May 2017

the Future of Change Management

Intergraph® SmartPlant® Enterprise Facilitating
Change Management Challenges
 Uniformance® Asset Sentinel is a unique solution
in the process industry—it provides a sentinel to
Monitor Plant Performance continuously monitor equipment and process health,

and Equipment Health. enabling industrial facilities to predict

and prevent asset failures and poor
operational performance.

For more information, please visit

Uniformance.com/AssetSentinel
Connected Plant ©2017 Honeywell International Inc.
 CONTENTS
May 2017 Volume 22 Number 05 ISSN 1468-9340
03 Comment 51 Protective spray
Stuart Milton, Metallisation Ltd, UK, explains how thermal sprayed
05 Guest Comment aluminium coatings can help to protect vital equipment against corrosion.
07 World News 155 Out of this world
14 Quick to adapt Stephen Karns, HarbisonWalker International, USA, discusses how
Currently, lots of changes are occurring in the North American refining petrochemical reformer efficiency can be improved with high emissivity
sector. Contributing Editor, Gordon Cope, examines how US Gulf Coast coatings that were originally designed for rocket nozzles.
refiners are making the most of them. 59 Rediscovering rupture discs
19 Bidding to innovate Orhan Karagöz, Rembe, Turkey, examines the isolation and protection
Jim Ondyak, Dorf Ketal, USA, discusses how companies can change of safety valves using rupture discs on the upstream and downstream
suppliers between bidding events, taking advantage of technical connections.
innovation and boosting profitability. 63 Unconventional thinking pays off
25 Lean and mean Volker Becker, MAN PrimeServ (MAN Diesel & Turbo), Germany, discusses
Marina Ivanova and Matt Adams, Douglas-Westwood, UK, an equipment turnaround and upgrading case study for a refinery in
explain why a leaner downstream maintenance market is experiencing Romania.
renewed activity. 68 Getting creative
28 The devil is in the detail Sean Phillips, FS-Elliott, USA, reviews the commissioning of a customised
Valentin Kotlomin and Ekaterina Kalinenko, Euro Petroleum Consultants, compressed air solution for a Middle Eastern oil refinery, and the
Russia, examine the thought process behind a development programme recommendations for reducing project and maintenance costs while
created for a refinery upgrade. increasing system efficiency.
32 The challenge of change 73 What to expect
Rainer Pittnauer, Intergraph® Process Power & Marine, Austria, discusses Fernando Romero and Matt Walton, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
the challenge of change management, and how modern engineering Compressor International, USA, examine the effects of impeller
technology can assist. manufacturing tolerances on compressor efficiency.
37 Reliability is king 79 A delicate task
Philip McCusker, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, UK, explains how Massimiliano Di Febo and Pasquale Paganini, IPC, Italy, discuss how
advanced data analytics has helped gas processing plants improve advanced software can assist operators in achieving highly accurate
reliability and maximise operating efficiency. compressor performance predictions.
41 Mindful maintenance 84 A renewed interest
Jake Davies, Emerson Automation Solutions, Permasense Technologies, Ben Williams, Ariel Corporation, outlines the important role that
explains how monitoring corrosion in a sour water stripping unit enables reciprocating compressors play in renewable hydrocarbon diesel facilities.
a refinery to plan maintenance activities, avoiding unplanned outages and 189 Competitive edge
increasing availability and reliability. Greg Brumfield and Tony Slapikas, AMETEK Process Instruments, USA,
45 Environmentally minded outline how mass spectrometry determines flare gas heat values.
Dr. Wolfgang Hater, Christian zum Kolk and Ingo Königs, Kurita 193 Fast and precise
Europe GmbH, Germany, discuss the growing movement towards Thomas Knight, Orbital Gas Systems, USA, examines an option for
environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors that are zinc-free and providing continuous LNG sampling, vaporisation, conditioning and
contain minimum amounts of phosphorous. analysis on LNG applications.
198 LNG on the rise in Russia
Inessa Shahnazarova and Ekaterina Vankova, Vostock Capital, Russia,
present the findings of a recent study into the latest developments in the
Russian LNG industry.
104 15 facts
This month we give you 15 facts about refining!

THIS “Change is the only constant” said ancient

MONTH'S
philosopher Heraclitus, over 2000 years ago. Still
today, many owner operators (OOs) struggle with
change and how to manage it efficiently. Rainer

FRONT Pittnauer of Intergraph® Process, Power & Marine

discusses the challenge of change management,

COVER
and how modern engineering technology can help
in this issue on p. 32.

JOIN THE
2017 Member of ABC Audit Bureau of Circulations
©
Copyright Palladian Publications Ltd 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

CONVERSATION
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
follow connect like join prior permission of the copyright owner. All views expressed in this journal are those of the respective contributors and are not
@HydrocarbonEng Hydrocarbon Hydrocarbon Hydrocarbon necessarily the opinions of the publisher, neither do the publishers endorse any of the claims made in the articles or the
Engineering Engineering Engineering advertisements. Printed in the UK. Uncaptioned images courtesy of www.shutterstock.com.
THINK SULPHUR THINK SANDVIK
We design, manufacture and
commission equipment for every
aspect of sulphur processing, from
upstream handling and a range of
granulation options to downstream
conveying, storage and bulk loading.

Q Engineering & consulting

Q (ƯFLHQWVXOSKXUGHJDVVLQJ

Q Premium Rotoform® pastillation

Q High capacity granulation

Q High performance remelting

Q Handling, storage and loading

Q Global service and spare parts

A WORLD LEADER IN SULPHUR PROCESSING AND HANDLING

Sandvik Process Systems,

Division of Sandvik Materials Technology Deutschland GmbH, Salierstr. 35, 70736 Fellbach, Germany
Tel: +49 711 5105-0 · Fax: +49 711 5105-152 · info.spsde@sandvik.com · www.processsystems.sandvik.com

CONTACT INFO
MANAGING EDITOR James Little
james.little@hydrocarbonengineering.com
EDITOR Callum O'Reilly
callum.oreilly@hydrocarbonengineering.com
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Francesca Brindle
francesca.brindle@hydrocarbonengineering.com
ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Rod Hardy
rod.hardy@hydrocarbonengineering.com
ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Chris Atkin
chris.atkin@hydrocarbonengineering.com
ADVERTISEMENT EXECUTIVE Will Powell
will.powell@hydrocarbonengineering.com
ADVERTISEMENT EXECUTIVE David Ramsden
david.ramsden@hydrocarbonengineering.com
ADVERTISEMENT EXECUTIVE Dmitry Oleynik
dmitry.oleynik@hydrocarbonengineering.com
DIGITAL ASSISTANT EDITOR Angharad Lock
angharad.lock@hydrocarbonengineering.com
PRODUCTION Ben Munro
ben.munro@hydrocarbonengineering.com
WEB MANAGER Tom Fullerton
tom.fullerton@hydrocarbonengineering.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS Laura White
laura.white@hydrocarbonengineering.com
ADMINISTRATION Nicola Fuller
nicola.fuller@hydrocarbonengineering.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Nancy Yamaguchi Gordon Cope
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Annual subscription £110 UK including postage
/£125 overseas (postage airmail).
Two year discounted rate £176 UK
including postage/£200 overseas (postage airmail).
SUBSCRIPTION CLAIMS
Claims for non receipt of issues must be made within 3 months of
publication of the issue or they will not be honoured without charge.
APPLICABLE ONLY TO USA & CANADA
Hydrocarbon Engineering (ISSN No: 1468-9340, USPS No: 020-998) is
published monthly by Palladian Publications Ltd GBR and distributed
in the USA by Asendia USA, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831.
Periodicals postage paid New Brunswick, NJ and additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING, 701C Ashland Ave, Folcroft PA 19032
15 South Street, Farnham, Surrey
GU9 7QU, ENGLAND
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 718 999
Fax: +44 (0) 1252 718 992
COMMENT
CALLUM O'REILLY
EDITOR
B
ack in March, I had the pleasure of
attending the 115th American Fuel &
Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM)
Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas,
US. While it’s safe to say that the global oil and
gas industry is currently in a state of flux, the
atmosphere at the Annual Meeting was largely optimistic. The Trump administration’s
‘America First Energy Plan’ seems to have filled the US petroleum refining and
petrochemical manufacturing industries with a degree of hope for the future. You
can get a good sense of this optimism by simply turning to the next page of this
magazine. In an exclusive Guest Comment for Hydrocarbon Engineering, the President
and CEO of the AFPM, Chet Thompson, offers his insight into the current state
of the US market and the AFPM’s expectations for the future under a Republican
government.
Although an air of quiet optimism may be resonating from the US downstream
sector at the moment, the industry is fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
In his Guest Comment, Mr Thompson is quick to mention the proposed Border
Adjustment Tax provision, which is continuing to cause concern for refiners,
particularly those serving the domestic market.
Compounding these concerns, an analyst with Wood Mackenzie believes that
US gasoline demand is nearing its peak, and is set to decline in the long-term due to
“stringent fuel efficiency standards and shifting demographics.”1 Speaking at the AFPM
Annual Meeting, Andrew Shepard forecast that US gasoline demand would decline by
over 1.5 million bpd by 2030, which will move the country closer to a gasoline surplus.
Shepard contends that US refiners will need to start looking for new export markets
beside Mexico and Latin America, with Asia Pacific offering an attractive option. He
believes that US Gulf Coast refiners will be competitive enough to ship into Asia,
although exporting into this market could bring down gasoline prices.
However, Wood Mackenzie holds that the situation will be more complicated for
refiners in the Midwest and East Coast. As demand declines, PADD II is set to move
into a gasoline surplus. Shepard argues that the outlet for this surplus will be key
to the fortunes of Midwest refiners: “If PADD II must push into PADD III to clear the
surplus, Midwest gasoline pricing would be severely depressed […] To avoid drastic
shutdowns, Midwest refiners must gain increased access to the higher-priced PADD I
market.” East Coast refineries, which are already at a disadvantage as they have to pay
for imports, face an uphill battle. Shepard believes that approximately half of refining
capacity on the East Coast will be shut down in the forecast period, as gasoline prices
decline across the Atlantic Basin in the wake of new exports from the US Gulf Coast.
However, he warns that even more East Coast capacity could be at risk if competition
from PADD II is greater than expected or if new capacity is added from PADD III.
In this issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering, Contributing Editor, Gordon Cope,
examines the opportunities and challenges for refiners on the US Gulf Coast (p. 14).
And in the build up to the AFPM’s Reliability & Maintenance Conference & Exhibition,
this issue includes a number of articles looking at the downstream maintenance
market, plant upgrades and asset integrity.
1. SHEPARD, A., 'What happens to US refineries when demand declines', Wood Mackenzie,
presented at the AFPM Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, US (March 2017), https://www.
woodmac.com/reports/refining-and-oil-products-what-happens-to-us-refineries-when-demand-
declines-46278045
 EXPERTS IN TREATING YOUR FUEL
FROM THE REFINERY TO THE ENGINE
Corrosion
Cold Flow Inhibitors Diesel
Improvers Detergents

Cetane Gasoline
Improvers Detergents

Biocides H2S Scavengers

Antioxidants Heating Oil

Additives

Fully Synthetic
Lubricity Marine and
Improvers Power HFO

A GLOBAL MANUFACTURER Additives

Static OF FUEL ADDITIVES Metal

Dissipator Deactivators
Additives

Petroleum
Stabilizers and Dyes and
Dispersants Renewable
Markers
Fuel Additives

From the processing, blending, treatment, storage and distribution of fuel, through to maximizing engine performance
for end-user applications, we understand fuel treatment. Our market-leading products improve fuel performance,
generate value and help achieve refinery specifications and terminal compliance. Put your trust in our expertise. We have
the capability to deliver proven technologies, flexible solutions and world-class customer service around the globe.

Call (800) 441 9547 or visit www.innospecinc.com

ANTIOXIDANTS • BIOCIDES • CONDUCTIVITY IMPROVERS • CORROSION INHIBITORS • COLDFLOW IMPROVERS • CETANE NUMBER IMPROVER • DE-ICERS •
DYES & MARKERS • FUEL OIL ADDITIVES • HOME HEATING ADDITIVES • HPCR & PERFORMANCE • LUBRICITY IMPROVERS • MARINE FUEL ADDITIVES
 GUEST COMMENT
CHET THOMPSON
PRESIDENT & CEO, AMERICAN FUEL & PETROCHEMICAL
MANUFACTURERS (AFPM)

W
hat a difference a year makes. From With the goal of
a change in administration to a new improving public
Congress, the petroleum refining and infrastructure and
petrochemical manufacturing industries lifting restrictions
have every reason to be optimistic. – sound energy
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) policies can finally
predicts that through the middle of the 21 st Century, be put back on the table.
petroleum products will continue to supply more In addition, Congress has taken crucial steps to
than a third of US energy demand – and more than rollback aggressive regulations. The Midnight Relief
40% of global energy demand. US refineries are Act, the REINS Act, and the Regulatory Accountability
among the most competitive Act will bring back faith
in the world. They supplied in the US economy.
more than 225 billion gal. of President Trump’s freeze on
transportation, heating, and new or pending regulations
other fuels to consumers in The AFPM supports will scale back years of a
the US, as well as in Latin comprehensive tax regulatory legacy that put
America, Europe, Africa and our security and prosperity
Asia. The rapid growth in oil reform, but refiners second. The REINS Act will
production creates thousands are concerned that a require agencies to get
of high-paying jobs and Congressional and Executive
decreases the US’ dependency border-adjusted approval before enacting
on foreign supplies. tax could have ‘major rules’. In simple terms,
A decade ago, we it will ensure that large
imported 12.4 million bpd of considerable actions taken by agencies
crude and refined products. In impacts on the are responsible, fair, and
2016, that number was slashed economically sound.
to only 4.8 billion bpd – the industry, consumers Along with regulatory
lowest since 1985. In fact, in and the economy. reform, it is time that
the latter part of 2016, for the the government executes
first time ever, we exported sensible, pro-growth tax
more crude and refined reform. At the forefront of
products to Latin America this issue is the proposed
than we imported from the region. Border Adjustment Tax provision. The AFPM supports
Simply put, we are the world’s refiner. comprehensive tax reform, but refiners are concerned
While I am hopeful about the state of the that a border-adjusted tax could have considerable
industry, I am also realistic about the work that impacts on the industry, consumers and the economy.
needs to be done to ensure growth continues at the We hope to work closely with the House Ways
current rate. Cutting back on the red tape and abusive and Means Committee to implement the best plan
regulations needs to go hand-in-hand with tax reform forward.
to guarantee that the US oil and gas industries remain At the American Fuel & Petrochemical
competitive, and able to keep up with demand. Manufacturers Association, we are proud to serve
The America First Energy Plan is a primary example the American people. For 115 years, we have made
of how both Congress and the new administration progress possible, and we don’t plan on slowing down
can work to promote business and economic growth. now.

HYDROCARBON 5 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 WORLD NEWS
GE Oil & Gas awarded LNG project
USA |
contract
N extDecade LLC has entered into
an agreement with GE Oil & Gas
to advance its LNG export projects
and associated pipelines in Texas.
GE Oil & Gas has been selected
as the exclusive supplier of gas
turbine and compressor equipment
for the liquefaction trains of the
Rio Grande LNG project and the
associated Rio Bravo Pipeline.
In addition to technology and
services, GE Oil & Gas is providing
NextDecade with a common equity
investment, and is granted the right
Bechtel to deliver petrochemicals
Egypt |
project
B echtel has been awarded two
contracts by Carbon Holdings
of Egypt: one to provide project
management services for the Tahrir
Petrochemicals Complex at
Ain Sokhna, Egypt, and one to build
two new polypropylene units at an
adjacent site. In its project
management role, Bechtel will have
oversight of project execution and
contractor performance on what
will be the largest petrochemicals
complex in Egypt.
Bechtel will also design, build
India | Reliance commissions ethane project
R eliance Industries Ltd has
announced the successful
completion of its ethane project,
including commissioning of its
ethane receipt and handling
facilities and ethane cracking, at its
Dahej Manufacturing Facility in
Gujarat in less than three years.
The project involved seamless
to invest up to a specified amount
in project-level equity and debt
financing for Rio Grande LNG at the
time of final investment decision
(FID).
NextDecade also recently
announced that it had entered into
a definitive merger agreement with
Harmony Merger Corp. The
proposed merger is expected to
close in late 2Q17. Consummation
of the proposed merger will result
in NextDecade becoming a publicly
listed company.
and procure all the equipment and
materials for the polypropylene
production expansion at the
complex's existing Oriental
Petrochemicals site.
Basil El Baz, the Chairman and
CEO of Carbon Holdings, said: "We
are very pleased to be working
with Bechtel. The selection of a
world-class contractor is critical to
ensuring the successful delivery of
a facility as large and as
complicated as Tahrir
Petrochemicals."
integration of several elements
across a complex infrastructure
value chain. This includes securing
ethane refrigeration capacity in
the US Gulf Coast; delivery of
dedicated very large ethane
carriers (VLECs) to carry ethane
from the US Gulf Coast to the
West Coast of India; construction
Williams
USA |
Partners to sell
interests in Geismar
olefins facility
W illiams Partners L.P. has agreed
to sell 100% of its membership
interest in Williams Olefins LLC,
which owns an 88.46% undivided
ownership interest in the Geismar,
Louisiana, olefins plant and associated
complex, to NOVA Chemicals for
US$2.1 billion in cash, subject to
customary closing conditions.
Upon closing of the transaction,
Williams Partners' subsidiaries will
enter into long-term supply and
transportation agreements with NOVA
Chemicals to provide feedstock to the
Geismar olefins plant via Williams
Partners’ Bayou ethane pipeline system
in the US Gulf Coast.
These agreements secure a
meaningful long-term fee-based
revenue stream for the partnership.
Williams Partners plans to use the
cash proceeds from the Williams
Olefins transaction to pay off its
US$850 million term loan and to fund
a portion of the capital and
investment expenditures that are a
part of the partnership’s extensive
growth portfolio. Williams expects
that for federal tax purposes, any
taxable gain generated from the
transaction will be sheltered by its
net operating loss carry-forwards.
of ethane receipt and handling
facilities; laying pipelines and
upgrading crackers (to receive
ethane) at its Dahej, Hazira and
Nagothane manufacturing
facilities.
The execution of this project at
this scale and magnitude is a world
first.
HYDROCARBON 7 May 2017
ENGINEERING

IN BRIEF

OMV has announced that it has
invested approximately €110 million
for a planned turnaround at
the petrochemical units of its
Schwechat refinery. There will
be a comprehensive, routine
safety inspection, carried out in
cooperation with TÜV Österreich.
This turnaround is mandatory and
is held once every six years. The
2017 turnaround will take place in
parallel with the turnaround at the
neighbouring Borealis plant.

Vopak and Exmar have released a
joint statement confirming that
Vopak will not be pursuing its
proposed acquisition of Exmar's
participation in floating storage
regasification unit (FSRU) assets.
The two companies previously
announced a conditional agreement
on the deal in December 2016.
Finalisation of the deal was subject
to consent and cooperation of
multiple stakeholders.

Fluor Corp. has been selected by
a division of Marathon Petroleum
Corp. to execute the engineering
and procurement scope for a major
reconfiguration at Marathon’s
Galveston Bay and Texas City
refineries. The reconfiguration
will allow the two refineries to
achieve updated US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 3
gasoline sulfur standards. The
scope of the contract includes a
new unit, modernisation of several
existing units, and modifications to
the utilities and offsites to support
the scheduled process changes and
refinery connections.
May 2017 8 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
WORLD NEWS
Air Liquide to supply hydrogen
USA |
purification PSA unit
A ir Liquide Engineering and
Construction will supply a
hydrogen purification pressure swing
adsorption (PSA) unit to one of the
largest methanol production
facilities to be built by Yuhuang
Chemical Inc. (YCI) in St. James Parish,
Louisiana.
Purified hydrogen will enable
higher efficiency of methanol
production, with less natural gas
consumption per ton of methanol.
In 2014, Air Liquide was selected
China | CB&I announces technology award
C
B&I has been awarded a contract
by Zhejiang Petroleum and
Chemical Co. Ltd (ZPC) for the
license and engineering design of a
single train 220 000 tpy diphenyl
carbonate (DPC) unit, based on
Versalis technology, for a refining and
petrochemical complex in China.
CB&I previously announced the
CDAlky® license and two Chevron
Neste Jacobs wins refinery
Czech Republic |
energy study contract
N
este Jacobs has been awarded a
contract to perform a
comprehensive energy efficiency
study of Unipetrol's Litvinov oil
refinery in the Czech Republic.
The energy efficiency study will
be performed by utilising Neste
Jacobs' proprietary NAPCON energy
performance analysis.
The study will review existing
energy consumption and
production within the refinery
process units. This includes
pinch-analysis to identify
opportunities to improve heat
as the technology provider for the
methanol plant. A year later, it was
contracted to supply oxygen for its
world-scale methanol manufacturing
complex. Air Liquide Engineering &
Construction also provides detailed
engineering and procurement
services for the complex.
Construction of the methanol
complex has begun this year, with
the first phase of the methanol
project beginning operations by late
2019.
Lummus Global (CLG) hydrocracking
units for the project. CLG is a joint
venture between Chevron and CB&I.
"CB&I appreciates the
opportunity to provide an additional
technology to ZPC's complex in
China, making it the largest single
train DPC plant in the world," said
Philip K. Asherman, President and
Chief Executive Officer of CB&I.
integration of the process. This is
combined with fired heater
optimisation to maximise the
benefits. The study also includes
waste water optimisation
assessment to minimise the water
usage and recycling of waste water.
Meanwhile, Neste has
announced that it has started to
distribute its Pro Diesel in its
Estonian station network.
Distribution will start with four
stations and will be expanded
throughout May to cover 20 Neste
stations in Estonia.
 COMPLETE SOLUTIONS FOR
YOUR REFINERY CHALLENGES
Today’s Refinery Challenges
ƒ Processing tight oil
ƒ Managing stringent sulfur limits
ƒ Monetizing orphan streams
ƒ Upgrading residuals

CB&I’s Comprehensive Solutions

CB&I’s broad portfolio of both refining and petrochemical technologies,
combined with our execution expertise, will help you maximize processing
flexibility and achieve margin benefits in the widest range of scenarios.

We are with you through every stage of the process plant life cycle, from
feasibility studies to identifying plant optimization and upgrade solutions,
through technology selection, full-scope EPFC, commissioning and start-up.

PROCESS PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

LICENSED TECHNOLOGIES AND CATALYSTS
FULL-SCOPE EPFC SERVICES
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTING
AFTERMARKET SERVICES

A World of Solutions
Visit www.CBI.com
 WORLD NEWS
IN BRIEF

ClearSign has received a follow-on order
from a refinery based in California. The
order follows DuplexTM technology's
successful pilot project. In this project,
ClearSign retrofitted the company's
vertical cylindrical refinery heater
with its technology to comply with air
emissions requirements. After the retrofit,
independent testing conducted by a
third-party confirmed NOX single digit
emissions.

Global Bioenergies has succeeded in
producing isobutene by fermentation at
the scale of the Leuna Demo plant, with
run length and performances exceeding
those performed on the pilot plant in
Pomacle, France. Success in this phase of
the process' scale up was obtained less
than five months after start-up of the
fermentation unit at the Leuna Demo
plant.

Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co.
(ZPC) has awarded and signed contracts
for the engineering, technology license
and proprietary equipment for a MECS®
sulfuric acid regeneration unit, licensed
by DuPont Clean Technologies. ZPC is
constructing a greenfield refinery and
petrochemical project on Dayushan Island.
The US$15 billion project is the largest
privately led project in China’s history, and
will be executed in two phases; the first
coming online in 2018.

The US Department of Energy (DOE)
has signed an order authorising Golden
Pass Products LLC to export up to
2.21 billion ft3/d of LNG to countries that
do not have a free trade agreement (FTA)
with the US. The LNG will be exported
from the company's Golden Pass Terminal
near Sabine Pass, Jefferson County, Texas.
May 2017 10 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
ExxonMobil and SABIC select
USA |
San Patricio County
E xxonMobil Chemical Company
and SABIC have each announced
the selection of a site in San Patricio
County, Texas for potential
development of a jointly owned
petrochemical complex on the US
Gulf Coast.
The proposed multibillion dollar
investment would include a
world-scale ethane steam cracker
capable of producing 1.8 million tpy
of ethylene, which would feed a
monoethylene glycol unit and two
polyethylene units.
Parkland to acquire Chevron
Canada |
Canada's downstream fuel business
P arkland Fuel Corp. has entered
into an agreement with Chevron
Canada Ltd (CCL) to acquire all of the
shares of Chevron Canada R&M ULC,
which operates its Canadian
integrated downstream fuel business.
The acquisition places important
British Columbia (B.C.) infrastructure
under experienced Canadian
ownership.
The business acquired as part of
the acquisition consists of
129 Chevron-branded retail service
stations principally located in Metro
Nikkiso Co. Ltd to acquire Cryogenic
Japan |
Industries
N ikkiso Co. Ltd has agreed to
acquire the business and
trademarks of Cryogenic Industries
Inc. and Cryogenic Industries AG.
The deal will include all of the
company’s operations, including
ACD, Cosmodyne and Cryoquip, as
well as their respective subsidiaries.
The acquisition is expected to
close mid-2017, subject to
The proposed project, one of 11
that ExxonMobil announced as part
of its 10 year, US$20 billion 'Growing
the Gulf' initiative, is expected to
create thousands of jobs during the
construction phase, as well as 600
new, full-time jobs and 3500 indirect
jobs during operations. It is also
expected to generate more than
US$22 billion in economic output
during the construction phase and
more than US$50 billion in economic
output during the first six years of
operations.
Vancouver; 37 commercial cardlock
and three marine fuelling locations;
as well as a complimentary refinery
in Burnaby, terminals located in
Burnaby, Hatch Point, and Port Hardy,
B.C., and a wholesale business that
includes aviation fuel sales to the
Vancouver International Airport.
Subject to satisfaction of
customary closing conditions,
Parkland will pay approximately
CAN$1.46 billion, plus an estimated
CAN$186 million in working capital
for the acquired business.
regulatory approvals.
Cryogenic Industries aligns with
Nikkiso’s philosophy of operating
each of its product companies as a
distinct entity, while utilising the
synergy of service capabilities and
logistics across all product groups.
Cryogenic Industries also adds
additional service centres to
Nikkiso's global service network.
INNOVATION

YORK-EVENFLOW
vane inlet device

Engineered for reliability.

As LNG demand increases, reliability is fundamental to avoid costly unplanned maintenance and production
shortfalls. For compact separators used in the liquefaction section of an LNG plant, feed distribution is a
critical component of the overall separator design.
Implementing the reliable YORK-EVENFLOW vane
inlet device in combination with the DEMISTER-PLUS
mist eliminator provides multiple benefits to your
separations application.
• Integrated support structures increase mechanical strength
and allow installation through vessel manways.
• Multiple welded vane ladders provide greater rigidity.
• Engineered to your specifications for vertical or horizontal
vessels, YORK-EVENFLOW vane inlet devices separate
liquid away from mist eliminators and prevent
re-entrainment of droplets from the sump.
• Applied in a high energy vapor stream entering through
a radial inlet, the YORK-EVENFLOW vane inlet
device decreases the momentum, facilitates the phase
disengagement, and provides good vapor distribution.

No vane inlet device. With YORK-EVENFLOW

vane inlet device.
YOU
OU CAN
YO CAN RE
CA LY ON
RELY ON US.
US.™

United States (316) 828-5110 | Canada (905) 852-3381 | Italy +39-039-6386010 | Singapore +65-6831-6500
For a complete list of our offices, visit our Web site.

www.koch-glitsch.com
For related trademark information, visit http://www.koch-glitsch.com/trademarks.
 WORLD NEWS
DIARY DATES IGU | Growth in LNG supply projects
16 - 19 May
International Downstream Week
T he International Gas Union’s (IGU)
2017 ‘World LNG Report’ notes a
significant growth in LNG supply
commercial operations in Australia
Pacific LNG, among others.
The most pronounced increase in
Dubrovnik, Croatia
projects in 2016, as well as increases in LNG demand comes from Asian
www.europetro.com
demand for LNG as a fuel from new markets, with China’s LNG
and existing markets across the globe. consumption increasing by
23 - 26 May Global LNG trade in 2016 climbed approximately 35% to 27 million tpy.
AFPM Reliability & Maintenance Conference &
5% from 2015 to reach a record Global liquefaction capacity
Exhibition
New Orleans, Louisiana, US
258 million t. This increase is reached 339.7 million tpy in 2016. This
www.afpm.org/conferences noticeable when compared with the growth includes new projects such as
average 0.5% growth rate of the Sabine Pass LNG, as well as Gorgon
previous four years. The IGU LNG and Australia Pacific LNG. Global
12 - 14 June
ILTA 37th International Operating Conference &
attributes the growth to a significant liquefaction capacity is expected to
Trade Show increase in new supply, due largely to grow significantly over the next few
Houston, Texas, US the start of exports from the US Gulf years, with 114.6 million tpy of capacity
www.ilta.org/aocts of Mexico, as well as the start of under construction as of January 2017.

13 - 15 June API | US petroleum demand increases

Global Petroleum Show

T
Calgary, Alberta, Canada he American Petroleum Institute down 1.7% from March 2016 to average
www.globalpetroleumshow.com
(API) reports that total petroleum 9.2 million bpd.
deliveries in March 2017 climbed 0.2% US crude oil production decreased
20 - 21 June on the corresponding period of last 0.2% from March 2016 to average
ERTC: Ask the Experts year to average nearly 19.7 million bpd. 9.2 million bpd. NGL production was
Cologne, Germany
These were the highest March up from the prior month and the prior
asktheexperts.wraconferences.com
deliveries since 2008. first quarter, but was down from the
In 1Q17, total domestic petroleum prior year, averaging 3.4 million bpd.
9 - 13 July deliveries were up 0.4% compared with US total petroleum imports in
22nd World Petroleum Congress
1Q16 to average 19.5 million bpd. March averaged nearly 10 million bpd.
Istanbul, Turkey
www.22wpc.com
Gasoline deliveries in March were Total petroleum imports were down
up from the prior month, but down 3.8% from the prior month, and down
from the prior year, and the prior first 0.1% compared with the prior year.
12- 14 September
quarter. Total motor gasoline deliveries Total petroleum imports were up 4.4%
Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia
Houston, Texas, US
increased 4.3% from February, but were in 1Q17 compared with 1Q16.
tps.tamu.edu
Chinese crude imports from non-OPEC
EIA |
17 - 19 September
Abu Dhabi International Downstream Summit countries
Abu Dhabi, UAE
adid.wraconferences.com
C hina is the world’s largest net
importer of crude oil, and in
recent years its crude oil imports have
and 2016. Leading non-OPEC suppliers
included Russia (14% of total imports),
Oman (9%), and Brazil (5%).
6 - 9 November
Sulphur 2017 increasingly come from countries On an average annual basis, China’s
Atlanta, Georgia, US outside the Organization of the crude oil imports increased by
www.sulphurconference.com Petroleum Exporting Countries 2.2 million bpd between 2012 and
(OPEC). While OPEC countries still 2016, and the non-OPEC countries’
11 - 15 June 2018 made up most (57%) of China’s share increased from 34% to 43% over
ACHEMA 2018 7.6 million bpd of crude oil imports in the period. Market shares for China’s
Frankfurt, Germany 2016, crude oil from non-OPEC top three non-OPEC suppliers (Russia,
www.achema.de countries accounted for 65% of the Oman, and Brazil), all increased over
growth in its imports between 2012 these years.

May 2017 12 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
 Conv3

Conv4
onv4

).30%#4  Conv5

OF YOUR Remaining Wall Thickness

Conv6
onv6
(%!4%2 #/),3
Conv7

Conv8

Manage the risk of unplanned downtime, loss of

production or a catastrophic failure in your fired heaters.
Quest Integrity’s Furnace Tube Inspection System (FTISTM) is a globally proven technology
providing 100% inspection coverage of your serpentine coils, compliant with the API-573 Fired
Heater Inspection guidelines. The FTIS inspection results are processed with our LifeQuestTM
Heater engineering software, providing a comprehensive fitness-for-service and remaining life
assessment compliant with the API-579 Standard. Quest Integrity delivers a complete solution
that helps transfer your integrity and maintenance risk into reliability.

s 0ITTING INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR OF PIPE

s #ORROSION INTERIOR OR EXTERIOR OF PIPE
s %ROSION AND mOW ASSISTED WEAR
s $ENTING AND OVALITY
s "ULGING AND SWELLING
s #OKE AND SCALE BUILD UP

Get the information you need to confidently make decisions on your fired heaters with
plug headers.

To learn more about FTIS, visit us at the link below.

QuestIntegrity.com/FTIS
#(!,,%.'% #/.6%.4)/.
 Currently, lots of changes are occurring in the North American
refining sector. Contributing Editor, Gordon Cope, examines
how US Gulf Coast refiners are making the most of them.

Quick
to
adapt
May 2017 14 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
T
he US has the capacity to produce 19 million bpd
of fuel and associated products. Slightly over half
that (9.8 million bpd) is located in Petroleum
Administration for Defense Districts (PADD) III
district, which includes the Gulf States of Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama.
One of the most eventful changes over the last several
years is the evolving mix of refinery feedstock in the
US Gulf Coast (USGC). Traditionally, refiners have relied on
a blend of lighter domestic crude, lighter imported crude,
and heavy stocks delivered by tanker from Mexico and
Venezuela.
Over the last several years, however, changes have
occurred. While Mexico and Venezuelan imports have
dropped due to decreases in output in their respective
countries, Canadian heavy crude from the oilsands has
increased dramatically due to the recent completion and
repurposing of various pipelines that allow product to flow
from PADD II terminals to the Gulf. Some of the projects
include the Seaway Twin Pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma,
to the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal in Texas,
and, hence, to numerous destinations along the coast.
Clearwater Beach, Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico.
There has also been a 3 million bpd surge of light tight
oil (LTO) coming from unconventional shale oil production.
USGC refineries have accommodated increased purchases
of domestic LTO by reducing purchases of imported light
oil. This has been a costless way of absorbing increased
domestic production, but other approaches are being
considered in order to optimise profitability.
Low cost refinery modifications include
de-bottlenecking, such as replacing gathering trays and
condenser units needed to collect the larger volumes of
lighter distillation products at the top of the atmospheric
distillation unit (ADU) column. More expensive options
include capacity expansion; increasing ADU capacity,
secondary processing capacity, and integrated projects that
include both ADU and secondary modules.
Refiners are analysing the opportunities and adjusting
accordingly. ExxonMobil, for instance, is expanding output
at its 345 000 bpd refinery in Beaumont, Texas. The
expansion consists of two separate projects. The first, due
for completion in 2018, involves the installation of a
40 000 bpd SCANfining unit (short for selective
cat-naphtha hydrofining) that will produce gasoline that
HYDROCARBON 15 May 2017
ENGINEERING
 meets the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Tier 3 gasoline sulfur specifications. In addition, ExxonMobil
is adding a 20 000 bpd module that will allow it to process
light crudes from US shale. The latter project is expected
to be operational by late 2017.
In late 2016, US refiners set a gasoline production
record of 10.5 million bpd. Since domestic use has been
stagnant, refiners have been exporting over 1 million bpd.
Over half of the exports, some 600 000 bpd, originate in
PADD III Gulf Coast facilities.
USGC refiners are using their proximity to Latin
America to deliver increasing amounts of fuel to countries
that lack capacity to meet domestic needs. Mexico is a
case in point; while Pemex, the state-owned monopoly,
has 1.6 million bpd refining capacity, chronic
underinvestment in recent years has resulted in outages
and decreased efficiencies to the point where it only
produces approximately 330 000 bpd of gasoline, less than
half the daily consumption of 820 000 bbls. Most of the
shortfall of 490 000 bpd is made up from USGC refiners,
who shipped slightly under 400 000 bpd in late 2016.
Most of the shipments arrive at the port of Tuxpan,
Vecacruz, on Mexico’s east coast. The increased traffic has
placed a heavy strain on Pemex’s existing import
infrastructure. Fortunately, the country has passed
legislation to de-monopolise the oil and gas sector, and
private entities are now stepping into the breech. In
August 2016, TransCanada announced it was joining a
consortium with Mexico-based Sierra Oil and Gas and
marine shipper Grupo TMM to build a US$800 million
project that includes offloading and storage facilities in
Tuxpan, and a 265 km pipeline to the interior town of Tula
(located north of Mexico City) capable of handling
100 000 bpd of fuel.
Howard Midstream is also building the Dos Aguilas
project, a 287 mile, 12 in. pipeline that will carry refined
products from Corpus Christi, Texas to Nuevo Laredo,
Tamaulipas, and Monterrey in northern Mexico. The
project, which is expected to be in service by mid-2018, will
include 1.2 million bbls of storage. Nustar Logistics and
Pemex are building a refined products line from Edinburg,
Texas, to Pemex’s Burgos gas plant near Reynosa, Mexico.
The 10 in. line will be 46 miles in length.
Challenges
Safety continues to be a major concern at refineries. In
late November 2016, a fire broke out at a compressor in
ExxonMobil’s 502 000 bpd refinery in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana. Six people were injured. In August, a fire broke
out at Motiva Enterprises 227 000 bpd refinery in
St James Paris, Louisiana. It occurred in the H-Oil unit;
emergency crews quickly contained the incident, with no
injuries reported. In April, Houston Refining reported a fire
in the coker at its 268 000 bpd refinery located in the
Houston Ship Channel. The fire was quickly extinguished,
and no injuries were reported.
The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) called for greater
diligence. It noted: "Despite some positive initial steps
toward improvement in process safety management at the
federal level, CSB investigations have emphasised the
May 2017 16 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
need for a more comprehensive process safety
management system in the US to protect worker safety,
public health, and the environment."
Although refiners have not suffered as badly as
producers in the recent downturn, their profits are
diminishing. According to Muse, Stancil & Co., 3Q16
margins averaged US$13.25/bbl for Midwest refiners,
US$14.61/bbl for West Coast refiners, US$8.54/bbl for
Gulf Coast refiners, and US$3.31/bbl for East Coast
refiners1. In the same time frame for 2015, refining margins
were US$24.12/bbl, US$25.68/bbl, US$12.62/bbl, and
US$6.88/bbl, respectively.
The lower margins are reflected in lower profits.
Valero Energy Corp., for instance, reported a net income
of US$645 million for 3Q16, less than half (US$1.4 billion)
reported in 3Q15. Analysts and operators largely blame
the cost of renewable identification numbers (RINs) for
lower returns.
EPA regulations under the Renewable Fuel Standard
(RFS) programme stipulate a renewable volume obligation
(RVO), a percentage of renewable fuel that must be
blended into fuel that is sold to US consumers. The RVO
quota increases every year under statutory mandates. If a
refinery cannot meet its RVO by directly blending
renewables into its fuels, it must purchase RINs, which are
credits attached to each gallon of renewable fuel
produced. In 2016, refiners paid approximately
US$2.2 billion for RIN credits, pushing many refineries to
the point of bankruptcy.
Further complicating the matter, the RFS also requires
the inclusion of cellulosic biofuels (essentially ethanol
produced from the non-food portions of plants, such as
corn husks). The original statutes called for the inclusion
of 4.25 billion gal. by 2016, but the EPA, recognising that
the biofuel sector did not have enough capacity to meet
the mandated target, used its waiver authority to reduce
the amount to 230 million gal. In late 2016, the American
Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) calculated
that the biofuel sector was only able to deliver
approximately 174 – 190 million gal., 40 – 56 million short
of the target. Since the shortfall by third-parties would
require refiners to buy cellulosic RINs worth up to
US$75 million for ‘phantom fuel’, the AFPM petitioned the
EPA to grant a partial supplemental waiver in an amount
equal to the shortfall.
Although the sulfur content of transportation and
heating fuels has been declining for several years due to
federal and state mandates, new international regulations
on limits are set to take effect in 2020. The fuel market
for large marine vessels represents a significant
percentage of refinery output. The International Maritime
Organization (IMO) is now calling for allowable sulfur
limits in bunker fuel to be reduced from 2.5% by weight
(approximately 25 000 ppm) to 0.5% (500 ppm).
While refiners can add new sulfur-removing modules
to clean up bunker fuels, it is a costly proposition, and
one in which the payoff is uncertain. Owners that operate
ships in coastal waters (such as ferries and cruise ships)
have been adding scrubbers to their vessels in order to
meet obligations, while still using bunker fuel. Other
Latest News
$"%8PSY
¥


1MBOU
1SPGFTTJPOBM

61
50

DAIS AND BGE INK AGREEMENT '"45&3
Dais Analytic Corp. has entered into a three-year cooperation agreement with
Beijing Geoenviron Engineering and Technology Inc. (BGE) to distribute its
.0%&-*/(
NanoClearTM products for the treatment of aggressively contaminated industrial 
4."35&3
%&4*(/

wastewater. Under the Agreement, BGE will use its sales organisation and
distribution channels to actively promote and sell the membrane evaporators to
treat wastewater in the petrochemical and electric power industries in mainland
China. 
,QWHUJUDSK &$':RU[3ODQW3URIHVVLRQDO 
Ŗ

PDNHVWKHFUHDWLRQRILQWHOOLJHQWSODQW
METSO TO SUPPLY VALVES FOR LPIC PROJECT GHVLJQVTXLFNDQGHDV\,WKDVKHOSHGğUPV
Metso will supply 400 Neles® emergency shutdown (ESD) valves for an ethylene SURGXFHWKHKLJKTXDOLW\GHOLYHUDEOHVWKHLU
cracker as part of the new Liwa Plastics Industrial Complex (LPIC) Project in FXVWRPHUVKDYHFRPHWRUHO\RQIRURYHU
ğIWHHQ\HDUV
Sohar, Oman. The new complex will process light ends produced in Orpic's Sohar
refinery and its aromatics plant, as well as optimise NGLs extracted from currently $BQBCJMJUJFT
available natural gas supplies.
ō $XWR&$'ŠRU%ULFV&$'Š3ODWIRUP
ō ,QWHOOLJHQW'3LSLQJ'HVLJQ
BIOSYNTHETIC TECHNOLOGIES SELECTS WORLEYPARSONS ō 6SHFLğFDWLRQGULYHQ'HVLJQ
WorleyParsons has been awarded a contract by Biosynthetic Technologies (BT) ō 2QWKHĠ\&ROOLVLRQ&KHFNLQJ
ō 6WUXFWXUDO6WHHO
to perform FEED design and engineering services for a new synthetic base oil
ō (TXLSPHQW
facility that will commercialise BT’s unique technology converting natural oils into ō 'XFWLQJ&DEOH7UD\V
performance base stocks. The plant will be constructed at a site along the Texas Gulf ō ,VRJHQŠ,VRPHWULFV
Coast and will be the first of many similar facilities around the world. ō 3 ,'&UHDWLRQDQG/LQNV
ō /LQNVWR6WUHVV$QDO\VLV
ō 'HVLJQ5HYLHZ

RIDING THE OIL PRICE ROLLER COASTER XXXJOUFSHSBQIDPNHPDBEXPSY

Michael Hinton, Allegro Development, questions whether the oil price volatility
will persist in 2017 and continue to cause shock to the petrochemical sector?

‹
,QWHUJUDSK&RUSRUDWLRQ$OOULJKWVUHVHUYHG,QWHUJUDSKLVSDUWRI+H[DJRQ
,QWHUJUDSKWKH,QWHUJUDSKORJR&$':RU[DQG,VRJHQDUHUHJLVWHUHGWUDGHPDUNV
For further information go to: RI,QWHUJUDSK&RUSRUDWLRQRULWVVXEVLGLDULHVLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVDQGLQRWKHU

www.hydrocarbonengineering.com FRXQWULHV$XWR&$'LVDUHJLVWHUHGWUDGHPDUNRI$XWRGHVN,QF%ULFV&$'LVD
UHJLVWHUHGWUDGHPDUNRI%ULFV\V

Associated petrochemical projects
The USGC is also undergoing a rapid expansion of its
petrochemicals sector. Both oil and chemical
companies are taking advantage of inexpensive natural
gas and abundant ethane supplies to build new
capacity. According to the US EIA, domestic ethylene
nameplate capacity stood at approximately
29 million tpy in 2012
Between 2013 and 2015, a series of 15 projects
involving capacity expansions, feedstock conversions or
restarts added approximately 2 million tpy nameplate
capacity (and 140 000 bpd ethane throughput capacity)
to the industry. They include Dow Chemical’s restart of
the Hahnville, Louisiana plant, LyondellBasell’s
expansion at LaPorte, Texas, and Westlake Chemical’s
feedstock conversion at Calvert City, Texas.
In addition, five new plants are expected to come
onstream in 2017, including Dow Chemical’s
1.5 million tpy facility in Freeport, Texas;
Oxychem/Mexichem’s 544 000 tpy plant in Ingleside,
Texas; Chevron Phillips’ 1.5 million tpy and
ExxonMobil’s 1.5 million tpy projects in Baytown, Texas;
and Formosa Plastics' new 1 million tpy plant in Point
Comfort, Texas.
In all, the 2016 expansions and 2017 greenfield
projects in the USGC and other jurisdictions will add
over 7 million tpy nameplate capacity (and
400 000 bpd of new ethane throughput capacity). By
the end of 2017, the US ethylene nameplate capacity is
expected to exceed 38 million tpy, which represents
almost 40% growth.
While the repatriating of the petrochemical sector
is a positive step, it is having consequences. Westney
Consulting reports that construction costs, which have
held relatively steady at 20 – 25% of total capital
costs on large construction projects since the 1970s,
have now risen to 40 – 45%.2 Part of the increase is
due to rising labour costs where skilled trades are in
short supply.
operators have switched to lighter fuels, and even LNG.
All options mean lower demand and lower profits for
refiners, compounding the decision-making process.
Positives (and politics)
Refiners are moving to shore up their finances through
various means, including mergers and acquisitions. In
November 2016, Western Refining agreed to merge with
San Antonio-based Tesoro for US$6 billion. The deal gives
Tesoro several new refineries located in New Mexico and
Minnesota, as well as the 131 000 bpd refinery in El Paso,
Texas. Upon completion of the deal, Tesoro will own
10 refineries with a combined capacity of 1.1 million bpd.
Tesoro has also publicly stated that it is evaluating
opportunities to enhance its portfolio in the lucrative
Permian basin in Texas.
The long-standing dispute with the EPA over the RFS
may be reaching a conclusion. Carl Icahn, a special adviser
to President Donald Trump and the partial owner of
May 2017 18 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
CVR Energy refineries, has publicly called for the reform
of the renewable fuel credits.
On inauguration day in January 2017, the White House
released the America First Energy Plan, which stated: "For
too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome
regulations on our energy industry, President Trump is
committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary
policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters
of the US rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help
American workers, increasing wages by more than
US$30 billion over the next seven years.” The plan intends
to leverage the US$50 trillion worth of hydrocarbons on
federal land to help pay for infrastructure.
It also indicated that the administration will focus the
EPA on its primary mission of protecting the nation’s air
and water: “Protecting clean air and clean water,
conserving our natural habitats, and preserving our natural
reserves and resources will remain a high priority.”
In late 2015, the White House under President Obama
announced that the Keystone XL project, a 590 000 bpd
pipeline designed to deliver heavy crude directly from
Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries, was rejected. When
President Trump took office in January, he signed an
executive order to accelerate approval of the project.
TransCanada subsequently submitted a new Presidential
Permit application to the US Department of State.
Although the project still faces many hurdles, the
addition of a reliable source of heavy crude would be
most welcome in the USGC.
Other moves may create complications, however. The
Trump Administration has proposed a Border Adjustment
Tax (BAT) to reduce trade imbalances with certain nations,
such as China and Mexico. Although details remain
sketchy, a 20% border tax on imports, including roughly
10 million bpd of crude, has been floated. Some refiners in
the USGC could adjust by increasing domestic LTO
consumption, but refiners located on the east and west
coast, where pipeline access is relatively limited, would
still have to rely primarily on imports for their crude
slates. Since the proposal also includes a cut in export
taxes, USGC refiners would benefit from gasoline and
diesel exports, but refiners providing for the domestic
market would have little succour. Industry executives
estimate that the BAT would add as much as US$0.40/gal.
to the price at the pump, which, in turn, would depress
consumption.
Conclusion
While the Republican victory in the 2016 election is a
harbinger of relief for the refining sector, many challenges
remain. Stakeholders in not only the USGC, but throughout
North America, will have to work diligently to anticipate
and respond to the shifting supply and demand, regulatory
and legislative landscape in order to maintain profitability,
and persevere.
References
1. 'Refining Margins', Muse, Stancil & Co., OGJ Statistics,
(12 December 2016).
2. 'Approximating the Disproportionate Growth in the Cost of Capital
Projects', white paper, Westney Consulting Group, (July 2014).
 [ IMPROVING REFINERY
[
BIDDING
MARGINS KEYNOTE

TO
INNOVATE
Jim Ondyak, Dorf Ketal, USA, discusses how companies can
change suppliers between bidding events, taking advantage of
technical innovation and boosting profitability.

S
uppliers of speciality chemical solutions play an important role in refinery profitability.
There are many crude treatment and process applications within the refinery where
chemistry assists in improving refining economics and reliability. If these programmes are
not working properly, there is potential for significant adverse impacts including
off-specification and derated production, equipment damage, and unplanned shutdowns.
Bidding to award multi-year contracts is the global norm for procuring these products and
services. Between bidding events, the potential to change suppliers is normally restricted.
Refiners are finding that profitability can be improved when these restrictions are modified and
processes are put in place to encourage change between bidding events that takes advantage of
technical innovation. This article explores this new trend and offers examples of how bidding
and technical innovation are being uncoupled by refiners to improve profitability. Case histories
for corrosion control, emulsion breaking, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) treatment are presented to
illustrate the impact of this new trend in procurement.

Background
The annual cost of speciality chemicals and services for a typical refiner is in the millions of
dollars. Collectively, it is one of the largest controllable variable costs in the refinery, but the
cost of performance problems can be far higher. Changing chemical suppliers to get the same

HYDROCARBON 19 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 chemistry at a lower price introduces profit risk if the results
are compromised. This creates an interesting negotiating
dynamic. The cost of change includes the consideration that
there may be an unintended negative consequence in the
transition. Incumbent suppliers, aware of these considerations,
have a potential advantage in the pricing negotiation.
Procurement efforts have been successful in reducing
supplier leverage through increased knowledge of how to
create a competitive advantage for their organisation.1
Around 25 years ago, supplier selection was often made by
the superintendent of the unit whose criteria was heavily
influenced by their confidence in the technical
representatives servicing the business, their knowledge of
the operation, how much they valued the working
relationship, and their aversion to change. In this
environment, there were multiple suppliers in the refinery
and gross margins for speciality chemicals were in the range
of 60 – 70%. It became obvious to procurement and refinery
management that refiners were paying a lot of money for
suppliers to make sales calls on each other’s business.
Crude oil refinery consolidation and the emergence of more
sophisticated supply chain practices were two major factors in
changing supplier relationships. The number of refineries in the
US declined from 216 in 1986 to 149 in 2004, and the majority of
the closures were small, less complex refinery assets.2 During
the same time period, supply chain practices were changing
across multiple industries ranging from automotive to pulp and
paper to refining.3 Refinery supply chain leaders, faced with
excess refinery capacity and closures, implemented strategies to
increase their buying power and reduce costs. They created new
negotiating leverage by bundling purchases across multiple
applications and locations and changed the buying process by
moving decision making away from relationship buyers. The
expanded bidding list and winner take-all strategy exposed
supplier vulnerabilities. For example, buyers learned that
products sold to them as specialities were often not special
relative to similar products offered by the competition. This
knowledge reduced the risk of change and increased buyer
power. Prices dropped as products become more commoditised
in the marketplace.
Suppliers cut budgets for R&D and improved efficiencies
in all areas to deal with the price reductions. They sought
increased volume to counter reduced margins and responded
by offering further increases to the size of the bundle while
pursuing a bidding process, which reduced innovation leverage
and increased barriers for competitor entry. By awarding
additional application business to a single supplier, the
supplier was often stretched to provide chemistries and
service outside of its traditional expertise. This increases the
risk for substandard performance for the refinery and reduces
the opportunity for innovations to improve margins.
Today, multiple rounds of bidding have significantly
reduced supplier gross margins. Bidding continues to serve as a
restraint to price increases and, in some cases, can expose new
examples of supplier vulnerabilities that lead to significant
price reductions. However, the innovation process is not well
incorporated into bidding, and there are unmet needs for
improved results that require innovation. A new strategy is
emerging that uses technical innovation as a method to
further reduce costs and increase leverage on suppliers.
May 2017 20 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Technical innovation procurement
strategy
It is difficult to vet technical innovation during a bid. Bidding
speciality chemicals is resource intensive for the refiner and
the supplier, and is best managed on a relatively short,
disciplined timeline. The process of evaluating technical
innovation can also be resource intensive, but compared to
bidding, the resources are often functionally different. For
example, while R&D is not normally needed to a great
degree in bidding, it is necessary for evaluating technical
innovation.
For best pricing leverage, the bidding process must at
some level be perceived by the incumbent as a threat to their
business. This perception can be best created when
communication processes are tightly controlled to limit
information flow to the supplier. The most powerful bids
create the perception that multiple suppliers are essentially
equivalent in meeting the bid criteria, and price will be a major
factor on the final decision. Competitive bidders are
motivated to underestimate dosage to show major cost
reduction. Experience has shown that the successful bidder is
often able to adjust their dosage commitments based upon
new observations and performance demands.
In contrast to bidding, evaluations of technical innovations
require different resources, more open communication, and a
flexible timeline. The trend is to carry out this work between
bidding events. When bids are awarded, the contract retains
the option for the refiner to use the best available technology
from any supplier offering technical innovation that meets the
refinery’s needs. This motivates incumbent suppliers to
continue to invest in R&D or risk losing the application.
The following three case studies explain the benefits of
this innovation procurement strategy – high temperature
corrosion inhibition, emulsion breaking, and H2S scavenging.
Case study 1: high temperature corrosion
inhibition
High temperature corrosion inhibitors (HTCI) are part of a
crude flexibility strategy that utilises crudes contaminated
with naphthenic acid. These crudes are sold at a discount that
can reduce cost of crude by orders of magnitude greater than
the cost of the corrosion inhibitor. The cost of chemical is
immaterial relative to the profit improvement results that the
corrosion inhibitor can offer, clearly an example where a
bidding strategy is not a good fit.
The industry standard for this application is a class of
chemistries called phosphate esters. These molecules are
surfactants designed to deliver phosphorus, the primary
corrosion inhibitor molecule. The phosphorus reacts with
existing iron sulfide scale to make it less porous to naphthenic
acid penetration to the surface and more resistant to shear
stress. Historically, the choice of HTCI has been from partial
esters containing an acidic O-H bond that is inherently
unstable when exposed to refinery temperatures. This
instability degrades the efficiency of the corrosion inhibitor.
There are now new tri-ester molecules that address the
thermal stability problems with partial esters.
The emerging best practice is to use a third-party
laboratory, experienced in autoclave testing of HTCI’s, to trial
alternative products. Third-party laboratories provide unique

Figure 1. Performance improvement with aldehydes.
Figure 2. Comparison of portable electric desalter (PED)
tests.
Figure 3. Comparative performance of three products
with equal triazine content.
testing expertise, generally have more timing flexibility, and
eliminate bias. Refiners who have gone through this exercise
have learned that there are significant differences in the
phosphorus efficiency of commercially available products.
Some products take as much as four times more phosphorus
to carry out the same corrosion inhibition as the best-in-class
product. This is important because phosphorus is a potential
foulant in the crude unit and in hydroprocessing units
downstream.
In addition to evaluating inhibitors, there is also the need
to re-evaluate the total acid number (TAN) limits of the
existing metallurgy. This process can discover when current
May 2017 22 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
assets are underutilised and where there has been significant
lost profit by avoiding more high acid crudes in the blend,
even without inhibitors.
The breadth and magnitude of the economics and the
complexity of evaluating alternative innovative HTCI
chemistry demonstrates that relying upon a bidding process
bundled with other applications is not resource efficient or
cost effective when selecting HTCI.
Case study 2: emulsion breaking
Procurement practices for purchasing emulsion breakers vary
worldwide. In Asia, the extent to which the refiner has
delegated desalter operation to the supplier is less, the
number of suppliers is greater, and competitive trials occur far
more frequently. The level of trial frequency is sufficient for
procurement decisions to identify technical innovations,
especially with difficult metals removal and desalting
challenges.
Refiners in North America and Europe have become more
dependent on the chemical supplier to monitor and control
desalter operation. There are fewer suppliers and bidding
practices limit new entrants. In over 80% of the refineries in
North America, a competitive trial has not occurred in over
five years. As a result, there is far less data for procurement to
evaluate technical innovations in desalting.
However, new trends in procuring technical innovation
are changing this paradigm. The technical innovation case
history in desalting involves a new class of emulsion breaking
chemistry using aldehydes. Described as a new class of
adjunct chemistry, aldehydes can dramatically improve the
ability of the emulsion breaker to remove more water, faster,
and with less oil in the brine (see Figures 1 and 2). This
synergy is magnified when the emulsion breaker (EB) is
designed to take advantage of the aldehyde functionality.
Quantification of the technical and economic performance
improvement of this new adjunct chemistry in the dynamic
operating environment of desalters requires an open
innovation evaluation process. Current commercial bidding
practices cannot capture the advantages of this new
technology.
A new procurement trend is for refiners to conduct more
trials and utilise third-party laboratories to conduct desalter
solution comparison studies. These comparisons show
significant quantifiable improvement differences in the new
desalter chemistries, allowing refiners to take better advantage
of changing crude economics. Once again, the economic
benefit of the innovation is potentially orders of magnitude
greater than the cost of chemicals.
Case study 3: H2S scavenging
H2S is a toxic gas present in crude and intermediate refinery
products that have not been hydrotreated. Transportation of
H2S containing hydrocarbons has been under increased
scrutiny to protect personnel involved in shipping of these
hydrocarbons and to reduce air emissions from handling and
storage. H2S scavengers are the class of chemicals that react
with the H2S in the hydrocarbon.
Surveys of refiners frequently list H2S scavengers in the top
five in dollar spend for chemicals and growing. Increased
demand for these products is evident to suppliers.
 The procurement challenge with this class of chemicals is
sporadic usage and the material to be treated is inconsistent in
chemical demand. As a result, this business is routinely granted to
the bid winner as an extra or add-on to the bid scope, however,
this is changing. Increased costs are driving more scrutiny on the
line item spend. Success with on-site ‘can tests’ and tests using
third-party testing services is leading procurement managers to
increase testing of scavenger performance. Figure 3 presents a
laboratory test result of three scavengers, each with equal triazine
content. The efficiency of these products differs significantly.
Researchers have discovered a number of options for improving
efficiency of triazines as well as nitrogen free scavengers. For
those refiners facing increased cost in H2S scavenging, it is
recommended that they survey the supplier base for technical
innovations in this area. The survey will show that efficiency of
scavengers is a dynamic subject and the average refiner is missing
profit improvement opportunities because they do not recognise
the innovation that is happening in this category of speciality
chemistry. There is a clear trend to not rely on the actives
content, but to carry out performance testing when selecting the
scavenger as there are potential savings of 30% or more available.
Conclusion
Time and resource requirements for commercial bidding of
established refining process chemicals is significantly different
than the assessment of innovative refining process chemistry.
Commercial bidding of established chemistry extracts value for
the refiner when communication is minimised, the perception of
LI
FT
IN
performance similarity is maximised and the evaluation
time is compressed. Assessment of the economic value of
innovative chemistry requires the opposite
refiner/supplier relationship to be established. The
valuation of innovation is best carried out through open
communication and without time requirements.
Three case studies were used to illustrate that the
profit improvement benefits of having a process for
technical innovation can be significant. Economic benefits
extend far beyond the acquisition cost and are best
quantified in the ‘cost-in-use’. The resources required to
evaluate technical innovation vary depending on the
subject matter, the needs of the refinery, and the highly
variable change process required to capture the value.
Success with technical innovation is leading a number
of refiners to make changes to the terms of supplier
contracts to better facilitate changes without causing
animosity. On the contrary, these changes can be
motivating to improve performance and increase R&D
efforts to meet the needs of the refiner.
References
1. TRENT, R. J. and MONCZKA, R. M., 'Purchasing and Supply
Management: Trends and Changes Throughout the 1990s',
Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol. 34, Issue 3, pp. 2 - 11,
(September 1998).
2. 'The Petroleum Industry: Mergers, Structural Change and Antitrust
Enforcement', An FTC Staff Study, Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Economics, (August 2004).
3. 'Delivering Real Value Through Cost Reductions', UPS Supply
Chain Solutions White Paper, Copyright © 2005.

S
BE
G

TU
SL
IN

E
AG
GS
AM
DA
M
GS
AG
IN

ET
SL

UB
G

ES
IN
FT
LI
 Marina Ivanova
and Matt Adams,
Douglas-Westwood, UK,
explain why a leaner
downstream maintenance
market is experiencing
renewed activity.

D
ouglas-Westwood’s (DW) recently released 'World
Downstream Maintenance Market Forecast
2017 – 2021' paints a positive picture for the sector
over the forecast period – along with opportunities
for maintenance providers as appetite for maintenance
spend increases. Expenditure is expected to total
US$336 billion over the forecast period, with a 3.2%
year-on-year growth. The world’s current total population of
over 14 000 operational downstream facilities is expected to
see 158 greenfield and 326 brownfield expansions by 2021. In
spite of the challenging industry climate – albeit improved
slightly since OPEC’s November 2016 announcement – the
long-term fundamentals of downstream asset population
will continue to have a positive impact on onshore
maintenance expenditure over the forecast period.
The report is based on a ‘bottom-up’ (facility-by-facility)
market outlook, analysing maintenance services expenditure
across eight key equipment and service lines, split into asset
services and asset integrity in eight regional markets and
across four asset types: refineries, petrochemical facilities,
gas processing and LNG (import and export) plants.
North America is expected to keep its dominant share of
the total market at 34%, with expenditure forecast to rise
from US$19 billion in 2016 to US$24 billion by 2021. This is

HYDROCARBON 25 May 2017

ENGINEERING

Figure 1. Global total maintenance expenditure by
asset 2012 – 2021.
Figure 2. Global downstream population
2012 – 2021.
driven by a significant growth in LNG export terminals
capacity, with an anticipated increase from just 4 million tpy
in 2016 to an impressive 30 million tpy by 2021.
Asia is forecast to be the second largest market over
the next five years, with a 28% share of total downstream
maintenance spend, due to the region’s large refining,
petrochemical and LNG capacity additions, coupled with a
significant existing installed base.
In-house model assumptions and outputs are
sense-checked via extensive industry interviews to provide
a high level of accuracy and give a granular and realistic
evaluation of current and forecast activity in the sector.
Service line overview
DW’s report is divided into two main service lines: asset
integrity and asset services, each of which are segmented
into additional sub-service lines.
Asset services – split into mechanical services,
electrical and instrumentation, fabric maintenance, rotating
equipment and process equipment – incorporates services
delivered to minimise downtime and operational costs of
downstream facilities. Over the forecast period, asset
services is expected to total almost US$242 billion,
accounting for 72% of global downstream maintenance and
modification (MMO) expenditure. The electrical and
instrumentation sub-service line is expected to be the
largest contributor to total asset services expenditure, due
to a high spend per barrel/tonne of throughput across the
majority of asset types.
May 2017 26 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Asset integrity encompasses consultancy, asset
management and integrity services aimed at extending the
initial design life of downstream facilities through the
management and development of regular maintenance
cycles. Asset integrity will account for 28% of total
downstream MMO spend, at US$94 billion over the
2017 – 2021 period, with integrity services being the most
expensive sub-service line, representing 87% of the total
asset integrity market at US$81 billion over the forecast
period.
Fluctuating refining margins
The low crude prices had a positive impact on European
refining margins in 2015, primarily due to lower feedstock
prices. Widening margins offered a huge incentive for
higher utilisation rates and minimising downtime. Improved
refining margins allowed integrated operators to spread out
risk and offset some of the losses made upstream, albeit to
a limited extent. Whilst the crack spread was increasing
(the difference between the price of crude oil and the sales
price of refined products), most European refiners delayed
major turnarounds in order to capitalise on higher margin
products.
Since mid-2016, however, European refining margins
have contracted due to a combination of slow economic
growth in the region and an oversupplied end product
market. Pressure has been felt by both integrated and
pure-play downstream operators, as companies saw their
first quarter earnings fall significantly. Subsequently, falling
utilisation rates have provided opportunities for
downstream MMO specialists, as the opportunity costs of
maintenance have fallen.
Fundamentally, the downstream sector is OPEX led and
less susceptible to commodity price fluctuations compared
to CAPEX led markets. Downstream infrastructure requires
ongoing maintenance expenditure to ensure adherence to
health and safety regulations and reduction of operational
costs and downtime, which is essential for sustained
throughput.
Downstream facility population and
regional trends
Over the 2017 – 2021 period, the global downstream facility
population is expected to increase from just over 14 000 in
2017 to almost 15 000 by 2021. Petrochemical plants will
continue to account for the majority of the global
downstream population at 78%, with almost 11 000 plants
worldwide currently operational. Most petrochemical
facilities, however, are small capacity single product plants
with relatively lower maintenance cost per tonne of
throughput.
Historically, the largest contributor to global
petrochemical capacity has been Asia at 43% over the
2012 – 2016 period, driven by vast industrial and
manufacturing demand. The second largest region in
capacity terms has been North America, with a 20% share.
However, over the forecast period, DW expects some
changes in capacity shares among regions, primarily driven
by feedstock dynamics, with ethane-based Middle East
producers having a significant cost advantage over
 LOW... ...RATING ...
naphtha-based competitors in Europe. Global petrochemical capacity is expected
to rise by 5% over the forecast period, while maintenance expenditure on these
assets is expected to total US$143 billion, accounting for 43% of total downstream
asset maintenance spend.
The refining sector, representing 32% of total global expenditure over the last
five years, is expected to account for the majority of capacity additions over the
forecast period. Over 2017 – 2021, global refining capacity is expected to increase
by 13%. With a high routine maintenance cost per barrel of throughput,
US$109 billion is forecast to be spent on refinery maintenance worldwide
between 2017 and 2021. Historically, Asia (30%) and North America (22%) have had
the largest shares of refinery capacity, driven by vast demand for refined products
such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and asphalt. Over the forecast period, DW
anticipates the two regions will continue leading the sector in terms of capacity,
though Asia’s share is forecast to increase marginally to 31% and North America’s
to decline slightly to 20%. Being the regions with the largest refinery capacity,
Asia and North America are expected to have the highest refinery asset
maintenance expenditure over the forecast period at US$26 billion and
US$38 billion, respectively.
Gas processing and LNG plants are expected to contribute approximately

low-rating.hoerbiger.com
equal shares to total downstream asset maintenance spend, at 13% each over the
forecast period. The largest shares of gas processing capacity over the last five
years, 39% and 20%, belonged to North America and the Middle East, respectively,
due to the abundance of natural gas in both regions. Over the forecast period, the
Middle East is expected to see its share increase marginally to 21%, with
North America’s declining to 36%, whilst both regions will remain leading players.
However, the largest contributors in terms of total gas processing maintenance
expenditure are expected to be North America and Asia at US$18 billion and
US$10 billion, respectively. The Middle East, despite its high proportion of gas
processing capacity, is expected to spend a modest US$5 billion on gas processing
maintenance in the 2017 – 2021 period, due to the region’s cost competitiveness
and relatively less stringent regulatory requirements.
Between 2017 and 2021, a 24% growth in LNG export capacity and a 28%
increase in LNG import capacity are expected. Historically, the Middle East (32%),
Africa (22%) and Asia (21%) have had the largest shares of LNG export capacity.
Over the forecast period, the Middle East and Africa will see this decrease to 23%
and 17%, respectively, while Australasia will see its share increase from 13% to 22%
in the wake of a host of new LNG facilities starting up over 2014 – 2017. Asia has
had and will continue to hold the largest LNG import capacity, growing from 50%
in the 2012 – 2016 period to 55% between 2017 and 2021. However, most notable
within the LNG space is the significant increase in export capacity to be seen
from North America over the forecast period, from just 1 million tpy in 2014 to
over 82 million tpy by 2021 – driving an impressive 22% year-on-year growth in
LNG facility maintenance in the region.

Conclusion
Squeezed refining margins are likely to result in increased demand for
downstream maintenance services, which will offer opportunities for specialist Do you want LOWER OPERATING
service providers in the sector. Brownfield capacity additions, coupled with a COSTS? It‘s really quite simple:
number of greenfield facilities to come online over the forecast period, will Compress the exact amount
contribute to the positive forecast of total global expenditure in the 2017 – 2021
of hydrogen you need and save
period.
Whilst negatively impacted like many other sectors in the oil and gas industry, money! The eHydroCOM stepless
the downstream asset maintenance market represents a bright spot over the next capacity control system makes
five years. In comparison with CAPEX-led (offshore upstream) markets, the it possible.
downstream maintenance sector has been less vulnerable to commodity price
fluctuations, as facilities require a combination of preventative and remedial
maintenance services to ensure a safe and efficient production environment and
the maximisation of uptime. Age of infrastructure, size, and complexity of
downstream plants and capacity additions will remain robust drivers of demand
for downstream maintenance throughout the forecast period.
 Valentin Kotlomin and
Ekaterina Kalinenko,
Euro Petroleum Consultants,
Russia, examine the
thought process behind a
development programme
created for a refinery
upgrade.

The devil
is in the
detail
May 2017 28 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
A
highly competitive market is one of the most
prominent features of the global refining
industry today. One reason for this is the growth
in petroleum products supply due to capacity
additions – new refineries coming on stream in regions
such as the Middle East, Asia and the US. The other
reason relates to a series of demand constraining factors
acting in the industry – a slowdown in global economic
growth, the growing concerns relating to the
environmental impact of fossil fuels, the energy efficiency
challenges for transportation vehicles and for any kind of
industrial application.
In this context, refiners are constantly forced to
search for ways to maintain acceptable margin levels.
When approaching this task, every refinery has to act
upon their financial and organisational capabilities.
Some opt for ‘quick wins’ – the kind of projects that do
not ask for investments and consist of living out the
principles of lean manufacturing, such as raising energy
efficiency, cutting maintenance cost or reducing
feedstock and petroleum products losses. Others, once
again with limited investment, strive to boost
profitability by concentrating on the revenue side –
while keeping an eye on short-term product market
trends, these companies tap into downstream
integration potential or go for product slate
optimisation. Others are prepared to invest into their
assets.
This third type – those who, despite the lack of
stability in the industry and in the finance markets, are
prepared to allocate substantial funds to the construction
or modernisation of new/existing production facilities –
will be the focal point of this article. More specifically,
this article will review the challenges and typical pitfalls
to avoid when implementing and working on an asset
development programme.
When it comes to investing into petroleum refining,
there are some elements in particular that should be
taken into consideration, the size of investment being one
of them. Hardly any refinery development programme
costs less than hundreds of millions of dollars (if not a
few billion dollars). In the current setting, with its low
production profitability and weak residual fuel sales
margin, the main question for refinery development
programmes is: how can the conversion rate be increased?
That is, turning heavy bottoms residue into high-margin
HYDROCARBON 29 May 2017
ENGINEERING
 motor fuels. With this task in mind, the total cost may
easily go above US$1 billion since a modern world-class
deep conversion complex is a series of units with high
pressure equipment, strict material design requirements,
and a need for high precision and reliable electrical and
automation facilities, etc. On top of that, should one plan
such an expansion on the existing refinery layout, it may
lead to a substantial (and costly) extension of
infrastructure, utilities and downstream process units. It is
no wonder that the first thing on a refinery owners’
agenda when considering various asset development
options is: which is the most economical in terms of
CAPEX?
The cheaper the better?
The first potential pitfall a refinery may encounter is:
‘the cheaper, the better’. When faced with two offers
from two competing licensors for a unit with equal
functions, equal capacity and equal product yield, it
seems apparent that one should pick the option that
costs less to construct.
This was exactly the dilemma faced by a Russian
refinery when considering a new middle distillates
hydrotreatment unit that would have resulted in getting
Euro-V quality product and boosting diesel sales margins
in both domestic and export markets.
Upon receiving and studying proposals from two
world-renowned licensors, the refinery concluded that
they were equal in terms of feedstock requirement and
product yield. There was, however, a significant
difference between the proposals: the size in CAPEX.
The reference price for construction after the due time
and geographic location adjustment turned out to be
US$500 000 higher for Licensor 1 when compared to
Licensor 2. While one might question the signifcance of
US$500 000 in a project with approximately
US$60 million of total CAPEX, it is important to consider
the specifics of the project. For this particular refinery,
the investment was not about maximising the economic
value of a given unit; in fact, it absolutely had to invest
in order to comply with the legislative changes
pertaining to environmental friendliness of motor fuels
in the domestic market and to stop the slump in export
sales margins for high sulfur distillates. All of the above
rendered CAPEX savings (as marginal as they were)
important for the refinery owners.
However, the whole situation started to look
different upon comparing the two proposals in terms of
estimated energy consumption. It turned out that the
‘lower priced’ proposal (Licensor 2) had the higher
energy and steam use – namely two times and 30%,
respectively, as compared to the ‘higher priced’ proposal
(Licensor 1). Subsequently, as they compared estimated
operating costs for the two proposals using energy
prices for that particular refinery, it turned out the
savings in CAPEX achieved with Licensor 2 would be
‘eaten up’ by the greater operating costs in the first five
years of unit operation. In view of the service life of the
facility, the ‘more expensive’ proposal from Licensor 1
looked the most attractive option.
May 2017 30 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
All of the above stands to reason but with one
reservation; the situation that has just been analysed
should not serve as proof that the proposal by
Licensor 2 is non-competitive, in fact, far from it. Since
each refinery operates in conditions that are unique and
differ quite considerably in terms of location and
operating strategy, it is natural to assume that Licensor 2
most probably found itself ‘in the wrong place’ – there
are without a doubt such refineries elsewhere, which do
not pay as much for energy as the refinery from the
previous example, and such refineries will surely gain
value through CAPEX savings despite the unit's greater
energy use.
Modernising existing facilities
The second pitfall that refineries sometimes find
themselves in is one illustrated by a case from previous
consulting experience, which may be entitled, ‘let’s take
what we’ve got and modernise it’.
Petroleum refining is the type of industry where it is
quite possible to change the rated capacity of process
units, to alter product quality or yield, or even carry out
unit conversion. More to it, the modernisation of existing
facilities has a number of advantages: the opportunity to
make use of the existing equipment, reduce CAPEX
through the use of existing utilities, infrastructure and
interconnections, etc. For some refineries, land allocation
challenges make it impossible to extend and construct
new units as they may be constrained by their geographic
location – i.e., a mountainous region, its proximity to
major cities – or by health, safety and environment (HSE)
legislation.
Land allocation for the new construction was not a
challenge in the next case. In considering substantial
modernisation of an existing unit, the refinery focused on
the CAPEX saving potential of such a project.
This specific case study focuses on an attempt at the
modernisation of a visbreaking unit at a Russian refinery.
The unit was initially designed for the thermal cracking of
heavy residue while yielding gasoline and diesel blending
components. As time went by, this kind of refining process
was being replaced by new and more effective
technologies that were appearing in the market –
i.e., catalytic cracking, hydrocracking. That was when the
unit was first modernised – specifically, converted to a
vacuum resid visbreaking. While prior to this conversion, a
substantial amount of atmospheric residue got into fuel
oil without being split into vacuum gasoil and vacuum
resid, the conversion provided an opportunity to bring
vacuum resid viscosity close to fuel oil values and achieve
extra volumes of vacuum gasoil to send to a catalytic
cracking unit, thus boosting its capacity. The next
potential modernisation step was predetermined by the
need for further refinery configuration improvement –
namely, the construction of a hydrocracking unit that
would have required even greater amounts of vacuum
gasoil.
The refinery had two options: either modernise the
existing visbreaking unit and raise its capacity by 30% or
build a new visbreaking unit.
 The first option was not confined to raising capacity. It
also consisted in improving the unit’s industrial safety
characteristics and replacement of certain worn pieces of
equipment. Thus, the new equipment list grew from
17 to 44 items. However, despite the new items
contributing to the higher price of modernisation, it was
still a better option in terms of CAPEX in comparison to
building a new visbreaker of the required capacity.
The refinery also kept in mind another implication of
an old unit modernisation – the need for tight operating
cost management or, to be more precise, better energy
efficiency. In view of this objective, the project involved a
series of measures aimed at decreasing per unit energy
consumption in such a way that a
30% capacity gain would not lead
to proportionate growth in
energy cost. On the contrary, it
would reduce energy cost and
bring the energy efficiency of the
facility closer to the standards of
a new modern visbreaking unit.
In assessing the second option
Conclusion
The two cases reviewed support the idea that when
taking the decision on increasing refinery efficiency, the
approach to studying available options for asset
development has to be as comprehensive as possible.
Refineries should not lock themselves into options with
the lowest CAPEX and should take into account the
operating costs that would follow. Furthermore, in the
current environment there is no point in looking for a
one-size-fits-all solution as each refinery operates in a
unique set of conditions, hence, the individual approach
is crucial in coming up with a development programme
that fits like a glove.
GasPT ®

– a new visbreaking unit – the

Continuous Analysis, Acc Accurate
cc cururat Results
ura
refinery made use of data on the
most advanced units offered by
major process licensors.
Upon comparing the two
options it turned out that the
modernisation of the existing
visbreaking unit would be seven
times less expensive than building
a new one. However, no matter
how hard the refinery tried to
manage the operating costs, a
modernised unit would still lag
behind a newly constructed one in
terms of performance by 30% on
average (up to 40% in some areas).
Due to the current state of
the petroleum product market
and the finance market, the
refinery postponed the realisation
of the development programme,
in general, and the decision on
the visbreaking unit in particular.
Yet there are some conclusions to
be drawn from the analysis
Calculating gas properties in accordance
carried out. Surely, the with ISO 6976, Orbital’s GasPT technology
modernisation of the existing unit measures the thermal conductivity, speed of sound and CO2 in natural gas, giving you the Calorific Value
may entail substantial CAPEX needed to control your system.
savings, yet the savings can take
their toll on the operating cost – Using the established principles of Hydrocarbon Equivalence, GasPT also provides gas composition
for calculation purposes in other devices such as flow computers.
in many cases, no matter how
hard the refinery tries to improve Whether you operate a gas, petrochemical or emissions
the operational efficiency of application, GasPT is the online gas analysis of choice:

t
$MBTT
"
BQQSPWBM
BDDPSEJOH
UP
0*.-
3
Visit www.orbitalgas.com to see how
existing facilities, it can never gain
140 for fiscal applications Orbital is Innovating Gas Solutions for
results that are comparable to a

t

TFDPOE
5 
UJNF Focused Accuracy.
newly constructed unit with all

t
/P
DBSSJFS
HBT
SFRVJSFE
the latest achievements and

t
)JHI
BDDVSBDZ
MFWFM
innovation.
t
1MVH

QMBZ

t
-PX
JOTUBMM
DPTU

t
-PX
PQFSBUJPOBM
DPTU www.orbitalgas.com/gaspt
 COVER FEATURE

THE
CHALLENGE
OF CHANGE
May 2017 32 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
 Rainer Pittnauer, Intergraph® Process Power & Marine,
Austria, discusses the challenge of change management,
and how modern engineering technology can assist.
A
ll plants and facilities are subject to continual
change as technologies evolve, turnarounds are
executed, and modification and upgrading projects
take place. Yet, the facilities themselves and the
information that describes them is often inconsistently
updated in line with these changes, creating challenges for
the effective and safe operation of the facility. Often, owner
operators can lose the ability to track changes – through the
review and approval process, what has been done, what are
the consequences of these changes, and where is the
information related to the change stored.
A recent study by Intergraph1 showed that some of the
biggest challenges met by owner operators include the
inability to find the necessary information for executing
projects and being able to determine whether or not this
information is accurate and up-to-date. This is often due to a
lack of change management and traceability as the
companies do not have an integrated approach to
engineering information management. If there is 30 years’
worth of plant documentation in paper format scattered
across the facility, it is no wonder that change management
becomes a burden.
Safety issues
Currently, many owner operators have a manual and
paper-based change management process in place, which
poses a major security risk for facilities. A paper-based
approach does not allow tracking and prevention of
unauthorised changes, making maintaining an integrated
information asset difficult. In addition, safety issues are often
linked to poor management of change, which has too often
been a direct or indirect cause of major incidents, claiming
lives, destroying facilities, and adversely affecting the local
plant environment while damaging the company reputation.
These issues have led to a growing focus from
regulatory authorities on the management of change
processes, while demands for demonstrable compliance
with auditable traceability are continuously increasing. In
addition, existing facilities are often being operated longer
than originally planned due to technology advances and
decreased appetite from owners to invest in new capital
facilities. In the worst case scenario, extended lifetime
combined with poor traceability and insufficient processes
in place can lead to an increased risk of losing ones’ license
to operate.
Furthermore, there are other real-life problems arising
from the lack of management of change (MOC). Many
owners face extended turnaround times as well as
heightened overall cost of maintenance and operations, as
time is lost in searching for correct documentation and
information about the facility. Surveys have shown that up to
one-third of the cost of modifications can be attributed to
finding and verifying engineering information.
Challenge of efficient change
management
Managing change in an operating plant is a complex, safety
critical work process, where continuous changes have to be
managed. These changes often have to be controlled in
parallel, if the same equipment is impacted by several
changes. This can quickly become complex, as multiple
alternate solutions to the proposed changes need to be
managed simultaneously, changes might be cancelled prior
to implementation, or postponed for future turnarounds.
HYDROCARBON 33 May 2017
ENGINEERING

Figure 1. Mobile technology brings as-built data
available on the field.
Figure 2. Augmented reality solutions bring
engineering information live during a plant
walkthrough.
A manual change process is a time consuming and error
prone activity. It requires collecting information and
documentation, which is often only available in silos,
scattered around the facility, and sometimes even in paper
format. These documents would need to be maintained
properly and shared with the people and departments
involved during the different stages of the change
management process, typically involving the following
components:
„ Change risk analysis.
„ Review and approval.
„ Testing and implementation.
„ Post-implementation review.
„ Update as-built documentation.
Executing the above-mentioned parallel activities in a
manual, document centric process can easily lead into
erroneous decision-making that is based on incorrect or
outdated data. The implications of this include extended
plant downtime during implementation of changes. This can
also lead to risky or dangerous events taking place due to a
change in a plant that relies on wrong information,
e.g. bypassing the wrong safety function in the emergency
shutdown system (ESD).
How can software technology help?
In order to address these challenges, owner operators are
searching for tools that offer the capability to maintain the
dynamic engineering design basis and integrate with other
information systems. An example of such a solution is
May 2017 34 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Intergraph PP&M’s SmartPlant® Enterprise for owner operators,
which provides a preconfigured work process and
out-of-the-box integrations with operating systems to provide
improvements for management of plant operation changes.
This integration between operating systems and
engineering information management allows for
maintenance of the digital representation of the plant in an
efficient and consistent way. Comprehensive solutions for
capturing both unstructured and structured data, as well as
data validation, ensure the transition from an existing
manual, document driven change process to an electronic
change process.
These types of solutions supporting an electronic-driven
change process provide rigorous MOC of engineering
information with full traceability and audit trail. The
technology provides a change impact analysis capability that
presents the user with possible documents and tags,
impacted by a change based in an initial assessment and, by
examining these impacted tags and documents, shows other
ongoing changes with which there may be potential conflict
and synergies. This ensures that change requests are properly
considered in the context of other changes and that the
impact of a change on all relevant tags and documents are
identified. The preconfigured MOC process includes an
electronic workflow for managing the review, authorisation,
design, and approval of changes in the engineering design
basis, and, optionally, the notification of maintenance to
perform changes by creating notification records in the plant
maintenance system (SAP PM).
A digital twin of an existing asset
As aforementioned, the existing engineering information and
3D plans of the existing facility might often be insufficient or
completely missing. This makes any brownfield project
challenging, as there is no way to ensure that the planned
changes or upgrades will fit into the existing piping and
space. To facilitate this, owner operators are increasingly
using laser-scanning technology to capture the as-built
information of their assets.
The whole process starts with surveying the plant with a
laser scanner. Each scan takes approximately five minutes and
captures millions of data points, while it simultaneously
captures high definition photographs of the scanned area. The
equipment is highly portable and can be moved quickly
between scanning stations to cover the whole plant. The
laser's range means there is no need to get close to hazardous
equipment and working at a height can be minimised.
Using the free Leica Truview software, the scan data is
presented as a point cloud, in which each pixel has X, Y and
Z co-ordinates. This means that even without building a new
3D model, the point cloud can be used for measurements
and comparisons with existing computer aided design (CAD)
models of the plant.
Together with the photographs, the captured brownfield
data and the point cloud data makes it possible to perform a
virtual walkthrough of the plant, from one scanning station
to another, and to take measurements. Based on this
information, a digital twin of the physical asset can be
created, enabling owners to execute a data-centric approach
to change management, and overcome many of the
CHANGE IS THE ONLY
CONSTANT
Intergraph® SmartPlant® Enterprise for Owner Operators

OVERCOME CHANGE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Intergraph SmartPlant Enterprise for Owner Operators provides preconfigured work process and out of the
box integrations with operating systems to provide major improvements for management of plant operation
changes.
This integration between operating systems and engineering information management offers:
t

.BJOUFOBODF
PG
B
EJHJUBM
SFQSFTFOUBUJPO
PG
B
QMBOU
JO
BO
FGýDJFOU
BOE
DPOTJTUFOU
XBZ
t

$PNQSFIFOTJWF
TPMVUJPOT
GPS
DBQUVSJOH
CPUI
VOTUSVDUVSFE
BOE
TUSVDUVSFE
EBUB
t

Data validation enabling a transition from a manual, document-driven change process to a state of the art
electronic change management process.
It’s time your facility keeps up with change.
Visit http://bit.ly/ppm-spo for free webinars, brochures, white papers and more.

© 2017 Hexagon AB and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. Intergraph is part of Hexagon. All rights reserved.
Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.
Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
 challenges related to manual processes: inaccuracy, lack of
traceability, and frequent errors.
Synchronising changes
An aspect of change management that is often not
considered is how changes to the engineering design are
reflected in operational systems such as maintenance,
reliability, inspection, and a host of other systems that
consume engineering information. Most owner operators
either rely on manual processes or cumbersome batch
transfers, in order to ensure that systems are updated in line
with changes to the engineering data and documentation.
The problem with such approaches is that they are
error-prone and can result in operational systems being
incorrectly updated. The consequences can include
equipment not being maintained or inspected correctly, or
errors in the procurement of replacement equipment and
parts. To eliminate such issues, Intergraph PP&M has
implemented solutions to automatically update consuming
systems, such as SAP, with new or updated tag details.
Improved MOC: project example
Intergraph PP&M recently implemented an electronic change
process for an owner operator in Germany. This customer
was already efficiently maintaining the existing plant
information in a central repository, but change management
was still a manual process.
This manual change management process was inefficient
and severely lacked transparency. Furthermore, certain
changes had not been documented properly, causing a lack
of traceability. The solution was to implement an electronic
workflow that represented the exact steps of the change
process.
The plant information, such as tags and documents, were
already available in the system electronically. This way, once
a change is filed in the system, all affected tags and
documents can be linked to the change. During this time, the
system defines which stakeholders are required for a
particular change by using checklists. Depending on this
information, the system automatically selects the proper
workflow. This electronic workflow manages the automatic
distribution of information, the review, and approval tasks
related to the change for all involved stakeholders.
This way, all the required departments are now either
notified automatically, in case action is required, or informed
that the changes have been made, even if no action needs to
be taken. By implementing this comprehensive change work
process, the customer increased efficiency of change
management, as all changes are handled in a consistent
process, ensuring better visibility and full traceability.
Moreover, this enabled the possibility of a rich reporting and
change impact analysis, which is used to maintain an
accurate overview of events in the facility.
Future of change management
Mobile technology and augmented reality (AR) solutions will
become key for efficient and safe change management in the
near future. The technology needed for this improvement is
already there, but the industry has not yet acknowledged its
full potential. There are still a number of companies working
May 2017 36 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
in document-centric environments, or managing their plant
documentation as hardcopy. The prerequisite to leveraging
such immersive technology as virtual reality (VR) and AR is
the availability of data-centric solutions, which provides a
‘digital twin’ plant representation.
Mobile technology will enable engineers on the field to
execute changes more safely and efficiently, as they can
bring the digital twin of the asset with them to the field. The
traditional approach today is to provide hardcopy printouts
of relevant documentation and information. Paper printouts
are not only labour-intensive to produce and maintain, but
also cumbersome and difficult to use in the field.
Furthermore, mark-ups made in the field are often difficult
to interpret back in the office, which causes further delays in
transcribing data into relevant systems.
Having mobile technology in place enables access to
accurate information throughout the execution of change.
The required data and documents can be taken offline to the
field on a mobile device. In addition, it is possible to capture
notes or photographs, etc. in the field quickly and efficiently.
Later on, modifications, media capture in the field, as well as
red-marks, can be uploaded to the system. This eliminates
delays and errors in transcribing notes from paper mark-ups.
In addition to mobile technology, AR and VR solutions will
shape training and change management execution. For
example, having a HoloLens or an AR helmet available means
engineers can perform a dry run of the change before it takes
place, testing all the possible scenarios that could go wrong.
During the execution of a change, VR/AR devices will
guide the engineer through the different work steps:
„ Indicating the personal protection equipment and tools,
which are required to perform the task.
„ Describing the exact procedures including sub-procedures
that define the work steps.
„ Identifying the proper equipment linked to the change,
such as through quick response (QR)/radio frequency
identification (RFID) scanner.
„ Viewing of the documents and drawings linked to the
change.
„ Providing photos and 3D real time animations for steps
that need to be performed.
„ Evaluating the real time process values.
Conclusion
The key reason change management is so challenging comes
down to the availability of existing engineering information.
Plant information required to assess, plan, and execute a
change is often only available in silos and very often in paper
format. In addition, poor reporting measures are in place, and
there is often no way to evaluate the impact of a change. This
can be improved by creating a digital twin of the physical
asset, which helps to overcome many of the challenges
related to manual MOC processes: inaccuracy, lack of
traceability, and frequency of errors. Mobile, as well as AR and
VR solutions, will further enhance and shape the way change
management will be executed in the near future.
Reference
1. Intergraph Research on Intergraph Information Management/Owner
Operator Solutions.
 Philip McCusker, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, UK, explains
how advanced data analytics has helped gas processing plants
improve reliability and maximise operating efficiency.
I
n the gas processing sector, reliability is king, but process
interruptions are hard to predict. The problem is that early
warning of equipment failures is difficult to achieve with
conventional process alarm management techniques, as the
alarm settings are fixed and need to be suitable for all operating
conditions. As such, alarms are set broadly so when they are
eventually triggered, the equipment is already on the way to
failure.
Whether it is cryogenic processing or natural gas reforming, all
gas processing plants can have equipment issues that cause costly
downtime and expensive maintenance. Although alarms are set to
notify operating teams of any problems as single measurement
data points, they are often too wide in their measurement setting
to provide meaningful early warning of a condition to avoid an
impending equipment failure or process interruption. As such,
problems can go completely undetected until it is too late,
causing unplanned interruptions, which are costly to both plant
operators and their customers, and require maintenance
intervention to remedy the equipment deterioration.
What is changing?
In order to provide earlier warning of an abnormal condition, one
needs to use more functionality than is offered by single variable
alarm points. By using multi-variable data points fed into a
condition algorithm, the abnormal or alarming points can be
‘conditioned’ to reflect the natural variability that is associated
with the plant’s specific operating condition. Operating conditions
can change on most plants due to factors such as operating
mode, loading, and ambient extremes, which all serve to mask the
start of an abnormal operating condition. Think of it like this: the
minute detail of a snooker table, the smoothness of the cue ball,
the speed and angle of the shot, the roughness of the felt, the
room temperature, and the air flow are variables that all affect the
outcome of the game. It is only by measuring these
interdependent relationships that one can theoretically predict
gameplay with accuracy. The same can be said of preventing
interruptions to gas processing – and it is on this principle that
Air Products’ Plant Performance Advisor service is based.
How does it work?
Huge datasets are collected from sensors on all manner of
different equipment in use across fleets of plants including
compressors, pumps, motors, expansion turbines, blowers, cooling
towers and heat exchangers. The sensors measure vibrations,
bearing temperatures, winding temperatures, pressures, pressure
ratios, temperatures, approach temperatures, flows, performance
efficiencies, and every other conceivable monitoring point in the
key operating equipment.
Through careful data analytics, these enormous datasets are
then transformed into composite variables that take into account
the backdrop of the current operating conditions, creating a
‘fingerprint’ of the equipment’s operation. Rather than equipment
being monitored by broad fixed alarm points, it has an ongoing
‘health check’ through condition multi-variable algorithms that
can identify equipment deterioration before conventional process
monitoring sensors can.
As such, the software will hone in on any deviation from the
expected operating conditions.
HYDROCARBON 37 May 2017
ENGINEERING

Figure 1. The winding temperatures of a fan’s motors jump up to an
out-of-bounds condition.
Figure 2. Excessively dirty air filters cause a lack of air cooling flow.
Figure 3. The filters are replaced causing motor winding and bearing
temperatures to improve.
Figure 4. The vibration of a high pressure boiler feed water pump
increases rapidly.
The early warnings of a failure condition that can
be identified through such a system are complex and
varied, ranging from slightly raised lubrication oil
temperatures for a nitrogen recycle compressor,
through to mildly increased vibration of a high
pressure boiler feed water pump. Often these issues
are subtle and would not be picked up by simple
human observation, and occur well before the
equipment reaches its alarm point. What they have in
common, however, is their ability – if left undetected
– to negatively impact plant processing efficiency,
costs, downtime, and, crucially, customer experience.
One example of this is the slight increase in valve
temperatures of a multi-service reciprocating H2
compressor that occurred on a particular plant just
before a planned outage at a sister plant feeding the
same pipeline. The Plant Performance Advisor
software was able to detect this deviation and
predict valve failure. This, in turn, allowed reliability
engineers to control and manage the situation,
pro-actively shutting down the compressor and
replacing the valves ahead of the sister plant’s
planned outage. This avoided machine damage that
could have cost in excess of US$100 000, as well as
significant supply chain costs.
The ability to detect issues and predict and
‘manage out’ problems before they occur is
invaluable. At another plant, for example, an axial
position alert was received directly after a
newly-installed pump was started up for the first
time. Investigations revealed that the operating status
of the pump was stable and that, in fact, this was an
issue with the set-up of the axial position probe
rather than the pump itself. Left undetected and
unaddressed, this would have left a pump
unprotected, which again, if it failed, would result in
thousands of dollars worth of equipment damage
and process interruptions. As it was, the engineers
were able to correct the set-up of the probe, ensuring
full protection was in place.
Examples like this underline the critical
importance of understanding how the wealth of
operating data available to a modern process plant
can be used to improve the intelligence of equipment
condition and facilitate an intervention at a more
appropriate time. Real-time monitoring, combined
with a pro-active detection of abnormalities, is key to
ensuring processing efficiency is at its optimum.
In all of this, security of data remains paramount.
Air Products' data processing is stored in a secure
digital cloud with high dimensional data matrices,
low signal-to-noise ratio and a high degree of
correlation, all serving to give an accurate
representation of overall asset performance.
The performance fingerprint is monitored by
reliability engineers who receive alerts as well as
proactively looking for abnormal operating
conditions. This allows them to rule out likely causes
and escalate alerts so that any issues can be resolved
at a time that suits the customer, and before

May 2017 38 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
 đ‘£¶nŸGzn
Š_Ÿn_£>nf—µnŸ¼
R_‡nĄJœ_ŠŠô
Kobelco combines innovative technology
with state-of-the-art manufacturing to deliver
our custom-engineered Advanced Dry and
Wet Screw Compressors for your Flare Gas
Recovery Units.

Our highly efficient Advanced Dry and Wet

Screw Compressors operate reliably to any
pressure requirement. The compact modular
design allows for easier installation and the
extended operating life saves you valuable
time and costs in the long-term.

If you want to boost productivity, save time,

reduce operating costs and increase your ROI
while working to safeguard the environment,
Kobelco’s compressors are the answer.

Like any modern innovation, your flare gas

recovery unit should be small, powerful and
efficient.

0_‡nªznŸ}uzªf—œŸn££—Ÿf_ŠŠôôô
­£n(—enŠf—ô

ADVANCED LIQUID
SCREW RING
COMPRESSORS PUMPS

High Discharge Pressure

3 2
Large Capacity 3 2 SCREW RECIPROCATING CENTRIFUGAL
Power Efficient
3 2
Long Operating Life 3 2
Low Maintenance, Lower Cost 3 2
Kobelco Compressors America, Inc.
API Compliant
3 2 Houston Office: sales@kobelco-kca.com
713.655.0015
Modular, Compact Design 3 2 www.kobelcocompressors.com

G— ‡ ¼ — ñ & _ œ _ ‘  ï   — ­ £ ª — ‘ ñGn » _ £  ï  0 ­ ‘ } f z ñ  n Ÿ  _ ‘ ¼  ï  & ­ Ÿ — ‘ u ñ B } ‘ u _ œ — Ÿ n  ï  ­ e _ } ñ  J ô đ ô  ô  ï  B _ —  ; _ ­ Š — ñ   Ÿ _ ¿ } Š

 potential failures occur. Any action taken is then analysed for its
effectiveness in comparison with previous operating conditions.
This process, which can be summarised in four key stages –
monitor, detect, alert, diagnose – allows plant management to
predict issues far sooner than they would normally be able to
and, therefore, plan maintenance at a convenient time to
coincide with pre-planned outages.
A pro-active approach
As well as helping to reduce process interruptions, the software
measures the efficiency of each sub-system of the plant and
estimates the conditions that would denote maximum
efficiency. This is then used to provide monthly reports that
contain recommended actions for cost and efficiency savings,
ultimately optimising plant performance. This, in turn, gives the
plant operator the confidence to extend the intervals between
Figure 5. Due to a swift response, the repair is limited
to the bearings, the balance disc and throttling sleeve.
Figure 6. The lubrication oil temperature of a nitrogen recycle
compressor, before and after the replacement of a faulty temperature
control valve.
May 2017 40 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
regular maintenance servicing, meaning less gross downtime and
reduced overall costs.
The ability to compare a broad dataset is critical in assessing
the performance of entire plants. At Air Products, for example,
more than 400 industrial gas facilities worldwide are monitored
and maintained. This generates hundreds of thousands of data
points for analysis in proprietary algorithms and against a set of
key performance indicators, allowing plant performances to be
benchmarked and each specific site to run at the most cost
effective level.
Example: a fan motor
The software's dashboard indicates that the winding
temperatures of a fan’s motors have jumped up to an
out-of-bounds condition. Reliability engineers receive an alert
and notify the site maintenance team to perform an online
inspection (Figure 1).
The inspection reveals excessively dirty air filters that are
causing a lack of air cooling flow (Figure 2). The filters are
replaced, improving the motor winding and bearing
temperatures, and avoiding overheating of the motor
components, long-term abnormal behaviour and any collateral
damage (Figure 3).
Example: high pressure boiler feed water
pump
The vibration of a high pressure boiler feed water pump starts to
increase rapidly, triggering an alert with the reliability engineers
who promptly escalate the issue to the machinery engineer
(Figure 4). The plant shuts the pump down and swaps operations
to a secondary pump. A spare pump is installed while the
original pump is sent to the workshop for an expedited rebuild.
Due to the swift response from the machinery engineer,
plant operations and maintenance, the repair is limited to just
replacing the bearings, the balance disc and throttling sleeve,
thus avoiding impeller, bearing housing and casing damage,
which could have cost over US$200 000 in extra maintenance
expenses (Figure 5).
Example: nitrogen recycle compressor
The lubrication oil temperature of a nitrogen recycle
compressor was on an upwards trend for several months. This
caused the software to generate an alert – high lubrication oil
temperature dramatically increases the rate of oil degradation,
while negatively impacting vibrations and gear integrity.
The reliability engineers surveyed the lubrication oil
temperature, identified a faulty temperature control valve and
added the replacement of the valve to the plant’s
planned maintenance shutdown. Left undetected,
failure of this valve could have resulted in
extended plant downtime, and thousands of
dollars worth of damage (Figure 6).
Conclusion
When it comes to gas processing, the ‘gift of
foresight’ is front and centre. As the sector grows
and develops, big data and, more importantly,
intelligent data analysis and processing will be key
to preventing unplanned interruptions and
reducing costly equipment damage.

Jake Davies,
Emerson Automation Solutions,
Permasense Technologies,
explains how monitoring
corrosion in a sour water stripping
unit enables a refinery to plan
maintenance activities, avoiding
unplanned outages and increasing
availability and reliability.
M
any process units in a refinery – such as fluid catalytic crackers
(FCCs), delayed cokers, and hydrotreaters – generate significant
quantities of sour water. Sour water is wastewater containing
hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) that need to be
removed before the water can be released into the plant or the environment.
Removal of these components is carried out by sending the sour water from
the process to a stripping tower where steam is applied directly and through
heat exchangers. The H2S and NH3 contained in the water are released by the
heat and exit the top of the tower.
H2S and NH3 corrode the stripping unit, so maintenance is eventually
required to replace or clean various components in the system. The problem
facing refineries is: when should this maintenance be carried out? If
maintenance is not carried out at an appropriate time, the stripping unit can
fail, shutting down various refining processes. The estimated cost for such a
failure is approximately US$1 million, considering lost production time and
the cost of repairs. If maintenance is performed before it is needed, excessive
expense is incurred, along with possible unit shutdowns.
HYDROCARBON 41 May 2017
ENGINEERING

Figure 1. Sour water stripper process flow diagram
showing high risk corrosion areas (in orange).
Figure 2. Corrosion monitoring locations (orange dots) for
sour water stripping unit.
Online corrosion monitoring can predict when maintenance is
due, allowing a refinery to schedule maintenance when it does not
affect operations, thus saving the cost of a process shutdown. It can
also indicate when maintenance can safely be deferred.
Overview of the sour water stripping
process
Sour water feed is collected in a sour water flash drum (Figure 1),
which operates near ambient conditions to allow the efficient
separation of any gases and the removal of any liquid hydrocarbons
by decanting. The sour water is introduced to the top section of the
sour water stripper column after heating in the feed/effluent
exchanger. In the stripping section of the sour water stripper column,
the sour water is contacted counter-currently with steam from the
reboiler to liberate H2S and NH3.
The sour gases from the stripper column overheads are cooled
with air or water until most of the water vapour is condensed. The
separated sour condensate is reintroduced into the stripper column
as reflux to enable the tower top temperature to be controlled in the
85 – 90˚C (185 – 195˚F) range. This prevents ammonium salt formation
and minimises the water content of the gases being fed to the
downstream sulfur recovery unit (SRU).
The sour gas is routed to the SRU, which enables elemental sulfur
to be recovered from the H2S. Stripped water from the bottom of
May 2017 42 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
the sour water stripper is cooled further before being discharged
to the wastewater system, or recycled to the crude unit desalter as
wash water.
Corrosion challenges for sour water
strippers
Sour crude processing, as opposed to sweet crude, often results in
excessive crude nitrogen content, which is a precursor to the
production cyanides, such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Cyanides
can create corrosion issues in the sour water system. Produced in
the downstream conversion units (such as the FCC or delayed
coker), cyanide compounds concentrate into the water phase of
the main fractionator overhead. Free cyanides can be deposited in
the wet gas stream, causing hydrogen blistering. Cyanides can
destabilise any passivation (iron sulfide) layer, causing it to flake off
as free iron sulfide, resulting in plugging and fouling downstream.
Sour water stripper tower corrosion and fouling from
corrosion by-products, such as iron sulfide, are common
operational problems compromising asset integrity. The tower and
overhead sections are exposed to high levels of H2S and NH3 and
can experience high rates of ammonium bisulfide corrosion.
Corrosion risks can be compounded by high levels of cyanides
from upstream units that concentrate in the overheads.
Commercial impact of sour water
stripper unit shutdowns
Sour water strippers are one of the forgotten workhorses of a
refinery. In many instances, capital cost constraints in original
refinery construction, refinery expansion projects or clean fuel
projects resulted in a lack of spare capacity or redundancy in the
sour water stripping facilities. Many refineries operate with sour
water storage facilities to enable the sour water stripper to be shut
down for maintenance for a period of time.
Increasing operations of hydrotreating units – driven by
ever-lower sulfur specifications of finished gasoline, jet fuel and
diesel – have increased the quantity of H2S and NH3. In some
cases, the original facilities are being operated at significantly
higher processing rates than the original design.
In turn, this has limited refinery flexibility to shut down the
sour water stripper for repairs in the event of a corrosion-induced
leak, as the increased load reduces the time that any surplus sour
water can be stored.
Once storage for sour water is exhausted by an unplanned
sour water stripper shutdown, the facility may be forced to take
more drastic action to minimise incremental sour water
production, including the following:
„ Reducing throughput on key units to lower sour water
production and enable sour water volumes to be managed
within the available storage.
„ Reducing stripping steam to key fractionation towers, resulting
in worsened fractionation and the conversion of high value
product (e.g. diesel) into low value product (e.g. fuel oil).
„ Switching to more expensive sweet crude feedstock.
Without one or more of these steps, the refinery faces
violation of effluent water quality limits, resulting in greater
scrutiny of refinery operations by local and/or national regulators.
The commercial impact of a sour water stripper outage on a
given refinery will depend on the specific configuration. Assume
an outage would constrain total refinery throughput by an average
of just 10% for a five day period while repairs are made. Using a
 representative refining margin of US$7/bbl, the impact on a
refinery of 200 000 bpd capacity would be US$0.7 million plus
the costs of the repair. A replacement bundle for the stripper
overhead exchanger, which is at the highest risk of corrosion, is
US$0.1 – 0.2 million. So, an unplanned five day shutdown of the
sour water stripper could cost over US$1 million in lost
production.

Corrosion monitoring
Continuous wall thickness measurement sensors are ideally
suited to monitor corrosion in high risk areas of sour water
stripper towers. The monitoring data from these sensors
enables refiners to determine if corrosion is taking place. This is
especially valuable to understand the correlation between
corrosion rates and changes in feedstock and process
conditions, minimise the risk of leaks, and enable better
forecasting of equipment retirement.
Continuous corrosion monitoring systems support the
optimisation of corrosion prevention and mitigation strategies,
and provide data to enable justification of metallurgy upgrade
decisions to corrosion resistant alloys.
Potential corrosion monitoring locations are shown in
Figure 2. A typical sour water stripping unit installation would
comprise approximately 10 – 15 monitoring locations, with two
to four sensors per location resulting in 20 – 60 sensors in total.
For example, a European refiner installed several Permasense
sensors around its sour water stripper tower for general
corrosion monitoring purposes. The focus was on the overhead
condenser/overhead line, feed/effluent exchanger, tower
bottoms line and reboiler outlet. In the course of routine
Figure 3. Wall thickness trend at the overhead condenser
outlet. Corrosion monitoring detected a lessening of
corrosion in September, when the reboiler duty was
modified. The change was made permanent in November
and corrosion was controlled within tolerable levels.
monitoring, the customer observed a high corrosion at the overhead
condenser outlet, which is fabricated from carbon steel.
Initially, the corrosion rate was equivalent to 2.3 mm/y (August
to September in Figure 3). However, testing on the unit during the
first half of September showed that by altering the operating
conditions, notably the reboiler duty of the tower, it was possible to
significantly reduce the corrosion in this location. In mid-September,
operating conditions were then returned to normal and the
corrosion rate returned to the high rate observed earlier.
In early November, the operating conditions were permanently
changed and corrosion was subsequently brought within tolerable
limits in this area of the tower. It is believed that the increased
reboiler duty increased the steam rising up the stripper, so more

Are You the MR. GO-TO?

When coworkers have a question about how to apply the NACE MR0175 Standard, are
\RXWKHƮUVWSHUVRQWKH\DVN"6KRZ\RXoUHWKH05H[SHUWLQWKHRƱFHE\HDUQLQJ
one or both of the new 05&HUWLƮFDWLRQV.

2LO JDVDVVHWRZQHUVHTXLSPHQWPDQXIDFWXUHUVDQGLQGXVWU\UHJXODWRUVQHHG\RXU
H[SHUWLVHRQWKLVRIWHQPLVXQGHUVWRRGVWDQGDUGZKLFKDGGUHVVHVUHTXLUHPHQWVIRU
PDWHULDOVXVHGLQ+6FRQWDLQLQJHQYLURQPHQWV

$FFHSWLQJ$SSOLFDWLRQV6WDUWLQJ0D\

naceinstitute.org
 water was condensed in the overheads. This served two
purposes: it reduced the H2S and NH3 partial pressure in the
overhead system by dilution, and provided a washing of any
ammonium bisulfide salts in the overhead condenser, thereby
avoiding under-deposit corrosion.
The optimisation of the reboiler duty operating conditions
extended the lifetime of the overhead exchanger and line by
Figure 4. Emerson’s Permasense waveguide sensors
enable continuous wall thickness monitoring on
locations up to 600˚C. The sensors are wireless
and battery powered, so no cabling is required. The
sensors protrude through the insulation, measuring
the wall thickness of the hot piping or vessel.
Figure 5. ET sensors are mounted magnetically with
a plastic securing strap and measure metal thickness
through external corrosion protection coatings such
as paint.
May 2017 44 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
many years, resulting in a significant net cost saving for the customer
from deferred equipment retirement and replacement costs. This
was achieved because of the direct and rapid feedback of process
condition changes on corrosion rates.
Continuous corrosion monitors
Although intrusive corrosion probes and manual ultrasonic
inspection have been used for tens of years in refineries, the
development of non-intrusive, wireless, ultrasonic, continuous
corrosion monitoring systems by Emerson allows sensors to be
installed anywhere on a sour water stripping system at low cost,
even while the unit is in operation.
The corrosion sensors require no wiring for power or
communications. Instead, the battery-powered sensors
communicate wirelessly with a central gateway which delivers the
data direct to the desk of the integrity or operations engineer,
avoiding the need to enter the unit to take or collect measurements.
Emerson’s Permasense corrosion monitoring sensors are
designed to be robust in all industrial environments. They are
certified intrinsically safe for installation in Zone 0 areas and are
capable of monitoring all of the most critical locations.
In higher temperature locations, such as near the main
fractionator reboiler, unique waveguide-based sensors will be
required due to their temperature resistance up to 600°C (1100°F)
(Figure 4).
The Permasense ET210 sensor (Figure 5) for operating
temperatures up to 120˚C (250˚F) is suitable for most areas of a sour
water stripping unit. This sensor is magnetically mounted and
measures metal thickness through external corrosion protection
coatings up to 1 mm (40 mils) thick.
Each Permasense sensor measures the metal thickness in an area
approximately 1 cm2 (0.5 in.2) in dia. It transmits an ultrasonic pulse
across the pipe or vessel wall, and measures the time it takes for the
signal to reflect off the inside metal surface wall and return to the
sensor. Therefore, it measures only a small, localised area, which is
suitable for general corrosion monitoring. However, in more critical
areas, it is advisable to install two or more sensors to increase the
probability of localised corrosion detection. Sensors can be installed
as multi-point arrays at the highest risk locations based on
understanding of the temperature, metallurgy and equipment
geometry.
The number of sensors needed for each array is driven by
historical inspection records, or by the proportion of the area being
monitored and expected to be affected by the localised corrosion
attack. The larger the area that is expected to be affected by
corrosion attack within the monitored area, the fewer sensors are
required.
Conclusion
Sour water stripper tower corrosion and fouling are common
operational problems compromising asset integrity in refineries. The
tower and overhead sections are exposed to high levels of H2S and
ammonia, and can experience high rates of corrosion. If a stripper
tower leaks or fouls, it can cause refinery processes to be shut down
while the tower is repaired, at a cost of approximately US$1 million
for a typical refinery. Continuous corrosion monitoring can detect
problems, allowing a refinery to schedule maintenance at a
convenient time and avoid process shutdowns. It can also allow a
refinery to defer maintenance if corrosion is less than expected,
resulting in additional savings and fewer shutdowns.
ENVIRONMENTALLY
MINDED
Dr. Wolfgang Hater, Christian zum Kolk and
Ingo Königs, Kurita Europe GmbH, Germany,
discuss the growing movement towards
environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors
that are zinc-free and contain minimum
amounts of phosphorous.

C
orrosion inhibition for cooling water systems in
refineries and petrochemical plants is a challenge –
especially in times where environmentally friendly
treatment programmes are favoured.
Open cooling water systems consist of critical equipment
such as recirculation pumps and heat exchangers, which are
often made of carbon steel. Due to its nature, carbon steel will
corrode in water, leading to equipment damage, high
maintenance work and, consequently, unscheduled plant
shutdowns. To avoid unacceptable corrosion, the cooling
water quality is adjusted and corrosion inhibitors are applied.
For decades, corrosion inhibition has been achieved with
phosphates, phosphonates, zinc and combinations of these
substances. Besides providing good corrosion protection, the
discharge of commonly applied corrosion inhibitors is, from an
environmental perspective, often critical. They have poor
biodegradability and the discharge of heavy metals, such as
zinc, should be avoided.
During recent years, an increasing environmental
awareness has lead to much stricter limitations for the
discharge of corrosion inhibitors. To comply with these
limitations, while providing a strong corrosion protection,
Kurita Europe has developed a new low phosphorous, heavy
metal free corrosion inhibitor; a phosphorous modified
organic acid (PMOA). This corrosion inhibitor is based on
natural and renewable organic acids and is inherently
biodegradable.
Performance
Corrosion inhibition
The background of the development of the PMOA was to find
an environmentally friendly molecule providing a strong
corrosion inhibition effect. Hence, the first series of
experiments in Kurita's European R&D centre evaluated its
corrosion inhibition performance in comparison to standard
inhibitors. The results of these tests are shown in Figure 1.
PMOA shows good efficiency. Zinc, phosphate and polyacrylic
acid were chosen to represent state-of-the-art yet poorly
biodegradable inhibitors, whereas polyaspartic acid is an
example of a green inhibitor. The water quality at which the
inhibitors were tested is shown in Table 1.
PMOA indicates a slightly better performance than zinc. A
corrosion inhibition of more than 90% was achieved,
indicating the potential of the newly developed corrosion
inhibitor. Polyaspartic acid and polyacrylic acid are both well
known for their anti-scaling efficiency, but, as expected, show
little corrosion inhibition abilities.
After showing a strong corrosion inhibition performance in
the first test runs, the performance of PMOA was evaluated in

HYDROC
HYD RO ARBO
ROCARB
RBON 45 May 2017
E GI
EN GINE
NE
EER
ERIN
IN
NG
 more detail by varying important parameters of the water
Table 1. Water quality for corrosion tests
quality and inhibitor concentration. The impact of the pH, the
Parameter Unit Value
water hardness, different chloride concentrations and the
pH - 8.2 water temperature were observed especially.
Total hardness mg/l CaCO3 150
Calcium hardness mg/l CaCO3 120 Impact of the calcium concentration and pH
Cooling water systems are operated at a wide range of different
Total alkalinity mg/l CaCO3 95
calcium concentrations. Sometimes, softened or desalinated
Chloride mg/l 60 water is used where no hardness is present. In other systems,
very hard makeup water is used and the calcium hardness in the
cooling water can easily increase to 10 mol/m3 (1000 g/m3 as
CaCO3) or more. Therefore, corrosion tests at different
Ca2+-concentrations between 0 and 10 mol/m3 were conducted.
It is apparent from Figure 2 that PMOA is able to protect
the metal from corrosion, even if no calcium is present.
Furthermore, the corrosion inhibition of PMOA is almost
constant between 70 and 80%, up to a Ca2+ concentration of
10 mol/m3.
Another series of tests was carried out to evaluate the
corrosion inhibition performance of PMOA at different
pH-levels. Figure 3 shows the results of corrosion tests on
carbon steel as a function of the pH of the test water.
Typically, cooling water systems are operated at pH levels
between 7.0 and 9.0, which is why the tests were carried out in
this range. During these tests, it was proven that the corrosion
Figure 1. Corrosion inhibition of PMOA and other
standard inhibitors. inhibition efficiency of PMOA is almost independent from the
pH within the usual range of cooling waters.

Chloride and temperature variation

The chloride concentration in cooling water ranges typically
from 200 – 500 ppm. Chloride is an aggressive ion, and at high
concentrations it lowers the efficiency of corrosion inhibitors.
Also, the corrosion inhibition efficiency of PMOA decreases
with increasing chloride concentrations. However, corrosion
inhibition in the common chloride range is more than sufficient.
To estimate the influence of fluctuating cooling water
temperature, tests at three different water temperatures were
conducted: 25, 30 and 40˚C (77, 86 and 115˚F, respectively). The
results show that PMOA performs well, independent from the
temperature.

Figure 2. Corrosion inhibition of PMOA at different Chlorine stability

calcium levels. Inhibitor programmes applied in cooling water systems need
to meet high demands. Since oxidising biocides, especially
chlorine or bleach, are often used as a biocide, a corrosion
inhibitor needs to have a high stability against them.
To evaluate the chlorine stability, a series of tests were
conducted in which PMOA and other standard phosphonic
acids – aminotrismethylenephosphonic acid (ATMP),
hydroxyethylenediphosphonic acid (HEDP) and
hydroxyphosphonoacetic acid (HPA) – were compared. The
results are shown in Figure 4. With regard to chlorine stability,
PMOA performs well. After 4 hours with 1 ppm Cl2, the loss is
only 21% for PMOA.

Figure 3. Corrosion inhibition of PMOA at different
pH-levels.
Hardness stabilisation
Besides providing a strong corrosion protection, PMOA also
shows excellent properties as an inhibitor for calcium
carbonate. Even at very low dosing rates, an almost complete
scale inhibition is achieved. The performance is comparable to
polyacrylic acids, while outperforming the biodegradable

May 2017 46 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
PRECISION
CRAFTSMANSHIP
FOLLOW THE VALUE ADDED CHAIN COMPRESSOR
OF AN API 618 RECIP PACKAGE @NEA TECHNOLOGY

NEA CUSTOMIZED CYLINDER DESIGNS:

SERVICING THREE PROCESSES IN ONE RECIP.
After marking the axis for precision machining, the cylin-
ders are subject to severe tests. A hydraulic strength
test with 1.5 times the maximum allowable working
pressure is followed by a gas compartment tightness
test at design pressure. The cylinders are now prepared
for their “3 in 1” use, servicing as booster
feed and compressing recycle and feed
gases at high pressures ... All in ONE recip!
Watch the video.

NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP

www.neuman-esser.com
Manufacturing in Germany
 polyaspartic acid. PMOA can be the backbone of a complete
treatment programme for cooling systems due to its corrosion
inhibition and anti-scaling efficiency.
Figure 4. Chlorine stability of PMOA and standard
phosphonic acids.
Figure 5. Corrosion coupons from evaluation tests.
Figure 6. Corrosion rate and deposit for an all-organic and
PMOA-based treatment programme obtained in a refinery
cooling system. The contribution of each programme
to the PO4-level in the cooling water is indicated.
(1 mm/a = 40 MPY; 1 g/m2 = 0.092 g/ft2).
May 2017 48 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Ecology and toxicity profile
PMOA exhibits a low toxicity (LD50 rats > 5000 mg/kg) and
is neither irritant to the skin or eyes nor has a
skin-sensitising effect. Furthermore, it does not
demonstrate a mutagenic effect. The new corrosion
inhibitor has a balanced biodegradability. It is not readily
biodegradable, which probably would cause a significant
degradation already in the cooling system, but its
biodegradability is enough to be degraded in the receiving
water or sewage plant. Furthermore, the no effect
concentration (NOEC), both for algae and daphnia, is far
higher than the expected concentrations in surface waters.
Thus, it can be concluded that the application of PMOA is
both safe for humans and the environment.
Synergy
In order to further enhance the corrosion inhibition
efficiency, synergies of PMOA with other corrosion
inhibitors were evaluated. For this purpose, tests were
conducted in which the portion of PMOA and other
phosphonates was varied between 0 and 100%. The total
inhibitor concentration was kept at 20 g/m3 in all tests. The
best corrosion inhibition was achieved at a combination of
60% PMOA and 40% of a standard phosphonic acid.
As a result of the synergy tests, Aktiphos 4170
(product A), a formulation based on PMOA and a standard
phosphonic acid, was developed to leverage the improved
corrosion inhibition. Additionally, product A contains a
dispersant and a nonferrous metal inhibitor.
Corrosion tests in a pilot plant
The formulation described before was studied in a pilot
cooling system to determine the corrosion inhibition
efficiency under realistic and critical conditions. The
formulation product A, containing PMOA, was compared
to two other standard corrosion inhibitors: a formulation
based on the high performance corrosion inhibitor HPA and
a low phosphorous containing product. Both formulations
contain a dispersant and nonferrous metal inhibitor. The
low phosphorous product additionally contains
ortho-phosphate and an amine compound.
The tests in the pilot plant showed that after 25 days of
operation, product A demonstrated an excellent corrosion
inhibition effect. The corrosion rate was 1.6 mils/y (MPY)
and was almost the same as the high performance
corrosion inhibitor, which contained 60% more
phosphorous.
The corrosion coupons that were installed during the
test periods are shown in Figure 5. It is obvious that not
only the general corrosion rate of the coupon, which was
treated with product A, is very low, but also the pitting
corrosion is reduced to a minimum. The second tested low
phosphorous corrosion inhibitor did not provide good
general corrosion protection and could not prevent the
formation of pits.
Case study
An open recirculating cooling system in a German refinery
was treated against corrosion for several years with an
all-organic treatment. The authorities limit the
POLE POSITION
ANNOUNCING
TM

Criterion announces the newest catalyst generation in

performance... our scientists have used our R&D expertise to
secure the pole position to launch the CENTERA GT™ high
performance catalyst! We continue to innovate to increase
performance and quality, and CENTERA GT takes another
leap forward. This next generation, along with the SENTRY™,
ASCENT™ and ZEOLYST™ catalysts, will help refiners keep
on winning. Our advanced portfolio of products protects
and performs, adding value with customized solutions for the
complex needs of refineries.
TM
SENTRY : Ultimate protection from feed poisons and
pressure drop
Hydrotreating: Performance in quality meeting strict fuel
standards and maximizing advantaged feeds
Hydrocracking: Increasing the quality and yields for high
value products processing heavier feeds

With technical customer service second to none, Criterion

continues to race ahead for catalyst performance and value.
We look forward to working with you.

Leading minds. Advanced technologies.

www.CRITERIONCatalysts.com
 Table 2. System data and cooling water quality still satisfy the strict phosphorous limits of this customer. The
data of the system and the cooling water quality are shown in
System data
Table 2.
Volume 2000 m3 Figure 6 shows the comparison of the results obtained
Recirculation rate 2100 m3/hr with the two different treatment programmes, which are
Cycles of concentration 2.5 both heavy metals free. A marked improvement of corrosion
Water (typical analysis)
and scale control could be achieved with the PMOA-based
programme. At the same time, the total amount of
pH 8,9
phosphorous (P) from the treatment was reduced 30%, which
Conductivity 2250 μS/cm significantly eases the waste water management of the
Calcium hardness 510 g/m3 CaCO3 refinery.
Total hardness 670 g/m3 CaCO3 Product A demonstrates a significantly improved
corrosion protection, particularly regarding the phosphate
m-Alkalinity 265 g/m3 CaCO3
contribution to the circuit water. With it, it is possible to
Chlorides 209 g/m3
achieve an excellent corrosion inhibition without exceeding
Sulfates 439 g/m3 the phosphorous limit in the waste water.

concentration of phosphorous in the blowdown. To comply Conclusion

with the strict phosphorous limit, the product dosage could
not be set to the recommended dose rate that would provide
good corrosion protection. Consequently, the resulting
corrosion rates of the all-organic treatment programme did
not satisfy the customer’s technical standard for corrosion
rates to be less than 4 MPY for carbon steel.
Product A is a product based on Kurita’s newly developed
corrosion inhibitor PMOA, which has a low phosphorous
content. Treating the aforementioned system with product A
offers the possibility to work with a product concentration
high enough to provide excellent corrosion protection and
The introduction of the PMOA marks a new milestone in the
development of environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors.
Made of renewable, natural organic acids and with a minimal
phosphorous contribution, good corrosion inhibition can be
achieved.
PMOA has demonstrated its strong performance regarding
corrosion and scale inhibition on a laboratory-scale, as well as
in difficult-to-treat cooling water systems. Almost all cooling
water qualities at different pH-levels, hardness concentrations
etc., can be treated with PMOA. Furthermore, it has a good
toxicity profile and is inherently biodegradable.

QUALITY MEANS TO US:

FULFILLING THE MOST STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS.

Our maintenance solutions for the petrochemical industry:
• Laser shaft and geometric alignment
• Portable vibration analysis and field balancing
• Online Condition Monitoring
• ATEX / IECEx compliant equipment.
PRÜFTECHNIK Dieter Busch AG
Oskar-Messter-Str. 19-21
85737 Ismaning
PROVEN QUALITY
Tel.: +49 89 99616-0
INNOVATION MADE IN GERMANY. Made in Germany
Global Presence
info@pruftechnik.com
Qualified Support

Find out how we boost uptime. Quality Service

pruftechnik.com
 Stuart Milton,
Metallisation Ltd, UK,
explains how thermal
sprayed aluminium
coatings can help to
protect vital equipment
against corrosion.
ProTective
spray
M
etal or thermal spraying is a technology that
protects or extends the life of a wide variety of
structures in the most hostile environments and in
situations where coatings are vital for safety and
performance. Corrosion prevention in the oil and gas industry,
although essential, can be challenging.
One of the major costs to the oil and gas industry is
corrosion under insulation (CUI). The severe consequences of a
failure in high pressure pipes and vessels results in high
maintenance costs. As part of an ongoing maintenance and
safety regime, pipes are stripped of insulation to enable
engineers to inspect the pipework for potential damage and
excessive corrosion. A series of non-destructive tests are then
carried out before the pipes are reinsulated.
It is at this stage that coating with thermal sprayed
aluminium (TSA) is the preferred method for a number of
operators within the oil and gas industry. TSA is found to be a
cost effective solution when reviewed over the lifetime of the
facility. As well as being used for CUI protection, TSA also
offers excellent protection against traditional atmospheric
corrosion. To ensure the success of the thermal spraying
process, the preparation of the surface of the items to be
sprayed is critical. Prior to spraying, the surface needs to be
prepared by grit blasting with steel grit to SA2.5 or, ideally, SA3,
with a surface roughness between 75 μm and 110 μm. In normal
circumstances, it is at this stage that TSA is applied. For
atmospheric corrosion protection, the TSA sprayed coating is
commonly sealed to extend the life of the coating. For CUI
applications, particularly when spraying on a live plant, the
TSA coating is often left uncoated. The final stage is then to
reapply the insulation to the pipework. The protection offered
by TSA coatings greatly reduces the number of inspections
required and life cycle costs can be significantly reduced. CUI
prevention strategies provide long-term, reliable protection
that encourages inspection-free and maintenance-free piping
systems and a significant reduction in maintenance costs.
HYDROCARBON 51 May 2017
ENGINEERING

Figure 1. MK73 flamespray system.
Figure 2. TSA being applied by arcspray to a new oil
refinery vessel before installation.
Figure 3. Pipeline being blasted.
This coating solution is increasing in volume, with a
number of global oil companies adopting this process within
many plants around the world. Confidence in the application
process and technique has grown to such an extent that the
coating of live plants is commonly undertaken.
Metallisation Ltd's Mark 73 Flamespray pistol offers a choice
of continuous or stop/start nozzles, which has helped to raise
throughput by 33%. The equipment combines a spray head with
an improved valve and pilot assembly and a high power air
motor drive. A spreader system also helps the operator to
achieve a more even coating when applying over large areas.
In this process, the raw material, which is in the form of a
single wire, is melted in an oxygen-fuelled gas flame. The
May 2017 52 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
molten material is atomised by a cone of compressed air and
propelled towards the work piece. The molten spray solidifies on
the component surface and forms a dense, strongly adherent
coating, suitable for corrosion protection. The coatings are
available for almost instant use, with no drying or curing time
required, and there is no risk of damaging the component.
Project examples
UK oil refinery
One of the largest oil refineries in the UK recently used
Metallisation's equipment. The modern marine terminal handles
approximately 2000 ship movements and 22 million t of crude oil
and other products. The project was commissioned to apply TSA in
order to combat CUI problems. Typically, equipment is coated with
TSA during normal routine maintenance turnarounds when the
process units are shut down. However, during this project, the TSA
was applied onto live equipment in order to eliminate any loss of
production. The process to repair and refurbish live equipment
follows the same stringent working procedures used during routine
maintenance turnarounds, but with enhanced safety precautions to
mitigate any risk from working on live equipment. This included an
upgraded scaffold enclosure, which completely enveloped the
equipment, providing protection from the weather and eliminating
dust and debris contamination of surrounding equipment.
After removal of the external weatherproofing jacket and
insulation, full visual and ultrasonic thickness inspection was
undertaken. Once completed and any repairs implemented, the
surface preparation started by blasting to SA3 cleanliness with a
profile of 75 – 125 μm. Various quality assurance/quality control
(QA/QC) tests were undertaken to check the blast quality, profile
and cleanliness before metal spraying. Next, the aluminium was
applied within four hours of the blasting process. Finally, the
insulation and weather jacket were reapplied.
Offshore oil platform
An offshore oil platform, designed and constructed by a UK
engineering, procurement, installation commissioning (EPIC)
company, was to be erected in the North Sea oilfields and
required protection against this harsh environment. TSA was the
chosen solution.
The offshore platform, a three-leg tubular steel jacket, which
weighed approximately 436 t, with the topsides weighing around
345 t. The centre core of the jacket was 27.1 m long with 3 x 1 m dia.
main tubular columns. The insides of the columns were TSA’d with
250 – 400 μm of aluminium and sealed with an epoxy sealer.
Around two-thirds of the external surface of the columns, which
were going to be exposed to the harsh North Sea, were coated to
the same thickness, sealed with epoxy sealer and top coated with
a polyurethane (PU) topcoat.
The top section and the platform’s support braces were also
coated, sealed and top coated with PU, totalling another 500 m2.
Once the centre core and top section were welded together, the
weld joints were also coated, sealed and top coated to complete
the task and ensure all sections had been protected. The inclusion
of a longer supplies pack, up to 50 m from the gas bottles to the
pistol, provided the operators with the flexibility to move freely
around the large jacket structure without having to move the gas
supplies, which greatly increased productivity. This additional
aspect enabled the team to spray an average of 100 m2/d of TSA,
Product Bulletin
NeXRing™: covering all your random packing requirements

Why it’s 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 tower’s 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. Sulzer’s 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 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.

Figure 4. TSA being applied to a pipeline in hard to
access areas.
Figure 5. TSA being applied by flamespray to a new
offshore oil platform.
Figure 6. TSA being applied to a pipeline with MK73
flamespray system.
which, considering the complexity of the project, was quite an
achievement.
Prior to metal spraying the platform surfaces, each section
was grit blasted overnight, ready to be sprayed during the day.
The spraying chamber was maintained at a controlled
temperature with up to 2.2 million Btu of heating available to
ensure optimum quality of the coating. By applying TSA, the
platform has a predicted life to first maintenance in excess of
20 years, even in the harsh environment of the North Sea
oilfields.
May 2017 54 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Petrochemical plant
In a recent project at a petrochemical plant, the gas bottles and
compressor were situated in a remote supply area, which gave
easy access to the gas cylinders and enabled manifolding for
fewer cylinder changes. In elevated applications, such as vessels
and towers, the cylinders can remain on the floor, while the
spray system is elevated tens of metres. This situation requires
less complex scaffolding, as the heavy bottles are not scaffold
mounted. The 30 m supply package, consisting of gas, oxygen
and air, was fed from the overhead supply area down to the
control panel. The pistol is then a further 10 m away from the
control panel. This set up allows a length of piping that is
approximately 60 m long to be sprayed without having to move
the cylinders and air compressor, offering significant
productivity and safety benefits in a difficult environment.
The contractor on this specific project used two Metallisation
MK73 Flamespray systems in different spray locations. Once the
blasting and inspection were completed, the TSA application
commenced. Typically, blasting and inspection is completed in
the morning and takes approximately four hours. The TSA is
applied in the early afternoon for around three hours and the
final sealant application is at the end of the day. The TSA is
applied with a methodical work pattern, with the pipe topside
coated first and then the underside. The long supplies package
allows the sprayer and wireman to move freely and efficiently
around the worksite in order to suit the specific area.
The equipment's deflected extension is suitable for those
difficult to access areas commonly found at petrochemical sites
and has been designed specifically for this application area. It
comes in three lengths, 150 mm, 300 mm and 450 mm. The
extension unit can spray directly forward or at a deflected angle
(up to 90°) by varying the deflector air pressure. The deflection
nozzle can rotate through 180° to allow spraying in a 360° arc
around the pistol. The long supplies system provides flexible
working conditions, which are particularly useful when spraying
the underside of the pipes.
Following the application of the TSA, the pipelines in this
specific application were sealed. In some CUI related
environments, no sealer is applied, especially where the spray
area is operational and hot. During the application of the TSA,
the operators periodically checked the coating thickness using a
dry film thickness (DFT) gauge and made appropriate corrections
along the way. The specification for this particular job was
250 – 500 μm. The QA/QC inspector for the project also
checked and recorded the coating thickness throughout the
process. To support the QA/QC process, the spray operators
produced witness plates on a daily basis, which were then tested
for adhesion to ensure it met the minimum 1000 psi – 6.9 MPa
coating adhesion. Audit bond strength testing was also carried
out periodically on the actual sprayed pipe sections.
Conclusion
Corrosion prevention in the oil and gas industry is essential,
challenging and expensive. However, as demonstrated in these
case studies, metal spraying pipes, vessels, and platforms with
TSA has many benefits. TSA has proven to be a cost effective
solution when reviewed over the lifetime of the structures that
have been metal sprayed. As well as being ideal for CUI
protection, TSA also offers excellent protection against
traditional atmospheric corrosion.
OUT OF
THIS
WORLD
Stephen Karns, HarbisonWalker
International, USA, discusses how
petrochemical reformer efficiency
can be improved with high emissivity
coatings that were originally
designed for rocket nozzles.

E
ngineers of petrochemical plants are always searching
for ways to improve their process. After all,
continuous improvement is an important role in many
successful companies. Technology that can reduce
maintenance costs, cut fuel consumption, improve reliability,
or increase production are priority objectives for anyone
tasked with improving a plant’s processes. High emissivity
coatings can be utilised to address all of these key results,
especially when used in reforming and cracking furnaces. This
is because of the way that these coatings transfer more heat
to the process, rather than through the refractory lining,
yielding a greater efficiency with less wear and tear on
refractory and process tubes. Coatings similar to this have
already been used in lower temperature furnaces such as fired
heaters for years, but high emissivity coating technology is
now available that provides these results for years, between
turnarounds, and without any loss of efficiency.
Emisshield is a product line of high emissivity coatings
designed to maximise radiant heat transfer efficiency. It was
originally created by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) for use on heat shields and rocket
nozzles to reduce the surface temperature of these
components and maintain the proper operating
temperature. By using a high emissivity coating, the weight
on heat shields and rocket nozzles can be reduced, which in
turn can reduce the cost of operation and improve the
safety and reliability of the vessel.
When used for petrochemical reformers and crackers,
this coating can provide a variety of benefits including
increased production, decreased energy consumption, and

HYDROCARBON 55 May 2017

ENGINEERING

Figure 1. Percentage of cracking conversion increased after
installing Emisshield coating.
Table 1. Key performance indicators measured before and
after coating; all indicators show an improvement in efficiency average of 10°C, one clear sign that more energy is
Before
Radiant tube skin temperature (°C) 678
Coil outlet temperature (°C) 498
Radiant flue gas temperature (°C) 830
Exterior wall temperature (°C) 82.3
Table 2. Performance measurements before and after coating; additional 97 kg/hr or 776 tpy. Based on the value of
Emisshield decreased fuel consumption by 2%
Furnace # Before After
1 1.43 GJ/t 1.40 GJ/t
2 1.43 GJ/t 1.40 GJ/t
3 1.55 GJ/t 1.52 GJ/t
Average 1.47 GJ/t 1.44 GJ/t
reduced maintenance costs. By applying the coating to the
radiant walls and tubes in a pyrolysis furnace, the efficiency of
the furnace is improved significantly. Increasing the emissivity
of the surfaces also increases the amount of radiant energy the
surface can absorb and radiate. So, the surfaces not only
absorb more energy, they also radiate more energy –
depending on where the cooler load is located. When applied
to process tubes, the amount of energy absorbed is maximised,
thereby increasing the energy transferred to the feedstock. On
refractory walls – regardless of the type – maximising the
emissivity here will increase the amount of energy that the
wall absorbs. However, because the cooler load is inside the
furnace, this additional energy is radiated to the load rather
than being conducted through the lining to the shell. The
result is an overall increase in efficiency by transferring the
most energy possible to the feedstock. If all the conditions in
the furnace were kept the same (burners, feed rate, and
dampers) then the load would become overheated. To correct
this, the feed-rate is increased and the burners are turned
down. Most process heaters are designed to make these
changes automatically. When the feed rate is increased, this
boosts production; and once the burners have been turned
down, fuel consumption is concurrently decreased.
The folowing case study focuses on three vinyl chloride
monomer (VCM) reformers that were needed for a customer
May 2017 56 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
based in Saudi Arabia. One furnace was coated
initially, with the remaining two coated during the
following turnaround. These furnaces are all of
identical design, with wall burners directing the flame
along the refractory walls and including two passes
through the convective and radiate sections. Both
passes run through the convection section first, then
through the radiant section. Three main objectives
were assessed: increased VCM production, reduced
fuel consumption, and reduced maintenance cost.
The owner also had some unique problems; uneven
pass temperatures and bending tubes due to excess
operating temperatures.
Case study
Data was collected before and after it was coated.
The average observations are shown in Table 1. The
average exterior shell temperature dropped by an
After being transferred to the process stream. Reducing the
exterior temperature is also a benefit for workers’
600
safety, such that it diminishes the risk of dehydration
495
and heat stroke, and reduces the risk of explosion by
770 overheating exterior fuel lines. Based on these
63.7 observations, a minimum additional heat transfer of
314.5 w/m2 was estimated. This translates to an
this added production, a payback time of 1.25 years
% Change (15 months) is estimated, not including other savings.
The coating is expected to last at least five years, but
2.10
will likely last significantly longer. To further illustrate
2.10 the added VCM production, the cracking conversion
1.90 percentage was monitored. As can be seen in Figure 1,
2.04 the cracking conversion percentage increases
significantly after the installation, going from an
average of 50% before coating, to 54% – and climbing –
afterwards. One added benefit was a more consistent coil
outlet temperature between the first and second pass, which
helps to maximise the production of both passes. This is
caused by the more even heat distribution throughout the
entire radiant section.
Savings
To evaluate energy savings, an average annual cost of GJ/t of
product was measured before and after coating the furnaces.
Table 2 provides a summary and average of the findings for
each of the three furnaces. Overall, the average fuel savings
from all three furnaces was 2.04%. This is valued to be
approximately US$225 000 of savings for each furnace, with a
total saving of US$675 000 for all three annually. By using
Emisshield, the amount of energy transferred to the load is
increased, so less fuel is needed to heat the product to the
proper temperature. The burners were automatically adjusted
when the unit’s operators observed an increase in coil outlet
temperature, which yielded a reduced fuel consumption per
ton of product manufactured.
To gain an understanding of the difference in general
maintenance costs before and after coating, the maintenance
costs for 2.5 years before and after applying the coating were
compared. The average annual maintenance cost before
coating was US$493 000, whereas after coating it was
US$277 000 (a reduction of 44% and an annual savings of
US$216 000 per furnace, with a total annual average
maintenance savings of US$648 000).
Benefits
One effect is the lower surface temperature of the refractory
inside the furnace. In these furnaces, the only factor
influencing refractory life is temperature. Since more energy is
radiated from the surface of the refractory, its surface
temperature is reduced and it experiences less wear and
shrinkage over time, saving expenses on repair and
replacement.
Another result of implementing the coating is the effect it
has on the tubes, helping to reduce hotspots and eliminate
oxidation. High emissivity coatings on the tubes contribute to
the even distribution of heat along the entire tube and
throughout the entire furnace, which significantly reduces
hotspots that could damage the tube. Specifically, this solved
the issue of bending tubes that had plagued one of the
furnaces. In most furnaces such as these, coke buildup will
occur inside tubes at hotspots, eventually leading to a lengthy
shutdown to clear the blockage. The addition of a high
emissivity coating significantly reduces this buildup and can
double the time between decoking cycles by eliminating the
hotspots. This effect was observed in these furnaces and
attributed to the maintenance savings. Oxidation and
carburisation of the alloy also affect tube maintenance,
however this can be eliminated. Tubes no longer need to be
blasted to remove the insulating layer of oxide and will last
significantly longer because of it.
Other benefits of the coating included a decrease in
ceramic fibre dust buildup (resulting from the devitrification of
the fibres), reduced emissions, and a safer working
environment. The coating acts as a high temperature rigidiser
that prevents the fibres from breaking off and building up on
the tubes in the convection section. To keep the convection
section working properly, this has to be cleaned out
occasionally, losing production in the meantime. Because of
the added production and reduced fuel consumption, the
amount of CO, CO2, NOX, and SOX per unit of product
manufactured is also reduced. This can translate into fewer
carbon credits purchased, or increased production under
existing emissions permits. Lastly, the coating reduces exterior
temperatures, which helps to save on maintenance, but it also
helps to reduce the heat stress on employees working around
the furnace. In addition to this, it can prevent the overheating
of exterior fuel lines that can result in explosions. The overall
result is a safer furnace during operation.
Conclusion
In summary, high emissivity coatings can provide value to VCM
reforming furnaces. These coatings have provided additional
production, fuel savings, a reduction in maintenance costs, and
reduced emissions per unit of product manufactured. They
can also help to make the furnaces safer to work around.
 Orhan Karagöz,
g , Rembe,, Turkey, y,
examines the isolation and p protection of
safetyy valves usingg rupture
p discs on the
upstream
p and downstream connections.

I
n recent years, several industries have recognised the need to
isolate, or have protected, the inlet of a safety valve with
rupture discs. However, many have missed the opportunity to
fully protect the safety valve from the effects of process
conditions entering the outlet side of the valve.
Many years ago, the various industries, in many cases driven
by legislators and environmental groups, were faced with the
need to improve the rogue emissions that were left to flow for
years and ignored as part of ‘the way things were done’.
The first step was to try and find better safety valves that
were simple to build into the design of new plants. However, the
existing plants were looking at substantial investments to
replace older designs with newer ones. Similarly, for new plants
there was a significant increase in the cost of safety valves in
order to try and meet the lower emission levels required for
certification and permits that were necessary to allow start-up
and to continue to run the plants.
While there were significant increases in the capabilities of
safety valves, the expectation was that they would not be able
to meet the requirements for future zero targets. As such, an
alternative solution was needed.

The rupture disc

Rupture discs have been around for decades and were always
seen as the secondary solution for overpressure after safety
valves. The lack of understanding of the rupture disc continues
to this day, it can still be perceived as a mystery to engineers in
the mechanical and process disciplines, and to field operatives
that install and maintain them.
Discs are seen as a ‘problem’ because they open and let the
pressure out, when in fact that is exactly what they are designed

HYDROCARBON 59 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 to do. It is still unrecognised by many operators that when
the disc performs correctly it is not the problem, but the
solution.
So how does the rupture disc help the safety valve
perform better while it is in use? In the case of isolation, it
Figure 1. An up-close look at a rupture disc shows
leak tightness by metal-to-metal sealing.
Figure 2. An example of a combined rupture disc and
safety valve.
Figure 3. Rupture discs with smooth surfaces ensure
leak tightness.
May 2017 60 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
partners-up with the safety valve to help improve performance.
The safety valve requires the use of rupture discs to achieve
100% isolation and provide better operational stability.
For several years, Rembe has regularly observed rupture discs
being installed upstream of a safety valve. Operators are now
starting to appreciate that a properly engineered rupture disc
will help lower operating costs and increase the up-time for a
plant. The belief that this arrangement adds more cost to a
project has been proven to be false. In fact, the opposite is the
case, as costs are seen to come down.
Combatting corrosive materials
Take a typical installation where the safety valve faces a process
condition with a high concentration of corrosive materials,
increased temperatures and an operating pressure close to the
safety valve set pressure. This tests the limits of safety valves,
resulting in poor performance below the expected levels needed
for operational stability and no leaks. High maintenance costs are
needed to keep the valve as close to original specifications as
possible (increased downtime to the production for routine
valve servicing and/or repairs and higher manpower costs to
cover the work scopes).
The solution of the safety valve manufacturers is a higher
specification valve, made from more exotic materials with
higher CAPEX costs, as well as the increased cost of spares to
maintain the valves. Take a typical petrochemical plant with
several hundred safety valves. Over time, the CAPEX
accumulates to be a significant increase in the cost of the valve
inventory.
Rupture discs fitted upstream of the safety valve, in a
material that will isolate and withstand the process conditions,
leaves the plant owner to install lower grade materials in the
safety valve, while still meeting all the requirements of design,
but with a significant reduction in the safety valve CAPEX.
The rupture disc and holder will be a minor cost compared
to higher specification safety valve CAPEX. If the lower
maintenance costs are added, the disc and holder will cost
nothing. This is a win-win path with more production uptime,
less emissions, greater safety, overall lower maintenance costs
and spares inventory.
Challenges
However, Rembe still witnesses safety valves with an upstream
rupture disc failing, requiring maintenance and stopping
production or causing safety issues.
It is important to remember that a safety valve also has an
outlet. In many cases, the outlet is not a separate line to
discharge but is manifolded together with other parts of the
plant, allowing process gases/vapour to enter the outlet of the
valve and creating safety valve failures.
This is something easily eliminated by a downstream
rupture disc, which prevents any process gases entering the
safety valve on the outlet side. The rupture disc will also block
any back pressure from entering the safety valve and remove
those concerns during valve selection.
With burst sensors installed both upstream and
downstream, rupture discs can be monitored and connected
back to the control room for system reporting across the plant,
so operators instantly know which valves and discs are in a
green or red state.
Q Customer:
Ethylene plant, Saudi Arabia.

Q Challenge:
Overhaul and repair four critical steam turbines in 12 days.

Q Result:
Elliott coordinated six months of pre-planning –
and completed the project four days early.

They turned to Elliott

for planning and execution.
The customer turned to Elliott because they understood that planning is everything –
and that few companies can match Elliott in turnaround planning and execution.
Who will you turn to?

C O M P R E S S O R S Q T U R B I N E S Q G L O B A L S E R V I C E The world turns to Elliott.

www.elliott-turbo.com

Figure 4. In-situ testing saves time and money.
The rupture disc manufacturer can, in conjunction with
design/process engineers, work to select the rupture discs that
give the best possible safety and isolation performance.
Unfortunately, this is still a rarity and is a common explanation
for why rupture discs may be blamed for poor performance
when they are simply doing what they are designed to do.
They are the only fail-safe device that always opens when
faced with an over pressure situation.
Case study
This case study is an example of a refinery application where
safety valves failed in operation due to process conditions
attacking the metal structure.
Rembe was approached by the refinery to assist them in
overcoming the serious issue with the safety valves. The plant
needed to operate for three years without safety valve removal
for service and recertification, except in emergency cases. During
the removal of the safety valves at a scheduled shutdown,
several valves were found with broken or cracked springs,
springs that had corroded to failure point, bellows that were
corroded and breached, and several safety valves so badly
affected that the disc and nozzle were corroded solidly
together and the valve could not have opened.
This raised major safety concerns that the plant would not
meet its three-year maintenance-free plan, which would cause
it to revert back to the tried and tested method of regular
removal/replacement of the safety valves.
In conjunction with Rembe, the analysis showed that
aggressive process gases were present upstream and in the
downstream side of the valves and that the best protection
for the valve was offered through isolation with rupture discs
in a suitable material. This would also allow the end user to
progress towards a three-year target with the end goal of
extending this to five years.
In addition, the use of the company's KUB-V rupture discs
allows for in-situ lift testing of the safety valves during the
three-year period to ensure that the safety valves were still
operational. Rembe’s rupture discs can be removed and
inspected then reused and still be in a serviceable condition.
Conclusion
While the benefits of rupture discs have been a mystery to
many operators for several decades, there is a growing
appreciation of their ability to help improve the performance
of safety valves. As illustrated in the above case study, a
properly engineered rupture disc can help to lower operating
costs and increase a plant's up-time.
STAR-CCM+: Discover
better designs, faster.
Multiphase fluid dynamics simulation for
the fermentation and process industries.
siemens.com/mdx
 Volker Becker,
MAN PrimeServ
(MAN Diesel & Turbo),
Germany, discusses an
equipment turnaround and
upgrading case study for a
refinery in Romania.

Unconventional
thinking pays
off
S
ince the end of the 1970s, the Rompetrol company
on the Black Sea coast at Navodari, Romania, has
been running several turbomachinery units at the
local Petromidia refinery. The turbomachinery was
originally delivered by former GHH Sterkrade company,
which is now part of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE. As
predecessor of the original manufacturer,
MAN Diesel & Turbo still offers all services for the
turbomachinery, which is now more than 35 years old.
The Petromedia refinery is a member of KMG
International/KazMunayGas Group and one of Eastern
Europe's largest refineries with a processing capacity of
more than 5 million tpy of crude oil, or 100 000 bpd.
Rominserv is responsible for maintenance and repair at
the refinery. The turbomachinery delivered in 1978 by
GHH/MAN includes the following:
„ Two syngas barrel compressors, type RV040/06,
designed for an intake rate of 119 000 Nm3/hr and a
discharge pressure of 18.5 bar, respectively driven by
four-stage back-pressure steam turbines, type
DG040/030l.
„ One six-stage mixed flow gas radial compressor, type
RH063/06K, designed for an intake rate of
37 100 Nm3/hr and discharge pressure of 17.6 bar, driven
by an electric motor and transmission gearing.
„ One three-stage, double-flow radial air compressor,
type RH080/03D, designed for an intake rate of
60 000 Nm3/hr and discharge pressure of 3.3 bar,
driven by a condensing turbine, type DK060/110R.
In 2008, a barrel compressor, type RB35-5, was installed
at the refinery as part of a mid-hydrocracking plant. At the
beginning of the 1990s, one of the aforementioned
compressor systems for syngas compressing had already
been shut down.
Up to 2010, the machinery was predominantly maintained
by original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-independent

HYDROCARBON 63 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 spare parts deliveries, was
deemed inadvisable.
Among other discoveries,
major eccentricities between
the bearing blocks and
machine enclosures were
identified. If not subject to
extensive machine-based
repair work, they would lead
to irreparable damage to
enclosures and bearing seats.
Figure 1. Synthesis gas compressor: before (left) and after maintenance and Various machine fixtures
reconditioning (right). such as enclosure rings, blade
carriers and labyrinth seals
could no longer be
disassembled without
destroying them as they
were too fouled and thus,
irremovably lodged in the
enclosures. Some enclosure
walls also revealed material
cracks.
Tolerances and play far
exceeded the specified
range, bearing materials were
brittle and damaged. Some
Figure 2. Centrifugal compressor: before (left) and after (right); the revision brought of the rotors displayed major
visible effects. run-out deviations. Existing
spares were, for the most
part, unmaintained and part of previous overhauls. In some
cases, there were no longer even any original parts.
On opening the enclosure, the DG040/030l
back-pressure turbine in particular revealed major defects.
Bearings were worn, labyrinth seals damaged, and the
blades and steam nozzles were seriously eroded by steam.
Even the turbine rotor, for which no spare had been
stocked, was damaged (some of its labyrinth seals were
broken off, its blades were victim to steam erosion, and the
journal diameters were far below the set diameter due to
previous repairs).
It soon became apparent that complete restoration of
the turbine would be impossible within the timeframe with
the existing spares and without considerable
Figure 3. Beside detailed planning, comprehensive machine-based repair work on the enclosure and blading.
maintenance projects also require close co-operation Due to the original design of the turbine and its
between field service and service workshops. corresponding safety reserves, MAN Primeserv managed to
complete an emergency overhaul of the equipment. The
service providers. However, in 2010 MAN PrimeServ, service operator was thus able to resume operation in safety until
provider of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, was commissioned as the next overhaul. The plant was duly recommissioned
general contractor to perform overhaul work on the after the overhaul so that neither upstream or downstream
specified machinery. The main aim of this measure was to processes in the refinery needed to be interrupted
enhance plant availability through preventive maintenance unnecessarily.
and thus eliminate the eventuality of unforeseen Due to a lack of spare parts and machine tools, defective
shutdowns. labyrinth seals, for instance, could only be repaired manually,
On shutting down the plant for overhaul, major with blade edges merely equalised by hand and bearing
defects were identified. Due to the extremely narrow time surfaces re-bedded as best possible. Crack tests were also
slot, a major effort was involved in rectifying these performed and existing cracks ground out.
defects so that availability could be guaranteed for the The syngas compressor also revealed considerable
next five years of production. However, continuing defects, in this case, bearings and oil-buffered seals were
operation after 2015, without further repair measures and replaced. The decision was taken not to remove the barrel

May 2017 64 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
 MAXIMIZE UPTIME
Use a permanent tube plug for continuous operation

Pop-A-Plug ®
Heat Exchanger Tube Plugging System

Welding plugs into your Heat Exchangers

can damage the tubes & tubesheet resulting
in costly unplanned downtime.

Pop-A-Plug Heat Exchanger Tube Plugs from EST Group serve as the safe and reliable tube plugging solution
for critical processes. They provide a controlled and repeatable method for safely sealing heat exchanger tubes
with a pressure rating up to 7000 PsiG (483 BarG). Installation takes only minutes and protects against damage
to tubesheet ligaments and adjacent tube sheet joints. Pop-A-Plug Heat Exchanger Tube Plugs conform to
ASME PCC-2 2015 recommended tube plugging repair methods.

For more information and a list of available plug materials visit cw-estgroup.com/he05 EST Group

Figure 4. On-site experts identify maintenance
requirements.
Figure 5. High-end equipment in the service
workshop ensures precision on-site.
as the existing spare parts were assessed to be inadequate.
Again, due to the compressor's high quality and existing
safety reserves, it was also possible to resume use safely
until the next overhaul.
Immediately following the overhaul, the plant
operator and MAN representative office in Romania met
to draft a service concept aimed at guaranteeing reliable
continued plant operation to far beyond 2025. The state
of the syngas system, in particular, posed a challenge
because the refinery stipulated that the customary
overhaul period of three weeks, planned for 2015, could
not be extended despite the considerable extent of
necessary repairs.
May 2017 66 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Thus, over the course of 2011, the idea of using the
identical machine shutdown at the beginning of the 1990s
to replace the machinery during the 2015 overhaul was
suggested. However, as this plant had been used as a source
of spare parts for the machinery still in operation since its
shutdown, almost all that was left on the machine platform
was the outer casing, which due to exposure to the
elements, was in a deplorable state. And although various
used spare parts were found in the customer's warehouse,
it was immediately obvious that their condition precluded
installation.
No one on the client's side could imagine that the
barrel compressor and back-pressure turbine would ever
see service again. However, after intensive discussion and
technical deliberations, Rominserv was finally persuaded of
the feasibility of replacing the machinery within the
available overhaul period.
Working closely together, Rominserv and MAN
Primeserv Field Service Coordination drafted detailed
overall project schedules, in which all repair and overhaul
jobs were planned along with the required personnel, tools,
materials and spare parts, as well as the use of portable
machine tools. A risk assessment was also included, in
which possible findings on the machinery were enumerated
and measures for their rectification were defined in
advance.
The two old casings were disassembled in mid-2014 in
Navodari and, together with any remaining parts, shipped
to the MAN PrimeServ's Repair Competence Center in
Oberhausen, Germany. After arrival, all parts were
examined, repaired or, in some cases, new parts were
produced entirely.
A major advantage was the fact that MAN, as original
manufacturer, held all production drawings for the two
machines and, as a result, no re-engineering was necessary.
Furthermore, design options could be put in place that
upgraded the technical state of the old machinery beyond
its original level.
After reconditioning, the barrel compressor and
back-pressure turbine were returned to the refinery
promptly before the overhaul date. The back-pressure
turbine could only be shipped part-assembled due to its
design with two floating bearing blocks. Final assembly
could therefore only take place on site in Navodari during
the planned shutdown.
An extensive package of spare parts was ordered and
delivered for the remaining turbomachinery, including new
rotors, casing rings, blade carriers, labyrinth seals and
bearings.
At the start of the overhaul in September 2015, the
steam and process gas lines on the old turbine and
compressor enclosure of the syngas plant were
disconnected and the two machine enclosures lifted out of
the base frame.
The base frame support surfaces were cleaned and
optically measured, whereupon major deviations in
parallelism were established between the different
surfaces. As an initial rough measurement had been
conducted on the base frame prior to the start of the
overhaul, during which the first deviations were already
identified, portable machine tools were already put in
place before the overhaul and were ready for action. Work
on the surface support could commence immediately – a
preventive measure that ultimately helped minimise the
overhaul time.
A total of six base frame support surfaces were
Together facing a
reworked with portable milling tools to restore them to brighter tomorrow
their original state and required degree of surface quality.
Once the surfaces had been reworked, the two At Yokogawa, we believe the sky’s the limit.
reconditioned machines were mounted on the frame. And to reach beyond today’s horizons,
The final turbine assembly went successfully, as all we work step-by-step with you to make
settings and clearance adjustments had already been
the unimagined a reality. That’s how we
performed at the Repair Competence Center in Oberhausen.
move forward, through the synergy of
The two enclosures were then aligned in relation to one
another and new dowel holes were inserted to secure the co-innovation partnership. Join hands with
enclosure, with the help of a portable boring mill. us, and together we can sustain a brighter
All the peripheral equipment of the old machine was future. Yokogawa: Building a better
reused and connected to the new enclosure. The necessary tomorrow with you today.
connection tolerances, in respect to the flange parallelism
and offset of the process lines, were observed without
having to cut any lines. Therefore, it was sufficient in this
case to slightly adjust the line routing and brackets.
With the help of hydraulic traverse lifts specially Please visit www.yokogawa.com/eu
produced in advance, the fixed enclosure rings could be
removed from the other two radial compressor enclosures
without damaging the outer enclosure. Once all fixtures
had been removed from the two compressor enclosures
and condensing turbine, the enclosures were cleaned and
the centre position measured.
Using a portable lathe, the bearing seats on four
compressor bearing blocks and two turbine bearing blocks
were removed, along with the newly delivered bearing
supports. Then the bearing blocks were centred in relation
to the machine enclosures. After the crack test on the
enclosure, all interior parts were replaced by new parts and
everything was reassembled with the specified tolerances.

Feedback
At the end of September 2015, all plant parts were
recommissioned in process conditions and have been
operating since to the customer's full satisfaction.
Since the original syngas plant best supported the plant
in operation during its 25 year 'sleep' through its supply of
various spare parts, this role can now be assumed by the
now-dismantled plant.
After overhaul, the old plant and all dismantled parts of
the other MAN turbomachinery were returned to the
Repair Competence Center for inspection and repair. This
ensures that all the necessary parts will be available again
for the next general overhaul and continued operation of
the overall plant is guaranteed for the upcoming years.

Conclusion
Besides technical expertise as the basic prerequisite for
maintenance and service, this case study shows the vital
importance of open transparent communication and
intensive cooperation between plant operator and machine
and system manufacturer to duly perform exacting
time-critical work within budget for the full satisfaction of
all concerned.
 GETTING
CREATIVE
Sean Phillips, FS-Elliott, USA, reviews the commissioning of
a customised compressed air solution for a Middle Eastern
oil refinery, and the recommendations for reducing project
and maintenance costs while increasing system efficiency.

May 2017 68 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
T
he challenge is on for oil refineries. According
to a recent A.T. Kearney1 study of the global
refining market, 1 in 10 oil refineries are
expected to cease operations over the next
four years. To survive, and ensure fiscal sustainability,
refineries are reorganising their operational models,
expanding product offerings, increasing efficiency, and
preparing to meet the upcoming environmental
regulations.
Understanding that the volatile market conditions
required a significant response, a refinery located in the
Middle East organised an expansion project set forth to
double its refining capacities while minimising
environmental impacts and improving the safety and
functionality of its operations. Included in the project
was a highly customised solution for delivering
instrument air to processes within the refinery.
Project details
Historically, the Middle Eastern refinery had a strong
relationship with FS-Elliott dating back to the 1980s
when the refinery’s first compressor was commissioned.
The relationship was further strengthened through new
projects, technical inquiries, and on-site lessons to
educate new equipment users on best practices for
efficient compressor operation. Once an engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) contractor was
identified, the refinery expressed an interest in
partnering with FS-Elliott for its compressed air system.
The EPC’s responsibilities included the engineering,
procurement, construction and commissioning of crude
distillation units, atmospheric residue desulfurisation
units, diesel hydrotreating units, naphtha hydrotreating
units, kerosene hydrotreating units, a saturated gas unit
and a heavy oil cooling unit. After receiving the various
project specifications set forth by the refinery, EPC, and
the project management consultant (PMC), FS-Elliott
scheduled an on-site meeting to discuss the project.
With specifications coming in from multiple parties, an
important part of this meeting was clarifying
contradictory requests to ensure the equipment met the
refineries' expectations. The EPC stressed that staying
within budget and on schedule was critical to project
success with no room for complications.
With the details collected from their onsite meeting,
FS-Elliott prepared a quotation for two separate,
three-stage, API centrifugal compressors capable of
delivering 162 m3/min. of pressure and up to 10.3 bar (g).
One unit would be driven by a high-tension electric
motor, the other driven by a steam turbine. To allow the
EPC to visualise the equipment configuration, the
company developed 3D renderings of the compressors
and dryers, which were imported into the EPC’s 3D plant
layout system to identify possible interference issues.
HYDROCARBON 69 May 2017
ENGINEERING

Figure 1. Compressor 3D model at the 30% milestone
review.
Figure 2. Compressor 3D model at the 60%
milestone review.
In many cases, the specifications for downstream
projects are not applicable to packaged equipment.
Therefore, collaborating with a compressor
manufacturer to help understand the implications of
including or not including an aspect of a specification
is vital to meeting budgetary constraints and fulfilling
the needs of the end user. During the bidding phase,
FS-Elliott formed a team consisting of a project
manager, control system engineer, sales engineer, and
product engineer, all serving to educate the EPC on
unfamiliar areas of the compressor specifications and
ensure the parties involved from FS-Elliott were on the
same page regarding the needs of the refinery. Specific
recommendations from the project team included
adding shut-off valve level transmitters to reduce
maintenance requirements, and designing the
compressor with outward connections for easier
May 2017 70 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
accessibility, saving the refinery labour, time and
money.
Bridging technology and
communication
The EPC awarded FS-Elliott the bid based on its prior
experience working with the refinery, the level of
technical resources that were contributed during the
bid process and the company's flexible approach to
compressor manufacturing. Although the project
manager was highly involved during the bidding phase,
upon winning the project, the project manager began
to serve as the single point of contact throughout
project execution.
Virtual 3D review sessions took place at the 30, 60,
90, and 100% project milestones to accommodate the
challenge of the EPC’s technical and management team
spread across multiple locations and to allow for
real-time analysis. During the 30% project milestone
review, the team examined the interstage piping, all
major connections and the sub skid and instrument
rack dimensions to ensure the correct clearances were
met. At the 60% review, oil and water piping,
instrument and valve orientation positioning, and
minor end user connections were examined, along with
a detailed inspection of the instrument rack design.
Kick plates were added in the 60% review to elevated
walkways to ensure the safety of the refinery workers.
A final review was performed at the 90% review, which
included a comprehensive inspection of the system
along with all electrical connections. Human factors
and ergonomics (HF&E) were reviewed at this stage,
ensuring controls were at eye level, valves were easily
accessible, intercooler bundles could be removed
without interference, and all pipes that radiated heat
were insulated to prevent injury. The time and
dedication to detail during each milestone review
allows for a smoother installation and the avoidance of
potential HF&E issues that could potentially turn into
rework for the refinery after installation.
Advanced compressor control
According to the project specifications, separate control
systems should be available to provide inlet guide
vane/blow-off valve pressure and flow control and
anti-surge control. Since adding a separate system
required additional instrumentation, such as flow
transmitters, temperature transmitters, and inlet guide
vane position feedback, the sales engineer reached out
to the EPC to explain the capabilities of the control
system.
The company’s control systems offer either
anti-surge control or surge avoidance. Understanding
the needs of the refinery, FS-Elliott suggested surge
avoidance based on the compressor motor power being
proportional to airflow. When compared to flow-based
anti-surge control, surge avoidance would be much
easier to operate and more cost effective for the EPC.
Unlike traditional systems that rely on a manual
process, the company’s control system provided
 Rack-Pinion-Rack Tight Shut High Capacity Single High Pressure Drop
Gear Train Off Stage Trim Multi-Stage Trim

SEE US AT...

INDUSTRIAL VALVE WORLD

VALVE SUMMIT AMERICAS
BERGAMO - ITALY HOUSTON, TX - USA
24-25 MAY 20-21 JUNE
PRODUCE ITALY STAND BAYSON STAND

AXIAL ISOLATION

Goodwin Axial Isolation and Control

Valves provide durability, reliability and
control, with the exceptional service
that Goodwin is renowned for.

AXIAL CONTROL

flowcontrol@goodwingroup.com
+44 1782 654000
www.goodwinflowcontrol.com
LEARN MORE

Figure 3. Compressor 3D model at the 90%
milestone review.
Figure 4. Control panel with dual redundancy
and integrated condition and vibration monitoring
hardware.
operators with hot swap full redundancy, allowing
critical components, such as the central processing unit,
power supply, and input/output modules, to continue to
operate without interruption should one component
fail. This automatic process avoids unexpected
shutdowns and switches control while the unit is still in
operation. By using one system to fulfil the required
control capabilities, the EPC was able to save over
US$300 000 and allow for a more simplified integration
with plant controls.
The control system designed for the project featured
intrinsically safe circuitry, essential for the potentially
hazardous operating environment, a MODBUS connection
to the refinery’s distributed control system (DCS) and
May 2017 72 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
integrated condition and vibration monitoring hardware.
Control modes included base, suction throttle, and auto
dual, with the latter being the most common of
operating modes that allows for the most efficient
operation of the compressor. An anti-condensation
heater was added to maintain the temperature inside the
control panel several degrees above the outside ambient
temperature and the dew point, eliminating damaging
condensation.
Seawater-resistant design
Constant sand storms, temperatures reaching upwards of
60˚C, 100% humidity, and a potentially hazardous
atmosphere, while common for Middle Eastern oil
refineries, are extremely challenging conditions for
compressor operation. Adding to the complications was
the lack of on-site process water.
Typical centrifugal compressors feature water-cooled
intercoolers between each stage to return the air to an
ambient temperature and remove condensed moisture.
After the final compression stage, an aftercooler uses
the water to cool the air and remove additional
moisture before the air exits the system.
Without process water cooling capacities, the
refinery would be relying on seawater to cool its
equipment, which presents significant challenges. From
working on past projects with oil refineries that relied
on seawater for compressor cooling, FS-Elliott
understood the risk of debris entering the compressed
air system and the destructive nature of seawater.
Cement-lined steel pipes were used to bring the
seawater up to the water manifold, as this was the best
way to protect the pipes from corrosion. Titanium was
selected to safeguard the machinery, the supply pipes,
heat exchanger tubes and all channels, bonnets, and
nozzles. Although challenging to work with, titanium
offered superior durability, while still allowing for the
adequate removal of the heat of compression. Since
there was a risk of sand entering the intake airstream,
self-cleaning intake filters were added and integrated
into the control system monitoring.
Conclusion
Upon final testing, the units were shipped to the
Middle Eastern refinery in late 2016 with start-up
planned for mid-2017. An internal meeting between the
company’s project execution and global services took
place to review the project and understand the needs of
installation and start-up. Due to the delay between
shipment and start-up, an extended warranty and
storage instructions were provided to keep the
equipment safe until commissioning. Once
commissioned, the compressed air system will serve a
major role in the expansion project, which will keep the
Middle Eastern refinery profitable amidst the dynamic
downstream market conditions.
References
1. ROSS, B., FORREST, R., WALTERS, N. and KAUTOVAARA, A., 'The
Shifting Oil Refinery Landscape: Transformations for 2021',
Future Refining & Storage, (February 2016).
 WHAT
TO
EXPECT
Fernando Romero and Matt Walton, Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries Compressor International, USA,
examine the effects of impeller manufacturing
tolerances on compressor efficiency.

S
ir Stanley Hooker described the act of
compressing a gas in a centrifugal compressor as
the action of driving water over a ramp with a
broom: “One can take almighty strokes, and over
the water goes”. This is analogous to the aerodynamic
principles utilised by impellers inside centrifugal
compressors. The impellers impart kinetic energy by
accelerating the working fluid. Inside the diffuser the
fluid decelerates, converting kinetic energy into
potential energy, resulting in a static pressure increase.
The efficiency of individual impellers affects the overall
performance of a multistage compressor.
Over the last 40 years, discharge pressures for high
pressure compressors has more than doubled from
6000 psi to 14 000 psi. LNG and ethylene plant sizes
have increased eightfold over the same period of time.
Impeller efficiency and compressor stability are two key
design factors required to meet the increase in demand
and service. Compressors working with higher discharge
pressures are subjected to higher excitation forces,
require narrower impeller passages and operate at
higher rotational speeds. This means effective design
requires an accurate prediction of the expected
performance, while the manufacturing methods must

HYDROCARBON 73 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 provide resilience and the highest degree of
dimensional control.
In this article, the authors present a detailed
evaluation of the effects of impeller manufacturing
methods, tolerances and quality control over impeller
efficiency and the overall compressor performance. A
statistical design methodology, called the
Taguchi method, was used during the evaluation of
various impeller characteristics and their influence on
performance.
A real life case study of the performance of two
compressors, triggered by a performance discrepancy
observed during an actual factory acceptance test, is
presented. One rotor was constructed with traditional
two-piece welded impellers, while the second was
made with impellers manufactured from a single piece
of material by electric discharge machining. The results
of the study validate the experimental observations of
the Taguchi method and confirm that single-piece
Figure 1. Configuration pattern parameters for
impeller performance.
impellers manufactured to higher dimensional
tolerances perform to higher efficiency than
two-piece impellers.
Compressor and impeller design
Equipment designers and manufacturers both rely on
sophisticated computational methods and empirical
test data to define the specific shape of a
compressor impeller. The latest computational
methods allow for very complex simulations and
predictions of performance that get closer to reality.
Higher computing power enables engineers to
superimpose multiple disciplines into one analysis or
simulation, solving more than one problem at a time.
This optimises the design process and enables
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to increase
the discharge pressure, efficiency and operating
ranges of their compressors.
The end result of the design process is a ‘flow
path’ that defines the area variation within a
compressor impeller and the particular shape of an
impeller vane. Once an ideal impeller shape for a
specific range of operating conditions is found, the
actual impeller performance is measured in a test
bed and compared to the intended design based on
the computational analysis.
Impellers that meet design expectations can be
trusted to become part of an OEM’s design catalogue
and represent the seed design that is used to
generate a family of impellers that are further
optimised to varying operating conditions. These
variations and fine tuning are achieved by scaling the
impeller flow path and adjusting the shroud, hub and
head cuts.
Since the manufacturing process used in the
construction of an impeller has a direct influence on
the impeller’s performance (due to the impeller
shape difference from the standard impeller and
deviation from the similarity principle in the range of
tolerances), it is important for the compressor
designers to have an understanding of how these
variables influence the impeller performance.

Taguchi evaluation of impeller

Table 1. Summary of performance statistical
analysis results features
Taguchi combined engineering and statistics to
Control factor Polytropic Pressure
efficiency coefficient produce a statistical evaluation tool that was used to
measure the influence of key impeller design
Blade lean angle @ inlet Low Low
parameters on impeller performance through
sensitivity sensitivity
experimental variation. The experiment relies on
Blade lean angle @ outlet Low Low computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to predict the
sensitivity sensitivity
impeller design. The Taguchi method is useful in
Blade height @ outlet (tip width) Low High identifying which design parameters produce a
sensitivity sensitivity
relevant effect and, therefore, should be the focus
Blade height @ inlet High Moderate for establishing tolerance requirements that minimise
sensitivity sensitivity
deviations from the target performance.
Welding distortion Moderate Moderate Figure 1 shows the different impeller parameters
sensitivity sensitivity
considered for the experimental evaluation. These
Blade thickness Low Low variables are defined as the ‘control factors’ during
sensitivity sensitivity the experimental evaluation.

May 2017 74 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
 HAVER & BOECKER

The control factors’ variation ranges are based on

actual measured dimensional variations observed
during the manufacturing process of impellers. For
each variation, the pressure coefficient and
CHEMICALS
polytropic efficiency of the impeller is calculated.
The factors that were found to have moderate to
high effects on impeller performance are blade height
at the inlet and outlet and welding distortion. In
addition, the beta angle variations can greatly affect
the pressure coefficient of low flow coefficient
impellers.

Impeller manufacturing methods

Over the last century, engineers have continually
improved state-of-the-art compressor impeller
manufacturing. The range of impeller manufacturing
methods has evolved and become more
sophisticated, along with the machines themselves.
Lower technology designs used the classical riveted
type, which are obsolete in today’s advanced
machines. In this design, the blades, cover and back
plate are all made from different pieces of metal,
fastened together by mechanical rivets. The
three-piece welded type is similar, with fillet welds
joining the blades to both the cover and the back
plate. A two-piece welded impeller improves on this
by reducing one half of the welds. In this type, the
blades and the cover or back plate are machined from
a solid piece of material before welding. A two-piece
brazed impeller is similar, but brazing allows for
joinery that is too small to weld effectively and can
also reduce the distortion introduced by welding. In
the one-piece weldless type, the flow path is formed
CLEAN.
by material removal from a solid piece of metal.
Impellers can also be manufactured by casting using INTELLIGENT.
PROFITABLE.
the lost wax method. The last four listed methods are
the most widely employed by current manufacturers.

The downside to welding

Impellers are subject to very high static and dynamic What if you could own and control the perfect
stresses. Static stress loads are primarily caused by flow within your complete process without
centrifugal loading, while dynamic stresses are due to
making any compromises?
a variety of causes such as harmonic excitation,
natural frequency resonance, acoustic loads, or flow
variations. Additionally, compressors are often Now you can.
exposed to harsh environments, which can introduce
harmful corrosive elements. Welded impellers have
the disadvantage of having a heat affected zone
(HAZ), which is an area that typically exhibits
increased hardness and comparatively worse
mechanical and material properties than the weld
joint or base metal. Given the demands inherent in HAVER & BOECKER OHG
impeller design, the reduced properties in the HAZ Phone: +49 (0) 25 22-30 0
and the distortion introduced during welding may chemicals@haverboecker.com
pose a disadvantage. Experienced metallurgists know
to look to the weld joint as the prime suspect in an
impeller root cause failure analysis.
In contrast, one-piece sans-weld impellers
produce a monolithic structure that is the most
accurate and resilient when compared to multi-part

HAVER & BOECKER

 impellers. Most single-piece impellers with wide flow
paths can be manufactured on 5 axis computer
numerical control (CNC) mills. For applications with
narrow flow paths, alternative methods such as electric
discharge machining (EDM) in combination with
electrolytic machining (ECM) can be applied, where the
practical limitations of the machine tool head are
reached. Advanced single-piece impeller manufacturing
methods that utilise 3D printing are being explored.
Typical one-piece manufacturing
sequence
The typical manufacturing sequence for a single-piece
impeller begins with a forged disc that has been
solution treated, water quenched and stress relieved.
This disc is machined to a rough shape and is inspected
for defects. The impeller gas passages are then formed
using EDM.
The EDM process uses a series of carbon electrodes
shaped to form the gas passage. A set of approximately
10 (depending on impeller configurations) different
shaped electrodes are required to form the gas passage.
The impeller and electrode are immersed in a dielectric
fluid and a direct current is applied to the electrode
and cycled on and off. When the dielectric strength of
the fluid is achieved, plasma forms, which allows a
spark between the electrode and the impeller. The
spark melts and vaporises the impeller material, and
over time forms the shape of the impeller’s gas passage.
Figure 2. The EDM process.
Figure 3. The ECM process.
May 2017 76 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
The dielectric solution cools the impeller and
electrode and carries the debris away, where it is
filtered from the fluid.
As the EDM process melts the material at the
surface, a thin layer of the molten material re-solidifies.
This thin layer on the surface is referred to as the
recast layer. A very thin HAZ also forms below the
recast layer as a result of the high temperatures
associated with the EDM process. These surface
conditions can have the same negative effect on
impeller efficiency and strength under corrosive
conditions that a weld HAZ can. To remove the recast
and HAZ, and to improve the surface finish, polishing
has to be considered.
To polish the impeller, ECM uses Faraday’s principle
(electrolysis) to remove material from the work piece.
The process is the reverse of electroplating. The
impeller (anode) and electrode (cathode) are immersed
in a electrolyte solution (Figure 2). This controlled
material removal sacrifices a small (50 μ) layer from the
impeller surface. This removes the recast layer and
HAZ, and improves the surface finish, with typical
surface finishes from ECM finer than Ra = 6 μ. Final
machining and balancing are then conducted on a
smooth, dimensionally accurate, and HAZ-free impeller
(Figure 3).
A test bench case study
During a manufacturing performance test of a
conventional two-piece welded impeller design,
measured efficiency was higher than predicted while
the measured pressure coefficient was lower than
predicted. To investigate this phenomenon, a root
cause analysis (RCA) was conducted.
The RCA results indicated that the impeller flow
passage area was the most likely cause of the
performance discrepancy. To check this, the outlet flow
area of each impeller was measured and compared
against the design value.
It was determined that the flow areas of the
impellers were restricted by excessive weld
penetration, and the blade thickness at the impeller
inlet and outlet were larger than those of the scaled
standard impeller due to the limitations of the
fabrication process. The deviation from scale model
impeller's principle of scaling, and the restriction of
impeller flow area caused the performance test result.
The design engineering team re-simulated the
impeller performance, adjusting the model to account
for the restricted flow passages. It was found that if
the impeller was manufactured with no deviations, it
would match the scaled standard impeller, and the
compressor would have matched the predicted
performance. The application of one-piece impellers
was chosen as the optimum resolution based on the
narrow gas passages.
The one-piece impeller rotor was manufactured and
installed in the high pressure compressor casing and an
ASME PTC-10 Type-2 performance test was conducted.
At the guarantee point, the one-piece impeller showed a
 OUR RAPID RESPONSE

WE PROMISE IMMEDIATE SUPPORT. THEN WE OVER DELIVER.

Responsive Aftermarket Support from our Advanced Facility.

When every minute of downtime matters, you need responsive support you can rely on.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has established a world-scale manufacturing and service facility in
Pearland, Texas to provide rapid response for your product’s entire lifecycle. This state-of-the-art
facility, Pearland Works, offers 24/7 emergency response for MCO-I machinery and all other
manufacturers equipment, as well as advanced machine tools, field service, spare parts
support and over 50,000 sq. ft. of storage space.

www.mhicompressor.com/en

Figure 4. Performance improvement by one piece impeller
Type-2 test.
20% improvement in the pressure coefficient and a 2.5%
improvement in polytrophic efficiency. This result is consistent
with the results of the simulation. In other words, improved
tolerance control and no welding distortion accounted for this
improvement in both pressure coefficient and efficiency.
Based on the test results for two-piece and one-piece
impellers (Figure 4), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor
Your Specialist for
PRESSURE RELIEF
SOLUTIONS
Inc.
3809 Beam Road Suite K | Charlotte, NC 28217, USA Gallbergweg 21 | 59929 Brilon, Germany
F +1 704 716 7025 | info@rembe.us | www.rembe.us F +49 2961 50714 | www.rembe.de
Corp. has improved its design procedure for the
application of one-piece impellers and
performance correction factors for the two-piece
welded impellers when in applications with narrow
tip width. This continuous improvement of both
manufacturing methodology and simulation
improvement from empirical data enables
Mitsubishi to achieve guaranteed machine
performance.
Conclusion
Even though the physics of compressing fluids has
not changed since the invention of the centrifugal
compressor, the science of designing and
manufacturing these machines has evolved
significantly to meet new industry and process
challenges. Due to the complex geometry and
numerous manufacturing variables, turbomachinery
designers will continue to rely on empirical data
from design experience and bench testing. This
data can back feed into computational methods to
generate increasingly accurate models, which allow
designers to evaluate the benefits of new and
advanced manufacturing methods.
Note
The content of this article was adapted from a lecture
presented by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor
Corp. and ExxonMobil Development Company at the
41st Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (2012) entitled:
‘A Comparison of Manufacturing Methods, Quality Control
and Testing Methods as they relate to High Head Low Flow
Impeller Efficiency and Overall Compressor Performance’.
T +1 704 716 7022
T +49 2961 7405-0
Consulting. Engineering. Products. Service.
© REMBE | All rights reserved
 Massimiliano Di Fe
Febo
ebo an
and Pas
asqua
quale Paganini,
Paganini, IPC,
IPC, Italy,
Italy,
discuss how advan
advanced
nced sof
oftware
ware can aassist
ssist o
operators
perators iinn
achieving highly accur
accurate
rate co
ompres
ressor
sor p
performance
erformance p predictions.
redictions.

O
ne of the primary tasks during the
manufacturing of a centrifugal compressor is
the shop testing. Compressor testing is usually
performed at the original equipment
manufacturer’s (OEM) facilities and is, in general,
performed with the purpose of validating the
performance that has been stated by the OEM in the
machinery specification sheets.
Centrifugal compressor shop tests represent one of the
main stages in the machine manufacturing process. The
importance of this phase is also attested by the fact that, in
almost all cases, the project quality requirements include a
witnessed test, which is executed in order to ensure that
the manufacturer’s predictions meet the specification
(design) performance.
Shop testing for centrifugal compressors can be a
delicate task. In general, it may be that inlet conditions
during the test are different from the specification
conditions defined in the machine’s data sheets.
Sometimes the need for different inlet pressure and
temperature may occur, or the test could require a gas
different from the one specified in the data sheet; or, in
some cases, both conditions may turn up simultaneously.
The ASME PTC10 (Performance Test Code on Compressors
and Exhausters) Standard identifies these possible different
test cases and refers to the Type1 Test (Type1) to test the
same specification gas and specification conditions, and
Type2 Test (Type2) to test with different gas and/or inlet
conditions.
In the cases where inlet conditions during the test are
different from the ones recalled in the specifications, the
OEM provides compressor performance maps, adjusted to
test conditions, in order to superimpose that onto the
performance measured during the test.

HYDROCARBON 79 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 Similar considerations may also apply to field testing,
where the inlet conditions at the time of the test may not
be under full control, and may represent an independent
variable for the test process. Furthermore, in certain
circumstances, inlet conditions may vary in time in
unpredictable ways. In these last cases, in particular, the
availability of computational tools, which predict
compressor performance under changed (off-design) inlet
conditions, may be of great value.
Purpose and method description
This article aims to present the results of a numerical
simulation of a centrifugal compressor's performance, in
accordance with a Type2 test, with test gas differing from
specification gas (where the test gas is Freon R134a 2134a).
The input for this analysis consists of compressor
performance maps, provided by the OEM in specification
conditions, i.e., with a specification gas (in the case study
considered, the gas process is a hydrocarbon).
A numerical analysis is executed using the IPC software
called CMap, in order to predict the compressor’s
performance when running it in test conditions with a test
gas. The output of this analysis is a performance map
referenced to specific test conditions with an R134a
refrigerant (simulated test map). The obtained simulated
map (with predicted performance adjusted to
accommodate for the test gas R134a) may then be used as a
reference for a comparison to the test performance that
was measured during the shop test.
The main parameters used to assess the performance of
a centrifugal compressor are:
„ Flow.
„ Head.
„ Power absorbed.
„ Efficiency.

Some additional conditions are needed to allow a

significant comparison of these parameters in the two
different referenced conditions (specifications/test). From
a fluid dynamic point of view, a strict similarity of flow at
each performance point is necessary in order to compare
the predicted performance with the tested performance.
For this reason, the non-dimensional parameters, such as
head coefficient, flow coefficient and Mach number, must
be conserved primarily (some additional conditions are
requested: the machine’s Reynolds number, Mach number
and volume ratio).

Flow coefficient.
Figure 1. Discharge pressure in specification
conditions.
Head coefficient.

Table 1. Inlet conditions Mach number.

Specification inlet conditions
Gas mixture:
• Methane: 80.51%
• Nitrogen: 1.46%
• Ethane: 14.69%
• Propane: 3.19%
• I-butane: 0.07%
• N-butane: 0.08%
Pressure: 40.2 bara
Temperature: 50°C
Test inlet conditions
Reynolds number.
Gas mixture
• R134a: 100%
This equality of non-dimensional parameters among
test and specification conditions eliminates the need to
test the centrifugal compressor at the same speed as the
OEM predicted performance in specification conditions,
and allows, within a certain range, to test with gas mixes
Pressure: 1 bara different from the design one.
Temperature: 35°C In this article, the test performance has been predicted
considering that R134a will be used as a test gas. R134a is, in
fact, a typical gas used in many performance tests.

Figure 2. Screenshot of Cmap software.
Simulation
As mentioned above, the starting point is the availability
of an OEM centrifugal compressor performance curve in
specification conditions, along with a relevant gas mix
composition and thermodynamic conditions (pressure
and temperature). With this input data available, the
CMap software will perform all complex calculations in a
fully automated fashion and will produce the predicted
compressor performances for test inlet pressures, inlet
temperatures and Freon R134a that are different to the
design/reference ones.

May 2017 80 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
Heraeus Precious Metals
ONE GLOBAL PARTNER FOR
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

Rely on our expertise

in precious metals services and products
for more than 160 years. Precious Metals
Products

Catalysts and
Precursors

Precious Metals Trading

and Risk Management

Recycling & Refining

Heraeus Precious Metals

www.heraeus-precious-metals.com
 CMap conducts the compressor performance prediction
using different equations of state (EOS) depending on which
gas mix is considered in the calculation. For a hydrocarbon gas
mixture, the Lee-Kesler (LK) or Peng-Robinson (PR) EOS can be
used. For Freon R134a, the modified Benedict-Webb-Rubin
(mBWR) EOS is selected in order to determine the
thermodynamic properties of the operating fluid. After the
first calculation step it will then be possible to proceed to the
comparison of the predicted tested performances to the
actual tested performances. Table 1 shows the inlet condition
of predicted performance and inlet condition of tested
performance.
Starting from the centrifugal compressor performance
map in specification conditions, the tested performance
Figure 3. Polytropic head in specification conditions.
Figure 4. Discharge pressure in test conditions (with
Freon R134a).
Figure 5. Polytropic head in test condition (with
Freon R134a).
May 2017 82 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
curves have been calculated using Cmap. Figure 1 shows the
predicted tested performance curves obtained with Cmap.
Possible applications of the method
As stated at the beginning of this article, the first
application of this method involves the comparison of
the test predicted maps to the measured test
performance. Using the CMap software, the OEM
specification (design) maps are quickly adjusted to the
test conditions with a test gas and different inlet pressure
and temperature. Due to the software, this operation is
quick and straightforward to achieve. Obtained predicted
maps can be easily superimposed onto measured test
maps, allowing one to check the capacity of the machine
according to the specified conditions.
The proposed method can be profitably used to
predict the centrifugal compressor's overall performance
when running with operating conditions other than those
specified. This may be the case for a compressor running
in operative conditions that are different from the
specification ones. In this case, the proposed method can
predict the expected performance of the compressor
when run in real input conditions. The availability of
expected performance (that is to say, the design
performance adjusted to the actual operating conditions)
will also allow for a new type of diagnostic capability,
arising from the ability to compare actual performance to
what is expected. A deviation of the measured (actual)
performance from the expected (adjusted) ones, beyond a
certain threshold, can be read as an indication of some of
the phenomena or problems affecting the compressor
and causing its operating parameters to deviate from
expected values.
When implemented in IPC monitoring systems, CMap
software can automatically store data and provide a real
time indication of compressor efficiency and comparison
with expected ones. The detection of a deviation of
actual efficiency from the expected efficiency (i.e., design
adjusted in actual condition) is a meaningful indicator of
compressor health. This is a powerful feature that permits
a continuous indication of how much of the machine’s
behaviour is alligned with design expectations. These
evaluations can then be used to build historical trends
and pictures of the machine status throughout the
operation period. Collected data is useful to support
decision making on predictive maintenance activities,
plans and operations.
Another important application of the presented
method is the use of CMap software for the prediction
and modification of surge points during operating
conditions, with different inlet pressure, temperature and
operative gas. This method is called SPS® – an IPC patent.
This method is particularly well suited for the protection
of heavy duty, high pressure centrifugal compressors,
especially ones working under time-varying inlet
conditions.
The availability of such advanced compressor
protection features increases the level of machinery
protection and avoids potential critical failures due to a
compressor surge, as well as the dangerous effect of
possible repetitive short duration surging events, whose
cumulative action may cause a significant reduction of the
machine lifetime if not detected by the compressor
protection system.

Conclusion
Experiences with real machinery demonstrated that a
compressor performance prediction obtained with Cmap
software aligns with OEM predictions and field
measurements. In those cases where deviation had been
detected, Cmap identified compressor anomalies,
providing useful quantitative indication suggestions for
possible corrective action.
The methods proposed and described in this article
allow one to:
„ Predict the tested performance of a centrifugal
compressor with Freon R134a as the inlet gas.
„ Predict the performance of a centrifugal compressor
under varying thermodynamic conditions of the inlet
gas. The prediction of compressor performance is
accurate, even at high pressures, whereas the ideal gas
theory, commonly used, introduces considerable
errors.
„ Analyse the performance of the compressor during
operation and compare it to the expectations
provided by the manufacturer.
„ Obtain useful indications regarding the health of the
compressor (diagnostics), based on the capability to
Figure 6. Compressor surge in actual operative
conditions.
analyse the performances and efficiency of the
machine in a simple and immediate way.
„ Implement advanced methods for antisurge
protection, SPS.
„ CMap may be used as a third-party software for
validation of the compressor test performance during
an OEM shop test.
„ Observe how the methods and software tools have
been validated against compressor technical data,
then vs all the available scientific papers on
thermodynamic gas theories developed in the
hydrocarbon research field.

Hallwood Modular Buildings offers

the lease, sale, and servicing of:
Single Modules
Expandable Modules
Stackable Modules
Guard Shacks
Operator and Control Buildings
Restroom Modules
Custom Designs
Blast Resistant Doors

Where Safety & Service Unite

+1 337 393 2575 | info@hallwoodmodular.com | hallwoodmodular.com

 Ben Williams, Ariel Corporation, outlines the important role that reciprocating
compressors play in renewable hydrocarbon diesel facilities.

May 2017 84 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
C
rude oil refineries and biodiesel facilities generally have
very little in common with regard to the processes used
in each. That is not the case with renewable hydrocarbon
diesel facilities, many of which use a number of similar
processes to those used in most petroleum refineries. This article
will briefly address the differences between biodiesel and
hydrogen derived renewable diesel fuel. It will also describe how a
renewable hydrocarbon diesel facility in Gesimar, Louisiana, US
produces clean liquid fuels from multiple renewable feedstocks.
Hydrogen compression is crucial for the operation of this facility
and there were multiple options available for this compression.
Factors influencing the main process compressor selection and its
role in the facility are also described.
Biodiesel vs renewable hydrocarbon
diesel
Renewable fuel production has increased significantly in recent
years. Renewable fuels have been shown to produce fewer
greenhouse gases (GHG) than typical petroleum diesel fuel. There
are two types of diesel fuels produced from biomass: biodiesel and
renewable hydrocarbon diesel (RHD). Both are considered
‘advanced biofuels’ in that their lifecycle GHG emissions are less
than 50% of their petroleum counterpart. Typical feedstocks for
biomass-based diesel include pine (tall oil), inedible corn oil from
ethanol production, palm oil (palm oil biofuel is not an advanced
biofuel), waste cooking oils, animal fats, vegetable oil waste, brown
trap grease, soybean and canola oil.
A report by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) states that
in October 2016 there were 93 operating biodiesel facilities in the
US producing over 2.1 billion gal./y of biodiesel.1 There are a
number of methods used to produce biodiesel, also known as fatty
acid methyl ester (FAME), but the most commonly used method is
through a process called transesterification. This chemical process
separates glycerin from fat or vegetable oil by reactions between
triglycerides and alcohols (typically methanol). Since
transesterification is a liquid chemical reaction, no gas compression is
required. Biodiesel may be used as a primary fuel or as a blend stock
with petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel must meet the requirements of
ASTM D6571 in the US and EN-14214:2008 in Europe.
RHD is known by a number of different names, including
hydrogenation derived renewable diesel (HDRD), green diesel or
renewable diesel. In the US, RHD must meet the requirements of
ASTM D975 (the standard for petroleum diesel) or ASTM D396
(standard for home heating oil). In Europe, it must meet EN-590:2013
(standard for ultra-low sulfur diesel) and a new standard for paraffinic
diesel fuels: EN-15940:2016.
A number of processes are used to produce RHD, including the
Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process, which involves the conversion of
synthesis gas (syngas) that is produced from biomass. Another means
of production is the hydrogenation and subsequent processing of
fats, oils and greases. Generally, both of these types of renewable
diesel production require some form of gas compression.
RHD is a sulfur free, high performance diesel fuel produced by the
hydroprocessing of fats, oils and greases. It is a complex composition
of mainly normal paraffins (n-paraffins) and methyl branched
isoparaffins, the same molecules that enhance engine performance in
petroleum diesel, resulting in higher cetane values and shorter
compression ignition delays. Additionally, RHD does not have the
aromatic compounds found in conventional petroleum diesel fuels
that can reduce engine performance and cause soot build-up.
A key step in the production of RHD is hydrodeoxygenation
(HDO). HDO involves the reaction of the fatty acids/glycerides (main
components of fats and oils) with hydrogen to remove oxygen atoms
HYDROCARBON 85 May 2017
ENGINEERING

Figure 1. Hydrogen makeup and recycle compressor
package prior to shipment to a refinery in Indiana, US.
and saturate the resulting hydrocarbon chains. This occurs at
relatively high pressure, greater than 69 barg (1000 psig), and
temperatures greater than 260˚C (500˚F). The HDO product is
then isomerised to change most of the straight chain paraffins
into branched isoparaffins. This step of the process, occurring in
a hydroisomerisation (HI) reaction, reduces the cloud point of
the diesel fuel, which improves its low temperature
performance.
Hydrogen demand for a RHD plant is comparable to a fuel
hydrocracker of similar capacity. For this reason, a highly reliable
source of hydrogen is critical for RHD facilities.
Renewable diesel may be used as a standalone diesel fuel or
blended with petroleum diesel fuel. Because renewable diesel is
completely fungible with petroleum diesel, existing
infrastructure is suitable for its transport. Currently, there are
less than a dozen commercial scale renewable diesel refineries
in the world. Among these facilities is REG Geismar LLC.
REG Geismar
Renewable Energy Group Inc. (REG) based in Ames, Iowa, US,
currently owns and operates 12 biorefineries in the US and two
in Germany. These biorefineries produce advanced biofuels
from waste fats, oils and greases, as well as refined vegetable
oil. Since 2006, REG has produced over 1 billion gal. of
biomass-based diesel, including renewable hydrocarbon diesel
produced at its biorefinery in Geismar, Louisiana, US.
In 2014, REG purchased the interests of Dynamic Fuels (a
joint venture between Syntroleum Inc. and Tyson Foods),
including a large scale renewable diesel refinery located in
Geismar. When commissioned in 2010, the Geismar facility was
the first large scale renewable diesel refinery in the US. The
refinery has a nameplate capacity of 75 million gal./y of high
quality, clean RHD, renewable naphtha and renewable LPG.
Geismar biorefinery – process
overview
Among the dozens of industrial facilities located in Geismar, the
REG biorefinery is unique; not only in what it produces but also
due to the feedstock used by the plant. The refinery uses REG’s
multi-patented, Bio-Synfining® process to produce ultra-clean
renewable fuels from a wide variety of ‘waste’ feedstocks. The
Geismar facility does not use feedstock taken from the world
food supply.
The Bio-Synfining process begins with pretreatment of the
feedstock. The pretreating process removes metals, liquids,
May 2017 86 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
phosphorous and other contaminants from the reactor feedstock. The
feedstock is combined with hydrogen and charged to the HDO reactor.
The process configuration is analogous to hydrotreating (i.e. for
desulfurisation) processes that are common in petroleum refining.
At this point, the clean-burning paraffinic, hydrocarbon liquids meet
current diesel specifications. Additional processing, including
isomerisation and distillation, produce three main products: RHD,
renewable naphtha and renewable LPG.
As mentioned above, a significant amount of hydrogen is required
to produce RHD. The location of the Geismar facility provided REG with
ready access to a number of reliable sources of hydrogen. These include
multiple hydrogen pipelines and nearby industrial gas facilities.
Compressor selection
Hydrogen compression for the Geismar facility is critical. The main
process requires three independent hydrogen streams for the HDO and
HI processes. Compression is required to raise the pressure of the
hydrogen stream from pipeline pressure, approximately 45 barg, to the
applicable reactor pressure. There is also a requirement for a recycle
service. A separate compressor is required for an offgas service.
Discussions with current REG employees involved in the original
plant design and construction offered some insight into the selection of
the process compressors. Initially, both centrifugal and reciprocating
compressors were under consideration. Both compressor types are
suitable for hydrogen service. However, with low molecular weight gas,
centrifugal compressors are better suited for much higher volumes than
required in this case. Additionally, multiple hydrogen services would
require multiple centrifugal compressors, thereby increasing capital cost.
Both long stroke and short stroke reciprocating compressors were
considered. Long stroke, low speed reciprocating compressors have
been the compressor of choice in the refinery and petrochemical
industry for many years, based on the perception that they are the most
reliable option. However, other types of reciprocating compressors have
proven to be reliable in these types of installations, including vertical
and labyrinth types, as well as short stroke, moderate speed types.
When comparing long and short stroke reciprocating compressors,
a number of considerations come into play, including physical size,
delivery, the time and cost of installation and capital cost. Long stroke,
low speed compressors are physically larger and are normally block
mounted; the bare compressor is built in a factory, transported to site
and installed on a concrete foundation or ‘block’. The other
components and auxiliaries required for the complete compressor
system include pulsation dampeners, moisture separators, lubrication
oil console, process piping and valves, and process gas coolers. The
electric motor, coupling and flywheel are also shipped to site for
installation and assembly. This process requires significant time and
expense.
Comparatively, moderate speed, short stroke compressors are
physically smaller for the same capacity. The smaller size and weight
are the primary reasons these compressors are sold as part of a
compressor package. A compressor package is a modular arrangement
with the entire compression system installed on a structural steel skid
(Figure 1). Modularisation (packaging) offers significant cost advantages.
Compressor package fabrication and assembly take place in a shop
rather than in the field, reducing installation time. The impact of
weather is eliminated and the quality of construction is improved.
Shipping costs are reduced since fewer shipments are required to get
the complete compressor system to site. Although it may seem that
modularisation is a relatively new concept in plant construction,
compressor packages have been common in the upstream oil and gas
market for decades. They are becoming more common in the refinery
The gas processing industry requires longevity, reliability, and highly specified solutions. Ariel
offers a wide range of API 618 moderate speed compressors that allow for full configuration on
unique project requirements. ARIEL IS COMMITTED TO YOU.

Learn more about Ariel compressors

www.arielcorp.com/For-You/

Figure 2. Multiple service compressor packages
installed at a refinery in eastern US.
and petrochemical industries, primarily because less fieldwork
equates to lower construction costs
Another advantage of a compressor package is the smaller
compressor foundation. The structural steel skid supports the
compression system and acts as the compressor foundation. The
compressor skid design considers all forces and couples associated
with the compressor system, thus reducing site foundation
requirements. A relatively simple concrete pad is typical for a
moderate speed compressor package.
Other factors leading to the specific compressor selection
include the following:
„ The ability to handle multiple services with a single
compressor.
„ Balanced reciprocating weights on opposing throws and low
rod loads.
„ Availability of spare parts. Due to design standardisation,
cylinder and running gear parts were readily available and, if
needed, could be pulled from the production queue. This
includes cylinders and crankshafts, which some other original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) quoted 12 to 18 months for
delivery. This significantly reduced the need for purchasing
capital spares.
„ Troubleshooting and technical support.
„ Training at the OEM's facility. Free training classes covering
basic compression, basic and advanced mechanics training and
engineering training are available throughout the year.
In the end, packaged, API 618 moderate speed reciprocating
compressors were purchased for the main process and offgas
compressors currently operating in the REG Geismar facility. The
compressor selections and brief descriptions of the associated
package scope of supply for each are described below.
Compressor descriptions
The three independent hydrogen services – HDO makeup, HDO
recycle and HI hydrogen makeup – are compressed by a single,
packaged, moderate speed reciprocating compressor and
May 2017 88 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
six cylinders; each service being compressed by separate cylinders.
A multi-service compressor can be a good option when all of the
services must operate at the same time. Using a single reciprocating
compressor to handle multiple gas streams benefits the end user
by reducing the number of compressors, electric motors (and their
associated control circuitry) and by reducing the plot space
required for the compression systems. The use of a multi-service
compressor is typically only possible if all of the independent
services operate at the same time. Multi-service compressors are
common in the refinery and petrochemical industries (Figure 2).
In addition to the compressor, the process compressor package
includes a 2100 kW electric motor and coupling, suction and
discharge pulsation dampeners (designed in accordance with the
digital pulsation study), frame and cylinder lubrication systems,
local controls and instrumentation, interconnecting piping to skid
edge, and a free standing local control panel, all installed on a
structural steel skid.
Offgas compressor
This compressor is used to compress a product fractionator offgas
for hydrocarbon recovery. The package scope of supply is similar to
the main process compressor, only smaller. This package includes a
224 kW electric motor driver.
In both the offgas and main process compressors, the
compressor cylinders are non-cooled. This eliminates the need for
cylinder jacket water systems, thereby reducing the size of each
compressor package and increasing their overall system reliability.
The cylinders are unlined, which reduces their physical size for a
given capacity. Instead of replaceable liners, the cylinder bores are
hardened (>55 Rc) by an ion nitriding process; making them less
susceptible to wear.
Cylinder and piston rod packing lubrication is by a crankshaft
driven lubricator pump through divider blocks that meter oil flows
to the compressor cylinders and packing. Oil flow amounts are
dependent on gas composition and compressor operating
conditions.
The main process compressor cylinders have suction valve
unloaders on both the head end and crank end for startup. Their
purpose is to unload the compressor for startup, reducing the
torque required for starting the motor. For both compressors,
capacity control is by spillback, also known as recycling. In the case
of the main process compressor, each hydrogen service has its own
spillback line.
Conclusion
Although crude oil refineries and renewable fuels facilities would
seem to be very different, a renewable hydrocarbon diesel facility
may use many of the same processes as a petroleum refinery to
produce a very similar product. In both facility types, reliable
compression is crucial. In the case of REG’s Geismar facility,
packaged API 618 moderate speed, reciprocating compressors are a
critical part in the process of producing renewable hydrocarbon
diesel that meet or exceed industry standards.
Notes
The author would like to thank Renewable Energy Group Inc. for their
invaluable assistance with this article. REG’s Ed Daughters, Ramin Abhari,
Peter Havlik and H. Lynn Tomlinson were particularly helpful and their
assistance is greatly appreciated.
References
1. US Energy Information Agency's (EIA) 'Monthly Biodiesel Report',
http://www.eia.gov/biofuels/biodiesel/production/biodiesel.pdf.
COMPETITIVE
EDGE
Greg Brumfield and Tony Slapikas,
AMETEK Process Instruments, USA,
outline how mass spectrometry
determines flare gas heat values.
B
y January 2019, US petroleum refiners will need to
comply with new US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) flare stack combustion rules that include
additional monitoring and analysis requirements,
making it necessary for operators to quickly and accurately
determine the heat values of flare stack gases.
Refiners are vetting various technologies for analysing and
monitoring flare stack gases to narrow the field of applicable
technologies. Among them is mass spectrometry, which offers
several significant advantages in terms of accuracy, reliability,
and ease of maintenance and operation.
Petroleum refineries generate waste gases that need to
be controlled safely, economically and in a manner that
protects both the environment and public health. Because
not all waste gas can be eliminated or recovered, various
technologies have been used to reduce their impact on the
environment. Among the most effective and commonly used
technologies is flaring.
Through its inspection and enforcement programmes, the
EPA has identified numerous instances in which flares have
been improperly operated and monitored. The results are
lower combustion efficiencies and the possible release of
excess emissions, including potentially harmful pollutants.
The EPA is working to improve flare combustion
efficiencies and devoting significant resources to correcting
regulatory non-compliance of flares. The EPA expects its new
rules will virtually eliminate smoking flare emissions and upset
emission events. Refineries are required to monitor emissions
from key sources within their facilities and around their fence
lines. When fully implemented, the tighter rules are expected
to yield a reduction of 5200 tpy of toxic air pollutants and
50 000 tpy of volatile organic compounds.
HYDROCARBON 89 May 2017
ENGINEERING
 Table 1. Fast, accurate determination of Flares are specifically designed to combust gases. Many flares
flare gas heat value by process mass employ steam or air to promote the mixing of oxygen within the vent
spectrometry (MS) gas to ensure efficient combustion without smoke. Many parameters
Sample Calculated Measured in Calculated/ affect combustion efficiency. Among the most important is the heating
no. by MS laboratory measured value of the gases to be combusted. Determining the heating value of
(Btu) (Btu) the gas has been shown to correlate well with combustion efficiency.
556989 807 790 102% Additionally, federal regulations require that flare gases contain at
557114 862 843 102% least 300 Btu/ft3 for an air or steam-assisted flare and 200 Btu/ft3 for
557241 765 757 101% an unassisted flare, at all times. When that heating value is not met by
vent gas alone, supplemental or make-up gas, such as natural gas, must
557342 1552 1463 106%
be added to the gas stream to ensure complete combustion. Along
557425 872 834 105% with those costs, there are other costs involved with running a flare gas
557660 872 834 105% system inefficiently or in non-compliance.
557793 1702 1697 100% The penalties for violating federal flare gas requirements can be
557942 904 894 101%
severe. Flue gas violations may result in fines under the Clean Air Act of
up to US$37 500/d per violation, and the knowing violation of a flare
558024 785 777 101%
requirement may subject an individual to criminal prosecution,
558150 1062 1049 101% including fines, imprisonment or both.
558165 817 805 101% In addition, the EPA is committed to public reporting and
558524 1041 1019 102% transparency. It plans to track monitoring data from refineries in a
database open to the public. Along with that, there are incentives for
558615 336 329 102%
refineries to take corrective action quickly. Improved flare combustion
558755 887 866 102%
efficiency is expected to yield cost savings due to reduced steam usage.
558856 788 766 103% Venting gas heating values are important because sufficient
558894 756 737 103% combustible material must be continuously present to ensure flame
558993 699 686 102% stability and to achieve high combustion efficiencies. Problems may
occur, especially if a single flare is used to control a variety of streams
559103 1212 1180 103%
or vent gas with varying components. Operators need to evaluate vent
559252 760 747 102% gas heating values not only continuously, but for the full range of
559370 950 923 103% operating scenarios to ensure compliance with heating value limits.
559441 891 880 101% To do that, refiners can use one or a combination of technologies.
559523 741 732 101% AMETEK’s process mass spectrometer is one of the technologies under
consideration. Among the most common is a zirconium dioxide-based
559651 1138 1096 104%
calorimeter. The principal advantage of this technology is refiners’
559780 649 644 101% familiarity with it. Calorimeters are widely used to determine the Btu
559857 673 667 101% value of fuel gas. That gas, however, is typically low in sulfur and
563307 730 712 103% hydrogen content, while refinery flare gas is typically high in both sulfur
599490 211 192 110%
and hydrogen.
In addition, the calorimeter’s effectiveness is limited when
599491 158 143 111%
hydrogen and sulfur are present in the gas stream. The calorimeter’s
599492 770 748 103% zirconium oxide detector is subject to sulfur contamination, which can
599637 809 787 103% be an issue with practically every flaring event.
599648 262 244 107% Calorimeters also cannot be used when there are high
concentrations of hydrogen in the gas stream. Solutions for dealing
669163 742 738 100%
with those limitations can add cost and create additional complications
719002 808 800 101%
for a system needed to maintain refinery operation and required to be
719186 904 895 101% in compliance at all times.
725811 914 904 101% Gas chromatography is another technology that most refiners are
767398 1025 1018 101% familiar with. Many refineries already have gas chromatographs
equipped to their gas flares. However, chromatographs are slow, with
767399 1011 1004 101%
long cycle times, making them unsuitable for real-time control of steam
767406 1022 1015 101% and make-up gas mixtures.
768152 934 927 101% A third method, mass spectrometry, has undergone successful field
768157 982 975 101% demonstration vs competitive technologies. That testing, conducted at
769085 1026 1018 101% a leading Southern California refinery, demonstrated that a mass
spectrometer can provide more detailed and relevant data than gas
771240 990 987 100%
chromatography, and its Btu numbers were equivalent to those
Average 102% provided by a calorimeter, but with greater specificity.
Based on this simulation of the instrument response, The mass spectrometer offered the speed and specificity necessary
staying within the required specification of ±15% seems to accurately calculate the appropriate amount of supplemental gas for
an achievable goal complete gas combustion. It was set up to monitor and quantify

May 2017 90 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
16 components in the flare gas stream, including H2, N2, inverting a matrix that describes the contribution of each
methane, ethane, propane, n-butane, i-butane, and pentanes, component to the individual ion currents.
among others. Taking advantage of its analysis speed, the mass The method described here and in ASTM D2650-04 works
spectrometer was able to obtain a calculation in less than in a sequential fashion, moving from the better known
10 seconds, which is faster than using a chromatograph. components to those with heavy interferences. While matrix
Raw data from the mass spectrometer was collected using deconvolution gives excellent accuracies, as long as the stream
ASTM method D 2650-04 (Standard Test Method for chemical concentrations do not differ too much from the calibration
composition of gases by mass spectrometry) to calculate the blend used to establish the matrix, the method used in this
concentrations of individual gas components. The resulting demonstration is much more robust for the rapidly changing
concentration data was then converted into the flare gas heat composition of the streams typically found in flare stack gases.
value as described in ASTM D3588-98 (Standard Practice for Several components (the butenes, pentanes and any
calculating heat value, compressibility factor and relative hexanes) were combined measurements since they are difficult
density of gaseous fuels). to speciate by process mass spectrometry. Fortunately, the Btu
The FlarePro quadrupole process mass spectrometer used values within each group are very similar, so that no significant
to conduct the field demonstration had the following error is introduced for the measurement at hand.
specifications:
„ Stainless steel enclosure (general
purpose or C1, D2 area
classification).
„ 1 – 100 atomic mass unit (amu)
mass range.
„ 24-valve inlet system.
Get accurate flare
„ Dual electron multiplier/faraday
plate detector (10 ppm to 100%
detection).
gas heat values fast,
„ Thermoelectric cooler (TEC) cooling. with the FlarePro™ Mass Spectrometer
„ Process 2000 software for method
creation and auto calibration.
„ 24 in. footprint, which fits the same
space as the gas chromotograph.
By modifying the standard process
mass spectrometry method of analysis
slightly, the mass spectrometer
provided fast and accurate Btu content
measurement, even when confronted
with a widely changing flare gas stream.
The analysis technique allowed for a
reduction in calibration complexity,
while still providing data that fell
comfortably within the specified error
band.
The principle behind this method
was to identify the interference-free
components (H2, H2S, hexane) first and
then to use those values to correct the
ion currents for those components that
experience interference. For example,
to subtract the hexane interference
from the pentane current, then the With impending EPA rule changes for flare gas stack combustion, you’ll need
hexane and pentane interference from to measure heat value at the stack quickly, accurately, and often. AMETEK
the butane currents and so forth. All of Dycor®’s FlarePro mass spectrometer has the speed and specificity for the
the calculations were performed task, calculating make-up gas quantities 10X faster than chromatographs. It
automatically by the instrument’s can speciate and quantify alkanes and alkenes up to C7 and convert ASTM
software. calculations of concentration to yield flare gas BTU values, even with wildly
It should be noted that the changing flare gas streams. Features include:
calculation method described here, and
• 24” footprint (general or C1, D2 areas) • Low maintenance
specified in the ASTM method, differs
• 16-valve inlet system • Modbus/OPC communications
from the standard ‘matrix
• 1 to 100 amu mass range • Environmentally controlled to
deconvolution’ method commonly
• Easy-to-service modular design accommodate a wide range
used by process mass spectrometers.
of temperatures
Matrix deconvolution works by Learn more at www.ametekpi.com.

© 2017 by AMETEK Inc. All rights reserved.

 11 – 15 June 2018
Frankfurt am Main

Figure 1. AMETEK FlarePro process mass spectrometer.

The real-time, field-stream data collected, using the

modified analysis method described above, verified the
accuracy of the mass spectrometer’s response over a wide
range of Btu values (Table 1). The instrument’s performance
under test indicated that it could achieve the required
specification goal of ±15%.

Accuracy of the method

Based on real field stream data, and using the modified analysis
method described above, AMETEK verified the response of the
mass spectrometer over a wide range of Btu values (Table 1).
By adapting the standard method of analysis slightly, the
FlarePro provides a fast, accurate Btu content measurement
even when confronted with a changing flare gas stream. The
analysis technique allows for a reduction in calibration
complexity, while still providing data that falls comfortably
within the specified error band.
There are other advantages to using a process mass
spectrometer for determining flare gas heat values. The
instrument’s software makes for easy setup, operation, and
calibration. Its modular design and self-diagnostic capabilities
make maintenance easier and significantly reduces the
amount of downtime a unit might experience. In addition, the
unit features advanced alarm and automation capabilities that
further ensure its reliability and extend its practical
BE INFORMED. application.
Refiners should consider other factors when selecting the
BE INSPIRED. right technological solution for this application. The selection
criteria should include the manufacturer’s capabilities and
BE THERE. experience in process analysis.

› World Forum and Leading Show Conclusion

for the Process Industries
› 3,800 Exhibitors from 50 Countries
› 170,000 Attendees from 100 Countries
The US EPA has tightened regulatory requirements on refinery
flare gas with the goal of reducing potentially harmful
emissions through improvements in flue gas operating
practices, including better control and monitoring of
supplemental gas, air and steam.
Among the technologies under consideration is process
mass spectrometry. This technology performed well against
competitive technologies, offering a number of advantages.
AMETEK has demonstrated that by modifying the standard
method of analysis slightly, it was able to use mass
spectrometry to provide fast and accurate Btu content
measurement.

www.achema.de
FAST and
PRECISE
Thomas Knight, Orbital Gas Systems, USA, examines an option
for providing continuous LNG sampling, vaporisation, conditioning
and analysis on LNG applications.
T
he increasing rate of worldwide natural gas
trading, particularly in shipped LNG, makes
accurate energy accounting more important
than ever. Each LNG cargo, loaded at a
production facility for export and unloaded at a
reception terminal for regasification, can represent
more than US$20 million in investment. Even small
uncertainties in the measurement of LNG volume and
heat content could lead to a significant loss in revenue.
As energy accounting requires the calculation of the
product of volume and calorific value (heating value),
these two parameters must be considered as equally
important to the overall energy measurement
uncertainty.
Typically, the calorific value (CV) and other physical
properties of LNG are calculated from gas composition
data obtained via gas chromatography (GC) to the
well-known industry standards for natural gas. Orbital’s
Gas Properties Transmitter (GasPT®) represents an
alternative method. The instrument has been
developed specifically to address the issues of variable
gas quality with performance specification targets for
speed of response, accuracy, availability, cost and ease
of installation.
Drawbacks of gas chromatography
Measurement of natural gas quality by GC requires a
sample of the LNG to be vaporised without changing
HYDROCARBON 93 May 2017
ENGINEERING
 Figure 1. Continuous vs intermittent gas sampling; a) GC time slice of gas sample; b) GasPT acoustic resonator.
Figure 2. GasPTi gas conditioning and analysis
enclosure.
its composition in any way. The GC takes a timed slice
of this vaporised sample from the sample path every
few minutes, and injects it into the separation stream.
Peak identification and integration leads to the
calculation of concentration for individual gas
components. From the known gas composition, the
gas properties such as CV, relative density, etc., can
then be calculated using ISO 6976. The assumption,
however, that each timed slice of data perfectly
represents the entire sample stream until the next
data point may not be correct. It is a practical (and
physical) impossibility to achieve total instantaneous
vaporisation within the sample system and so
homogenous vaporisation of the LNG sample is not
achieved, which guarantees the sample composition
will be altered. In addition to poor vaporisation, icing
on the sampling line indicates poor insulation and the
possibility of heat ingress into the sampling line with
resulting bubbling or partial vaporisation. Some
stratification of LNG in storage is inevitable and
returned liquefied boil-off gas (BOG) will result in the
composition of the LNG changing over time during
loading and reloading.
Figure 1a represents the vaporised LNG as mixed
molecules of methane (red), ethane (yellow), propane
(blue) and butane (green). Assuming a stable process
gas composition but a non-homogenous vaporisation,
May 2017 94 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
with the timed period between each capture of gas
sample being several minutes, then successive slices of
sample gas may vary in content.
In comparison, Figure 1b shows Orbital’s
technology with a spherical acoustic resonator, in
which the gas sample continuously flows, is mixed,
and provides five measurements for a speed of sound
calculation every second, eliminating the errors found
due to preferential vaporisation. This results in a more
continuous time-averaged calculation of the physical
properties of the gas sample.
GasPT infers a gas composition from physical
measurements of speed of sound and thermal
conductivity. From the inferred gas mixture of
methane, ethane, propane and nitrogen, the
instrument uses ISO 6976, as a GC would, to calculate
the gas quality properties.
This technology, although relatively unknown in
the global LNG market, is now being used across all
LNG import terminals in the UK. The instrument speed
of response is less than 10 sec., with update times of
1 sec., so the data provided is close to real-time and
virtually continuous rather than batch sampled as a
GC. More frequent sampling has been shown to
reduce the average error in CV measurement
compared with a traditional GC when the CV is
varying. Initial cost of installation, configuration and
commissioning is less than a GC and the ongoing
operational expenditure is less with minimal
maintenance required and the complete elimination
of calibration and carrier gas.
The sensor has been used across all areas of the
typical LNG unloading facility, including monitoring
and controlling BOG and the nitrogen ballasting that
is required to bring CV and Wobbe in-line with
specifications for entry into the national transmission
network.
An integrated system
The technology has been integrated with Orbital’s
patented gas conditioning technology, based on an
electro-polished 2 mm identification sample pathway
with a continuous flow path to reduce sample volume,
increase response speed and reduce the potential for
Need a reprint?

We can tailor to your

requirements,
produce 1 - 12 page
formats, print colour or
mono and more

+44 (0)1252 718999

reprints@hydrocarbonengineering.com

Table 1. Preliminary test results for integrated
GasPTi-LNG-Phazer system
Average (MJ/m3)
ASaP Phazer with GasPT Standard deviation (u)
Precision (U) (K = 2)
Shell minimum Standard deviation (u)
performance criteria
Precision (U) (K = 2)
Evaluation Precision (U) (K = 2)
The reported precision is based on a standard deviation
from the average value multiplied by a coverage factor k = 2,
providing a level of confidence of approximately 95%
Figure 3. Phazer LNG vaporiser.
trapped or stagnant gas contaminating fresh gas
samples. The enclosure (Figure 2) includes double
block and bleed isolation valves, gas filtering,
preheating prior to pressure drop, critical orifice for
first pressure reduction, flow control and final
pressure adjustment for the sensor. The integrated
system (GasPTi) has been further developed for LNG
applications. Due to the lack of CO2 within LNG, this
can be simplified with the inferencing calculations
loaded on to a microcontroller in the safe area,
meaning the system is then suitable for Zone 0
hazardous areas.
Benefits
The installation and commissioning of a gas
chromatograph system can be complex and
time-consuming. On-site installation and
commissioning with long sample lines, mechanical,
electrical and civil works can take several weeks to
complete. In comparison, a typical fixed probe
installation has gas sampling, conditioning and
analysis integrated into one pipeline-mounted
system. A power cable and a multicore
communications cable are connected to the safe
area control room to complete the installation.
May 2017 96 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
There is no requirement for carrier gas or calibration
gas. This results in an installation and commissioning
time of less than two hours onsite. A safety barrier
SCV dry
and microcontroller in the safe area of the plant
42 8693
provide flexibility in communications as serial RS485,
0 0186 ethernet or analogue/digital interfaces.
0 0372 Regarding safety approvals, GasPTi-LNG has been
0 0582 certified by Baseefa, the UK approvals service for safe
use in Zone 0 hazardous areas. In addition to ATEX,
0 1164
IECEx and CSA approvals, American Bureau of Shipping
Pass (ABS) approval has been obtained for marine LNG
tanker applications. This was a rigorous approval
process reflecting the harsh marine ‘engine room’
environment of high heat, humidity and vibration in a
saltwater atmosphere. Several LNG tankers now have
the instrumentation monitoring LNG BOG prior to
reliquefaction. To gain instrument performance
approvals, the independent test laboratory NMi in
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has tested and certified
the instrument as Class A for CV measurement, as
according to European Recommendation OIML R140.
The instrument also complies with the performance
requirements of the American Gas Association (AGA)
Report No.5 ‘Natural Gas Energy Measurement for CV
Determination’.
The device has been applied to LNG production
plants, LNG regasification terminals, floating
regasification vessels and on LNG tankers for
transportation.
Integrating LNG sampling,
vaporisation and analysis
Most recently, the analyser has been integrated with
a small LNG vaporiser (the Phazer) produced by
Analytical Solutions and Products (ASaP) in the
Netherlands. This has resulted in a compact unit that
can be easily installed and operated on any LNG
process line.
The Phazer design criteria include full compliance
with ISO 8943 and successful testing against
EN 12838. A sub-cooled cold section with high
vacuum insulation helps prevent partial vaporisation.
The primary shut-off and boil-off valves are
operated without breaking the high vacuum. The
unique flash vaporisation and flow control design
significantly reduces the partial vaporisation
previously described.
Test results are summarised in Table 1, showing
how the integrated system surpasses minimum
performance criteria set by Shell for LNG analysis
stability and precision.
Conclusion
Traditional GC analysers and vaporisers may have
issues with speed of response, periods of
non-measurement and gas sample partial vaporisation.
The sensor integrated with Phazer technology can
provide continuous LNG sampling, vaporisation,
conditioning and analysis to give rapid, reliable and
accurate CV data on LNG applications.
Share Technologies, Network and do Business
Annually, Global Petroleum Show brings together more than 50,000 visitors from over
90 countries to meet and do business with over 1,000 exhibiting companies. Now
with interactive specialty zones and hundreds of FREE presentations, there are more
reasons than ever to attend GPS 2017.

June 13-15 • Calgary, Canada

Register today and use the promo code GPS2C to gain FREE entry to the exhibition. To book
exhibit space, please call +1 (888) 799-2545 or email calgarysales@dmgevents.com glo
obalpetrrole
eumsho
ow.com
m

Hydrocarbon Engineering Online

The home for the

latest hydrocarbon
processing news,
analysis, comment
and events
Visit our website today:
www.hydrocarbonengineering.com
 Inessa Shahnazarova and Ekaterina Vankova, Vostock Capital, Russia, present the
findings of a recent study into the latest developments in the Russian LNG industry.

May 2017 98 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
T
otal global LNG demand is expected to continue growing strongly. The
number of importers and exporters is increasing and this trend is set to
continue. Vostock Capital expects LNG demand to grow steadily until
2025 – 2030. A bright spark for producers looking to contract their LNG
in the coming years could be new markets in China, India, Southeast Asia and
Europe. Concurrently, North America, Australia, Africa and Russia are set to
increase their LNG exports.
Being mobile, LNG has the potential to reduce fuel costs and ensure stable and
secure gas transportation to various regions of the world. It is a basis for economic
growth, which is why it is vital to promote the LNG industry in Russia.
Russia anticipates serious competition in its LNG sector as it puts into
operation several new projects. The Sakhalin-2 project is currently the only
operating plant for large scale LNG production in Russia. It accounts for some
4.5% of total global LNG production and satisfies the demands of Japan and
South Korea. The project operator is Sakhalin Energy (Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui,

Moscow City International

Business Centre, Russia.

HYDROCARBON 99 May 2017

ENGINEERING
 Mitsubishi). Plans are currently underway to construct a third train
at the facility. The design documentation for the construction of
a third phase will be ready in 2017. Construction of a third train
will enable half as much capacity growth — up to 15 million t.
Other Russian LNG projects include Far East LNG, which
Rosneft intends to implement in the Khabarovsk region, together
with its Sakhalin-1 partners, ExxonMobil. The project will have an
estimated capacity of 5 million tpy.
Meanwhile, Yamal LNG is an integrated project for natural gas
production and liquefaction in Sabetta village. Three trains are
under construction, with a capacity of 5.5 million tpy each. They
are due to be launched in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Novatek does not
exclude the possibility of extending Yamal LNG with an
additional train. The prospects for expansion are to be discussed
with project partners (Total, CNPC and Silk Road Fund).
Pechora LNG is a large scale project, stipulating for the
development of two fields in the Nenets Autonomous District
(Kumzhinsky and Korovinsky), the creation of gas and transport
infrastructure, as well as the construction of an LNG plant, gas
treatment unit and sea terminal. In December 2015, Rosneft and
Alltech Group completed the establishment of joint venture (JV)
RN-Pechora LNG, with Rosneft’s share of 50.1%. The capacity of
the facility is 2.6 million tpy.
There are also plans underway for the construction of the
Baltic LNG facility in Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region. The
projected capacity of the plant is 10 million tpy, extendible to
15 million tpy. Gazprom and Shell signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) on the project in June 2016. The companies
anticipate defining the terms of the JV for the construction of the
LNG facility by the end of the year, and the project is to be
commissioned in December 2021 – 2022.
Another large scale LNG project worth mentioning is
Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2, to be located in the Salmanovsky
(Utrenniy) area in the north of Gydan. The field has estimated
recoverable reserves of 235 billion m3 of gas and almost 9 million t
of liquid hydrocarbons.
A number of small scale LNG projects are also planned in
Russia, including LNG Gorskaya. This floating LNG project will
include an in-house fleet that will deliver LNG to Europe and
provide vessel bunkering facilities in the Gulf of Finland.
LNG Gorskaya intends to commission the production facility in
late 2018 and to start LNG sales in early 2019.
Cryogas has commissioned a small scale LNG facility in the
Pskov Region. The facility launch took place on 26 May 2016. The
plant capacity amounts to 21 000 tpy of LNG. Cryogas has also
implemented the construction of an LNG terminal with capacity
of 660 000 tpy in the port of Vysotsk (Leningrad region). The LNG
facility and adherent infrastructure will be commissioned in 2018.
Study
Vostock Capital has conducted a study to gather recent (and
often publicly unavailable) information from those who largely
shape the future of Russia's LNG industry. The methodology of
this study was underpinned by the combination of qualitative and
quantitative methods. It included a survey carried out with the
help of a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with industry
experts. A total of 153 respondents took part in the study,
including LNG project managers and leading experts, main
contractors, technology and equipment developers and suppliers,
and consultants and researchers. Among the participating
companies were Gazprom proyektirovaniye, Saipem S.p.A,
May 2017 100 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Novatek, Rosneft, Gazprom VNIIGAZ, Kriomash-BZKM, the
Institute for Energy and Finance, BASF, Sakhalin Energy, Technip,
LNG-Gorskaya, and Eurotube GmbH.
Survey analysis and questions
‘What are the key challenges affecting your
business in the LNG industry?'
This question did not have any predefined answers. The
participants had to identify three problems, the elimination of
which would promote their business development. As, in general,
the study participants are the representatives of two groups – the
industrial companies’ representatives (oil and gas producers and
project operators) and service providing companies’
representatives (engineering companies, design institutes and
equipment producers, service providers and technology suppliers)
– the respondents’ opinions may be divided as such:
Service providers
The key challenges facing service providers in the field of LNG
can be summarised as follows:
„ Closed nature of the business: a lack of access to the projects
for the independent service providers; the focus of Russian
customers on foreign developers and suppliers; a lack of
interest in domestic equipment; the predefined nomination
of separate companies as contractors on some services.
„ Finance: the high net value of LNG equipment and potential
customers’ lack of financial sources; the customers’
requirement for substantial technical information at the
preliminary stage without payments.
„ Technologies: new opportunities for import substitution,
however, a lack of experience in LNG facility design and
construction compared to foreign companies; LNG tanker
equipment selection criteria does not stipulate for
breakthrough technologies or adherence to old technologies.
Producing enterprises
The key challenges facing the producing enterprises in the field of
LNG can be summarised as follows:
„ Finance: expensive materials and LNG equipment; insufficient
project funding; high prices on LNG transportation; high
capital costs; budgeting; finance attraction difficulties; low
level of required investments; fixed price on gas regardless of
its remoteness from the pipe; and a high cost of project
funding at a low LNG price.
„ Market: export restrictions and absence of export permits;
lack of customer’s infrastructure; fuel consumers’
unavailability to convert into LNG; poorly developed internal
market; demotivation of regional authorities in using LNG
due to its final cost in regasified state; competition with
inefficient projects; field owners unwilling to process the
associated petroleum gas; basic energy sources oversupply in
the global market.
„ Personnel: narrow circle of specialists in the field; low
competence of domestic participants in the design,
equipment production and facilities construction processes;
unqualified local engineering, procurement and construction
(EPC) contractors.
Common problems
The LNG industry also raises the following common problems for
all market players:
„ Administrative barriers: bureaucracy and corruption in
authorities; uncertainty in government regulation prospects
Be wise
when you
advertise
Test a publisher’s statement
of circulation. In today’s business
climate you can’t afford not to.

2XU$%&&HUWL¿FDWHSURYLGHV
accurate, independently
YHUL¿HGFLUFXODWLRQ¿JXUHV
JLYLQJ\RXFRQ¿GHQFHLQ
\RXUDGYHUWLVLQJLQYHVWPHQW

)RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQYLVLWZZZDEFRUJXN
RUHPDLOLQIR#DEFRUJXN
 and lack of forecasts about potential LNG demand and
development of the industry in Russia; inefficient state
regulation of the industry; excessive requirements of the
authorities; lack of legal framework documents in health,
safety and the environment (HSE) and fire safety;
immaturity of the legal framework associated with LNG
usage on vehicles; absence of Russian standards and
requirements (GOST); outdated legal framework on design;
monopolism in the gas sector; information security.
„ Finance: tight credits; ambivalence in price regulation;
project freeze.
„ Macroeconomics: unstable economic environment;
western sanctions; high macroeconomic risks.
'Which of the large scale LNG projects are
most promising, in your opinion?'
The respondents had to rank large scale LNG projects from a
list on a scale from one to six, where six signifies the most
promising and one signifies the least promising.
According to the results of the study, the Yamal LNG
project was considered the most advanced by 44% of
respondents. The construction of the third train at
Sakhalin-2 was considered the next most viable, with 39% of
respondents marking it as ‘highly promising’, followed by
Arctic LNG 2 (15%), Baltic LNG (13%), Pechora LNG (11%) and
Far East LNG (10%).
'Which small scale LNG projects are the most
promising?'
This question was open and had no predefined options for
answers. According to the survey results, the most popular
New from Palladian Publications...
Comprehensive, technical and analytical
coverage of the fertilizer sector worldwide.
small scale LNG projects are: LNG Gorskaya (70%),
Vysotsk LNG (56%) and Pskov LNG (24%).
'Name three Russian companies and three
leading international companies developing
technologies and producing equipment for
LNG projects.'
To reveal the leaders among Russian and international
technology and equipment suppliers for the LNG industry, this
question did not have any predefined options. The
respondents named three Russian and three international
companies that they considered to be leaders in the LNG
industry.
Among the Russian companies, the majority of
respondents named Cryogenmash, Cryogas, Geliymash and
Kriomash-BZKM.
Among the foreign technology and equipment suppliers,
the most popular companies were Siemens, Shell, Linde,
Technip, Kvaerner, Cryostar, Air Liquide, and JGC Corp.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the Russian LNG market has a lot of
constrained potential, some of the hurdles blocking it, such
as sanctions or entrenched red tape, lying beyond the power
of market players, while others, e.g. well trained staff or
lobbying in favour of proper standards, being within their
reach. Played right, LNG expertise gained across the Russian
LNG industry can prove invaluable in entering emerging
markets, such as Iran, with their own challenges of various
sorts.
For more information visit:
www.worldfertilizer.com
Ad Index

Page Number | Advertiser

101 | ABC
92 | ACHEMA 2018
91 | AMETEK Process Instruments
87 | Ariel Corp.
IBC | Axens
21 | Boldrocchi
09 | CB&I
49 | Criterion Catalysts & Technologies
57 | Cryostar
65 | Curtiss-Wright EST Group
23 | Ebara International Corp.
61 | Elliott Group
97 | Global Petroleum Show 2017
71 | Goodwin International Ltd
83 | Hallwood Modular Buildings
75 | Haver & Boecker OHG
81 | Heraeus Precious Metals
27 | Hoerbiger
IFC | Honeywell International Inc.
04 | Innospec
OFC & 35 | Intergraph
17 | Intergraph CADWorx & Analysis Solutions
39 | Kobelco Compressors America, Inc.
11 | Koch-Glitsch
06 | Merichem Company
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor
77 |
International
43 | NACE International Institute
47 | Neuman & Esser Group
31 | Orbital
17, 95, 97, 102 | Palladian Publications
24 | Peinemann Equipment B.V.
50 | PRÜFTECHNIK Dieter Busch AG
13 | Quest Integrity
78 | Rembe® GmbH Safety + Control
OBC | Rosen
02 | Sandvik Process Systems
58 | S.A.T.E.
62 | Siemens
53 | Sulzer Chemtech
67 | Yokogawa

Have you joined yet?

Join our industry directory today. Contact sales@hydrocarbonengineering.com
for more details.
www.hydrocarbonengineering.com
 15 FACTS ON...
The states of
REFINING Gasoline
Texas, Louisiana accounts for
and California nearly half of all In the 19th Century, US petroleum
account for US petroleum refineries processed crude oil
OVER HALF product primarily for KEROSENE
of all US domestic production (gasoline was considered a waste)
refining capacity
In 1745, the US refining
FIRST OIL WELL capacity
AND REFINERY INCREASED BY
350 000 bpd in 2016
were built in
compared to 2015 (up 1.95%)
Ukhta, Russia, by
Fawley is the Fiodor Priadunov In 2015, the
largest refinery US
ONE BARREL
accounted for of crude petroleum
in the UK, contains only
The US has
supplying 15% 20.4% 30 – 40% gasoline
of the UK’s oil 126 000 MILES of refinery
products of crude oil and throughput The Jamnagar
refined petroleum refinery (India)
As of 1 January product pipelines In 2016, is the LARGEST
2016, there were US oil refinery in
141 Many UK refineries demand for the world, with a
operable refineries came onstream gasoline was crude processing
in the US in the late 1950s 9.3 million bpd capacity of
with a total crude and early 1960s, 1.24 million bpd
distillation capacity reflecting post-war
of approximately demand for
18.32 million bpd petroleum products

Thanks to petroleum distillation, demand Samuel Kier established the

for WHALE OIL dropped significantly until US’ FIRST OIL REFINERY in
commercial whaling was banned by the Pittsburgh in 1853
International Whaling Commission in 1986

May 2017 104 HYDROCARBON

ENGINEERING
ISO 9001 – ISO 14001 – OHSAS 18001 – ISO 50001
VERSATILE.
Always a leading innovator, ROSEN not only supplies pipeline
customers with the latest diagnostic and system integrity
technologies but also offers flexible solutions and all-round
support for plants & terminals.

www.rosen-group.com