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Hydrocarbon Magzine
Hydrocarbon Magzine
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CONTENTS
March 2023 Volume 28 Number 03 ISSN 1468-9340
03 Guest comment 44 Racing to find the right separation
technology
05 World news Vic Scalco, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, USA,
details the importance of selecting the correct separation
10 American gasoline: conditional love technology in order to support growing petrochemical
Nancy Yamaguchi, Contributing Editor, examines changing demand.
production, price and demand in the US gasoline market.
51 Trays for mega towers
18 The next digital frontier: industrial Ang Chew Peng, Hou Peng-Cheng and Senthil Krishnamoorthy,
autonomous operations Sulzer, discuss various types of high-performance trays for
Praveen Sam, Honeywell, USA, introduces a novel digital large diameter propylene fractionators.
operating approach within the oil and gas industry.
59 Lessons in VDU performance
23 Digitalisation with a clearer view Jim Lines, Graham Corp., USA, lists the VDU ejector system
Mika Kulin, Neste, explains how the company’s refinery field lessons learned by a performance improvement
in Porvoo, Finland, is integrating its different digital engineer, through the lens of four specific case studies.
sources and automation systems into a single source of
information. 69 Time for a retrofit?
Nathan Hill, CALGAVIN, UK, discusses how to increase
27 Fending off threat product retention through retrofitting condensers.
Mike Hoffman, Dragos Inc., USA, discusses how refineries
can protect critical ICS/OT systems from cyberattacks. 73 Breaking down the barriers
Dennis Long, Watlow, USA, explains the role that electric
33 Building resilient infrastructure process heaters will have to play in the decarbonisation of
Leo Simonovich, Siemens Energy, USA, lists the important hydrocarbon processing.
steps to be taken in order to develop a more mature
cybersecurity posture. 79 Heater tube cleaning and verification
Tom Gilmartin, Zerosumheater and a consultant for
36 A step change in catalyst development Quest Integrity, considers the effect of fouling on heater
Mark Stuckey, UNICAT Catalyst Technologies LLC, discusses services, and introduces a new approach for confirming coil
the emergence of next generation spherical catalysts and cleanliness.
their impact on yield increases and reduced carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions in tubular reformers. 85 Monitor, manage and minimise
Mark Naples, Umicore Coating Services Ltd, details how
connected gas detection technology can help companies to
comply with ESG needs.
FRONT
Magcat has been shown to increase hydrogen production,
as well as reduce CO2 emissions by 10 – 20%, in ways
COVER
that are easily implemented and which avoid equipment
investment costs.
TAKE-OFF.
FROM AMBITION
TO ACTION.
Ramp up production of sustainable aviation fuel. Together
we can transform the aviation industry’s carbon intensity for
the better. Keep planes in the air, and still be on track to zero.
SAF reduces CO2 emissions by at least 85% when compared
to conventional fuel. And we have the proven technologies to
make it all happen. Now.
I
SENIOR EDITOR Callum O'Reilly
callum.oreilly@palladianpublications.com n a tight refined product market – which is
ASSISTANT EDITOR Bella Weetch certainly how we would characterise much
bella.weetch@palladianpublications.com of the past two years – it has been US
SALES DIRECTOR Rod Hardy
refiners that have stepped up. Our industry
rod.hardy@palladianpublications.com ran full-out for most of 2022 making sure American consumers, our domestic
economic centres and our allies had enough gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to keep
SALES MANAGER Chris Atkin
chris.atkin@palladianpublications.com everyone moving. Our refining sector leads the world in liquid fuel production
and is effectively doing more than any other to bring better balance to the
SALES EXECUTIVE Sophie Birss
sophie.birss@palladianpublications.com global market.
This is a utilisation story. The US refining kit (which is how we refer to our
PRODUCTION MANAGER Kyla Waller
kyla.waller@palladianpublications.com collective refining machinery across nearly 130 refineries) is one of the two
largest in the world, with approximately 18 million bpd capacity. It is also the
EVENTS MANAGER Louise Cameron
louise.cameron@palladianpublications.com
most complex, which means we have the greatest capability to refine the
toughest types of crude oil.
EVENTS COORDINATOR Stirling Viljoen Our facilities process more crude oil every day than the US upstream
stirling.viljoen@palladianpublications.com
produces, and we make more finished fuels, collectively, than the US consumes.
DIGITAL CONTENT ASSISTANT Merili Jurivete For a kit of our size, to consistently have at least 90% of our refining muscle
merili.jurivete@palladianpublications.com
actively engaged in fuel production is a tremendous accomplishment, and
DIGITAL ADMINISTRATOR Leah Jones a testament to the men and women of our industry who maintain our
leah.jones@palladianpublications.com
facilities and keep them running safely. To say I am proud of their work is an
ADMIN MANAGER Laura White understatement.
laura.white@palladianpublications.com
Refineries regularly undergo maintenance, and every few years they undergo
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR larger scale ‘turnarounds’ where production is halted and up to 1000 specialised
Nancy Yamaguchi Gordon Cope workers – including engineers, electricians, pipefitters and steelworkers – come
in to inspect entire facilities, refurbish units and complete building projects. As
any veteran refiner will tell you, running full-out for as long as we have can be a
SUBSCRIPTION RATES source of wear and tear on facilities. And to maintain high utilisation rates when
Annual subscription £110 UK including postage the market was at its tightest, some facilities elected to reschedule planned
/£125 overseas (postage airmail).
Two year discounted rate £176 UK maintenance if that could be done safely.
including postage/£200 overseas (postage airmail). Safety is the key word. Everything we do in the refining industry begins and
SUBSCRIPTION CLAIMS ends with safety. While the US refining industry will continue to produce as
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. much fuel as we safely can, there’s going to be some necessary dialing back for
maintenance. Of course, ‘dialing back’ is relative, because US refineries – even
APPLICABLE ONLY TO USA & CANADA
Hydrocarbon Engineering (ISSN No: 1468-9340, USPS No: 020-998) is while some facilities undergo maintenance – are still likely to maintain much
published monthly by Palladian Publications Ltd GBR and distributed
in the USA by Asendia USA, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831. higher utilisation rates than the rest of the world and continue leading in fuel
Periodicals postage paid New Brunswick, NJ and additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to HYDROCARBON
production.
ENGINEERING, 701C Ashland Ave, Folcroft PA 19032. Refinery upkeep is a good thing because maintenance is a long-term
investment in safe operations and will help us be ready, if needed, to run
full-out for extended stretches in the future. And as an industry of ‘planners’,
refiners also have arrangements in place before any turnaround starts to make
15 South Street, Farnham, Surrey sure customers have uninterrupted fuel deliveries.
GU9 7QU, UK Even while facilities are being maintained, global fuel supply and demand
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 718 999 will continue rebalancing with our contributions and with significant refining
capacity projects preparing to come online around the world. This next phase
of US refinery leadership in a reconfigured global market is sure to be one to
watch.
THE FUTURE
OF CATALYSTS
IS HERE
Scan and
learn more
WORLD NEWS
USA | EIA:
US refinery utilisation to average Denmark | Technip
more than 90% in 2023 and 2024 Energies awarded
FEED contract by
I n its February ‘Short-Term Energy
Outlook’ (STEO), the US Energy
Information Administration (EIA)
Global refined product prices and
crack spreads, which represent an
estimate of refinery margins, grew
Arcadia eFuels
forecast that US refinery utilisation
will remain similar to 2022, at above
90% over the next two years.
substantially in the US in 2022,
increasing refinery utilisation.
Slower economic growth is
T echnip Energies has been awarded
a FEED contract by Arcadia eFuels
for the world’s first commercial e-fuels
It is forecast that US refinery predicted in 2023 and 2024, which facility for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
utilisation will average 90.8% in 2023, would reduce gasoline and diesel production in Vordingborg, Denmark.
and then decrease slightly to 90.3% in consumption compared with 2022, Pre-FEED and early works recently
2024. leading to a gradual decrease in concluded, and the parties aim to
In 2020, average refinery utilisation petroleum product prices. support plant start-up in 2026.
dropped to 78.8%, the lowest annual It is also forecast that increased Arcadia eFuels will use renewable
rate since the EIA began collecting this production of finished petroleum electricity, water, and biogenic
data in 1997. However, by 2022, products as a result of high refinery carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce
utilisation rates averaged closer to utilisation rates will contribute to e-fuels that can be used in traditional
pre-pandemic levels at more than 91%. lower prices. engines and supplied to the market in
existing liquid fuel infrastructures.
Germany | First
Middle East LNG cargo The FEED covers the engineering of
the first e-fuels plant that will produce
successfully delivered approximately 80 000 tpy of e-jet fuel
and e-naphtha, using novel yet proven
I
to acquire Velan Inc. in an all-cash transaction
NEOS Olefins Belgium has raised The plant also has the capability
valued at approximately US$245 million. The
€3.5 billion to support the to operate entirely with low-carbon
transaction is expected to close by the end of
construction and operation of hydrogen, and has room for a carbon
2Q23.
Project ONE. capture facility and future electric
This is the largest investment in furnaces.
europe the European chemical sector for a
generation. The new cracker, located
Jason Meers, CFO INEOS
Project ONE, said: “Project ONE is a
Neste and Wizz Air have agreed on the supply in Antwerp, Belgium, will have the game changer for Europe. It will
of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation FuelTM from lowest carbon footprint in Europe bring new opportunities to the
2025 onwards. The agreement gives Wizz Air – three times lower than the average chemical cluster in Antwerp as well
the opportunity to purchase 36 000 tpy of European steam cracker, and less than as strengthen the resilience of the
Neste-produced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) half that of the 10% of best whole of the European chemical
over a period of three years for the airline to performers in Europe. sector.”
use across its route network in Europe and the
UK.
Europe | Growing LNG demand to intensify
competition with Asia
china
E
Venture Global LNG and China Gas Holdings urope’s increased need for LNG withstand a slump in Russian pipeline
Ltd have announced that the wholly-owned looks set to intensify competition gas imports following its invasion of
subsidiary, China Gas Hongda Energy with Asia for limited new supply Ukraine. A 15 million t fall in Chinese
Trading Co. Ltd, and Venture Global LNG available over the next two years, and imports, combined with reduced
have signed two 20-year LNG Sales and may dominate LNG trade over the imports by South Asian buyers, helped
Purchase Agreements (SPA). Under the longer term, according to Shell’s European countries to secure enough
deals, China Gas will buy 1 million tpy of ‘LNG Outlook 2023’. gas and avoid shortages. Europe’s
LNG on a free on board (FOB) basis from European countries, including the rapidly rising appetite for LNG pushed
Plaquemines LNG, and another 1 milion tpy UK, imported 121 million t of LNG in prices to record highs and generated
from the CP2 LNG export facility – both of 2022, an increase of 60% compared to volatility in energy markets around the
which are located in Louisiana, US. 2021, which enabled them to world.
www.calderys.com
WORLD NEWS
DIARY DATES The Netherlands | Shell
and Hapag-Lloyd sign
multi-year LNG supply agreement
19 - 23 March 2023
AMPP Annual Conference & Expo
Denver, Colorado, USA
ace.ampp.org
S hell Western LNG B.V and
Hapag-Lloyd have announced the
signing of a multi-year agreement
Hamburg (Germany), Singapore, and
Shanghai (China).
Shell and Hapag-Lloyd have also
for the supply of LNG to entered into a strategic collaboration
26 - 28 March 2023 Hapag-Lloyd’s ultra-large dual-fuel agreement intended to accelerate
AFPM International Petrochemical Conference container vessels of 23 500+ 20 ft the further decarbonisation of
San Antonio, Texas, USA equivalent units (TEU). alternative marine fuels. Initial focus
afpm.org/events/IPC23
Bunkering for these 12 new will be given to developing the
12 - 14 April 2023 vessels is expected to commence potential of additional low-carbon
25th International Aboveground Storage Tank during 2H23, and LNG will be fuel solutions including liquefied
Conference & Trade Show supplied in the Port of Rotterdam, biomethane and the
Orlando, Florida, USA the Netherlands. hydrogen-based fuel, liquefied
www.nistm.org The modern ships will be e-methane. Liquefied biomethane as
deployed on Europe-Far East routes a marine fuel has the potential to
25 - 27 April 2023 and call at major ports including reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
Sulphur World Symposium
Rotterdam (the Netherlands), between 65 – 100%.
Edinburgh, Scotland
www.sulphurinstitute.org/symposium-2023
USA | ExxonMobilto utilise Topsoe
08 - 12 May 2023
RefComm
technology for hydrogen facility
Galveston, Texas, USA
events.crugroup.com/refcomm
22 - 24 May 2023
T opsoe has announced that it will
deliver technology to
ExxonMobil’s planned low-carbon
reduce the integrated complex’s
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by
up to 30%.
ILTA 2023 International Operating Conference and hydrogen production facility in To produce the large amount of
Trade Show Baytown, Texas, US. hydrogen needed by ExxonMobil,
Houston, Texas, USA
www.ilta.org
ExxonMobil’s low-carbon Topsoe will apply its SynCORTM
hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon technology, which enables mega-scale
07 - 08 June 2023 capture facility is expected to hydrogen production as well as
Valve World Americas Expo & Conference generate up to 1 billion ft3/d of cost-efficient carbon capture.
Houston, Texas, USA hydrogen, delivering low-carbon fuel As technology integrator, Topsoe
www.valveworldexpoamericas.com to the Baytown olefins plant and will guarantee the carbon intensity of
other Houston-area facilities. the integrated low-carbon facility, as
07 - 08 June 2023 Replacing natural gas with hydrogen well as hydrogen production and
Downstream USA 2023
at the Baytown olefins plant could carbon capture.
Galveston, Texas, USA
events.reutersevents.com/petchem/downstream-usa
USA | Freeport LNG to restart operations
13 - 15 June 2023
F
Global Energy Show reeport LNG Development L.P. The restart and return to service
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.globalenergyshow.com
has announced that it has of Freeport LNG’s third liquefaction
received regulatory approval to train will require subsequent
10 - 13 July 2023 commence commercial operations regulatory approval once certain
LNG2023 of its natural gas liquefaction and operational conditions are met. A
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada export facility. conservative ramp-up profile to
www.lng2023.org This authorisation provides for establish three-train production of
the immediate full return to service approximately 2 billion ft3/d is
05 - 08 September 2023 of one liquefaction train that has anticipated to occur over the next
Gastech
already restarted, and the several weeks as stable operation of
Singapore
www.gastechevent.com incremental restart and full return to each incremental train is established
service of a second train. and maintained.
Together with Advanced Refining Technologies LLC, CLG offers the most complete portfolio of
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Nancy Yamaguchi, Contributing Editor, examines changing
production, price and demand in the US gasoline market.
Alternatives to gasoline
Switching away from gasoline is a slow process, but
Figure 6. US gasoline supplied, annual growth rates by decade, % it appears that the US has turned the corner.
(source: EIA, and author’s estimate of 2022). Demand has fallen, and Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) standards are also having a
sustained impact on cutting fuel use and emissions.
The government of President Biden is vigorously
promoting clean energy technologies and moving
to reduce carbon emissions.
Alternative fuels are picking up pace. The
Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) tracks the
number of fuelling stations each year for
alternatives including propane, methanol, LNG,
CNG, hydrogen, biodiesel, E85 and electric, shown
in Figure 7. Over the years, these alternatives have
contributed to the fuel mix, and many forecasts
expected strong if not spectacular growth across
the board. However, a number of these alternatives
did not flourish, and some seemed to compete
Figure 7. US alternative fuelling stations by type with each other rather than with gasoline. Methanol
(source: Alternative Fuels Data Center). in its M85 blend has vanished; a hydrogen economy
has not materialised; LNG as a transport fuel has
n T
astounding, while many other options have failed to gain
traction. The Biden Administration has set a goal to ensure
that 50% of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in
2030 are EVs. ve e
Pro
ch
Conclusion: a new phase in the
consumer-gasoline relationship
nol
Same
Gasoline is a valuable commodity; a single gallon of this
energy-dense liquid can propel a car and driver for
30, 40 or even 50 miles, in vehicles that are safe and
ogy
comfortable, cool in summer, warm in winter, wherever
and whenever the driver wishes to go. What is all of that
freedom and convenience worth? In some countries, such
as Venezuela and Libya, government subsidies keep
gasoline prices absurdly low – pennies per gallon. In other
countries, governments place hefty taxes on gasoline to
control consumption, and prices may be US$6 – 8/gal., or
higher. In the US, prices are currently under US$4/gal. – well
below all other OECD countries. Yet many consumers
consider prices of US$4 – 5/gal. too high.
Gasoline producers and consumers are interdependent,
but high prices to consumers, when coupled with
record-high profits to oil companies, have heightened
public resentment – despite the fact that the lion’s share of
profits are being made in upstream petroleum, not in
refining and marketing. During the Great Recession and
COVID-19 lockdowns, for example, many refineries suffered
N ow w
nts
National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS)
s
N ow
H y ri
in 2023.
y b ri
The relationship between the American consumer and
h
H
d
b
now, each wave of demand recovery has been more
sedate. The existing fleet is more efficient and less
polluting; and more alternatives have emerged –
particularly EVs. COVID-19 has popularised remote work,
making it a permanent fixture. Refiners are thinking of
export markets for their marginal barrels of output. Perhaps
the relationship between gasoline producers and
consumers is a mature one, and both parties are pursuing
new interests. US gasoline demand may be on its way to a Optimized Gas Treating, Inc
long, slow decline, but not a farewell. 212 Cimarron Park Loop, Buda, TX 78610
www.ogtrt.com +1 512 312 9424
March 2023 18 HYDROCARBON
ENGINEERING
Praveen Sam, Honeywell, USA, introduces a novel digital
operating approach within the oil and gas industry.
W
e live in a world that continues to change and through self-learning capabilities. These systems and
adapt to different industrial, technological, processes will be bound by guardrails of cybersecurity, safety
political and social realities. As a result of these and reliability, which will be built with explainable artificial
changes, the oil and gas industry will inevitably intelligence (AI) systems that utilise multiple simulation
need to adapt. The industry is responding to unprecedented models serving as digital twins. Together, this will bring the
levels of change driven by factors such as an increased focus next step change for industry, unlocking benefits that current
on improving sustainability, new economic realities, and digital capabilities do not support by intelligently, reliably and
adapting to the future of the workforce. securely closing the loop with people and systems.
As such, it is important to rethink the role of industrial
digital transformation, which is now expected to deliver the Setting objectives for the next digital
next step change in ensuring safety, improving sustainability frontier
and reliability, enabling people, and increasing margin The next frontier in industrial digital transformation will be
predictability. Making this a reality requires a shift towards the move towards intelligent and autonomous operations.
industrial autonomous operations. Industrial autonomous operations will provide a step change
in how the oil and gas industry can create its digital future.
Envisioning industrial autonomous Over the past 40 years, some of the defining moments in the
operations digital evolution of the industry include the adoption of
Industrial autonomous operations is a vision for the future, automation systems and manufacturing execution systems,
where functions in operations embed higher levels of the implementation of applications such as advanced process
intelligence and close the loop with people and systems. This control, and the use of enterprise resource planning systems.
will enable people to focus on higher-level tasks. Although Currently, we are in a phase of broader adoption of cloud
the industry has not reached the highest level of full and AI/ML technologies as more use cases become scalable.
autonomy, technology advancements have provided a good The next major step will be closing the loop between
set of ingredients to allow for autonomous operations. intelligence displayed on a software application and an action
Automation and control systems in a closed loop are through either people or systems. This will allow the industry
becoming pervasive, and they continue to be to envision higher targets for digital transformation. These
complemented by different software-enabled capabilities include:
such as advanced process control, alarm management, asset n Zero-harm operations that keep people away from harm,
performance management, and remote monitoring. As predict operational risk, and ensure the integrity of
automation and control systems move closer towards operations.
software and converge, current advances in cybersecurity, n Significant sustainability improvements, achieved by
self-learning intelligent systems, and digital twins allow for maximising efficiencies or supporting new products such
increased autonomous operations. as renewable fuels.
With industrial autonomous operations, systems and n Maximising human potential by allowing people to focus
processes will have increased adaptive capabilities enabled on higher-level tasks.
Where to begin?
Realising value through intelligent operations requires a
shift in mindset and the execution of a structured plan. In
addition to setting targets for digital transformation,
leaders should take the following steps:
nn Prioritise the right function to prove value with
autonomous operations: prove value with a
digitally-mature use case of high business value.
Opportunities such as end-to-end process
optimisation or closing the loop with economic
planning and scheduling demonstrate results that can
create interest in attaining even higher objectives.
nn Create an organisational foundation with supporting
policies and practices: adapt organisational policies
and digital practices to support industrial
autonomous operations. Carefully designing
organisational roles and responsibilities, security and
The leader in
audit policies, safety functions, and technology
governance are necessary practices.
nn Create a technology foundation with industrial-grade
I
n 2019, Neste Corp. started to further develop the digitalisation of its refinery
in Porvoo, Finland. The refinery is in the Kilpilahti industrial area, which is the
biggest chemical industry consortium in the Nordics. Its production capacity is
approximately 12.5 million tpy, with the most important products being
transportation and marine fuels, and base oil. It employs some 1000 people.
It is a very complex plant comprised of four production lines and more than
40 production units, including two units that produce renewable diesel made
from different types of waste. As a single product can have tens of different
qualities, the refinery requires a high level of digitalisation and skilled personnel to
enable efficiency.
Optimize
crystaphase.com
into network traffic flows, it is challenging to ensure that firewall This stage is likely to be when the plant would begin to
rule sets are correct. isolate networks. During the Colonial attack, pipeline operators
separated their OT from IT as part of containment. Isolating the
Preparing for an attack OT network is one of the primary containment steps, but this
Refineries need to be sure that they have a defensible can also have indirect business impacts. Containment can be
architecture, which starts with having equipment in place to broadly applied across OT and processing units, or isolated
monitor operations effectively. Monitoring can help detect down to individual system(s), depending on the respective
attacks early on, before a physical impact is realised. network architecture and intrusion scope.
Adversaries performing targeted attacks must slowly work
their way through an OT environment looking for DCS, SIS or Eradication
PLCs, and they can spend months inside a network before As systems are scoped for intrusion and contained, eradication
acting. Such an attack requires a considerable amount of begins to immediately remove the threat from the
reconnaissance and reverse engineering before realising the environment. There is no clean break in each of these steps,
action on objective. The numerous months that the adversary and containment, followed by eradication, is very much an
spent inside the Saudi Arabian system while developing TRISIS iterative process. After systems are cleaned, monitoring levels
might be unusual, but the average ICS/OT cybersecurity must be drastically increased to ensure that the malware or
incident is a nearly year-long event. adversary is completely removed from the environment.
The amount of time it takes to carry out a targeted attack is Otherwise, the threat may regain a foothold and start
one advantage that defenders have within OT. If the right successive attacks.
protections and monitoring are in place, this gives defenders
that much more time and opportunity to catch the attack Recovery
before equipment or process manipulation occurs. Once systems have been cleaned and the threat removed, the
The necessary steps in preparing for an attack include: plant can bring systems back online. Crucial to this step is
understanding minimal operating requirements and order of
Develop an incident response (IR) plan restoration. For example, domain controllers, application servers,
Plant operators need to have a documented plan in place in and critical human-machine interfaces (HMIs) are often needed
order to respond to unusual activity involving OT. Practically all first before other OT systems are brought online.
organisations have IR plans for IT, but those plans fail when An important part of recovery is having reliable back-ups.
leveraged directly in OT because of the differences in how the This is one area where OT and IT are similar, taking regular
technologies operate and the actions to take on the systems snapshots of servers and databases to aid in recovery.
once an incident is called. A response plan should address One step to consider is having offline back-ups, which are
several important stages. essential in cases of ransomware, for instance. Ransomware
actors will often target connected back-up systems along with
Detection production systems to prevent quick recovery and ensure that
When unusual activity is detected by a SIS, for example, it is ransom payments are made. A secondary back-up that is
important to consider that there may be a cyber element at disconnected or replicated to a secure cloud storage system
play. Equipment malfunctions, but times have changed, and the can help speed up the process of restoring systems.
industrial community is beginning to adopt a cybersecurity
mindset. Conclusion
The first thing to do is determine whether an event is Current adversaries have shown that they can conduct attacks
malicious through network security monitoring, collecting logs in the downstream segment while new, increasingly
from systems and hosts, and analysing them. If the activity looks sophisticated adversaries are emerging. Refineries must adopt
at all suspicious, the event can be raised to the level of an controls to counter these growing threats. A primary control
incident, which will trigger a response from the appropriate that can be implemented is to have a tested incident response
teams. in place for OT, which includes steps for detecting a cyber
An IR plan serves as the foundation for every other stage of event, followed by containment, eradication and restoration.
response, but only comes into play once equipment Network security monitoring is foundational to enabling these
malfunction has been ruled out. incident response steps. Whilst ‘defence is doable’, it takes a
plan with the right protective, detective and responsive
Containment capabilities to safeguard critical refinery operations.
Once an event is raised to the level of an incident, the response
stage shifts to containment. This involves scoping the incident References
to determine affected systems, which often includes collecting 1. ‘2021 state of industrial cybersecurity’, Ponemon Institute,
(November 2021), https://hub.dragos.com/hubfs/Reports/2021-
forensics evidence from systems, reviewing logs, and performing Ponemon-Institute-State-of-Industrial-Cybersecurity-Report.
network monitoring. Foundational to containment is pdf?hsLang=en
2. ‘Relentless Russian Cyberattacks on Ukraine Raise Important Policy
preparation by having contingency plans in place to understand Questions’, (5 October 2022), https://www.darkreading.com/threat-
what systems are required for minimal operation, or when a intelligence/russian-cyberattacks-ukraine-raise-important-policy-
controlled shutdown may be required. Planning for containment questions
3. ‘Colonial Pipeline hack explained: Everything you need to know’,
is a team effort that should involve engineering, ICS/OT (26 April 2022), https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Colonial-
security, and operations. Pipeline-hack-explained-Everything-you-need-to-know
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P
ipelines make money by moving fuel. But on 100 million gal. of fuel went undelivered each day.
9 May 2021, no fuel was moving through the US’ Consumer prices at the pump jumped to seven-year highs,
largest refined petroleum product pipeline. As and gas stations ran dry across the US southeast. Airlines
the Colonial Pipeline’s operators scrambled to rearranged flight schedules; the President of the US
understand the extent of the cyber breach, the pipeline weighed in to prevent further economic disruptions,
– responsible for moving nearly half of the declaring an emergency.
transportation fuel used on the Atlantic Coast – was at a All of these impacts flowed from a single cyberattack
standstill. A ransom of US$4.4 million had already been targeting the billing department of the Colonial Pipeline
paid, but this represented a fraction of the mounting operators. When these operators were confronted with a
economic impacts felt by the breach, as roughly clear breach in their information technologies (IT)
D
esigns of tubular steam methane reformers (SMRs) plain spheres, with 12 years of operation in a 450 Tube DRI
have, wherever possible, been optimised around the reformer. The second is a US refinery installed with UNICAT’s
limitations of key component capabilities, i.e. Magcat Textured Sphere technology.
dimensions and high temperature creep of tubes,
together with the pressure drop and activity of the Background
conventional catalysts within the tube. Over the years, tube and The overarching efficiency of a reformer is derived from the
catalyst manufacturers have improved their respective products, efficiency of heat transfer through and into the tube. This heat
but limitations of conventional catalyst carrier manufacturing energy, combined with the catalyst, promotes the reaction
processes have slowed any significant developments over the between the process gas (steam and methane) to produce
last 20 years. hydrogen.
The next generation of catalyst required a step change in The effectiveness of getting heat into the tube and
carrier manufacturing processes. It is generally known that facilitating the efficiency of the reforming process is highly
spherical shapes pack better in tubes than alternate cylindrical dependent on the flow of the process gas through the tube.
types, but it has been difficult to manufacture spheres in The aim is to facilitate the lowest amount of process gas flow
volume, so all conventional carriers have been non-spherical. restriction whilst allowing for sufficient time for the reforming
However, 12 years ago, UNICAT, knowing the packing benefits, reaction to take place.
introduced the first spherical catalyst into a tubular steam The catalyst shape and how the thousands of individual
reformer. catalysts pack impact the flow dynamics of the process gas.
This article will detail two industrial cases which Conventional catalysts pack chaotically due to their
demonstrate the effect of catalyst shape optimisation – moving non-spherical shape, and this leads to uneven flow, flow
to spheres from non-spheres. The first case will be UNICAT’s bottlenecks, and sub-optimal heat transfer.
Conclusion
UNICAT’s MYD-S and Magcat spheres are
demonstrating excellent performance in tubular
SMR reformers, as shown in one such example
operated by a top five refiner in the US, and as
referenced by a global steel company operating
a DRI reformer. These benefits can be clearly
Figure 6. Increases in reformer outlet temperature through operating understood from underlying effects on fluid
cycle using conventional SMR catalyst compared to low outlet dynamics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer of
temperature with Magcat® installed. spheres vs conventional shapes. Energy
efficiency, lower CO2 emissions, increased
hydrogen production, and extended tube life
are some of the advantages of next generation
spherical catalysts.
References
1. TAGLIABUE, M., ‘Refinery off-gas in hydrogen
production’, Air Liquide, PTQ (Q1 2022), https://cdn.
digitalrefining.com/data/articles/file/1002727-q1-
air-GBPiquide-dr.pdf
2. ‘Low-carbon hydrogen demand in refining could
reach 50 Mtpa by 2050’, Wood Mackenzie,
(June 2022), https://www.woodmac.com/press-
releases/low-carbon-hydrogen-demand-in-refining-
could-reach-50-mtpa-by-2050/
3. HOERNER, S. F., ‘Fluid-Dynamic Drag : Practical
Information on Aerodynamic Drag and
Hydrodynamic Resistance’, 2nd Edition, (1965),
pp. 3 – 17.
4. DIXON, A., BOUDREAU, J., ROCHELEAU, A., TROUPEL, A.,
ERTAN TASKIN, M., NIJEMEISLAND, M., and STITT, E. H.,
‘Flow, Transport, and Reaction Interactions in Shaped
Cylindrical Particles for Steam Methane Reforming’,
Figure 7. Cut through tube view of spherical catalyst (left) showing Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, (2012).
even and supported fill, and conventional catalyst (right) showing 5. TURNER, J., ‘Hydrogen Consumption for Fuels
crushing impact of tube thermal cycling due to lack of support Production’, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
facilitating catalyst dropping and crushing. (NREL), (2013), p. 5, https://www.hydrogen.energy.
gov/pdfs/htac_oct13_9_turner.pdf
T
he global pandemic, economic slowdown,
and instability caused by regional conflicts
have significantly impacted the
approximately 735 petroleum refineries
worldwide. Today’s highly complex and competitive
refining environment, coupled with eroding profits and
difficulty maintaining a positive bottom line, is forcing
over half of these refineries to seek new market
opportunities from the bottom of the barrel in order
to remain competitive. In addition to this, compliance
with tougher climate regulations is further taxing
refineries’ ability to invest in technology innovations
to help keep pace with changing market demands,
while maintaining profitability.1
Refining management’s balancing act between new
technology investment and increasing revenue
potential is driving a trend toward utilising severe
catalytic cracking technology to increase profits while
taking advantage of the existing crack spreads. Over
18 million bbl of crude oil are processed daily through
a fluidised catalytic cracking (FCC) system, along with
three-quarters of worldwide gasoline. FCC systems
have become the refinery’s most versatile operating
units to improve the bottom line. With the increase in
crude prices, environmental compliance cost, and
current International Maritime Organization (IMO)
2020 regulation enforcement, the spread between
lighter, less severe crudes and heavier, opportunistic
crudes will become a bigger part of the refining
sector’s economics. The FCC’s capability to convert
heavy atmospheric gas oils, vacuum gas oils, and
atmospheric resids into more valuable gasoline and
middle distillates can be exploited to support more
positive profit margins.2
Heavier, opportunity crudes are pushing the limits
of catalytic cracking. Refiners are increasingly
considering the utilisation of more complex
technologies for deeper conversion of challenging
feedstocks arising from the processing of opportunity
crudes. There are a range of technologies tailored for
processing heavier crudes and producing high-quality
final products. As the future of refining has the
industry moving towards the use of higher severity
conversion units and synthetic crudes, the FCC will
remain the workhorse of the refinery.
www.arielcorp.com/arielsmartcompressor
an option, the challenge of catalyst fines separation and increased cost over time for the refinery. One tank per
the recovery of lost profits can be efficiently addressed year can cost a refinery US$40 000 in settling agent,
by adopting the right (MCB) separation technology.7 US$500 000 in cleaning and maintenance, and US$150 000
in landfill and waste disposal fees. This represents
The race for profits approximately US$690 000 in increased costs to
Higher severity FCC units operate at critical conditions and accomplish a bunker fuel at 500 ppm. DCO resulting from
concentrations in the production of higher ends for the settling tank process will continue to experience rising
petrochemical feedstock supply. This makes the process costs as environmental laws direct the handling of
more challenging, especially at the bottom of the barrel hazardous waste, and as the decline in construction causes
where high concentrations of solids, contaminants and stockpiles of dried catalyst to collect at concrete kilns.8
catalysts are undermining the possibility of upgrading the In addition to recovering profits eroded by tank settling,
slurry oil stream. Upgrading catalytic cracking technology by installing catalyst fines separation technology at the
must coincide with increasing efficiency, reducing outlet of the FCC slurry oil rundown, most of the fines can
maintenance cost, and improving the catalyst equilibrium be collected and sent back to the riser. With this
cycle. Removing solids and ultimately increasing the technology in place, the returned catalyst fines would
lifespan of the FCC system is part of this equation, and is support fresh catalyst reactivity while finding more
directly related to incrementing the bottom line in acceptable avenues of escape via gas scrubbers,
refining. electrostatic precipitators, and spent catalyst collection
The success of higher severity production relies on hoppers, ultimately leaving through the flue stack.
providing clarified slurry oil at < 50 ppm to maintain a Additional profit recovery occurs by removing fines from
marketable DCO. Several different filtration and separation escaping through the bottoms circuit and rundown to tank
technologies have been reviewed to find the most suitable settling. By keeping the fines out of this process, the refiner
solution capable of upgrading the challenging DCO stream. can realise additional profit by adding the now-retired
Many refiners ‘de-ash’ with chemical aids to accelerate ash settling tank to a refinery’s marketable inventory tank list.
settling in storage. These chemicals are polymeric This is an added benefit to any refinery, and could be worth
compounds that adhere to the catalyst surface, causing as much as US$1 million in annual revenue.9
agglomeration of the fine particles to accelerate World demand for refined products is unique to the
separation.8 For some time, refiners have found it domestic market and international demand for each region.
economical to cat crack increasing quantities of 1000+°F North American FCCs operate at high severity to maximise
boiling material. Current analysis shows that approximately gasoline and polypropylene. The result is a very heavy,
40% of the industry is cracking some resid. Cracking an aromatic decant oil. Due to low fuel oil production and
unhydrotreated resid might result in a heavier, more specific-gravity limits, US refineries are only able to blend
viscous slurry oil with low aromaticity and high metals low quantities of decant oil in resid, allowing the excess to
content. When resid is added to an existing FCC, ash be sold for other uses such as carbon black feedstock.10
separation might be more difficult because the catalyst The quality of CSO for carbon black feedstock can
removal system must handle a greater volume of more generate as much as US$18.00/bbl of increased revenue,
viscous slurry.9 and increase middle distillate inventory. With separation
Settling tanks for decanting slurry oil have been in use technology in place, a refiner can increase annual revenue
for more than 40 years, and this remains the most popular by not having to use heavy cycle oil (HCO) or light cycle
separation process for removing catalyst in slurry oil. oil (LCO) as cutter stock with the CSO to meet lower
Today, over 61% of refineries use settling tanks to separate concentration specifications, and more middle distillate
catalyst and other contaminates from slurry oil. The can be used to produce lighter products such as diesel.
settling process is very lengthy and creates a larger Regarding the use of LCO, mechanical filtration is limited
challenge once the tank is full of sediment. Refineries must in backwash mediums, and costly HCO/LCO is required for
resort to using settling agents to assist in speeding up the back washing the filters. Electrostatic separation, however,
process. This creates sludge, hazardous waste, and provides an economic advantage over other processes.
This technology uses raw feed from the FCC/RFCC for
back flushing and does not decrease the overall
production of the reactor or rob valuable lighter products.
Middle distillate production is therefore increased, along
with profitability.3
CSO used as carbon black feedstock carries the best
value in lower conversion markets. When sourcing markets
for MCB production, whether it is marine fuel or
highly-profitable specialty carbon black feedstock, a
refiner must decide to increase the quality of the CSO to
meet the unique specification for each market. The
efficiency and reliability of the fines removal technology is
Figure 2. Slurry oil settling tanks. critical to realising increased profits from these markets.
The properties of MCB make it difficult to find a solution
www.paratherm.com
without understanding the downsides of each technology. added to the FCC. With constant unit operation, cyclones
Centrifuges have been found to be unsafe and inefficient in the reactor release fines and, over time, larger catalyst
over time. Decanting or settling is only able to provide can escape through this process. With the proper
bunker-grade products with long residence time. With the separation technology in place, lost catalyst, especially in
heavy asphaltene and coke content in severe RFCC or FCC older FCC units, can be recovered and sent back to the
operation, mechanical filtration solutions become blocked riser. This adds greater attrition to the life of the catalyst
or severely eroded, requiring complete disassembly or equilibrium cycle in the FCC, and assists in better
replacement of costly cartridges in order to continue production and operation of the unit. With the recovery
operating. Other technologies are susceptible to plugging of 1900 tpy, savings of over US$1.6 million could be
or blocking due to the inherent plugging properties.6,7 claimed just in catalyst loss and environmental savings.
An electrostatic separator system, referred to as the
‘Gulftronic® Electrostatic Slurry Separator’, has been found Conclusion
to work in concentrated slurries without plugging or The evolution of the refining industry is racing toward
blockage. The electrostatic separator for slurry oil more severe catalytic cracking technologies that are
operates continuously without plugging or blockage from capable of processing heavier opportunistic crudes and
asphaltenes, with an efficiency at the outlet averaging meeting the profitable petrochemical demand. Refining
< 10 ppm catalyst fines after separation. To successfully improvements and petrochemical integrations are allowing
increase refinery profits from the bottom of the barrel, for refineries to make increased profits from every barrel
proven robust technologies such as electrostatic separator processed. Implementing more severe catalytic
technologies are needed to handle the challenges technologies is an important step toward improving
accompanying high severity processing while driving the refinery flexibility. However, as licensors begin to develop
FCC to increase propylene yield.2 new innovative processes and the demand for new
synthetic pyrolysis oil blended crudes becomes more of a
Active response reality, the need for selecting the right separation
There are three factors that should be considered when technology is critical.
determining the feasibility of separation applications to Regardless of the separation path chosen, spent
downstream refinery processes. The first is refinery catalyst removal and waste management will remain one
economics. Not all refineries with the FCC or RFCC of the most difficult processes in the refinery. Settling is
process have the economic parameters needed to justify expensive in terms of lost time and profits. Mechanical
the installation of a catalyst fines removal system. The separation processes are limited and come with costly
second is the severity of the fines. Controlling the quality downtime and maintenance schedules. The refining
of the slurry oil produced can influence the refinery’s industry has evolved away from centrifuges, and filtration
marketable products and downstream maintenance. The technology is becoming harder to operate in the more
third is the cost associated with the environmental impact concentrated slurries. Electrostatic separation is a proven
of removing catalyst fines and particulates from the solution for trouble-free separation of high severity FCC
settling tank. and RFCC slurries. The solution exists with the technology
Not all refineries using FCC/RFCC have a market or of today to increase profits from new markets or recover
economic requirement for producing CSO < 100 ppm. profits from lost revenue for every refinery with an FCC or
Slurry oil is typically 6% of the overall production of the RFCC. It is now up to the refiner to take advantage of this
FCC when the focus is on making transportation solution.
feedstock. If an FCC is smaller than 30 000 bpd, the
economic driver to upgrade a small amount of slurry is not References
1. Website data from http://abarrelfull.wikidot.com/
beneficial, and it becomes more economical to blend 2. SCALCO, V. M., ‘The plight of the modern refinery: racing to meet
cutter stock to meet desired specifications. Larger IMO 2020 regulations’, Hydrocarbon Processing, (November 2019),
complex refineries processing over 30 000 bpd are in the pp. 69 - 73.
3. GUERICO, V. J., ‘US Producing, exporting more slurry oil’,
best economical position to increase profits from Oil & Gas Journal, (4 October 2018).
departiculating process streams such as slurry oil.10 4. ‘Methodology and Specifications Guide, Petroleum Product & Gas
Liquids: US Caribbean and Latin America’, Platts, (January 2021).
Aside from the profitability of increased production 5. SCALCO, V., ‘AFPM ‘19: IMO 2020 and beyond’, (19 March 2019),
and middle distillates, consideration should also be given https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/conference-
news/2019/03/afpm-19-imo-2020-and-beyond
to decreasing downstream maintenance and downtime. 6. HOUSER, T., GIBSON, S., and SCALCO, V., ‘Confronting
With over 60% of the fines in slurry oil’s distribution being unconventional oil’, Hydrocarbon Engineering, (October 2018),
pp. 57 - 62.
< 15 µm, it is very difficult for mechanical filtration or 7. BAI, Z., WANG, H. L., and TU, S. T., ‘Removal of Catalyst Particles
centrifuges to capture smaller fines. Instead, these from Oil Slurry by Hydrocyclone’, Separation Science and
processes allow them to pass through. The corrosive Technology, (2009), pp. 2067 - 2077.
8. MINYARD, W. F., and WOODSON, T. S. ‘Upgrade FCC
element of catalyst passing downstream erodes valves and Slurry Oil with Chemical Settling Aids’, World Refining,
other critical piping systems. (November/December 1999).
9. SILVERMAN, L. D., WINKLER, S.., TIETHOF, J. A., and WITOSHKIN, A.,
‘Matrix effects in catalytic cracking’, presented at the 2018 AFPM
Taking control Annual Meeting, (23 – 25 March 2018).
10. ‘S&P Global Commodity Insights’, S&P Global, https://www.platts.
A reactor running at 80 000 bpd can produce 5600 bpd of com/IM.Platts.Content/InsightAnalysis/IndustrySolutionPapers/
slurry. At this production level, over 16 t of new catalyst is SR-IMO-2020-Global-sulfur-cap-102016.pdf
T
he demand for ethylene and propylene is
growing at approximately 4% annually due to
the rapid increase in demand for polymer and
plastics material used in the packaging,
construction and automobile industries. These basic
raw materials are produced either in gas- or liquid-based
crackers, and propane dehydrogenation units. With the
increase in the capacity of world-scale olefins plants,
the column diameters for ethylene and propylene
splitters are also increasing.
Propylene fractionators, operating in the range of
8 – 20 bar, are characterised by a high number of trays
and high reflux rates. The low relative volatility between
propane and propylene requires tall columns with
200 – 300 actual trays in order to meet the stringent
product specifications of more than 99.5 mol% for
polymer-grade propylene. While minimising the
propylene loss to usually less than 1 mol% in the bottom
stream, these propylene fractionators normally operate
at high reflux ratios, typically in the range of 10 – 15. Due
to the high liquid loads and large diameter in these
columns, high-capacity trays with high-performance
valves and enhanced downcomers are the preferred
mass transfer equipment for these super-fractionators
for an optimised column design.
Case study 3
This propylene splitter is equipped with 263 trays:
C3 rectifier with 170 trays of 7.8 m column dia., and
C3 stripper with 93 trays of 6.6 m column dia. These
columns were originally equipped with 4-pass
conventional float valve trays before being revamped to
4-pass VGPlus trays with MVG valves to handle a 30%
increase in capacity in 2019. ModArc downcomers were
also applied to increase the tray weir length. The
propylene splitter achieved a top propylene purity of
99.79 mol% as compared to the design specification of
minimum 99.6 mol%, and the bottom propylene loss was
less than 4.07 mol% as compared to the design
specification of maximum 4.3 mol%, obtaining a high tray
efficiency of 95%.
Case study 4
This propylene splitter is equipped with 200 actual trays in
two physical columns of approximately 8 m dia. The
column was originally equipped with 4-pass sieve trays.
Figure 5. Sulzer 4-pass VGPlus with ModArc side
downcomers and MVG fixed valves. During the operation, the column suffered significant loss
of propylene in the bottom product at more than
Conclusion
Large propylene splitters with high liquid loads have been
designed with a variety of tray designs, ranging from
4-pass and 6-pass high-performance trays, to
multi-downcomer trays.
This article has discussed the selection of a number of
passes and how the features of VGPlus high-performance
Figure 6. Shell HiFi Plus trays with MVG valves. trays, such as high-capacity MVG and MMVG fixed valves
and enhanced ModArc downcomers, can deliver high
vapour and liquid
handling capacity as
Table 1. Summary of Sulzer propylene fractionators well as enhanced
separation
Case study New/revamp Column Column dia. (m) Tray type Overall tray
performance. As
efficiency (%)
evidenced by the five
1 New C3 rectifier 8.8 6-pass MMVG 95
case studies, optimised
C3 stripper 6.3 4-pass MVG design of high-capacity
2 New Tower 1 7.8 6-pass VGPlus 100 trays is crucial to
Tower 2 8.2 6-pass VGPlus achieving superior
3 Revamp C3 rectifier 7.8 4-pass VGPlus 95 performance of these
super-fractionators.
C3 splitter 6.6 4-pass VGPlus
4 Revamp Upper column 8.0 4-pass VGPlus 95
Reference
Lower column 8.0 4-pass VGPlus 1. ANG, CP., and PILLING, M.,
‘Tray design for high
5 New C3 rectifier 6.9 Shell HiFi Plus trays 100 liquid load applications’,
Digital Refining,
C3 stripper 5.2 Shell HiFi Plus trays
(July 2014).
halliburton.com
© 2023 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.
Multi-Chem
International Petrochemical Conference
San Antonio, Texas · March 26 – 28, 2023
R
eliable vacuum distillation unit (VDU) performance rests on a number of
variables and equipment that support the distillation process. Proper
ejector system performance is vital to successful operation of the VDU,
and for a refiner to achieve economic goals. For decades, ejector systems
have been the mainstay for evacuating vacuum column overhead vapours and
ensuring that desired column pressure is maintained. Much has been written about
ejector systems – how they operate, what variables impact performance, how to
troubleshoot performance, and best practices. This article discusses recent ejector
system performance issues that a refiner experienced, how the root cause was
diagnosed, and the steps taken to achieve required performance.
Actual VDU process operation is often different from the original design,
especially over two or three decades of service. Process simulations,
request for purchase (RFP) design data sheets, crude slate characteristics, utility supply
conditions, and extent of fouling over time, as examples, all may be different in
operation than was originally designed. The lessons learned from the four case studies
info@meryt-chemical.com
www.meryt-chemical.com
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Murcia SPAIN
maximum discharge capability of the first stage ejector information on the slop oil from the three-phase separator in
and, consequently, performance broke down, resulting in order to understand mass flow rate and composition of the
vacuum column pressure increasing to an undesirable level. hydrocarbon carried over from the vacuum column.
When thermal efficiency declines due to fouling, a Hydrocarbon loading was confirmed to be excessive – three
condenser will respond by increasing its operating pressure. times the design level. Additionally, it was much heavier (higher
This in turn increases log mean temperature difference (LMTD) MW and higher normal boiling point composition). The
to compensate for a lower overall heat transfer rate hydrocarbon in the overhead had a composition more weighted
(Uobserved < Udesign). Tube hole blockage may render a toward kerosene/diesel cut point material.
portion of the surface area unutilised. Hereto, condenser A rough estimate of vapour-liquid equilibrium indicated that
operating pressure will rise. It must be understood that a at 12 – 15 torr and 150˚F, the hydrocarbon in the overhead load
condenser downstream of an ejector will reject the exhaust would consist of 8500 pph liquid mist droplets, and 5500 pph
duty of the ejector. What is important is the pressure at which vapour.
that occurs. If it is below the maximum discharge capability of The engineer and refiner discussed what might be causing
the preceding ejector, then there should not be a problem. such unusual levels of overhead hydrocarbon load, and why it is
However, if above, then the ejector may break operation and two-phase flow. The refiner advised that the tower top reflux
dissipate its compression shockwave. spray distributor was allowing a lot of liquid entrainment in the
overhead load. The engineer discussed their concerns, which
Case study 2: excessive hydrocarbon flow were two-fold. Liquid droplets in the overhead load would
A refiner was unable to achieve VDU column pressure from the negatively impact ejector performance; and the excess
commencement of commercial operation. Design column hydrocarbon and the fact that it enters the condenser as a
overhead pressure was 10 mm Hg abs. For most of the year, the two-phase flow would suppress the overall heat transfer rate
overhead pressure was in the 12 – 15 mm Hg abs range. In the within the condenser.
summer months, when cooling tower water was warmest, There are two adverse consequences from excess
pressure would jump higher, to 20 torr or greater. The refiner was two-phase hydrocarbon loading in the overhead. One is that the
losing approximately US$10 million/yr in lost yield, due to first stage ejector maximum discharge pressure capability is
increased vacuum tower bottoms. reduced. Steam ejectors are momentum transfer devices,
There were a number of site visits by an engineer to perform transferring momentum from high-velocity steam to entrain and
pressure and temperature surveys of the ejector system (see accelerate vapours/gases. The presence of liquid droplets or mist
Figure 2). A pressure and temperature survey of the ejector diminishes the momentum transferred to gases due to the
system in operation identified that the exhaust temperature for density of liquids being so much greater than that of gases.
the first stage ejector was well below what is expected. The second is that the first intercondenser overall heat
Measured exhaust temperature was 190˚F, but was expected to transfer rate will become suppressed due to the presence of
be above 300˚F. There are two possibilities for the low exhaust much greater mass flow rate of hydrocarbon that initially wets
temperature: poor quality motive steam supply conditions (wet the tubing at a much hotter temperature.
steam), or liquid in the VDU overhead load. Steam supply In this case, 8500 pph of entrained liquid in the overhead
conditions proved to be perfectly fine, with steam to the reduced the maximum discharge capability of the first stage
ejectors dry and superheated. This left two-phase VDU ejector 4 to 5 torr. Additionally, the first intercondenser operated
overhead as a possibility. The engineer requested trend with a reduced overall heat transfer rate due to the excess
hydrocarbon. The design
outlet temperature was
95˚F, yielding 3400 pph
of steam equivalent load
to the second stage
ejector. Due to excess
hydrocarbon, the
condenser was thermally
limited, only able to cool
and condense down to
100 – 101˚F. This resulted
in the steam equivalent
load to the second stage
ejector increasing
approximately 35% to
4500 pph. To reject the
necessary heat and
match the capacity of
the second stage
ejector, first
Figure 2. Case study 2: pressure and temperature survey. intercondenser
operating pressure
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T
he processing and refining industries commonly use Condensers: an introduction
tube-side condensers when driven by requirements Condensers are an important piece of equipment for the
such as low inventories, use of expensive pressure- or chemical processing and refining industries. They are a necessary
corrosion-resistant materials, or as a necessity in component of many processes, i.e. overhead condensers for
air-cooled heat exchangers. distillation columns, and as separators of volatile and
When condensing single-component vapours, heat transfer condensable products. They are also a key feature of HVAC-R
coefficients tend to be high. The situation changes when systems.
condensing multi-component mixtures. Under such conditions, There are different options for the design of shell-and-tube
the performance of condensers is often controlled by the condensers in particular, with condensation possible on the
additional limitations of vapour cooling and mass transport shell-side or tube-side, and in vertical or horizontal
between the liquid and vapour phases, particularly when arrangements. When the condensing fluid is allocated to the
designing for low vapour velocities. tube-side, the presence of two-phase flow introduces
It is possible to improve several aspects of the tube-side complexities in the thermal design. An incremental calculation is
condensation process. The flow regime can be significantly needed, and it becomes necessary to consider how different
altered, allowing for potential benefits to heat and mass transfer. flow regimes will affect the heat and mass transfer within the
This article will use an industrial case study as an example of tubes. This can make the creation of an efficient and reliable
how to ascertain which variables are important to consider in design more difficult.
order to determine whether it would be beneficial to install The application of tube-side enhancement devices can
tube-side enhancement technology. provide significant benefits in many applications.
Multi-component condensation
When condensing mixtures containing multiple – or
non-condensable – components, the process can change
fundamentally. Firstly, the vapour temperature is not constant
along the condensing path. As each component condenses,
the mole fraction and partial pressure of the less volatile
components in the vapour reduce, and this in turn decreases
the associated saturation temperature. This introduces a
Figure 3. Temperature profile across a vapour-liquid requirement for sensible cooling of the vapour, in addition to
interface with inert components. the removal of the latent heat, in order to advance the
condensation process.
The second major difference vs single-component
Table 1. Geometry of the heat exchanger for case condensation is that the concentration of the different
study components is not necessarily uniform over the cross-section
TEMA type AEM of the tube. The less volatile components condense close to
Orientation Vertical the cold liquid film, depleting the region of condensable
Number of tubes 76 molecules (see Figure 3). Due to the change in concentration,
the local saturation temperature decreases and reduces the
Tube length 3.677 m
temperature difference across the vapour-liquid interface.
Tube diameter 19.05 mm Furthermore, the concentration gradient also creates a mass
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rocessing and refining hydrocarbons ultimately What is holding back Scope 1 emission
requires the use of high heat for a number of critical reduction?
steps, and heaters based on fossil fuels have An informal survey of Watlow® customers and prospects has
traditionally filled those roles. But with mounting revealed that 90% of oil and gas leaders are already actively
pressure to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and engaged in decarbonisation efforts. Hydrocarbon processors
advance long-term decarbonisation goals, engineers have been are no longer focused on whether they should decarbonise,
exploring the potential for electric process heaters. This would but rather on how they will decarbonise.
allow several heating steps to be completed using clean The question is: why are electric process heaters not
electricity from renewable sources. more ubiquitous in the energy sector today? Surprisingly,
Importantly, replacing fossil fuel heaters with electric familiarity might be the main reason. Until now, such heaters
heaters would allow for a reduction in Scope 1 CO2 emissions. have only played very limited roles in hydrocarbon processing
Scope 1 emissions are the direct result of burning fuels such as and have tended to be smaller, operating at lower voltages.
natural gas or fuel oil for process heating. Scope 2 emissions Although larger heaters are easily imaginable, engineers
result from the need to import energy, while Scope 3 emissions recognise that a number of questions then arise when it
are produced while using a product (e.g. emissions from car and comes to their control and maintenance. In short, no one
truck tailpipe emissions). All three types of emissions must be wants to be first when it comes to running larger
reduced in order to hit decarbonisation targets. medium-voltage thermal systems.
2023
& T R A D E S H OW
22-24
Houston, TX
Keynote Speakers
CLOSING KEYNOTE
Tuesday, May 23
Daniel Yergin
Global Authority on Energy, Geopolitics and the Business,
Economic and Societal Impacts of the Changing Energy
World; Pulitzer Prize-Winning, Bestselling Author;
Vice Chairman, S&P Global; Chairman, CERAWeek; Director, Council on
Foreign Relations; Trustee, Brookings Institution; Author, The New Map (2020),
The Prize (2011, Pulitzer Prize Winner), The Quest (2011) and The Commanding
Heights (2002); 2020 Energy Writer of the Year.
H
eater tube inspection is almost The consequences of some strategies that
exclusively looked after by the may be used to alleviate high tube temperatures
inspection team at a facility. Innovative caused by fouling will be expanded upon – from
inspection techniques such as smart running the furnace inefficiently, to cutting coil
pigging and, most recently, Quest Integrity’s outlet temperature and finally throughput. The
Advanced Decoking and Cleanliness Verification commercial impact of this will be discussed for
(ADCVTM) inspection (Figure 1), offer additional these cases. In short, using a more advanced
information that is particularly useful to a cleaning method, as compared to convection
process engineer in order to avoid production mechanical decoking, can provide many benefits.
slowdowns or unplanned mechanical cleaning
(pigging) outages. Example simulations and cases
Even a small amount of fouling in the radiant Using a range of coke thermal conductivities and
section of a vacuum heater adversely affects thicknesses, a vacuum heater was simulated to
nitrogen oxides (NOx), production run times, and show the effect of coke laydown on heater
overall performance of the fired heater. What is tubes, and its impact on heater performance in
sometimes not realised is that even a localised terms of fired and process duty and
area of 5 mm of coke left in a coil can have a environmental emissions.
significant impact on margin capture. This could A 27.9 MW process duty vacuum furnace was
lead to a yearly loss in production of used to demonstrate the effect of fouling on the
US$12.6 million, or significantly more. Test results overall heater performance. The heater coils are
discussed in this article will demonstrate the horizontal, with four passes and incremental
benefit of knowing where fouling (e.g. coke and tube sizes increasing in size towards the outlet.
scale) has formed in a heater coil, and why being The tube material used is 5% chromium (Cr) with
confident that the coils are cleaned properly a maximum design temperature of 650˚C. A coil
after a decoke or descale is crucial. outlet temperature (COT) of 383˚C was selected,
Routinely pigged
Table 3. Localised fouling in radiant section only (no fouling in convection) heaters
A coke layer increases tube
Tube skin temperatures 1.5 W/mK thermal conductivity 3 W/mK thermal conductivity
only metal temperature. Above
593˚C (5% Cr) the external
Constant 0 mm thick 1 mm Change 5 mm Change 1 mm Change 5 mm Change
process duty (no fouling) thick thick thick thick surface of the tube starts to
oxidise, removing tube
Tube skin 419°C 463°C +44°C 635°C +216°C 441°C +22°C 530°C +111°C
temperature thickness. Over time, the
for a tube develops a classic
383°C bulk bulge profile. The coke sits
process feed in that bulge (see Figure 2).
temperature
This is well documented:
Adding 439°C +64°C 655°C +236°C 461°C +42°C 550°C +131°C leaving this coke in place or
allowance for
in other places on the tube
thermocouple
design +20°C wall where conventional
mechanical decoking
Adding 459°C 503°C +84°C 675°C +256°C 481°C +62°C 570°C +151°C
allowance for cannot detect and remove
thermocouple it can lead to instant regret
design +40°C at start-up. Pressure drop
and coke fines during a
pigging operation is a very
Table 4. Dropping COT to reduce tube temperatures subjective method of
Condition Skin (˚C) BWT (˚C) Average heat flux Peak film cleanliness verification, and
(W/m2) temperature (°C) is rarely supervised by plant
Start COT 383°C 636 789 32 777 402 personnel.
COT reduction 10°C cut 626 - - - A question to ask is
Rate reduction -10% 612 761 30 078 400 whether it is sufficient to
carry out an ultrasonic (UT)
Rate reduction -20% 590 731 27 275 398
smart pigging run after
Conclusion
Table 5. Localised fouling in radiant section only Fouling in a heater makes a significant difference to a
excerpt (no fouling in convection) heater’s safety, environmental and commercial
Tube skin temperatures 1.5 W/mK thermal conductivity performance. As coke is the dominant reason for high
only tube skin temperatures for normal furnace parameters,
Constant 0 mm thick 5 mm Change 7 mm thick the thickness of the coke matters. Knowing that all of the
process duty (no fouling) thick fouling has been removed and where it initially formed
Tube skin 419°C 635°C +216°C 727°C – and where it did not – allows an informed view on past
temperature and future heater operations, and most importantly
for a 383°C bulk avoids running the heater sub-optimally until the next
process feed
temperature
turnaround.
Adding 439°C 655°C +236°C 747°C
allowance for
Notes
1. The original expanded version of this article is available as a
thermocouple white paper on Hydrocarbon Engineering’s website. Download a
design +20°C copy for added insights: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/
Adding 459°C 675°C +256°C 767°C whitepapers/quest-integrity/heater-tube-cleaning-and-verification-
the-effect-of-fouling-on-heater-services-that-are-prone-to-coking-
allowance for
from-a-process-engineers-perspective/
thermocouple 2. The author of this article, Tom Gilmartin (Bsc, Msc, C.Eng), is a 30-year
design +40°C BP veteran and the company’s former fired heater and flare advisor.
W
Mark Naples, Umicore Coating Services e cannot always see the
consequences of air pollution around
Ltd, details how connected gas detection us, and there are communication
technology can help companies to comply issues surrounding efforts to get
people to see the invisible costs of pollution. The
with ESG needs. global economy loses more than US$8 trillion
annually, according to The World Bank1, but action
to identify its presence and catalogue its make-up
and levels still lags.
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