Overhead automation

and analytics lead to

improved
optimization of
production and
reliability
W. CHOUERI, Veolia Water Technologies &
Solutions

The efficient operation of crude oil distillation units

(CDUs) improves profits and distillate yield while
optimizing production costs and reliability.
Simultaneously, it is possible to reduce caustic use,
positively impacting downstream sodium impact
resulting in increased fluidized catalytic cracking
(FCC) catalyst costs, coker furnace fouling and
other issues.

Ideal operations for maximum distillate yield

involve controlling naphtha section temperatures
as low as practical without inducing amine salt
formation and corrosion. Amines contamination
varies widely and comes from many sources from
within and from outside the refinery. Ideally, many
elements should come together to achieve a safely
improved distillate yield (FIG. 1). The data,
learnings and controls possible from these
elements must be utilized holistically.
 FIG. 1. Automation links decision-
makers to data and learnings,
closing knowledge and
communication gaps.

Traditional overhead corrosion mitigation methods

are typically labor-intensive, unreliable,
maintenance-heavy and time-consuming. They
require many workforce hours to gather data,
perform calculations and control chemical
feedrates. Despite this investment, the intermittent
data resulting from such methods miss important
chloride and amine variations, resulting in late or
obsolete decisions. Further, manual pH
measurement and control can frequently
accelerate corrosion from overcompensating with
chemical injection adjustments and missing
episodic periods of high corrosion.

Finally, manual ionic equilibrium salt point

determination requires a significant number of
hours to obtain rapid results for a wide and
dynamically changing basket of amines, so
shortcuts are often deployed that do not provide a
complete picture of salt-induced corrosion risk. As
a result, either conservative approaches to control
salt deposition and corrosion are deployed to
ensure safe operating envelopes that negatively
affect profitability, or a higher corrosion risk than
desirable is accepted to allow a wider operating
envelope. Neither case is ideal for promoting low
risk and operating flexibility.

New lab and field technology. pH

measurement solutions incorporating transducers,
rapid flow control, robust filtering and coalescing
make pH measurements for overhead systems
reliable and easier to maintain. Recent
improvements in fluid handling have allowed
accurate, online, 24/7 pH measurement and
control.

Added to this are new technologies to measure

chlorides online. Recent data gathered from field
trials for chloride monitoring and control have
shown a reduction of the coefficient of variation
from 44% to 14%, compared to manual lab
samples. Several solutions offer varying chloride
reading frequencies ranging from 5 min–30 min.

Finally, recent advancements in amine speciation

have made rapid and accurate onsite methods
economical and practical. The complexity of the
operation and amine quantification have become
significantly easier while lowering costs and
reducing wait times. Fully understanding episodic
salt point challenges through rapid tramp amine
speciation allows a greater ability to deal with
corrosion problems at the source.

Chemical treatment of CDU overheads for

corrosion is the most common method of
improving reliability, other than desalting, water
washing, temperature control and advanced
metallurgy. Manually controlled injection of
chemicals is widespread and longstanding in the
industry. While neutralizers, filmers and caustic
treatment have proven effective, each has its
potential for negative downstream impacts,
sometimes reducing overall potential. By using
sensors and the automation methods described
above to control each of the individual chemical
feeds in a rapid, intelligent and synergistic way,
corrosion mitigation can be improved while
maximizing distillate yield and minimizing the
negative aspects of chemical injection.

Online analytics and collaboration. The

data produced from the above solutions are often
siloed and make it difficult for operators to make
the most effective decisions based on current
conditions and data.

Cloud-based predictive analytics automatically

perform daily saltpoint and dewpoint analysis on
the most recent data. Combining cloud-based
calculations with comprehensive and frequent
amine speciation allows more rapid and targeted
alterations to reliability operating windows.
Coupling this technology to automated pH and
chloride control via neutralizer and caustic injection
allows the operator to optimize the system by
dynamically changing stable chloride setpoints.

Using centralized asset performance management,

data is automatically transferred, stored and
accessed by all experts, operators and
stakeholders. This allows a seamless collaboration
and one-click report generation. It also means all
parties are kept informed either through alarms,
reports or direct customizable access.

Using automation to control neutralizer and caustic

dosage based on pH and chloride readings while
linking decision-makers to data and learnings, the
knowledge and communication gaps are closed
and significant improvements result.

Economic benefits. Unexpected maintenance

to an overhead system can result in millions of
dollars in lost opportunity for even one event.

In one example, by using automation, online

analytics and rapid amine speciation, a refinery in
North America conducted an 18°F temperature
improvement worth $5.9 MM/yr in improved
distillate yield ($9,000/10°F x 18°F/d x 365 d = $5.9
MM).

In another example, several refineries have realized

reduced maintenance hours for sampling, analysis
and control—down to a few hours per week for
routine maintenance—and achieved > 99%
availability of the pH and chloride monitoring and
control unit.

The reduction of caustic use and sodium poisoning

of FCCU catalyst by optimizing chloride setpoints
has been shown to result in > $350,000/yr in FCCU
catalyst savings alone. Each year, the reliability and
maintenance costs of corrosion are significant. The
exact cost of global refinery corrosion is unknown:
various analysis reports by NACE International and
others estimate annual profit losses from refinery
corrosion between $2 B and $12 B. Regardless of
the specific value, the impact of corrosion on
refining has a significant impact on refining
economics.

Overall, the adoption of modern automation, control

and analytics to help proactively and systematically
optimize the balance between production and
reliability can result in large returns on investment
and simultaneous improvements to safety and
workforce requirements. HP

WILLIAM CHOUERI is a Global Product Manager

for Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions. He has
more than 17 yr of experience in the water utilities,
chemicals, and oil and gas industries, with roles
ranging from sales and growth leadership, to digital
and monitoring solutions, including the Suez
Truesense and InSight APM platform. He is now
responsible for setting and executing the global
strategy for sensing and control in the oil and gas
upstream, refining and chemical processing
markets. Choueri earned an MSC degree in water
processes from Cranfield University (U.K.) in 2004,
and an MBA from the University of Manchester
(U.K.) in 2013.

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