desalter wash water usually contains atmospheric and
vacuum overhead condensate as is or routed through a
sour water stripper. Sour water strippers effectively strip
ammonia but may not appreciably strip other amines
from the water.)
If recycle is utilising a portion of the second stage
effluent brine as wash water to the second stage, then
the percent recycle is preferred to be less than 50% of the
total wash water to the second stage. This will minimise
the potential concentrating up of emulsifying solids and
surfactants. The second stage effluent brine should be
acid to reduce recycling of tramp amines from overhead
condensates if salt fouling of overheads is a concern.
A Berthold Otzisk, Senior Product Manager Process
Chemicals, Kurita Europe, berthold.otzisk@kurita.eu
When recycle water from the second desalter stage is
used as wash water for the first stage (interstage recy-
cling), the wash water quality should have a low enough
salt concentration. Suspended solids, iron sulphide and
coke particles are surfactants that can stabilise the tem-
porary emulsion phase, which is formed after mixing of
the crude oil with wash water. This is a situation which
should be avoided. If the recycle water from the second
stage contains mud-wash solids and interface sludge
there is a higher risk that a very stable emulsion phase
will be formed, which cannot be broken.
The recycle water should contain <180 ppm ammo-
nia, < 1 ppm fluorides and <0.02 ppm oxygen. The opti-
mum wash water pH is in the range between 6.5 and
Additional Q&A can be found at www.eptq.com/QandA
www.eptq.com
Q&A copy 24.indd 1
8.5. A lower pH might increase the corrosion potential in
the desalter vessel while a higher pH could lead to an
increased emulsion stability.
A Vivek Srinivasan, Assistant Manager, Technical Services,
Dorf Ketal Chemicals, viveks@dorfketal.com
Recycling desalter effluent brine from the second stage
is a common practice to fulfill the minimum require-
ment of wash water and also to reduce the fresh water
addition to each stage. Two important quality factors are
oil and grease (O&G) and total suspended solids (TSS),
which can impact the oil-water separation in the first
stage. Based on industry practice and experience, one
should not recycle second stage brine water if the O&G
and TSS are more than 200 ppm.
Q We are encountering problems with erosion in our FCC
reactor cyclone. Is this a catalyst flow problem?
A Jayden Yin, Rezel Catalysts Corporation, Oversea
Marketing Director, jayden.yin@rezel.com.cn and Junjun
Chai, Rezel Catalysts Corporation, Technical Service Manager,
chaijunjun@rezel.com.cn
The typical range of catalyst properties has little, if any,
effect on the rate of cyclone erosion. Changes in the
rate of erosion can usually be traced back to changes in
feed rate, and therefore catalyst circulation rate. In other
words, the rate of erosion is related to cyclone loading.
For example, older units that are operating well beyond
their design rate typically experience increased erosion
and, therefore, require more frequent maintenance or
replacement.
Cyclone erosion issues are usually indicated by
increased catalyst losses, which are usually observed
as an increase in slurry solids or a shift in the particle
size of the recovered solids. As mentioned before, dip-
leg plugging, while it can impact catalyst losses, also
severely impacts catalyst circulation.
Conclusion: cyclone erosion is usually related to
catalyst loading. Reactor cyclone erosion can lead to
increased catalyst losses, resulting in an increase in
slurry solids and additional operating problems such
as slurry circuit fouling and increased slurry circuit
erosion.
We would conclude that the selection and proper
installation of refractory is critical to the efficient oper-
ation of the cyclones and normal catalyst flow. And
we would conclude that uneven catalyst flow caused
by irregularities in, for example, refractory lining can
lead to increased catalyst losses and catalyst circulation
PTQ Q3 2017 5
09/06/2017 14:33
 issues. Whereas historical evidence suggests that normal
erosion is related to cyclone loading.
Q Our jet fuel draw-off is regularly plugged. Solutions?
A Tatiana Barbosa Product Application Manager Refineries
and Petrochemicals LAM, GE Water & Process Technologies,
Tatiana.Barbosa@ge.com
We have seen jet fuel draw plug by salt deposition
caused by excess of H2S scavengers from the crude
source or high salt content in desalted crudes or tramp
amines circulation.
Solutions can be specifics (salt dispersant antifouling
in the jet fuel region) or general (amine removal in the
desalter) and tramp amine balance monitoring.
The second cause of plug in jet fuel draw is organic
materials. The organic deposits have been caused by the
recycle stream from slop tanks with cracked products
from the UFCC/coker unit.
Solutions are no recycle or online cleaning.
Antifoulants can be applied as a preventive treatment.
A Celso Pajaro, Head Engineered Solutions Refinery AME,
Sulzer Chemtech, celso.pajaro@sulzer.com
First, you need to determine what is plugging the noz-
zle. Most likely, it is either corrosion products or salt
deposits. Once you have an idea what the solids are,
you have a better chance of mitigating their formation.
Regardless of fouling material, it is important to review
the column internals associated with the nozzle. Does
the internal allow for solids accumulation? Is there a
slope that directs liquid and solids to the nozzle? If the
internal allows solids to accumulate, a sudden change in
operating conditions can move the solids to the nozzle.
It is important to design the internal so solids and liquid
can continuously move through the internal and nozzle.
Draw-off nozzles and associated piping must also be
designed for free draining with no pockets.
A Vivek Srinivasan, Asst. Manager, Technical Services, Dorf
Ketal Chemicals, viveks@dorfketal.com
The chief reasons for jet fuel draw-off tray or nozzle
plugging are:
When the crude tower overhead is operated at lower
temperatures to maximise the jet fuel make, there could
be an increased potential for amine and ammonium
chloride salt deposition on the jet fuel draw-off tray and
nozzles. Tramp amines in the crude and excessive neu-
traliser usage in the tower overhead can contribute to
the salting potential.
Jet fuel tray plugging could also be due to volatile
phosphorus in the crude tower, either from phosphorus
based chemistries from upstream in the crude or from
crude tower high temperature corrosion applications.
Thermal instability of some phosphorus based chemis-
tries can lead to fouling and are experienced mainly in
the jet fuel section.
Root cause analysis is the key in determining the
source of the tray plugging and defining an effective
solution. It is necessary to conduct detailed analysis of
6 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com
Q&A copy 24.indd 2
the plugged material to identify the precursor. Some of
the strategies to overcome the above mentioned root
cause are:
Dorf Ketals proprietary Reactive Adjunct aid helps
overcome ammonia and tramp amine partitioning to
desalted crude. Use of sophisticated Ionic Equilibrium
Model (IEM) for mapping the amine and ammonia cycle
will help monitor the potential for salt deposition and
probable locations.
When treating the column for high acid corrosion, it
is important to select and correctly apply the most ther-
mally stable chemistry with the lowest phosphorus
content. Dorf Ketals Tanscient products are low phos-
phorus, thermally stable, high temperature chemistries
that achieve better corrosion protection with minimal
potential for phosphorus fouling at any point in the
crude tower.
Q Our FCC main fractionator is not delivering the correct
naphtha end point spec. What can be the cause of this?
A Celso Pajaro, Head Engineered Solutions Refinery AME,
Sulzer Chemtech, celso.pajaro@sulzer.com
It is not clear if the end point is above or below the spec.
Not achieving the end point indicates a fractionation
problem; this can be caused either by the column inter-
nals or lack of reflux.
Possible problems created by column internals (either
trays or packing) could likely be flooding or plugging
due to salt deposition. A single gauge pressure survey
should help identify if there are problems with the inter-
nals. If the results of the pressure survey are more than
10-20% above the expected pressure drop, then there is
likely an issue with the column internals or associated
flow meters.
Heat removal profile
Section Total heat removal, %
Slurry 20-40
HCO 8-30
LCO 5-25
Heavy naphtha 0-10
Top pumparound 15-40 (balance)
Table 1
The FCC main fractionator can have a low reflux
rate due to high heat removal in the slurry section. An
energy balance should be done around the column
to identify how much heat is removed in each section.
Table 1 provides general guidelines on expected heat
removal.
A reduction in the heat removal at the slurry section
will increase reflux and naphtha fractionation.
A Mike Hong Technical Director, North Asia, Chemical and
Monitoring Solutions (CMS), GE Water & Process Technologies,
Michael.Hong@ge.com
One of the causes could be fouling in the slurry loop
at the bottom of the main fractionator. The fouling
09/06/2017 14:33
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 reduces the heat transfer. Consequently, the heat from
the FCC unit could not be dissipated in an effective
way through the heat exchangers (preheaters, waste heat
boilers, and so on) in the slurry loop.
Q What type of catalyst would you recommend for
processing deasphalted oil in our hydrocracker?
A Jacinthe Frecon, Technology Group Manager, Axens,
Jacinthe.FRECON@axens.net
DAO quality
The quality of DAO is primarily a function of the vac-
uum residue properties, SDA solvent, and SDA oper-
ation. Heavier, more aromatic crudes tend to contain
more sulphur, nitrogen, CCR, metals, and asphaltenes;
consequently, DAO produced from these crudes will
comparably contain more heteroatoms than lighter
crudes.
The composition of vacuum residue can be described
in four distinct fractions: saturates, aromatics, resins, and
asphaltenes. Assuming proper design and operation of
the SDA unit, the asphaltene fraction should be mostly
rejected with the pitch in the extractor regardless of the
solvent composition (down to the ppm range), and the
saturates will be mainly extracted with the DAO. This
leaves the aromatics and resins as the fractions most
affected by the type of solvent and operation of the
SDA unit. Heavier solvents achieve higher DAO lift by
extracting more of the aromatic and resin phase while
lighter solvents extract mainly saturates while rejecting
much of the aromatic and resin molecules with the pitch.
Figure 1 summarises this relationship for an Arabian
Light residue.
Table 1 summarises DAO contaminants as a function
of SDA solvent for a fixed crude VR.
DAO hydrocracking catalytic solutions
Looking to Table 1, the first challenge is to cope with
higher level of contaminants (metals, asphaltenes, CCR)
and inhibitors (polyaromatics, nitrogen-containing
organic molecules) compared to VGO feed which are
usually processed.
In order to answer that challenge, the solution is to
combine specific grading with scale traps, metals traps
and stack bed catalyst loading, enabling a gradient of
hydrotreating activity. For instance, after demet cata-
100
Saturates
90
Aromatics
80
70
Resins
Asphaltenes
SARA, wt%
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
VGO C3 DAO C4 DAO C5 DAO VR
Figure 1 SARA analysis for various SDA solvents
8 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com
Q&A copy 24.indd 3
Deasphalted oil contaminant levels as a function of
SDA solvent
VR feed C3 DAO C4 DAO C5 DAO
DAO lift, wt% - 30 61 78
Properties
SPGR 1.018 0.938 0.969 0.987
S, wt% 5.5 3.2 4.2 4.7
Ni+V, wppm 126 5 24 48
CCR, wt% 18.1 1.9 6.6 8.9
C7 asph., wt% 6.2 <0.05 <0.05 <0.05
Table 1
lyst, metal tolerant hydrotreating catalyst with medium
activity is loaded before going to pure hydrotreating
catalyst.
The second challenge is to perform a deep hydrotreat-
ment of the large molecules (including polyaromatics),
to maximise denitrification and aromatic saturation
before feeding cracking catalyst.
Indeed, due to the large presence of polyaromatics in
DAO cut, hydrotreating and hydrocracking catalysts
will need a high hydrogenation function to transform
these molecules.
The third challenge is to crack those large molecules.
Optimisation of the acid phase in hydrocracking cat-
alysts was implemented for DAO feed to improve dif-
fusion of bulky molecules to the active acid site of the
zeolite:
1) The dispersion of zeolite crystals into the meso-
porous binder is optimised, avoiding agglomerates of
crystals and thus maximising access of DAO molecules
to the zeolite.
2) The mesoporosity of the zeolite is also optimised to
allow molecules to access active sites via mesoporosity
to microporosity where acid sites are mainly located.
The mesoporosity is also well connected to the external
surface to favour desorption of cracked products.
A Michael T Schmidt, Product Manager, Haldor Topsoe,
mtp@topsoe.com
Co-processing deasphalted oil (DAO) in a hydrocracker
or FCC unit is a well-known and effective approach to
upgrade the low quality DAO to valuable transporta-
tion fuel.
The nature of DAO makes it very rich in coke precur-
sors (such as aromatic nitrogen species) and catalyst
poisons like nickel, vanadium, and arsenic. These prop-
erties of the DAO makes it tough for hydrotreating cat-
alysts and will always imply higher deactivation of the
catalysts in the pretreatment section of the hydrocracker
or FCC pretreater.
In order to balance the benefits of upgrading DAO
with the drawbacks in hydrocracker or FCC unit per-
formance, it is important to choose the right type of
catalysts in the pretreatment sections. Obviously it is
required to install hydrodemetallisation (HDM) cata-
lysts in order to handle the impurities found in DAO.
Haldor Topsoe has long experience with DAO pro-
cessing and commands a catalyst portfolio broad
enough to tailor catalyst loadings suitable for all DAO
15/06/2017 12:12
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 qualities and blend ratios. The type of catalysts required
include different high-void shapes (rings and extru-
dates) to work around potential pressure drop prob-
lems. For the needed demetallisation it is key to load
alumina based catalysts with the right porosity. This
includes a focus on the pore size, the available pore vol-
ume and the HDM activity of the catalysts. Products
from Haldor Topsoe in this segment include TK-453,
TK-455 and TK-743. These all have proven efficiency in
trapping catalyst contaminants from DAO streams due
to their high HDM activity and capacity for storing the
metals.
Finally, it is always important to let the catalyst ven-
dor evaluate the quality of the DAO before deciding on
the right DAO approach.
Q Is there a catalyst solution, rather than significant process
changes, that enables a simple switch from diesel to gasoline
make (and vice versa) in our hydrocracker?
A Jens A Hansen, Principal Research Engineer, Haldor Topsoe
A/S, jah@topsoe.com
A change from a hydrocracking catalyst for diesel pro-
duction to a hydrocracking catalyst for gasoline pro-
duction will in general call for the use of a more active
hydrocracking catalyst, since a more active catalyst will
have a higher selectivity towards the production of gas-
oline. The use of a gasoline selective hydrocracking cat-
alyst will result in a higher hydrogen consumption and
will therefore also give higher temperature exotherms
in the catalyst beds holding the hydrocracking cata-
lyst. Additional hydrogen should be available both for
make-up and quenching purposes.
From a safety point of view, the use of a more active
hydrocracking catalyst will limit the maximum allow-
able temperature rise more than the use of a less active
hydrocracking catalyst. This is due to the fact that a
more active catalyst will have the more pronounced
inherent tendency of a temperature run-away. It should
be studied in detail whether the reactor is designed to
accommodate the use of a more active hydrocrack-
ing catalyst. This study should also include a check of
whether the reactor internals are able to handle a dif-
ferent product distribution as well as a check of the gas
to oil ratio. It may be necessary to install new internals
and additional catalyst beds and to update the reactor
temperature monitoring system, the trip system, and
the emergency depressurising system. The change in
product slate from less diesel boiling material to more
gasoline boiling material will impact the operation of
the fractionation section. It may be a challenge to sep-
arate an increased amount of gasoline product from the
LPG without performing any modifications to the prod-
uct separation section. Simulations should be carried
out in order to evaluate whether the column designs
can accommodate this change in product distribution,
and whether any design changes are necessary.
To summarise the above, a catalyst solution without
significant process changes will be an option provided
that the unit is designed to handle the higher reactor
www.eptq.com
Q&A copy 24.indd 4
temperature exotherms, and that the fractionation sec-
tion can process a different product distribution. We
would suggest that a study is carried out to determine
how much room is available for the use of a more active
hydrocracking catalyst and how much more gasoline
the fractionation system can handle. Once this is clar-
ified, a catalyst solution giving more gasoline can be
identified.
A change from production of gasoline to production
of diesel will put less burden on the reactor. The use
of a less active hydrocracking catalyst will reduce the
cycle length, since a higher reactor temperature will be
required to reach the same degree of conversion. Less
gasoline and LPG may negatively impact the operation
of the fractionation section, and the fractionation col-
umns should be cleared for operation with less vapour
traffic to ensure that sufficient stripping is available and
that no weeping takes place.
Q Heater fouling is a problem in our delayed coker. Which
feed contaminants are likely causes and how should we
pretreat feed to avoid the problem?
A Berthold Otzisk, Senior Product Manager Process
Chemicals, Kurita Europe, berthold.otzisk@kurita.eu
There are several influencing factors like mechanical
installation and operation or feedstock quality issues
that can lead to fouling problems. The coke drum
should be operated as hot as possible, which requires
a high heater outlet temperature but accelerates coke
fouling in the heater tubes. Steam is added to the
heater to reduce coke fouling in the lower radiant sec-
tion. About 1-2 wt% steam to the heater feed is common
and more steam is always better, but too much steam
can increase the delta pressure and may cause solids
carry-over from the drum.
Fouling components in the feedstock like inorgan-
ics, asphaltenes, maltenes or heavy metals acceler-
ate the formation of a coke layer in the heater tubes.
Asphaltenes and maltenes are destabilised, where the
natural resin is thermally removed and coke is formed,
which precipitates. Dissolved iron like FeS or soluble
organic iron species such as iron naphthenates or iron
carboxylates in the feed will decompose at high tem-
perature, >300-380C, in the furnace by forming iron
salt deposits, which can block the tubes.
A reduction of inorganics and heavy metals will
decrease the fouling potential. Antifoulant programs
with dispersants, metal deactivators and coke suppres-
sants can help to decrease the decoking frequency with
an increased tube life and improved fuel consumption.
A Marco Roncato, Senior Product Manager Process
Development & Marketing, Chimec, process@chimec.it
The fouling affecting a cracking furnace (and delayed
coking is no exception) is mainly organic coke deriv-
ing from destabilisation and dehydrogenation of
asphaltenes and partly inorganic sediment depos-
its, sand, corrosion products, salts and sulphide
compounds.
PTQ Q3 2017 11
09/06/2017 14:34
 During the thermal cracking process, the main effects
on the feed are:
Cracking of branched molecules
Aromatic molecules condensation (asphaltenes
formation)
Resins decomposition (paraffins-resins-asphaltenes
system damaged).
This means that coke formation in heater tubes is trig-
gered by the high temperature which destroys the res-
ins; therefore the asphaltenes are destabilised and they
become less soluble in the bulk fluid.
Destabilised asphaltenes micelles tend to aggregate
and to form bigger agglomerates that can adhere to the
metal of the coil.
They lose hydrogen forming hard coke: naked metal
is well known as a dehydrogenation catalyst, hence
immediately after decoking this trend is faster.
Also the metal ions present in the feed, especially
sodium, promote dehydrogenation phenomena.
These being the fouling root causes, to improve fur-
nace performance the following measures are very
effective.
For the inorganic part:
1) The improvement of desalter efficiency: with lower
basic sediment and water (BS&W) and lower caustic
injection in the desalted crude, their concentration in
the DCU feed will be lower and also their role in reduc-
ing the furnaces performance.
2) The injection of a metal scavenger in the crude oil
before the desalter, in order to discharge metal ions
with the desalter effluent water and to further reduce
the furnace feed metal content.
For the organic part:
1) The use of a metal passivator, in order to passivate
the coils inner surface at the start of run, immediately
after decoking and for a few days.
This chemical, decomposing at high temperature,
forms a phosphatic crystal layer on the metal surface,
limiting asphaltenes deposition and dehydrogenation.
2) Injection of a suitable dispersant chemical in the
feed or in front of the furnace or before MF bottom
able to provide protection from asphaltenes deposition
(potential coke precursors) and inorganic fouling.
3) To insert a solvent deasphalting unit, in order to
remove asphaltenes from the feed (but obviously this is
the most expensive and difficult measure).
By applying these measures, asphaltene precipitation
and dehydrogenation rate in the furnace are reduced,
ending up with the following practical advantages:
Slowing down of the skin point increase
Increase in furnace run length
Possibility to increase the reaction severity
Reduction of the furnace decoking frequency
Avoiding throughput reduction.
Chimec during the last three decades has developed a
specific line of tailormade products aimed at managing
and controlling the above described phenomena:
Demulsifiers
Metal scavengers
Metal passivators
Dispersants.
12 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com
Q&A copy 24.indd 5
A Jim Trigg Senior Engineer, Customer Applications
Engineering, GE Water & Process Technologies, James.Trigg@
ge.com
The mechanism of coker furnace fouling is a very com-
plex, thermally driven kinetic problem that can be
accelerated by some feed contaminants which catalyse
coking. Metals such as sodium, calcium and iron can
significantly increase fouling in the delayed coker fur-
nace. These metals can be reduced at the desalter
through conventional desalting and using adjunct
chemistries which aid in their removal. The addition of
caustic into desalted crude to mitigate overhead corro-
sion will increase the sodium content of coker feed, so
optimising desalter performance to minimise caustic
addition is important. Asphaltene instability will also
contribute to higher fouling in the coker furnace, and
this problem may be mitigated by the addition of chem-
ical additives into the feedstocks.
A Parag Shah, VP, Technical Services, Dorf Ketal Chemicals,
paragshah@dorfketal.com
Depending on the crude diet, organic and inorganic
contaminants tend to concentrate in the heaviest frac-
tion or bottom of the barrel, such as the vacuum resi-
due, which feeds the coker unit. The Conradson carbon
residue (CCR) and asphaltene content are the organic
precursors that form coke on the heater tubes. The pres-
ence of inorganic precursors, such as sodium, iron,
The mechanism of coker furnace
fouling is a very complex,
thermally driven kinetic problem
that can be accelerated by
some feed contaminants which
catalyse coking
vanadium and nickel, serve as dehydrogenation cata-
lysts to accelerate the coke formation.
High coker furnace fouling rates lead to excessive
tube metal temperatures and shortened run lengths.
The economic penalty of this fouling could be lower
product yield, loss in throughput during cleaning and
the costs of physically cleaning the fouled tubes, not to
mention the potential loss in unit reliability from the
thermal shock of repeated shutdowns.
One approach is to desalt the unit feed for removal
of sodium and iron. The most effective location for this
approach is often in the crude unit desalters. Improving
the desalting removal efficiencies can reduce the rate of
injection or even the need for caustic addition, a com-
mon source of sodium in the vacuum residue. A met-
als removal program can also be applied in the desalter
to remove iron and calcium in the desalter brine. Dork
Ketal offers a full range of proprietary desalting and
metals removal technologies.
At the coker, a high temperature antifoulant can be
applied to reduce furnace fouling. Dorf Ketal has anti-
12/06/2017 14:36
 foulant chemistries that can be customised for different shrinkage from blending heavy and light crude oils.
coker furnace feed fouling precursors and has been suc- That said, the outside blender may be conservative and
cessful in limiting coker furnace fouling and extending not fully understand the limits when the blend percent-
catalysts.
unit Going from Tier 2 to Tier 3 will increase the
run lengths. size
agedifference
becomesbetween layers is
incompatible, too not
thus large, smaller
able diam-
to maximise
degree of sulphur conversion, and therefore refiners can eter catalyst can migrate through subsequent
the quantity of discounted crude oil while maintain- layers and
experience constraints in their current units, like cycle ultimately
ing compatibility in the blend. Incompatible crudeItoil
plug the support screens or outlet collector.
Qlength,
A crudetemperature, product
blending operation hasquality.
startedInup particular,
down the road.the is also critical to make sure nothing (tools, hardhats and
loss of octane will increase rather significantly,
Which makes better economic sense: continue with our own which It is easier to add chemistry
so on) gets left in the reactor during a loading.
will influence
blending of heavy the octane
and light value
crudesinorthe gasoline
buy from the pool.
outside Pressure drop in a lower bed can also be caused by
In order to overcome these constraints, a possible
blender? upstream of blending, such
the gradual accumulation of iron sulphide or other
solution is installing new catalysts with higher catalytic fines. Iron (Fe) can work its way into hydrotreater feed
Aactivity for sulphur removal and high selectivity in
Tim Olsen, Refining Consultant, Emerson Automation
as crude stabiliser to address
as rust and iron scale from corrosion of upstream equip-
order to limit octane losses. Haldor Topsoes HyOctane ment and piping as well as unfiltered particulates pres-
Solutions, Tim.Olsen@Emerson.com
catalysts fulfill these criteria and are already used by
Blending crude oils yourself gives added flexibility for
potential crude instability,
ent in the feed. Iron naphthenates can form from piping
refiners making ultra low sulphur gasoline. corrosion due to naphthenic acid in the feed, and the
the refinery to take advantage of dynamic market con- when crude tanks are on
iron readily precipitates out in the presence of heat and
ditions and also more closely match the properties of H2S. These iron particulates fill the interstitial spaces
theQcrude Whatwith theprincipal
are the refinery configuration.
causes This would
of excessive pressure drop refinery property
in the catalyst bed which will result in a higher than
assume
in our hydrotreater and what solutions are available? online
though that the refiner has sufficient expected pressure drop. To help mitigate the pressure
monitoring capabilities (fouling detection across indi- blends
drop result with
associated in asphaltenes
iron, ART usesprecipitating
a series of out more
grading
A Brian
vidual heat Watkins,
exchanger bundles,
Technical corrosion
Service monitoring,
Manager, Advanced readily and
materials whichfouling
havethe
highheat exchangers
void space to with unantici-
accumulate
mass flowTechnologies,
Refining for crude blending) so that they can
Brian.Watkins@Grace.com learn
and Chuck pated
and accelerated
store fouling. Use of a specialised iron
these particulates.
theOlsen,
percentage
Global limits of incompatible
Technology Manager, crude
Advancedblends. The
Refining trapping material (GSK-10) which has high internal
advantage
Technologies,of aChuck.Olsen@Grace.com
refiner performing the crude oil blends A space
void Mike for trapping
Dion GlobalironCOE
inside its large
Leader, pore Process
Refinery net-
themselves
There are isseveral
that they
causesshould be able todrop
for pressure maximise
relatedtheto work is also GE
Separation, valuable.
Water & Process Technologies, Michael.Dion@
use of discounted
a poor turnaround opportunity crudes,loading.
or poor catalyst thus significant
A dam- If iron is known to be the cause of the pressure drop
ge.com
aged
cost or dirty
savings outlet collector,
on purchased crudedirty
oils. support screens or issues, then changes
Maintaining your own to larger diameter
blending assets catalysts
provides can
more
improper
If the outsidesize blender
gradingcan at the bottom
provide of a catalyst
accurate analysisbed
of also be used
control and in an effort to to
accountability allow for additional
effective dewatering voidand
thecan all leadcrude
blended to high pressure drop
oil properties, andinensure
a lower thebed.
blendIt is space
mixing in the reactor. homogeneity.
to ensure Sock loading aAdditionally,
large portionitofistheeas-
notimportant that the
incompatible, reactor
this would andbescreens
easier be cleaned before
especially if the top
ieroftothe reactor
add will also
chemistry greatly increase
upstream the effective
of blending, such as
loading any catalyst. Proper size
refiner does not have sufficient instrumentationgrading of catalyst
to mon- at void space, allowing the smaller iron particles
crude stabiliser to address potential crude instability, to move
the bottom of each bed is also important.
itor for crude incompatibilities and possible volume If the catalyst through
when crude the reactor.
tanks are on refinery property.

of t h e F i t t e st

Propylene economics were always solidly linked to naphtha and

oil prices. Now they are volatile. These new market conditions
create threats and possibilities. We now present opportunities
for lowest cost propylene manufacturing:
TM
GASOLFIN petrochemicals from naphtha.

Contact us today for more information.

Asia: +82 10 6390 5220 Europe: +31 6 3837 3289 USA: +1 912 996 5435 Email: info@inovacat.com INOVACAT.COM
Inovacat B.V. A.M. van Schuurmanlaan 11 3818 LS Amersfoort The Netherlands

GASOLFIN_HP.indd 1 2/2/17 8:57 PM

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 13

14 Catalysis 2017 www.eptq.com

Q&A copy 24.indd 6 12/06/2017 10:30

Q&A copy 22.indd 7 27/02/2017 10:45
 Process Notes
Modern Crude Distillation,
Modularized
Global interest in modular refinery construction is surg-
ing. Small modular refineries are attractive to investors
for several important reasons:
SPEED
Project time from contract execution to start-up can
be as short as 18-24 months.
LOGISTICAL ADVANTAGES
Modular refineries can be built in remote locations
to realize efficiencies in supply and transportation of
raw crude and refined products.
LOW INITIAL COST
Small relative size makes initial capital cost more
manageable. Modules can be constructed in the
shop with nearly 100% productive time, and turnkey
fabrication and construction services lower the like-
lihood of project delays or cost overruns.
For a project to realize the benefits listed above, it has
to start up and run reliably. Saving initial capital by cut-
ting corners is a doomed strategy. Cost savings should
result from clever flow schemes that minimize equip-
ment and module count without sacrificing product
yields or unit reliability.
3400 Bissonnet St.
Suite 130
Houston, TX 77005, USA
pcs.indd 1
Modular units can have modern technology
With the right expertise, it is possible to design indus-
trially proven, reliable equipment to be easily modular-
ized.
Process Consulting Services has engineered over 100
crude/vacuum unit revamps and over 4 MMBPD of
grassroots crude unit capacity. We have drawn on all
of this experience to develop a unique flow scheme
for modular crude/vacuum units. Our modular crude
distillation process is fully modern, incorporating
time-tested technologies to eliminate common reli-
ability issues. Some of these features, developed in
much larger units, have been re-thought to be afford-
able on a modular scale.
No matter how low the initial cost of a crude unit is,
the investment will not pay off if the unit is plagued by
avoidable problems. Poor desalting (corrosion), pre-
flash tower foaming (off-spec naphtha), tray plugging
(poor fractionation and product quality), etc. can all be
mitigated by thoughtful front-end design.
Through creative flowsheet and equipment design,
PCS is able to significantly reduce the number of mod-
ules required to build a modern crude distillation unit
that maximizes valuable product yield, energy efficien-
cy, and reliability.
Photo Credit: Honeywell UOP
+1 (713) 665-7046
info@revamps.com
www.revamps.com
09/06/2017 12:47
 Troubleshooting crude column
constraints
Multiple limitations to operating capacity were identified and resolved during a
column turnaround

JILL BROWN BURNS, KRISTEN BECHT and BRANDT MUELLER

Valero Energy

T
roubleshooting operating
problems is a daily part of
the job description for a refin-
ery process engineer, especially
when charge rate to the refinery is
inhibited. The successful identifica-
tion of column operating problems
becomes critical when the resolution
includes modification to distillation
tower internals that can only be exe-
cuted during a turnaround outage.
Downtime is expensive. The cost
of misdiagnosing a problem is
equally enormous.1 And so is
failing to diagnose the problem
altogether.
Development of turnaround
work scope challenges every refin-
ery process engineer, especially
as turnarounds seem to grow fur-
ther and further apart throughout
the life cycle of a refinery process
unit. While this practice reduces
major maintenance costs, extend-
ing turnaround cycles consequently
minimises the opportunities to
address unit operating problems
that require downtime (without the
enormous cost of an unplanned out-
age). Thus the engineer needs to
effectively identify resolutions to
operating problems, and develop
the right scope to address them dur-
ing the outage. The consequences
of misjudging the fix can be sig-
nificant, as the whole team is left
scrambling in the midst of major
maintenance work to retrace trou-
bleshooting steps and to order

Crude tower
Offgas to
250F compressor
35 psig
Overhead accumulator

1
Sour H2O
2 Light naphtha
3
4 to gas plant
5

16 Heavy naphtha
17
18
to NHT
Kerosene side stripper
19

20
21 430F
22 Steam
23

24

25

26
Kerosene to
27 distillate
28

Light diesel side stripper

29

30
31

32
Steam
33

34
Light diesel
35 to distillate
36

Heavy diesel side stripper

37

38
39

40 Steam Heavy diesel

41

42 to hydrocracker

AGO side stripper

Steam
Crude from 630F 40psig AGO to CFHT
heaters
Steam
Reduced crude to
CFHT / VAC tower

Figure 1 Schematic of Ardmore crude tower

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 15

q3 valero.indd 1 09/06/2017 14:45

 overlaid through Tray 4 with high
120 12 alloy during a series of outages

Pressure drop,
100 10 between 1998 and 2011. Overhead
Level, % 80 8 condensers experienced short run

psi
60 6
lengths, attributed to amine salt
40 4
Kerosene stripper level under-deposit corrosion. The over-
20 2
Main column P head line was replaced, and the
0 0
trays were renewed with high alloy
13

13

13

13

13

13

14

14
during the 2011 crude unit turn-
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
ar

ay

ct

ov

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Ju

Ja
Au
around. A chemistry change was

O
M

M
M

N
3

11
25
17

2
14

22
6

made in 2012 to address the root

Figure 2 Kerosene stripper instability cause of the corrosion, and to elimi-
nate the high salt-point amine injec-
equipment with a hefty emergency ment was ready and on-site, and the tion for neutralisation of hydro-
expediting price tag. planned work scope was spot-on for lysed chlorides in the overhead.
While many papers have been addressing the tower problems. The renery expected the high alloy
presented that highlight inter- and revised chemistry to improve
esting and fascinating discover- Background reliability in the top of the tower,
ies found inside a column dur- Valero Ardmore renery operates a but scheduled an isotope scan
ing a turnaround, in this article the 90 000 b/d crude and vacuum dis- as a health check. Isotope scans
authors will describe a case study tillation unit, charging primarily (both active area chords and cen-
where all the critical discover- mid-continent crude through the tre downcomers) in October 2012
ies were predicted and anticipated Cushing terminal (see Figure 1). The and July 2013 showed normal tray
through good engineering practices. crude tower is a typical atmospheric loadings throughout the tower. A
Troubleshooting fundamentals operation (630F [330C], 40 psig high froth height was observed on
like energy balance and operating ash zone) with 42 trays, a packed Tray 3 during the July 2013 scans,
data analysis were employed along gasoil wash section, and a shrouded potentially signalling the early
with utilising more rigorous tools stripping section. Overhead light stages of column fouling/corro-
such as isotope scanning to conclu- naphtha is routed to a gas plant, sion. However, operation remained
sively identify three separate and and atmospheric tower bottoms are normal.
unrelated areas of limitation in the routed partially to a gasoil hydro- In August 2013, several key heat
crude column. We will also discuss treater (CFHT), with the balance to exchangers in the crude unit pre-
an unconventional hot tap bypass the vacuum tower. Five side draw heat were cleaned. After this point,
that allowed the unit to remain in products from the crude tower are instability in the level of the ker-
operation until the planned turna- further processed within the ren- osene side stripper was noticed
round, as well as outline the design ery. The tower has four pumpa- (see Figure 2). The main column
changes that were implemented rounds (heavy naphtha, kerosene, remained stable until November
during the outage to prevent and light diesel, and atmospheric gas- 2013, when the column overall pres-
address future limitations. The oil) utilised to control product cut- sure drop began to show intermit-
authors will nally present turna- points according to downstream tent periods of liquid accumulation
round ndings validations rather specications. (ooding).
than discoveries that prove the This crude tower, like many Given the history of corrosion
conclusions drawn from operational atmospheric crude units, has a his- in the towers top section, it was
and troubleshooting data analysis tory of corrosion in the top of the hypothesised that the top naph-
were correct, the appropriate equip- tower. The top of the column was tha section was ooding, holding
up liquid and subsequently limit-
ing liquid available to the kerosene
AGO PA duty Heavy naphtha PA duty draw.
Kerosene PA duty Light diesel PA duty When the instability occurred,
the pressure drop in the tower
Pumparound duty,

60
50 increased by 3 psid, which has an
Very large
MMBTU/h

40 increase in equivalent head of ~10ft (3m) of

30 DPA duty naphtha-ranged hydrocarbon. With
20 the pressure drop indication on the
10 overall tower, the location of the
0 accumulation must be determined
by reviewing other data. The 10ft of
3

13

13

13

13

13

14

4
01

01
20

20

20

20

20

20
2

liquid head could be localised to the

ar

ay

ct

ov

ar
Ju

Ja
Au

O
M

M
M

top head of the tower or distributed

3

11
25
17

2
14

22
6

amongst 20 trays. Further investiga-

Figure 3 Pumparound heat balance shift tion was required.

16 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 valero.indd 2 09/06/2017 14:45

 Product Bulletin
NeXRing: covering all your random packing requirements

Why its better Concrete benefits

NeXRing provides an extremely large and uniform open
area regardless of ring orientation, allowing high surface
area contact with the liquid and vapor streams. This high
performance design allows successful replacement of the
more traditional ring types for process upgrades and increases
design and operating flexibility.
NeXRingTM makes it possible to reduce the capital cost for
newly constructed plants while column sizes can be further
optimized. There are significant improvements when compared
with 2nd or 3rd generation rings:
Up to 50% increased capacity compared to P-Ring
Up to 10% increased capacity compared to I-Ring

More capacity Typical applications for NeXRing

For capacity limited designs, Sulzer can offer a NeXRing The operation characteristic of NeXRing is the same as
alternative which will provide higher capacity, and lower traditional rings. Applications for NeXRing include:
pressure drop with no penalty in the efficiency. Fertilizer/Acid Gas removal/Gas sweetening
Natural Gas Liquids treatment (LNG)
Increased efficiency Demethanizer/Deethanizer
When you require more efficiency without sacrificing capacity, Butadiene purification
the expanded NeXRing family also offers the ability to increase Degassing
the number of stages while maintaining the towers capacity. Liquid/Liquid Extraction

Summary
NeXRing is a patented high performance ring which provides
extremely large and uniform open area regardless of ring
orientation to vapor flow with the following benefits:
Higher capacity
Lesser pressure drop
Lower investment cost
NeXRing is successfully replacing many types of older
generation packing.

Successful design of columns with high performance random

packing requires the right internals, but the payout can be
significant. Sulzers Application Team can help evaluate all
possible options and provide an optimal solution for your
column.

www.sulzer.com
Please check for your local contact

Sulzer NeXRingTM Random Packing

The Sulzer Applications Group
Sulzer has over 150 years of in-house operating
and design experience in process applications. We
understand your process and your economic drivers.
Sulzer has the know-how and the technology to design
internals with reliable, high performance.

Europe, Middle East and India Asia Pacific North and South America
Sulzer Chemtech Ltd. Sulzer Chemtech Co., Ltd. Sulzer Chemtech USA, Inc.
P.O. Box 65 10 Benoi Sector 8505 E. North Belt Drive
8404 Winterthur, Switzerland Singapore 629845 Humble, TX 77396, USA
Phone: +41 52 262 50 28 Phone: +65 6515 5500 Phone: +1 281 604-4100
chemtech@sulzer.com ctsg@sulzer.com ttb.ctus@sulzer.com

Legal Notice: The information contained in this publication is believed to be accurate and reliable, but is not to be construed as implying any warranty or guarantee
of performance. Sulzer Chemtech waives any liability and indemnity for effects resulting from its application.

sulzer.indd 1 09/06/2017 12:52

 with a centre downcomer draw
Kerosene draw rate Temperature range
sump. Pumparound and product

Temperature range,
are drawn from the sump and split
20 120
draw, MBPD
100
in external piping where the pump-
Kerosene

15 around stream is routed to a pump,

80
and the product drains to the side

F
10 60
40 stripper on stripper level control
5
20 (see Figure 5). The liquid condensed
0 0 by the pumparound plus the inter-
13

13

13

13

13

13

14

14
nal reux from the trays above can
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
either be drawn as product or over-
ar

ay

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Ju

Ja
Au

O
M

M
M

N
3

11
25

ow the sump onto Tray 21. The

17

2
14

22
6

skirt panels of the Tray 20 centre

Figure 4 Kerosene draw data
Troubleshooting the crude tower
Engineers have a lot of tools avail-
able to diagnose column ooding.
Isotope scanning is a powerful tool
and was an integral part of trouble-
shooting this tower. However, the
authors started with the fundamen-
tals reviewing data (eld and his-
torian) and evaluating the tower
energy balance.
Using engineering fundamentals to
troubleshoot tower flooding
Ardmore had altered the heat
removal in several of the pumpa-
round circuits by cleaning crude
preheat exchangers. The authors
recognised that redistributing the
heat load in the tower impacted
internal reux. If a trayed section
operates near a hydraulic limit, the
change in internal loading could
push that section into ood with
resultant high pressure drop and
instability observed at a product
draw. Pumparounds, tower temper-
atures and product overlaps were
Crude
LC
Steam
Kero
FC
Kerosene
product
Figure 5 Kerosene section configuration
analysed to understand the impact
of exchanger cleaning on the tow-
ers internal trafc (see Figure 3).
Diesel pumparound duty
had increased by over 200% (19
MMBTU/h to 50 MMBTU/h), sig-
nicantly shifting heat removal
lower in the tower. The kero-
sene-light diesel overlap increased
with the higher diesel pumparound
duty, indicating reduced internal
reux trafc below the kerosene
draw (see Figure 4). The tempera-
ture indication in the vapour space
of Tray 21 (directly below the ker-
osene draw sump) was observed
to oscillate. This unstable behav-
iour preceded the exchanger clean-
ing by two months. After the instru-
ment was checked in the eld by a
technician, it was hypothesised that
this temperature instability may
be symptomatic of ooding, where
hold-up robs cooler condensed
internal reux from the trays below
the kerosene draw.
The kerosene draw is congured
Kero PAR
FC
TI
stripper Crude column
downcomer were not submerged
to provide a positive liquid seal at
high draw rates, indicating that the
original design intended for a large
proportion of the liquid to overow
the sump and act as internal reux
for fractionation of kerosene from
light diesel.
Step tests were conducted to test
the sensitivity of the hydraulics in
the kerosene pumparound section
as follows:
1. The pumparound exchangers
were partially bypassed to allow for
a higher circulating kerosene pump-
around rate for a xed duty. The
higher circulation rate induced a
pressure drop increase in the tower.
2. Kerosene product draw rate was
increased. A higher product ow
control setpoint caused loss of level
in the side stripper, indicating that
liquid was not available to the draw.
Because of the sensitivity to tower
heat balance, a simulation was
developed to understand the liquid
internal reux contribution to the
loading in the kerosene section. An
increase in heavy naphtha pumpa-
round duty would have direction-
ally increased that internal reux
trafc, while an increase in diesel
pumparound duty would have low-
ered the vapour trafc through that
section and directly reduced the
potential load that could be internal
reux. The model tuned to a steady
state operating case indicated that
the internal reux from the naph-
tha section contributed roughly 50%
of the total liquid load to the kero-
sene pumparound a signicant
percentage.
The internal loads generated by
the simulation were utilised to rate
check the existing two-pass, round
valve trays with conventional,
straight downcomers to determine

18 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 valero.indd 3 09/06/2017 14:46

 whether any of the conditions both
before and after the shift in pump-
around duties exceeded hydraulic
capacity.
The liquid loading of Trays 19-20
was typical for a pumparound sys-
tem, with high circulating liquid
rates. The downcomer top areas of
these two-pass trays were not bal-
anced, so the side downcomers had
preferentially higher liquid ux
rates and operated near the top of
what is commonly considered best
practice for this service. Yet the shift
to pull more heat out of the diesel
pumparound directionally lowered
the liquid rate through these trays.
Based on a theoretical clean tray,
the kerosene pumparound should
have ample capacity for handling
higher vapour loads consistent with
more naphtha yield. However, the
operating data indicated that these
trays appear particularly sensitive to
vapour load changes (see Table 1).
Some additional eld checks were
conducted to understand the unsta-
ble temperature and level behaviour
in the kerosene section, but yielded
little clarity to the problem. Pressure
taps were not available to narrow
the column pressure drop to a spe-
cic area, but cut-outs were made in
the column insulation to collect skin
temperature data that would direc-
tionally indicate ooded trays.
Tray hydraulics in kerosene pumparound
Before cleaning After cleaning
Normal ops Unstable ops
Glitsch Eq. 132, % 65.3 65.6
Downcomer loading, gpm/ft2 164 143
Table 1
below the AGO wash packed bed. A second set of gamma scans
The centre downcomers from was conducted after unloading the
Tray 18 to the top of the tower were tower by severely reducing charge
full of dense liquid. However, the rate and cutting circulation from
draw sump from Tray 20 was full, the kerosene pumparound. In the
yet less dense, and not consistent unloaded state, the froth height on
with the heavy absorption seen on Tray 2 remained high, with the cen-
the active area. tre downcomer from Tray 2 full and
South AA: 83 MBD charge, 26.0 MBD KPA
North AA: 83 MBD charge, 26.0 MBD KPA
North AA: 78 MBD charge, 10.5 MBD KPA
North AA: 78 MBD charge, 5.0 MBD KPA
Nozzle
Manway
Tray 1
Nozzle
Tray 2
Tray 3
Ring
Tray 4
Tray 5
Tray 15

Using isotope scans to troubleshoot Tray 16

Ring
tower flooding
Tray 17
After the foundation was laid with
Nozzle
the basic engineering methods, iso- Tray 18
tope scanners were engaged to pro-
Tray 19
vide simple gamma scan chords
of the two active areas and centre
Tray 20
downcomers while the column was
loaded/ooded. These basic scans
Tray 21
showed several major shifts in liq- Nozzle
uid accumulation from the previous
scans conducted only four months Tray 22
previously (see Figure 6).
The tower was entirely full of Collector Tray Ring
Nozzle
dense liquid from Tray 20 (kero-
sene draw) to the top. Some clear-
ing (return toward clear vapour)
was indicated on Trays 2-3. The Packed bed elevation
tray immediately below (Tray 21)
was very lightly loaded with imbal- Ring
Chimney Tray
anced froth height between the two
passes. The authors were also sur-
prised to note almost 2ft (0.6m)
of accumulation both above and Figure 6 Isotope scans of active areas3

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 19

q3 valero.indd 4 09/06/2017 14:46

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 frothy. The naphtha-kerosene frac-
tionation trays mostly unloaded,
but remained liquid full through the
kerosene pumparound up to Tray
13. No change was apparent in the
AGO wash section.
Troubleshooting conclusions
The data analysis and isotope scans
indicated three distinct and sepa-
rate areas contributing to flooding
in the crude column: a hydraulic
limitation in the kerosene pumpa-
round section, initiating at the cen-
tre downcomer draw sump on Tray
20; a hydraulic limitation in the
top reflux trays in the column; and
accumulation at the wash bed.
Even with severely reduced load-
ing, the second isotope scan indi-
cated continued accumulation in
the kerosene pumparound, thus this
limitation was considered the pri-
mary capacity constraint. Based on
the light absorption in the down-
comer, it appeared that vapour was
potentially bypassing up the down-
comer. This type of phenomena is
commonly related to one of three
issues:
1. Open area restriction on the tray
above, inducing vapour to preferen-
tially push up the downcomer
2. Overdrawing of kerosene product
rate to unseal the downcomer
3. Damage to the draw sump that
impacted the clear liquid seal in the
downcomer.
The authors have seen an increas-
ing trend of crude column capac-
ity restrictions initiating in the ker-
osene distillation range throughout
the Valero refinery system. This
issue has been tied to phospho-
rous in the crude feed. During the
August 2013 exchanger cleaning,
several exchanger deposit sam-
ples were analysed and indicated
almost 5% of P2O5. Historical crude
receipts were also analysed, show-
ing a period immediately preced-
ing the column problems with up to
3-5 ppm phosphorus. The hydrau-
lic restrictions in the column also
resembled similar cases where the
open area was fouled by phospho-
rus. While the lack of positive seal
in the draw pan generated concern,
the kerosene draw rates had not
exceeded the normal range of oper-
ation. No operational upsets expe-
www.eptq.com
q3 valero.indd 5
rienced would have been likely cul-
prits for damage. The authors thus
concluded that the kerosene pump-
around section may have been
exposed to fouling related to phos-
phorus from the crude.
To unload the kerosene pumpa-
round trays, heat duty was shifted
away from the kerosene pumpa-
round to the other pumparounds
and overhead reflux. Unfortunately,
the naphtha pumparound and
reflux were also constrained accord-
ing to operating data and isotope
scans. Because this section of the
tower experienced historical corro-
sion and fouling issues associated
with free water and salt deposition,
this seemed the most likely culprit.
Unlike the naphtha and kero-
sene sections, there was no inter-
nal experience with AGO wash bed
fouling within the Valero circuit.
A field walk revealed that accord-
ing to pressure drop measurements,
the AGO wash oil strainers had
failed and exposed the wash spray
nozzles and packed bed to fouling
and maldistribution of liquid. The
atmospheric flash zone is not typ-
ically prone to the level of coking
that a vacuum tower is, but entrain-
ment from the feed can contribute
to coking with sufficient residence
time. The isotope scan showed a
high level on the overflash collector
tray and a simple two phase flow
calculation indicated high momen-
tum in the feed nozzle that exceeds
most conventional best practices for
operation without a vapour horn or
other centrifugal inlet device. It was
thus concluded that entrainment
was occurring and could not appro-
priately drain from the wash sec-
tion. The overflash liquid hold-up
and residence time in the wash zone
may have contributed to coking of
the bed.
As the cycle progressed, the AGO
limitations became more of an oper-
ating constraint when the bed accu-
mulation periodically flooded up to
the AGO collector tray and resulted
in high endpoint black AGO and
heavy diesel.
Actions employed to regain
stability, extend run length
The Ardmore crude unit operation
was severely constrained by the
three hydraulic restrictions identi-
fied during the troubleshooting pro-
cess. The presumed fouling in the
kerosene pumparound limited both
the vapour and liquid rates through
those trays. Pumparound duty was
maximised lower in the column,
and naphtha pumparound/reflux
was constrained by the hydrau-
lic restriction in the reflux trays.
Naphtha endpoint was uncontrol-
lable, impacting the downstream
units. This ultimately resulted in
reduced charge rate to the unit.
Chemical treatment was consid-
ered to mitigate the effect of phos-
phorous flooding in the column,
but rejected based on the hazard of
moving the foulant to downstream
fixed catalyst beds. A mechanical
solution was preferred.
Constraining unit operation
The three different flooding mech-
anisms in the naphtha, kerosene,
and AGO sections made it difficult
for operations to properly respond
to upsets in the column. A move
to decrease flooding in one section
exacerbated flooding in another,
which made normal adjustments
to the column heat balance very
limited. Increased reflux or heavy
naphtha pumparound rates would
initiate liquid carryover into the
overhead system. Increased internal
reflux in the kerosene section would
flood kerosene up to the heavy
naphtha section and rob internal
reflux from the light diesel section.
Increased AGO pumparound rates
would flood the AGO packed bed
and cause resid entrainment into
the AGO and sometimes up to the
heavy diesel draw.
The overhead pressure was
increased and heater coil out-
let temperature lowered to reduce
vapour traffic in the column above
the flash zone and ultimately lower
the impact of the vapour-induced
flooding in the kerosene section.
The lower coil outlet temperature
also reduced the momentum (rV2)
of the tower inlet which limited
resid entrainment into the AGO.
Pumparound exchangers were
cleaned throughout the tower to aid
in heat removal (trading circulating
flow for more DT).
The kerosene pumparound flow
PTQ Q3 2017 21
09/06/2017 14:46

Kero PAR
LC
FC
Crude
FC
HC
Steam
Kero
FC
Kerosene
product stripper
Figure 7 Kerosene section with hot tap bypass
was minimised to lower liquid
loading on the trays. This area had
the highest level of ooding and
the largest impact to stable column
operation. At times when the kero-
sene section would ood, kerosene
would build up to the heavy naph-
tha draw and the light diesel pump-
around had a high potential for cav-
itation. Rate-of-change alarms were
set on the light diesel pumparound
to indicate loss of ow and hold-up
in the tower.
Hot tap bypass
With the aid of a simulation model,
the authors evaluated different pro-
jects to mitigate ooding in the ker-
osene section by rerouting liquid or
vapour in the tower, and ultimately
concluded that the most effective
solution was to reroute the inter-
nal reux liquid from several trays
above the kerosene draw directly to
the kerosene stripper through a hot-
tapped bypass (see Figure 7).
A nozzle was rst hot-tapped into
the centre downcomer from Tray 16
on the crude column. Piping, along
with a buttery valve, was installed
from here to a second tap located
above the liquid level on the top tray
of the kerosene side stripper. As the
column restriction became severe,
with liquid accumulation occurring
the majority of the time, the level on
the side stripper was set up to con-
trol the withdrawal of liquid from
Tray 16, with the normal kerosene
product draw from Tray 21 xed in
manual. Kerosene product ow con-
trol was set at a maximum up to a
22 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 valero.indd 6
Crude column
kerosene ash limit to remove as
much liquid from the column as pos-
sible to prevent ooding from propa-
gating into the naphtha section.
Development of turnaround scope
and design
Although operations became pro-
cient at managing tower stabil-
ity within the new hydraulic con-
straints, ultimately the tower
continued to degrade and the crude
unit team began looking toward
options to address the problems
during a unit outage. When replac-
ing tower internals, it often bears a
similar cost to upgrade the features
for either improved capacity or, in
the case of the Ardmore crude col-
umn, improved reliability.
The authors carefully evaluated
each section of constraint in the
tower to arrive at a nal turnaround
scope that would ultimately result
in full resolution of the column
problems.
Naphtha section
The reux trays were heavy-gauge
carbon steel which bears a high
risk of corrosion in an environ-
ment with acidic chloride attack.
The presence of iron scale in pump-
around exchangers and the ood-
ing indicated by isotope scans sug-
gested that the trays were fouled
or corroded. The authors elected to
upgrade the tray metallurgy, add
anti-fouling features into the tray
design, add a high efciency coa-
lescing element internal to the over-
head reux drum to remove free
water returning to the column, and
engineer a modication to the naph-
tha pumparound return to com-
bine with cold true reux on tem-
perature control to eliminate shock
condensation.
Kerosene section
The kerosene pumparound trays
were carbon steel with moveable
valves, which offer little forgive-
ness to the type of fouling consist-
ent with phosphorus. The authors
designed anti-fouling trays with
xed valves having a high net rise
and multichordal side downcom-
ers to maximise available active
area for the kerosene pumparound
trays. In anticipation of fouling, the
plan included replacement of all
tray active panels with new pan-
els having xed valves on the four
trays above the kerosene pumpa-
round and the six trays below the
pumparound draw. These trays
operated at or near the temperature
regime where other towers have
experienced phosphorus fouling.
Similarly, the kerosene side strip-
per was retrayed with similar anti-
fouling features.
AGO section
While bypassing of the wash strain-
ers may have resulted in plug-
ging of the spray header and sub-
sequent dry-out of the wash bed,
several inherent design issues were
also identied with this section and
were thus added to the turnaround
scope. The column has a 192in
(4.9m) diameter, yet the wash spray
header had only seven nozzles. In
the authors experience, this often
does not provide enough coverage
nor adequate overlap to fully wet a
wash bed. The wash spray header
was redesigned for 19 nozzles, the
wash bed was replaced with struc-
tured grid packing, and the over-
ash collector tray downpipe was
enlarged to accommodate addi-
tional liquid rate that appeared to
be accumulating on the tray.
Turnaround execution plan
Because of the extensive work to
the key columns in the unit, the
authors developed a turnaround
plan to ensure proper execution of
the scope:
www.eptq.com
09/06/2017 14:46
 Chloride can
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Many refiners have difficulty in measuring chloride

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This leads to costly and potentially unsafe issues such as:

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 Protocol to address issues, prob-
lems, or changes should they arise,
and how to communicate those
issues across shifts within the turn-
around team (process engineers,
turnaround maintenance, and the
tower contractor)
Process inspection sheets, so that
all engineers across all shifts were
checking, measuring, and inspect-
ing the correct components using
cheat sheets that contain pertinent
tower internal information
Initial entry by process engineer-
ing to facilitate early identification
of scope creep that included col-
lecting samples and properly doc-
umenting the as-found state of the
column
Final inspection and punch-out
procedures to assure that all work
was properly executed and to pre-
vent performance issues during the
run cycle due to poor installation.
Turnaround discovery
Upon initial entry, the state of all
key areas of the column was con-
firmed to reflect the authors
predictions.
Naphtha section
As predicted, the top four trays
were found to be severely corroded,
with the remnants of the top tray
severely restricting the trays below.
The scope was executed as
planned to replace the top four
trays with upgraded metallurgy,
and to integrate the heavy naph-
tha return piping with the reflux
return to Tray 1. The top temper-
ature controls the heavy naphtha
pumparound rate, and the com-
bined return temperature controls
the bypass around the heavy naph-
tha pumparound cooler.
Kerosene section
As predicted, both the kerosene
pumparound and side stripper
had severe iron phosphate depos-
its, which obstruct movement of the
tray valves and accumulate on the
tray decks (see Figure 8).
The tray replacement scope was
executed as planned, with addi-
tional modification to submerge the
centre downcomer skirt panels at
the kerosene draw tray to provide
a positive seal to prevent vapour
24 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 valero.indd 7
Figure 8 As-found conditions of reflux and
kerosene pumparound trays
bypassing with high kerosene draw
rates.
AGO section
The AGO wash bed experienced
significant coking, as predicted. The
wash distributor and nozzles were
also found to be partially plugged.
The overflash downbox was
plugged with coke and completely
obstructed (see Figure 9).
Deconstruction of the wash
bed took longer than anticipated
due to the heavy coke build-up.
Replacement standard Type-3 grid
packing was installed, along with a
hold-down grid and through rods
Figure 9 As-found conditions of overflash
collector and downbox
for uplift resistance. To improve
spray cone overlap and reliability
to prevent future coking, the exist-
ing seven-nozzle spray header was
replaced with a newly designed
wash distributor containing 19
spray nozzles. The overflash over-
flow downbox was replaced to
increase drainage capacity while
maintaining an exit velocity suffi-
cient to prevent plugging.
Conclusions
Through hard work and solid engi-
neering, the Ardmore refinery crude
unit team was able to identify and
resolve three separate and distinct
limitations to operating capacity
of the towers. The design improve-
ments built into the new tower
internals will increase reliability for
the next operating cycle, and the
operating best practices established
during the troubleshooting pro-
cess will improve overall product
quality.
Note: the views expressed in this article are
those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of Valero Energy Corp.
References
1 Duarte P R, Perez M, Kister H Z, Combine
temperature surveys, field tests, and
gamma scans for effective troubleshooting,
Hydrocarbon Processing, Apr 2003, 69.
2 Koch-Glitsch, Bulletin 4900. Ballast Tray
Design Manual, 2013 Anniversary Reprint.
3 Isotope scans by Tracerco.
Jill Brown Burns is a Director of Technology
with Valero Energy Corporation, responsible
for troubleshooting, operations, and design
of the many fractionation columns and
crude/vacuum distillation units at the 14
Valero refineries. She holds a BS in chemical
engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
Kristen Becht is a Process Engineer at the
Valero Ardmore refinery, Ardmore, OK. She is
responsible for optimisation, troubleshooting,
and turnaround planning of the refinery
process units. She holds a BS in chemical
engineering from Lehigh University.
Brandt Mueller is a Process Engineer at the
Valero Ardmore refinery, Ardmore, OK. He is
responsible for optimisation, troubleshooting,
and turnaround planning of the refinery
process units and holds a BS in chemical
engineering from Oklahoma State University.
www.eptq.com
09/06/2017 14:47
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12:16
 Olefins and butanes to gasoline
Increasing alkylation capacity to process readily available olefins can be an
opportunity to add value to refinery operations
ARVIDS JUDZIS JR, ROMAIN LEMOINE, JACKIE MEDINA and STEPHEN D WILLIAMS
CB&I
M
arket dynamics are changing
the way refiners are look-
ing at their alkylation units.
More restrictive environmental
controls such as Tier 3 motor vehi-
cle emission and fuel standards and
CAFE regulations continue to drive
the need for additional alkylation
capacity in North America. Refiners
have the opportunity to create addi-
tional value by increasing alkylation
capacity using currently available
olefins. Processing so-called oppor-
tunity feedstocks, such as propyl-
ene and C5 olefins, can significantly
enhance revenue for the refiner with
an optimised processing strategy.
Propylene alkylation will become
increasingly attractive as refinery
propylene prices face substantial
downward pressure as additional
propylene production capacity is
brought on line. Alkylation of fluid
catalytic cracking (FCC) C5 olefins
upgrades low-value and widely
available butanes to gasoline. This
upgrade also has the positive effect
of reducing gasoline pool RVP. This
article will address the use of field
butanes to manufacture on-purpose
alkylate.
Although alkylation of propylene
and amylene has been long prac-
tised, technical challenges have
constrained the potential economic
benefits to the refiner, and thus lim-
ited a broader acceptance of these
opportunity feedstocks. Higher acid
consumption rates, additional waste
streams, environmental and safety
concerns, lower alkylate yield,
lower alkylate octane value, and
increased corrosion rates are chal-
lenges facing refiners when evalu-
ating the merits of propylene and
amylene alkylation via conventional
www.eptq.com
cbi.indd 1
160
140
120
Price, USD/bbl
100
80
60
40
Alkylate
20
Brent crude
0
2009 2010
Figure 1 Historic price of alkylate in the US Gulf Coast
sulphuric acid alkylation units.
CB&Is portfolio of refining technol-
ogies provides solutions to these as
well as other challenges confronting
todays refiner. Here, we address
several innovative strategies for
alkylating opportunity feedstocks
via CB&Is CDAlky technology,
thus creating value for the refiner.
Road octane requirements are
expected to increase in the US
largely due to the pressures of
meeting the latest CAFE regula-
tions. Furthermore, gasoline pool
octane losses resulting from Tier 3
implementation must be replaced.
Levels of US gasoline exports have
also increased more than two-fold
since 2010, with most export grades
having a RON value in the 91 to
95 range.1 To help meet this chal-
lenge, alkylate demand is expected
to increase because of its excellent
blend characteristics, namely high
octane value, low vapour pressure,
absence of olefins or aromatics, and
very low sulphur content. With
more alkylate available for blend-
ing, Tier 3 strategies can be opti-
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
mised and potentially streamlined.
The retail value of octane in the
US has increased consistently since
2010,2 and this trend is expected to
continue. At the wholesale level, the
trend is somewhat different, with
the incremental cost of octane fol-
lowing crude prices quite closely,
particularly Brent. US refiners have
assets currently in place to meet the
growing demand for octane, albeit
at a higher cost; for example oper-
ating marginal catalytic reformers
at higher severities or higher uti-
lisation rates.1 Figure 1 plots the
yearly average US Gulf Coast alky-
late price3 as a surrogate for octane
value, along with Brent crude. The
trend is unmistakably similar.
Currently, worldwide alky-
late production capacity stands
at approximately 2.1 million b/d.
Nearly 60% of this capacity is
located in North America,4 with
alkylate being produced by the
reaction of isobutane with light ole-
fins, primarily C4, from FCC units.
The mixture of multi-branched,
gasoline range hydrocarbons thus
PTQ Q3 2017 27
09/06/2017 14:55
 and C5 olefins, and fed at high con-
centration to alkylation reactors. The
Refrigeration propylene reaction system will oper-
Propane
ate at a higher temperature, greater
iC4 recycle
isobutane to olefin ratio, and acid
Olefin
feed
CDAlky strength, but will operate at a lower
Post treatment space velocity compared to C4 and
is eliminated C5 olefin alkylation.
Water Caustic
With conventional sulphuric acid
alkylation technology, high con-
Effluent centrations of propyl sulphates are
n-butane
Acid-HC brought about by elevated propyl-
coalescers ene concentrations. As a result, acid
Post
treatment Fractionation consumption becomes extremely
Spent Fresh difficult to control, and acid runa-
acid acid
Waste way conditions can become more
Alkylate
water likely. First, acid consumption
increases to the extent that main-
taining a constant acid strength
Figure 2 Block flow diagram of CB&Is CDAlky technology in the reaction section becomes
extremely challenging. Secondly,
formed is an excellent clean gaso- processing options or an outlet to the presence of propyl sulphates at
line blending stock. market for their surplus refinery high concentrations will influence
grade propylene (RGP) have prac- the physical properties of the acid
CDAlky technology tised propylene alkylation for some emulsion. Not only is the mixing
The ability to process, and bene- time. With additional propylene affected by an increased emulsion
fit from, opportunity feedstocks production coming on line in the US viscosity, but also by the emulsion
as presented in this article can be via FCC and propane dehydrogena- foaming/frothing properties. These
attributed to the innovative design tion, downward pricing forces due factors explain why conventional
of the CDAlky reaction system (see to surpluses may create opportuni- alkylation reactors are limited in the
Figure 2). The reactor design not ties for revenue enhancement. amount of propylene they can toler-
only allows the refiner to economi- Propylene alkylation requires ate. CDAlky reactors, which employ
cally break the low temperature bar- more severe reaction conditions, no moving parts, are the first
rier and achieve enhanced product particularly with sulphuric acid pro- devices able to safely process 100%
quality, but also eliminates the com- cesses, since the reaction rate is slow propylene on a total olefin basis.
plex alkylate post-treatment section compared to C4 and C5 olefins. It is Since lower alkylate octane value
which can cause downstream corro- also well known that alkylate octane and higher acid consumption are
sion problems. These step-changes and quality, acid consumption, typically associated with propylene
in process technology have been the and yield are negatively affected alkylation, this practice should be
only real breakthroughs in sulphu- when processing propylene. To considered as a portion of an overall
ric acid alkylation for over 50 years. increase the reaction rates and hence refinery olefin processing strategy
improve alkylate product quality to ensure viable economic perfor-
Propylene alkylation and yield, the propylene feedstock mance. Due to its feedstock process-
Refiners without either alternate should be segregated from the C4 ing flexibility and ability to cascade
hydrocarbon, CDAlky can present
a range of possibilities for optimisa-
tion, adding value for refiners.
An integrated, optimised solu-
Spent CDAlky CDAlky Fresh
acid acid
tion minimising the shortcomings
C4= train C3= train
described earlier is shown in Figure 3.
In the processing scheme shown
C4= olefin C3= olefin
feed CDAlky feed in Figure 3, the olefin feeds are
Compressor
Recycle iC4 staged. The CDAlky reactor process-
ing propylene is oriented upstream
CDAlky of the reactor processing butylenes.
DeiC4
This arrangement enables operating
CDAlky C3 temperatures to be optimised; that
iC4 Alkylate DeC3 products is, low temperature for the butylene
make-up product
unit and a higher temperature for
the propylene unit. One important
Figure 3 CB&Is optimised flow scheme for alkylating propylene factor differentiating CDAlky from

28 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

cbi.indd 2 09/06/2017 14:55


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 conventional sulphuric acid alkyla-
tion technology is its ability to pro-
cess up to 100% propylene, on an
olefin basis, which adds value to the
refiners bottom line.
The sulphuric acid and hydrocar-
bon streams are cascaded from the
propylene reactor to the butylene
reactor. With the CDAlky process, it
is not only possible to cascade high
strength spent acid from the propyl-
ene reactor to the butylene reactor,
but also the alkylate product. This
means that the alkylate product
from the propylene reactor, which is
rich in isobutane and untreated (no
post-treatment), can be fed directly
to the butylene reactor. This reduces
not only the utility consumption
costs associated with higher isobu-
tane utilisation, but also the invest-
ment cost associated with the
cleaning of the propylene alkylate
product which is required when
operating conventional sulphuric
acid alkylation technologies. Road
octane value and acid consumption
are also improved dramatically with
this cascade approach.
The stable propyl sulphate inter-
mediates generated in the propyl-
ene alkylation reactor will react in
the low temperature butylene reac-
tor. Acid cascading minimises acid
consumption and increases alky-
late yield. If a refiner has an existing
conventional sulphuric acid alkyla-
tion unit processing C4 olefins, and
wishes to expand alkylation capac-
ity to include propylene, a CDAlky
unit can be readily added to the
Spent CDAlky CDAlky
acid C5= train C4= train
C5= olefin C4= olefin
feed feed
CDAlky
DeiC4
iC4 Alkylate
make-up product
Figure 5 Optimised solution for alkylating C3, C4, and C5 olefins
30 PTQ Q3 2017
cbi.indd 3
CDAlky
alkylation
unit
C5 alkylate
FCC CDHydro
gasoline column
Heavy cat naphtha and mid cat naphtha
to FCC gasoline desulphurisation
Figure 4 Using the C5 CDHydro column
approach vs a traditional SHU plus splitter
scheme. CB&I can assist in optimis-
ing the configuration based on feed-
stock rates and properties.
Alkylation of FCC C5 olefins
Alkylation of FCC C5 olefins
upgrades inexpensive and widely
available butanes to gasoline. It also
has the positive effect of reducing
the RVP of the gasoline pool. This
also enables the refiner to blend
additional volumes of low value
streams, such as hydrotreated light
straight run naphtha or natural gas-
oline, into the gasoline pool, thus
significantly improving revenues.
While impurity levels in pro-
pylene pose no significant chal-
lenges to sulphuric acid alkylation
units, the FCC C5 olefin stream may
require treatment to manage acid
consumption rates. Dienes pres-
CDAlky Fresh
C3= train acid
C3= olefin
feed
CDAlky
Recycle iC4
Compressor
CDAlky C3
DeC3 products
ent in the C5 olefin stream increase
acid consumption, but these can be
removed via selective hydrogena-
tion upstream of the alkylation
unit. Cyclopentenes also contribute
to higher acid consumption rates.
Cyclopentene levels in the alkyla-
tion feed can be reduced to desired
levels via distillation.
CB&Is C5 CDHydro technology
reduces both the diene and cyclo-
pentene levels in alky feed with a
single catalytic distillation column.
This approach to reducing dienes
has been successfully demonstrated
in commercial operation. The first
CDHydro unit designed to reduce
cyclopentene levels was starting up
in the second quarter of 2017.
CB&Is configuration employing
CDHydro and CDAlky technolo-
gies for the treatment and alkylation
of FCC C5 olefins is shown in Figure
4. Not all of the FCC gasoline has
to be processed by selective hydro-
genation with the optimised con-
figuration, hence piece count is
minimised as is the capital invest-
ment. Furthermore, the target
sulphur level for the Tier 3 FCC gas-
oline product or any blend streams
can be optimised, perhaps even ele-
vated, as more alkylate becomes
available in the gasoline pool.
Reaction rates for the alkylation
of FCC C5 olefins are slightly lower
when compared to C4 olefins; how-
ever, one can still take advantage
of the lower reaction temperatures
to significantly improve the alky-
late product quality and reduce
acid consumption rates. Further, the
level of removal of both the dienes
and cyclopentene can be much
more modest when the refiner has
a sulphuric acid alkylation unit that
operates at significantly colder tem-
peratures, such as the CDAlky pro-
cess. This will again impact the
refiners bottom line favourably.
We have determined that the
octane loss with C5 olefins can be
effectively mitigated with a reduc-
tion in space velocity, increase in
I/O ratio, or a combination thereof.
In fact, CDAlky technology is the
only sulphuric acid alkylation pro-
cess that can independently con-
trol and adjust space velocity
on-line, adding value and flexibility
to the refiner in terms of being able
www.eptq.com
09/06/2017 14:55
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specialty catalysts that drive exceptional performance. You can count on our proven
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 to adjust product quality. Stable
operation has been demonstrated
with a 100% C5 olefin feed at an
acid strength as low as 81% with-
out major impact on alkylate quality
or corrosion rate, which offers huge
potential savings in acid costs.
As with propylene, if a refiner has
an existing, conventional sulphuric
acid alkylation unit processing C4
olefins and wishes to expand alkyla-
tion capacity to include FCC C5 ole-
fins, a CDAlky unit can be readily
added to the scheme.
Optimised flow scheme
For refiners that want to pro-
cess propylene, C4, and C5 olefins,
CDAlky technology provides clear
benefits. By staging olefin feed-
stocks (see Figure 5), each alkyla-
tion train is optimised for enhanced
alkylate quality, yield and acid con-
sumption. This means that CDAlky
operates the C3 train at a higher
temperature (say, 55-65F, 13-18C),
whereas the C4 and C5 trains oper-
ate at low temperatures (<32F,
<0C).
The cascading of acid from the
C3 unit to the C4 unit, and subse-
quently the C5 unit, not only enables
the refiner to improve alkylate qual-
ity and yield, but also to decrease
the overall acid consumption rate.
As previously discussed, the sta-
ble and slow to react intermediate
propyl sulphates present in the C3
train spent acid are not only min-
imised by operating the C3 reac-
tor at a high acid strength, but also
are reacted away in the C4 train via
acid cascading. The CDAlky C4 train
operates at a low temperature, and
so the refiner sees a significantly
reduced acid consumption rate
compared to traditional alkylation
technologies. Hence the refiner does
not need to go to the lowest possi-
ble acid drop out strength to max-
imise the C4 alkylate quality and
yield. Additionally, the propyl sul-
phates are recovered in the C4 train,
further increasing the overall alkyl-
ation product yield. Finally, the C5
train, as previously discussed, oper-
ates at low temperatures, hence the
C5 alkylate product quality is max-
imised. As described in the previous
section, the C5 unit acid can be spent
at a much lower strength without
www.eptq.com
cbi.indd 4
C2 purge
Dimerisation
unit
Ethylene
Reverse
Propylene metathesis
unit
2-butenes
Gasoline
by-product
Figure 6 Reverse metathesis and
dimerisation
the risk of acid runaway. Because
of these stable conditions, the acid
consumption of the overall unit is
tremendously reduced.
The final critical aspect of the
scheme shown above, and specific
to CDAlky technology, is hydro-
carbon cascading. While conven-
tional technologies are unable to
cascade hydrocarbon from one train
to another due to the high degree of
back mixing, the CDAlky process is
able to tolerate high alkylate con-
centrations without any significant
impact on product quality.
This cascading concept, further-
more, enhances the utilisation of the
isobutane contained in the reactor
effluents. In other words, the over-
all isobutane to olefin (I/O) ratio
can be significantly reduced. In fact,
in the scheme described above, the
C3 train can be operated at a signif-
icant higher I/O ratio for improved
alkylate quality while the C4 train
can operate only with the unreacted
isobutane cascading from the C3
train. Finally, in the C5 train, only a
minimal addition of isobutane may
be needed on top of the isobutane
cascading from the C4 train. This
results in a significant reduction in
the overall I/O ratio of the overall
alkylation unit, reducing the utility
consumption of the unit.
Another important aspect of
hydrocarbon cascading is the elim-
ination of acid/hydrocarbon coa-
lescers between olefin trains. Hence
there is a significant reduction in
capital investment without any com-
promises in acid carry over or total
sulphur in the alkylate sulphur.
Use of iso-pentane
Refiners should consider the use
of iso-pentane in alkylation units
to reduce the RVP of the gasoline
pool. This can further create pros-
pects to add more opportunity
blendstocks to the gasoline pool,
such as light straight run naphtha.
With the expected increase in avail-
ability, iso-pentane prices will be
under pressure, giving the refiner
the opportunity to consider alkyl-
ation as a potentially better home
rather than the traditional ones such
as steam cracking, isomerisation, or
blending.
CDAlky technology is well
suited to employing iso-pentane.
Consumption of iso-pentane is
readily achieved at practical con-
centrations of iso-pentane in the
iso-paraffin feed, with the exact
value depending on the operat-
ing conditions employed and type
of olefins processed. Employing
iso-pentane is eminently suitable for
alkylating not only C4 or C5 olefins,
but also propylene.
When processing FCC C5 olefins in
the iso-pentane consumption mode,
the hydrogen transfer pathway is
less favoured. Hence, alkylate qual-
ity and yield are somewhat reduced
and the acid consumption rate is
increased. The economics of this type
of operation will certainly depend on
the refiners circumstances.
Alternative option to process
opportunity olefin feeds: reverse
metathesis plus dimerisation
CB&Is reverse metathesis technol-
ogy converts propylene to ethylene
and butenes (primarily 2-butenes)
by metathesis chemistry (see Figure
6), but it can also convert C5 ole-
fins, in the presence of ethylene, to
butenes and propylene. The reverse
metathesis process has process ele-
ments similar to conventional ole-
fins conversion technology (OCT).
Since it is an equilibrium reaction,
the process chemistry can be used
to react ethylene and butenes to
produce propylene or vice versa
(reverse metathesis). In the pro-
posed scheme, ethylene produced
by the reverse metathesis unit is
further processed in an integrated
dimerisation unit to produce addi-
tional pure butenes. The butene
PTQ Q3 2017 33
09/06/2017 14:55

Figure 7 The Haiyue CDAlky unit in China
streams from both the reverse
metathesis unit and dimerisation
unit can now be routed to the alky-
lation unit.
The reverse metathesis process
was in commercial operation at a
facility in Canada during the period
1965-1972. Due to economic reasons
related to feed and product pricing,
the plant discontinued the oper-
ation. The process uses the same
metathesis chemistry which has
been successful in the conventional
metathesis process to produce pro-
pylene from ethylene and butene
and has been in commercial oper-
ation for more than 30 years with
over 40 units licensed and about 28
in operation.
With the alkylation unit on a 100%
butene feedstock, alkylate quality is
fully maximised and acid consump-
Reference sites for CDAlky technology
Licensee
Sincier, China1
Haiyue, China1
Tianheng, China1
YuTianHua, China
S-Oil, Korea2
Pertamina, Indonesia2
Undisclosed, USA2
Zhejiang Pet Co (ZPC), China
Yanchang, China
Undisclosed, China
Undisclosed, China
Undisclosed, China
Notes:
(1) Exceeded all performance guarantees
(2) Operate conventional sulphuric acid alkylation unit
Over 120 000 b/d alkylate capacity by 2020 with CDAlky technology.
Table 1
34 PTQ Q3 2017
cbi.indd 5
technology can be combined with
CDAlky at scales large enough to
produce high quality on-purpose
alkylate. CB&Is Caton dehydro-
genation technology has been com-
mercially proven and is one of the
leading dehydrogenation technolo-
gies with 54 licences worldwide and
with a total capacity >30 million lbs
olens/di-olens. Included in the
count since 2013 are four co-pro-
cessing awards. Caton can process
high concentrations of n-butane, up
to 100%.
As with all C4 olens, a low tem-
perature alkylation operation is
advantaged because it produces a
higher quality alkylate product; that
tion minimised, assuming operating is, it is more selective. This mini-
temperatures are low, that is, in the mises the formation of acid solu-
32F or lower range, which can be ble oil (ASO) and therefore reduces
readily achieved with CDAlky tech- acid consumption when com-
nology. With this option, premium pared to conventional technology.
gasoline grades above a road octane Low contacting temperatures basi-
value of 93 (or 95 RON) are feasi- cally reduce reaction rates, particu-
ble, adding another nancial oppor- larly the side reactions, which are
tunity for the rener to consider. responsible for the formation of
With a near-perfect butene feed, larger molecules and a high end-
CDAlky technology will enable the point alkylate product. The for-
rener to meet all future pool octane mation of these heavies negatively
requirements. impacts the alkylate product yield
particularly when processing high
Butane to alkylate concentrations of iso-butylene in
Field butane prices have been stead- the olen feed. CDAlky technol-
ily decreasing during the past two ogy minimises these unwanted
years or so, which suggests that reactions. C4= or C3= feeds from a
this material may also be an oppor- Caton dehydro unit are perfectly
tunity feedstock not only for ren- acceptable.
ers but mid-stream producers.
CB&Is Caton dehydrogenation Commercial experience with CDAlky
technology
CB&Is CDAlky technology is a
fully commercialised and proven
technology. Three units have been
Capacity Year commissioned thus far in China,
b/d KTA Award Start-up Feedstock
5000 200 2012 2013 C4 raffinate with additional facilities currently
15 000 600 2011 2014 C4 raffinate under construction in China and
5,000 200 2012 2014 C4 raffinate Korea. The rst unit in China,
6800 265 2014 2017 C4 raffinate Sincier, has successfully operated
16 000 625 2014 2018 Mixed C4s
7400 290 2016 2019 FCC C4s for over four years.
23 000 900 2016 2020 FCC C5s During 2016 and 2017, seven
14 000 555 2016 2018 C4 raffinate additional CDAlky licence agree-
5000 200 2016 2019 C4 raffinate ments were nalised, including one
12 000 420 2017 2018 C4 raffinate
5000 200 2017 2018 C4 raffinate licence for a new project for a major
6500 250 2017 2018 C4 raffinate rener on the US Gulf Coast. This
brings the total number of licences
to 12, with a total alkylate capacity
of over 120 000 b/d by 2020.
Commercially demonstrated alky-
late octane for CDAlky technology
is 1.0 to 1.5 RON numbers higher
www.eptq.com
09/06/2017 14:56
 than alkylation technology availa-
ble from competitors. Furthermore,
acid consumption is 30% to 50%
lower for CDAlky, providing sig-
nificant savings in operating costs.
With the elimination of caustic and
water washing, corrosion rates are
also significantly reduced when
compared to conventional technol-
ogy. This was confirmed during
the turnaround inspection at the
first commercialised CDAlky unit
in China and therefore validates the
design of the technology.
Without the need for internal
mechanical agitation in the CDAlky
reactor, the refiner can expect to
see significant advantages in terms
of reduced maintenance cost and
improved mechanical reliabil-
ity. The reactor design and sepa-
ration system ensures a rapid and
clear separation of the acid and
hydrocarbon phases so that carry-
over is eliminated and acid utilisa-
tion is enhanced. The potential for
increased residual sulphur in the
alkylate product is likewise elimi-
nated. Reference sites are listed in
Table 1.
Our solutions for
oil & gas:
Fans & blowers
Compressors
Air-cooled heat exchangers
Environmental solutions
Dampers
Noise protection
www.eptq.com
cbi.indd 6
Conclusions
Refiners have the opportunity to cre-
ate additional value by increasing
alkylation capacity using already
available olefins. The processing of
opportunity feedstocks, such as pro-
pylene, FCC C5 olefins, and field
butanes can be highly profitable
for refiners with a well thought out
operating strategy using the con-
cepts outlined previously.
CDAlky is a mark of CB&I.
References
1 2016 AFPM Q&A, Baltimore, Gasoline
Processes, Town Hall C.
2 EIA data.
3 Platts data.
4 THiggings Energy Consulting, 2015.
Arvids Judzis is Director of Technology
Commercialization with CB&Is Technology
operating group, Refining and Gasification.
With over 39 years of experience in the refining
and petrochemicals industry, he is responsible
for leading process development activities and
new technology launches for the business unit.
He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering
from Cornell University, and MS and PhD
degrees in chemical engineering from the
University of Michigan.
www.boldrocchi.eu
Romain Lemoine is Director of Technology
with CB&Is Technology operating group,
Refining and Gasification. With over 10 years of
experience in the refining and petrochemicals
industry, he led the design, development and
commercialisation effort of CB&Is sulphuric
acid alkylation technology. He holds a BS
degree in chemistry/chemical engineering
from Ecole Nationale Suprieur de Lille, France,
and a PhD degree in chemical engineering from
the University of Pittsburgh.
Jackeline Medina is a Technology Manager with
CB&Is Technology operating group, Refining
and Gasification, overseeing the development
of high octane component technologies, and
was instrumental in commercialising CB&Is
CDAlky and AlkyClean technologies. She holds a
bachelors degree in chemical engineering from
Simn Bolvar University, Caracas, Venezuela.
Stephen D Williams is Director of Business
Development with CB&Is Technology
operating group, Refining and Gasification.With
over 37 years of experience in the petroleum
refining and petrochemicals industry, he is
responsible for client relationship development
and support, and for identifying and developing
new business opportunities across CB&Is
portfolio of licensed refining technologies. He
holds a BS in chemical engineering from Texas
A&M University, an MBA from Texas A&M
University Corpus Christi, and is a Registered
Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.
PTQ Q3 2017 35
09/06/2017 14:56
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 Optimising the health of rotating
equipment
Applying predictive analytics to rotating equipment enables a preventative
maintenance programme for improved savings
MARTIN TURK
Schneider Electric
I
n the midst of tough economic
times, oil and gas businesses are
facing an urgent need to operate
at the highest levels of reliability and
efficiency while also increasing pro-
ductivity and controlling costs. They
want to limit downtime and min-
imise risks to safety and the envi-
ronment. While there are a number
of challenges facing the industry,
including digital disruptions and
financial uncertainty, applications
enabled by the Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT) can provide signif-
icant performance and reliability
improvements.
From an asset performance man-
agement (APM) perspective, organ-
isations are leveraging industrial
data and advanced analytics to
keep equipment running safely
and reliably for as long as possi-
ble. This is made possible through
data collection and analysis for pre-
dictive maintenance execution, con-
sequently empowering personnel to
act before equipment failure occurs.
Smarter maintenance
Petroleum refineries require a
diverse set of complex assets to pro-
duce fuels and other by-products
from crude oil. Reducing the inci-
dents of slowdowns or unplanned
shutdowns due to equipment fail-
ures is potentially worth millions
of dollars a year in terms of avoid-
ing production losses, damage to
equipment and unscheduled main-
tenance. Real-time health and per-
formance insights can be used to
influence decisions and actions that
drive efficiencies and improve com-
petitive advantage. This asset health
data is already being created and
can be used in maintenance and
www.eptq.com
q3 schneider.indd 1
Risk
based
maintenance
Predictive
Strategic maintenance
Proactive Condition based
Optimised maintenance
Preventive
maintenance
Reactive
maintenance
Figure 1 Maintenance practices hierarchy
asset management programmes
to mitigate risks and ensure that
critical equipment is operating as
expected.
A smart, comprehensive mainte-
nance programme includes several
approaches that are appropriate for
various types of equipment with the
goal of obtaining the greatest return
on each asset. Figure 1 provides a
graphical view of the maintenance
hierarchy.
The most basic approach, reac-
tive maintenance, involves letting
an asset run until it fails. It is only
suitable for non-critical assets that
have little to no immediate impact
on safety and have minimal repair
or replacement costs so that they
do not warrant an investment in
advanced technology.
On the other hand, preventative
maintenance (PM) approaches are
implemented in hopes that an asset
will not reach the point of failure.
The PM strategy prescribes main-
tenance work to be conducted on
a fixed time schedule or based on
operational statistics and manufac-
turer/industry recommendations of
Requires a comprehensive
maintenance infrastructure
APR and diagnostics to
predict impending failure
Rules based logic using
sensor data
Planned, based on time
or usage statistics
Run to failure
good practice. PM can be managed
in the enterprise asset management
(EAM) or computerised mainte-
nance management system (CMMS).
A more proactive approach, con-
dition based maintenance (CBM),
focuses on the physical condition
of equipment and how it is operat-
ing. CBM is ideal when measura-
ble parameters are good indicators
of impending problems. The condi-
tion is typically defined using rule
based logic, where the rule does
not change depending on loading,
ambient or operational conditions;
the rules drive automated work
order generation based on a specific
situation.
For more complex and criti-
cal assets, a predictive strategy is
appropriate. Predictive maintenance
(PdM) relies on the continuous mon-
itoring of asset performance through
sensor data and prediction engines
to provide advanced warning of
equipment problems and failures.
PdM typically uses advanced pat-
tern recognition (APR) and machine
learning, and requires a predictive
analytics solution for obtaining real-
PTQ Q3 2017 37
15/06/2017 12:24

Collect
On premises Monitoring centre
Figure 2 Deployment models for predictive analytics
time insights of equipment health.
Risk based maintenance (RBM) is
a comprehensive prognostic strat-
egy that allows plant operations
and maintenance personnel to make
decisions using PdM, CBM and PM
outcomes. As a result, the planning
for the maintenance and the oper-
ation of equipment helps to ensure
reliable and safe plant performance.
Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics uses a math-
ematical engine to transform raw
data into actionable information.
There are various approaches avail-
able as discussed below. Some are
easier to use than others and have
applications for which they are best
suited:
Neural networks: parametric tech-
nology that has been around for
years. Used when the modes and
networks are well known and there
are not many deviations from them.
The challenge is the lengthy train-
ing process required to model the
dynamics of the process.
Clustering: non-parametric tech-
niques, meaning it takes an unla-
belled data set and forms subsets of
groupings/clusters of data and reor-
ganises the data into smaller clus-
ters, for instance turbine cycles from
start-up to shutdown.
Decision tree learning maps obser-
vations to outcomes. This is simple
to understand because there is typi-
cally a xed set of outcomes for this
prescriptive approach, meaning you
limit the analysis to the possible out-
comes, which may or may not all be
known.
Fuzzy logic: the opposite of
Boolean, which is based on 1 or 0.
Fuzzy is somewhere between that
which says something is more true
than not. This approach is okay if
38 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 schneider.indd 2
Analyse Act
APM-aaS
Advisors expertise
Analytics
Asset knowledge
Gathered data
you do not need the engineering
accuracy or detection of subtleties of
behaviour.
Deep learning: used for unsuper-
vised data mostly where you gen-
erate more complex relationships
from simpler ones. You need a lot
of domain specic data and a data
scientist to understand how to con-
gure the system, but it is very pow-
erful for extracting information on
systems, technologies and trends.
Machine learning: a way to auto-
mate the model building and learn-
ing process in both supervised and
unsupervised modes. The idea is
for the programme to learn more as
time goes on and become more intel-
ligent. For very dynamic processes
this can be a challenging approach
but it is being applied by the indus-
try in the space during normal oper-
ating cycles, not during start-ups/
shutdowns.
Pattern recognition: a branch of
machine learning that focuses on the
recognition of patterns and regular-
ities in data, although it is in some
cases considered to be nearly synon-
ymous with machine learning.
So predictive analytics can be as
simple as using rate of change to
predict a value at some time in the
future or much more complex, for
instance use of pattern recognition
and machine learning.
Using a predictive asset analytics
solution in support of a PdM strat-
egy can lead to the identication of
issues that may not have been found
otherwise. According to research by
ARC Advisory Group, only 18% of
asset failures increased with use or
age. This means that PM alone is not
enough to avoid the other 82% of
asset failures, and a more advanced
approach is required. Predictive
analytics software uses historical
operational signatures for each asset
and compares it to real-time oper-
ating data to detect subtle changes
in equipment behaviour. The soft-
ware is able to identify changes in
system behaviour well before tradi-
tional operational alarms, creating
more time for analysis and correc-
tive action.
Figure 2 shows various approaches
to deployment of a predictive ana-
lytics solution for continuous moni-
toring of equipment health.
These include on-premises
deployment and monitoring of asset
health models by on-site staff. For
companies that lack the dedicated
resources to take predictive ana-
lytics completely in-house, remote
monitoring is a second option that
provides the functionality while
lowering total cost of ownership. In
this deployment, plant data is peri-
odically transmitted to this centre
and input to the appropriate soft-
ware. This centre is manned by
industrial asset and rotating machin-
ery experts who monitor the asset
health models and provide best
practice advice as well as daily,
weekly, monthly and quarterly
reports to on-site personnel, such as
plant reliability engineers. Lastly,
some vendors offer complete APM-
as-a-service, providing support from
initial warnings and fault diagnos-
tics through the actual repair and
maintenance of equipment.
Health and performance
optimisation
Predictive asset analytics software
solutions improve performance by
providing early warning notica-
tion of equipment issues and poten-
tial failures. Schneider Electrics
Avantis PRiSM software is built on
an algorithm called OPTiCS that
uses Advanced Pattern Recognition
(APR) and machine learning tech-
nology. The software learns an
assets unique operating prole
during all loading, ambient and
operational conditions through the
advanced modelling process. The
result of the modelling process is a
unique asset signature that is com-
pared to real-time operating data to
determine and alert upon detection
of subtle deviations from expected
equipment behaviour. PRiSM is an
www.eptq.com
09/06/2017 17:06
 intuitive system designed so that the
user can easily configure it to mon-
itor different types of equipment
with no programming or highly
detailed equipment knowledge.
Avantis PRiSM enables person-
nel to address subtle variations in
equipment behaviour before they
become problems that significantly
impact operations. Unscheduled
downtime can be reduced because
personnel receive early warning
notifications of developing issues.
PRiSM can identify problems days,
weeks or months before they occur,
creating time for plant personnel to
be proactive. Maintenance costs can
be reduced due to better planning;
parts can be ordered and shipped
without rush and equipment can
continue running. Additionally,
some preventative maintenance
windows can be lengthened as
determined by equipment condition.
Other benefits include increased
asset utilisation and the ability to
identify under-performing assets.
Not only do companies improve
their profitability by extending
equipment life, lengthening main-
tenance windows, and increasing
asset availability, other benefits are
realised when considering the costs
that could have been, including
replacement equipment, lost pro-
ductivity, additional man hours,
and so on when a major failure
is avoided. Another increasingly
important benefit is the capability
for knowledge capture and trans-
fer. PRiSM ensures that maintenance
decisions and processes are repeat-
able even when organisations are
faced with transitioning workforces,
and the loss of experienced workers
with critical institutional knowledge
of the operations and maintenance
of the organisations facilities.
Smarter operations now and in
the future
As IIoT continues to enable smarter
equipment that creates increasing
amounts of data, oil and gas compa-
nies are faced with both challenges
and opportunities to leverage that
data to mitigate risk and improve
productivity. Using PRiSM for pre-
dictive analytics insights, person-
nel know and understand the actual
and expected performance for an
www.eptq.com
q3 schneider.indd 3
Act
...R...O...MA...NCE
People
Connect Assets Analyse
Operations
romance.hoerbiger.com
Collect
Figure 3 Steps to deliver the capabilities of
enterprise APM
asset. They know where inefficien-
cies are and their impact on financial
performance and can use this infor-
mation to understand the impact of
performance deficiencies on current
and future operations. This informa-
tion also helps users assess the risk
and potential consequences associ-
ated with each monitored asset and
can be used to better prioritise capi-
tal and operational expenditures.
In order to capitalise on the prom-
ise of predictive analytics and the
IIoT, it is not enough to simply diag-
nose potential issues solutions
need to close the loop by provid-
ing easily actionable insights that
employees can act on to resolve the
issue. An Enterprise APM solution
provides that closed-loop function-
ality by incorporating predictive
analytics, enterprise data capture,
mobile workforce management and
advanced workflow scheduling
in a hardware-agnostic platform.
These solutions enable companies
to increase information access across
the business, predict problems
before they occur and efficiently
resolve them, enabling the transition
from a reactive to a proactive main-
tenance strategy for improved asset PERFORMANCE counts.
performance and reliability.
Figure 3 illustrates the various
Innovative engineered
steps involved in deploying an compressor solutions,
enterprise APM: individually tailored to
Connect to plant-wide systems the needs of your business
and sources (IIoT). and with rapid payback.
Collect to capture high-fidelity
process, production and equipment
information on premises or in the
cloud.
Analyse: To apply machine learn-
ing, advanced pattern recogni-
tion and rules based logic for asset
monitoring.
325048_Hoerbiger_AZ_Romance_PTQ_59x270mm_RZ03.indd 102.06.17 10:18
PTQ Q3 2017 39
12/06/2017 15:01
 the adoption of a predictive mainte-
nance philosophy provides signi-
cant benets in terms of improved
Connect Collect Analyse Act
asset productivity and reduced
ADMS, DCS, PLC Online Machine learning Workflow
maintenance costs:
process data Reduction in maintenance costs
SCADA Rules Collaboration (25% to 30%)
Non-instrumented
Sensors and other data Financial modelling Enterprise asset Elimination of breakdowns (70%
smart devices
Product Fault diagnostics management to 75%)
information Reduction in downtime (35% to
Strategise 45%)
Increase in production (20% to
Optimise 25%).
These results alone should
cause petroleum reners to seri-
Figure 4 Enterprise asset performance management ously consider implementing a
predictive maintenance strategy.
Refinery rotating equipment
There are many opportunities
to deploy predictive analytics for
monitoring the operational health
Refinery process Rotating equipment
Continuous catalytic reforming Hydrogen compressor of renery rotating equipment and
Fluid coking Air blower xed assets. Table 1 lists some of the
Fluidised catalytic cracking Air blower pieces of rotating equipment used
Fluidised catalytic cracking Wet gas compressor on various process and utility units
Hydrotreating Hydrogen recycle compressor
Power generation Steam turbine generator of a petroleum renery.
Power generation Gas turbine generator An estimate of the annual benets
Resid hydroprocessing Hydrogen recycle compressor provided by an APM programme
Resid hydroprocessing Make-up hydrogen compressor for a typical 100 000 b/d renery is
Semi-regen catalytic reforming Hydrogen recycle compressor
Steam system HP-MP turboexpander shown in Table 2.
Steam system MP-LP turboexpander
Sulphuric acid alkylation Olefin feed compressor Case studies
Utility plant Boiler feedwater pump(s) To date, predictive analytics has
been widely deployed for rotat-
Table 1 ing equipment in power plants due
to the critical nature of these facili-
Act: To enable the workforce to these failures may be detected via ties. In power generation, predictive
make better decisions using the full condition monitoring based on analytics and enterprise APM have
EAM compliment solutions that sup- known failure modes, a large major- already demonstrated real value.
port enterprise-wide collaboration of ity do not lend themselves to rule Tata Power saved almost $300 000
people, processes and equipment based condition monitoring as in a single early catch. However,
Figure 4 puts the predictive analyt- they are much more random in such technology is starting to be
ics component analyse in the con- nature. This is the domain best han- deployed in hydrocarbon process-
text of enterprise APM. dled by a predictive maintenance ing plants such as petroleum ren-
As noted above, an ARC study strategy, enabled by Enterprise eries and petrochemical plants and
revealed that only 18% of asset fail- APM. the scope of application is expand-
ures are related to the age of the Below are the results of a study by ing to xed assets such as heat
asset. The remaining 82% are asso- the US Department of Energy that exchangers and reactors. For exam-
ciated with mechanical or oper- was conducted to ascertain the ben- ple, in an industry closely associ-
ational failures. While some of ets of enterprise APM. Specically, ated with the petroleum rening

Benefits of an APM programme

Category Annual benefit, $000/year

Avoiding abnormal situations (accidents, explosions, releases) 500.0
Reducing lost profit opportunities (unplanned and scheduled maintenance turnarounds) 1750.0
Reducing maintenance budget (optimising equipment maintenance and reducing overtime) 800.0
Improving staff productivity (by increasing the effectiveness of the reliability of engineers) 300.0
Reducing capital cost (by reducing the amount of capital investment needed) 400.0
Reducing liability insurance premiums (from a reduction in risk recognised by insurance cos.) 200.00
Total 3950.0

Table 2

40 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 schneider.indd 4 09/06/2017 17:06

 and petrochemical industries, an
international industrial gas com-
pany reported savings of more than
$500 000 from a single early catch
of an impending compressor fail-
ure which would have resulted in
an unplanned shutdown and loss
of plant revenue if the compressor
had failed.
Figure 5 cites some of the economic
benets that have been achieved
using predictive analytics as part of
an enterprise APM solution. This
information as well as the other ben-
et data given above should cause
petroleum reners to seriously con-
sider the adoption of a predictive
maintenance strategy supported
by the use of predictive analytics
for monitoring the health of critical
pieces of rotating equipment and
xed assets.
Conclusions
In closing, it should be noted that
predictive analytics has been shown
in practice to provide substan-
tial benets in terms of improving
plant safety, asset reliability and
Level Measurement
Visual Level Indicators VLI
Tank Level Instruments TLI
Meets the design standards of the oil & gas,
petrochemical, hydrocarbon and LPG/LNG industries
Pressures from vacuum to 500 bar
Densities down to 0,27 g/cm
No maintenance (fit and forget)
More than 50 years of experience
Certified according CE, EAC, Pattern Approval,
ABS, BV, DNV-GL, LR, RINA, RMRS ...
Oil & Gas Industry
Petrochemical Industry
Chemical & Pharmaceutical Industry
Power Industry
Shipbuilding & Marine Industry
Water Management
ARCA Flow Group worldwide:
Competence in valves, pumps & cryogenics
www.eptq.com
q3 schneider.indd 5
25% Improved labour utilisation
$500K Savings from early warning of
motor coupling failure
$4M+ Savings from early warning of
turbine blade failure
20% Increase in asset availability
30% Improvement
utilisation
in asset
$50K Savings from early warning of
performance issues
25% Increase in planned work
25% Reduction in unplanned
downtime
30% Reduction in maintenance costs
30%+ Improvement
compliance
in regulatory
Figure 5 Benefits that have been achieved
from enterprise APM
availability, as well as protability.
However, successful deployment
of a predictive analytics solution
involves much more than automa-
tion technology. It requires highly
trained and competent operations
and maintenance personnel, best-in-
class business processes and, per-
haps most importantly, escalation
procedures designed to resolve the
inherent conicts that frequently
arise between operations and main-
tenance personnel when it comes to
decisions about when to maintain
failing equipment. Taken together,
these solutions enable organisa-
tions to adopt a predictive main-
tenance approach and maximise
their return on costly asset
investments.
References
1 w w w. a rc we b. c o m / L i s t s / P o s t s / P o s t .
aspx?ID=260
2 w w w. a rc we b. c o m / L i s t s / P o s t s / P o s t .
aspx?ID=260
3 Ayral T, Moran M, Quantifying the ROI of
an asset performance management program,
Hydrocarbon Processing, May 2007.
Martin A Turk is Director, O&G Downstream
Global Solutions Architect with Schneider
Electric. For most of his 44 plus years
of experience, he has been involved in
engineering, consulting, sales and marketing
activities related to process automation.
He holds a bachelors degree in chemical
engineering from the University of Dayton and
a doctorate in chemical engineering from the
University of Notre Dame.
sit us
Please vi te:
si
at our web .ch
www.wek
a-ag
WEKA AG Schrlistrasse 8
CH-8344 Bretswil Switzerland
Phone +41 43 833 43 43
Fax +41 43 833 43 49
info@weka-ag.ch www.weka-ag.ch
PTQ Q3 2017 41
15/06/2017 12:24
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 APC in a mild hydrocracker fractionator

Advanced process control of a mild hydrocracker can save millions of dollars

annually by maximising kerosene and/or diesel

ARNOLD KLEINE BNING Bayernoil

STEPHEN FINLAYSON AMT
Y ZAK FRIEDMAN Petrocontrol

B
ayernoil Neustadt refinery is
built for a high yield of diesel
and jet fuel, equipped with a
mild hydrocracker (MHC), hydro-
gen plant, plus sulphur removal
and recovery units (see Figure
1). Among many units, the ones
directly associated with the MHC
are:
Three crude distillation units
(CDU)
Two vacuum distillation units
(VDU) taking feed from the CDUs
An MHC taking feed from the
VDUs
Two fluid catalytic crackers (FCC)
taking unconverted oil (UCO) from
the MHC.
Figure 2 shows the MHC configu-
ration with reaction and separation
sections. Reactor effluent is a wide
boiling range material that must be
separated into narrow cut products.
First, light naphtha is separated out
in a stripper. Stripper bottoms are
taken into the fractionator, which
separates naphtha at the top, kero-
sene and diesel as side draws, and
heavy UCO at the bottom. Naphtha
is further separated into light and
heavy naphtha. Product values dif-
fer significantly and specifications
vary by season and type of oper-
ation. Kerosene is sometimes pro-
duced as jet fuel and at other times
blended into diesel.

Figure 1 Refinery flow diagram

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 43

bayernoil.indd 1 09/06/2017 17:17

 ential package. GCC employs first
principles calculation methods to
Makeup-gas
SMR estimate a fractionator feed true
Heater boiling point (TBP) curve, before
Recycle
gas
inferring cutpoints and other prod-
Light
Rx1 Rx2 naphtha uct properties. GCC was origi-
HT/HC HC Amine nally invented to deal with crude
Dehexaniser
scrubber fractionators, and the theory and
performance have been docu-
Light
mented in several papers.6,8,10,11,12,13,14
naphtha Adaptation of GCC to other types of
Heavy refinery hydrocarbon fractionators
naphtha
has also been addressed in the liter-
Stripper Kerosene ature.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 This is the first arti-
cle detailing the application of GCC
to MHC fractionators.
Diesel

Feed
Gas/liquid
separation
Figure 2 MHC process flow diagram
Advanced process control (APC)
of a typical MHC process can poten-
tially recover benefits in the order
of millions of dollars per annum by
maximising kerosene and/or die-
sel. The capture of these benefits
is contingent on reliable control of
product qualities at targets while
nudging the unit against physical
constraints.
Product qualities are typically
not measured but inferred, whereas
such inferences are the Achilles
heel of our industry. It takes
knowledge and skill to obtain reli-
able product quality inferences.
Neustadt is actually blessed with
Boiling temperature
Not used
Heater
UCO to
Fractionator FCC
Top 1
the ability to maintain on-stream
analysers, an art that by and large
has been abandoned by our indus-
try. Even so, when compared
against inference models, analyser
dead time in the order of 90 min-
utes would negatively affect APC
control performance. Furthermore,
even high reliability analysers occa-
sionally give erroneous readings,
which may cause the multivariable
predictive control (MVPC) to drive
products off specification.
Desiring to control product qual-
ities precisely, Neustadt has chosen
the Petrocontrol/AMT generalised
cutpoint calculation (GCC) infer-
GCC features
GCC theory has been documented
in many publications and hence
this article only describes the main
concepts. Fractionator temperature
measurements reflect tray compo-
sition at vapour/liquid equilibrium
at a given hydrocarbon partial pres-
sure. The opposite is also possible:
estimate tray compositions from
column conditions. GCC begins
with estimating partial pressure.
That is a function of total pressure
(measured), steam flows (meas-
ured), and vapour traffic (calcu-
lated from measurements and heat
balances). Once partial pressures
are estimated, GCC corrects tem-
perature readings from actual con-
ditions to atmospheric pressure.
Pressure corrected temperature
(PCT) formulae are well known.
These PCT temperatures, corrected
to atmospheric pressure, now reflect
the bubble points or dew points of
products, sometimes a mix of prod-
ucts, whereas dew points and bub-
ble points are functions of product
cutpoint temperatures. Calculation
of those cutpoints becomes a simple
arithmetic GCC procedure.

From cutpoints and yields, GCC

next constructs the TBP curve of
fractionator feed material. A TBP
curve is convenient because it
Overflash
describes ideal fractionation of the
Diesel
feed. An example of a TBP curve
is illustrated in Figure 3. The heavy
Kero
continuous line is column feed boil-
Naphtha ing curve, and the cutpoints define
ideal product yields. Three prod-
Volume evaporated, proportion of total ucts are shown: naphtha, kerosene
and diesel. The fourth cut is called
Figure 3 Reactor effluent TBP curve overflash and is not a real product,

44 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

bayernoil.indd 2 12/06/2017 15:05

ariel.indd 1 09/06/2017 12:48
 DONT LET DISTURBANCES
DISRUPT YOUR PROCESS.
What if your last trip could have been avoided?
Turbomachinery trains are the heart of your process.
How you operate them directly impacts the overall
reliability and efficiency of your plant. When a process
upset hits, poor controls amplify the problem. CCCs
advanced controls contain it.

optimize controls. Reduce downtime.

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ccc.indd 1 12/06/2017 10:11

 but material to be evaporated in
the ash zone, then reuxed back Diesel 90% = K1 CPK + K2 CPD + K3 (FDSLFDSL
+ FDSLIR)
+ Bias
down to the bottoms. Overash is
an important operating parame-
ter in that it determines the separa-
tion between diesel and UCO. Many

fractionators are designed with spe-
cial ow meters attempting to meas-
ure the overash. However by and
large those measurements are not
successful and the ability of GCC to
infer overash is an asset in itself.
The red lines of Figure 3 show
typical product TBP curves. Had
we experienced ideal fractionation,
product TBP curves would coincide
with the feed curve. The heavy and
light tails on product curves are
due to imperfect fractionation caus-
ing boiling range inter-mixing.
Cutpoint is a theoretical concept
used to estimate product proper-
ties, for example product 90% point.
GCC must be validated against
lab tests, which use an ASTM D86
apparatus, a simple distillation
machine, but not remotely a TBP
machine. The GCC D86 prediction
is a function of both front and back
cutpoints, as well as internal reux.
Internal reux is typically of sec-
ondary importance in the GCC D86
boiling point estimation. The fol-
lowing example shows the form of
GCC diesel 90% point calculation
based on cutpoints and internal
reux:
Diesel 90% point = K1 * KCP +
K2 * DCP + K3 * [FDSL / (FDSL +
FDSLIR)]
Quality penalty
Internal reflux
Figure 4 Quality is a function of cutpoints
the model most in demand is ker- point, a density meter is often used
osene ash point, an important jet to estimate the aromatic content of a
fuel specication. Flash point is the product, and related cold property
temperature at which vapour in shift. This is the preferred method
equilibrium above kerosene forms in situations where the aromat-
an explosive mixture with air. The ics content is routinely changing,
partial pressure of kerosene vapour for example on a crude fractionator
at ash point is theoretically known. where the quality of the different
To estimate ash point, GCC rst crude processed varies signicantly.
estimates kerosene bubble point, Having said that, aromatic compo-
and from that nds the partial pres- nents in hydrocracker feed become
sure of kerosene vapour in air and saturated in the reactor and cold
the temperature at which explosion properties can be predicted with
could take place. When kerosene is acceptable accuracy just from prod-
stripped by steam, the ash infer- uct cutpoints, without density
ence is corrected for steam ratio. correction.
Cold properties such as freeze
and cloud are a function not only GCC inferential performance
of cutpoints but also of aromatic Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the
content. Given that aromatics have GCC inferential precision for ker-
high density relative to their boiling osene 90% point, diesel 90% point,

K1, K2 = known coefcients KER90 Analyser

KCP = kerosene cutpoint Ker90_Inference
90% distillation, 50C range

DCP = diesel cutpoint KER90_Lab

FDSL = volume ow of diesel
FDSLIR = internal reux below the
diesel draw tray

Shown in Figure 4, the term [FDSL

/ (FDSL + FDSLIR)] is a number
between 0 and 1, 1 when there is
no reux. K3 can be viewed as the
heavy tail penalty for no reux. The
penalty function decays quickly
as internal reux increases, and
beyond an internal reux ratio of
4

14

14

14

14

14

14
01

01
20

20

20

20

20

20
r2

l2

1:1 further improvement in sepa-

ay

ct

ov
Ju
Ap

Ju

Au

Se

O
M

ration is small. Well designed frac-

8
9

6
8

6
7

5
9

tionators operate at about 1:1.

Following D86 90% inferences, Figure 5 Kerosene 90% point inference seven months trend

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 47

bayernoil.indd 3 09/06/2017 17:17

 that diesel is drawn precisely to a
DSL90_Analyser cutpoint of 363C:
DSL90_Inference

Distillation, 60C range

DSL90_Lab Conversion = 100 yield of UCO

That creates two control dif-

culties. First, the yield of UCO is a
noisy measurement because UCO
is on level control. We do not wish
to change reactor severity up and
down in response to level con-
trol oscillations. Second, as Figure 6
shows, diesel is not always drawn
precisely to a cutpoint of 363C.
Even when the target is indeed
363C, process variations around
the target last hours. We do not
4

14

14

14

14

14

14

14
01

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
wish to change reactor conditions
r2

ay

ct

ov
Ju
Ap

Ju

Au

Se

O in response to temporary dynamic

M

N
8
9

6
8

6
7

5
9

changes of diesel cutpoint.

Figure 6 Diesel 90% point inference seven months trend For conversion control we use a
GCC inferential model, which calcu-
lates conversion inputting not only
the yield of UCO but also all other
KFLASH_Analyser
KFLASH_Inference
products in a way that eliminates
dynamic UCO level disturbances
Flash point, 40C range

KFLASH_Lab
from affecting the conversion infer-
ence. And further, the yields of die-
sel and UCO are modied to reect
a cutpoint of 363C. Figure 9 illus-
trates the stability of GCC versus
DCS conversion calculation. Before
starting APC, the calculation var-
ied widely though that was in open
loop, not directly affecting the reac-
tor. Starting January 2015, conver-
sion was under APC control, being
held stable at target. Conversion
4

14

14

14

14

14

14
01

01
20

20

20

20

20

20
r2

l2

changes became deterministic, in

ay

ct

ov
Ju
Ap

Ju

Au

Se

O
M

response to the planners desire,

8
9

6
8

6
7

5
9

and this control handle was being

Figure 7 Kerosene flash point inference seven months trend used to balance between MHC ver-
sus FCC operation. This newly
kerosene ash point and diesel variable would be biased to correct available ability to control conver-
cloud point respectively over a for the drift. sion at target while keeping reactor
period of seven months. Inferential The four analysers also exhibit conditions steady has much value
models are compared against lab near perfect reliability, to the point in itself, before even considering the
results, as well as analyser readings. that with some dynamic correction benets of product quality control.
All four models trend quite well we are able to use analyser read-
against lab values. In the case of ings to reset inferential biases. Still, DMC performance
diesel 90% point, the model shifted because of analyser dead times in Figure 10 shows the big picture of
by 5C and held there for several the order of one to two hours we are fractionator control. Once the APC
months. That is typically the result better off using inferences as control application was commissioned,
of a drift in one of the inputs, and variables. product qualities went from ran-
the bias has reset itself upon instru- dom giveaways to tight control at
ment recalibration. Such a slow Conversion calculation the planners targets. And planners
long-term shift is not an imped- Economics call for 70% conver- quickly became aware of the oppor-
iment to APC control precision. sion, where converted material is tunity to specify targets that are
Figure 6 trends an unbiased result, dened as the part of reactor efu- consistent with the economics of the
the raw GCC calculation, whereas ent boiling below 363C. Neustadt day. For simplicity, Figure 10 shows
the inference used as the controlled has a DCS calculation tag assuming only the analyser values. Figures 11

48 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

bayernoil.indd 4 09/06/2017 17:17

 Summary of APC benefits
DLCD_Analyser
DSLCL_Inference
Product Mass balance shifts
DSLCL_Lab
m/h t/h

Cloud point, 30C change

Bottoms UKO 0.4 0.3
Kerosene 4.8 3.9
Diesel -2.2 -1.9
Overhead naphtha -3.1 -2.3

Benefits realised
Hourly yield benefit, $/h 590
Annual yield benefit, $/a >4 700 000

Table 1

and 12 illustrate how the control-

ler follows targets with delity, and
the close agreement between infer-

14

14

14

14

14

14

14
01

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
ences and lab values. Of interest, r2

ay

ct

ov
Ju
Ap

Ju

Au

Se

O
M

N
Figure 11 shows the DMC response

8
9

6
8

6
7

5
to some mistaken diesel 90% tar- 9
get moves that were reversed sev- Figure 8 Diesel cloud point inference seven months trend
eral hours later. Even more detailed
APC opportunity capturing mecha-
Conventional DMC
nisms are shown in Figures 13 and calculation commissioning Conversion GCC
14. These charts are standard DMC Conversion Convent.
Conversion 20% range,

dynamic trends showing the pro- DMC ON/OFF

cess variable in blue, as measured Shutdown

DMC ON/OFF
up to current time and predicted
into the future. The green lines are
%

DMC predictions of the process var-

iable, and the red lines are operat- DMC
GCC calculated conversion ON = 1
ing limits. The trends illustrate how is compensated for changes OFF = 0
1
in the DK cutpoint.
pushing against kerosene and diesel Stabilises feed to 0
specications and minimising naph- separation section

tha cutpoint brings about a substan-

14

14

14

15

15

15

5
01
20

20

20

20

20

20
tial increase in kerosene yield.

r2
ct

ov

ec

ar

Ap
Ja

Fe
O

To no-ones surprise, the service

M
N

factor is consistently above 90%.

The existence of on-stream analysers Figure 9 DSC and GCC conversion trend
has actually contributed to a high
service factor because, as opera-
tors observe the agreement between DA-0151 95% range, C Cloudpoint, C
inferences and analysers, they are Kero 95% range, C DK 90% range, C
more condent about pushing the
DMC DMC ON after
unit to operate near constraints. steptest commissioning

95% point
APC benefits gasoline Cloudpoint
A project post audit was performed diesel
DMC ON/OFF

several months after commission-

ing of the application. Table 1 is a
summary of the audit in terms of
nancial benets, calculated from 90% point
90% point diesel
observed product yield shifts. It is DMC
ON = 1 kero
of interest to note the positive shift OFF = 0
1
in UCO make. The overall economic 0
objective is not to maximise conver-
sion but to produce UCO to a plan-
ec 12

b 3

r 3

n 3

ec 13

ec 14
14
ov 13

n 3
ov 12

n 2

ar 3

ay 13

l2 3
g 13
p 3
ct 3
Fe 201

Ap 201

Ju 201

Ja 201
Ja 201

M 201

Ju 01

Se 201
O 201
D 20

Au 0

D 20

D 20
20
N 20
N 20

M 20

ners target, thus balancing between

2
ct
O

hydrocracking and FCC charges.

For middle distillates the objective
is to maximise the yield of kero- Figure 10 APC quality control trend

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 49

bayernoil.indd 5 09/06/2017 17:18

 That analysis does not take into
account the benets of stabilising

Diesel 90% point, 25C range

conversion and reactor conditions,
Diesel 90% point target
set by the control operator which contribute substantially by
affecting run length.
Lab sample
diesel 90% point Conclusions
Diesel 90% point,
GCC value What are the key ingredients for a
successful APC application?
Good design, selection of control
and manipulated variables to create
a well-conditioned control matrix;
control variables must include both
unit hard constraints and soft prod-
3

13

13

13

13

13

13
01

01

01

20

20

20

20

20

20
r2

r2

r2

uct quality constraints.

ay

ay

ay

ay

ay

ay
Ap

Ap

Ap

M
Inferential models should be of
25

27

29

11
top quality to produce products
Figure 11 APC control of diesel 90% point at quality targets, deliver the high
benets associated with those tar-
gets and capture the operators
condence.
Good implementation, identify
Kerosene 90% point,

Kero 80% point target

set by the control operator correct DMC dynamic control mod-
Lab sample
els; that is not difcult to achieve
25C range

kero 90% point

when the control matrix is well
behaved.
Train operators extensively, going
Kero 90% point
through formal class training plus
GCC value one-on-one informal sessions.
Address every operator request
quickly.
16

16

16

16

Ap 16

Ap 16

Ap 16

Ap 16

Ap 16

Ap 16

6
01

01

01

01
20

20

20

20

0
20

13 r 20

15 r 20

17 r 20

0
r2

r2

r2

r2

r2

r2
ar

ar

ar

ar

r
Ap

Ap

Ap

Ap
M

References
1

9
11

19
24

26

28

30

1 Friedman Y Z, Asphalt DSR prediction and

control, ARTC conference, Mar 2014, later
Figure 12 APC control of kerosene 90% point published in PTQ, Autumn 2014.
2 Kamarunzaman S, Azahar A Bt., Nam S-Y,
Friedman Y Z, Lubes VDU product property
prediction and control, ARTC conference, Mar
2014.
3 Azahar A Bt., Nam Se-Y, Friedman Y Z,
More on the Melaka delayed coker APC, ARTC
conference, Mar 2013.
4 Nam S-Y, Friedman Y Z, Khumar P, Azahar
A Bt. , Delayed coker advanced process control
at Petronas Melaka refinery, Hydrocarbon
Processing International Refining conference,
Jun 2010.
5 Haseloff V, Friedman Y Z, Goodhart S, Coker
advanced process control at BP Gelsenkirchen
refinery, Hydrocarbon Processing, Jul 2007.
6 Acedo Sanchez J, Acedo Lopez M J,
Alcalde Bascones A, Hall J, Friedman Y Z,
Implementation of APC on Repsol Poetollano
Figure 13 Increasing kerosene at the expense of naphtha following start-up CDU1, J Ochoa Fuentes, ERTC computer
conference, May 2007.
7 Koo Y, Friedman Y Z, Park S, FCCU advanced
sene at the expense of rst naphtha, ing. Diesel is a valuable product
control at Chevron Pembroke refinery, ERTC
and second diesel. Kerosene is sold though not as valuable as kerosene. computer conference, May 2006.
as jet fuel, the most protable ren- For the period of observation, APC 8 Zhao G Y, Zhang Z-Q, Friedman Y Z,
ery product, while naphtha is low benets were 527/hour, or 4.2 Implementation of APC on CDU 1 and CDU
octane, low value mogas material million/y, representing a payback 3 at Sinopec Gaoqiao (Shanghai) refinery,
that must be upgraded by reform- period shorter than six months. Refining China Conference, Apr 2006.

50 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

bayernoil.indd 6 09/06/2017 17:18

 9 Haseloff V, Friedman Y Z, Goodhart S, Coker
Advanced control and inferential modeling
at BP Gelsenkirchen Refinery ERTC computer
conference, May 2005.
10 Adnan A, Sani N Md., Nam S-Y, Friedman Y
Z, The use of first-principles inference models
for crude switching control, ERTC computer
conference, May 2004, later published in PTQ,
Autumn 2004.
11 Singh P, Hiroshima T, Williams P, Friedman
Y Z, Multivariable controller implementation
for a crude unit: a case study, NPRA Computer
Conference, October 2002, later published in
O&G Journal, 4 Nov 2002.
12 Schuler M, Friedman Y Z, Kesler M G,
Belanger P, Use of column data to infer and
control crude fractionator product properties,
NPRA Computer Conference, Nov 2000, later
published in Oil & Gas Journal, 19 Feb 2001.
Figure 14 Increasing kerosene at the expense of diesel following start-up
13 Friedman Y Z, Crude unit advanced control
experience, Hydrocarbon Processing, Feb 1994. Neustadt refinery before ERN formed a joint from Queens University with a degree in
14 Friedman Y Z, Control of crude fractionator venture with RVI to become Bayernoil. He chemical engineering.
product qualities during feedstock changes studied process engineering at the University Y Zak Friedman is a Principal Consultant
by use of a simplified heat balance, American of Essen and at California State University in with Petrocontrol and has practised advanced
Control Conference, 1985. Long Beach. process control for most of his career,
Stephen Finlayson is Chairman of AMT, Inc., specialising in the use of first principle
a company providing APC and optimisation models for inferential process control, and
Arnold Kleine Bning is an APC Engineer services to the refining and chemical industries. has developed inferential models to fit many
with Bayernoil Raffineriegesellschaft mbH. He His four decades in the petroleum and chemical hydrocarbon processes. His experience spans
has over 17 years experience implementing process industries include responsibility for over 40 years, working with Exxon Research
advanced process control on units in Bayernoil AspenTechs worldwide project services, and Engineering, KBC Advanced Technology
refineries and previously worked with Veba consulting and customer support organisations and Petrocontrol. He holds a PhD degree from
Oils Gelsenkirchen refinery and ERNs before he founded AMT in 2002. He graduated Purdue University.

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www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 51

bayernoil.indd 7 15/06/2017 14:10

rezel.indd 1 14/12/2016 11:08
 Crude fingerprinting and predictive
analytics
Predictive modelling technology has been developed to predict the behavioural
characteristics of crude oils and their blends
CONRAD TERAN
GE Water & Process Technologies
I
t is well understood that crude oil
is a complex mixture of a variety
of hydrocarbons and impurities
with varied polarity and polarisabil-
ity, and is prone to cause fouling,1,2
emulsion breaking and corrosion
related issues during renery pro-
cessing. The issues arising from the
processing of tight oils and other
opportunity crudes will likely
become more challenging as new
crude oils are brought online due to
improved and/or more aggressive
production methods, transport and
blending strategies.
The safe and protable process-
ing of crude oil is driven by the
combined effects of best practices,
optimal process conditions, reli-
able equipment, crude oil behav-
ioural characteristics and effective
chemical treatment programmes.
Any uncontrolled variation result-
ing from our inability to predict
it, detect it or adjust it will result
in one or more costly processing
issues.
Of all these factors, predict-
ing, managing and controlling the
impact of crude oil variability on
behavioural characteristics and
associated processing issues is per-
haps the most difcult. This task
becomes near impossible if we are
restricted to the use of traditional
crude assays and other database
methods at a time when crude oil
names are becoming less and less
relevant in predicting actual behav-
iour. For example, Figure 1 shows
samples from seven different crude
deliveries to the same renery on
the same day, all labelled Eagle
Ford crude.3, 4
In every case, incremental vari-
ability and uncertainty will come
www.eptq.com
q3 ge.indd 1
Figure 1 Same-day deliveries of Eagle Ford crude to a refinery
Saturates
(Alkanes or paraffins)
Non polar
Linear, branched, and cyclic
saturated hydrocarbons
Resins
(Maltenes)
Second heaviest polar
Natural peptising agents keep
asphaltenes in solution
Soluble in higher MW normal
alkanes (n-C7)
Insoluble in higher alkanes
Second heaviest fraction in crude oil
Asphaltenes
Very high MW, polar
Polycyclic, aromatic and
naphthenic ring compounds in
colloidal suspension
Soluble in aromatics
Insoluble in short paraffins (C3-C7)
Carry heteroatoms (S, N, O) and metals
Aromatics
Non polar
Hydrocarbons with one or more
aromatic rings
Figure 2 SARA classification of crude oil
from the commingling of incom-
ing crudes with tank heels, slop
and other crudes in the system. The
actual characteristics of the nal
charge coming out of tankage are
typically not known for certain in a
time relevant fashion.
GE Water & Process Technologies
(W&PT) has developed eld meth-
ods and robust analytics to predict
and respond to crude processing
issues, irrespective of the source of
the crude. These methods and pre-
dictive analytics have been inte-
grated into a cohesive predictive
modelling technology system called
CrudePLUS.
Key drivers of crude
processing issues
Crude oils can be characterised by
their structural fractions, known as
saturates (SAT), aromatics (ARO),
resins (RES), and asphaltenes (ASP),
also commonly known as SARA,
which are determined based on
their polarisability and polarity.
Typical properties and nature of
these fractions are summarised in
Figure 2.
The complex interactions between
SARA fractions and the presence of
solids and other contaminants drive
a uids behavioural characteristics,
which in turn drive crude process-
ing issues.5,6,7
PTQ Q3 2017 53
12/06/2017 15:12
 In the context of CrudePLUS,
three crude oil behavioural
characteristics are the key drivers of
crude processing issues:
Instability/incompatibility: the
stability of a uid is dened by its
capacity to maintain asphaltenes
and colloidal particles soluble
or dispersed in the bulk uid.
Conversely, instability refers to the
capacity of a uid to destabilise
itself or other uids upon blending.
Emulsification tendency: denes
the tendency of a uid to emulsify
or to resist demulsication at typical
conditions.
Fouling potential: denes the ten-
dency of a uid to foul preheat
exchangers and heaters at typical
conditions.
Instability/incompatibility, sol-
ids and other contaminants magnify
emulsication and fouling effects.
Figure 3 illustrates the negative
impacts of these key characteristics
on a typical crude unit train.
Characterisation of crude oils and
simulation of processing issues
From a practical standpoint, while
the quantication of SARA fractions
and contaminants does provide use-
ful insight on the directional behav-
ioural characteristics of a uid,
these parameters by themselves in
most cases, even when used in con-
junction with other physical prop-
erties, typically do not provide a
consistent or expeditious way of
predicting the key drivers of crude
oil processing issues.
The path for the determination of
uid behavioural characteristics and
the design of effective mitigation
solutions starts with laboratory ana-
lytical testing and simulations that
characterise the crude sample and
realistically stress the uid to emu-
late and quantify its potential pro-
cessing issues.
The data generated from these
lab procedures and the associ-
ated research and development,
supported by eld pilots and val-
idation, are the developmen-
tal foundation of CrudePLUS
technology.
Figure 4 illustrates analytical test-
ing and application simulations and
their relationship to specic uid
behavioural characteristics.
54 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 ge.indd 2
are implemented utilising a com-
Crude oil bination of proprietary devices
such as the W&PT Static Desalter
Instability /
Incompatibility Simulator and commercially avail-
able devices such as the Turbiscan
Solids and other
contaminants (Formulaction, Inc.) and the Hot
Liquid Process Simulator (Alcor by
Emulsification Fouling PAC).
tendency potential
Over the years, these simula-
Saturates, resins, aromatics, asphaltenes tions have proven to be reproduc-
ible and reliable in emulating the
processing issues observed in the
Oil storage eld, signicantly contributing to
Sludging the understanding of the underly-
Poor mixing efficiency ing mechanisms, the development
Pump transfer limitations of best practices and novel chemical
Higher pressure drop mitigation solutions.
From lab simulations to
Heat exchangers predictive models
Cold fouling The time required to test crude sam-
Loss of heat transfer efficiency ples and effectively predict and
Lower raw crude outlet temperature respond to processing issues makes
Higher pressure drop laboratory simulations in most
cases impractical and very time con-
suming for day-to-day proactive
Desalters eld use. More than ve years ago,
W&PT initiated a project to develop
Lower desalter temperature
a eld deployable predictive model-
Poor desalter efficiency
(water, salt, solids) ling solution to deal with the identi-
Tighter emulsions ed limitations.
Oily brine
Excess water in crude Defining the Xs and Ys for the
Atmospheric tower overhead corrosion predictive modelling solution
Any predictive modelling approach
requires a clear denition and
Heat exchangers understanding of each of the
Fouling responses (the Ys) to be predicted
Loss of heat transfer efficiency and of the parameters (the Xs) to be
Lower PH outlet temperature used as predictors, where each Y is
High pressure drop a function of the signicant Xs and
their transformations.
For every sample, the applica-
Furnaces ble outputs from the lab simula-
Higher firing rate tions (the Ys) are transformed into
Fouling indexes representing the level of
Tube skin temperature increase severity of the behavioural charac-
Lower throughput teristics (instability, emulsication
and fouling) of a given oil sample.
Other Ys targeted for prediction
Figure 3 Key drivers of crude processing include a selective number of physi-
issues cal properties (SARA fractions, API,
TAN, viscosity and others).
Crude oil characterisation A eld deployable infrared spec-
includes procedures such as PIONA troscopy device was selected as the
and SARA, API gravity, TAN, vis- generator of Xs for every uid sam-
cosity, sulphur, metals and other ple. Specic methods, techniques
industry standards as well as and algorithms were developed
W&PTs proprietary procedures. to process ngerprint spectrum,
On the simulation side, W&PT pro- extract the relevant data and assure
prietary methods and techniques repeatability and reproducibility
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 10:36
 Model crudes by type
Oil sample Shale, cond
26%
Blends, refcuts
10%
W&PT proprietary methods and techniques

Conventional
33%
Analytical Turbiscan Static desalter Hot liquid process
simulator simulator

Slop
Oil Instability / Emulsification Fouling 5%
characterisation Incompatibility tendency potential Bit, dilbit, synth
26%

Fluid behavioural characteristics (FBCs)

Figure 4 Laboratory simulations of crude processing issues
error at or below +/-5%. The thou-
sands of processed Xs become the
unique identiers or ngerprints
of the tested oil.
Since solids also play an impor-
tant role in emulsion stability and
fouling, solids content of the oil is
another set of Xs that must be con-
sidered. A new eld method to
quantify and classify solids in an oil
sample using a portable heated cen-
trifuge was developed. It is impor-
tant to understand that this is not
a BS&W test. This new method
requires a fraction of the typical
three hours per sample that it takes
to run a lterable solids test.
Figure 5 summarises the num-
bers, types and sources of oils that
were used in the development of
CrudePLUS.
Modelling approach
The under-determined nature of the
modelling problem, the complex-
ity of the Ys to be predicted and the
generalised predictive performance
requirements presented unique and
difcult challenges to the model
development process.
A hybrid modelling approach
combining advanced chemom-
etrics, machine learning, genetic
algorithms and W&PT proprietary
methods was architected to deal
with identied and latent modelling
challenges (see Figure 6).
The methods and algorithms
included in the hybrid approach
include:
Continuum regression and
dimension reduction methods such
as partial least squares (PLS), prin-
cipal component regression (PCR)
and correlated component regres-
sion (CCR).
Support vector regression (SVR),
a machine-learning algorithm, to
guarantee predictive consistency
and robustness. SVR was coupled to
proprietary kernel functions to deal
with non-linearities.
Genetic algorithms for non-
linear solution searches and com-
plex classication.
Proprietary error-in-variable
(EIV) algorithms to deal with noise
in predictors (Xs) and responses
(Ys).
Figure 7 depicts the major steps in
the modelling process. The uid n-
gerprint is processed by the hybrid
modelling algorithms, extracting
from the spectrum the latent crude
markers associated with the uid
behavioural characteristics (insta-
bility, emulsication and fouling)
W&PT hybrid
monitoring
Advanced
chemometrics
Genetic
algorithms
Machine learning
algorithms
W&PT proprietary
error-in-variable (EIV)
algorithms
Figure 6 W&PT advanced hybrid modelling
Model crudes by region
USA
44%
AFR
7%
EUR
6%
ME
8%
LATAM
21%
CAN
14%
Figure 5 Fingerprinted sources used for
CrudePLUS development
being predicted without rst having
to predict physical properties.
Training, validation and
predictive error
Models were trained using 70-80%
of the available experimental data
for training purposes and applying
various cross validation methods on
the remaining data to test and tune
model performance and to assure
the robustness (long term predictive
power) of the models. Prediction
errors on validation sets range from
+/-10% to +/-15% for predictions of
uid behavioural characteristics and
from +/-5% to 25% for basic physi-
cal properties (API, TAN, viscosity,
SARA).
One key aspect of CrudePLUS
technology is the inclusion of algo-
rithms and protocols for calibra-
tion and standardisation capable of
detecting instrument drift, malfunc-
tions and/or uids with anomalous
markers to prevent false predic-
tions. All anomalies are analysed

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 55

q3 ge.indd 3 12/06/2017 10:36


oil fingerprints
and solids loading
Lab
Latent Ys
simulations
WPT hybrid modelling algorithms
Latent crude markers (L)
Predictive models
Instability Emulsif. Fouling
Figure 7 Major steps in the modelling process
and acted upon using rigorous pro-
tocols that may ultimately result in
model retraining.
Model robustness is assured by
testing every available oil. Models
are retrained if predictions for new
oils deviate from established error
thresholds, if they are deemed to
contribute additional information to
improve overall prediction errors,
or if new algorithms or methods
are developed to improve overall
model errors.
The CrudePLUS system
CrudePLUS implementation, anal-
ysis, maintenance and management
is executed by W&PT personnel
with refinery personnel.
The technology was commercially
launched in mid-2016 incorporat-
ing the instability/incompatibility
and the fouling potential models,
after successful completion of multi-
ple laboratory and field validations.
Validation of the emulsification
tendency model was recently com-
pleted and has now been integrated
Figure 8 RIX interpretation guide
56 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 ge.indd 4
Models Xs
Lab crude
Basic Ys
oil charact.
Basic crude markers (B)
f(L) f(B) Predictive models
Minimise API, TAN, VIS, SARA, others
predictive
error
into the CrudePLUS system. This
section includes a detailed descrip-
tion of all applicable elements and
capabilities.
CrudePLUS utilises in-the-field
rapid response analytical testing via
an oil fingerprinting and solids test-
ing system coupled to proprietary
predictive modelling software, to
accurately and reliably predict the
instability/incompatibility, emul-
sification tendency, fouling poten-
tial and basic physical properties
of crude oils, slop oils, other refin-
ery fluids and their blends. Integral
to CrudePLUS are the site specific
mitigation actions and strategies,
including blending order (when
blending two or more crudes) and,
when deemed necessary, recom-
mendations of crude stabiliser,
emulsion breaker, and/or antifou-
lant dosage ranges necessary to
minimise crude processing issues
that result in poor desalter perfor-
mance, slop generation, poor brine
quality and fouling.
The fingerprint of a fluid is gener-
ated in less than five minutes from a
couple of drops of a well-mixed rep-
resentative sample of a single fluid
or blend to be tested. Unlike other
test methods, the oil fingerprinter
does not require solvent dilution,
which changes the native properties
of the oil. The historical character-
istics based on crude names are not
needed for analysis.
Integral to CrudePLUS is a W&PT
proprietary, centrifuge based sol-
ids loading and classification field
test with a typical testing capacity
of four fluid samples (100 mL each)
per hour per centrifuge.
The system also incorporates a
powerful blend simulator and a
constrained optimiser, which pro-
vide rapid blend assessment and
optimisation capabilities using the
actual fingerprints and solids load-
ing of the individual fluids without
the need to physically create and
then test each of the blends being
assessed.
The major elements of CrudePLUS
are:
The instability/incompatibility model
utilises a fluids fingerprint latent
markers to determine its relative
instability index (RIX), crude pre-
cipitant index (CPI), blending
order (when two or more fluids are
blended), crude stabiliser dosage
range and injection location.
Relative instability index (RIX) is
a key parameter that quantifies
the potential capacity of a fluid to
self-destabilise or to destabilise
other fluids in a blend (incompati-
bility), relative to a stable and pro-
prietary benchmark. It classifies the
tested fluid into one of five sever-
ity regions across a range from 0
to 10 (stable to severely unstable).
Severity regions provide a general
indication of the potential or pre-
ponderant locations where process-
ing issues may manifest themselves
(see Figure 8).
Crude precipitant index (CPI) pro-
vides a measure of the relative
potential precipitant amount upon
destabilisation of asphaltenes
and other related colloids in the
fluid. CPI is a function of RIX and
the level of available precipitants
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 15:16
dupont.indd 1 10/03/2017 10:54

Figure 9 FPX interpretation guide
(asphaltenes and other colloids);
as such it does not have a defined
upper limit. Two fluids with the
same RIX value may have differ-
ent CPI values in those cases, the
one with the higher CPI is deemed
the most unstable. CPI and RIX are
used in the model to drive crude
stabiliser dosage range and injection
location (cargo/tank or a specific
crude or component in a blend).
Blending order: the order in which
two or more fluids are blended has
a direct impact on the actual degree
of incompatibility and precipitant
amount. When two or more flu-
ids are blended, CrudePLUS will
provide a recommended order for
blending those fluids.
Crude stabiliser dosage range and
injection location: crude stabilisers
are designed to improve the stabil-
ity of asphaltenes in the bulk hydro-
carbon phase, as well as helping
in the de-oiling of solids. W&PTs
crude stabilisers can prevent
agglomeration of large, relatively
polar molecular units that can stabi-
lise desalter emulsions and foul heat
exchangers. CrudePLUS automati-
cally establishes the recommended
dosage range of our top of the line
crude stabiliser and the fluid in the
blend where it should be injected.
The emulsification tendency model
utilises the fluids RIX, CPI, solids
loading and other fingerprint latent
markers to determine its emulsifi-
cation tendency index (ETX) and
emulsion breaker dosage range.
Emulsification tendency index (ETX)
quantifies the fluids tendency to
58 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 ge.indd 5
emulsify and classifies it into one of
five severity regions, across a range
from 0 to 10 (low to severe).
Emulsion breaker dosage range:
CrudePLUS automatically estab-
lishes the recommended dos-
age range of a reference emulsion
breaker (EB) required for mitiga-
tion. Major adjustments and prod-
uct change recommendations are
consulted with a product applica-
tions specialist, taking into consid-
eration all relevant parameters and
unit operations.
The fouling potential model utilises
the fluids RIX, CPI, solids loading
and other fluid markers generated
from the fingerprint to determine
the fouling potential index of the
fluid and the recommended anti-
foulant dosage range required for
mitigation. Poor desalter operations
can result in poor solids removal
efficiency and will directly impact
fouling potential. The CrudePLUS
fouling potential model has been
built with desalted crude. Therefore
if the tested fluid is raw crude, SRE
is used to adjust solids loading lev-
els to match actual desalter solids
removal efficiency.
Fouling potential index (FPX) quan-
tifies fluid fouling potential and
classifies it into one of five sever-
ity regions across a range from 0
to 10 (low to severe). Each severity
regime provides an indication of the
potential or preponderant locations
where fouling issues may manifest
themselves. An important outcome
of our research has been the identi-
fication of different fouling mecha-
nisms for fluids falling within two
specific FPX regions. As Figure 9
shows, fluids with FPX<3 follow
conventional fouling mechanisms,
and fluids with FPX>3 follow
unconventional and more complex
mechanisms. It is important to note
that at RIX values greater or equal
to six, unconventional and severe
fouling will be preponderant in the
atmospheric heaters, particularly if
tight oils are being processed.
Antifoulant dosage range: the anti-
foulant (AF) product recommended
for mitigation must be specific to
the preponderant fouling mecha-
nism identified. For fluids following
conventional fouling mechanisms
(FPX<3), CrudePLUS automatically
establishes the most appropriate
AF dosage range, based on the most
effective AF product formulation.
For unconventional fouling mecha-
nism, a customised AF programme
must be designed by a W&PT prod-
uct applications specialist, based on
all relevant CrudePLUS parameters
and unit operations.
It is important to note that sever-
ity regions and potential and pre-
ponderant locations for all the
models provide the means for pin-
pointing the most effective chemi-
cal programme and dosage range
required to mitigate the issues iden-
tified by the corresponding model.
The location drives the type of
chemistry and the severity drives
the dosage range.
CrudePLUS system integration: As
Figure 10 shows, the predictive mod-
elling analytics have been bundled
into a software package at the cen-
tre of a portable and robust system,
which includes the oil fingerprinter,
the heated centrifuge and other sup-
port tools, with W&PT personnel
executing implementation, analysis,
system maintenance, day-to-day ser-
vice and management, process mod-
elling and expert support.
CrudePLUS system implementation
includes a series of orchestrated
activities designed to effectively
deploy the technology and ulti-
mately maximise value generation
opportunities that result from the
continuous detection, quantifica-
tion and cost effective mitigation of
crude oil processing issues.
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 10:36
 CrudePLUS software Refinery site

Constrained Blending Fingerprint Oil WPT oil fingerprint

optimiser simulator library fingerprint A couple of drops,
<5 min per sample

WPT oil
Latent crude Processing Basic crude Workstation fingerprinter
markers algorithms markers

WPT
WPT solids test
Instability Emulsification Fouling Physical personnel 100 ml fluid,
model tendency model potential model properties model 4 samples/cent/hr
(RIX) (ETX) (FPX) (PPROPS)
Index severity Index severity Index severity API
Problem location Problem location Problem location TAN
WPT
Blending order EB dosage range AF dosage range VIS solids sample
CS dosage range YSARA 100 ml fluid,
4 samples/cent/hr
Injection location YCII
Others
Predictive analytics

Solids loading

Value calculator, process monitoring and modelling tools

Figure 10 CrudePLUS system

The implementation can typi-
cally be completed in two to three
months and includes the following
activities:
Tank farm mapping and under-
standing of blending operations and
practices
Crude unit survey and best prac-
tices analysis
Best practices gap reduction and
mitigation actions recommendations
Establish sampling plan (location,
frequency, and so on)
Commissioning test equipment
(ngerprinter, heated centrifuge,
PC, and so on) and data manage-
ment/communication tools
Standard reports setup
Initial analysis and value map to
estimate the baseline cost of pro-
cessing issues (BCOP)
Empirical process modelling (pre-
heat, furnaces, for instance) to con-
rm BCOP and support/validate
the effect of mitigation actions.
Value generation
While the paths, phases and strat-
egies to ultimately mitigate and
capture maximum value from all
identied opportunities will vary
from renery to renery, there are
three possible, not mutually exclu-
sive scenarios under which a rener
may decide to use CrudePLUS
to maximise value generation.
Working towards and attaining the
point of maximum value requires
the engagement and support of
other renery groups beyond opera-
tions and process engineering, such
as economics planning and schedul-
ing and crude purchasing.
Scenario 1: reactive mode
Under this scenario, CrudePLUS
is used as a monitoring (process-
ing issue detection) tool and advi-
sor. The value generated from
this mode can only be realised if
specic actions are taken to mit-
igate the processing issues iden-
tied by CrudePLUS and control
chemical injection (if any) based
on the models feed-forward
recommendations and process
feedback.
Scenario 2: proactive mode
In this scenario, the renery uses
CrudePLUS as a monitoring, sim-
ulation, optimisation, advice and
control tool. The blending plan is
simulated in advance by testing
actual tank or crude samples in the
plan prior to actual scheduling. The
blending plan is then simulated
using the blend simulator to assess
multiple blend scenarios using the
saved test results of the individual
crudes in the blend in conjunction
with the constrained optimiser to
nd the blending combination that
in combination with chemical mit-
igation (if needed) minimises pro-
cessing issues, subject to a set of
constraints provided and adjusted
by the crude planner.
The objective here is not to pro-
vide a trivial solution by recom-
mending exclusion of the most
problematic crudes from the blend,
nor is it to automatically attempt
to solve all processing issues by
chemical mitigation. The objectives
are: to inform the rener ahead of
time of potential processing issues
associated with a blend in the plan;
to recommend viable mitigation
alternatives that will ultimately min-
imise the overall cost of processing;
and to monitor advice and control.
Any viable mitigation will include
adjustments, changes and other rec-
ommendations such as blending,
segregation, rerouting of streams,
best practices, and so on that will
incrementally minimise the overall
cost of crude processing issues as a

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 59

q3 ge.indd 6 12/06/2017 15:48

 Figure 11 Summary of instability/incompatibility model results
first step, followed by cost effective
chemical mitigation when needed.
Scenario 3: strategic mode
Under this scenario, CrudePLUS
is used as a crude purchasing deci-
sion enhancement tool. While this
scenario may not be easily attain-
able by many refiners, it is the one
with the highest value generation
opportunity, as it tackles the poten-
tial processing issues associated
with specific opportunity crudes
or blends prior to actual crude pur-
chase. Many dumb-bell crudes are
created and sold matching the API,
TAN and sulphur specifications of
an actual crude oil and will even-
tually end up in the refinery crude
system under that name, but in
many cases with significantly dif-
ferent yield and fluid behaviour
characteristics, among other issues,
making the names of the crudes in
these cases totally useless for pre-
dictive purposes.
Having the capability to rate
and discriminate crude oils using
CrudePLUS provides the opportu-
nity to enhance crude purchasing
decisions that can positively affect
the bottom line (for example, driv-
ing discounts). Of course, deciding
to purchase, process and mitigate
a crude deemed problematic by
CrudePLUS will continue to be a
viable option, but one that if taken
will now have defined ahead of
time the potential incremental pro-
cessing issues and costs associated
with that decision.
60 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 ge.indd 7
Case studies
The case studies presented here
present experiences and findings
gathered from the various pilots
that ran over periods of time rang-
ing from six months to one year and
other ongoing applications. In every
case, a BCOP was quantified using
CrudePLUS tools, actual W&PT
process service experience, and
direct interaction and feedback from
operations, process and crude plan-
ning at each of the sites.
Specific mitigation strategies and
projected reductions in BCOP were
made based on the learnings from
CrudePLUS implementation, expert
analysis and site specific refinery
economics. In sites where specific
mitigation recommendations were
executed, empirical process models
were built and validated using his-
torical process data to normalise for
process conditions variability and to
categorically quantify, prove or dis-
prove the effects of executed mitiga-
tion actions.
Case study 1
A North American refinery process-
ing a complex blend of crude oils
and purchased intermediate oils
was experiencing significant pro-
cessing issues due to crude hot pre-
heat and coker heater fouling. The
diet to the crude train included for-
eign and domestic heavy sour crudes
and slop. The diet to the coker train
included foreign heavy sour crudes,
purchased resids, decant oil, heavy
cycle oils, and pipeline transmix.
Following CrudePLUS implemen-
tation protocols, the operation was
baselined to quantify crude pro-
cessing issues, followed by finger-
printing of all streams and tanks
over a period of several months.
BCOP revealed significant annual
processing costs totalling around
$25 million. Of this total, 77% was
attributable to crude preheat and
coker heater fouling. The balance
was attributed to slop generation
reprocessing, 90% of which was
coming from coker operations.
Although crude preheat fouling
was very significant and over time
a throughput limiting issue, the big-
gest challenge had been trying to
identify suspected incompatibility
issues that were causing the coker
heater skin temperatures to episod-
ically and uncontrollably increase,
causing on the average three
shutdowns per year to decoke the
heater. Increasing coker run lengths
was the main priority.
Predictive analytics clearly indi-
cated that the purchased pipeline
transmix was the most unstable
stream. Figure 11 summarises the
instability/incompatibility potential
of refinery streams and exploratory
blends of transmix with various
streams.
Working with crude planning
and operations, and supported by
CrudePLUS tests and simulations,
the recommendation was to move
the transmix to the crude train and
the move was made immediately
after. In addition, several other mit-
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 15:48
 Figure 12 Unit B relative instability and fouling potential indexes
igation strategies were proposed,
targeting net savings in processing
costs of $10 million/y. To capture
the impact of this and other rec-
ommendations, crude preheat and
coker heater empirical process mod-
els were built using actual process
previous and current runs data.
The change increased coker heater
run length by 40 days, a statistically
significant increase, without a statis-
tically significant impact on crude
preheat fouling rate. The increase
in coker run length resulted in a
net reduction in the cost of pro-
cessing of nearly $1.4 million/y
and without additional chemis-
try. Incremental improvements in
run length would require imple-
Figure 13 Unit A relative instability and fouling potential indexes
www.eptq.com
q3 ge.indd 8
mentation of additional and more
complex strategies focused on oper-
ational practices and process rea-
lignments, as well as chemical
mitigation.
Case study 2
A North American refinery oper-
ating two large crude units was
experiencing significant economic
penalties due to critical heat trans-
fer equipment fouling in one of the
units. Preheat train and atmospheric
heater fouling in Unit A was costing
approximately $30 million/y.
The refinery processes a varia-
ble mix of West Texas Intermediate,
West Texas Sour, tight oils,
Canadian crudes, four different off-
shore crudes, and slop oil. At the
tank farm, crudes are blended and
segregated by sulphur content into
three different groups of tanks des-
ignated as light, medium and high
sulphur.
Unit A processes predominantly
light sulphur oils, with the remain-
der of its diet from the medium
sulphur tank. These two feeds are
blended to meet specified sulphur
and gravity targets for the unit feed.
Tight oils represent 27-35% of the
total charge to Unit A.
In contrast, Unit B processes
mostly medium sulphur crude
oil, supplemented with a notable
amount of high sulphur crude oil
from western Canada.
PTQ Q3 2017 61
12/06/2017 10:37

Figure 14 Average crude slates and CrudePLUS analytics during a run
CrudePLUS was used to measure
the impact dissimilar crude slates
impart on each unit and determine
potential issues of various blends.
Having two units with dissimi-
lar processing issues also allowed
us to determine, over a period of
several months, if the technology
was capable of correctly predicting
the processing issues and their mag-
nitude in each of the units. Following
CrudePLUS protocols, each tank and
total charge to each unit was finger-
printed over several months.
Predictive analytics for Unit B
crude charge samples (see Figure
12) indicated low levels of instabil-
ity and fouling, matching the actual
trouble free performance of Unit B.
The recommendation for this unit
was to make no changes and con-
tinue monitoring.
Figure 13 shows the analytics
for Unit A crude charge samples,
indicating high levels of instabil-
ity and fouling potential, consistent
with actual unit performance (high
to severe fouling in preheat and
heaters).
Figure 15 Heat transfer U coefficient model
62 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 ge.indd 9
Recommended mitigation strat-
egies included changes to blend
order, blend ratio adjustments and
chemical treatment, and projected a
net reduction in processing costs of
$12 million/y.
Case study 3
A US refinery processing a varia-
ble crude diet was experiencing hot
preheat heat transfer losses, which
resulted in crude throughput limi-
tations and crude throughput loss
while cleaning exchangers. The
crude diet was primarily composed
of Alaska North Slope and Bakken,
in addition to various concentra-
tions of Canadian crudes (Cold
Lake, Alberta Western Blend, Lloyd
Kerrobert and Bow South).
The refinery expressed a need to
better manage the crude fouling
impact with both the existing and
future planned crude purchasing
regime. The goal would be to min-
imise the risk of not capturing the
gain in profitability.
Following CrudePLUS protocols,
testing was performed on the com-
ponent crudes and crude blends
at the refinery. The ultimate miti-
gation strategy implemented was
the addition of an antifoulant to
the crude unit preheat train and
treatment of problematic crude
blends with crude stabiliser at
the tank farm. Figure 14 summa-
rises the average crude slates and
resultant CrudePLUS analytics for
three consecutive periods during
a run.
To determine the effectiveness of
the treatment programmes, a heat
transfer coefficient model was built
around a critical desalted crude/
vacuum bottoms set of bundles, to
track the performance over time,
incorporating all critical predic-
tor variables affecting heat transfer
performance.
The cumulative throughput
reduction due to heat transfer losses
was estimated at $11.6 million/y.
Figure 15 shows a statistical control
chart depicting the behaviour of the
U under a normalised set of oper-
ating conditions. The three lines
sloping down represent the mean,
upper and lower statistical process
control limits for the untreated sys-
tem. As can be seen, the corrected
U (represented by the purple trend)
starts to move out of control (a good
thing in this case) shortly after the
antifoulant was introduced into
the system and continues almost
unchanged after stabiliser treat-
ment was initiated, clearly and
statistically demonstrating the effi-
cacy of the programs, even under
increasing instability and fouling
conditions.
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 10:37
 The simplest measure of success
was the reduction in the frequency
of bundle cleanings, which went
from six cleanings to zero between
turnarounds. The actual net reduc-
tion in refinery processing costs was
estimated at $5.7 million/y.
Conclusions
W&PTs predictive modelling tech-
nology, CrudePLUS, has been
developed to reliably predict the
behavioural characteristics of crude
oils and their blends, their potential
impact on the process and recom-
mend the viable alternatives avail-
able for mitigation. The technology
is totally agnostic to crude name,
type or source, utilising actual fluid
analytics to drive model predic-
tions, without using any type of his-
torical, experiential or crude assay
database.
CrudePLUS is at the centre of a
service providing a portable solu-
tion that utilises in the field rapid
response analytical testing via an
oil fingerprinting and solids test-
ing system coupled to proprietary
predictive modelling software, to
predict the instability/incompat-
ibility, emulsification tendency,
fouling potential and basic phys-
ical properties of crude oils, slop
oils, other refinery fluids and their
blends. Blending order of compo-
nents in a blend, as well as crude
stabiliser dosage range and injec-
tion location, emulsion breaker and
antifoulant dosage ranges are auto-
matically generated based on pre-
dictive analytics.
CrudePLUS is a mark of General Electric
Company.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the team working in the
development, validation and support of the
predictive modelling technology presented in
this article and those who have contributed to
the completion of the article: Nimeshkumar
Patel, Naveen Agrawal, Vijaysai P, Manish Joshi,
Sudhanshu Kashyap, Greg Yu, Karl Kuklenz,
Kurt Ginsel, Gabriel Castillo, Mike Dion, Jeff
Zurlo, Steve Bakas.
References
1 Watkinson A P, Wilson D I, Chemical reaction
fouling: a review, Experimental Thermal and
Fluid Science, 1997, 14, 361374.
2 Watkinson A P, Deposition from crude
oils in heat exchangers, Heat Transfer
Engineering, 2007, 28, 177-184, doi:
10.1080/01457630601064413.
3 Benoit B, Zurlo J, Overcoming the challenges
of tight/shale oil refining, Processing Shale
Feedstocks, 2014,
4 Dion M, Challenges and Solutions for
Processing Opportunity Crudes, AM-14-13,
AFPM Annual Meeting, 2014.
5 Park S J, Mansoori G A, Energy Sources,
1988, 10, 109.
6 Speight J, Ch 1: Composition of Petroleum
in Petroleum Chemistry and Refining, Taylor &
Francis,1998.
7 Carbognani L, Izquierdo A, Asphaltenes and
Asphalts in Dev. Petrol. Sci., 4 (Part B), 2000,
335362, 2.
Conrad K Teran is a Senior Technical Manager
of Refining Technology with GE Water &
Process Technologies, The Woodlands, Texas.
He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering
from Brigham Young University, a master
of engineering in chemical engineering
from Lamar University and is a Registered
Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.

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 Higher margin from the bottom
of the barrel
Treating slurry oil in an electrostatic precipitator helps Indian refiners to increase
production and profits and reduce environmental impact when processing
VICTOR SCALCO
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
A
recent meeting between the
US Department of Energy
and the Prime Minister
of India discussed how to pre-
serve cooperation between the
two nations. The Foreign Ministry
(MEA) asked the Petroleum
Ministry to develop ideas and strat-
egies that foster cooperation in the
oil and gas sector and indicated that
bilateral cooperation is the most
fundamental issue pertaining to the
field of petroleum and natural gas.
The ministry has reached out to the
US oil and gas industry to develop
a list of areas relating to trade and
technology where both sides can
pursue their mutual interests.
General Atomics and its
Gulftronic Electrostatic Separator
(GES) has over 30 years experi-
ence in the downstream refining
sector, with its largest installation
in Jamnagar, India at one of the
worlds most complex and techni-
cal refineries owned by Reliance
Industries. With over 150 modules
in operation daily, the GES pro-
duces over 33 million b/y of clari-
fied slurry oil (CSO) for the oil and
gas industry. Oil and gas ranks
amongst Indias six core indus-
tries and looks for the opportu-
nity to increase production, profit
and reduce environmental impacts
from refining. It is to this end that
the following discussion will pro-
vide insight into the synergies
around the GES and Indias crude
oil processing.
Indias government promotes the
countrys refining sector and con-
trols the direction of growth for
the Indian oil and gas sector. With
just over 27 refineries to date, the
growth of Indias refineries has
www.eptq.com
Q3 GA.indd 1
4.5
Total consumption
4.0
Total production
3.5
Volume, MBD
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
2000 2002
Figure 1 Indias petroleum and other liquids production and consumption, 2000-2015
Source: US Energy Information Administration, June 2014
placed it as the worlds fourth larg-
est consumer of crude oil. Despite
being a net importer of crude oil,
India has become a net exporter of
petroleum products by investing
in refineries designed for export,
particularly in Gujarat. In its 11th
five-year plan (2007-2012), Indias
government made it a priority to
become the global exporting hub
of refined products (see Figure 1).
Diesel remains the most consumed
oil product, accounting for 42% of
petroleum product consumption
in 2013. India projects an increase
in the countrys refining capacity
based on its current five-year plan
(2012-17) to meet rising domestic
demands and export markets.
The refining industry is an impor-
tant part of Indias economy, and
the private sector owns about
38% of the total capacity. At the
end of 2013, India had 4.35 mil-
lion b/d of refining capacity, mak-
ing it the second largest refiner
in Asia after China, according to
FGE. The two largest refineries
Forecast
Net imports
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
by crude capacity, located in the
Jamnagar complex in Gujarat, are
world-class export facilities. The
Reliance refineries account for 29%
of Indias current capacity. These
refineries are close to crude oil-
producing regions in the Middle
East, which allows them to take
advantage of lower transportation
costs.
The government of India projects
an increase in the countrys refining
capacity to 6.3 million b/d by 2017
based on its current five-year plan
to meet rising domestic demand
and export markets, although this
projection hinges on all proposed
projects becoming operational.
Some refinery projects have faced
delays in the past few years, and
there is now greater competition
within Asia from countries such as
China which has built large refin-
eries able to process more com-
plex crude oil types. Two refineries,
Paradip in Odisha and Cuddalore
in the southern state of Tamil Nadu,
are scheduled to be operational by
PTQ Q3 2017 65
15/06/2017 12:51
 2015, adding 420 000 b/d of capac-
ity. Even more critical is the effort
of Indian refiners who have plans to
upgrade several existing refineries
to produce higher quality auto fuels
to comply with more stringent spec-
ifications for vehicle fuel standards.
These specifications will require
greater concentration on process-
ing heavier crudes and require a
more technical approach in bottom
of the barrel upgrading. Refineries
have proposed several expansions
to existing facilities and a few new
refineries by 2020 to account for
impending growth.
Even with the attention of the
government and increased invest-
ment, the oil and gas industry
of India cannot prosper without
increased profit in the refining sec-
tor. There have been concerns about
refining margins and the ability to
increase profits from the bottom of
the barrel.
Across the globe, the oil and gas
industry is faced with shrinking
margins and the need to increase
profits. As the focus turns to pro-
cessing heavier crudes, efforts at
recovering value from the bottom of
the barrel become more significant.
Processing residual oils and recov-
ering valuable hydrocarbons from
upgrading slurry or main column
bottoms (MCB) provides a chal-
lenge without the proper equipment
in place. By increasing the value
of residual slurries and decant oil,
new markets can be supplied by the
Indian refiner who opens the oppor-
tunity for millions in additional
profit and savings.
With over 27 refineries in India
there are only 13 currently using
MCB filtration technology to
remove fines and increase the clar-
ity of their CSO.
Slurry oil yields and properties
Currently there are 17 fluidised cat-
alytic cracking units (FCC) units,
five of which are residual fluidised
catalytic cracking units (RFCC),
operating in India. Slurry oil yields
from FCC and RFCC are a function
of the severity of the operation and
are generally inversely proportional
to such factors as catalyst activity,
temperature, catalyst to oil ratio,
and so on, and directly proportional
66 PTQ Q3 2017
Q3 GA.indd 2
Particle size distribution in slurry oil
Particle diameter, microns % in range
0-5 30-60
5-15 30-55
15-25 2-12
25+ 1-5
Table 1
to the nitrogen, sulphur and asphal-
tene (or, alternatively, vacuum bot-
toms) content of the FCC/RFCC
feed. Slurry oil yields ranging from
about 1-2 vol% for paraffinic feeds
to as much as 15 vol% on RFCC
feeds have been observed. In the
average FCC, this could amount to
as much as 15 000 b/d of MCB.
Particle size distribution ranges
from a variety of slurry oils are
shown in Table 1. Note that for
these slurry oils, over 90% of the
particles range in size from 0-25
microns in diameter. This means
that very large holding tanks and
long holding times are required to
meet higher value product specifi-
cations. Some relief is obtained with
the use of settling aids in this ser-
vice. However, sludge from slurry
oil holding tanks has been listed
as a hazardous waste by the EPA,
so frequent cleaning of these tanks
becomes expensive.
Clarified slurry oil applications
and markets
Worldwide FCC slurry oil (MCB)
production is estimated to be about
750 000 b/d. North America rep-
resents about 45% and Europe
and Asia Pacific 42% of the total
production.
Possible applications for slurry oil
are:
Recycle it to extinction in the FCC
Charge it to a coker
Carbon black feedstock properties
CSO market Clarified slurry oil
(CSO) clarity, ppm
Carbon black feedstock 100-500
Refinery fuel 50-150
Marine fuel 50-100
Pitch feedstock 25-100
Needle coke feedstock 25-100
Hydrotreater feedstock 10-50
Carbon fibre feedstock 5-10
Table 2
Use it as fuel in the refinery
Market it as fuel oil blending
stock
Market it as carbon black feed-
stock or as a component of anode
grade or needle coke feedstock
manufacture
Further refine it to higher value
fuel products in hydroprocessing.
Some refiners charge their slurry
oil to a coker to help avoid mak-
ing shot coke. Use of slurry oil as
fuel in the refinery is practised rou-
tinely and is a good option as long
as applications and equipment to be
used are critically examined for pro-
cessing a solids-containing stream.
Such equipment as piping, burner
tips, nozzles and heat exchang-
ers needs to be evaluated for long
term viability when charging
solids-containing streams. To min-
imise downstream processing dif-
ficulties, sufficient removal of the
contained catalyst will keep sol-
ids diluted to below highest rec-
ommended concentration levels.
As India and other Asian nations
are looking at processing heavier
crudes, the concentration of fines
and challenges of downstream pro-
cessing will become a financial bur-
den if not addressed with effective
solutions.
Unfiltered or untreated slurry oil
is generally valued equal to #6 Fuel
Oil. This typically receives $80-100
per barrel in recent markets. Beyond
fuel use, clarified slurry oil is also
sold to make carbon black which
is used in automobile tyres, belts,
hoses and pigments. Typical car-
bon black feedstock properties are
shown in Table 2.
Worldwide consumption of car-
bon black feedstock is about 130 000
b/d. The required density for car-
bon black feedstock is high and
special attention must be given to
operating the FCC fractionator at a
high enough temperature to obtain
the desired density. Globally, only
about 22 000 b/d of slurry oil pro-
duction is used for needle coke
manufacture. Needle coke feed-
stock price can be considerably
greater than that for residual fuel oil
blending and fuel grade coke man-
ufacture and about $1-2/bbl higher
than carbon black uses. Recent
price differentials have been $150-
www.eptq.com
13/06/2017 11:32
 20/t. Upgrading MCB for new markets provides mil-
lions in additional revenue per annum and reduces
tons of environmental waste per refinery.
Make the success of your
Slurry oil particulate removal technologies
Ash is a particular problem for slurry oil, especially
project part of your planning!
heavy, viscous oils needing long residence times to
allow for catalyst settling. Obtaining low ash (less Quality and reliability make Bhmer ball valves the
than 0.05 wt%) requires special techniques, including first choice for your project planning.
heating, chemical additives, filters, electrostatic pre-
cipitators, centrifuges, and cyclones. Selection of an
attrition-resistant catalyst helps to reduce ash content,
and a few refiners buy higher priced hard catalysts to
alleviate ash problems in slurry oil.
The traditional practice has been to allow gravity
settling of entrained solids within the product stor-
age tankage. The slurry oil contains practically all
the catalyst fines not collected by the FCC reactor
cyclones, plus refractory and corrosion scale parti-
cles. The settling rates of these fines are influenced by
many factors, including particle mass, particle diam-
eter, differential density between the particles and
the fluid, and the fluid viscosity. Flocculation of the
particles increases their settling rate by increasing the
effective particle diameter, and chemical additives
are available for this purpose. Asphaltene precipi-
tation can also act as flocculant, increasing settling
rates.
The first membrane filters were put into slurry oil
service around 1990. Mechanical filtration operates
at temperatures up to 600F (315C) and employs
tubular porous metal elements. The solids col-
lect on the inside of the elements while the filtrate
passes through to the outside. Some filter systems
use porous sintered woven wire mesh metal filters
and operate at 400-650F (200-340C). Others employ
a 2-5 micron woven wire filter element, using light
cycle oil (LCO) as a backwash at 350F, and claim
85-95% solids removal from the feed slurry. India
has approximately 12 mechanical filters installed in
existing refineries and currently only three are still
operational due to constant plugging and increased
maintenance costs.
Electrostatic precipitators are routinely used to
remove catalyst fines from the FCC stack and a sim-
ilar principle is used for the removal of solids from
liquids in the electrostatic separator. Electrostatic
separation of FCC catalyst fines from slurry oil has
been in commercial operation for over 30 years. It
has been improved continuously over this period. It
is a robust, automatic process that removes catalyst
fines from slurry oil or other hydrocarbon streams.
Because this technology is not affected by the pres-
ence of asphaltenes, it is an effective choice for
removing solids not only from RFCC derived slurry
oil but also from FCC units.
Reliance Industries Jamnagar refinery, Indias
most profitable refinery, has been using the GES since
1994. Use of the technology has been able to increase www.boehmer.de
profits from the bottom of the barrel and reduce
the environmental impact from processing heavier

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 67

Q3 GA.indd 3 13/06/2017 11:32


Increase yield
GEA gas jet compressor
systems for the exploitation
of gas elds
To improve the performance of a
mechanical compressor, gas jet
compressor systems boost the
pressure of the suction gas to a
higher level. In this way, they
extend the use of the installed
mechanical compressors and thus
also the service life of the gas field.
GEA ejector systems are of simple
construction, have no moving parts
and are therefore almost mainte-
nance-free. They are reliable in
operation at low operating costs,
if installed and operated correctly
and can handle large suction flows.
For more information, please
contact us at chemical@gea.com.
gea.com
68 PTQ Q3 2017
Q3 GA.indd 4
crudes. The choice was made early
in the design to not utilise mechan-
ical filtration for its main column
bottom filtration. This allowed for
increased production and process-
ing, resulting in increased prof-
its. The Kochi refinery operated
by Bharat Petroleum will also be
installing the current Gulftronic
technology to reduce environmen-
tal waste and increase the value of
the main column bottoms. Another
advantage of the GES is the abil-
ity to remove particles below 5
microns. The ability to provide
a clarified main column bottom
with a contaminate concentration
below 50 ppm has allowed Reliance
Industries and other Gulftronic
users to generate an increased reve-
nue stream from the CSO market as
well as avoid heavy environmental
waste cost.
Case studies and economics
Recently, an Indian refinery
installed an electrostatic separator
in preference to a mechanical filtra-
tion unit. The refinery conducted
an economic study to evaluate the
impact of the change in separation
and filtration technologies. Several
advantages became evident once
the electrostatic separator unit was
put on line:
1) The increased quality of clarified
slurry oil and proper fines removal
provided a fast return on invest-
ment, offering increased profit real-
isation within months, not the years
typically encountered with mechan-
ical filtration.
2) The use of raw FCC/RFCC
feed was an immediate saving as
the refinery was able to realise all
of the LCO and heavy cycle oil
(HCO) for production. The mechan-
ical filtration unit was robbing the
RFCC of valuable HCO for back-
flush and increased overtime due to
the constant blockage of the sys-
tems cartridges. The new electro-
static separator utilises FCC/RFCC
feed as the backflush medium,
allowing the reactor to run at full
production with the reduction in
HCO recycle.
3) The recycle of small fines
showed a reduction in catalyst
uptake due to longer reaction time
and increased fluidisation within
the reactor. Catalyst savings might
vary with residual units due to mul-
tiple factors, but still remain signif-
icant. Individual cases involving
deep resid cracking benefits should
be calculated based on a thorough
knowledge of the RFCC feed, oper-
ating conditions, catalyst charac-
teristic, and so on. It is important
to note that smaller catalyst parti-
cles returned to the unit have an
inherently larger surface to volume
ratio and could have a considerably
higher resid cracking activity than
the larger equilibrium catalyst held
in the unit. This is an advantage
when separating with electrostatic
separation due to the ability to col-
lect sub-micron particles, too small
for mechanical filtration, during the
separation stage.
What became clear was electro-
static separation is the only tech-
nology to use RFCC feed for back
flush, resulting in an approximate
$12.2 million annual savings just
from back flush medium impact.
An additional $4.6 million first-
year additional revenue stream
also resulted from market con-
version, providing increased rev-
enue from resulting clarified oil
products.
Settling tank and environmental
waste case study
The following is an example of
applying the electrostatic separator
in place of tank settling and reme-
dial removal and disposal.
Refinery A operates a FCC unit
with a throughput of 80 000 b/d.
The unit has a slurry oil prod-
uct flow of 6.0 vol% of feed, or
4800 b/d at 0.0 API. The FCC unit
uses an electrostatic separator to
remove fines from 3000 wppm to
<500 wppm. This is equivalent to
2.25 t/d of fines. Assuming 2 t/d of
sludge for every ton/day of fines,
a total 4.5 t/d of sludge and fines
would have accumulated in the
storage tank. In one year, the accu-
mulation would be approximately
1600 tons.
The electrostatic separator adds
value by upgrading the slurry oil
quality for high grade coke pro-
duction. Assuming a product value
increase of $2 per barrel of slurry
oil, the added value is:
www.eptq.com
13/06/2017 11:32
 4800 b/d slurry oil product * 365 ble energy sources. Millions of dol-
days * $2.0/ b/d = $ 3.5 million/y lars in revenue to Indias oil and
gas sector are being lost daily with-
The only meaningful process cost out considering the impact of envi-
for the electrostatic separator is for ronmental waste and the cost of
recycle flow. For this scale, the recy- lost revenue from the bottom of the
cle flow rate would be 2 vol% of the barrel. In the effort to become self-
effluent, or 100 b/d. At $1.0/ b/d, sufficient, increased refinery mar-
this cost is: gins alone will not sustain the ris-
ing cost of crude refining. Including
100 b/d recycle * 365 * $1.0/ b/d = the installation of the GES to exist-
$ 36 500 ing refineries and those with failing
mechanical filtration could effec-
Ignoring the labour and mate- tively increase Indias energy sup-
rial costs of tank cleaning, consider ply, reduce environmental waste
the cost of landfill for the sludge and create more efficiency in crude
removed. Assuming landfill is $1.0/ oil production.
Lb, the cost is:
1600 tons/year * $ 2000/ton = $ 3.2 Further reading
million/year 1 Guercio V J, US producing, exporting more
slurry oil, Oil & Gas Journal, 4 Oct 2010.
2 Platts, Methodology and Specifications Guide,
The annual savings are $3.5 mil-
Petroleum Product & Gas Liquids: US Caribbean
lion $0.04 million + $3.2 million =
and Latin America, Jan 2012.
$6.7 million/year
3 Silverman L D, Winkler S, Tiethof J A,
Witoshkin A, Matrix effects in catalytic
The road ahead cracking, presented at the NPRA annual
India is looking to further develop meeting, 23-25 Mar 1986, Westin Bonaventure
and harness its various renewa- Hotel Los Angeles, California.
Others simply sell you a pro-
duct we offer a solution.
OHL Gutermuth
A control and shut off technique you can rely on.
ESD
Specialized in
high pressure
low/high temperature
Helmershuser Strae 9+12 63674 Altenstadt / Germany
Phone +49 6047.8006-0 Telefax +49 6047.8006-29
www.ohl-gutermuth.de E-Mail: og@ohl-gutermuth.de
www.eptq.com
Q3 GA.indd 5
4 Minyard W F, Woodson T S, Upgrade FCC
slurry oil with chemical settling aids, World
Refining, Nov/Dec1999.
5 Motaghi M, Shree K, Krishnamurthy S, Anode
grade coke from traditional crudes, PTQ, Q2
2010.
6 Elliott J D, Impact of feed properties and
operating parameters on delayed coker petcoke
quality, presented at the ERTC 2008 Coking and
Gasification Conference.
7 U.S. Energy Information Administration, India
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Oil & Gas
Journal, FGE.
8 Paraskos J, Scalco V, Optimize value from
FCC bottoms, Hydrocarbon Processing, Apr
2013.
Victor M Scalco III is Global Commercial
Strategic Business Development Manager,
Gulftronic Electrostatic Separators with
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems
Group. He has worked for more than 20
years in the design and implementation
of hydrocarbon filtration and separation
systems, involved in technical development
and training with EPC and FCC/RFCC licensors
worldwide. With experience in programme
development for commercial applications,
scoping studies and commissioning, he holds
a MA degree from the University of San Diego.
California.
Customized
Valve Design
OHL Gutermuth
Industrial Valves GmbH
PTQ Q3 2017 69
13/06/2017 13:34
 SUPERIOR SPRAY. SERIOUS RESULTS.

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spraying.indd 1 15/06/2017 10:20

 Best practice desalting
Part 1: crude flexibility window
A replacement programme of desalter treatment chemistry transformed the
operation of crude units struggling to meet performance targets

BRAD MASON
Nalco Champion

R
eliability remains king in the
Case study 1 desalter operations overview
rening environment today,
which can sometimes go
against best laid plans when pro- Design charge rate, bpd 150 000 [historical ~110-115 000]
Crude blend gravity, API 21-22
cessing challenging crudes. This is Design wash water rate, % of crude charge 5.0-8.0% [actual only 3.5-4.0]
the ongoing juggling act: to capi- Desalter design and configuration Petreco Bilectric; two-stage in series
talise on the discounts presented Residence time, minutes Oil = 6-8; water = 100-110
by these crudes while balancing
all the potential negative impacts; Table 1
and how to safely navigate these
waters.
The articles that will follow con- 120
vey a vision for reaching a new Brent
Oil price, $/BBL

100
level of performance across the WTI
crude unit. The following arti- 80 CDN light
cles will detail a crude unit of the WCS
60
future concept, whereby reners
will have the ability to make process 40
changes to operations in near-real
20
time with the same crude blend,
while also maintaining safety lim-
14

15

16

17
01

01

01

its and key performance indicators

20

20

20

20
l2

l2

l2
n

n
Ju

Ju

Ju

(KPI). This programme involves

Ja

Ja

Ja

Ja

state of the art technologies from the

desalter, extended to the wastewa-
ter treatment plant, and across the
crude unit overhead.
Before that, however, this article
will focus on best practice desalt-
ing as a mandatory requirement.
Without a solid, best practice
mechanical-operational-chemical
(M-O-C) programme approach, a
rener will never be able to capi-
talise on the potential benets this
technology brings. Without sta-
ble operations in the desalter that
control emulsion band growth
and efuent quality, regardless of
crude slate processed, making pro-
cess changes to mix valve dP, level
set point, mud wash practices and
so on will be unlikely. However,
when you can provide a tried and
true best practice desalting pro-
gramme that addresses industry
Figure 1 Recent crude price history WCS vs Brent/WTI/CDN Light Source: www.oilsands-
magazine.com/energy-statistics/monthly-average-oil-prices-wti-brent-wcs
concerns, only then can you opti-
mise the process.
The discussion will begin with two
recent case studies that reect how
critical desalting programmes can be
for solving the immediate processing
challenge such that further optimisa-
tions can be made and sustained.
These sites run a challenging
mix that often reaches 100% of a
Heavy Canadian crude blend, the
main reason for this being potential
improvement in operating margin.
As Figure 1 shows, the average dis-
count on the WCS benchmark com-
pared to a light basket of crudes is
still $10-15/bbl, and there are other
Heavy Canadian crudes that offer
further discounts.
Case study 1
A North American rener had been
working with an incumbent pro-
cess treatment provider for many
years. Over time, performance
had deteriorated markedly as the
renery introduced new and chal-
lenging feedstocks to improve
operating margins. Signicant cap-
ital expenditures had been made
to improve perceived equipment
shortfalls at the waste treatment
plant, but oil under-carry remained
excessive, and became worse with
the cost advantaged crude slate
the renery needed to process. Oil
under-carry was such a consistent
problem that approximately 30% of
crude charge was bypassed around

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 71

q3 nalco.indd 1 15/06/2017 12:58

 the rst stage of a double stage
Base Incumbent NC Incumbent Nalco desalter.
case trial trial trial II Champion
When Nalco Champion was
3000

grease, ppm
Oil and invited to trial, the immediate goal
2000
was to show that the treatment pro-
1000 gramme proposed based on com-
0 prehensive pre-trial site audits and
1000 research evaluations of the crude
1 48 95 142 189 236 283 330 377 424 471 feed would eliminate the contin-
Observation ual oil under-carry problem. With
the main operational constraint
Figure 2a Improvement in first stage effluent oil and grease: consistent performance removed, the aim shifts to optimis-
with Nalco Champion programme ing the desalting process by follow-
ing established Nalco Champion
Base Incumbent NC Incumbent Nalco M-O-C best practice protocols. From
case trial trial trial II Champion there, agreed-upon trial protocols
Filterable Solids

100
are followed to restore the expected
Removal, %

80
overall unit performance. At that
60 point, the programmes robustness
40 can be fully tested with increasing
20 amounts of the sites main heavy
1 48 95 142 189 236 283 330 377 424 471 Canadian opportunity crude. Table
Observation 1 shows an overview of the unit.

Figure 2b Improved solids removal efficiency Solution

Nalco Champion rst conducted
Base Incumbent NC Incumbent Nalco thorough site audits to gain insight
case trial trial trial II Champion into current operating practices,
100
efficiency, %

review baseline performance, and

Desalting

80 evaluate tank farm and desalting

60 equipment to try to understand
40 whether there were any design
20 aws or mechanical limitations
1 48 95 142 189 236 283 330 377 424 471 that could be responsible for poor
Observation performance. These audits also
included understanding impacts to
Figure 2c Increased desalting efficiency wastewater treatment operations.
Audit ndings were then cou-
pled to the research evaluations and
Base Incumbent NC Incumbent Nalco
case trial trial trial II Champion the companys experience of suc-
cessfully processing heavy, high
Charge rate,

140000
solids-laden crude slates. Our rec-
BPD

120000 ommendations then established an

100000 effective desalter monitoring and
sampling trial protocol to allow for
80000
1 48 95 142 189 236 283 330 377 424 471 continuous evaluation of the correct
Observation areas. Along with this, best practice
injection locations and safe staging
Figure 2d Higher average crude charge (while maintaining KPIs) areas for product storage in the unit
were also identied.
NC Incumbent Nalco The Resolv treatment pro-
Advantaged crude,

trial trial II Champion

gramme chosen utilised a current
60
best practice primary emulsion
% in blend

45
breaker (EC2472A) in conjunction
30 with an enhanced solids removal
15 aid (EC2600A). Nalco Champion
0 Research initially developed the
1 32 63 94 125 156 187 216 249 280 311 EC2600A to meet the growing chal-
Observation lenges of heavy, high solids crudes,
focused on Canadian dilbits. Today,
Figure 2e Significantly higher rates of advantaged crude in the slate (while maintaining KPIs) this combination programme has an

72 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 nalco.indd 2 15/06/2017 10:17

 extensive treating library for refer-
ence cases like this.
The primary goal from the start
was to achieve a new baseline per-
formance (new system steady state)
with no new upsets. The first trial
involved EC2472A being used with
the opportunity crude in the slate
at the historical maximum rate pro-
cessed only 2-3%. Oil under-carry
immediately ceased (see Figure 2,
NC Trial legend). The incumbent
provider was allowed a second
test run, but the old performance
returned. As was mentioned earlier,
a key component of these tests was
to determine robustness in the treat-
ment programme. Consequently,
during a second test the amount
of advantaged opportunity crude
significantly increased as part of
the crude slate to test robustness.
During this period, the opportunity
crude level reached maximum rates
above 40% due to hydraulic limits
on the unit. Since Nalco Champion
started to treat the unit perma-
nently, the amount of advantaged
crude has averaged more than 30%,
while maintaining or exceeding past
desalting and solids removal KPIs.
Figures 2a-e highlight some of the
performance gains in terms of sig-
nificant reductions to desalter efflu-
ent oil and grease levels (COD in
the total influent to wastewater also
dropped as a result), increased sol-
ids removal and desalting efficien-
cies, higher crude charge with more
advantaged crude being processed.
It is also important to note that
these performance improvements
are statistically significant events,
shown by P-values of less than 0.05.
Value
Bringing in higher levels of oppor-
tunity crude can greatly ele-
vate refinery margins if the
potential downsides can be mit-
igated to deliver consistent per-
formance. The integrated team
approach and systematic protocols
described above allowed for sound
mitigation strategies to be devel-
oped and utilised while reducing
the operating risks. To make a step
change while maintaining high lev-
els of availability requires this work
and planning to be done in a con-
sultative manner.
www.eptq.com
q3 nalco.indd 3
Case study 2 system parameters
Design charge rate, bpd 250 000 [historical ~230 000]
Crude blend gravity, API 20-21 [historical ~24-27]
Design wash water rate, % of crude charge 8.0%
Desalter design and configuration Petreco Bilectric; two-stage in series; two trains
Residence time, minutes Oil = 14-15; water = 90-95
Table 2
There are chemical treatments
and monitoring tools and tech-
niques that can be employed to do
this safely and hold the gains when
running these kinds of advantaged
crudes.
The desalters are now process-
ing higher levels of opportunity
crude at new record charge rates.
The average opportunity crude
processed is now around 33% (a
ten-fold increase compared to the
baseline) and the unit has hit a new
record run rate above 150 000 b/d
without incident or upset.
Estimated gains in operating mar-
gins brought to the site have been
calculated at $50-80 million. Now
previously black-balled advan-
taged crudes can be run with
greater confidence to achieve higher
margins with reliability and KPIs
intact.
Case study 2
Another Midwest US refinery was
struggling to process its design
crude slate which was 100% heavy
Canadian. Although the causes
and effects of poor performance
were different to those of the first
case study, the determining factor
was again lack of desalter treating
robustness.
The problems associated with this
unit were more complicated than
in the first case. The crude unit was
relatively new, but mechanically
the desalter vessels and transform-
ers capacities were built correctly
in terms of meeting the planned
charge rates. However, this unit
was not suffering from obvious
problems like oil under-carry for
example. Rather there were lay-
ers of issues that would reach a
tipping point on a semi-regular
basis, causing emulsion growth,
desalter grid trips, significant water
carry-over, and finally frequent
crude heater trips, very costly
events. Additionally, regular foul-
ing and cleaning of effluent heat
exchangers occurred, and big prob-
lems arose at the wastewater treat-
ment plant. The system parameters
are shown in Table 2.
Solution
First, Nalco Champion conducted
a thorough unit audit and followed
a protocol similar to that in the first
case. Laboratory screening proce-
dures again showed that the Resolv
treatment programme of choice
for these kinds of heavy Canadian
crudes was to combine a primary
emulsion breaker (EC2472A) with
an enhanced solids removal aid
(EC2600A).
There is a key point to understand
with this case. The refinery technol-
ogy group invested a lot of time and
energy to determine if any mechan-
ical and operational deficiencies
existed that could be the cause of
historical poor performance, before
eventually advocating a desalter
trial of a new treatment programme.
Key mechanical issues that were
fixed prior to the trial were:
1. Transformers: although sized cor-
rectly (3 x 250 kVA per stage) with
adequate secondary voltage settings,
they were found to be incorrectly
wired. This was corrected first.
2. Level control: using a sophis-
ticated nucleonic density meas-
urement, this was slow to react
to density changes that span the
desalter profile. Since the level con-
trol is linked to the brine valves, this
was an important factor in reacting
to emulsion growth. Larger sources
were installed to achieve the desired
refresh rate in the system.
As with any trial, the first rule
is always to transition to the new
treatment programme without
causing any upsets. Once this is
achieved and a new steady-state
operation is reached after the first
PTQ Q3 2017 73
13/06/2017 11:56
 quality changes in the emulsion
I-MR chart of effluent O&G between the incumbent programme
Incumbent Nalco and Nalco Champions. The areas
Individual value, Champion
5000 inside the blue boxes represent
incumbent treatments on the unit.
2500 15 July (incumbent): correlates to
ppm

a wide emulsion with a lot of sol-

0
ids hung up, as shown by the per-
centage of centrifuged solids on the
1 19 37 55 73 91 109 127 145 153 181
y-axis. You can clearly see the water
Observation droplets coated in oil and solids
unable to coalesce as they should do
I-MR chart of desalting efficiency when under the inuence of a DC
Incumbent Nalco
Champion eld from the desalter grids. Lack
of emulsion resolution was deter-
Individual value,

100
mined as one of the key bad actors,
95
leading to the lower grid becoming
%

90 stressed and tripping, then water

carryover would take place, and the
85
crude heater would trip.
1 19 37 55 73 91 109 127 145 153 181 15 September (Nalco Champion):
Observation after the programme acted on the
unit for approximately two weeks,
I-MR chart of desalted crude the emulsion is completely resolved.
Incumbent Nalco
Champion
It is no longer present at this loca-
Individual value,

1.00 tion, leaving crude with only a

0.75 handful of water drops.
wt%

0.50
22 September (incumbent): a
brief return to the old programme
0.25
showed how quickly the emulsion
0
1 19 37 55 73 91 109 127 145 153 181
build is, with solids again stuck,
Observation helping to stabilise the emulsion.
13 October (Nalco Champion):
I-MR chart of dehydration efficiency
shows again the emulsion being
Incumbent Nalco
fully resolved.
Champion The point here is that the treat-
Individual value,

100
ment programme of EC2472A and
95 EC2600A is well suited to the chal-
%

lenges that heavy Canadian crude

90
1 19
Figure 3 Desalter KPI improvements in case study 2
few days of operation, the agreed-
upon trial protocols can start to be
actioned.
Figure 3 shows the rst six months
of data for the typical KPIs. The per-
formance gains in three of these cri-
teria were substantial and represent
a statistically signicant change
(p-value = 0), whereas desalting
efciency had no loss in perfor-
mance (P-value = 0.87):
Efuent oil and grease were
reduced by more than 50%
Water in the desalted crude
immediately dropped by 0.3%
37 55 73 91 109 127 145 153 181
Observation
Dehydration efciency jumped by
3-4%.
An extra, higher level test was
also performed to see what was
going on inside the emulsion band.
With the use of a contrast micro-
scope, the same sample point (#3
try line) was taken throughout the
trial, including periods when the
incumbent was treating. The #3
try line was chosen as it was his-
torically where the emulsion was
always present.
Figure 4 shows a summary of
some of the key samples showing
slates often present. By studying the
emulsion down to the micron level,
it was clear that the solids were
being successfully transferred to the
brine, exactly where they need to go.
Value
This renerys crude unit did not
have a single upset during or since
the trial and the programme has
been installed on a permanent basis
across all of the crude units on site.
For the trial unit, the desalters now
regularly process the designed 100%
heavy crude slate, and often at above
name plate charge rates, as high as
290 000 b/d. In simple terms, the site
can run the crudes they want/need
to at many tens of thousands of bar-
rels above historical levels.
The site estimated the annual
value attributed to switching to a

74 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 nalco.indd 4 13/06/2017 11:56

 more robust desalter management
programme at greater than $100
million. Try line, 3 Sep 22
7 Try line, 3 Jul 15

Conclusion 6

Centrifuged solids, %
Not all desalter treatment chemis-
try is created equally and theoret- 5
ically, if the desalting equipment
4
is properly sized and specied for Try line, 3 Oct 13
the intended crude slate, should 3
Try line, 3 Sep 15

only be viewed as a polishing step.

However, these two cases demon- 2
strate the substantial improvements
1
a sound best practice chemistry
approach can produce on a crude 0
unit struggling to meet performance

15

15

15

15

15

15

15

15
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
metrics and nancial targets.
n

ct

ct

ov
Ju
Ju

Au

Au

Se
Therefore, it is critical to have a

N
15

23
25

13
4

24

thorough understanding of the unit
so that a tried and true manage-
ment programme can be applied
and evaluated to deliver results.
Utilising best practice chemistry can
lead to stable operations, regard-
less of the crudes being processed,
such that when the next level of
performance improvement is to
be reached through automation,
decisions and actions can be made
because system KPIs are in check
12
Figure 4 Emulsion quality changes viewed through a contrast microscope, down to 10
and process variables mitigated. Brad Mason is a Marketing Director with Nalco
There is a saying by Lord Kelvin: Champion, overseeing the Process Global
You cannot control what you can- Marketing group for Downstream, managing
not measure. Part 2 of this series the development of the refining and chemical
will take this point a step fur- processing portfolios. With over 21 years of
ther: you cannot change what you experience, he holds a BTechnology degree
can measure without assurance of in geochemistry from Macquarie University,
stability. Sydney, Australia.

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IR Vision + IR LOG.indd 1 14.06.2017 17:17:16

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 75

q3 nalco.indd 5 14/06/2017 16:47

 REFINING PROCESS SOLUTIONS

Helping You Process More

Cost Advantaged Crudes
Our total treatment approach works. On a global basis, we treat more barrels
of crude than anyone elsemore than 35 percent of global refining throughput.

When you partner with Nalco Champion, we provide on-site engineers, a

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driven innovation and unique gap analysis processes. We work with you to
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nalco.indd 1 09/06/2017 12:24

 Leveraging hydrocracking to upgrade low
value streams
Flexible design of hydrocracking catalyst systems enables maximum conversion
of lower value feed streams into more valuable liquid products
ADRIENNE VAN KOOPEREN
Criterion Catalysts & Technologies/Zeolyst International
T
he global rening market con-
tinues to be challenging as oil
prices remain low and eco-
nomic drivers push reners to pro-
cess heavier, more difcult and
sourer crudes. These opportunity
crudes generate a higher percent-
age of the distressed streams which
are either blended into lower value
dispositions or, more recently, serve
as feed streams to other conver-
sion units. Today, upgrading these
difcult streams into lighter, more
valuable liquid products becomes
paramount under the current con-
ditions as low value outlets disap-
pear, especially in light of the recent
International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) decision on bunker fuel
quality.
The following case studies offer
an exploration of reneries that
leverage the exibility of hydro-
cracker pretreat catalyst systems
to upgrade low value, highly pro-
cessed material via hydrocrack-
ing without sacricing run length,
product quality, or margin by dis-
position of these streams as low val-
ued exports. These streams include,
but are not limited to, products
from thermal cracking, deasphalt-
ing units, catalytic cracking, coking,
lube extraction, or ebullated bed
residue upgraders. The three case
studies described here demonstrate
the different operating challenges
and catalyst strategies employed to
upgrade a broad range of very dif-
cult feedstocks into premium qual-
ity clean fuel products.
The nal case study focuses on
the Shell Scotford renery to illus-
trate the evolution of pretreat
design and operating strategies that
address the increasingly demand-
www.eptq.com
q3 criterion.indd 1
ment, fouling and contaminate mit-
igation, and hydrogen availability/
Particulates, consumption constraints. Although
Grading foulants, hydrocrackers have always lever-
Demetallisation metals aged multi-tiered catalytic systems,
Balanced
Robust HCPT signicant advances in catalyst tech-
HDN, HDS &
hydrogenation with high stability nology and improvements in man-
ufacturing techniques over the last
decade have addressed a number
Deep HDN & of issues related to hydrocracking
saturation
highly aromatic, refractory feeds
Highest HDN &
hydrogenation and thus enabled reners to pro-
gress from upgrading conventional
Mild cracking
type feeds to include conversion of
Ring opening
& high HDN these more challenging, lower value
streams.
The catalytic approach to upgrad-
ing high severity feedstocks via
hydrocracking focuses on balancing
the performance of a ve-part pre-
Figure 1 Five-part hydrocracker pretreat treat system to address the specic
catalyst system needs of each rener. Figure 1 illus-
trates the multi-tiered hydrocracker
ing cycle objectives for converting pretreat catalytic system.
synthetic feeds derived from tar
sand bitumen via hydrocracking. Grading: foulant and particulate
We continue working together to abatement
identify opportunities to improve The top layer of the multi-tiered
unit performance, and solutions to catalyst system always consists of
achieve the ultimate goal of mini- grading material tailored by size,
mising or eliminating low valued shape, and activity to provide deep-
stream exports by upgrading these bed ltration which mitigates pres-
materials into high value, clean sure drop (P) build-up due to
fuels. particulates. The ltration design
uses higher voidage, larger particle
Challenges of converting heavy, low size materials at the top with subse-
value streams via hydrocracking quent layers of decreasing size and
Upgrading heavy, distressed various shape to capture inert sol-
streams via hydrocracking to lighter, ids (for instance iron, scale, solids)
high value products presents a num- or reactive species and thereby pro-
ber of problems from both opera- tect the lower, active catalyst beds
tional and catalytic perspectives. from foulants and remove trace
These range from a variety of issues metals. Activity grading also alle-
related to processing signicant viates fouling potential from highly
amounts of cracked material, such as reactive compounds such as diole-
temperature or heat release manage- ns. Proper design of grading and
PTQ Q3 2017 77
14/06/2017 12:09
 demetallisation catalyst is key to
ensuring cycle length and mitigat-
ing unplanned outages due to pres-
sure drop or poisoning.
Demetallisation: metal contaminant
protection and removal
Metals contamination acts as a pri-
mary driver for deactivation of
pretreat catalysts. Common con-
taminants in coker and other high
end point feeds, such as nickel (Ni)
and vanadium (V), deactivate cat-
alysts by plugging pore mouths,
while crude-indigenous contami-
nants, like arsenic (As), deactivate
Ni-containing catalysts by attack-
ing the active nickel species to form
nickel arsenide, and impact catalyst
activity significantly even at rela-
tively low concentrations.
Designing the appropriate level of
demetallisation capacity for a spe-
cific process requires clear under-
standing of feedstock sources and
the associated contaminant lev-
els as different trap materials are
optimised uniquely with balanced
pore size, surface area, and activ-
ity to remove specific metals from
particular feedstocks. For exam-
ple, MaxTrap[Ni,V] is an optimised
material to remove metals common
in high boiling point molecules,
such as iron, potassium, sodium,
nickel, and vanadium with moder-
ate hydrodenitrogenation (HDN)/
hydrodesulphurisation (HDS) activ-
ity, while MaxTrap[As] targets the
high uptake of arsenic specifically.
Demetallisation catalysts also pos-
sess various degrees of heteroa-
tom removal activity and act as the
initial activity grading layer above
the higher activity hydrogenation
catalysts.
Conventional type NiMo:
balanced heteroatom removal and
hydrogenation activity
Application of the highest activ-
ity catalyst is neither required, nor
recommended, in the top of the
hydrocracker pretreat reactor as
the molecules that undergo conver-
sion in this regime are very reac-
tive. Loading highly active catalyst
directly below the grading/demetal-
lisation layers creates the poten-
tial for accelerated deactivation and
coke induced pressure drop build
78 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 criterion.indd 2
from large saturation exotherms.
Utilising a balanced HDN/HDS
activity nickel molybdenum (NiMo)
catalyst between the demetallisation
and higher activity catalyst beds pro-
vides more than sufficient activity
to convert easier sulphur and nitro-
gen species, and facilitates enhanced
robustness against metals poison-
ing for additional demetallisation
capacity due to the underlying pore
structure. Criterions Ascent catalyst
line contains both Type I and Type
II active sites to provide improved
activity over conventional Type I
hydrotreating catalysts with the
added benefit of enhanced stability.
The optimised blend of active sites
provides excellent activity transition
and mitigates excessive heat release
by not over-saturating cracked mate-
rials in the top bed.
Type II NiMo: deep heteroatom
removal, maximum HDN, and
hydrogenation activity
Deep heteroatom removal requires
the highest hydrogenation activity
to saturate aromatic rings in refrac-
tory molecules that contain imbed-
ded heteroatoms (for instance,
sulphur and nitrogen). This is
increasingly important as refiners
upgrade more highly processed,
aromatic streams in the hydroc-
racker. The Centera platform rep-
resents Criterions latest advance
in pretreat catalyst expertise, which
is derived largely from the propri-
etary catalyst manufacturing tech-
nologies. The unique formulation
and production methods of Centera
catalysts provide higher dispersion
of promoter sites to enable further
sulphidation vs conventional Type
II catalysts which, in turn, increases
the quality of Type II active phases
directionally. The higher disper-
sion and more complete sulphid-
ing of the active sites thus leads
to enhanced heteroatom removal
activities and superior aromatics
saturation.
Bifunctional pretreat: ring opening
and activity maintenance
Balancing start of run (SOR) activ-
ity, run length, and product qual-
ity with operational or process
constraints is the key to designing
catalytic systems that enable con-
version of high severity streams
in the hydrocracker. One com-
mon issue faced in achieving the
deep HDN of a heavy and highly
aromatic feed is the thermody-
namic equilibrium effect on HDN
reaction. When the reactor tem-
perature approaches aromatic satu-
ration (ASAT) equilibrium, a further
increase in temperature results in
reduced ASAT, smaller reactor exo-
therm, and even lower HDN/HDS
conversion reactions; this is com-
monly known as wall effect and
results in accelerated catalyst deac-
tivation as another negative conse-
quence. Unfortunately, the HDN of
the highly aromatic and most diffi-
cult nitrogen molecules occurs close
to the pretreat reactor outlet where
the highest temperature and lowest
hydrogen (H2) partial pressure exist.
Some refineries reduce feed rate or
lower feed end point to alleviate the
thermodynamic constraint as tem-
peratures increase towards end of
run (EOR). A number of refineries,
including those illustrated in the
case studies presented here, how-
ever, leverage bifunctional cata-
lyst with ring opening capabilities
at the bottom of the pretreat reactor
to mitigate thermodynamic equi-
librium limitation constraints when
processing highly aromatic, cracked
feedstocks. Relaxing the aromatic
equilibrium limitation at high EOR
WABT through ring opening results
in improved high temperature HDN
stability and extended cycle length.
Case study A: North American
hydrocracker
Case Study A represents a North
American refinery that operates a
single stage, once through hydro-
cracker. The hydrocracker has his-
torically processed a difficult, nearly
100% cracked stock feedstock, and
over time the feed composition
has become increasingly severe as
more low value streams enter the
hydrocracker feed diet. Leveraging
successive generations of catalyst
improvements, however, has pro-
vided this refiner with the flexibil-
ity to convert all cracked materials
in the hydrocracker, while main-
taining cycle length, producing high
value clean fuels, and minimising
creation of low value products.
www.eptq.com
14/06/2017 12:09
 johnzinkhamworthy.com | +1.918.234.1800 2017 John Zink Company LLC. johnzinkhamworthy.com/legal-notices

j17000.08
zink.indd SCR
1 PTQ.indd 1 12/06/2017 10:07
6/9/17 10:41 AM
 tion and Ascent NiMo catalyst in
the rst reactor to remove easier

Normalised pretreat WABT,

sulphur and nitrogen compounds
with optimised hydrogen consump-
tion, and also to control heat release
and manage the high Conradson
carbon residue (CCR) content of
F

the feed. Stacking high hydrogena-

tion activity, Type II NiMo Centera
catalyst above a bifunctional crack-
Cycle 1 ing catalyst drives conversion of
EOR the more difcult molecules to
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 ensure both cycle length and ULSD
BBL of fresh feed per lb Treating catalyst product quality targets were met
through EOR. The ring opening
Figure 2 Case study A Cycle 1 pretreat WABT characteristics of the bifunctional,
mild cracking catalyst provide a key
advantage in mitigating thermody-
Base +
16000
namic equilibrium limitations on
deep HDN of the highly aromatic,
Combined fresh feed rate,

Base +
refractory feed as temperatures
12000 increase throughout the cycle.
Cycle 1 demonstrated the suc-
Base + cessful performance of the tailored
BPD

8000 pretreat system, which exceeded

Base +
4000
Combined fresh feed
Nominal design
Base
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
BBL of fresh feed per lb Treating catalyst
Figure 3 Case study A Cycle 1 fresh feed to hydrocracker
The hydrocracker processes a Cycle 1 (previous)
base diet of heavy, highly aromatic, The highly aromatic feed diet of the
and high nitrogen combinations hydrocracker, combined with the
of catalytically cracked and coker xed hydrogen limitations, required
products under xed hydrogen a balance between achieving suf-
conditions. The typical products cient removal of the refractory sul-
from this moderate conversion unit phur and nitrogen species to ensure
include light naphtha, heavy naph- on-spec ULSD throughout the
tha, diesel, and hydrocracker bleed. desired cycle length and minimis-
The hydrocracker diesel product ing excess hydrogen consumption.
blends directly to the ultra low sul- Criterion worked with this rener
phur diesel (ULSD) pool and carries to achieve all of the key objec-
a sulphur quality limit of less than tives by tailoring the hydrocracker
10 wppm. The crude slate processed pretreat system accordingly. The
during Cycle 1 consisted primarily Cycle 1 pretreat design employed
of heavy, sour Canadian crudes. Criterions MaxTrap demetallisa-
Case study A Cycle 2 fresh feed properties
Property Cycle 2 basis Cycle 2 actual
Fresh feed nitrogen, wppm Base Base + 2000
Fresh feed sulphur, wt% Base Base - 0.8
Fresh feed CCR, wt% Base Base + 0.55
Fresh feed T95, F Base Base + 50F
Table 1
the target run length by more than
six months (see Figure 2), and also
provided opportunities to leverage
catalyst activity to increase overall
throughput as the cycle progressed.
Figure 3 illustrates the consistent
operation of the hydrocracker above
design basis since the middle of
Cycle 1.
Criterion worked with the rener
to capitalise on the developments in
pretreat and hydrocracking catalyst
technology and thereby to stretch
the hydrocracker targets in the sub-
sequent Cycle 2.
Cycle 2 (current)
The key objective for Cycle 2 was to
leverage catalyst advancements and
extend the hydrocracker run length
by 20%, while also targeting higher
throughput (~20%) and process-
ing more difcult feed with higher
end point and higher nitrogen con-
tent. The actual combined feed,
however, contains even higher, and
more refractory, nitrogen compared
to the Cycle 2 basis (see Table 1) and
signicant shifts in crude slate have
drastically increased the feed dif-
culty in end point and CCR.
Over a two-year period, added
innovations in catalyst develop-
ment helped improve the hydro-
cracker pretreat system by >20%
over the previous Cycle 1 system.

80 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 criterion.indd 3 14/06/2017 12:09

 Capitalising on the higher pre-
treat activity provided further
opportunity to consider a higher
distillate-selective cracking cat-
alyst with balanced activity and
reduced gas make, all while main-
taining the longer run length tar-
get for Cycle 2. Table 2 summarises
the reoptimised catalyst congura-
tion for Cycle 2, and demonstrates
that there are quite a few handles
to turn in gaining the maximum
return from the reactor volume
available.
Cycle 2 applied the expected,
higher pretreat activity to start
up at ~25% higher throughput
than Cycle 1 and to process heav-
ier, higher nitrogen feed result-
ing from increasing lower value
South American crude purchases.
Upgrading more heavy, previ-
ously processed material via the
hydrocracker, in addition to the
higher bulk nitrogen content and
end point, increases the amount
of refractory sulphur in the feed,
although the total sulphur content is
lower. The refractory nature of the
sulphur molecules in the feed direc-
tionally requires higher severity and
additional hydrogen for ring satu-
ration in order to maintain ULSD
products. Under these higher tem-
perature conditions, and with these
highly aromatic molecules in the
feed, the ring opening capabilities
of the bifunctional catalyst is even
more important to mitigate aromat-
ics thermodynamic equilibrium lim-
itations and allow catalytic sites to
access the embedded heteroatoms
and thus achieve clean fuel prod-
uct specications as temperature
increases.
The renery balances the oppor-
tunity to process more difcult
feeds derived from challenging
crudes with total rate under their
xed hydrogen environment as
the refractory nature of these
high severity feeds requires direc-
tionally more hydrogen per bar-
rel to saturate the higher aromatic
rings enclosing the heteroatoms.
Although the robust catalytic sys-
tem possesses the ability to upgrade
these feeds at higher rate, the cor-
responding increase in hydro-
gen consumption with the heavy,
high nitrogen, and highly aromatic
www.eptq.com
q3 criterion.indd 4
Case study A Cycle 2 catalyst system
Catalyst family Performance, % activity
Sentry/MaxTrap Demetallisation Base
Ascent NiMo HCPT Base + 20%
Centera Type II NiMo HCPT Base + 20%
Zeolyst bifunctional HCPT Base + 20%
Zeolyst 2nd stage cracking system Base - 20%
Table 2
material requires harmonising total
throughput with xed hydrogen
constraints. The xed hydrogen
availability under which this hydro-
cracker operates therefore requires
continuous re-evaluation of total
throughput vs feed quality and, in
this case, processing fewer total bar-
rels generates greater margin by
converting more overall nitrogen
from increasing barrels of severe
material in the hydrocracker diet
(see Figure 4).
This rener continues to leverage
the enhanced pretreat activity in
Cycle 2 by capitalising on opportu-
nity crudes and processing higher
nitrogen, heavier fresh feed in the
hydrocracker which generates the
greatest margin. The renery drives
to process more difcult feed bar-
rels within their xed hydrogen
environment and to reoptimise
the balance between total rate,
severity of barrels processed, and
crude sources, with support from
Criterion. Despite the increased
Feed nitrogen, PPD
0 5 10 15
BBL of fresh feed per lb Treating catalyst
Figure 4 Comparison of Case study A Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 feed nitrogen processed
Benefits
Properly manage fouling, DP, and metals
loading at higher rate/run length
Higher HDN and optimised H2
consumption 2nd generation
Maximum activity for HDN and extended
run length 2nd generation
Ring opening to ensure HDN/ULSD
through EOR 2nd generation
Higher distillate with reduced gas make
and balanced activity 2nd generation
feed severity, the hydrocracker
unit remains on track to meet the
extended run length and increased
rate objectives in Cycle 2.
Case study B: North American
hydrocracker
Case study B represents a Gulf
Coast renery that operates a sin-
gle stage hydrocracker with recy-
cle. The hydrocracker processes a
challenging diet with >75% cracked
material and operates at 80-90%
conversion. The feed slate consists
of catalytically cracked products,
heavy gas oils, and low quality,
opportunity purchased streams to
be upgraded in the hydrocracker.
Typical products from this hydroc-
racker include gasoline, jet, and <10
wppm sulphur diesel products, and
variability in the purchased imports
creates an additional challenge to
maintaining high value, clean fuel
products. Table 3 summarises the
key properties of the combined
hydrocracker feed.
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
Cycle 2 basis
20 25 30 35
PTQ Q3 2017 81
14/06/2017 12:09
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 Case study B typical fresh feed
properties
Fresh feed nitrogen, wppm 750-850
Fresh feed sulphur, wt% 1.2-1.4
Fresh feed API gravity 19.3-21.3
Fresh feed T95, F 760-790
Table 3
Cycle 1 (previous)
The main objectives for the hydro-
cracker in Cycle 1 were to upgrade
all internally generated cracked
products with added opportunity
purchased streams, while achiev-
ing a minimum three-year cycle
length and maximising hydrogen
consumption within the renerys
production capability. The Cycle
1 pretreat system therefore loaded
the highest hydrogenation activity
Centera catalyst as the main active
catalyst with an optimised demetal-
lisation and activity grading sys-
tem using Ascent NiMo in the top
bed to manage heat release from
this highly aromatic feed. Despite
the highly aromatic nature of the
feed, however, the overall feed diet
is relatively light, and, directionally,
the hydrocracker operates at lower
overall severity compared to the
other case studies where the ring
opening capability of the bifunc-
tional catalyst provides signicant
benets in terms of shifting thermo-
dynamic equilibrium constraints.
The Case B hydrocracker, however,
operates in a less thermodynami-
cally unfavourable regime where
the high activity, Type II Centera
NiMo provides more than sufcient
saturation capacity through EOR to
maintain HDN.
Criterion worked with this rener
over a number of cycles to increase
the amount of cracked feed pro-
cessed in the hydrocracker, while
simultaneously increasing run
length. The hydrocracker pre-
treat system performed well in
Cycle 1, but unexpected pressure
drop issues arose mid-cycle which
appeared to be cycle-limiting. An
unplanned shutdown, however,
occurred and the rener took the
opportunity to perform a hot hydro-
gen strip which reduced P across
the pretreat reactor upon subse-
quent restart and thus enabled the
www.eptq.com
q3 criterion.indd 5
Case study B Cycle 1 vs Cycle 2 catalyst system
Cycle 1
Sentry/MaxTrap demetallisation
Ascent NiMo HCPT
Centera Type II NiMo HCPT
Zeolyst 2nd stage cracking
Table 4
unit to achieve the target run length.
The ensuing reactor P stabilised
at a lower value post-hot hydrogen
strip which indicated that the ini-
tial P build resulted from hydro-
gen starvation induced coking in
the bottom bed. Root cause analy-
sis ndings attributed the observed
P recovery post-hot hydrogen
strip removal of inter-particle coke
deposits. Note that the bottom
bed is twice as long as the upper
bed and operates under the lowest
hydrogen partial pressure and hot-
test temperature conditions which
creates a favourable coking environ-
ment, especially with a high hydro-
genation activity catalyst.
Criterion worked with the rener
to incorporate the learnings from
Cycle 1 into a redesigned catalyst
package which leveraged recent
advances in hydrocracker pretreat
catalyst performance and thereby
expand the hydrocracker objectives
in Cycle 2.
Cycle 2 (current)
The key stretch goal in Cycle 2
was to extend the overall hydro-
cracker run length to a minimum
Base +
Normalised pretreat pressure
120
Base +
drop, psid
80
Base +
40
Base
0 20
BBL of fresh feed per lb Treating catalyst
Figure 5 Comparison of Case study B Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 normalised hydrocracker
pretreat pressure drop
Cycle 2 Delta
Base
2nd generation Ascent Base + 20%
2nd generation Centera
Base
2nd generation Ascent
Zeolyst 2nd stage cracking higher hydrogenation Base + 20%
of four years, while continuing to
process the same, highly aromatic
feed slate and also address the sus-
pected hydrogen starvation induced
P build across the pretreat reac-
tor. Limitations on quench and the
large size of the bottom bed required
a fundamental change in the hydro-
cracker pretreat design to alle-
viate excessively high hydrogen
consumption at the bottom of the
last bed without sacricing over-
all pretreat activity. The key to mit-
igating coking in the bottom bed,
therefore, became to rebalance the
exotherm by tailoring the hydro-
genation activity of the catalyst
in this regime. Replacing highest
hydrogenation activity catalyst in the
bottom portion of the last bed with
an optimised hydrogenation Ascent
platform directionally reduces cok-
ing propensity in this low hydrogen
partial pressure, high temperature
regime. By leveraging the higher
activity of the next generation Ascent
and Centera NiMo catalysts, the
recongured pretreat system for
Cycle 2 provides an overall activity
gain compared to Cycle 1 even with
the added bottom layer of Ascent.
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
40 60 80 100 120
PTQ Q3 2017 83
14/06/2017 12:10
 Base +
30000
Combined fresh feed rate,
Base +
20000
BPD
Base +
10000
Base
0 20
Figure 6 Comparison of Case study B Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 fresh feed rates
Improved hydrogen management
in the pretreat system also provided
an opportunity to upgrade the
cracking catalyst and yield better
quality products by shifting hydro-
genation functionality to the crack-
ing system. That is, rebalancing the
hydrogenation activity and capital-
ising on catalyst innovations meets
and/or exceeds all of the Cycle 2
objectives. Table 4 compares the
reoptimised pretreat catalyst load
for Cycle 2 with that of Cycle 1.
Analysis of the spent catalyst
from Cycle 1 further supported
our hypothesis that hydrogen star-
vation led to coking in the bottom
bed and validated the reoptimised
pretreat conguration in Cycle 2.
Fresh feed
H2
HDN pretreat
catalyst system
Figure 7 Simplified Scotford hydrocracker schematic
84 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 criterion.indd 6
design of hydrocracker pretreat
catalyst systems for each reners
needs.
Future opportunities
Criterion continues to work with
this rener to reoptimise the hydro-
cracker pretreat conguration for
hydrogen management and to iden-
tify opportunities to apply future
Cycle 1 catalyst innovations for improved
Cycle 2 unit performance, producing high
Basis
value products and increasing con-
40 60 80 100 120 version of difcult feedstocks.
BBL of fresh feed per lb Treating catalyst
Case study C: Shell Scotford
hydrocracker
Shell Canada operates a single
Figure 5 shows the resultant reduc- stage hydrocracker at the Scotford
tion in P build across the pretreat Renery near Fort Saskatchewan,
reactor since SOR and demonstrates Alberta. The unit, which was com-
the effectiveness of the optimised missioned in 1983 and has since
catalyst conguration in Cycle 2. progressed through a number of
Furthermore, the reduced hydro- debottlenecking projects, achieves
gen consumption and temperature nearly full conversion of fresh feed
rise across the bottom bed result- with liquid recycle to the cracking
ing from the reconguration has reactor. Figure 7 shows a simplied
allowed the rener to increase total schematic diagram of the hydroc-
throughput to the hydrocracker racker unit. The fractionation sec-
by 7.5% and still maintain a lower tion produces light petroleum gases,
P compared to the previous cycle naphtha, jet and diesel for direct use
without compromising run length or as blendstocks to make transpor-
(see Figure 6). The upgraded crack- tation fuels, while the bottoms bleed
ing catalyst has also delivered the is utilised to manage the build-up of
expected product quality improve- heavy aromatics in the recycle.
ments which demonstrates the Today, the Scotford hydrocracker
key value added by optimising the has the unique capability of pro-
cessing 100% synthetic feed derived
from Canadian tar sands bitumen
LPG
sources. The general characteris-
tics of synthetic feed are low sul-
H2 phur content with more difcult to
Light/heavy remove, refractory nitrogen. More
naphtha importantly, the Scotford hydroc-
racker possesses the exibility to
switch between synthetic (sweet)
Jet feed and straight run vacuum
gas oil (sour) derived from an adja-
Diesel
cent oil sands upgrader or to run
any combination of these two chal-
lenged streams; the majority of the
Light/heavy normal hydrocracker diet consists
gasoil
of sour feed balanced with sweet
synthetic material. Note that syn-
thetic crude means crude oil pro-
duced by upgrading the individual
Cracking fractions of bitumen via other con-
catalyst system
Bottoms version units (for instance, coking,
Recycle oil product hydrotreating) and then recom-
(bleed)
bining the treated streams. The
material is considered synthetic
www.eptq.com
14/06/2017 12:10
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Catalytic Reforming
Delayed Coking
Reenery Fuel Gas
Amine Gas Treating
Final Product Protection

In the Reenery and Petrochemical Industry, an ecient ltration/separation

system is critical to the reliability and performance of the physical assets
that process petroleum products. Optimizing the reliability of these
ltration systems is essential in maximizing your operational performance.

Jonell has worked diligently to advance the economics of Petroleum

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solutions that are constantly evolving and improving. Jonell not only makes
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jonell.indd 1 09/03/2017 12:22

 treat catalysts in the top pretreat
Heavy vacuum Cracked stocks layers to prevent premature pres-
gas oils sure build-up and channelling of

Increasing carbon number

the bed. The hydrocracker feed car-

Decreasing reactivity
SR gas oils
Very hard ries very low levels of traditional
refractory metals, such as nickel, vanadium,
and arsenic, with the exception of
iron. Iron species, present in the
feed as iron sulphide, are removed
predominantly in the guard reac-
tor upstream of the hydrocracker
pretreat. Utilising a tailored grad-
ing and demetallisation scheme in
Easy
the guard reactor has mitigated iron
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 sulphide induced pressure drop as a
Increasing boiling point, F signicant concern over the hydro-
cracker cycles. Table 6 shows typ-
Figure 8 Simplified Scotford hydrocracker schematic ical characteristics of the Scotford
hydrocracker feed components.
In addition to the increased rate
Scotford HCU typical feed component properties enabled by debottlenecking pro-
grammes, the fresh feed has become
Property SR VGO (Sour) Synthetic (Sweet) increasingly difcult with higher
Nitrogen, wppm 1400-1800 700-1000
nitrogen content over successive
Sulphur, wt% 2-4 0.2-0.4 (refractory)
Specific gravity 0.9-1.0 0.9-1.0 cycles (see Figure 9). The refrac-
tory nature of the nitrogen species
Table 6 in the bitumen derived feeds there-
fore requires even greater increases
because the upgrading processes represent a much greater challenge in catalyst activity relative to a cor-
alter the original composition. for the pretreat catalyst as the eas- responding increase in bulk nitro-
The straight run vacuum gas ily convertible species have already gen content of conventional crude
oil (SR VGO) originates from the been removed. Figure 8 illustrates a derived feeds.
upgrader (oil sands crude tower) simplied representation of the reac- The Scotford hydrocracker utilised
and does not undergo any prior con- tivity, or convertibility, of nitrogen previous generations of Criterion
version processes. This sour stream molecules as a function of feedstock pretreat catalysts in historic cycles
therefore contains the full range of boiling point (end point). and has leveraged bifunctional cat-
easy to hard nitrogen species The Scotford hydrocracker feed alyst at the bottom of the pretreat
and has higher bulk nitrogen content also contains a number of contam- system since 2002 to alleviate ther-
than the synthetic feed, but the VGO inants and clay nes unique to oil modynamic equilibrium limitation
nitrogen molecules are easier to treat sands derived feedstocks which on HDN as feed severity increased.
than the refractory species in the require a variety of size and shape In the current cycle, the hydro-
synthetic stream. The nitrogen spe- grading, demetallisation cata- cracker pretreat operates in an
cies in the synthetic feed, however, lysts and high metal-tolerant pre- ascending temperature prole with
the average temperature of the bot-
tom bed hotter than those of the
Cycle Cycle Cycle Cycle Cycle Cycle Cycle upper parts of pretreat and with the
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 lowest hydrogen partial pressure
Combined fresh feed nitrogen,

at the reactor outlet. This high reac-

tor temperature plus low H2 par-
tial pressure puts the bottom bed in
a thermodynamically unfavourable
wtppm

environment for aromatic saturation

and HDN reactions. By applying the
second generation, Type II Centera
DN-3621 and the novel characteris-
tics of latest generation bifunctional
catalyst, Z-HD11, Scotford real-
ised the expected 10F SOR activity
Days on stream improvement over the prior system.
The bifunctionality also improves
Figure 9 Scotford hydrocracker combined fresh feed nitrogen conversion to distillate in the

86 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 criterion.indd 7 14/06/2017 12:10

 pretreat reactor, and the stacked
Centera DN-3621/Z-HD11 sys-
tem leads to enhanced hydrogena-
tion activities with higher boiling
point shift and density reduction
compared to the previous system.
Scotford renery has utilised the
higher activity of these latest genera-
tion catalysts to increase throughput,
while maximising cycle length and
volume swell in the current cycle.
Future opportunities
The Scotford renery continues to
leverage all possible catalyst and
process technology improvements
to upgrade the hydrocracker per-
formance and process increasingly
challenging feedstocks with support
from their Criterion partners.
Conclusion
Hydrocrackers continue to be, and
will grow as, an excellent resource
for upgrading challenged streams
into higher value, clean fuel prod-
ucts. Criterion has worked, and con-
tinues to work, with a number of
reners, including Shell Scotford, to
capitalise on improving processes,
operations, and equipment, and to
add value in the rening world by
providing next generation catalysts
as enablers for successfully upgrad-
ing higher severity feedstocks. The
ultimate outcome of these collabora-
tions is the much sought-after ability
to convert low value, highly pro-
cessed material derived from advan-
tage crudes or distressed streams
in hydrocracker units. The need for
reners to capture this value grows
in the industry as reners strive to
enhance margins by purchasing
more challenging crudes and iden-
tifying alternative dispositions for
low value products as regulations
on streams like bunker fuels tighten.
These types of feeds, however,
present a number of new challenges
for reners to consistently process
these molecules without sacricing
run length, product quality, or mar-
gin by disposition of these streams as
low valued exports. Balancing cycle
length with feed and crude selection,
as well as understanding process
and operational constraints related
to converting these heavy, interme-
diate streams, is key to the rational
design of operating strategies and
www.eptq.com
q3 criterion.indd 8
optimised catalyst selection for removal whilst simultaneously
improved margins via hydrocrack- maintaining a thermodynamically
ing or other upgrading processes. favourable chemistry regime; quite
As illustrated by the case stud- obviously a daunting task at best.
ies described here, successful con-
SENTRY, ASCENT, MaxTrap and CENTERA
version of challenged streams via are trademarks of Criterion Catalysts and
hydrocracking requires a multi- Technologies.
tiered approach. Even when process
and equipment lend themselves to Adrienne Van Kooperen is a Senior
Hydrocracking Technical Service Engineer
success, tailoring catalyst designs
with Criterion Catalysts and Technologies in
to each specic reners needs can
Houston, Texas. She holds a PhD in chemical
be challenging. Examining the case engineering from the University of Delaware
studies demonstrates the wide range with masters and bachelors degrees in
of catalytic requirements from fou- chemical engineering from the University of
lant abatement to deep heteroatom North Dakota.
When
Accuracy
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Our acclaimed thermal process When you need
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PTQ Q3 2017 87
14/06/2017 12:10
 Process Notes

Process to minimize FCC slurry product

Equipment Design Matters In both the main and external fractionators, liquid
distributors must be designed for practical flow rates
Many attractive projects fail to meet expectations at
and to handle solids. Unsophisticated distributor
startup. Disappointing performance often results from
design creates uneven liquid distribution that reduces
bad simulation practices and/or poor equipment design
fractionation efficiency and LCO recovery against
rather than faulty execution. Refineries are currently
the endpoint specification. The main fractionator
considering FCC revamps to increase olefins for
slurry pumparound and quench distributors must
more alky unit feed, maximize LCO product recovery,
eliminate hot spots in the grid and bottoms liquid pool,
and minimize slurry product by producing HCO for
respectively, to prevent coke formation. The picture
hydrocracker feed. These changes raise fractionator
below illustrates the result when equipment design is
operating temperature. Higher temperatures require
left to low-cost vendor solutions.
better process and equipment designs to avoid fouling
and coke formation, which lead to poor reliability and Finally, the bottom product from the external
potentially to an unscheduled shutdown. fractionator (reduced slurry) will be nasty. Stripping
trays must be specially designed to work in this
While getting the simulation right is important, process
extremely fouling service, and bottoms pumps must
equipment design is equally critical to a projects
be compatible with very low API material containing
success. Consider a project to minimize FCC main
solids.
fractionator bottoms product (Slurry, DCO, CSO, etc.).
As outlined in the top figure, an external fractionator Equipment design matters. Dont miss performance
can recover substantial quantities of LCO and HCO goals by applying generic equipment design to
from the FCC slurry product, reducing slurry volume by specialized problems.
60% - 70%.

Upgrading a significant quantity of low-value slurry to

LCO and HCO provides a powerful economic incentive
to execute a recovery project, but poor reliability can
destroy project value. Good process design is important.
For example, proper quench and pumparound system
control is essential. However, ultimate results are
driven by equipment design rather than the theory of
a process model.

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Suite 130 info@revamps.com
Houston, TX 77005, USA www.revamps.com

pcs equipment.indd 1 09/06/2017 13:48

 FCC product fractionation for
maximum LCO
For increased production of diesel over gasoline, maximising recovery of LCO
from the FCC reactor can be part of the scheme

PHILLIP NICCUM, WILLIAM McDANIEL and HOWARD POLLICOFF

KP Engineering

T
he economics and technology Wet gas
of maximising LCO production
in the FCC reactor is a com-
plex topic.1 Once the FCC reactor has FC LC
Raw
been adjusted to maximise LCO pro- 20
19 naphtha
duction, the remaining challenge is 18

16
how to best capture the LCO being
produced in the FCC reactor. 15
8

Lowering the FCC naphtha 7

4
end point is a common strategy 4
1 FC
LC
employed when LCO demand is 3
FC
LC
SMP

high, as it shifts heavy FCC gasoline 2

LCO
FC
into the LCO product. 1
S6
TC FC

Minimising loss of LCO in slurry Reactor effluent S1 FC

TC HCO
oil product is also commonly FC

employed and goes hand-in-hand

LC
SMP
FC
with maximising LCO product end HCO recycle
Slurry
point. FC

Minimising the LCO content of Slurry recycle Slurry

recycled oils is desirable because it product
preserves LCO already made in the
FCC reactor. Figure 1 FCC unit main fractionator

Typical FCC main fractionator

characteristics and operating 1200
strategies Gasoline
1100
The fractionation between LCO, LCO
1000 HCO
HCO and slurry oil in the bottom
900 Slurry
of a traditional FCC main fractiona-
tor (see Figure 1) is very coarse. As 800
TBP, F

Figure 2 shows, coarse fractiona- 700

tion is the result of reactor products 600
feeding the fractionator through 500
the bottom of the tower where the
400
slurry oil product is withdrawn and
300
because there are few fractionation
trays between the slurry product, 200
65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
HCO and LCO product draws.
Cumulative FCC product distillation, vol%
Naphtha/LCO cut point adjustment
Adjusting the cut point between Figure 2 FCC product distillation example
FCC naphtha and LCO without
changing the true FCC conver- gasoline vs distillate demand. This version FCC operation. Reducing
sion is considered standard prac- strategy works to preserve the LPG the end point of the FCC naph-
tice in many refineries for making production, octane and total liquid tha product simply shifts heavy
seasonal adjustments for swings in volume associated with a high con- naphtha into the LCO product

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 89

q3 kpe.indd 1 09/06/2017 17:27

 FCC data: basis of study
1100
1000 FCC feed
900 Type Gas oils
API gravity 24.9
800 Rate, b/d 50 000
700 FCC yields (perfect fractionation)
TBP, F

Dry gas, wt% 3.82

600 C3 LPG, wt% 4.79
500 C4 LPG, wt% 8.30
Gasoline (C5-430 F), wt% 39.66
400 LCO (430-680F), wt% 24.53
300 Slurry oil (680F+), wt% 13.22
Coke, wt% 5.68
200 Gasoline Gasoline or LCO LCO Conversion, wt% 62.25
100 FCC product qualities
40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Naphtha gravity, API 55.6
Cumulative FCC product distillation, vol% LCO gravity, API 24.1
Slurry oil gravity, API 7.0

Figure 3 Example of FCC liquid product distribution Table 1

gen content (see Figure 4).2 Ideally,

Fresh the HCO would also have its LCO
feed HCO Slurry
16 boiling range material distilled
from it before recycling it, but the
14
Conradson carbon, wt%

economic practicality of redistill-

12 ing the HCO can be questioned if
this requires yet another cycle oil
10
fractionator.
8 On the other hand, if higher car-
6
bon residue is needed in the recycle
to keep the regenerator temperature
4 elevated, slurry oil would be the
2 preferred recycle oil.
0
Basis of study
13 Data from a low conversion
commercial FCC unit, shown in
Table 1, are used as a basis for
12
contrasting traditional and non-
Hydrogen, wt%

traditional FCC product fraction-

11
ation. The objective of this work
is to identify the best fractiona-
tion schemes for maximising LCO
10 production.
Pro-II Version 9.3.2 was used
for the modelling work, utilising
9 the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK)
technical data package. Pseudo-
ed

F+

F+

F+

F+
0

0
fe

0
5

85

components were generated using

7

65

75

80

85
h

0
es

0
65

65

65

the FCC unit test run product

Fr

yields, distillation and gravity data

Figure 4 FCC heavy oil quality to generate average boiling point
distillation and density curves
without changing the true FCC con- Recycle for dening psuedocomponents
version level. The limitation to the In low severity FCC operations consistent with traditional FCC
adjustment is most often the ash where maintaining adequate regen- technology practices. Finer psue-
point specication of the LCO prod- erator temperature is not an issue, docomponent resolution in the
uct or fractionator top temperature such as may be the case when pro- highest boiling ranges were used
minimum limits. cessing residue, HCO may be pre- relative to those normally used for
Figure 3 shows an example of how ferred over slurry oil as a recycle FCC main fractionator design work
changes in gasoline/LCO cut point stream due to its very low carbon to better dene the impact of small
impact the naphtha and LCO yields. residue content and higher hydro- distillation changes.

90 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 kpe.indd 2 09/06/2017 17:27

 Fractionation design options
In this article, seven different design
options are evaluated for fractionat-
ing the reactor products and recy- Main
cle streams. In all cases, the LCO fractionator LCO
stripper
ASTM 90% boiling point is held at
640F (338C). Significant recycle of LCO
HCO and/or slurry oil is included product
in all cases to provide a further
Feed from
point of consistency between the FCC reactor
fractionation options. For the pur- Quench
poses of this fractionation study, the
Slurry recycle
cracking of recycle streams is not
Slurry
modelled. The recycle streams are stripper
treated as inert streams that simply HCO recycle
pass from the reactor to the fraction- Slurry
ator and back again to the reactor. product

Base case: maximum gasoline Figure 5 Traditional FCC fractionation schemes

This case represents an FCC unit
main fractionator being operated
to maximise the production of gas-
oline product. However, 5000 b/d
each of HCO and slurry oil are recy- Main
fractionator LCO Vacuum
cled to the reactor to provide con-
stripper overhead
sistency with the following cases. system

Case 1: lower gasoline cut point LCO

The cut point temperature between product
the gasoline and LCO products is Feed from
FCC reactor Vacuum
reduced to shift heavy FCC naphtha Quench stripper
into the LCO product. In this case
and in all subsequent cases, the gas- HCO
stripper
oline/LCO cut point is controlled
to provide a 130F (54C) LCO flash HCO recycle
point. This has a large impact on Slurry recycle Slurry
both gasoline and LCO production. product
Recycle rates are maintained the
same as those of the base case. Figure 6 Alternative FCC fractionation schemes

Case 2: add bottoms quench
Referring to Figure 5, this case
serves to demonstrate the value
of quenching, or sub-cooling,
the fractionator bottoms liquid.
Cooled slurry oil is introduced
into the main fractionator bot-
tom to sub-cool liquid, allowing
higher temperatures in the quench
zone without coking the fraction-
ator bottoms circuit, driving more
vapours up the tower. The prac-
tice of routing cooled slurry into
Case 3: add slurry stripper
A steam stripper is added to the
FCC main fractionator to produce
a slurry oil product with reduced
gasoline content, increased flash
A dedicated slurry
oil steam stripper is
useful for maximising
the slurry oil product
Case 4: replace stripper with
vacuum column
Referring to Figure 6, a slurry oil vac-
uum distillation column and asso-
ciated HCO side stripper are added
in place of the slurry steam stripper
to recover more LCO from the slurry
product and recycle streams. The
vacuum HCO and vacuum slurry
recycle rates are set equal to the main
fractionator HCO and slurry recycle
rates of the previous cases.

the fractionator bottom is com-
monly, but not always, practised in
the industry during both maximum
gasoline and maximum LCO oper-
ations. This practice is preserved in
subsequent cases. Recycle rates are
maintained the same as those of the
base case.
flash point
point and less LCO boiling range
material. While this option recov-
ers a modest amount of LCO from
the slurry oil, it does not impact
the LCO content of HCO recycle or
slurry oil recycle streams.
Case 5: reduce recycle rates
Same as Case 4, except that the vac-
uum HCO recycle rate and the vac-
uum slurry oil rate are adjusted
to match both the 720-800F (380-
426C) total recycle rate and the
800F+ (426C+) total recycle rate of
Case 3 (see Figure 7).

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 91

q3 kpe.indd 3 12/06/2017 15:57

 Comparing Case 2 with Case
<720F 720800F >800F 1 shows the positive impact of
10000 sub-cooling the fractionator bot-
9000 toms liquid. Over 2 vol% more
LCO is recovered. The slurry oil
Total recycle rates, BPD
8000
yield is reduced by about 0.8 vol%
7000 while the slurry oil gravity is
6000 reduced from 1.6 to -0.2 API. At
5000 the same time, with the same LCO
4000 flash point specification, more gas-
3000
oline is pulled into the increased
LCO product, reducing the gaso-
2000
line yield by about 1.3 vol%. Refer
1000 to Figure 8 for representative front
0 end distillation curves for LCO and
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
slurry products.
Case number Comparing Case 3 with Case 2,
the impact of adding a slurry oil
Figure 7 Total recycle rates stream stripper is seen with 0.25
vol% more LCO recovered and
Case 6: recycle only HCO LCO cut point. The result is dra- the slurry oil reduced by a simi-
Same as Case 5, except that only matic with the LCO yield increasing lar amount. The flash point of the
vacuum HCO is recycled with the from 25.09 vol% to 41.85 vol%. The slurry product improves by 21F
total 720F+ recycle rate adjusted to associated impacts on gasoline yield (12C). The impact on LCO is mod-
match that of Case 3. and quality are also significant. The est, as sub-cooling the fractionator
slurry product yield and API grav- bottoms (Case 2) was very effective
Case 7: recycle only slurry ities are reduced while maintain- in getting most of the LCO out of
Same as Case 5, except that only ing the same 640F (338C) LCO the slurry oil product.
vacuum slurry is recycled with the ASTM 90% point. This is because, Comparing Case 4 with Cases
total 720F+ (380C+) recycle rate with the higher rate of LCO being 2 and 3 shows the impact of add-
adjusted to match that of Case 3. produced, more material boiling ing a slurry oil vacuum distillation
above the LCO ASTM 90% point is column rather than a slurry steam
Impact on LCO recovery included in the LCO product, leav- stripper. The conclusion is that the
Referring to Table 2, comparing the ing less in the slurry oil. LPG yield steam stripper and the vacuum
base case with Case 1 shows the also declines somewhat because less column offer similar results with
impact of shifting heavy naphtha lean oil is available to recover LPG respect to recovery of LCO, with a
into LCO by reducing the gasoline/ in the primary absorber. slight edge going to the vacuum col-

FCC liquid yields and properties

Base Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7

Maximum Lower Add MF Add slurry Replace Reduce recycle Recycle Recycle only
gasoline gasoline bottoms steam slurry rates to get only HCO slurry to
cut point quench stripper stripper same 720F+ to get get same
with recycle same total total 720F+
vacuum rates as 720F+ recycle recycle as
Feed rate, b/d column Case 3 as Case 3 Case 3
Fresh feed 50 000 50 000 50 000 50 000 50 000 50 000 50 000 50 000
Recycle 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 8241 8538 7101
Yields, vol% FF
LPG 21.01 20.54 20.49 20.49 20.50 20.49 20.49 20.50
Gasoline 46.89 31.73 30.41 30.41 30.53 30.43 30.39 30.69
LCO 25.09 41.85 43.98 44.23 44.20 44.33 44.39 44.00
Slurry 11.61 9.86 9.07 8.80 8.72 8.69 8.67 8.76
Total liquid 104.60 103.99 103.94 103.94 103.95 103.94 103.94 103.95
Gravities, API
Gasoline 54.6 64.4 65.7 65.7 65.6 65.7 65.8 65.5
LCO 23.6 27.5 27.8 27.8 27.7 27.8 27.8 27.7
Slurry 3.1 1.6 -0.2 -0.8 -1.0 -1.2 -1.2 -0.8
Gasoline 90% pt., F 380 282 269 269 270 269 268 271
LCO flash pt., F 188 130 130 130 130 130 130 130
LCO 90% pt., F 640 640 640 640 640 640 640 640
Slurry flash pt., F 298 298 323 344 351 352 354 349

Table 2

92 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 kpe.indd 4 09/06/2017 17:27

 umn. In line with this observation,
Figure 8 shows that in Cases 3 and 750
4 the fractions of slurry oil product
boiling below 720F are similar. 700
Cases 5, 6 and 7 provide some
variation in recycle rates while 650

TBP, F
maintaining the same total recycle
600
rate of products boiling above 720F
as in Case 3. This demonstrates
550 Case 4
that the vacuum column can pro-
Case 3
vide a similar rate of heavy oil recy- 500 Case 2
cle without unnecessarily recycling
Case 1
lighter boiling, LCO boiling range 450
oils. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
In summary, in terms of the net LCO, vol%
yield of LCO and slurry oil prod-
ucts, the Case 4 vacuum column Figure 8 Slurry product front end distillations
and subsequent cases provide sim-
ilar results to the less expensive properties. In a real FCC unit oper- Impact on recycle rates and recycle
Case 3 steam stripper. However, ation, the difference in the recy- distillations
the value of the vacuum column cle properties can be used to much All of the cases from the base case
is seen in looking at the recycle oil advantage. up through Case 4 include 5000

HCO recycle rates

Base Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7

Maximum Lower cut Add bottoms Add slurry Replace stripper Reduce Recycle Recycle
gasoline point quench stripper with vacuum recycle only HCO only slurry
column rates
b/d <720F 3767 2955 2127 2175 822 1127 1476 -
b/d 720-800F 1233 1782 2623 2589 3458 4813 5852 -
b/d >800F 0 263 250 236 720 1197 1210 -
Total b/d 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 7137 8538 -

Table 3

Slurry recycle rates

Base Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7

Maximum Lower Add bottoms Add slurry Replace stripper Reduce Recycle Recycle
gasoline cut point quench stripper with vacuum recycle only HCO only slurry
column rates
b/d <720F 1454 1211 737 765 162 52 - 45
b/d 720-800F 2360 2429 2763 2798 2261 570 - 1989
b/d >800F 1186 1360 1500 1437 2577 481 - 5073
Total b/d 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 1104 - 7101

Table 4

Total recycle rates

Base Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7

Maximum Lower Add bottoms Add slurry Replace stripper Reduce Recycle Recycle
gasoline cut point quench stripper with vacuum recycle only HCO only slurry
column rates
b/d <720F 5221 4166 2864 2939 984 1179 1476 45
b/d 720-800F 3593 4211 5386 5388 5719 5383 5852 1989
b/d >800F 1186 1623 1750 1673 3297 1679 1210 5073
Total b/d 10000 10000 10000 10000 10000 8241 8538 7101
Total w/o <720F 4779 5834 7136 7061 9016 7062 7062 7062

Table 5

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 93

q3 kpe.indd 5 09/06/2017 17:28

 without the vacuum column is very
1000 different. For instance, referring to
Table 5, in Case 3, 2939 b/d of oil
900 boiling below 720F is being recy-
cled while in Case 4 only 984 b/d
800 is being recycled. At the same time,
TBP, F

in Case 4, 3927 b/d of oil boiling

700
above 800F is being recycled while
in Case 3 only 1673 b/d of oil boil-
600 Case 7 slurry
ing above 800F (426C) is being
Case 3 slurry
500
recycled. While the rate of recycle
Case 6 HCO
oil boiling between 720F and 800F
Case 3 HCO
400 is roughly similar in Cases 3 and 4,
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Case 4 recycles far less oil boiling
Recycle distillations, vol% below 720F and a lot more oil boil-
ing above 800F.
Figure 9 Recycle distillations Referring to Figure 7, Case 5 is
added to show the vacuum column
operating to recycle similar rates of
1000
oil boiling between 720F and 800F
as Case 3 while also recycling sim-
900
ilar rates of oil boiling above 800F
800
as Case 3. The result is that the
total recycle rate relative to Case 3
TBP, F

700 is reduced from 10 000 b/d to 8241

b/d. The recycle rate of oil boiling
600 Case 4 slurry below 720F in Case 5 is well below
Case 3 slurry that in Case 3.
500 Case 4 HCO Finally, Cases 6 and 7 are added
Case 3 HCO to show the effect of recycling only
400 vacuum HCO or vacuum slurry oil
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
rather than a mixture of the two.
Recycle distillations, vol%
In these cases, the recycle rates are
selected to achieve the same total
Figure 10 Recycle distillations rate of recycle of oil boiling above
720F as in Case 3.
A review of the distillation curves
1000 for the recycle streams for Cases
3, 4, 6 and 7 shown in Figures 9-12
900 further demonstrates the utility of
using vacuum distillation for gener-
800
ating FCC recycle streams.
TBP, F

700
Recycle properties
Referring to Figure 7, in Case 6
600
recycling only vacuum HCO, the
Case 6
500 amount of recycle boiling below
Case 4
720F increases somewhat rela-
Case 3
400 tive to Case 5 but the recycle has
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 a greatly improved K factor and
HCO recycle distillations, vol% a very high concentration of oil
in the 720-800F boiling range. In
Case 7, recycling only vacuum
Figure 11 HCO recycle distillations slurry oil, recycle of boiling below
720F is almost eliminated but the
b/d of HCO recycle and 5000 Referring to Tables 3, 4 and 5, in amount of recycle boiling above
b/d of slurry recycle. However, Case 4, 5000 BPD each of HCO and 800F increases to a very high
the recycle qualities with the vac- slurry recycle are still employed, value. The K Factor for this recycle
uum column are distinctly differ- but the amount of LCO (material is very low and the carbon residue
ent from the recycle qualities in the boiling below 720F) being recycled would be very high relative to that
earlier cases. to the reactor relative to the cases of Case 6.

94 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 kpe.indd 6 09/06/2017 17:28

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 loss of LCO boiling range material
1000
will occur and LCO product quality
would be degraded.
When recycling oils boiling
900
above 720F, particularly oil boil-
ing below about 850F (454C),
800 a significant conversion of this
TBP, F

oil into LCO boiling range oils

700
600
500
0 10
Figure 12 Slurry recycle distillations
y), m3/d Tables 6 and 7 show the proper-
ties of the recycle streams for the
different cases.
Anticipated impact on recycle
conversion
While recycle reactions are not
modelled in the present work, a
review of the recycle rates and recy-
cle properties among the different
cases does set an expectation for
is expected, increasing the over-
all LCO yield. Recycle oils boiling
Case 7 above 850F will be converted to a
Case 4 lesser extent into lower boiling liq-
Case 3 uid products due to their higher
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
aromatic content, while yielding
Slurry recycle distillations, vol%
disproportionately high incremen-
tal yields of coke. Compositions of
the recycle streams are shown in
Figures 13 and 14.
Quantification of the yield
what would occur in actual FCC impacts of the recycle conver-
unit operations. sion and the associated costs of the
Recycling oils boiling below 720F equipment and utilities associated
will result in some conversion of with the options described in this
this LCO boiling range recycle to article is beyond the scope of the
products such as gasoline, LPG present work.
and dry gas, as would be expected.
The LCO boiling range oil that sur- Conclusions
vives another trip through the reac- The following general conclusions
tor will emerge as a more aromatic may be drawn from the work pre-
LCO boiling range oil. Overall, a net sented in this article:

HCO recycle properties

Base Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7

Maximum Lower Add bottoms Add slurry Replace stripper Reduce Recycle Recycle
gasoline cut point quench stripper with vacuum recycle only HCO only slurry
column rates
Gravity, API 16.2 12.8 10.1 10.3 4.6 4.0 4.7 -
K Factor 10.82 10.66 10.55 10.56 10.27 10.23 10.28 -
Hydrogen, wt% 10.37 9.92 9.60 9.63 8.83 8.73 8.83 -
CCR, wt% Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil -
Vol% <720F 75.3 59.1 42.5 43.5 16.4 15.8 17.3 -
Vol% 720-800F 24.7 35.6 52.5 51.8 69.2 67.4 68.5 -
Vol% >800F 0.0 5.3 5.0 4.7 14.4 16.8 14.2 -

Table 6

Slurry recycle properties

Base Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7

Maximum Lower Add bottoms Add slurry Replace stripper Reduce Recycle Recycle
gasoline cut point quench stripper with vacuum recycle only HCO only slurry
column rates
Gravity, API 3.1 1.6 -0.2 0.2 -7.4 -4.8 - -12.8
K Factor 10.13 10.04 9.95 9.97 9.50 9.67 - 9.15
Hydrogen, wt% 8.55 8.33 8.08 8.14 7.00 7.39 - 6.18
CCR, wt%1 1.00 1.16 1.25 1.29 2.76 2.22 - 4.22
Vol% <720F 29.1 24.2 14.7 15.3 3.2 4.8 - 0.6
Vol% 720-800F 47.2 48.6 55.3 56.0 45.2 51.6 - 28.0
Vol% >800F 23.7 27.2 30 28.7 51.5 43.6 - 71.4
Note 1 Assuming lb/hr CCR in base case slurry oil product (1 wt%) is included in slurry oil product of subsequent cases.

Table 7

96 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 kpe.indd 7 09/06/2017 17:28

 Adjusting the cut point between
gasoline and LCO in the main frac- <720F 720800F >800F
tionator provides the main control 100
mechanism for adjusting FCC gaso- 90

HCO recycle compositions,

line vs LCO production.
80
Operating the FCC unit with an
appropriate level of fractionator 70
bottoms quench prevents significant 60

vol%
loss of LCO boiling range material 50
in the slurry oil product. 40
A dedicated slurry oil steam strip-
30
per is useful for maximising the
20
slurry oil product flash point and
modestly increases recovery of LCO 10
boiling range material. 0
Use of a vacuum column with an 1 2 3 4 5 6
HCO side stripper to redistil HCO Case number
and slurry oil has a significant
impact on HCO and slurry recycle Figure 13 HCO recycle compositions
stream qualities.
Vacuum distillation can mini- spiking the FCC feed with higher Technology with KBR where he spent 26 years
mise recycle of LCO boiling range sulphur, heavier feeds to maintain of his career. He holds a BS degree in chemical
material to the reactor and provide proper FCC heat balance, increasing engineering from California State Polytechnic
HCO and slurry recycle streams product sulphur contents. University.

Doug McDaniel is a Principal Process Engineer

A dedicated slurry
oil steam stripper is
useful for maximising
the slurry oil product
flash point
with more distinct, potentially more
desirable, properties.
For FCC units needing to mini-
mise carbon residue in the FCC feed
while maximising LCO production,
vacuum HCO would be a superior
recycle stream.
For units needing to increase car-
bon residue in the feed to help the
FCC heat balance, vacuum slurry oil
recycle would be preferred.
with KP Engineering and the founder and
References
President of MPEC, Inc (McDaniel Process
1 Niccum P K, Maximizing Diesel Production
Engineering Consultants) for 28 years before
in the FCC Centered Refinery, AFPM (NPRA)
it was acquired by KPE in 2016. He holds a
Annual Meeting, 11-13 Mar 2012, San Diego,
BS degree in chemical engineering from the
California.
University of Houston, Texas.
2 Hunt D, R, Hu Ma H, Langan L, Cheng
W-C, Recycle Strategies and MIDAS-300 for
Howard Pollicoff is a Principal Process
Maximizing FCC Light Cycle Oil, Catalagram
Engineer with KP Engineering where he leads
No 105, W R Grace &Co., Spring 2009.
refinery feasibility studies and process design
work. With over 40 years of downstream
Phillip Niccum is Senior Vice President of experience in management, technical
service and design, he holds an MS degree in
Process Engineering with KP Engineering,
previously a Senior Refinery Process chemical engineering from the University of
Engineering Manager, Chief Technology Texas at Austin and a BS degree in chemical
Engineer of FCC, and Director of FCC engineering from Texas A&M.
<720F 720800F >800F
100
Slurry recycle compositions,

90
Controlling the ratio of vacuum
80
HCO to vacuum slurry oil recycle
70
could provide an effective means
for controlling the heat balance in a 60
vol%

maximum LCO FCC operation. 50

In maximum gasoline FCC oper- 40
ations on severely hydrotreated 30
gasoils or other light feedstocks,
20
vacuum slurry oil may be a good
10
option for creating a recycle stream
that can effectively maintain the 0
1 2 3 4 5 7
regenerator temperature at a rea-
Case number
sonable level. This would enable
refiners to avoid resorting to coun-
terproductive measures such as Figure 14 Slurry recycle compositions

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 97

q3 kpe.indd 8 09/06/2017 17:28

 Process Insight:
Since it is heat exchange that makes most
processes possible, proper attention to heat exchanger
design and operation is paramount. Proper selection
is needed to optimize capital expenditures while
avoiding high operating costs or troublesome
operation. Similarly, although exchangers have no
moving parts, they require periodic attention to get the
best performance and avoid increased operating costs.
During design of an exchanger, proper attention
is usually given to matching equipment to expected
process conditions. However, it is important that the
design not be based solely on a single set of operating
conditions. The overall heat transfer coefficient (U)
is not a constant, and it varies depending on operating
conditions and physical properties of the fluids.
Changes in flow due to turndown, for example, can
have a considerable effect on the Reynolds number
and therefore on U. Likewise, changes in temperatures
of the fluid, such as summer or winter cases, can affect
the log mean temperature difference (LMTD), and
subsequently the rate of heat exchange. An integrated
rating capability, such as in ProMax, is needed to
quickly evaluate all possible operating conditions that
the exchanger may experience to ensure it is truly
designed properly. The ProMax Scenario Tool links
Excel with ProMax and makes performing parametric
studies on varying operating conditions fast and
straightforward. This analysis can be performed along
with overall parametric studies of the process itself,
saving upfront engineering time.
After installation, exchangers are often ignored.
However, exchanger performance may degrade over
time due to fouling. Usually the decline is slow
and almost imperceptible over short time periods.
While the fundamental heat exchange equation can
For more information about this topic and other capabilities of ProMax
please visit our website - www.bre.com
ProMax process simulation software by Bryan Research & Engineering, Inc.
Engineering Solutions for the Oil, Gas, Refining & Chemical Industries
bre.indd 1
Integrating and Modeling of Heat
Exchangers in ProMax
be used with historical data in an attempt to track
performance, the scatter of regular operating data can
blur changes in fouling until it is possibly too late.
This operational scatter can also make it difficult to
estimate future performance.
A rigorous rating of the exchanger allows the
scatter to be normalized and a true fouling factor to
be calculated. This can be done through integration
directly with the data historian or through use of the
Scenario Tool with the operational data stored in
Excel. Fouling can be plotted as trend lines over time
and, with greater certainty in the numbers, the plot
can estimate fouling into the future. The performance
of a fouled exchanger can then be compared to that
of the exchanger when it is clean. Both techniques
allow evaluation of the economic costs of taking an
exchanger offline for cleaning to mitigate further costs
due to poor exchanger performance.
As simple as they may seem, heat exchangers
are a critical part of any process. Proper selection
and a full evaluation is required before placing them
into service and, once in service, constant monitoring
and maintenance are important to keep performance
at its optimum. ProMaxs powerful exchanger rating
capability and seamless integration with Excel and
data historians makes both of these tasks easier and
more straightforward.
09/06/2017 12:45
 Modelling the processing of gasifier feed

Inlet particle size distribution is crucial to the performance of a gasifier. A simulation

exercise determines the performance of a rod mill processing gasifier feed

ANKIT A JAIN and AJAY GUPTA

Reliance Industries Limited

T
he importance of crushing is
well known in the mining and
cement industries wherein the Increased
Crude properties
process reliability
particle size distribution (PSD) of
the feed is extremely important in
order to minimise process costs and
maximise the efficiency of the pro- Particle size Petcoke properties
distribution Inlet PSD
cess.1 Similarly, the PSD of the feed
to a gasifier is of high importance
in the overall efficiency and relia-
Flowability Overall efficiency
bility of the gasification process (see (slurry properties) of process Rod mill
Figure 1). This is especially so in the
case of an entrained bed gasifier
wherein residence time is the least Figure 1 Importance of particle size Outlet PSD
compared to other gasification tech- distribution to the whole gasification process
Slurry properties
nologies (fixed bed, fluidised bed). Gasification efficiency
Studies have shown that the criti-
cal range of particles for a two-stage Input
upflow entrained bed gasifier is 120- 1. Inlet PSD
Figure 2 Crude properties play an important
300 m.2 2. Petcoke feed role in the performance of the rod mill
The rod mill is widely used to 3. Water feed rate
grind petcoke (received from the 4. Bond work index Comminution model for a rod mill
coker unit of a refinery) into fine 5. Power specification A schematic of the comminution
6. Mill diameter
particles. Thus, understanding the model applied in this work is shown
effect of various inlet properties on in Figure 3. The comminution laws
the operation, working and perfor- postulated by Kick, Rittinger and
Comminution model
mance of the rod mill is of utmost for rod mill Bond can be described by the fol-
importance to the entire gasifica- Bonds Law lowing differential equation:
tion process. An understanding of !
the performance of the rod mill with = (1)
!!
respect to the properties of the pet- Output
! (2)
coke (Bond Work Index, BWI),2 feed 1. Outlet PSD =
!
inlet rate and inlet size is important
too as these properties may change W = the work input on a mass basis
along with a change in crude slate Figure 3 Schematic representation of the C = coefficient (also known as work
processed in the refinery (see Figure model for the rod mill index) given in work units
2). A model for the rod mill is an dp = characteristic particle diameter
essential tool to develop an insight stand the sensitivity of various of the produced particles (a reliable
into the effect of these parameters on factors. The model discussed in the value for the particle size is d80)
the performance of the rod mill and article can also be used to under- n = exponent (depends on commi-
in its efficient operation. stand various scenarios including nution law)
In this article, we use the commi- deciding on the rod filling degree P = power input
nution model to predict the outlet (power required) and the require- m= feed mass flow.
PSD from the rod mill. The model ment for a crusher before the rod The application of Kicks,
results, validated with experimen- mill (pre-crusher). It may also be use- Rittingers, and Bonds laws is lim-
tal results, were later used to under- ful in the design of a new rod mill. ited to a certain range of particle

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 99

q3 ril.indd 1 13/06/2017 11:59

 Comparison of simulation results
0.40 with experimental data
Input
0.35 Various experimental data were
Input simulation
simulated using the model devel-
0.30
oped. A specimen input PSD to the
Weight fraction

0.25 model is shown in Figure 4. The

BWI and the net power in the par-
0.20
ticular trial are given as an input
0.15 to the model. A comparison of the
0.10 output data between the simulation
and experimental results showed a
0.05 good match (see Figure 5). A com-
0 parison of the macro parameter P80
0 300 600 900 1200 1500 showed a good match with exper-
dp/dp (min) imental data; the comparison is
listed in Table 1.
Figure 4 Comparison of inlet PSD between the input simulation and experimental data
Sensitivity analysis with respect to
BWI and feed rate
0.35
Output (experimental) BWI is a measure of resistance
0.30 Output (simulation) of the material to grinding in
a rod mill. The BWI of the pet-
Weight fraction, wt%

0.25 coke depends on the type of crude

being processed (generally, BWI
0.20
is directly related to the metal con-
0.15 tent in the crude). Thereby, one of
the major issues with the operation
0.10 of the rod mill may be the dynam-
ically changing BWI of the feed to
0.05
the mill. Simulations were done in
0 order to understand the sensitivity
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 of BWI and P80. These simulations
dp/dp (min) give an insight into the cut-off BWI
for a particular feed rate to meet the
Figure 5 Comparison of outlet PSD between the simulation results and experimental data required product specifications. As
shown in Figure 6, for a feed rate
size: Rittingers Law <0.05 mm (fine bility to choose various distribution of 1.3 ratio the cut-off BWI is 1.01,
grinding); Bonds Law 0.05-50 mm functions reported in the literature.5 while for 1 it is 1.3.
(transition); and Kicks Law >50
mm coarse grinding). The commi- Performance evaluation of the Sensitivity analysis with respect to
nution laws are evaluated based rod mill inlet PSD
on the BWI.3 Five efficiency fac- The macro parameter to understand Feed inlet size is one of the most
tors4 were introduced to correct the the performance of the rod mill is important operating parameters
measured BWI and apply it to a rod F80 and P80 (particle diameter which affecting the performance of a rod
mill. A breakage function is used to is larger than 80% of the inlet/outlet mill. A sensitivity analysis with
determine the fraction of material in mass). The other parameters are the respect to F80 and P80 was carried
crushed particles from inlet particle power input to the rod mill which in out to understand the effect of inlet
size i which end up in particle size turn is closely related to the filling feed composition (see Figure 7a).
interval k. The model has the capa- degree (% of rods) in the rod mill. It can be noted from Figure 7a that
the feed inlet size would not meet
the product specifications if it was
Comparison of the experimental case and the simulation case
fed to the rod mill. In such a case,
Parameter Experimental case Simulation case
the feed F80 was further reduced
Bond Work Index (BWI), kWh/ton X X in order to determine the cut-off
Water flow rate, m3/hr X X (max) F80 that, if it was fed to the
Petcoke feed rate, TPH X X rod mill at the specified BWI and
Feed F8, microns X X
Power specification, kW X X
power inlet, would meet the prod-
Outlet PSD Design Simulation uct specifications. The results of
Product P80 (normalised) 1 1.02 these simulations are shown in
Figure 7b. It can be inferred from
Table 1 the graph that as the BWI increases,

100 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 ril.indd 2 15/06/2017 10:12

 20 7
Petcoke ratio = 1.0 P80
18
Petcoke ratio = 1.3 6 Product spec.
16
14 5

P80/P80 (min)
P80/P80 (min)

12 4
10
3
8
6 2
4
1
2
0 0
1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
BWI/BWI (min) F80/F80 (min)

Figure 6 Sensitivity analysis with respect to BWI and its effect Figure 7a Sensitivity analysis with respect to inlet PSD and its
on P80 effect on P80

1.2 1.2
Cut-off P80 <300 microns @ X TPH, X kW
1.0 1.0
Cut off, F80/F80 (max)

P80/P80 (max)
0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 0
0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
BWI/BWI (min) Power/Power (min)

Figure 7b Sensitivity analysis with respect to inlet PSD and its Figure 8 Sensitivity analysis with respect to power and its effect
effect on P80 on P80

the sensitivity with respect to the rod mill for a particular feed F80 References
change in feed size decreases, espe- and BWI. 1 Hffl K, Hffl K, Gesichtspunkte zur
cially after 1.2 (ratio). This graph Entwicklung, Konstruktion und zum Betrieb
also gives us an insight into the Summary and conclusions von Zerkleinerungs-und Klassiermaschinen,
Zerkleinerungs-und Klassiermaschinen, 1986,
scenario wherein we need to make The performance of the rod mill
28-37.
a decision regarding the kind of is crucial to the efficient and reli-
2 Slezak A, Kuhlman J M, Shadle L J, Spenik J,
pre-conditioning required before able performance of a gasifier or Shi, S, CFD simulation of entrained-flow coal
the feed is fed into the rod mill in any other downstream process. In gasification: coal particle density/size fraction
order to achieve the required prod- this article, a model for the rod mill effects, Powder Technology, 2010, 203(1), 98-
uct specifications. based on Bonds Law has been dis- 108.
cussed. The model was validated 3 Zogg M, Einfhrung in die mechanische
Sensitivity analysis with respect using experimental data for a rod Verfahrenstechnik, mit 29 Tab. u. 32
to power mill used to crush petcoke. The Berechnungsbeisp. Teubner,1987.
Power supplied to the rod mill model was later used to carry out 4 King R P, 2001, Modeling and simulation of
depends on the filling degree (% sensitivity analysis with respect to mineral processing systems, Butterworth &
Heinemann, Oxford.
volume of rod) in the rod mill. various critical parameters includ-
Thereby it is important to under- ing BWI, inlet PSD, petcoke feed Ankit A Jain is a Research Scientist in the
stand the sensitivity of power on the rate and power supplied to the rod Refining R&D department of Reliance
product size outlet (P80). As Figure mill. Industries Ltd, India. He holds a bachelors
degree and PhD in chemical engineering from
8 shows, the change in power to the The inferences from this arti-
NIT Surat and IIT Bombay respectively.
rod mill is quite sensitive to change cle will be useful for operators in
Ajay Gupta is Assistant Vice President and
in P80; a 25% increase in power identifying the ideal input param- heads the fixed bed process development
brings a decrease of 55% in the eters (petcoke feed rate, inlet PSD group of the Refining R&D department
product outlet P80. Understanding and power) in order to achieve the of Reliance Industries Ltd, India. He holds
this is important in order to decide required product specifications set bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in
the ideal filling degree of rods in for the outlet PSD. chemical engineering from IIT, Delhi, India.

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 101

q3 ril.indd 3 15/06/2017 10:12

WWW.ZWICK-ARMATUREN.DE

TRI-SHARK
100 % CONTROL VALVE
100 % TIGHT
 Improving FCC unit profitability
Upgrading the FCC catalyst and additive system enabled a refiner to increase
olefins production with lower bottoms to coke and no increase in dry gas
STELIOS KYRIAKOU, COSTAS PLELLIS-TSALTAKIS and DIMITRIOS GKANIS Hellenic Petroleum S.A.
EMMANUEL SMARAGDIS, MATTHIAS SCHERER and DANIEL MCQUEEN W.R. Grace
T
his article presents the
results of the common efforts
between Grace and the FCC
team of Hellenic Petroleum1 S.A.s
(HELPE) Aspropyrgos refinery to
further enhance FCC unit profit-
ability. In this context, Grace pro-
posed adding Midas catalyst to the
base Grace catalyst which had been
used until then in combination with
OlefinsUltra MZ additive, the latest
ZSM-5 based technology launched
in the EMEA.2 The clear improve-
ment in profitability was based on
lower bottoms to coke and higher
product olefinicity at no higher dry
gas, while at the same time reduc-
ing catalyst addition.
The reformulation and subse-
quent evaluation was based on clear
target setting from the HELPE FCC
team as well as the reliability of the
data provided. Grace worked with
the FCC team to manage the change
and ensure a smooth transition to
the new catalyst system. This was
achieved by performing a series of
lab studies to predict the new cata-
lyst systems performance and by
discussing with the FCC team ways
to optimise the process to achieve
maximum benefit. The estimated
further improvement in the HELPE
FCC units profitability via the new
technology amounts to at least
0.6 $/bbl.
Following the successful introduc-
tion of Midas as an efficient matrix
component to further improve bot-
toms upgrading, Grace contin-
ues to work with HELPE to further
enhance the FCC units profitabil-
ity by tailoring its latest catalyst and
additives technology according to
operating targets.
Aspropyrgos refinerys FCC unit
www.eptq.com
q1 grace.indd 1
is an Exxon FlexiCrackeR design,
aiming primarily at propylene pro-
duction at minimum bottoms yield.
The FCC team is focused on con-
tinuous improvement in opera-
tions, supported by Grace since
2004. Aiming at further enhanc-
ing profitability, HELPE made a
series of improvements to debottle-
neck certain downstream units. This
resulted in higher capacity for pro-
pylene and LPG processing.
Introduction of the
matrix component in
the case of the HELPE
FCC unit was carefully
tailored to the targets
of the unit
Graces catalyst and propylene
additive technology
The benefits of Graces base cata-
lyst were enhanced by the addi-
tion of Midas catalyst as a blending
component.
Midas is a high matrix input, high
porosity FCC catalyst, maximising
conversion of bottoms. Midas cat-
alyst has been successfully applied
in over 130 applications world-
wide and its success is driven by
the fact that it effectively cracks all
feed types: heavy resids, severely
hydrotreated light feeds, and shale
oil derived feed streams. The cata-
lyst design minimises the thermal
and catalytic factors that result in
coke formation. Optimal porosity is
required for effective kinetic conver-
sion of bottoms. The result is deep
bottoms conversion, regardless of
the starting feedstock.
It should be stressed that the
introduction of the matrix compo-
nent in the case of the HELPE FCC
unit was very carefully tailored to
the targets of the unit, by exploit-
ing the best of both worlds: the
highly selective base catalyst com-
ponent on the one hand, and the
highly active Midas matrix part
on the other. This ensured further
improved activity and stability,
while achieving higher product ole-
finicity and lower bottoms to coke,
without compromising dry gas
make or attrition resistance.
As a leading supplier in the LPG
olefins maximisation segment,
Grace is serving the majority of the
high propylene FCC units world-
wide. To support the demands of
this market segment, the company
continuously invests in R&D inno-
vation. The latest development in
LPG olefins maximisation technol-
ogy is OlefinsUltra MZ, launched
in 2015. This was supplied for the
HELPE FCC unit to be added to the
catalyst system on an as-need basis
to boost LPG make further.
Performance of the catalyst blend
and additive
The addition of Midas as a blend
component and the upgrade to
the OlefinsUltra MZ additive were
decided after a screening study
which took place in Graces labora-
tory facilities in Worms, Germany.
The selected formulation showed:
Lower bottoms to coke
Substantially higher propylene
and isobutylene selectivity
No debits in dry gas make
Excellent attrition resistance
PTQ Q3 2017 103
09/06/2017 17:33
 Higher activity retention and
metals tolerance, resulting in lower
delta coke and catalyst additions.
An extract of the performance
benets is depicted in the follow-
ing graphs, based exclusively on the
raw data provided by the HELPE
Slurry, wt%

FCC unit team. More specically,

Figure 1 shows the clear improve-
ment in bottoms to coke, which is
particularly important when plan-
= 1% ning to process worse feedstocks
under coke limitations.
Base catalyst This feature is based on the lower
Base catalyst / Midas delta coke make of new formula-
tion, as can be seen in Figure 2. This
Coke, wt% graph shows the difference between
the temperatures of the regenerator
Figure 1 Bottoms (>343C) to coke dense bed and reactor outlet tem-
perature (a direct measure of delta
coke) against the Concarbon pro-
cessed in the unit (a measure of the
delta coke contribution from the
feed). For the same coke make ten-
dency level, the base catalyst/Midas
blend results in lower delta coke
and therefore lower regenerator
TrgROT, C

Base catalyst
Base catalyst / Midas
Concarbon processed, t/h
Figure 2 Delta coke as a function of Concarbon processed
Propylene selectivity, t%
temperatures.
It is important to stress that this
could not have been achieved with-
out a well tuned and balanced zeo-
lite to matrix ratio. Excess matrix
would have had the opposite effect.
The signicant operational ex-
ibility gained is complemented
by increased LPG olens selectiv-
ity (see Figures 3 and 4). Propylene
and isobutylene selectivities are
plotted against the P2O5 content of
the inventory in order to account
for the other two major factors con-
tributing to LPG olens selectiv-
ity: conversion and ZSM-5 additive
content.
The increase in propylene selec-
tivity is to be attributed mainly to

the OlensUltra MZ additive which

brings higher activity for the same
= 0.5% content in the inventory. The C4
olenicity is the combined effect
of the Midas component as well as
OlensUltra MZ which started to be
used at the same time.
As mentioned previously, these
performance benets came at
Base catalyst no increase in dry gas make (see
Base catalyst / Midas Figure 5).
P O , wt%
P205, wt% In addition to the performance
2 5
benets, Figure 6 shows the spe-
cic catalyst additions needed to
Figure 3 Propylene ex-reactor versus the P2O5 content in the circulating inventory maintain activity versus the vana-

104 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

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 dium equivalent in the feed. The
average difference was at 0.3 kg
per ton of feed processed and,
apart from the offset, the trend
Isobutylene selectivity, t% lines have a different slope, indi-
cating less deactivation of the
base catalyst/Midas blend under
= 0.3% the effect of metals. Although
the improvements in unit opera-
tions and performance prevail by
far in unit economics, a reduction
in catalyst additions also assists
in catalyst handling and opex
Base catalyst minimisation.
Base catalyst / Midas It is important to repeat that
this higher activity retention
PP205,
O , wt%
wt%
2 5 comes at no penalty on delta coke.
No higher catalyst losses were
Figure 4 Isolutylene ex-reactor versus the P2O5 content in the circulating inventory observed, and attrition was kept to
a minimum.
With the aid of commercial sim-
ulation software, the unit per-
formance under the two catalyst
systems was compared by nor-
malising data for the same oper-
Fuel gas selectivity, t%

It is important to
repeat that this
higher activity
retention comes
Base catalyst at no penalty on
Base catalyst / Midas

Coke, wt%
delta coke
ating conditions and feed quality.
Figure 5 Dry gas selectivity ex-reactor versus coke The simulation conrmed that:
slurry is reduced by 1 wt% at the
same coke, increasing the use-
ful fraction between C3 and stand-
ard LCO (343C cut point) at
signicantly higher LPG olenic-
ity. Furthermore, by using standard
Specific catalyst additions

product prices for Mediterranean

reneries, the calculated prot
increase was at least 0.6 $/bbl,
excluding any premiums from the
higher gasoline octanes.

Conclusion
= 0.3% Based on an extensive screening
programme and close cooperation
Base catalyst with the HELPE FCC team, Grace
Base catalyst / Midas provided an enhanced catalyst sys-
tem using Midas as a blend com-
Feed metals, Veq
ponent, as well as OlensUltra MZ
additive technology. This upgrade
Figure 6 Specific additions versus feed metals (vanadium equivalent) resulted in:

106 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q1 grace.indd 3 12/06/2017 10:51

 Significantly improved bottoms to
coke
Substantially higher propylene
and isobutylene selectivity
No debits in dry gas make
Higher activity retention and
metals tolerance, resulting in lower
delta coke and lower catalyst
additions
Excellent attrition resistance and
retention.
The clarity of the evaluation was
largely based on the reliability of
the raw unit data provided by the
HELPE FCC unit team. The further
performance improvement is esti-
mated to be adding at least 0.6 $/
bbl to unit profitability, excluding
any gasoline octane premium.
This cooperation between Grace
and HELPE also extends to opera-
tional optimisation recommenda-
tions, and is an on-going process
driven by the need for flexibil-
ity and continuous improvement
in unit profitability within an ever
changing and challenging business
environment.
References
1 Hellenic Petroleum; www.helpe.gr
2 Mittelmayr A, Smaragdis E, Novel
FCC catalyst technology for light olefins
maximization, a case study from OMV
Schwechat, European Refining Technology
Conference, Nov 2014, Lisbon.
3 Hu R, et al, Effect of hydrocarbon partial
pressure on FCC propylene, PTQ, Q3 2008, 37-
44 and AFPM Annual Meeting 2008, AM-08-51.
4 Chau C, Scherer M, Novel cracking catalysts
for improved FCC operations and profitability,
Nov 2015, Rome.
Stylianos A Kyriakou is the Refineries
Technical Services Director with HELPE S.A.
With experience in various positions across
process unit operations, oil movement and
process engineering, he holds a PhD in chemical
engineering from NTUA, a BSc in industrial
management and a MBA.
Constantinos Plellis-Tsaltakis is the Process
Section Head of Hellenic Petroleums
Aspropyrgos refinery. He holds a PhD in
chemical engineering from the National
Technical University of Athens, an MBA and a
MSc in engineering - economic systems.
Dimitrios Gkanis is a Process Engineer with
Hellenic Petroleums Aspropyrgos refinery. He
holds a degree in chemical engineering, MSc in
energy generation and management and a MSc
in engineering - economic systems, all from the
National Technical University of Athens.
Emmanuel Smaragdis is Technical Sales &
Services Manager with Grace for refining
catalysts. During his career with Grace he has
been responsible for a number of refineries in
Europe and the Middle East. He holds a PhD
and a MSc, both in chemical engineering.
Matthias Scherer is Director of Regional
Marketing, EMEA in the Refining Technologies
Group in Worms, Germany. During his career
with Grace, he has worked in R&D and the
Technical Service Group, as well as Sales
Administration & Logistics, and Technical Sales
for North Europe. He is a chemical engineer
and holds an MBA in engineering management
from Hochschule Mannheim.
Daniel McQueen is General Sales Manager
for Graces European FCC Catalyst & Additive
business. During his career with Grace, he has
held various roles including Technical Service
Representative. He is a graduate of Imperial
College, University of London and holds a PhD
in catalysis from the University of Montpellier,
France.

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 Controlling the hydrocarbon dew point of
pipeline gas
A key factor in selecting technology to control the hydrocarbon dew point of
natural gas is the quantity of heavy hydrocarbons in the feed stream
SAEID MOKHATAB Gas Processing Consultant
SCOTT NORTHROP ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
MICHAEL MITARITEN Air Liquide
R
ecovery of heavy hydrocarbon
components from natural gas
is required to avoid the unsafe
formation of a liquid phase during
transport, which can lead to opera-
tional problems in gas transmission
pipelines. To avoid liquid dropout,
most current operating specifica-
tions for gas transmission pipelines
require pipeline operation above
the hydrocarbon dew point tem-
perature at which liquid begins to
appear at a given pressure. More
commonly, the carrier will spec-
ify a maximum hydrocarbon dew
point temperature to suppliers, who
often use low temperature separa-
tion processes to drop out heavy
hydrocarbons to meet the speci-
fied dew point. Silica gel adsorp-
tion and membrane separation are
commercially available competitive
hydrocarbon dew point control tech-
nologies for feed compositions with
a relatively low heavy hydrocarbon
content over a certain range of oper-
ating pressures and flow rates. This
is the case for a number of shale gas
resources. Silica gel or membranes
may also reduce the BTU content of
a rich gas that will reduce foaming
tendency in a downstream amine
unit, or remove the tail of heavy
hydrocarbons from a pipeline gas
before it is converted to a lique-
fied natural gas (LNG). This article
describes the basic principles of sil-
ica gel and membrane systems as
well as some of the recent develop-
ments in these fields.
Hydrocarbon distribution
Wellhead natural gas contains
hydrocarbons and water, and com-
monly other impurities. The hydro-
carbon distribution of a raw natural
www.eptq.com
q3 exxon.indd 1
Example of pipeline gas composition3
Component Typical analysis, mole % Range, mole %
Methane 95.0 87.0-97.0
Ethane 3.2 1.5-7.0
Propane 0.2 0.1-1.5
Iso - Butane 0.03 0.01-0.3
Normal - Butane 0.03 0.01-0.3
Iso - Pentane 0.01 Trace-0.04
Normal - Pentane 0.01 Trace-0.04
Hexanes plus 0.01 Trace-0.06
Nitrogen 1.0 0.2-5.5
Carbon dioxide 0.5 0.1-1.0
Oxygen 0.02 0.01-0.1
Hydrogen Trace Trace-0.02
Table 1
gas stream depends on its source for example) rely on a scrub tower
and can change over the life of the for heavy hydrocarbon removal, and
production well. Some gases are US pipeline gas typically has too
quite lean, while associated gases, few C3+ components to effectively
including certain shale gas sources, operate a scrub tower without sup-
can contain significant concentra- plementing with purchased NGLs.
tions of heavy hydrocarbons. The Therefore, alternative methods are
hydrocarbon dew point is sensi- needed to remove the heavy compo-
tive to small quantities of C6+ com- nents from pipeline quality gas prior
ponents. As little as 450 ppm of C8 to LNG manufacture.
hydrocarbon added to a lean gas can Certain contaminants (such as acid
give it a cricondentherm of 50F, for gases) require treatment of the gas
example.1 to make it suitable for a given appli-
Pipeline gas is typically an aggre- cation.2 If excess heavy hydrocar-
gate of many sources, some of bons are present, processing of the
which may have already have had gas is also necessary. The choice of
their natural gas liquids (NGLs) gas conditioning plant configura-
recovered. An example of a North tion and its complexity depend on
American pipeline gas composi- the feed gas composition, economic
tion is shown in Table 1. To use such desirability of extracting NGLs and
a gas for LNG plant feed could be the level of processing required to
problematic. While most of the NGL deliver product gas meeting spec-
components are typically recov- ifications and emission limits. A
ered prior to the introduction of the typical approach for many gas con-
gas into the pipeline, the low levels ditioning plants designed to pro-
of residual C6+ components could duce pipeline quality gas from a
freeze in the main cryogenic heat sour gas feed is shown in Figure
exchanger of the LNG facility. Many 1. Typical hydrocarbon dew point
LNG processes (except PRICO SMR, specification for pipeline gas is 14F
PTQ Q3 2017 109
12/06/2017 11:12
 Hydrocarbon dew point control technologies: pros and cons7

Process Pros Cons

Low Simple and compact process Attainable dew point is directly related to the pressure
temperature Ease of operation reduction across the JT valve
separation via Low capital cost Higher recompression horsepower
JT expansion Low maintenance cost Off-spec gas produced during start-up
Applicable to heavy hydrocarbon rich gas Sensitive to feed gas composition
Water removal and hydrate formation must be evaluated
Mechanical Simple process May occupy a large area with heavy equipment
refrigeration Little pressure loss through the chiller More maintenance cost and issues
Applicable to heavy hydrocarbon rich gas Efficiency reduced when large percentage of inerts present in the feed gas
Need refrigerant storage (potentially hazardous)
Product gas produced at pressure
Water removal and hydrate formation must be evaluated
Expander Relatively simple process Limited range of turn down
based Deep ethane removal possible Rotating equipment required
Operation in ethane recovery or ethane rejection CO2 solidification if concentration is too high
modes often incorporated Freezing of water requires molecular sieve dehydration
Some pressure recovery possible High capital cost generally limits the process to large flow rates
Applicable to heavy hydrocarbon rich gas
Twister Can achieve dehydration and dew point control Recompression horsepower
simultaneously Limited commercial test experience and performance relies on
Reduced concerns with hydrate formation vs other proprietary information
low temperature processes Focused on larger flow rates (typical larger than 30 MMSCFD)
Separates more hydrocarbon liquids than JT valve for due to the minimum size of a single Twister Supersonic Separator
the same pressure drop
Compact and modular design
Ease of installation and operation
Low maintenance/high availability
Fraction of weight and plot space compared to traditional
technology, making it attractive for offshore applications
Proven broad range of operating conditions and wide
turndown utilising automated system design
Silica gel Can achieve dehydration and hydrocarbon dew point Problems if feed gas temperature is greater than 50C
adsorption control simultaneously Can be high cost and large footprint
Low pressure drop Often needs fired heater (capex, opex and permits), unless waste
Ease of operation heat available
On-spec gas during start-up May need refrigeration for regeneration gas conditioning
High flexibility with respect to gas properties and Targeted at C5+ removal; does not recover C3-C4
composition Not applicable to associated or other heavy hydrocarbon rich gases
Membrane Uses smaller footprint Loss of hydrocarbons in low pressure permeate
Light and compact module design Hydrocarbons generally removed in the vapour phase
Ease of installation and operation May need a compressor to recompress the permeate, with operating
Low maintenance and capital costs significantly increased
Can achieve dehydration and dew point control Focused on smaller units; can have poor economics for larger units
simultaneously and also remove acid gases if desired Limited large scale commercial experience
Certain membranes can be fouled by heavier hydrocarbon so may
need pretreatment or regular replacement

Table 2

(-10C). If a gas stream is near this
dew point specification, usually all
that is required is removal of a small
amount of heavy hydrocarbons,2
which can be performed using
adsorption or membrane processes
instead of the more typical refriger-
ation processes.
Hydrocarbon dew point controlling
technologies
There are several commercial routes
to obtain the desired hydrocarbon
dew point temperature. Reducing
the dew point by Joule-Thomson
(JT) expansion or mechanical refrig-
eration is common for smaller
flow rates of feed gas, and turbo-
expander based units are often used
for higher flow rates. These pro-
cesses are covered in many technical
papers presented for the natural gas
industry and are not the focus of this
article.
Table 2 shows the common low
temperature routes and includes
less commonly used technologies
employing adsorption or mem-
branes. The advantages and dis-
advantages of these processes are
compared below. Twister,4 mem-
branes,5 and silica gel,6 can all
achieve water and hydrocarbon
dew point in a single unit. The more
traditional low temperature pro-
cesses are primarily focused on
recovering larger volumes of heavy
hydrocarbons. Due to the low tem-
peratures achieved in these pro-
cesses, upstream dehydration or
hydrate inhibition by methanol or
monoethylene glycol (MEG) injec-
tion is usually required.
The Twister Supersonic Separator
is a mechanical flow device that

110 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 exxon.indd 2 12/06/2017 11:12

 Carbon dioxide
Sulphur
recovery
Acid gas Sulphur
Acid gas
removal
Inlet
Raw gas separation Off-gas
Condensate
Sour water to
stabilisation
stripping and
treatment units
Figure 1 Typical setup of a gas conditioning plant producing pipeline quality gas
operates by introducing a high
velocity swirl in the feed gas stream
followed by near isentropic pressure
expansion of the gas at supersonic
velocity to achieve low tempera-
tures. The combination of swirl and
pressure reduction causes conden-
sation of water and heavy hydrocar-
bons. The liquids are separated and
the residual gas is available with a
nominal pressure reduction.
Twister shares some of the ben-
efits of simplicity, robustness and
ease of operation with the low tem-
perature JT separation (LTS) pro-
cess, while requiring an engineered
solution for specified turndown or
dew point requirements. Two stud-
ies have shown that Twister can
recover more hydrocarbons than
the JT valve for the same pressure
drop.4,8 Therefore, it can potentially
be operated at a reduced pressure
drop for the same performance as
a JT valve, thus reducing the sales
gas compression power and cost.
Twister technology offers environ-
mentally friendly, chemical-free
operation within a small footprint.
It can be particularly interesting for
remote offshore applications due to
its small footprint and low mainte-
nance requirements. An additional
benefit of Twister is the ability to
remove water and hydrocarbons
simultaneously.
Twister BV introduced the Twister
SwirlValve, which improves hydro-
carbon dew point performance of
existing LTS units by improving the
separation of two-phase flow across
www.eptq.com
q3 exxon.indd 3
Tail gas
Incinerator Flue gas
treating
Mercaptans to sulphur
recovery unit
Mercaptans Hydrocarbon
Gas
removal dew point
dehydration
(if required) control
Water to disposal
Condensate cut to
stabilisation unit
Condensate to
storage and export
a pressure reduction valve, such
as a choke valve, JT valve or con-
trol valve.9 This in turn significantly
improves the liquid separation
efficiency of downstream separa-
tors. This improved separation can
be used either to increase the flow
capacity of existing LTS units, or to
reduce the pressure drop required
for JT cooling, or to lower the hydro-
carbon dew point and also to reduce
glycol carry-over if upstream dehy-
dration is used. A further step is
taken by integrating the SwirlValve
and an inline separator, resulting
in the SwirlSep, which is a compact
two-phase separator with a perfor-
mance independent of flow rate.
Aimed at compact offshore/subsea
and mobile well testing applications,
this concept results in considerably
lower installation and maintenance
costs (J Young, Twister BV, personal
communication, 6 March 2017).
Quick-cycle silica gel units have
been used for decades to achieve
simultaneous reduction of hydro-
carbon and water dew points. More
than 200 silica gel units are installed
in natural gas applications under
different conditions worldwide,
both on- and offshore (J Schulze-
Schlarmann, BASF Catalysts, per-
sonal communication, 20 April
2009). Usually, an adsorptive hydro-
carbon recovery unit consists of
three or more vessels, where adsorp-
tion and regeneration takes place in
parallel. The cycle chosen generally
includes one vessel heating and one
vessel cooling while one or more
Gas
Pipeline quality
compression
gas
(if required)
vessels are on the adsorption step.
Since the impurity breakthrough
increases over the length of the
adsorption step, two or more vessels
are often used where the adsorption
step is staggered to blend the pro-
duced product to a more consistent
product purity level. The required
adsorbent quantity directly affects
installation costs, and the adsor-
bent quantity depends on the gas
composition, flow rate and required
product dew point. The quick-cy-
cle capital costs may be higher than
those of other technologies, but the
cost is somewhat compensated for
by the long lifetimes and relatively
low operation costs of the adsorp-
tion units. One of the most impor-
tant points concerning adsorption
of hydrocarbons and water with
silica gel is the flexibility of these
units in view of operating param-
eters and gas compositions. If the
amount of water or hydrocarbons
changes in the feed gas, the cycle
time of the adsorption unit can be
varied to achieve continuously low
dew points10 provided the inlet C5+
does not exceed a concentration
that cannot be removed for a given
adsorbent quantity and cycle time.
Cycle time adjustment is commonly
based on regular measurement of
the product water and hydrocarbons
(typically by gas chromatography).
Membrane systems are versatile
and are designed to process a wide
range of feed compositions and sep-
arations. With a very compact foot-
print and low weight, these systems
PTQ Q3 2017 111
12/06/2017 11:13
 are well suited to offshore appli-
cations, remote locations, or for
smaller flow rates. Recent develop-
ments in dew point control include
membrane designs that can oper-
ate in condensing mode as well as
membranes that allow the simulta-
neous removal of water and heav-
ier hydrocarbons from natural gas.
The most common application for
such membranes is for fuel gas con-
ditioning where water and heavy
hydrocarbons permeate from high
pressure to low pressure, leaving a
lean fuel stream at high pressure. As
with all membrane systems, dispo-
sition of the low pressure permeate
stream must be considered, in this
case a stream rich in heavy hydro-
carbons and water. Overall, dozens
of systems operate in this service,
and industry acceptance is grow-
ing. Membrane units for dew point
control are available from only a
few vendors and vendor support
is essential for successful opera-
tion, compared with more generic
processes. Support can be lim-
ited and should be part of any dis-
cussion with a membrane vendor.
Membrane units may require pre-
treatment, which can cost as much
as the membrane unit itself, and the
various membrane vendors have
differing requirements for pretreat-
ment. Discussions on pretreatment
and membrane life are important
in selecting a supplier. A further
advantage of recently introduced
membrane systems for water and
hydrocarbon dew point control is
the ability of these membrane sys-
tems to remove additional impu-
rities such as acid gases (CO2 and
H2S) and mercaptans and the abil-
ity to operate without extensive pre-
treatment using a coalescing filter
only (Y Ding, Air Liquide Advanced
Separations, personal communica-
tion, 15 March 2017).
Choosing the best hydrocarbon
dew point control technology for a
given situation requires considera-
tion of a broad range of factors. The
main variables that affect the choice
of the best process for a given appli-
cation include:
Inlet conditions (gas pressure,
BTU content, and contaminants)
Downstream conditions (for
instance, residue gas pressure)
112 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 exxon.indd 4
Ability to use any rejected gas as
fuel and the fuel header pressure
Any requirement to remove C2-C4
Plot and weight limitations (off-
shore vs onshore)
Overall conditions (utility costs
and plant location).
In addition to the feed gas com-
position and operation mode, the
most decisive technical characteris-
tics of any process are the feed gas
pressure and permissible unit pres-
sure drop.2 Pressure loss across the
hydrocarbon dew point control
unit may affect the sales gas deliv-
ery pressure. Higher pressure losses
may lead to increased sales gas rec-
ompression horsepower, and may
even affect the number of stages for
residue gas compression.
Adsorption process description
The quick cycle, solid bed adsorp-
tion method uses adsorbents that
have the capability to adsorb heavy
hydrocarbons from natural gas. The
adsorbent may be silica gel, acti-
vated charcoal, or other material like
SeparSIV (UOP) or Ucarsorb (Dow).
In most cases, the adsorbent used
is silica gel with a target to adsorb
C6+ along with a moderate amount
of C5. Generally, the process cannot
remove substantial quantities of C4
and lighter hydrocarbons due to the
low adsorption capacity. Activated
alumina cannot be used in the pres-
ence of heavy hydrocarbons because
they foul the adsorbent.11
Silica gel (a generic name for a
gel manufactured from sulphu-
ric acid and sodium silicate) is a
widely used desiccant which can be
used for gas and liquid dehydration
as well as for hydrocarbon recov-
ery from natural gas. Conventional
silica gels can produce fines when
contacted with vapour phase water,
and suffer even greater damage if
exposed to liquid water. Silica gels
are produced by either a water
based process or an oil drop pro-
cess, with the oil drop process gen-
erally producing a more robust
particle. For protection from the
carry-over of liquid water, specialty
grades are commercially available
that are liquid-water stable, and they
can maintain their structural integ-
rity if exposed to liquid water. For
this reason, such water stable silica
gels are commonly used as a guard
bed layer of 5-10% of the bed volume
on the inlet end of the bed (generally
the top since adsorbers in quick cycle
services are normally downflow). An
example of a water stable adsorbent
is BASFs Sorbead WS adsorbent,
which is generally used on the inlet
end of the bed followed by Sorbead
H used for the control of hydrocar-
bon dew point in natural gas.6
Silica gels are also used for dehy-
dration without hydrocarbon
removal, though cycle configura-
tions differ. The main benefits are
high crush strength, lower attrition
and dusting, and a long lifetime. The
lower rate of hydrothermal aging
compared to molecular sieves is
partly due to a lower regeneration
temperature requirement. As com-
pared to molecular sieves for dehy-
dration, silica gels have a reduced
requirement for regeneration
energy. However, silica gels achieve
only moderately low water levels
(typically 10 ppm H2O), whereas
molecular sieves can usually attain
the <0.1 ppm H2O specification
required for LNG manufacture.
The design of an adsorbent based
system for heavy hydrocarbon
removal is more complicated than
that of an adsorbent system for the
removal of water only. In a dew
point control system, the need to
remove heavy hydrocarbons means
a much higher quantity of adsor-
bent is required. To keep the adsor-
bent bed volume at a reasonable
level, the cycles are fast, with one
vessel heating and one cooling at
any time. To heat and cool at the
fast rates used without using excess
regeneration gas, the adsorbent ves-
sels are internally insulated. Internal
insulation largely avoids the added
heating and cooling of the steel of
the adsorber vessel itself. Further
complication is possible due to dif-
ferent grades of adsorbent being
available and the system needing
to accommodate the adsorption of
more than one component.10 In sil-
ica gel based adsorption systems,
polar species (for instance, water)
are preferentially adsorbed followed
by heavy hydrocarbons according
to their molecular weight (see Figure
2). Since water vapour is the most
strongly adsorbed species, water
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 11:13
 will displace already adsorbed mer-
captans (R-SH), which will displace
already adsorbed C8+, and so on.
As Figure 2 shows, silica gels will
adsorb mercaptans at a high level.
As such, the co-removal of water,
mercaptans and heavy hydrocar-
bons can offer advantages by sweet-
ening the residual gas. While this
may be desired, the liquid produced
from a mercaptan-containing feed
stream can require treating of the
liquid product if mercaptans are a
concern.6
The adsorption process used for
removing heavy hydrocarbons is
shown schematically in Figure 3. The
process is continuous with respect
to the treated gas, but cyclical with
respect to the adsorbent bed because
the latter must be regenerated when
it becomes saturated with water and
heavy hydrocarbons. Regeneration
is accomplished by passing heated
recycle gas through the bed, in the
co-current or counter-current direc-
tion, thus desorbing the adsorbed
species. Desorbed hydrocarbons
(and water) are recovered from the
regeneration gas by cooling, con-
densation, and phase separation. To
recover a large fraction of the heavy
hydrocarbons, while limiting the
volume of adsorbent, it is preferable
to use a relatively short cycle time
of about one hour.6 In practice, this
cycle time may vary within a fairly
wide interval, between 20 minutes
and several hours, depending on the
composition and concentration of
the heavy hydrocarbons.
This process is appropriate for rel-
atively low concentrations of heavy
hydrocarbons and generally tar-
gets the removal of C6+ and, in some
cases, C5+. The capacity of the silica
gel adsorbent for heavy hydrocar-
bons increases with increasing pres-
sure, hence the process can also be
appropriate if the gas is at a high
pressure, close to the cricondenbar.
For such conditions, refrigeration
processes become ineffective and
separation by adsorption may offer
the only way to obtain the required
specifications.12 Adsorption pro-
cesses are relatively easy to start up
and to operate at high turndown
(reduction in throughput). However,
adsorption beds are heavy in weight
and expensive. This process option
www.eptq.com
q3 exxon.indd 5
water saturated, rich gases prior to
Feed CO2 membrane units.
30 to 100 barg
An alternative to the thermally
regenerated quick cycle process is
H2O an adsorption system that uses pres-
C10+
sure reduction and purge to remove
C9
C4SH water and heavy hydrocarbons. In
C8 general, the pressure swing adsorp-
BTX tion (PSA) process is applied to
C2SH smaller flow rates and, more impor-
C7
tantly, lower pressures. With these
C1SH
C6 limitations, the process fits certain
C5 niche applications but is not a typi-
cal process used for natural gas dew
Product
point control.
28 to 98 barg
Membrane process description
Figure 2 Order of component adsorption Membrane systems are used in a
on silica gel6 growing range of gas separations.
The membrane process operates by
is not often used for bulk hydrocar- passing a high pressure gas stream
bon removal due to the relatively over hollow polymeric fibres, or a
low capacity for hydrocarbons of spiral wound polymeric sheet, while
C4 and lighter. However, for spe- maintaining a low pressure on the
cific cases such as hydrocarbon dew opposite side. It is this pressure dif-
point control in remote locations, ferential that provides the driving
or where targeted removal of C5+ is force for gases to selectively per-
desired, it may be considered. It may meate from high pressure to low
also be used for removing the heavy pressure.
hydrocarbon tail from pipeline gas Each component in a natural gas
being fed to an LNG plant; how- stream, once contacted with the pol-
ever, the gas would have to be fur- ymeric membrane gas separation
ther dehydrated by a mole sieve unit layer, has a unique solubility in the
(for example). polymer. Once dissolved in the pol-
Conventional CO2 removal mem- ymer, the components diffuse across
branes can be damaged by liquid the polymer from the high pressure
water and/or the condensation of side to the low pressure side at dif-
heavy hydrocarbons. For this reason ferent rates. The permeability for
similar quick cycle silica gel units a given gas component is thus a
have been used for pretreatment of combination of solubility and
Cooling gas
Feed gas Heating gas
Heater
Air
cooler
Sales gas
LP off-gas Water
to heater cooler
Stock tank LP separator HP separator
Figure 3 Schematic of a three-bed adsorption unit for removing heavy hydrocarbons
(Courtesy: BASF)
PTQ Q3 2017 113
12/06/2017 11:13
 those of the traditional glassy mem-
brane. An example of relative gas
Fast Glassy Slow permeabilties for such a rubbery
membrane is shown in Figure 5.
H2O H2 CO2 H2S O2 CH4 & N2 C6 In a dew point control process, the
rubbery membrane operates as fol-
Figure 4 Relative permeation rates for glassy membranes (Courtesy: Air Liquide) lows: the product methane remains
on the retentate, high pressure side
as a slow gas while heavy hydro-
Fast Rubbery Slow
carbons are removed by permeation
and recovered at the low pressure
permeate side. Unlike the glassy
H2O C6 H2S C2 CO2 CH4 N2
membrane case, the heavy hydro-
carbons, represented by C6, are fast
Figure 5 Relative permeation rates for rubbery membranes (Courtesy: Air Liquide) gases. This is due to the higher sol-
ubility of these components in the
diffusivity in a given polymer. The ane, meaning that heavy hydrocar- polymeric separation layer. This
gas permeability ratio between a gas bons remain at high pressure and means that a rubbery membrane
pair determines the polymer mate- are enriched in concentration. A rep- will preferentially permeate heavy
rials selectivity. Further, a variety resentation of the relative rates of hydrocarbons from high pressure
of polymers is used, each with char- permeation for glassy polymers is to low pressure, leaving behind at
acteristics that are optimised for the shown in Figure 4. high pressure a lean product stream,
desired separation. Vendors of membrane systems enriched in methane, with a low-
Most engineers in the natural gas offer CO2 gas purication solutions ered dew point. Air Liquide pro-
industry are familiar with the use of using a variety of membrane pol- vides several different versions of
membranes for the removal of CO2. ymers with performances ranging hollow bre based membrane sys-
For this separation the membrane from high productivity/low selec- tems, with differing selectivities, for
type is referred to as a glassy pol- tivity (lower cost but lower purity or natural gas dew point control. A key
ymer. For the common glassy poly- hydrocarbon recovery) to low pro- aspect of the hollow bre dew point
mers, methane (CH4) is a fairly slow ductivity/high selectivity options. control membranes is the compos-
gas, meaning it is not very perme- With productivity/selectivity trade- ite structure of the hollow bre; it
able and substantially remains on offs vendors provide systems opti- consists of a substrate made from
the high pressure side (retentate) of mised towards project specic polyether ether ketone (PEEK) pol-
the membrane, while CO2 is a faster performance and cost. ymer with superimposed poly-
gas and thus more freely permeates A membrane type that is quite dif- meric gas separation layers tailored
from the high pressure to the low ferent from the glassy membrane towards the target application. The
pressure side. Glassy membranes has been recently introduced com- membrane is robust and can oper-
take advantage of the faster rate mercially and is offered to the nat- ate without extensive pretreatment
of CO2 permeance to remove CO2 ural gas industry. This alternative (coalescing lters only) and in con-
from residual product gas. Note that membrane is frequently referred to densing environments. The bre is
heavy hydrocarbons, represented as rubbery and offers gas permea- not damaged by benzene, toluene,
by C6+, are even slower than meth- tion characteristics very different to and xylene (BTX), water, mercaptans
or acid gases and has demonstrated
long life in natural gas service. Of
High pressure feed Separation the 27 systems in operation the long-
layer
est operating plant has been in nat-
PEEK substrate
ural gas service since 2010 without
Low pressure
PEEK substrate permeate the need for membrane replace-
ment while removing water, heavy
Lean gas hydrocarbons as well as hydrogen
High pressure sulphide, mercaptans and carbon
non-permeate
dioxide. For dew point control, a
typical composite hollow bre sche-
High pressure Rubbery
feed membrane
matic is shown in Figure 6.
CH4 The two major applications for
N2 rubbery membranes that are used
C2+ Low pressure
permeate (gas for heavy hydrocarbon removal
phase) are the production of a lean fuel
Heavy hydrocarbons gas and dew point control for pipe-
line specication. Figure 7 shows
Figure 6 Representative separation for a hydrocarbon dew point fibre (Courtesy: Air Liquide) membrane use for fuel gas condi-

114 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

q3 exxon.indd 6 12/06/2017 11:13

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 tioning, although the same separa-
tion process is used for dew point
control as well. For dew point con-
trol, the permeate stream (contain-
ing heavy hydrocarbons) is typically
used as a local fuel or for other uses
rather than being recompressed and
recycled.
The Air Liquide membranes
exhibit high permeance of H2S and
mercaptans; thus as with heavy
hydrocarbons and BTX, mercap-
tans and H2S permeate from the
high pressure to the low pressure
side and are removed as a tail gas.
This aspect of the separation opens a
variety of uses within a natural gas
conditioning plant, including the
treatment of a temperature swing
adsorption (TSA) units regeneration
streams (enriched in mercaptans) or
other integration into the NGL plant
on a case specific basis.
Membrane Technology Research
(MTR) described a spiral wound
silicone rubber/polyetherimide
(PEI) composite membrane struc-
ture that was piloted in a BP refinery
to condition fuel gas.13 The two-
stage membrane configuration pro-
cessed up to 2.9 MMCF/day of rich
gas. Ethane/methane selectivity
ranged from 2.0-2.5 for all the tests.
Selectivity for higher hydrocarbons
increased with molecular weight (as
expected). It was concluded that the
membrane modules functioned well
for fuel gas conditioning use. The
earlier commercialised PEI mem-
brane substrate is not as robust as
the more recent PEEK substrate, and
for PEI condensing mode conditions
should be avoided during operation.
Conclusions
A number of options are available
for controlling the hydrocarbon dew
point of natural gas. One of the main
factors in selecting the appropriate
technology is the quantity of heavy
hydrocarbons in the feed stream to
be removed. If a relatively large con-
centration of heavy hydrocarbons is
present (more than a few mole per-
cent of heavy hydrocarbons), a cold
process involving condensation is
likely the best option. For smaller
quantities of heavy hydrocarbons,
adsorption or membrane processes
may be more suitable and should be
considered.
116 PTQ Q3 2017
q3 exxon.indd 7
Compression
Feed
Membrane
Lean fuel
(available at near feed pressure)
Permeate / low pressure
Rich gas / recycle
Figure 7 Application of membrane fuel
gas conditioning for a compressor station
(Courtesy: Air Liquide)
ThePRICO SMR is Black & Veatch Corporations
proprietary liquefaction technology. SwirlValve
and SwirlSep are trademarks of Twister BV.
Sorbead is aregistered trademark of BASFSE.
SeparSIV is a trademark of UOP. Ucarsorb is a
registered trademark of Dow.
References
1 Dustman T, Drenker J, Bergman D, Bullin J,
An analysis and prediction of hydrocarbon dew
points and liquids in gas transmission lines,
presented at the 85th GPA Annual Convention,
Grapevine, TX, USA, 5-8 Mar 2006.
2 Mokhatab S, Poe W A, Mak J Y, Handbook of
Natural Gas Transmission & Processing, 3rd Ed,
Gulf Professional Publishing, Burlington, MA,
USA, 2015.
3 Union Gas, www.uniongas.com/about-us/
about-natural-gas/Chemical-Composition-of-
Natural-Gas
4 Schinkelshoek P, Epsom H D, Supersonic gas
conditioning-commercialisation of Twister
technology, presented at the 87th GPA Annual
Convention, Grapevine, TX, USA 2-5 Mar 2008.
5 Baker R W, Future directions of membrane
gas separation technology, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.,
41, 1393-1411, 2002.
6 Mitariten M, Lind W, The Sorbead quick-
cycle process for simultaneous removal of
water, heavy hydrocarbons and mercaptans
from natural gas, presented at the 57th Annual
Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning Conference,
Norman, OK, USA, 25-28 Feb 2007.
7 Mokhatab S, Meyer P, Selecting the best
technology lineup for designing gas processing
units, presented at the GPA Europe Sour Gas
Processing Conference, Sitges, Barcelona, Spain,
13-15 May 2009.
8 Machado P B, Monteiro J G M, Medeiros J L,
Epsom H D, Araujo O Q F, Supersonic separation
in onshore natural gas dew point plant, Journal
of Natural Gas Science & Engineering, 6, 43-49,
May 2012.
9 Betting M, Prast B, Epsom H D, Improved
choke valve design for de-bottlenecking gas
processing facilities, presented at the GPA
Europe Offshore Processing and Knowledge
Session, London, UK, 18-20, Feb 2009.
10 Daiminger U, Lind W, Adsorption-based
processes for purifying natural gas, World
Refining 14, 7, 32-37, 2004.
11 Rojey A, Jaffret C, Cornot-Gandolph
S, Durand B, Jullin S, Valais M, Natural gas
production, Processing, Transport, Editions
Technip, Paris, France, 1997.
12 Parsons P J, Templeman J J, Models
performance leads to adsorption-unit
modifications, Oil & Gas Journal, 88, 26, 40-44,
1990.
13 MTR, Field demonstration of a membrane
process to recover heavy hydrocarbons and
to remove water from natural gas, Final
Technical Report prepared for US DOE (DE-
FC26-99FT40723), Membrane Technology and
Research (MTR) Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA, 30
Aug 2007.
Acknowledgment
Thanks are due to John Young and Bart Prast
from Twister BV, the Netherlands, for reviewing
this article and providing useful comments/
updates on the Twister technology.
Saeid Mokhatab is a world-class expert in
the natural gas processing industry who has
worked on the design and operation of several
gas processing plants, and contributed to gas
processing technology improvements through
300 technical papers and two well-known
handbooks (published by Elsevier, USA). He
founded Elseviers Journal of Natural Gas
Science & Engineering, and has given invited
lectures on gas processing technologies
worldwide. As a result of his work, he has
received a number of international awards/
medals and has been listed in highly prestigious
biographical directories.
Scott Northrop is a Gas Treating Advisor
in the Production Technologies Function of
ExxonMobil Upstream Research Co. in Spring,
TX, USA. He has 28 years experience in the
industry, and is the author/co-author of a
number of patents, presentations and articles
in a variety of related subjects. He sits on
Technical Section F of the Gas Processors
Association (GPA), and is on the board of
directors of Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd.,
Calgary, Canada. He holds a BSc degree
from Washington University in St. Louis,
Missouri, and an MSc degree and PhD from
the California Institute of Technology, all in
chemical engineering.
Michael Mitariten is a Senior Director with
the Advanced Technologies Group of Air
Liquide in Woburn, MA, USA. He is responsible
for equipment and technology provided to
the natural gas and biogas markets for gas
purification to pipeline quality. With over 30
years of experience in gas separation, including
the technologies of membranes, TSA and
PSA adsorption, amine and physical solvent
scrubbing and cryogenic processing, he holds
20 patents, has published numerous papers
and is a Professional Engineer in the State of
New York.
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 16:18
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 Modelling catalytic naphtha reforming

A data handling modelling approach is applied to predict the output performance

of a heavy naphtha catalytic reforming unit

REZA SEIF MOHADDECY and SEPEHR SADIGHI Research Institute of Petroleum Industry
ERSHAD AMINI University of Tehran

C
atalytic reforming is a chem-
ical process used to convert
heavy naphtha with a low
octane number into a high octane
product called reformate. This pro-
cess increases the total amount
of aromatic hydrocarbons and
branched parafns without chang-
ing their boiling point range. The
antiknock characteristic of gasoline
is an imperative property which
leads to installing catalytic reform-
ing.1-3 However, the kinetic mod-
elling of catalytic reforming has
been limited due to the complexity
of the process. Moreover, there is
a large gap between fundamental
studies and practical kinetic model
reactions.4-6 Even if an accurate
model is obtained, it is highly com-
plex, and it requires many simplify-
ing assumptions to nd a tangible
solution.7-10
On the other hand, develop-
ing a black box model, which is
exclusively obtained from exper-
imental data, can provide other
practical methods in the eld of
process modelling. These mod-
els provide a dynamic relationship
between input and output varia-
bles and bypass underlying com-
plexity inside the system. Most of
these common approaches rely on
linear system identication models.
The major processes found in chem-
ical engineering are unfortunately
non-linear processes, and previ-
ously mentioned approaches fail
to respond regarding process non-
linearity. As an alternative to fun-
damental models, articial neural
networks (ANN) are a valuable esti-
mate tool, and up to now numer-
ous applications of ANN models
in the engineering area have been
reported.11 ANN can perform bet-
ter than regression models, and is
tolerant to noise in data.12-15 The
increased importance of ANNs
arises from their ability to paral-
lel process data despite their com-
ponents being independent of each
other.16 On the other hand, straight-
forward theories do not offer ade-
quate precision for the estimation of
experimental data.
However, an ANNs structure
contains a massive complication of
equations within its nodes and lay-
ers. Furthermore, the arrangement
of networks is chosen manually or
randomly which does not assure
the best possible network. As a bet-
ter alternative, the group method
of data handling (GMDH) provides
a self-organising neural network to
express the genome of a system as
well as using the most suitable con-
guration by means of the minimi-
sation process. In other words, the
GMDH utilises a feed-forward net-
work whose coefcients are deter-
mined using regression together
with imitation of self-organising
activity.17 The algorithm chooses
the most suitable polynomial
expressions built by a combination

Recycle R

Recycle
R-1 R-2 R-3 R-4 Purge
compressor
Gas to LPG
H-2
H-3
Platcharge H-4
H-1
LPG

Stabiliser
E-1 E-2 E-3 V-1

Reformate

Figure1 Block flow diagram of the target catalytic reforming unit

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 119

Q3 RIPI.indd 1 13/06/2017 11:29

 of two independent variables at a
time.
Some artificial neural network
models have been developed in
the literature to predict and con-
trol parameters in industrial cata-
lytic reforming units.18-20 But, based
on our literature review, there is
no study on using GMDH to model
the heavy naphtha catalytic reform-
ing process. Therefore, the present
study is devoted to simulating the
yield and RON of the product and
the outlet temperature of reactors
using GMDH for a commercial scale
naphtha reforming unit. To validate
the proposed model, 97 data points
were gathered from an Iranian cat-
alytic naphtha reforming plant dur-
ing the complete life cycle of the
catalytic bed (about 877 days).
Process description
A commercial fixed-bed cata-
lytic naphtha reforming unit, a
Platformer design licensed by
Chevron Research Corporation, was
chosen as a case study. The feed of
the plant prior to entering the cat-
a b
Input Intermediate
layer layers
DOS
LHSV
H2/HC N1 N2 N3
Tinput
WABT
d e
Input Intermediate
layer layers
Catalyst distribution and operating of the process once every 18 to 24
conditions of the unit months. Normally, the catalyst can
be regenerated three or four times,
Process variable Value then it must be returned to the man-
Reactors inlet temperature, C 490-515 ufacturer for reclamation of val-
Hydrogen/hydrocarbon uable platinum and/or rhenium
ratio, mol/mol 3-7 elements.
LHSV, h-1 1-2
Yield, vol% 70-85 As Figure 1 shows, Platcharge is
Catalyst weight first preheated by the first furnace
First reactor, kg 5077.25 (H-1), then enters the first reactor
Second reactor, kg 7615.87 (R-1) where naphthenes are dehy-
Third reactor, kg 12 693.13
Fourth reactor, kg 25 386.25 drogenated to aromatics. Then the
Catalyst distribution product stream from the first reac-
First reactor, wt% 10 tor passes through the second reac-
Second reactor, wt% 15 tor (R-2), and the outlet stream of
Third reactor, wt% 25
Fourth reactor, wt% 50 that enters the third reactor (R-3).
Similarly, the product stream from
the third reactor enters the fourth
Table 1 reactor (R-4). The overall reform-
ing reactions are endothermic.
alytic reformer should undergo a Therefore, a preheater (H-1, H-2,
hydrodesulphurisation (HDS) reac- H-3 and H-4) should essentially be
tion in the hydrotreatment unit. provided before each reforming
Then the produced naphtha, called reactor.
Platcharge, is introduced to the cat- Next, the product stream from
alytic reforming process. the fourth reactor enters a separa-
The catalyst of the semi-regen- tor, V-1, wherein the hydrogen pro-
erative catalytic reformer is regen- duced during the reforming process
erated during routine shutdowns (the gas stream) is recycled and then
mixes with the Platcharge. Finally,
the liquid product leaving the sep-
c arator is introduced to the gasoline
Output Input Intermediate Output
stabiliser
Input
in which LPG Output
Intermediate
and light
layer layer layers layer gases
layer are separated
layers from the layergaso-
line (reformate). Thus, the vapour
DOS pressure
DOS of the gasoline can be set
according to market requirements.
LHSV LHSV
The catalyst distribution in the reac-
tors and the units normal operating
Yield H2/HC N1 N2 N3 Yield H2/HC N1 N2 N Yield
conditions are shown in3 Table 1.
Tinput T
input
Modelling heavy naphtha reforming
WABT
The
WABT
basic structure of the brain
has been widely employed for
various fields such as model-
f
ling, control and pattern recogni-
Output Input Intermediate Output Input Intermediate Output
layer layer layers layer tion.
layer The GMDH, layers introduced
layer by
Ivakhnenko, is a hierarchical and
21

DOS DOS learning

DOS network structure that
provides an effective approach
LHSV LHSV toLHSVidentifying higher order non-
linear systems. Its main purpose
H2/HC N1 N2 N3 Yield H2/HC N1 N2 N3 Yield isH2the
/HC identification
N1 N2 of
N3 relations
Yield in
large, complex non-linear multi-
Tinput Tinput Tinput
dimensional systems as well as
their approximation and predic-
WABT WABT WABT
tion. In the GMDH network, the
part which corresponds to the neu-
ron of a neural network is called
Figure 2 A schematic of the proposed GMDH neural network: a) yield, b) RON, c) T1out, the N-Adaline, and it is gener-
d) T2out, e) T3out, and f) T4out ally expressed by a polynomial.

120 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

Q3 RIPI.indd 2 13/06/2017 11:30

 The N-Adaline is composed of two
inputs and one output, and the lat- a 100
ter is generated by combinations
98
of two inputs.22 Inputs xi and xj are
then combined to produce a partial 96
descriptor based on a simple quad- 94

RON
ratic transfer function: 92

yn = a 0 + a1x in + a 2 x jn + a 3 x in x jn + a 4 x i2n + a 5 x 2jn 90
88
(1) Actual
86
Predicted
84
where yn is determined using the 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
least squares method, and coef- Days on stream
cients a0 to a5 are determined sta-
b 100
tistically and are unique for each
transfer function. These coefcients 98
can be thought of as analogous to
RON (predicted)
96
weights found in other types of neu- 94
ral networks.
92
The GMDH topology is usually
determined using a layer by layer 90
pruning process based on a pre- 88
selected criterion of what consti- 86
tutes the best nodes at each level. 84
The traditional GMDH method is 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100
based on an underlying assump- RON (actual)
tion that data can be modelled
using an approximation of the
Volterra series or Kolmorgorov- Figure 3 Comparison plots: a) actual RON product vs predicted and b) actual RON
Gabor polynomial: product vs predicted
M M M M M M
y = a 0 + a i x i + a i j x i x j + a i jk x i x j x k ...
i =1 i =1 j=1 i =1 j=1 k =1

(2) a 86
Actual
84 Predicted
Yield, vol%

where X (x1, x2 ,., xM) is the vec- 82

tor of input variables, and A (a1 , a2
80
,., aM) is the vector of summand
coefcients[40]. 78
While constructing a GMDH, all
76
combinations of inputs are gener-
ated and sent into the rst layer 74
of the network. Outputs from this 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
layer are then classied and selected Days on stream
as input for the next layer, with all b 86
combinations of the selected out-
puts sent into the second layer. 84
Yield (predicted)

This process is continued as long 82

as each subsequent layer (n+1) pro-
duces a better result than layer (n). 80
When layer (n+1) is found to not 78
be as good as layer (n), the process
will be stopped. The schematic of 76
the proposed GMDH neural net-
74
work developed for CRU is shown 74 76 78 80 82 84 86
in Figure 2. Yield (actual)
In GMDH topology, each node
produces a set of coefcients (ai &
i {1,2,3,..,5} ) that are estimated by Figure 4 Comparison plots: a) actual product yield vs predicted and b) actual product
using training data. Then the tness yield vs predicted

www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2017 121

Q3 RIPI.indd 3 13/06/2017 11:30

 the best t, the partial derivatives
a 475 of Equation 3 are calculated with
Actual
First reactor Tout, C 470 respect to each constant value ai,
Predicted
465 and set equal to zero:
460 Error
455
=0 (4)
ai
450
445 Expanding Equation 4 results the
440 following set of equations that are
435 solved using training data:
N N
430 + a1x i + a 2 x j + a 3 x i x j + a 4 x i2 + a 5 x 2j
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 y= a
n =1 n =1
0

Days on stream (5)

b N N
475 x i + a x + a 2 x i x j + a 3 x x j + a x + a 5 x i x 2j
2 2 3
yx = a
First reactor Tout (predicted),

i 0 1 i i 4 i
470 n =1 n =1

(6)
465
N N

460 yx = a j 0 x i + a1x i x j + a 2 x 2j + a 3 x i2 x j + a 4 x i2 + a 5 x i x 3j
n =1 n =1
455 (7)
C

N N
450 yx x = a x i x j + a x + a 2 x i x j + a 3 x x + a 4 x x j + a 5 x i x 3j
2 2 2 2 3
i j 0 1 i i j i
n =1 n =1
445
(8)
440 N N
2
y x = (a
i 0 x + a x + a 2 x x j + a 3 x x j + a 4 x + a 5 x i2 x 2j )
2
i
3
1 i
2
i
3
i
4
i
435 n =1 n =1

430 (9)
430 435 440 445 450 455 460 465 470 475
First reactor Tout (actual), C These equations can be simpli-
c 510 ed using matrix mathematics as
Actual
Second reactor Tout, C

505
Predicted
follows:
500
495 y = (1 xi xj xi x j xi2 x 2j ) (10)
490
A= YTY (11)
485
480 1 xi xj xi x j x i2 x 2j

475 x i x 2
i xi x j 2
x xj
i x 3
i x i x 2j

470 x j xi x j x 2j x i x 2j x i2 x j x 3j
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 A =
x i x j x i2 x j x i x 2j x i2 x 2j x i3 x j x i x 3j
Days on stream x 2 3 2 3 4
i x x xj x xj x x i2 x 2j
d 510 x 2
i
2
i
3
i
3 2
i
2
j xi x j x j xi x j xx i j x 4j
505
Second reactor Tout

500 (12)
(predicted), C

495
x = (a 0 a1 a2 a3 a 4 a5 ) (13)
490
485 b = ( yY)T (14)
480
475 So, the system can be simplied as
follows:
470
470 475 480 485 490 495 500 505 510 N N

Second reactor Tout (actual), C

Ax = b
n =1 n =1
(15)

Figure 5 Comparison plots: a) actual outlet temperature of the first reactor with the Using the coefcients of Equation
predicted one vs DOS, b) actual outlet temperature of the first reactor with the predicted 2, the node computes the corre-
one, c) actual outlet temperature of the second reactor with the predicted one vs DOS sponding error during the data val-
and d) actual outlet temperature of the second reactor with the predicted one idation step. Finally, to compare the
N predicted and actual values, aver-
is tested by evaluating the mean Error = ( y n yn )2 (3) age absolute deviations (AAD%)
n =1
square error of the predicted (y) and and root mean squared error
actual (y) values: To identify the coefcients with (RMSE) are calculated:

122 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

Q3 RIPI.indd 4 13/06/2017 11:31

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 Results and discussion
a 520 To build up the GMDH model for
Third reactor Tout, C 515 the target heavy naphtha reforming
510
plant, 98 data points from the start
of run (rst day) to the end of run
505
(877th day) were collected. These
500
points included RON and yield of
495 product, outlet temperatures of four
490 reactors, days on stream (DOS), liq-
Actual
485 uid hourly space velocity (LHSV),
Predicted
480 H2 to hydrocarbon ratio (H2/HC),
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 reactor inlet temperature and
Days on stream weight average bed temperature
b 520 (WABT).
515 Among these data points, 70%
were selected for training the
Third reactor Tout

510
(predicted), C

GMDH model and 30% were

505
employed for validating the pro-
500 posed network. According to the
495 outlined approach, it was found
490 that a GMDH network with three
485 neurons in the hidden layer (inter-
mediate layer) was accurate enough
480
480 485 490 495 500 505 510 515 520 to simulate outputs from the plant;
Third reactor Tout (actual), C therefore, the growing step of the
c 525 network was stopped. A schematic
of the developed GMDH is shown
Fourth reactor Tout, C

520 in Figure 2. The corresponding pol-

515 ynomial equations of the proposed
models for the growth period are
510 available from the authors.
505 Figures 3 to 6 show a comparison
between the measured output vari-
500 Actual
ables and the predicted ones using
Predicted
495 the GMDH network. A reasonable
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 agreement can be observed.
Days on stream The results show that this model
d 525 can predict the RON and yield of
gasoline and the outlet temper-
520
Fourth reactor Tout

atures of four reactors with an

(predicted), C

515 AAD% of 0.406%, 0.655%, 0.175%,

0.075%, 0.053% and 0.03 %, respec-
510 tively. Moreover, the RMSE% of
505 the mentioned variables is 0.507%,
0.888%, 0.226%, 0.112%, 0.065%
500 and 0.039%, respectively. It can be
495
concluded that GMDH is accurate
495 500 505 510 515 520 525 in predicting these variables since
Fourth reactor Tout (actual), C the values of AAD% and RSME%
are sufciently low (less than 1%).
Thus, the results are satisfactory
Figure 6 Comparison plots: a) actual outlet temperature of the third reactor with for engineering as well as indus-
the predicted one vs DOS, b) actual outlet temperature of the third reactor with the trial applications. It is supposed that
predicted one, c) actual outlet temperature of the fourth reactor with the predicted one the main deviation can be related to
vs DOS and d) actual outlet temperature of the fourth reactor with the predicted one some factors including power uc-
N t =50
YiActual YiPr edict tuation of instruments, calibration

i =1
(
YiActual
) where Nt, Yiactual, YiPredict are the of analysis devices, human error,
ADD% = 100 (16) number of test runs (in this and signal transmission that cannot
Nt
N t =50
research, the number of test runs is be excluded from the collected data.
YiActual YiPr edict 2 50), actual variables, and the pre- However, from the presented
(
YiActual
)
RMSE% = i =1
100 (17) dicted values, respectively. results, it can be concluded that
Nt

124 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

Q3 RIPI.indd 5 13/06/2017 11:31

 the proposed approach is reliable 2 Antos G J, Aitani F M, Catalytic Naphtha blocked-in, tha
45
enough to be 9 utilised for predicting
ProgREss-26
Reforming, Marcel Dekker Inc. New York, 2004. the process chil
Criterion D, NiAppl.
the behaviour
40 of a Case
heavy
Supplier
1 naphtha 3 Rahimpour M R, Jafari M, Iranshahi
of time, the a
8 Criterion V
catalytic reforming unit. 2
Case Energy 109, 2013, 79-93.
Demet Rate Constant

H in dry gas, vol% quench into the

357 drop ratio 4 Abghari S Z, AlizadehdakhelPrevious A, MohaddecyNi S
R, Alsairafi A, J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Previous
Eng. 45,V 2014, gas will simpl
Conclusion306 refrigerant inven
1411-1420.
In this work, the GMDH modelling and build up in
Higher 5 Ancheyta-Juarez J, Villafuerte-Macas E,
approach 25 5
was applied to Demet predict Energy Fuels 14, 2000, 1032-1037. a closed circuit
Pressure

the significant 204

output variables activityof load of the comp

CHANGE
6 Mohaddecy S R, Sadighi S, PTQ Q3 2013, 85-
a commercial heavy naphtha cat- 95. possibly exceed
2

3
alytic reforming unit. These pro- 7 Padmavathi G, Chaudhuri K, Can. J. Chem.
HIRING
15 driver, causing a
cess output2 variables were RON Eng. 75, 1997, 930-937.
and yield 1of
let temperatures
0
ing reactors.
0
1
1400 product

TotalThen,
1600 and
030000.1of 0.2
nickelby
1800 the
the
60000.3
andusing
out-22008 Sadighi
2000
reform-
vanadium
90000.5
Ecat Ni equivalent, ppm0.7 0.8
0.4
S, Mohaddecy S R, Eur. Chem. Bull. 10,
2400 2600 2800 3000
2013, 0.6777-781.
12000
9 Weifeng H,lbs
the processed,
15000 0.9 1.0
Hongye S, Yongyou H, Jian C,
EXPERIENCED
PROFESSIONALS
ON FOULI Method 2 - Sparg
Recently, proces
Normalised time to utilise the fa
WORLDWIDE
45
proposed model, the influence of Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 14, 2006, 584-591. continuous supp
10 Ostrovski N M, Rovenskaja S A, Echevski G
DOS,12
Figure
Figure LHSV,
Higher
40
Comparison the
demet input
of activity
pressure temperature
ofdrop
Criterion
for the system
two cases Ind.of fouling erant in the LP
APC4KPI # TRACKS THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE
V, Chem. OF A
Chem. Eng.DMC Q. 13, 2007, 51-54.
of theKPIreactors and H2/HC on IT the suction drums.
dry gas, vol%

APC
APPLICATION tracks FORthe overall
THE
ProgREss-26
35 output variables was
performance
MONTH. IS EQUALof
11 a DMCTO THE
Golmohammdi application
TWO H, for the
PREVIOUS
Rashidi A, month.
Safdari S J,
mentioned
ItKPIS (SERVICE
is equal to the FACTOR
two previous
Supplier ANDKPIsTECHNICAL
(Service Chem. KPI,
Factor SHOWN
and Technical
Ind. Chem. Eng. Q. BELOW) KPI)321-331.
19, 2013, introduce the h
A
studied.
MULTIPLIED 10
multiplied 30 TOGETHER
together and scaled ANDso SCALED SO
that target 12 THAT
ElkamelTARGET
performance is PERFORMANCE
100% the lower liquid
nes
100 A, Al-Ajmi A, Fahim M, Pet. Sci.
ticles
IS 100%. L/Lt = 0.1 (Case 1)
9 Technol. 17, 1999,
L/Lt = 0.3 (Case 1)
931-954. of the suction d
The GMDH can be a 25
Figure 4 KPI diagram from a monthly summary report 13 Eslamloueyan R, Setoodeh P, Chem. Eng.
L/Lt = 1.0 (Case 1) sparging system
H2 in%

8
80 Commun. 198, 2011, 1309-1338. recycle gas to b
Pressure drop ratio

20 L/L = 0.1 (Case 2)

CCR conversion,

reliable and accurate

applications 7to achieve operating engineer
14 Zahedit G, Fgaier H, Jahanmiri A, Al-Enezi G,
L/Lt = in
Pet. Sci. Technol.
all aspects
0.3 (Case 2)
24, 2006, 14471456.
of APC liquid invento
targets 15
6 L/L
development = 1.0 (Case
and 2)
usage. increased conve
tool for modelling
Make APC
60
10 utilisation an expecta-
t
15 Joseph B, Wang F H, Shieh P S, Comput.
Chem. Eng. 16, 1992, 413-423.
inventory into
5 and, since the op
tion across the 7.2 organisation.
7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 8.2 16 8.4 Milic P,8.6 8.8 K M, 9.0Milicevic
9.2 P M, Milic S
heavy naphtha 4
40 C3=, wt%
Rajkovic
M, Brdaric T P, Pavelkic V M, Chem. Ind. Chem. the drum does n
ably, the p
reforming plant for
Things to considerPrevious cycle
Figure
Match
3
7 ProgREss-26 reduced hydrogen
managements
Criterion cycle APC in dry1
References
Eng. Q. 19, 2013, 141-152.
gas,
Diaz
17 hereD, as
Atashrouz a function
Conley R C, etE,
S, Amini ofal,
(a)
PazukiEcatG,Ni and 21,
Maintaining APC
Ionics
ITW is expanding and looking
temperature sen
for experienced professionals
sensitivity analysis,
(b) propylene
ambition to the yield
20
0
(commercial
2 number and quality
100
data) program applications
2015, 1595-1609. effectiveness,
200 at the 2014 AFPM Q&A and Technology Forum,
300 400 500
presented
worldwide. The candidates inlet remains un
The sparger ne
of people they 1 are willing to dedi- 18 Manamalli D, Kanagasabapathy P, Dhivya K, should have a minimum five
Days on stream
optimisation and
cate to the effort 0
10.5
9 Denver CO, Oct 2014.
Chem.
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 Eng. Commun. 193, 2006,
2 Coker R, APC2: Aligning people with control,
729-742. years experience in at least one to efficiently allo
Choose a group supervisor
ProgREss-26 with Normalised 19 Sadighi S, Mohaddecy S R, Int. J. Technol. 2,
time of these fields: the maximum a
troubleshooting
10.0
Figure 13 Criterion9.5system is more stable
Supplier
PTQ, Q3 2012, 57-60.
2013, 1-11. ARE THESE IMAGES cle gasFAMILI
as smal
B 10 Friedman Y Z, Avoid advanced control project
3 20 Zahedi G, Mohammadzadeh S, Moradi G, refining/petrochemicals
9.0 liquid inventory
Involve
purposesconsole mistakes, Hydro L/Lt 2671-2677.
= 0.1 m
22,Proc, Oct 1992, 119.
2008, Patented
process ITW Online
specialty Cleaning can remove any type o
chemicals
Bottoms, wt%

system at SOR Energy Fuels

9 8.5 but the Criterion critical
Conley
4 21
role in initiating
R C, Diaz L/L =Polynomial
D, 0.3
It m
the village:
takes a
easy
open or enter the back pressu
hazardous process equipment.
system has greater 8.0 stability through Ivakhnenko
reactions and A G,t
generating delta Theory of
T for sales
surge valve ITW
to b
operators, process
the cycle, leading 8 7.5
to higher average at
maintaining
Complex Systems,
thethe lower
APC IEEE
beds.
effectiveness,
Main
Transactions on
catalysts
presented
Systems,
need
An entire Process Unit
refining/petrochemicals can be cleaned
Online Cleaning can be applied at sizing
by utilizing
any time the anti-s
during t
Pressure drop ratio

7.0 Man, and 2015 ISA Process

Cybernetics, 1971, Control
364-378.and Safety process technology, operations,
CCR Ninety-eight
conversion data resulting
with points FCC from Symposium, Houston, TX, Nov 2015.
to22be Fujiirobust and have theEng.ability to
7 appearing, rather than when they aredesignno longer sustaina
supervisors and
SOR to
bene EOR were
t. Feed
6.5
quality used in to
bothconstruct
cycles withstand
5 Friedman
K, Yamamoto
Y contamination
Z, APC
T, Electr.
application from
Jpn. 188,
feed
ownership,
maintenance, turnaround
This will in turn avoid throughput reduction,
different
it, onegiveaway
must con an
6 6.0 2014, 31-38.
and similar
train the GMDH
10 ppmnetwork for Hydro The application of ITW Online Cleaning will be therefore
process engineer in
was with
the target reforming
vanadium.
5.5
5 5.0
nickel and
plant. It was 6
poisons
in Ayral
activity.
without signicant decline
Proc, Sept 2010, 13.
T E, Employing
Conley R C, Gaining a t for pur-
operator
and
theshould
economicsbe willing to travel
for placing pressure of the
a turnaround.
nationwide and worldwide, along plus the static p
all aspects of APC
concluded that 4
4.5 a GMDH network acceptance
4.5
pose demet catalyst
of advanced in
controls, the
Hydroright
Proc, with
ITWbeing
Onlineprone to hard work
Cleaning by the
can be applied to liquid
all Refinl
with three neurons
Conclusion in4.7the interme-
4.9 5.1 Jun 1987, 42-43.
5.3 5.5 5.7
quantity along with a high activity
5.9 6.1
well as and sales.tanks, and is the
storage maintained
only technologas l
Coke, wt%
development and
Indiate layer 3was
summary, able to simulate
an increase in feed 7 andFriedman Y
stable Z, Why
are tough, Hydro
main coker APC
catalyst applications
Proc, Dec 2005, 98.
is critical
Having a technical degree and
the drum. This
the output 2variables
contaminants 0.86
either due of to thecrude
unit: for achieving unit isobjectives,
Reza Seif Mohaddecy Head of the Catalytic
main- Regular application of ITW Online Cleaning
the need will target
for qa
usage
RON and
changes oryield
problems
1 0.83
of product
ProgREss-26
and the taining
inSupplier
upstream
Ayral T E,
8 Reaction Conley R Department,
Engineering
robust
documentation for operators, Hydro
C, Advanced Catalysis
hydroprocessing
control
Proc, Sept
good market knowledge is also
required. associated contro
temperatures of premature
reactors with Research Division, Research Institute of For Turnaround applications, ITW Online Cleaning c
units can lead 0.10to 0.15 0.20 an 0.25
catalyst operations,
1988, 103-4.
Petroleum 0.30 and maximising
Industry 0.35(RIPI), Tehran, 0.40 renery
Iran. thereby reducing downtime and improve operational H
AAD%plant
deactivation;
broad and RSME% an
experience: of less than
unplanned control,1%.Voidage
shut- pro tability.Z, Advanced process control: it The available positionsapplication,
will cover: an Calculating suctiin
0.80 9 Friedman Y In a Turnaround additional ROI
Coke, wt%

Email: seifsr@ripi.ir
Consequently,
down to replace the GMDH
catalyst has can be
severe a
operations and plant economics. A takes effort to make it work, Hydroc Proc, Feb technical sales, implementation
Decontamination to achieve quick and multi-stage refrig
effective safe en
reliable 5a and accurate of ITW
Ourtechnologies in thedoes
field,not create
Figure
nancial consequences. istool forCatalyst
model-
0.77 of pressure Amit Kelkar is a Senior Technical Service
1997, 17. patented chemistry any emulsion
In many cases
part-time supervisor
Comparison acceptable
drop over the entire length
Sepehr Sadighiofisthe bed vsManager
Project certain in the
ling
system
regions heavy
ofdesign
the naphtha
bed has
5b to reforming
balance
Comparison of plant
demet
pressure Engineer with Criterion Catalysts &
drop over the entire Engineering
length of theDepartment,
bed vs sales and operations provide dedi
Deal with DCS/instrument Catalytic Reaction
for
and sensitivity
main 0.74
analysis,
catalyst optimisation
volume while Technologies.With 16 years of experience in the management.
EVALUATE ITW ONLINE CLEANING AND ITW
certain regions of the
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refrigeration c
Partner with 0.71 a proven APC technical Conley support to Interesting compensation plans
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ments such on heat pressureofdrop
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and Email:twosadighis@ripi.ir DCS/ SIS/ APC means that the s
its
contractor the the
via unit monitoring,cases troubleshooting,
(Case 1: particle start- willFor
be given along with serious
damental
bed delta methods.
T limit which vary from Implementation Supervisor for TOTALs Port more informations contact : ITW S.r.l.- C.da S.C
profile. 0.68
Focus APC engineering efforts on Arthur deposition
up and Texas
evaluation andof Case margin 2: particle
improvement career possibilities. each
Tel. +39 stage m
(0931) 766
unit to unit. The 200000 primary 210000purpose 220000 Ershad Amini (PAR)
230000 with refinery.
is 240000 the School His
250000 of previous
Chemical
implementing and maintaining swelling)
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employers has
He
include been
holds a
Profimatics compared
masters degree
and Universityin
CITGOs in directly
E-mail: or inferr
info@itwtech
Feed rate, kg/h
Engineering, College of Engineering,
of demet catalysts
References
Comparison
successful of pressure
applications is to drop protect duethe to Lake Figure
chemical 4. For
engineering the same
from therate of
Universityfoul-
of The problem
www.itwtechnologie
Charles, Louisiana refinery. He holds BS
of Tehran. Please contact:
main

1 Albahri
the two
Involvecatalyst
T A, Ind. from
fouling Eng. Chem.
phenomena
console feedRes. contam-
42, 2003, Texas
operators, ing (in termsandofa volume),
at Austin bachelors degree
and MS degrees in chemical engineering from the samefrom traditional desig
657-662.
inants. In addition, they play a
Email: Amini_ershd@yahoo.com ITW S.r.l., C.da S.Cusumano,
The pressure
Figure
process 8 drop dueand
ProgREss-26
supervisors lowered to fouling
bottoms
processyield the
and Indian
improved Institute
in Lamar University, Texas. delta of
extent of fouling (length of bed)
coke Technology,
relative Varanasi.
to the Join ITW Team worldwide and send yourmachines
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 Technology in Action

The installation of the gas phase scale catcher, grading,

Naphtha unit prolongs cycle length, and bulk catalyst has enabled the Komsomolsk Renery
increases feed rate to run the naphtha unit without any shutdowns and
without experiencing any increase in pressure drop. In
The Komsomolsk Renery in Russia has upgraded comparison to earlier runs with competitor catalysts,
its naphtha hydrotreating unit with a solution from this is a major achievement for the renery as personnel
Topsoe, combining a two-phase gas scale catcher with were previously forced to perform skimming every 250-
grading catalyst and a high active naphtha hydrotreat- 300 days (see Figure 1).
ing catalyst (TK-527). This combination has allowed the With the possibility of continuous unit operation,
renery to operate the unit at a 20% higher feed rate without shutdown periods for skimming, Topsoes
and has kept the pressure drop stable. Currently, the package has provided a signicant economic benet to
unit has run for almost a year and is still in operation. the Komsomolsk Renery. This benet is additionally
For several cycles, the Komsomolsk Renery had enhanced by the capability to operate the unit at a 20%
struggled with pressure drop issues in the naphtha higher feed rate.
hydrotreating unit. Due to particles in the feed stream,
the upper catalyst layers had been plugged, resulting Haldor Topsoe
in pressure drop build-up. This forced Komsomolsk to For more information: roc@topsoe.com
perform unplanned shutdowns to carry out skimming
operations.
Based on unit review and technical calculations, Close guard against chloride issues
Topsoe presented Komsomolsk with a solution to over-
come the pressure drop problems. By 2016, the solution Chloride removal monitoring and maintenance asso-
package was successfully installed in Komsomolsks ciated with the catalytic reformer unit (CRU) has long
naphtha hydrotreater. been a headache within a renery. Impacts within the
The gas phase scale catcher is designed with two CRU and downstream can include corrosion and ammo-
stages to effectively trap both large and small particles. nium chloride salting, both of which can have signicant
It is able to catch very ne particles in the micron range. impact on the reliability and protability of the renery.
The scale catcher has a kinetic particle separator which One renery reported water washing the CRU stabiliser
effectively removes particles present in the feed stream. monthly at a cost of $100 000 per water wash a prob-
The gas phase scale catcher is installed above the grad- lem too costly to be ignored. For this purpose, chloride
ing layer in the reactor and removes the majority of removal beds have been installed in CRU units globally
particles in the feed stream. The tailor-made grading to adsorb chlorides and protect downstream users.
catalyst captures any remaining particles, preventing These chloride guard beds, however, have continu-
them from entering the bulk catalyst bed and causing ally plagued reneries and have proven to be a costly
pressure drop problems. Topsoes high active naph- distraction to engineering, operations, and maintenance
tha hydrotreating catalyst, TK-527, has large pores and personnel. One of the critical problems with chloride
small physical size, resulting in high catalyst activity removal management is the lack of adequate sampling
and, consequently, improvement in unit performance. capability. Many reners use popular, commercially
available gas tube detection methodologies. These
methodologies are not effective at measuring sub-ppm
4.0 and are unable to detect organic chlorides. This means
Reactor pressure drop, bar

3.6
Normalised p, current cycle that operators are unable to see the chlorides leaving
3.2
2.8
Normalised p, old cycle the unit to downstream users, leading to the undesired
Normalised p, old cycle after skim 1
2.4 Normalised p, old cycle after skim 2 practice of downstream problem based changeout.
2.0 Johnson Matthey has introduced a better way to mea-
1.6
1.2
sure chlorides in the renery. The Puracare chloride test
0.8 kit is a gas tube methodology that allows for complete
0.4 detection of inorganic and organic chloride down to 0.1
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 ppmv. The test kit is easy to use and cost effective (less
Run day than or equal to currently utilised methodologies) and
allows reners to utilise the methodology at-site for reg-
Figure 1 Cycle review of Komsomolsks naphtha hydrotreater ular monitoring. This has been a game changer within
before and after the implementation of Topsoes solution the catalytic reforming unit in the ability to detect chan-
package, comprising gas phase scale catcher, tailor-made grading, geout and optimise material loadings.
and high active naphtha hydrotreating catalyst One recent application was at a European renery

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 Results with Johnson Mattheys chloride survey kit Saving compressor power
Competitor installation Puraspec Installation
HCI RCI HCI RCI An Indian renery has cut the power consumption of a
Sample point 1 + + + + reciprocating compressor on a hydrocracker by 86 kW
Sample point 2 0 + 0 0
and saves approximately 55 000/y on energy costs,
Note: + indicates non-zero result while simultaneously increasing reliability, by replacing
the valves with a modern proled plate design.
Table 1 The renery in north-eastern India is rated to pro-
cess 3 million t/year of Assam Mix crude containing
CCR unit which oper- 0.26 wt% sulphur. The main products are LPG, diesel,
Inlet/distributor ates with a chloride jet fuel, and high grade kerosene.
guard on the net gas There are two hydrocrackers, each rated at 1.45 mil-
stream. Initial instal- lion t/y. The unit in question uses Chevron technology
lation was promoted and was commissioned in 2000. The hydrogen make-up
alumina, which char- compressor is a three stage machine running at 300 rpm
Clear Perform 1 acteristically exhibits with cylinder lubrication and a rated power of 3300 kW.
reduced capacity and Suction pressure is 19 bar and discharge pressure is
increased tendency 186 bar.
Clear Purasieve 1
for organic chloride The compressor was originally tted with traditional
formation. The main- non-metallic plate valves supplied by Hoerbiger. The
tenance team was renery operator wanted to save power and increase
dealing with continual valve reliability while retaining the ability to operate
Outlet/collector water wash operations with nitrogen as well as hydrogen.
downstream of the bed Hoerbiger recommended the companys new XP pro-
Figure 1 Clear solution proposed for to remove ammonium led plate valve. 136 mm XP valves were installed on
total chloride removal chloride deposits. One the rst and second stage cylinders. The third stage cyl-
key issue was the lack inder has 136 mm and 147 mm XP valves at the crank
of ability to measure when the chloride removal media and head end respectively.
was spent or producing organic chlorides. The Johnson Since the new valves were installed in October 2015
Matthey team provided the Puracare chloride test kit for they have run without problems and no maintenance
onstream sampling and detected, at the time of testing, has been needed. The operator reports an average
the presence of HCl and organic chlorides on the inlet power saving of 86 kW thanks to the high efciency of
along with organic chloride content on the outlet. This the proled plate design.
meant that chloride species were travelling downstream The proled plate valve is a proven design that cuts
and already causing damage in the form of corrosion or valve losses by up to 40% while giving up to six times
salting. the service life of conventional valves (see Figure 1).
Based on this result, the site chose to change the The Hoerbiger XP valve is targeted at API compres-
ineffective chloride guard and install Puracare Clear sors handling technical gases such as nitrogen, natural
chloride guard products. Specically, Perform 1 and gas, and a wide range of rening and petrochemical
Purasieve 2 were utilised (see Figure 1) to address the applications including LDPE, syngas, carbon dioxide,
HCl and RCl content and greatly increase the run and hydrogen-rich gases. It is suitable for both lubri-
length. Testing after it was in service for several months cated and non-lubricated compressors at speeds up
had shown that HCl and RCl content were present on to 1500 rpm, and is available in diameters of
the inlet but that there was no breakthrough on the out- 86261 mm.
let, which coincided with an elimination of the mainte-
nance water wash activity. See Table 1 for the generalised 30
testing results (numbers stricken for condentiality). XP (profiled plate)
Profiled ring
The Puracare approach is to provide effective mate- 25
Valve efficiency, %

Conventional plate
rial selection and enable reners to see the benet. 20 Conventional poppet

Measurement was and continues to be a key barrier in

15
the industry. Johnson Mattheys Puracare chloride test
kit allows a rener to overcome that barrier, enabling 10

engineering, operations, and maintenance to make deci- 5

sions based on improved information. In the end, time
0
saved eliminating material changeout or reducing main- 0 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
tenance activity is time utilised towards other activities Valve lift, mm

in the renery.
Figure 1 Profiled plate valves lead in efficiency with their large
Johnson Matthey open area and streamlined gas flow. The Hoerbiger 136XP discharge
For more information: sravan.pappu@matthey.com valves on the third stage of the compressor have a 1.5 mm lift

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 11 15 June 2018
Frankfurt am Main

Figure 2 Profiled valve plate made from PowerPEEK

Compressor valves have huge influence on process

reliability and energy use. Unsuitable valves can waste
10% of the energy consumed by the compressor because
of gas dynamic losses and frequently also sticking
caused by excess oil. Moreover, although many valves
run trouble-free for a year or more, lifetime in difficult
duties may be measured in days.
Unfortunately, energy efficiency often conflicts with
reliability. High efficiency requires a large open area
and high lift. However, large open areas require narrow
sealing elements, while high lift increases the velocity of
the valve plate. Both factors make the valve more prone
to breakage.
The XP valve combines advanced materials and man-
ufacturing methods with aerodynamic profiles, and an
optimised spring design. The result is a valve that is
highly efficient and above all robust.

Materials, design, and manufacturing

Modern engineering polymers have replaced steel
valve rings and plates in high performance applica-
tions. Polymers are lightweight and resist impact and
fatigue loads well. However, they are tricky to mould to
BE INFORMED.
the tight tolerances needed, and differential thermal
expansion can be a problem when sealing against steel
BE INSPIRED.
seats.
To solve these issues, Hoerbiger developed
BE THERE.
PowerPEEK, a lightweight carbon reinforced compos-
ite that combines the optimal stiffness for good seal- World Forum and Leading Show
ing with exceptional impact resistance. PowerPEEK for the Process Industries
has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that
of steel, and resists high temperatures, oil, and oxi- 3,800 Exhibitors from 50 Countries
dation. Components can be manufactured to tight 170,000 Attendees
tolerances via a patented net-shape moulding tech-
nique that orients the reinforcing fibres for maximum from 100 Countries
strength. This allows the use of narrow sealing elements
with profiled edges for lower frictional losses (see
Figure 2).
Profiled valve components reduce oil stiction thanks
to reduced contact area and a pressure induced pre-
load that aids rapid opening.
Profiling of the plate and the seat also avoids stress

www.achema.de
concentrators, and so allows closing velocities up to

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 twice as high as for non-profiled designs. Additionally,
dynamic load resistant coil springs improve valve reli-
ability. Additionally, dynamic load resistant coil springs
improve valve reliability.
These new profiled plate valves are ideal for
the demanding conditions found in modern com-
pressors. The trend towards fewer, larger valves and
higher operating speeds enables compressors with
lower capital costs and smaller footprints, but
places greater demands on valve reliability. So too does
the growing use of stepless capacity control systems
that hold the valves open for part of the compression
cycle.
Hoerbiger
For more information: Andreas.horinek@hoerbiger.com
From naphtha to light olefins
the diet. This has significantly reduced the output of
The advent of the shale oil revolution has flooded the
US market with a surplus of naphtha. Shale oils are typ-
ically very light and contain high volumes of naphtha
range materials. This naphtha is a poor quality blend-
stock for the motor pool with its low octane and high
vapour pressure. Except for reforming there are no prac-
tical conversion processes available for light straight run
naphthas.
Also, in Europe, naphtha is in excess. Most European
refineries are using the fluid catalytic cracker as a main
conversion unit. The main product of FCC is high octane
gasoline. Europe has the largest diesel market and lower
than typical demand for gasoline. In the 1990s and early
2000s, insufficient refining capacity in the US created a
great market for European export refineries. The US
now has sufficient refining capacity. Together with the
economic recession and an aging population, this has
forced a series of refinery closures in Europe that is still
ongoing today. Coastal export refineries are hit harder
than landlocked refineries that supply fuels for a specific
area. But the European surplus of naphtha forces many
local refiners to reposition themselves from motor fuels
oriented towards petrochemical production.
The need for high octane fuels: alkylate
Two different elements of environmental legislation are
creating a shortage of octane. The introduction of Tier
III regulations for gasoline reduces the maximum sul-
phur content from 30 to 10 ppm. This change is phased
in were refiners can use credits earned previously. Most
of the sulphur in the motor pool gasoline comes from
FCC gasoline. Lower gasoline sulphur content can be
achieved by hydrotreating of the FCC feedstock or of
the product FCC gasoline, or both. This comes at the
expense of octane. Reformate and alkylate are the blend
components with the highest octane. Maximum con-
centrations of aromatics in gasoline limit the amount of
reformate that can be blended in. Alkylate is the blend-
stock of choice for gasoline, as it is high octane and
low sulphur. Alkylate consists of isobutane that is cou-
130 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com
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pled with an olefin. Typically, only butylenes are used
to create alkylate as this gives the highest octane (iso-
octane). Propylene increases the acid consumption and
increases the risk of polymerisation. The high demand
for alkylate has spurred the development by technology
providers of alkylation units that can produce alkylate
with amylenes as feedstock.
The new steam cracker diet
The US shale gas revolution has aggressively driven
down natural gas prices. But an important by-product
is natural gas liquids: ethane and propane. These natu-
ral gas liquids are the cheapest feed possible for steam
crackers. These cheapest feeds are superior to standard
steam cracker feedstocks, as they exhibit extremely high
ethylene selectivities. Ethylene yields increase from
around 25-35% for heavier feedstocks to nearly 80%
when ethane is used as feed, and ethylene is the most
valuable of the whole product slate. In the US, all crack-
ers are using ethane as feed or as an important part of
propylene, butadiene and aromatics by steam crackers.
Also, in Europe, steam crackers are starting to change
their diet, as the first cargoes from Marcus Hook,
PA, and Morgans Point, TX, have arrived already in
Europe.
Light end conversion unit
Market trends show that on one hand there is a surplus
of gasoline, and on the other a very noticeable decrease
in supply of propylene and aromatics by steam crack-
ers. Converting naphthas such as light straight run into
light olefins is a substantial upgrade in value. The only
unit that is capable of doing this currently is a steam
cracker. For this purpose, a new unit has been devel-
oped: the Gasolfin unit
Olefinic naphthas are easy to crack; paraffinic naph-
thas are barely changed except for when extreme tem-
peratures are used, such as in steam cracking. Various
naphtha range molecules are easy to crack: olefins
and naphthenes crack readily over acid sites. Via pro-
ton addition olefins can form a carbenium ion, which
cracks readily. Naphthenes can undergo ring opening
reactions over acid sites, forming an olefin. Except for
modifications of sidechains and condensation reac-
tions, there are no pathways that can convert aromat-
ics at low pressure conditions. It is quite challenging
to crack naphtha range paraffins. Where it is possible
to crack relatively large, and preferably straight chain
paraffins, cracking small paraffins with occasional
branching is a challenge. Carbonium ion chemistry
is required to crack paraffins. This type of chemistry
is observed in super acid cracking, and does not fre-
quently occur over materials that are stable enough to
withstand process conditions suitable to crack the rest
of the naphtha. To facilitate the cracking of all parts
of the gasoline, a catalytic system is developed that
allows for dehydrogenation of a paraffin into an olefin
that can be readily cracked. The catalyst that catalyses
the dehydrogenation reaction can also catalyse aro-
matics formation.
12/06/2017 14:18
 The naphtha conversion process consists of a feed
pretreat (mostly an aromatic extraction unit, poten-
tially a Merox unit to remove mercaptans), the naph-
tha conversion block consisting of simulated moving
bed reactors, and a product rectication section. The
process operates with a recycle. Depending on process
operating conditions, product selectivities can be tuned
to maximum olens, maximum aromatics, or a mix of
these products. As the layout of the process is simple,
making use of only proven and established unit oper-
ations (the catalytic system is novel), the total installed
costs for a 10 000 b/d (barrel per day) unit is approxi-
mately $100 million, approximately 10% of the costs of
a steam cracker.
Conclusions
In Europe, there is a need to address the naphtha sur-
plus and a shift to petrochemicals to prevent another
wave of renery closures. This means also that there is
limited possibilities for investment so new processes
have to be relatively cheap. In the US, there is a glut
of light straight run that cannot practically be dealt
with effectively in existing renery congurations.
Separately, there is a need for octane due to changes in
fuel specications. There is a need for a light ends con-
version unit.
Inovacat
For more information: hvandenbold@inovacat.com
Ultrasonic level measurement
replaces tuning fork
Ultrasonic level measurement is a technology that can
be used as an alternative to the traditional tuning fork
or vibration technologies in liquid level applications.
Ultrasonic contact level technology uses high frequency
sound waves that are easily transmitted across a trans-
ducer gap in the presence of a liquid media, but are
attenuated when the gap is dry.
One of the worlds leading oil and gas companies
needed a reliable low level alarm in a propane strip-
per. Its renery had been using tuning fork or vibration
technology, but this technology failed due to the low
density of the liquid propane (429 kg/m3 or 0.429 SG).
Magnetrol proposed its Echotel Model 961, an ultra-
sonic level measurement technology that is immune to
low or changing density without the need for calibra-
tion or reconguration. It operates independent of vary-
ing density, dielectric, and thermal conductivity.
The 961 allows for reduced wiring costs by providing
an alternative to relays. It is a two wire, loop powered
device with a current output. The current output shifts
from 8 mA during normal operation to 16 mA upon
level alarm. If a fault condition or failure occurs, the
current will go low or high per NAMUR NE 43. A fail-
ure can be simulated as well through a manual self-test
that is available from the bezel. As a result, plant per-
sonnel receive unparalleled visibility into the operation

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 of the 961 to prevent undetected level alarms, thereby
increasing the efficiencies and safety of the refinery.
Included in the safety requirements of the refinery
was the need for Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 2 rated
devices. Both the single point 961 and the dual point
962 are suitable for use in SIL 2 loops. The 961/962 has
unique diagnostics to assist in troubleshooting should
a failure occur. Aside from the manual self-test, the
microprocessor in the electronics continuously monitors
all self-test data. Should a fault occur, the microproces-
sor can determine whether the malfunction is due to
the electronics, transducer, or the presence of environ-
mental noise. The primary sensors in the transducer are
the crystals and they are continuously monitored. For
accessibility, safety, and ease of use, the electronics can
optionally be remote mounted from the transducer.
The performance of the Magnetrol Echotel 961 in the
low density propane stripper has opened the door for
other ultrasonic opportunities, such as level detection of
sour water in an acid gas knockout drum.
Magnetrol
For more information: info@magnetrol.com
Shutdown valves for safe
petrochemicals production
A recent Metso valve delivery to the petrochemical
industry consisted of 400 emergency shutdown (ESD)
valves for an ethylene cracker. This is part of a new
complex that will process light ends produced in the
companys refinery and its aromatics plant, as well
as optimising natural gas liquids (NGLs) production
extracted from currently available natural gas supplies.
The delivery includes metal seated ESD valves rang-
ing in size from 6-40in. ESD valves are a vital part of
a safety instrumented system (SIS). The valves are
equipped with Neles ValvGuard intelligent safety sole-
noid valves, which can monitor valve condition, per-
form online testing and automatic reporting, and enable
need based maintenance. Furthermore, to guarantee
flawless installation, commissioning and operation, the
contract also includes optional customer site training
and maintenance services for the new plant. The valves
will be delivered at the beginning of 2018.
This is a continuation of Metsos presence at the site,
at a complex where safety and quality cannot be com-
promised under any circumstances. Earlier in 2015,
Metso had also been selected as a supplier of ESD
valves equipped with ValvGuard intelligent solenoid
valves as well as control valves for the extension project
of the companys refinery.
Metsos ESD valves were chosen to ensure that all
safety actions can be implemented reliably on demand,
if needed, because of their ability to perform par-
tial valve stroke tests on a regular basis. This verifies
performance for the plants predictive maintenance
purposes as well as maintaining the required safety
integrity level (SIL) for the safety loops. The high pneu-
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matic capacity and integrated limit switches of Neles
ValvGuard optimise installation costs for any plant.
This allows refineries to take advantage of improved
plant safety in a highly cost-efficient way.
Neles ValvGuard is fully compatible with the
Foundation Fieldbus communication protocol and it
ensures safe and reliable operation with third-party
and Metso valves. Foundation Fieldbus enables the
best possible life-cycle savings for the refinery due to
some of the protocols key benefits, including predictive
maintenance capability and seamless data integration
into the operational displays of their DCS system.
Metso valves provide optimised performance and
reliability in demanding processes. They ensure reli-
able and safe operation that results in fewer produc-
tion interruptions and less downtime, longer uptime
between maintenance shutdowns, and compliance with
environmental regulations and safety legislation.
A selection of control valves, from globe, top entry
rotary, triple eccentric disc, eccentric rotary plug and
segment valves, gives engineering companies the pos-
sibility to meet various end user specifications and
flow conditions while keeping the project costs under
control. This can be ensured with valves for most pet-
rochemical applications, ranging from general to
severe service, and from low to high temperatures and
pressures. SIL rated, field proven automated ball and
butterfly valves ensure that the processes can be com-
missioned, started up and operated safely between the
scheduled maintenance turnarounds.
Metso has been selected for more than 500 refining
and petrochemical projects as a supplier of control,
on-off and safety valves globally, and is a leading sup-
plier of intelligent valve controllers.
Metso
For more information: heikki.voutilainen@metso.com
High speed bitumen forming
The installation of a Sandvik Rotoform granulation
system has given leading North African waterproof
materials manufacturer Etanchal Algeria the ability
to convert molten bitumen into pastille form for easy
packing in 25 kg bags, enabling the company to supply
oxidised bitumen to customers outside Algeria.
Bitumen is one of the key components of the compa-
nys waterproof membrane products, used for appli-
cations such as roofing, basements, tunnels, reservoirs
and underground car parks. With molten bitumen
arriving from a nearby refinery at a rate of up to two
tonnes an hour, Etanchal needs a reliable, high capacity
solidification solution. As a supplier of bitumen form-
ing systems for many years, Sandvik was invited to
tender.
The product to be handled is oxidised bitumen 85/25
with 20% calcium carbonate, a material with a softening
range of between 80-90C. The required capacity is 2000
kg/h and Etanchal needs to be able to automate pack-
aging into 25 kg bags.
12/06/2017 11:35
 Sandvik offered two potential solutions: a high out-
put block forming process, and the purpose designed
Rotoform HT (high temperature) granulation system.
Etanchal decided on Rotoform pastillation for a num-
ber of reasons, primarily speed the system delivers
fast, controlled cooling from liquid to solid in 1.4 min-
utes and a 100% quality, consistently sized end prod-
uct. Such is the uniformity of the end product average
size is 8 x 2.8 mm and average weight is 0.13 g that no
screening, recycling or remelting is required. The con-
stant bulk density of the pastilles also ensures precise
dosing for packaging into 25 kg PEBD bags.
Other benefits include reliability and productivity,
and an automated cooling process that enables produc-
tion to continue 24 hours a day without supervision.
The Rotoform process is designed to deliver environ-
mentally friendly production all emissions within
legal limits.
Sandviks bitumen granulation process combines a
Rotoform drop depositor with continuously running
steel belt, cooled from the underside by spraying water
through nozzles.
The pastillation process starts with pumps that sup-
ply the liquid bitumen at a feed temperature of 150C to
the Rotoform. This consists of a heated, cylindrical sta-
tor and a perforated rotating shell that turns concentri-
cally around the stator, depositing bitumen in the form
of consistently sized droplets across the full width of a
1500 mm wide steel belt. The circumferential speed of
the Rotoform is synchronised with the speed of the steel
belt cooler so the drops are deposited without defor-
mation, producing regular pastilles with an optimum
shape.
Just ahead of the depositor, a spray system applies a
release agent consisting of 20% liquid soap in water to
ensure easy release of the solid pastilles at the discharge
end.
The heat of the pastilles is transferred to cooling
water sprayed against the underside of the steel belt
as they are transported through the system, result-
ing in controlled solidification. Total cooler length is
27.5m and the belt runs at 19.6 m/min; such is the ther-
mal conductivity of the steel belt that the bitumen is
solidified in less than 90 seconds. This rapid cooling
time means that very little vapour or gas can get into the
atmosphere and little oxygen can penetrate the product.
The cooling water drops into collecting tanks below
the belt, and is returned to the re-cooling plant. At no
stage can the cooling water come into contact with the
bitumen, ensuring no risk of cross-contamination. This
closed circuit also means that no water is consumed so
there is no need for waste water treatment.
At the cooler end, the formed pastilles now at a
constant discharge temperature of 20C or less are
removed by means of a knife and pass via a chute to a
collecting belt for bagging (see Figure 1).
Other benefits of the system include low energy con-
sumption; minimal cleaning requirements (as little
as one or two hours a week); and low production and
maintenance costs. Rotoform is installed on a single
floor.
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Figure 1 Pastilles leaving a Rotoform belt
The Sandvik Rotoform HT granulation system deliv-
ers a continuous processing solution that enables
Etanchal to solidify up to two tonnes of molten bitumen
every hour. The Rotoform pastille offers a number of
advantages in terms of its handling qualities. Granules
are of a highly uniform shape and size, making them
ideal for dosing into 25 kg bags, and their high stability
means virtually no dust is produced. Their predictable,
high bulk density means better packing properties com-
pared with flakes, and their free flowing form makes
them ideal for blending, storage and further processing.
Sandvik Process Systems
For more information: birgit.rossa@sandvik.com
Coke protection eliminates skim
For refiners operating a hydrotreating unit, the goal
is twofold: minimal downtime and maximum profit-
ability. While the focus of a catalyst vendor is usually
on catalyst activity, smooth operation depends on a
comprehensive solution that integrates feedstock puri-
fication. Reducing downtime and increasing profitabil-
ity means removing particles and poisons that hinder
throughput and disrupt performance.
Running thermally cracked feed from a coker or an
FCC can create a unique set of problems that limit cycle
length. Foulants in these streams take many forms that
can compromise a reactor in different ways. To protect
the catalyst bed and ensure reactor uptime, a refiner
must target these foulants with a carefully designed col-
lection system.
A major Gulf Coast refinery had set a goal of a
24-month production cycle, but had to shut down
for a skim after just a few weeks on the system rec-
ommended by the catalyst vendor. Rapidly climbing
pressure drop was quickly leading to a second skim,
making a two-year run seem like an impossible chal-
lenge. The refinery brought in Crystaphase to diagnose
the issue and suggest a more effective approach.
Technicians began analysing samples from the first
skim and recommended loading CatTrap as an interim
solution during the imminent second skim. While the
CatTrap system tamed the pressure drop right away,
12/06/2017 11:35

Figure 1 Coke polymerisation as seen under a scanning electron
microscope reveals to analysts in the Crystaphase foulants lab the
cause of rapidly rising pressure drop
Crystaphase studied the samples from both skims more
closely to determine the root cause of the pressure drop.
The results of that analysis were used to develop a col-
lection system that would put the desired 24-month run
back within the renerys reach.
The analysis identied coke as the primary foulant.
Coke is frequently found in post mortem analysis and
has two common sources. The most common is from
upstream heat exchangers or furnaces. Less common,
but much more problematic, is when soluble coke pre-
cursor compounds from the thermal cracking process
react with the active sites on the catalyst and polymer-
ise, generating coke within the main bed itself, where it
is too late for an inert ltration system to catch it.
Studying the morphology of the foulant under a
scanning electron microscope, Crystaphase observed
a smooth accumulation pattern consistent with coke
polymerisation, which indicated the second case was
the issue (see Figure 1).
Being able to characterise the morphology and deter-
mine where the coke was being generated was the key
to understanding the nature of the problem. Having a
material that could combat its precursors was the key to
solving it.
Many reners use active rings to try to deal with pre-
cipitable foulants, but they nd rings lack the capacity
to handle an acute problem like the one this renery
faced. Rings may tackle polymer precursors, but they
still promote crust layer formation, which changes the
cause of pressure drop but does not eliminate it. This
is why Crystaphase developed ActiPhase, rst to react
with these precursors and then, utilising CatTrap tech-
nology, to lter the resulting particles.
The rener had data from a comprehensive analy-
sis, and Crystaphase had ActiPhase material ready to
install. Pressure drop was beginning to rise again on
134 PTQ Q3 2017
tia copy 3.indd 8
120
Macroporous multilobe extrudate
pressure drop,
100 Macroporous multilobe extrudate
Normalised
80 CatTrap
bar
60 ActiPhase
40
20
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Days on oil
Figure 2 Twice, rising pressure drop prompted two skims of the
catalyst vendors macroporous material. A CatTrap based system
then brought dP under control, while Crystaphase developed
an ActiPhase system to eliminate pressure drop build for the
remainder of the cycle. The run was cut short only by an upset
elsewhere in the refinery
the interim solution, so it was time to put the optimised
plan into action.
The ActiPhase ltration system nally helped this
rener reach its cycle length goal, nishing out the
remainder of the 24-month cycle with pressure drop
at last under control. Not only that, but the optimised
loading improved ltration capacity signicantly. An
upstream upset abruptly brought down the whole
unit, but the reactor was on track to run for yet another
24 months, doubling the predicted cycle length (see
Figure 2).
Crystaphase
For more information: optimization@crystaphase.com
Compressor control adds efficiency
and safety
Standalone and outdated turbine and compressor con-
trols were leading to many inefciencies for a Fertiliser
company in Asia Pacic. Challenges they were living
with included: slow surge control response times, poor
coordination between turbines and compressors result-
ing in excess energy waste, and a high safety risk to site
personnel and machinery due to unreliable and incon-
sistent trip speeds.
The customer utilised Compressor Controls
Corporations (CCC) Total Train Control solution with
integrated turbine and compressor controls and added
a Guardian OverSpeed Prevention (GOSP) system.
Advanced surge controls improved the surge con-
trol response time, which optimised the surge con-
trol margin and has minimised blowoffs. With a Total
Train Control integration strategy, the turbines accu-
rately matched the power demand of the compres-
sor and eliminated excess energy waste. Coupled
with improved surge control, CCC saves the user
roughly $210 000 each year. The GOSP solution greatly
improved turbine operation safety and safeguarded site
personnel and machines by providing reliable, repeat-
able, and consistent trip speed.
Compressor Controls Corporation
For more information: ehoop@cccglobal.com
www.eptq.com
12/06/2017 11:35
 THE SUMMIT

A NEW NAME, A NEW MEETING,

A NEW ERA OF INNOVATION

OPERATIONS & PROCESS

TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT
FORMERLY Q&A AND TECHNOLOGY FORUM
CELEBRATING 70 YEARS!

JW MARRIOTT AUSTIN AUSTIN, TEXAS OCTOBER 2 4, 2017

Q&A SESSIONS PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES (P&P) SESSIONS

OPERATIONAL PLANNING, CONTROL AND AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES (OPCAT) SESSIONS
CYBERSECURITY SESSIONS TABLETOP EXHIBITION

AFPM.ORG/CONFERENCES

afpm.indd 1 13/06/2017 11:34

 Alphabetical list of advertisers

ACHEMA 2018 129 ITW Technologies 95 & 125

AFPM Operations & Process John Zink Hamworthy Combustion 79
Technology Summit 135 Johnson Matthey Process Technologies 23
Albemarle Catalysts Company 2 Johnson Screens 115
AltairStrickland 117 Jonell Filtration Group 85
Ariel Corporation 45 Krishna Antioxidants 63
Asian Downstream Summit 2017 126 Latin America Refining
Axens OBC Technology Conference IBC
BASF Corporation, Catalysts Division IFC Magnetrol International 105
Bhmer 67 Metso Flow Control 42
Boldrocchi 35 Nalco Champion 76
Bryan Research & Engineering 98 Neste Jacobs 51
Burckhardt Compression 29 OHL Guttermuth 69
Chevron Lummus Global 7 Port of Amsterdam 131
Compressor Controls Corporation 46 Process Consulting Services 14 & 88
CRI International 118 Prognost Systems 36
Criterion Catalyst & Technologies 4 Rentech Boiler Systems 32
Crystaphase Products 25 Rezel Catalytic Technologies 52
DuPont Clean Technologies 57 Sabin Metal Corporation 82
ExxonMobil 31 Sandvik Process Systems 108
GEA Group 68 Shell Global Solutions 26
Grabner Instruments 75 Silobau Thorwesten 107
Haldor Topse 10 Spraying Systems 70
HarbisonWalker International 9 Sulzer Chemtech 17
Heat Transfer Research Institute 87 Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia 123
Hoerbiger Kompressortechnik Holding 39 W R Grace & Co 64
Honeywell UOP 20 WEKA 41
Inovacat 13 Zwick Armaturen 102

For more information on these advertisers, go to eptq.com/advertisers.aspx

136 PTQ Q3 2017 www.eptq.com

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