Hydrocarbon Processing October 2017

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PROCESS CONTROL
AND INSTRUMENTATION
The next generation of advanced process control
Optimizing ethylene production with laser technology
Conceptual troubleshooting training for refinery operators
PROCESS OPTIMIZATION
HF alkylation conversion is finally
within reachPart 2
Optimization of a refinerys H2 network
REGIONAL REPORT
Diversification: The catalyst for the
Middle Easts downstream transformation
BUSINESS TRENDS
Smart refineries: Leveraging data
for operational intelligence
K O B E L C O C E N T R I F U G A L C O M P R E S S O R S
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To k y o , J a p a n H o u s t o n , Te x a s M u n i c h , G e r m a n y J u r o n g , S i n g a p o r e D u b a i , U . A . E .
OCTOBER 2017|Volume 96 Number 10
HydrocarbonProcessing.com
36
59
SPECIAL FOCUS: PROCESS CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION DEPARTMENTS

37 Optimizing ethylene production with laser technology 4 Industry Perspectives
A. Gogates and J. Gunnell 8 Business Trends
41 The next generation of advanced process control 15 Industry Metrics
A. Kern and B. Andrew 17 Global Project Data
43 Conceptual troubleshooting training for refinery operators 93 Show Preview: ADIPEC
W. P. Averill 95 Marketplace
96 Advertiser Index
97 Events
47 Optimize a refinery H2 network using spreadsheet tools
H. Salgado 98 People
53 HF alkylation conversion is finally within reachPart 2 COLUMNS

J. Nunez, S. Presley and D. Rana
7 Editorial Comment
HP Top Project Awards 2017
REGIONAL REPORT
59 Diversification: The catalyst for the Middle Easts downstream transformation 19 Reliability
Technology transfer training
L. Nichols
is most effective for small groups
MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY 21 Automation Strategies
63 Troubleshooting the repetitive failure Expanding scope of automation
events and alerts
and shaft seizure of a hot oil circulation pump
W. K. Allah, A. Al-Abood, F. Ballard and K. Brashler 23 Engineering Case Histories
Case 98: Why performing calculations
67 Minimize engineering errors with competency and proper engineering review is important to an engineers career
J. Tharakan
25 Supply Chain
HEAT TRANSFER Integration: The next frontier in supply
chain and production management
72 Ensure uniformity of air preheater flow
to obtain maximum heat transfer efficiency 29 Roundtable
The reality of process safety risk
M. Badshahwala, R. C. Patil and A. Gupta
74 New burner structure targets significant NOx reduction
35 Viewpoint
Finding value in the age of smart control
J. Colannino
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES

Petrochemicals
77 Design atmospheric aboveground storage tanks for accident prevention
Innovations
S. Zardynezhad
83 Turn to open-path laser detectors for HF gas safety Cover Image: ExxonMobil uses advanced control
K. Dean systems, like this one at its Baton Rouge refinery,
to efficiently operate and optimize its plants.
Photo courtesy of ExxonMobil.
SULFUR MANAGEMENTSUPPLEMENT
S-85 COSO case study: 22 years of reliable sulfur removal
M. Kolar, W. Echt and S. Osgood
GAS PROCESSING SUPPLEMENT

GP-1 Technology and Business Information for the Global Gas Processing Industry
P. O. Box 2608
Houston, Texas 77252-2608, USA
Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301
Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com HPEditorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
PUBLISHER Catherine Watkins
Industry Perspectives EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Catherine.Watkins@GulfPub.com
Lee Nichols
Lee.Nichols@GulfPub.com
EDITORIAL
Executive Editor Adrienne Blume
What is the future Managing Editor
Technical Editor
Mike Rhodes
Bob Andrew
of the global HPI? Digital Editor

Reliability/Equipment Editor
Ashley Smith
Heinz P. Bloch
Contributing Editor Alissa Leeton
Over the past year, the world has witnessed significant Contributing Editor ARC Advisory Group
Contributing Editor Anthony Sofronas
downstream capacity growth in all sectors of the hydrocarbon
processing industry (HPI). The majority of this growth took MAGAZINE PRODUCTION / +1 (713) 525-4633
Vice President, Production Sheryl Stone
place in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the US. These three Manager, Advertising Production Cheryl Willis
regions will continue to invest billions of dollars to increase oil Manager, Editorial Production Angela Bathe Dietrich
Assistant Manager, Editorial Production Lindsey Craun
and gas processing capacity into the early 2020s. Artist/Illustrator David Weeks
Although the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and US regions will Graphic Designer Andreina Keller
be the leaders in the development of downstream processing ADVERTISING SALES
capacity, other regions are investing in additional distillation See Sales Offices, page 96.
and secondary units construction, petrochemical capacity and CIRCULATION / +1 (713) 520-4498 / Circulation@GulfPub.com
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ments are ensuring that global demand for refined fuels, petro-
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How crude oil supply and demand is affecting the

downstream HPI, as well as global and regional trade
A detailed overview of LNG import/export
terminal construction President/CEO John Royall
A detailed overview on new sulfur and clean-fuels CFO Alan Millis
Vice President Andy McDowell
regulations around the world Vice President Ron Higgins
A detailed overview on the IMO 2020 Global Sulfur cap Vice President, Finance and Operations Pamela Harvey
Vice President, Production Sheryl Stone
on marine fuels.
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4OCTOBER 2017|HydrocarbonProcessing.com

INNOVATING CAUSTIC TREATING TECHNOLOGY

Introducing FFC Plus, the next generation of FIBER FILM Contactor technology. Merichem Companys advanced FIBER FILM
technology with an integrated coalescer and treater pushes the boundaries of extractive technologies. With this latest
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plant startup and beyond, our global team offers you practical guidance based on years
of real-world operating experience. Our goal is your success.
Learn more about how we can work together to grow your business.
www.catalysts-licensing.com
2016 Exxon Mobil Corporation. All rights reserved. ExxonMobil, the ExxonMobil logo, the interlocking X device and all product names herein are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Editorial LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Comment Lee.Nichols@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
HP Top Project Awards 2017

Its that time again! Hy- o 2016KNPCs Clean Fuels INSIDE THIS ISSUE
drocarbon Processing has Project
announced the nominees
for its annual Top Proj-
Petrochemicals
o 2014Saudi Aramco and
29 Roundtable. In this first
installment of Hydrocarbon
Processings new roundtable discussions,
ect awards. The editors Dow Chemicals SADARA four respected oil and gas industry
of Hydrocarbon Processing Petrochemical Complex professionals discuss how the industry
have identified nine projects that will con- o 2015Sasols Ethane Cracker thinks it manages risk, how it is actually
tribute significantly to the expansion of the and Derivatives Complex managed and how it can be improved.
hydrocarbon processing industry, whether o 2016Dow Chemicals Oyster
through contributing capital expenditures,
satisfying or increasing domestic or re-
Creek PDH unit project.
This years refining nominees 36 Special Focus. As the
downstream processing
industry moves toward a more digital
gional demand, diversifying product offer- (TABLE 1) represent nearly 2 MMbpd of
ings or adding to the resurgence in refining new refining capacity by the early 2020s. world, advanced process control
solutions provide hydrocarbon
and/or petrochemical processing capacity. These projects represent a total capital
processing companies with inventive
These nine projects span the globe investment of more than $54 B. The five ways to manage difficult and complex
and represent more than $114 B in total petrochemical nominees (TABLE 2) have operational and reporting applications.
capital expenditures. The winners of this a total cost of nearly $60 B and represent This months Special Focus section
prestigious award over the last two years more than 36 MMtpy of additional petro- showcases innovations in control
include: chemicals production by the early 2020s. devices, hardware and software to
Refining The choice is now up to you! Begin- increase plant efficiency.
o 2014Saudi Aramco and Total ning October 1, readers of Hydrocarbon
Refining and Petrochemcial Co.s
(SATORP) Jubail Refinery
Processing can make their voices heard in
an exclusive online poll. The winners will 47 Process Optimization.
Articles focus on optimizing
a refinerys hydrogen network, and
o 2015SOCARs Turkey Aegean be revealed in Hydrocarbon Processings
the continuing discussion on converting
Refinery (STAR) December issue.
alkylation units from hydrofluoric acid
to sulfuric acid.
TABLE 1. Top refining project nominees
Operator
KNPC
Project
Al-Zour refinery
Location
Al-Zour, Kuwait
Capacity
615 Mbpd
S-86 Sulfur Supplement.
Around the world,
legislation mandating decreased
PDVSA Puerto La Cruz Deep Conversion Puerto la Cruz, 210 Mbpd emissions and lower levels of airborne
project Venezuela pollutants is coming into effect. In
Zhejiang Dayushan Island Refinery and Dayushan Island, 800 Mbpd response, refiners are implementing
Petrochemical Petrochemical Integrated Complex China (Phases 1 and 2) operational and processing changes to
reduce sulfur levels in transportation
NIORDC Persian Gulf Star refinery Bandar Abbas, Iran 360 Mbpd
fuels. Hydrocarbon Processings Sulfur
Supplement includes companies that are
TABLE 2. Top petrochemical project nominees taking on this sulfur challenge, as well as
those that handle this element every day.
Operator Project Location Capacity
ORPIC
Sibur
LIWA Plastics Industries Complex
ZapSibNeftekhim Petrochemical
Complex (ZapSib-2)
Sohar, Oman
Near Tobolsk,
Russia
1 MMtpy+
1.5 MMtpy+ 93 Show Preview.
Hydrocarbon Processing
details the upcoming Abu Dhabi
Negin Mokran Mokran Petrochemical Complex Chabahar, Iran 25 MMtpy International Petroleum Exhibition and
Development (Phases 13) Conference (ADIPEC). The conference
Petrochemical Co. will feature more than 900 speakers at
200 technical and strategic conference
Petronas Refining and Petrochemical Pengerang, 7.7 MMtpy
sessions, as well as a new downstream
Integrated Development (RAPID) Johor, Malaysia
program that will feature plenary panels
S-Oil Residue Upgrading and Olefin Ulsan, South Korea 705 Mtpy on downstream investment, expansion,
Downstream Complex (RUC/ODC) diversification and development.
Hydrocarbon Processing|OCTOBER 20177

| Business Trends
A convergence of information technology (IT) and real-time
operational technology (OT) is raising the bar for managing
downstream operations. The volume and subsequent values of the
information generated in production operations are increasing,
and the convergence of IT and OT is increasing the volumes and
complexity of data and information.
Embedding intelligence in daily refinery operations is one of the key

steps toward operational intelligence (OI). OI monitors, identifies
and detects situations related to inefficiencies, opportunities and
threats, and provides operational solutions that help refineries
address all aspects of plant performance in real-time.
The level of OI achieved is almost entirely dependent on how

well the plant, operational and business data are managed. This
months Business Trends discusses the need for an operational
intelligence framework, a methodology and the technology
needed for implementation.
Photo: The control room is instrumental in the manual and digital

monitoring of assets. Photo courtesy of ABB.
M. D. AGRAWAL, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Powai, Mumbai,
India; and A. MORAWALA, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.,
Andheri, Mumbai, India
Business Trends
Smart refineries: Leveraging data

for operational intelligence
In the highly competitive, capital- and asset-intensive oil tional solutions that help refineries address all aspects of plant
and gas industry, demand is growing for the implementation of performance in real time.
information technology (IT) practices covering the following Informed real-time decisions are achieved in key areas,
functional requirements: including:
Informed decision-making capabilities Improved feedstock flexibility
collaborative decision-making and intelligent Growth in high-value product yield
decision automation Guaranteed availability
Analytic capabilitiesdescriptive diagnostics, Increased logistics capabilities
predictive and prescriptive techniques Reduced risk.
Information management capabilitiesdescribe, OI delivers visibility and insight into data, real-time events
organize, integrate, share, govern and implement. and business operations, and enables businesses to make deci-
Executives do not want to look at past performance, but sions and act on these analytic insights through manual or auto-
would rather use present and historical performance, as well as mated actions. Data consolidation and the integration of opera-
operational models, to navigate the road ahead, including how tion and business systems offer a firm foundation for business
to satisfy near-term changes in demand. They must know which transformation. Making sense of the surfeit of data is a major
actions to take now to yield the most profitable outcomes to- step toward OI, which:
morrowor even later today. Enables a common view of refinery key performance
A convergence of IT and real-time operational technology indicators (KPIs)
(OT) is raising the bar for managing downstream operations. Provides a uniform enterprise monitoring system
The volume and subsequent values of the information gener- that encompasses all operations
ated in production operations are increasing, and the conver- Maximizes data visibility and asset availability
gence of IT and OT is increasing the volumes and complexity Delivers multidimensional analytics on critical
of data and information. business parameters
The need for an operation intelligence framework, a meth- Improves response to change in operational parameters
odology and the technology needed for implementation are and takes proactive action through predictive analytics
discussed here, along with business outcomes. Develops business and operations forecasting
Optimizes resource allocation and production capacity
About the domain. Downstream refining is a potentially Increases profitability.
risky business. Global oil and gas economics, local recessions These performance indicators rely on a strong real-time
and plant productivity are all factors in defining business data management strategy. Data is continuously generated
profitability. A trend toward smart manufacturing is seen, through multiple interactions between refinery processes and
through which the risks posed by debilitating factors can be functional areas. The goal is to aggregate such data, contextual-
mitigated, to a large extent. ize it, generate useful information through advanced analytical
Smart refineries are the result of informed, near-real-time tools, and then disseminate this actionable information to its
decision-making that is based on historical and present process target audience.
and business data, providing the ability to predict near-future
productivity. When built into operations, such intelligence re- Role of data management in OI. In any production enter-
sults in operational intelligence (OI)the ability to analyze prise, data is generated by numerous systems and processes.
information to predict future performance. These can be broadly classified into four sets: production data,
process data, master data and business data (FIG. 1).
Operational intelligence: An industry perspective. Em- When data is generated from any base system, it contains no
bedding intelligence in daily refinery operations is one of the links to other processes; the raw data generated relates to only
key steps toward achieving OI, according to global best prac- those parameters that create it. Multiple systems may make use
tices. OI monitors, identifies and detects situations related to of similar data, but only from their individual databases. Such
inefficiencies, opportunities and threats, and provides opera- data has limited information value because:
Business Trends
These data clusters are islands of information For example, the optimization function occurs across
They vary with different systems at different locations the entire refinery process chain, from crude intake to final
They are individualistic and lack comprehensive product selling. Depending on the process, optimization can
information of the entire system happen in any form: technical (asset strategy, blending); busi-
The same data may be available at multiple locations ness-oriented (crude cost, product cost); customer relation
(i.e., duplicity of data) management (customer segment servicing, product pricing);
Data is generated from disparate systems and and retail (risk management, improved payment schedule).
applications across the organization. Similarly, a process can derive information from multiple
Once all data is consolidated in one unified, structured data- functional areas. Each of the functional parameters, optimiza-
base, it can be accessed by all systems and processes to achieve tion through process control, has information to offer to the
close coordination through feedback loops. product management process.
Downstream refiningdata dependencies. Downstream Managing data. Effectively controlling such complex opera-
refining comprises numerous processes and functions that are tions requires real-time insight into the various process cycles.
mutually related through information exchange. TABLE 1 pro- Data management includes:
vides insight into the interdependencies of processes and func- Gathering, aggregating and contextualizing data.
tional areas in a downstream refinery. Linking data to other devices or systems can increase
its effectiveness. For example, data from a temperature
Raw data from edge devices, instrumentation and control CRM, ERP, finance, sales, etc.
systems, data acquisition systems, process control, etc. sensor by itself is not as useful as data that is linked
to various, temperature-dependent processes.
Analyzing data to identify actionable insights that
create better outcomes.
Predicting refinery performance based on the analysis
Process Business
data data of past and present data.
Generating actionable information, which differs
with respect to the perspective. For business users,
this information can be in the form of charts,
dashboards, reports, etc., to decipher the state
Production Master data of the refinery in real time.
data From an IT perspective, FIG. 2 depicts the basic architecture
of a data management system.
AN APPROACH TO DATA INTELLIGENCE

Shown in FIG. 3, a rule-based approachan essential ab-
Processed data from production systems, Governance information, HSE, planning and
LIMS, energy, yield accounting, etc. scheduling, asset data, customer services, etc. stract tool to generate actionable intelligence from dataen-
ables decision-making. The major containments within this
FIG. 1. Sources of data in a downstream refinery. approach are briefly described here.
TABLE 1. Downstream refinery processes and functional areas

Downstream processesr
Feedstock Refining Product Marketing Purchase
Functional areasd management management management and sales and HSE
Trade and cost Asset strategy Product supply and cost Customer segments Risk management
Optimization Feedstock Refinery Grade and Enhanced payment
Price
selection optimization blending schedule
Crude Predictive Supply and Retail network
fingerprinting maintenance demand forecasting management
Planning
Supply schedule Production planning Transportation Distribution
and price and scheduling cost optimization
Feedstock price Blending
Feedstock Quality Product B2B contract Order delivery
Business deals inspection management inspection management and invoicing
Feedstock invoicing Asset management Product transport Orders and pricing Safety management
Feedstock inventory Product inventory Marketing campaigns
DCS/APC/MES/
Pipeline DCS Plant DCS
Process control Plant assets
Fleet management Instrumentation
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2017 by AMETEK Inc. All rights reserved.
Business Trends
Aggregate. Oil and gas operations involve distributed data across the refinery in real time, based on the produced items.
sources in process, business and asset management systems This allows procurement departments to monitor low inven-
that must be consolidated and aggregated. The realities of such tory stocks and initiate procurement without being informed
data sources include: by others. This may be considered as closing a feedback loop.
Dispersed geographycovering multiple assets Alternatively, refinery operations may redefine schedules or
and plants, distribution stations, refineries, etc. other indices based on up-to-date information.
Data source varietymanual and digital sensors
on pumps and distribution lines, refinery process Analyze. Data analytics transform data into real-time perfor-
lines, laboratories mance intelligence through the application of business rules.
Data mode varietycontinuous data from DCS/ This part of the framework is responsible for advanced features
historians, discrete data from field operator manuals, of smart refineries, such as predictive maintenance, which uti-
mobile device data collection, laboratory sample data. lizes historical data from multiple sources to build accurate,
testable predictive models, allowing the generation of predic-
Contextualize. Create and maintain functional/operational tions and risk scores. This provides a more effective and ef-
relationships between data elements from disparate sources. In ficient way to maintain and monitor critical assets, with high
FIG. 3, contextualization is evident within each horizontal block. availability and reliability.
Production system information can be functionally related to
overall performance metrics, so business systems information Visualize. Graphical representations of KPIs support the con-
can be related to performance as demanded by operations. text- or role-based navigation of information based on persis-
tent interrelationships.
Propagate. Transfer relevant operational performance infor- In some instances, this means enabling drill-down from
mation to the appropriate business-level systems. For example, multi-plan representations to individual facilities and systems.
inventory management and control information are available In the process unit overview and utility overview dashboard
in FIG. 4, critical parameters are graphically adapted to suit
operator intuition. Such visuals assist rapid decision-making.
This framework is built using multiple IT tools and digital
technologies.
Platforms and management approaches. Platforms and

management approaches that provide a foundation to build ro-
bust OI solutions include:
Data modeling: The ISA 95 standard describes
a framework for connecting plant floor operations
to enterprise applications. Data models specific
to refineries based on this standard provide a good
starting point. However, proper configuration of the
models is required to accurately reflect operations.
FIG. 2. Indicative architecture of a data management system, Data lifecycle management: Short-term storage of
integrating disparate data silos into a single source of enterprise actionable data and longer-term archival and retrieval of
information. Source: Gartner, 2009. selected OI data. Providing full resolution of archived
and short-term data is necessary, but the difference is
Contextualize Analyze Visualize
in the access rate. Short-term operational data must be
immediately available for analysis. Retrieval of long-term
archived data will be used for strategic decision-making.
Business systems
ERP,
procurement, 0 Real-time KPI and extensive historian data access
finance, Demand
sales, CRM, performance
are part of data lifecycle management.
HSE, HR Business process management, data mining and
Production discovery: These business process-centric approaches
Data sources
Ops systems
systems, LIMS, Overall process are helpful for developing a desired layer of data
te
aga
yield performance metrics for aggregation, analysis and virtualization.

Prop
accounting, the refinery

energy 0 A business process is a collection of related, structured
activities that produce a service or product that meets
Process systems
Edge Large amount of data from multiple

devices, the needs of the business.
sources related to the process
control systems 0 Data mining techniques help in the aggregation
systems
of data from heterogeneous sources.
0 Business process management helps provide modeling
Aggregate
tools, establish links of common objects and enable
process modeling, an important requirement of OI
FIG. 3. An approach to building intelligence from refinery data.
and real-time visualization.
Business Trends
USE CASESPUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE been issued, which will hamper production. Engineering de-
partments generally track scheduled and breakdown mainte-
Some examples of how data consolidation helps the refin- nance to monitor the mean time between failure (MTBF) of
ery are listed here. Major parameters depicted are energy con- assets. This historical information can be used to effectively
sumption, production parameters and KPI variance. Other schedule preventive maintenance.
information related to production includes asset health (main- Such historical information, combined with manufacturer
tenance), HSE parameters and human resources availability. design and operational parameters and rule-based algorithms,
can be directed toward predictive maintenance. While preven-
Production monitoring. Production managers looking at the tive or scheduled maintenance must be carried out irrespective
consolidated dashboard can see the whole picture at a glance, of asset functionality, predictive maintenance saves resources
including: by generating alerts only when the assets functionality tends
Amount of crude processed and the yield to exceed its usual parameters.
Available inventory
Basic quality parameters of the products
Energy consumed and other utility (water, gas,
steam, etc.) information
Unit KPI variance (actual KPI vs. target KPI)
Asset information and human resources availability.
Production managers are informed of core production pa-
rameters, asset availability, work permits issued and human
resources availability. These outer circle parameters ensure
awareness of production efficiencies and provide foresights on
threats to normal production. Real-time information about re-
lated metrics, KPIs and performance highlights enable timely
action and escalations. Asset maintenance and work order(s)
issued for each major unit and its ancillary assets can be visu-
alized, and it can be determined if multiple work orders have FIG. 4. An indicative dashboard of overall utility functions.
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Business Trends
plications (e.g., an ERP system). Information from these diverse

Business Enterprise data
leadership warehouses systems must be capable of being combined in expressions or cal-
(PLM/ERP/SCM/Bl) culations and related through structures, filtering and navigation.
Manufacturing Manufacturing data warehouse
Continuum of roles served
management (historian or DB associated with

Diverse operation and business data converge as a single,
MES, EH&S, etc.) virtual database that contains all information that is otherwise
Site DB distributed in various systems, such as SAP, CMMS, LIMS, plan-
leadership DB
Data historians
Operational data ning, production, inventory, historian, machine monitoring, etc.
Functional/ stores (MES, CMMS, etc.)
task workers
This integration allows multi-dimensional analytics that
ed
ializ s can be analyzed from various perspectives (production, supply
DB Spec ytics DB
Operators, an a l chain, planning, maintenance, etc.).
engineers, Operational technology
technicians (OT) A proprietary scalable and reliable platform delivers manu-
Real time Transactional Staged data facturing integration and intelligence. This flexible solutiona en-
(seconds, minutes) (minutes, hours, shifts) (shifts, days, weeks, months) sures full integration between shop floor systems, MES and SAP
Time frame for decision support
CMMSComputerized maintenance management system; DBDatabase; EH&SEnvironmental health and safety ERP to deliver benefits that include:
A comprehensive platform that enables composite
FIG. 5. Platforms in an OI architecture. Source: Gartner, 2011. applications
The creation of an environment that integrates
A dashboard, like that shown in FIG. 4, is used by process en- disconnected environments
gineers and provides a total graphic representation of the vari- Role-based visibility
ous resources consumed and the cost of production at the unit. A technology agnostic platform that interoperates
Tracking the energy and resources consumed is necessary, across multiple platforms.
as they represent a high cost in the production cycle. Unit ef- In addition to functionality, platform scalability and delivery
ficiency is also measured by how resources are spent in the expertise, reusable templates, data models and a configuration
production cycle. In the dashboard in FIG. 4, the consumption kit reduce the overall development and deployment time.
of various resources, such as steam, water, fuel and nitrogen, is
tracked to monitor unit performance. Key takeaways. The level of OI achieved is almost entirely de-
Key operating parameters, such as boiler efficiency and com- pendent on how well the plant, operational and business data
pressor running hours, indicate the efficiency of the units pro- are managed. This involves complex data management frame-
duction. The overall cost of resources during production is also works, coupled with process changes, to absorb the intelligence
shown. This cost is compared with budgeted estimates and is a that is spelled out by the transformed data, as well as adherence
measure of the effectiveness of the production process. to a disciplined, structured manufacturing system.
While many tools can assist in OI, such tools must be selected
The architecture of OI. OI is not a batch of applications that carefully based on individual needs. Each enterpriseeven with-
churns out the resulting intelligence, but is rather an architec- in the same sectoris an individual entity with its own quirks
ture or design involving multiple platforms and systems span- and needs, and the tools must be tweaked to give optimal results.
ning across timeframes and roles. OI is a prequel to operational and business excellence, and
The architecture includes: historians that provide a robust an important milestone to achieve.
foundation for an OI database, with the ability to aggregate,
NOTES
contextualize and analyze large volumes of data from various a TCS Global Operations Solution
sources such as DCS, control systems and other OT platforms;
MES systems with built-in intelligence capabilities that operate MURLI D. AGRAWAL is an Advisor and Director for Downstream COE at TCSs
on data within the context of the applications data; and busi- Oil and Gas Global Practice. He formerly served as General Manager of IT and
Chief Information Officer (CIO) of downstream manufacturing for BPCL, Indias
ness analytics that offer historical, present and predictive views second-largest oil major. Mr. Agrawal was an architect of an integrated, real-time
of business operations. refinery information model for end-to-end processes that was implemented at
To date, no single vendor delivers a complete OI solution. two BPCL refineries. He is now involved in designing strategies for downstream
Customers generally take a blended approach, and IT service domain excellence studies for global customers and mentoring for comprehensive
solution design proposals for global refineries. Mr. Agrawal also serves as VP and
providers interface and integrate multiple applications to suit a President-elect of the Bombay Management Association (BMA), is a member
customers requirements. of the Apex Professional University body of senior managers, and is a visiting
faculty member at the Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management (SJMSOM),
Business outcomes. OI enables an improved decision-mak- which is part of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai.
ing capability based on enhanced information quality and avail- ARDISH M. MORAWALA, associate author, is a Sales Consultant for engineering
ability extracted from a mass of data points. Such information and industrial systems in the Asia-Pacific region for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.
produces alerts based on KPIs and key risk indicators. He has 38 yr of technical experience in electronic systems engineering and
the installation of motor controls, automation, DCS and embedded devices.
Often, the greatest opportunities for key improvements and Mr. Morawala specializes in field implementations of complex electronic and
increased efficiencies occur when silos of previously indepen- IT systems. Throughout his career, he has been actively engaged at site
dent data are integrated or related in a new and meaningful way. installations of electronic drives in large steel rolling mills and UPS systems
in EDP centers. For a decade, he was responsible for the engineering of DCS
This requires effectively spanning numerous disparate sources of systems, including RTUs and central computer systems. As part of a team,
information from tag-based systems (control systems) and rela- he installed DCS systems for railway traction control, ONGC offshore oil rigs,
tional data sources (e.g., a production database) to enterprise ap- water treatment plants and power distribution utilities.
MIKE RHODES, MANAGING EDITOR
Mike.Rhodes@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Industry Metrics
US product crack spreads surged amid refinery outages as Hurricane Global refining margins, 20162017*
Harvey affected US Gulf Coast (USGC) refinery operations. Product 20
crack spreads in Europe roseexcluding fuel oil, which declinedand WTI, US Gulf
were affected by supply outages on the USGC and increasing arbitrage 15 Brent, Rotterdam
Margins, US$/bbl
Oman, Singapore
opportunities to the US and Latin America. Asian product crack spreads 10
improved across all products except fuel oil.
5
An expanded version of Industry Metrics can be found
online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com. 0
Aug.-16
Sept.-16
Oct.-16
Nov.-16
Dec.-16
Jan.-17
Feb.-17
Mar.-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
Aug.-17
US gas production (Bcfd) and prices (US$/Mcf)
100 7 Global refining utilization rates, 20162017*
6 100
80
5
Gas prices, $/Mcf
Production, Bcfd
90
Utilization rates, %
60 4
40 3 80
Monthly price (Henry Hub) 2
20 12-month price avg. 70 US Japan
Production 1 EU 16 Singapore
0 0 60
J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A
Aug.-16
Sept.-16
Oct.-16
Nov.-16
Dec.-16
Jan.-17
Feb.-17
Mar.-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
Aug.-17
2015 2016 2017
Production equals U.S. marketed production, wet gas. Source: EIA.
Selected world oil prices, US$/bbl US Gulf cracking spread vs. WTI, 20162017*
80 60
50 Prem. gasoline
Dubai Fateh Jet/kero
Cracking spread, US$/bbl
70 40
W. Texas Inter. Diesel
Oil prices, US$/bbl
60 Brent Blend 30 Fuel oil

Source: DOE 20
50
10
40 0
30 -10
-20
20
Aug.-16
Sept.-16
Oct.-16
Nov.-16
Dec .-16
Jan.-17
Feb.-17
Mar.-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
Aug.-17
Sept.-17
A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A
2015 2016 2017
World liquid fuel supply and demand, MMbpd Rotterdam cracking spread vs. Brent, 20162017*
102 6 40
Stock change and balance Forecast Prem. gasoline Gasoil
Stock change and balance, MMbpd
100 5 30 Jet/kero Fuel oil

Supply and demand, MMbpd
98 World supply 4
World demand 20
96 3
94 2 10
92 1 0
90 0
88 -1 -10
86 -2 -20
84 -3
Aug.-16
Sept.-16
Oct.-16
Nov.-16
Dec.-16
Jan.-17
Feb.-17
Mar.-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
Aug.-17
Sept.-17
2012-Q1 2013-Q1 2014-Q1 2015-Q1 2016-Q1 2017-Q1 2018-Q1

Source: EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, September 2017
Singapore cracking spread vs. Oman, 20162017*
Brent dated vs. sour grades
30
(Urals and Dubai) spread, 20162017* Prem. gasoline Gasoil
20 Jet/kero Fuel oil

8
Dubai
Light sweet/medium sour
6 10
crude spread, US$/bbl
Urals
4 0
2 -10
0 -20
-2
Aug.-16
Sept.-16
Oct.-16
Nov.-16
Dec.-16
Jan.-17
Feb.-17
Mar.-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
Aug.-17
Sept.-17
-4
Aug.-16
Sept.-16
Oct.-16
Nov.-16
Dec.-16
Jan.-17
Feb.-17
Mar.-17
April-17
May-17
June-17
July-17
Aug.-17
Sept.-17
* Material published permission of the OPEC Secretariat; copyright 2017;

all rights reserved; OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, September 2017.

TECHNOLOGY
INNOVATION
IS OUR DNA
We, at Shell Global Solutions, constantly create new tailored
solutions with our clients to exceed their expectations.
To learn more, please visit www.shell.com/globalsolutions
Shell Global Solutions

LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Lee.Nichols@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Global Project Data
Hydrocarbon Processings Construction Boxscore Database is processing capacity to meet increasing demand. The US refining
tracking more than 1,700 active downstream construction projects industry is investing in new distillation capacity to process additional
around the world. Over the past three years, the Asia-Pacific region light shale oil, as well as in secondary units to adhere to new Tier 3
and the US have led in new project announcements. Developing fuel regulations. The Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions account
nations in the Asia-Pacific region continue to build downstream for half of total active project market share.
7%, 3%, 4% 16%, 12%, 12%
33%, 25%, 23%

8%, 9%, 12%
6%, 7%, 9%
19%, 34%, 33%
11%, 10%, 7%
Market share analysis of new project announcements

by region, 20152017
32
29 29 6% Africa
16% US
20 20
17 22% Middle East
12 12 13 12 11 12 28% Asia-Pacific
10 10
4% Canada
15% Europe
July- Aug.- Sept.- Oct.- Nov.- Dec.- Jan.- Feb.- Mar.- April- May- June- July- Aug.- 9% Latin America
16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17
Boxscore new project announcements, Market share analysis of active

July 2016present downstream projects by region
Detailed and up-to-date information for active construction projects in the refining,
gas processing and petrochemical industries across the globe|ConstructionBoxscore.com

HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR
Reliability Heinz.Bloch@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Technology transfer training is most effective

for small groups
Training can take many different forms. Naming just a few,
we can:
Send employees to public courses, conferences
and meetings.
Arrange for experienced experts to make in-plant
presentations at our facility and ask the attendees
to turn off their cellular phones for the duration.
Invite vendor representatives to do lunch-and-learn
sessions at a nearby offsite location, or in an in-plant
meeting room; the chosen location could be temporarily
reconfigured to accommodate the lunch crowd.
It can be demonstrated that each of these different approach-
es has its advantages and disadvantages. Well-thought-out train-
ing is indispensable for plants that wish to excel in achieving
safety, reliability and profitability. However, for a variety of
reasons, relatively few of these highly appropriate goals are be-
ing implemented with the urgency they deserve. To remedy the FIG. 1. A small group of four advisors and mid-level managers
situation, an increasingly large number of HPI facilities are find- attend five productive days of technology updates away from
their overseas facility.
ing ways to accelerate the transfer of cost-saving and reliability
enhancing technologies.
The end results were highly favorable. Suitably selected off-
Pick the right employees to receive targeted training. site venues remove attendee-participants from the unavoidable
Technology transfer is best absorbed by small teams of advisors, interruptions that exist in a plant environment. The direct in-
mid-level managers and senior technicians. Exposing them to terfacing between attendee and presenter allows for seamlessly
expert teachers with strong implementation know-how is the catering to special plant needs. Desirable or explanatory add-on
key to understanding, accepting and rapidly implementing in- information is readily retrieved by the presenter for discussion
novative solutions. the following day. The attendee-participants are encouraged to
Several relatively new technologies have been adopted in the communicate and network with the presenter in the future;
past two decades by best-of-class companies. Mechanical seals, many follow up on this no-cost invitation.
dry gas seals, advantageous grease and liquid oil lubrication Feedback affirmed the value of TTTtechnology trans-
technology, coupling upgrades, low-leakage wiper rings, and fer trainingalong the lines described here. Consider TTT as
piston rod packing and optimal compressor selection are a few a valuable common-sense tool and examine its cost-to-benefit
that immediately come to mind.1 ratio. Its usefulness may pleasantly surprise you.
Duration of training and right size of groups. In two re- LITERATURE CITED
cent instances, groups of four and six participants from petro-
1
Bloch, Heinz P., Petrochemical Machinery Insights, Elsevier Publishing Company,
Oxford, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2016.
chemical plants in Asia and the Middle East met, on separate
occasions, for five days. One group brought along an interpreter, HEINZ P. BLOCHS professional career commenced
and the second group was multilingual. in 1962 and included long-term assignments as
In both instances, the presenter had previously been made Exxon Chemicals Regional Machinery Specialist
aware of each groups specific areas of primary interest and had for the US. He has authored or cowritten close to
700 publications, among them 20 comprehensive
followed a sequence of topics to which all parties had agreed. books on practical machinery management, failure
Flash drives were handed out to the technology transfer partici- analysis, failure avoidance, compressors, steam
pants on the first day of the meeting at a central major US lo- turbines, pumps, oil mist lubrication and practical
lubrication for industry. Mr. Bloch holds BS and MS
cation. They uploaded hundreds of PowerPoint slides to their degrees (cum laude) in mechanical engineering.
personal laptops and supplemented these uploads with their He is an ASME Life Fellow and was awarded lifetime
comments and the presenters personalized answers to questions. registration as a Professional Engineer in New Jersey.

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Automation E. C. COSMAN, CONSULTANT
Strategies ARC Advisory Group
Expanding scope of automation events and alerts

Detecting, reporting and responding to abnormal situations ISA-TR18.2.5-2012, Alarm system monitoring,
or events are important functional elements of a complete pro- assessment and auditing
cess automation strategy. Traditional control systems present ISA-TR18.2.6-2012, Alarm systems for batch and
this information in the form of alarms directed to the operations discrete processes.
staff on the control system console. In abnormal situations, the
volume of these alarms can present a significant challenge. Additional sources of alerts. An abnormal situation may be
Process-related alarms are only one type of alert typically signaled by more than just traditional process-related alarms.
presented to the operations staff. For example, the growing The increased use of monitoring systems and other smart de-
importance of industrial control systems (ICS) cybersecurity vices results in a wide variety of alerts that may require a timely
means that security-related events must also be captured and response. These additional sources include:
managed. The ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards on industrial Cybersecurity: It is becoming more common to have
automation and control systems security explicitly state that some sort of network or security monitoring in place, with
security-related events and alerts must be collected and main- alerts generated for events such as unusual network traffic,
tained for analysis. The standards implicitly assume that once authorization failures or unauthorized network traffic.
this information is collected, someone will be available to inter- Network monitoring: With the increased sophistication
pret it and take the appropriate action. of process networks, it may be necessary to detect and
Automation solution providers and end users must focus alert on unusual situations, such as node or switch failures.
on the nature of the information, how to express it and, most Physical security: Monitoring devices, such as cameras
importantly, to whom it should be conveyed. End users must or physical access sensors, may also generate alerts
state clear requirements and expectations as to the types of or requests for attention.
information they need when describing anomalous behavior Business process alerts: Various information or workflow
in their processes. automation solutions may alert staff to unusual behavior.
While a growing amount of information may be generated
Abnormal situations. Detection and response have been with an expectation of further follow-up for analysis and reso-
topics of considerable interest in industrial automation for lution, it is not always clear exactly who is accountable for this
many years. Early work in this area included that of the Abnor- follow-up and associated response. In the absence of an explicit
mal Situation Management (ASM) Consortium, which began definition, certain assumptions can be made.
with Honeywells Alarm Management Task Force to address For example, it is safe to assume that the operations staff will
alarm floods. always be available to react to abnormal situations. Operators
More recently, international standards bodies have ad- and plant engineers generally understand the implications and
dressed the topicmost notably the ISA18 committee on in- potential consequences of such events on the integrity of the
strument signals and alarms. system under control. However, they may not have the skills or
experience to make the best decisions in response to these new
Alarm management. Alarm management has been an impor- sources of information.
tant element of industry response. The ISA18 committee was Unfortunately, it is much easier to configure devices and sys-
created to establish terminology and practices for alarm systems to generate alerts than to fully define the intended audi-
tems, including the definition, design, installation, operation, ence and expected actions. This has resulted in automation sys-
maintenance, modification and work processes recommended tems with far too many alarms for which the optimum response
to effectively maintain an alarm system over time. is not clear. Adding new sources of alerts, such as security and
The original standard from this committee, ISA-18.1-1979 network management, will only exacerbate this situation.
(R2004), Annunciator sequences and specifications, is intended
ERIC C. COSMAN has more than 35 yr of experience
primarily for use with electrical annunciators that call attention in developing, delivering, managing and supporting
to abnormal process conditions using individual illuminated vi- operations information technology solutions in the
sual displays and audible devices. In 2009, the committee com- process industries. During his career, his assignments
pleted ANSI/ISA-18.2, Management of alarm systems in the pro- and responsibilities have included process automation
systems development, communications network
cess industries. Additional technical reports have been developed design, functional and technical architecture design,
for several aspects of alarm management: and technology lifecycle management. He retired
ISA-TR18.2.3-2015, Basic alarm design as an operations IT consulting engineer with
Dow Chemical Co.
ISA-TR18.2.4-2012, Enhanced and advanced alarm methods
Just say:
When
Where &
hoW
W Many.
Solve. Respond. Deliver. Its not just a slogan.
Its the bedrock weve built our business on
since 1954 delivering standard-setting cooling
solutions for gas compression and processing,
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harscoAXC.com 918.619.8000 (USA)
Engineering A. SOFRONAS, CONSULTING ENGINEER
Case Histories http://mechanicalengineeringhelp.com
Case 98: Why performing calculations

is important to an engineer s career
Engineering calculations can help an engineers career by TABLE 1. Margins for the twisted shaft
controlling the risks taken. The author has followed this path.
Most engineers realize that they can proceed through their Hp (D = 4 in., rpm = 200) shear shear /yield Margin
careers doing very few engineering calculations. Managing 800 20,000 0.57 43%
projects or people; selecting and procuring equipment; work- 1,200 30,000 0.86 14%
ing with manufacturers to design products; troubleshooting
equipment, pressure vessels or structures; or using sophisti- Example 1: Why did the shaft twist? A 20-ft-long extruder
cated computer programs may not require engineering cal- shaft made of 316 stainless steel had twisted along its length.
culations. These types of work can be performed by talented In a meeting to discuss the failure, speculation arose as to the
personnel capable of making sound decisions based on the cause. I asked if the shaft was original equipment, to which the
data they obtain. answer was yes. After further questioning, I learned that the
However, by using engineering mathematical techniques, motor had been increased from 800 hp to 1,200 hp several years
engineers can greatly enhance their abilities by generating earlier to handle a tougher product.
needed data and not relying solely on others data. I wrote the following on a flip chart in the meeting:2
Early in my career, I realized that my managers did not want Yield strength (yield) for 316 steel = 35,000 lb/in2
to know the details of how I arrived at my results. What my Shear stress in shaft due to operating loads (shear) =
managers noticed was that I was willing to make a difficult de- 321,000 hp (D3 rpm)
cision to solve the problem expediently, safely and cost-effec- TABLE 1, which shows margins for the shaft.
tively. Usually, it meant that the system design or equipment Notice that the shaft had some margin from twisting at 800
was operating successfully. hp, but much less at 1,200 (TABLE 1)this is why it did not fail
My managers lack of interest in my calculations did not both- at 800 hp. Enough margin was available to handle periodic ad-
er me, since the calculations allowed me to do the following: verse operating conditions, such as cold product startups. A de-
Perform a logical analysis and provide documentation tailed analysis was performed, and the shaft was replaced with a
that supported my decision, making me feel comfortable higher-yield-strength 17-4 material.
with the risk taken in the decision. This quick calculation changed the direction and results of
Use historical failure data to analyze new designs and the meeting. A repeat failure would likely have occurred if the
prevent the same type of failure. An analysis can show spare 316 shaft had been installed.
why smaller units do not fail but larger ones do.
Verify the analysis by using other actual failures to see if Example 2: Can we start up the unit? A wrong answer
the results are the same. Cracks and failure zones show based on someone elses opinion and a subsequent failure can
where to center an analysis. jeopardize a career. This is where the ability to perform calcula-
Feel confident about reviewing any type of unique tions can be important. In this case, a large, heated, rotating disk
equipment because I could simplify it, analyze it dryer operating at a plant3 had developed cracks at welds. Several
and understand it. I could understand the internal similar, smaller units had not developed cracks. The problem was
stresses, dynamics and other phenomena that may compounded since a new, much larger, scaled-up unit had been
not have been known to others. Using equations, shipped overseas and was awaiting installation at a new facility.
I could model and understand what was happening The question from management was, What should we do next?
inside an operating system. A simple finite element model was used to determine the
Calculate if and when something was likely to fail. stresses at the weld, along with a cyclic crack growth analysis on
Analysis can be like time travel in that it allows a look into the cracked dryer. After performing these calculations on the
a failure before it occurs.1 dryers, I felt confident in saying, Based on my analysis, if the
Performing calculations allowed me to develop a strong new unit is put into service it will crack and fail in less than 1 yr.
track record of successful risk-taking and decision-making, and I recommended that the unit be sent back to the US from
become known as someone who could help resolve difficult Asia and strengthened by replacing the first three of 40 disks
problems. This distinction helped me advance and be recog- with thicker ones to expedite the repair. The analysis indicated
nized by management. A few simple examples serve to illustrate that only these replacements were required, enhanced by bet-
the point; more are provided in the references. ter welding methods. After reviewing the calculations, project
Engineering Case Histories
management and the dryer manufacturer that had intended to The calculations produced new data for a meeting on the
install the unit agreed on my solution. process unit. It allowed the engineer to generate data to be
The recommendation was a low-risk one, since I had used the compared with actual data, meaning torque on other cutter as-
same analysis on the smaller units and knew why they had not semblies. Equipped with this information, the team decided to
cracked. Good data from calculations makes for a strong posi- increase to the higher torque values as a low-risk solution.
tion. In this case, mathematical analysis predicted the future, and These types of calculations are well within the capability of
the crack growth calculation proved to be a powerful tool for most engineers who look for the opportunity to utilize them.
preventing equipment failure.
Example 3: Not tight enough. An investigation team was re- LITERATURE CITED
viewing a failure. One of 20 cutter knives failed and destroyed a
1
Sofronas, A., Survival Techniques for the Practicing Engineer, John Wiley & Sons,
Hoboken, New Jersey, 2016.
piece of processing equipment. 2
Sofronas, A., Analytical Troubleshooting of Process Machinery and Pressure Vessels,
A review of the repair indicated that someone unfamiliar John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2006.
with the equipment had replaced the resharpened knives several 3
Sofronas, A., Case Histories in Vibration Analysis and Metal Fatigue, John Wiley &
Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2012.
weeks earlier. The two studs holding the knives were 0.75 in. in
diameter (Din ) and 1 in. free length (Lin ). Studs like these require NOTE
enough torque (Tft-lb ) to stretch (in ) more than 0.002 in. Any Case 97 was published in HP in July. For past cases, please visit
less torque, and the vibration could relax the threads and em- HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
bedded material under the stud/cutter assembly,2 and the stud
TONY SOFRONAS, D. Eng, was the worldwide lead
would become loose. mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil Chemicals before
The stud stretch can be approximated as in 240 Tft-lb Lin retiring. He now owns Engineered Products, which
(Din3E), where E = 30 106 lb/in2. The torque measured on provides consulting and engineering seminars on
machinery and pressure vessels. Dr. Sofronas has
the remaining intact cutter knife studs was 110 ft-lb230 ft-lb. for authored several engineering books and numerous
these high-alloy studs. The stretch for the lower value was in technical articles on analytical methods.
0.002 in.; none of the higher-torque values were found to be loose.
This measurement is too low, and the cutter most likely loosened
in service due to improper tightening, causing the failure.
IT ALL STARTS WITH

API PSSAP.
In the current economic cycle, its critical you remain
compliant and competitive. APIs Process Safety Site
Assessment Program (PSSAP) ensures that your sites

process safety systems conform to industry standards.

PSSAP is focused on evaluating the quality of written
programs and the effectiveness of field implementation.
For assurance of your sites compliance, start with API
at www.API.org/PSSAP.
Its times like these you

need people like us.
877.562.5187 (Toll-free U.S. & Canada)

+1.202.682.8041 (Local & International)
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2017 American Petroleum Institute, all rights reserved. API, API PSSAP, the API logo and the Its Times
Like These slogan are trademarks or registered trademarks of API in the United States and/or other countries.

24
HydrocarbonProcessing_October2017_PSSAP.indd
OCTOBER 2017|HydrocarbonProcessing.com 1 8/31/17 1:00 PM
Supply Chain D. MCDOWELL, Honeywell Connected Plant, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada; and S. DEY, Honeywell Connected Plant, Bangalore, India
Integration: The next frontier in supply chain

and production management
Hydrocarbon processing industry these differing perspectives into a single supply chain applications and
(HPI) companies have long used different comprehensive view. This will highlight a common data repository.
applications to address their supply chain conflicts and opportunities, and enable 2. Contextualization: Providing
production management (SCPM) chal- them to be more quickly and easily ad- the intelligence to understand
lenges. However, the next frontier in addressed. Even with the adoption of best-in- the differences in the level of
vancing supply chain excellence lies in inte- class SCPM applications, achieving a holis- abstraction and time granularity
grating SCPM functions to achieve the best tic overview of business functions remains required by various applications
financial outcome. This article reviews the a key challenge for many organizations. and transforming data as necessary.
steps organizations can take to achieve bet- 3. Analysis: Exploiting the common
ter functionality integration, and examines The solution. To achieve cross-function- intelligent data repository to enable
the benefits of this approach. al SCPM excellence, organizations must business processes, such as plan
create an integrated supply chain. It is im- vs. actual tracking, supply chain
The challenges. It is widely acknowl- practical to rip and replace existing invest- forecasting, retrospective analysis,
edged that supply chain excellence is a ments in supply chain tools, so the path what-if scenarios, and further
competitive advantage for any company. forward should provide a framework that reporting and advanced analytics.
However, supply, production and distri- includes and leverages existing solutions. The first two steps can be collectively
bution networks are becoming increas- Implementing this framework essentially referenced as integration, and the third
ingly global and complex (FIG. 1), as are the consists of three steps: step as analytics. In the following sections,
planning and operation of these networks. 1. Collection: Developing seamless the value that supply chain integration and
At the same time, risks in the supply chain data integration between different analytics (FIG. 3) provide is examined.
have increased, and improved transpar-
ency is critical to managing them. Opti-
mizing the performance of supply chains
within an organization requires tight
cross-functional coordination, decisive-
ness and, occasionally, trade-offs.
Most companies in the process indus-
tries are commodities businesses. Millions
of dollars are tied up in purchasing, sales
decisions and inventoryan investment
exposed to fluctuating commodity prices
and exchange rates. Supply chain process-
es typically span different functional do-
mains, from sales and marketing through
finance and accounting, as illustrated in
FIG. 2. Decision steps are incorporated with
different time horizons and granularity FIG. 1. Supply chain business challenges are becoming increasingly global and complex.
(e.g., from strategic to operational). Today,
these processes are typically carried out
in functional silos within an organization,
with little coordination between them.
It is this coordination across silos, and
the information flows between them, with
which process companies are struggling.
Each function has its own view of the sup-
ply chainand usually their own propri-
FIG. 2. Supply chain processes typically span different functional domains.
etary toolsso it is imperative to unite
Supply Chain
VALUE TO INDUSTRY supply chain functions, data and application resource availability (components,
To understand the value that industry tions. Based on Suncor Sarnia analysis,1 blender, product tank) must be checked,
will get from a solution to this problem, closing the gap between plan vs. actual and the cost for the batch must be com-
the performance areas in the context of in near-real time can result in up to an ad- puted. Each of these steps takes informa-
the supply chain operations reference ditional $0.50/bbl benefit over a medium- tion and communications (and time).
(SCOR)a framework, shown in TABLE 1, term basis. Integrating the cross-functional informa-
will be examined. This widely-used frame- tion referenced above in a single consoli-
work assesses the performance of a supply Responsiveness. Responsiveness is the dated view can significantly decrease (by
chain based on reliability, responsiveness, speed at which products are provided to 10%30%) the time and effort taken to
agility, cost and return on assets. customers. A typical scenario that tests a re- confirm the order, increasing customer
finerys responsiveness is the opportunity responsiveness and reducing overall order
Reliability. An integrated supply chain, for a spot sale of product due to a competi- fulfillment cycle time.
with functions sharing a clear and common tors unplanned refinery outage or logistics Integrated information and analytics
understanding of production and inven- issue. This begins with a customer request, tools help supply chains collaboratively
tory forecasts, allows for better financial which initiates a sequence of actions: con- make decisions to purchase and sell the
tracking and for potential delivery issues firmation that the quantity of product is right grades, at the right price and at the
to be more quickly spotted and resolved. available in inventory; a check of planned right time. This provides a significant com-
This maintains customer satisfaction while shipments to verify that this inventory is petitive advantage: for a 200-Mbpd refin-
eliminating unnecessary costs (e.g., penal- available for commitment and meets the ery, a reasonable assumption of one ad-
ties, demurrage, makeup imports). customers quality requirements; ensuring ditional opportunity cargo of 200 Mbbl/
Supply chain reliability is further im- that shipping capacity is free; and a poten- month at an incremental $0.50/bbl pre-
proved by the ease and frequency with tial review of credit risk of the customer. mium would generate $1.2 MM/yr of in-
which a plan vs. actual analysis can be If the finished product must be made creased profit (or $0.02/bbl of crude run).
conducted, due to the tight integration of to order (e.g., blended), then the produc-
Agility. Supply chain agility means that
TABLE 1. SCOR framework any opportunities or disturbances that
arise in the market can be acted upon to
Attribute Objective maximum advantage. An integrated supply
Customer Supply chain reliability Consistently getting the orders right, chain system provides a common view for:
product meets quality requirements The supply chain time horizon,
Supply chain responsiveness The speed of providing products to customers from long-term commitments
Supply chain agility The ability to respond to changes in the through plan periods and scheduled
market (external influences) events into the future
Internal Supply chain costs Optimize costs associated with managing Visibility into crude and product
and operating the supply chain movements, inventories
Supply chain The effectiveness in managing the supply chains and forecasts
asset management assets in support of fulfillment, measured by Changing market conditions:
return on assets and return on working capital supply and demand, pricing trends
A common understanding of price
incentive data across functions
The basis to perform a What
if? exercise across functions to
efficiently project the impact
of alternatives being considered.
Significant upstream market influenc-
es include: declining production and the
decreasing quality of existing convention-
al crudes; the emergence of new crudes,
conventional and synthetic; increasing
pipeline flexibility; logistics rate and in-
ventory constraints; and resulting price
differentials. All of these influences push
refiners to consider increased amounts of
opportunity crudes to maximize margin.
At the same time, downstream influences,
including the alteration of distribution
patterns, ever-increasing product quality
requirements, and volatile demands and
FIG. 3. A conceptual view of SCPM integration and analytics.
pricing, must be addressed.
Supply Chain
Consolidated market intelligence and terials to flow back into the company af- reliability have been proposed, including
forecasting significantly benefit agile op- ter finished goods have been delivered to a 1996 study 3 that noted record low lev-
eration in this scenario, as shown in FIG. 4. customers. A key contributor in refining els and suggested that even lower levels
They also demand a planning model that is work-in-progress, or inventory of crude might be optimal. A 2014 study 4 high-
accurately and robustly models refinery and other feedstock, intermediates and lighted contributing factors and benefits
processingreal capacities, yields, pa- finished product awaiting shipment. of inventory variance reduction. How-
rameters and, particularly, constraints Crude price volatility and supply ever, many refiners find it difficult to
in the required operating environment. concerns have, over time, changed tar- maintain target inventory levels due to
Rigorous LP model validation by analyti- get inventory strategies and numbers. high variabilityinventory is allowed to
cal processes (e.g., technical back-casting) Methodologies to optimize inventory float to absorb production/shipping im-
requires intensive data and preparation, levels based on margins and supply chain balances, so it differs greatly from target
and an integrated, practical information
and analytics infrastructure.
Without this validation process, a gap
between the model predictions and op-
eration capabilities frequently appears,
with serious economic consequences for Get accurate flare
gas heat values fast,
a refinery: running against incorrect con-
straints; overspending on crude, other
feedstock or blendstocks; and producing
excess or insufficient product (with re-
sulting market penalties).
with the FlarePro Mass Spectrometer
Based on publicly available studies,
a systematic process of updating model
yields can result in a margin improvement
of $0.10/bbl$0.50/bbl, or more.2
Supply chain costs. Optimizing the

cost of the goods sold and the cost of op-
erating the supply chain requires a pro-
cess that evaluates performance to iden-
tify missed opportunities and improve
planning and execution processes. This
will utilize information on the projected
and planned values and actual results for
all factors that determine product costs.
Analyzing this large quantity of data
in a time-effective and rigorous manner
requires a well-structured process. One
analytical tool that has been used success-
fully is economic back-casting, in which
the planning model for a previous period With impending EPA rule changes for flare gas stack combustion, youll need
is run multiple times in sequence, while to measure heat value at the stack quickly, accurately, and often. AMETEK
Dycors FlarePro mass spectrometer has the speed and specificity for the
successively fixing prices, material inputs, task, calculating make-up gas quantities 10X faster than chromatographs. It
process capacities and limits, and product can speciate and quantify alkanes and alkenes up to C7 and convert ASTM
qualities to the actual values for the peri- calculations of concentration to yield flare gas BTU values, even with wildly
od. The differences between planned and changing flare gas streams. Features include:
actual results (and objective function) 24 footprint (general or C1, D2 areas) Low maintenance
for each step indicate the sensitivity to 16-valve inlet system Modbus/OPC communications
various factors; factors with a large impact 1 to 100 amu mass range Environmentally controlled to
Easy-to-service modular design accommodate a wide range
should be analyzed to prevent reoccur- of temperatures
rence of the issue. Benefits are highly vari-
Learn more at www.ametekpi.com.
able, but a reduction of up to 1% of gross
margin ($0.08/bbl) appears achievable.
Supply chain asset management. 2017 by AMETEK Inc. All rights reserved.
One of the most powerful supply-chain
metrics is the cash-to-cash cycle time, or
the time it takes for cash invested in ma-
27
Supply Chain
TABLE 2. Supply chain integration and analytics benefits

Supply chain Supply chain asset
Attribute Supply chain reliability responsiveness Supply chain agility Supply chain costs management
Definition Consistently getting Speed of providing Ability to respond to Costs associated Maximizing return
orders right, product product to the changes in the market with operating the on fixed assets and
meets quality customer (external influences) supply chain working capital
requirements
Supply chain Early warning Improvements of What-if scenarios Economic back-casting Integrated Inventory
integration indication of cross-functional inputs to evaluate impact to identify performance forecast drives focus
and analytics delivery issues to drive faster and of opportunities gaps/areas of on inventory reduction
more effective decisions improvement strategies
Timely, accurate plan Technical back-casting
vs. actual tracking identifies correct
planning yields to
deliver accurate plans
Quantified Reduced gap between Reduced overall order Improved opportunity Reduced operating Reduced working
benefits plan and actual fulfillment cycle time capture (200 Mbbl/mos expense and cost of capital, one-day
at $0.5/bbl) product (increased inventory reduced
margin) by reducing variation
Reduced demurrage 10%30% cycle Improved yield prediction
and penalties time improvement and utilization of capacity
and flexibility
< $0.50/bbl $0.02/bbl $0.1/bbl$0.5/bbl < $0.08/bbl $0.01/bbl
The petroleum refining industry has

been acknowledged as a pacesetter in
adopting technology to improve produc-
tivity and efficiency. Examples include
the standardization of linear program-
ming, the use of advanced scheduling al-
gorithms and the implementation of sta-
tistical data reconciliation. The adoption
of a consistent methodology for supply
chain integration and analytics represents
the next frontier to be conquered.
NOTE
a
Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) is a
FIG. 4. A consolidated forecast view.
cross-industry standard for supply chain manage-
ment, developed and maintained by the Supply
levels to provide a safety stock cushion. with extensive experience and knowl- Chain Council, an independent, not-for-profit trade
association.
To achieve sustained cost reduction, edge of refinery operations. Integration
inventory must be proactively managed. significantly reduces the effort spent on LITERATURE CITED
An integrated supply chain system offers data collection, collation and validation, Complete literature cited available at
HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
significant improvement by consolidating and analytic tools can automate the pro-
information from all activities impact- duction of complex reports. This allows DAVID MCDOWELL is Principal Consultant
ing inventory. It also provides different planners to spend more time on high- for Honeywell Connected Plant in Edmonton,
functions with a common global view of value analysis and performance improve- Alberta, Canada. His 43 yr of diverse experience
in the process industry domain include: refining,
inventory forecastinga uniform basis ment tasks. petrochemical and mining operations; manufacturing
for improved control of inventory days Additionally, the adoption of such a execution and control systems; industry consulting;
of supply. Even with low crude prices solution brings an organization closer to business process improvement; and large project
leadership and execution. He holds BS and
(~$50/bbl), margins (~$8/bbl.) and the realization of the Industrial Internet MS degrees in chemical engineering from the
interest rates (~4%), reducing average of Things (IIOT). A well-defined and University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
crude and product inventory for a 200- managed integration can help to leverage
Mbpd refinery by one day yields project- IIOT developments and apply them to SATRUJEET DEY is Product Marketing Manager
for Honeywell Connected Plant in Bangalore, India.
ed returns of $864,000/yr (~$0.01/bbl). the supply chain. Mr. Dey has more than 17 yr of diverse experience
One of the smaller quantified benefits in the process industry domain, including refinery
(with potentially the highest potential) Takeaway. A summary of the benefits operations, software development, industry
consulting and product management. He earned
of supply chain integration and analytics from supply chain integration and analyt- a BS degree in instrumentation engineering from
is the improved usage of personnel assets. ics against each of the SCOR attributes is the University of Mumbai, and an MBA degree from
Planning personnel are often resources shown in TABLE 2. the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.
ALLIED MARKET RESEARCH
Petrochemicals Pune, Maharashtra, India
A global look at the chlorinated paraffins market

With the rise in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry, the
chlorinated paraffins market has also been growing since it
High
Lubricating
acts as secondary plasticizers in PVC. In addition, technologi- Adhesives
Paints addtives Metal working
cal advancements made in the PVC market have propelled the Rulds
Market growth
Rubber
growth of the chlorinated paraffins market.
According to Allied Market Researchs Chlorinated paraf- Metal working fluids and lubricating additives
segments are projected to be the top
Plastics
fin marketGlobal opportunity analysis and industry fore- inventment pocket due to high-rising demand
cast, 20142022, the global chlorinated paraffins market is ex- in industrial applications in Asia-Pacific
Low
pected to grow more than 27% from 2015 to 2022. The global
chlorinated paraffins market size was $1.9 B in 2015, and is Low Market attractiveness High
expected to reach more than $2.4 B by 2022. This increase in
FIG. 1. Metal working fluids is the top investment pocket in the
market size equates to a compound annual growth rate of 3.5%
chlorinated paraffin market. Source: Allied Market Research.
during the forecast period.
Chlorinated paraffins are produced by the synthesis of chlo-
rine gas unbranched paraffin fractions at a temperature range Paints
of approximately 80C100C. They are colorless or yellowish, Metal working fluids
viscous, dense oils, except for long-carbon chain chlorinated Adhesives.
paraffins with high chlorine content (approximately 70%), In 2015, the lubricating additives and metal working flu-
which are solid. Chlorinated paraffins are used as secondary ids segments accounted for the major share in the market. In
plasticizers for PVC, and are expected to partially replace pri- terms of value, these applications held approximately 54%
mary plasticizers, such as phthalates and phosphate esters, in market share in the global chlorinated parrafins market. Metal
the near future. Chlorinated paraffins offer advantages such working fluids is the top investment pocket in the chlorinated
as flame retardancy and low-temperature strength, as well as paraffins market (FIG. 1). The reason for this is attributed to
increases the flexibility of materials. Chlorinated paraffins are the increase in demand for extreme pressure additives in met-
used as extreme pressure additives as metal-working lubricants alworking fluids, which allows the machining of difficult-to-
or cutting oils. This is attributed to their compatibility with machine materials.
oils, viscous nature and property of emancipating hydrochloric Moreover, the strong barrier to corrosion and thermal resis-
acid at high temperatures. They improve the resistance to wa- tance property is expected to propel the stakeholders to capi-
ter and chemicals, which is most suitable when they are used talize on the underlying opportunities in this industry. Metal
in marine paints, as coatings for industrial flooring, vessels and working fluids are widely used in industries, such as automobile,
swimming pools. precision engineering and machinery construction. Thus, ow-
In addition, technological advances coupled with escalating ing to the high growth rate and the significant revenue of these
demand for products with PVC content, such as sheets, tubes, industries, the segment is anticipated to provide high stability,
pipes, wires, and cablese, is expected to drive the demand for along with a significant return on investment for stakeholders.
chlorinated paraffins during the forecast period. The global It has been estimated that consumption of the chlorinated
chlorinated paraffins market growth is characterized by vivid paraffins market would increase in the Asia-Pacific region. The
opportunities to market players, owing to disposable incomes rise in consumption is due to a rise in population, development
and rapid growth in the global economy. in the automotive and machine industries and stable economic
The global chlorinated paraffins market is segmented based growth in the region. The developing economies within this
on product type, application and geography. Based on product geographical boundary, especially India and China, will witness
type, the market is classified into short-chain, medium-chain a tremendous growth in demand of the industry, along with
and long-chain. Based on chlorine content, each product type a steady rise in demand of lubricating additives. The demand
is further segmented into less than 40%, 40%70%, and more for long-chain chlorinated paraffins are expected to increase
than 70%. in North America due to a restriction in the use of short-chain
By application, the chlorinated paraffins market is segment- chlorinated paraffins in certain applications. Moreover, the pro-
ed into the following categories: duction cost of the chlorinated paraffin is low, making it a more
Lubricating additives affordable chemical in comparison to other chemicals.
Plastics A full summary of the report can be found at Allied Market
Rubbers Researchs website.
Hydrocarbon Processing|OCTOBER 201728A
SAVE Gas Processing and World Oil are bringing the Eastern
Mediterranean Gas Conference (EMGC) back to Nicosia, Cyprus. Now
THE DATE in its fifth year, EMGC is the regions premier conference for companies
operating in this rapidly evolving energy hub.
WHEN
The two-day conference will center around a high-level technical
March 2122, 2018 program featuring speakers from leading operating and service
companies. Join the conversation and network with your peers at EMGC!
WHERE
Nicosia, Cyprus Sponsorship opportunities are available!
For more information, please contact:
WEBSITE
Hortensia Tish Barroso, Business Development Manager
EMGasConference.com at Hortensia.Barroso@GulfPub.com
Organized by:
G. CLINE, Aberdeen Group, Boston, Massachusetts;
Roundtable K. KEIM, Seabrook, Texas; M. NEILL, Petrotechnics, Houston, Texas
and J. THOMAS, Process Improvement Institute, Houston, Texas
The reality of process safety risk

Unavoidably, process safety risks are such as startup, shutdown and other infre- but the greatest proportion of incidents,
often managed in different parts of an or- quent tasks. In some cases, companies in based on industry evidence, is related to
ganization. Consolidating these risks to countries without regulations have imple- human performance, which is people fail-
view their impact on the operational reali- mented excellent process safety manage- ing to execute a procedure properly or
ty of hydrocarbon assets is a real challenge. ment (PSM) programs; adding regula- missing an operating step.
What the industry needs is to make tions may not always be the answer. MN: There is a lot of focus on hu-
sure everyone assesses risk using the same GC: Incidents and accidents depend mans as the weak link in the chain. That
criteria, and has a practical understanding on many things, including the regula- is obviously part of it, but as much as we
of how their decisions directly or indirect- tory environment and the overall level of blame individuals when things go wrong,
ly influence risk and, ultimately, process safety awareness. Often, it is just human we need to credit them for reacting and
safety performance. By making process nature. People try to prepare and create a recovering from problems. Where poor
safety more operationalensuring front- culture of safety, but slip-ups happen. decisions are seen as the root cause of
line personnel are aware of their roles and JT: Also, people do not always un- incidents, we need to examine whether
responsibilities, and are effectively and derstand all of the hazards or safeguards. competence was lacking, or if people just
consistently implementing processes and They get used to doing things a certain did not have the correct information with
procedureswe can reduce incidents and way, and if nothing has happened, they which to make a decision.
improve sustainable production. feel it is okay to continue, even if it is not KK: We are only just learning how to
What is the reality of risk in the hydro- the safest thing to do. In addition, we do classifylet alone improvehuman per-
carbon sector? In this roundtable, senior not often identify all the hazards, espe- formance. There is still a lot to do. The in-
industry executives discuss what happens cially those related to infrequent modes of dustry does seek to get better by making
when process safety intent meets the re- operationlike startup and shutdown reference to the nuclear and airline indus-
ality of operations. The roundtable par- where a majority of incidents occur. Hu- tries as shining examples. Those industries
ticipants include Greg Cline (GC) of the man factors are not generally evaluated addressed things like equipment design,
Aberdeen Group, Kelly Keim (KK) of and included in most PSM systems, so we maintenance, management systems and
ExxonMobil (retired), Mike Neill (MN) often set the operators up to make errors. people simultaneously, without prefer-
of Petrotechics and Jeff Thomas ( JT) of KK: It is important to note, accident ence. For example, in the oil and gas indus-
the Process Improvement Institute. This rates for process safety incidents across try, the Mexico City and Bhopal disasters
roundtable will discuss how we think we the refining and petrochemical industries sparked PSM regulations in the US, focus-
manage risk, how we actually manage it, are actually incredibly low. ing on systems and then eventually people.
and how we can improve it practically MN: I would say that most people in I think the nuclear and airline industries
and tangibly. the industry think, I could almost guar- have been far more successful vs. the oil
antee we will have an accident, rather and gas industrys phased approach.
Industry regulation is at an all-time than, I can guarantee that we wont. But
high. Every operator is committed they do not know when, and they do not Is there a gap between what
to safety and risk avoidance. Why know how big. The chances are that if you process safety key performance
do you think incidents are a big organization with a lot of opera- indicators (KPIs) and operational
and accidents still happen? tions, you pretty much know that some- management systems are
JT: There are several reasons why acci- thing will happen eventually. telling us, and the feeling
dents still happen. First, not all countries KK: The good news is that the Ameri- on the front line?
have process safety regulations. Second, can Petroleum Institute (API), American MN: I think there is. I have heard, an-
even where good, detailed regulations Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers ecdotally, from operators that the KPIs
exist, it is hard to implement all of the (AFPM) and the American Chemistry say one thing and the reality at the plant
processes and procedures they require Council (ACC) collect information on is another.
100% correctly, all of the time. There are causes and causal factors on a consistent JT: A lot of people are still trying to fig-
often conflicting priorities, particularly in basis. They are beginning to get a much ure out the process safety indicators they
the field, between safety, production and clearer picture of process safety related is- should focus on. We have had API stan-
cost. In addition, there are often no thor- sues. Traditionally, the industry looked at dards in place for less than 10 yr. There
ough operating and maintenance proce- facility causesequipment failure, corro- is also a communications gap between
dures that cover all modes of operations, sion, etc. Those risks are still big factors, field and office personnel, engineers and
Roundtable
management who set up process safety Does the reality of risk

experienced one. There was a belief that
indicators and processes. Generally, these management measure up to the
these could happen, and people paid at-
indicators are not clearly communicated at intent of risk management?
tention to avoid them. There was maybe
JT: I would say most companies prob- a negative that people felt responsible for
an operator level in terms of what they are
ably recognize their process safety per- putting their own lives at risk to mini-
and their importance. I am not sure actions
mize those events. Thankfully,
we have almost eliminated this
Executives must make sure the right people are involved cowboy approach. The indus-
try has the newest and rawest
in the right processes and that they do the right process safety data. We have re-
things. However, I would say operations are in control ally only been managing it for
of the plan. They are at the sharp end, so they should be approximately 5 yr. With more
time and data, we will be able to
satisfied personally that the risk level is acceptable. say whether we are better than
we think.
are taken as a result of the process safety- formance is not where they want it to be. Do you think the relationship
related data and the KPIs produced. One But we are doing a better job of under- between PSM and operational risk
important KPI mentioned in the Center standing risk than we did when I started, management is close enough?
for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) book 30 yr to 40 yr ago. GC: No! I think PSM is always aspi-
on incident investigation is near-miss MN: People are experienced enough rational, and the relationship between
data. It is critical to report both incidents to know that hazardous industries mean process safety and its impact on front-line
and near-misses, and periodically analyze risky business. I do not think people operations can be better understood.
them to determine causal factors and root would publicly admit that risk is unpre- JT: There are gaps in most cases.
causes to prevent future incidents. dictable. However, other industriesnu- There has been a lot of work focused on
KK: I do not think we do a great job clear and airlinehave managed to elim- developing PSM systems, improving risk
on KPIs. I know very few sites that make inate some sources of unpredictable risk. related practices and developing PSM
a big deal of reporting their process safety These sectors put a lot of emphasis on tools. However, there is often a discon-
performance to operations. They also do training, stop-work authority and redun- nect between what the practices and
not publicize their safety-critical equip- dancies in design so that if a system fails, processes intend and what actually hap-
ment performance and inspections. If op- there is another that would take over. In pens at the grassroots operator level. Lots
erations are not aware, then performance the process industries, we have become of companies are working on it, but I do
starts to slip. somewhat normalized to risk, and we do not know of any that have a magic bullet.
GC: There is always a gap, and there not come anywhere close to investing the MN: Process safety is in a different part
should not be. We need to put capabili- same level of risk management resources. of the organization, so operations person-
ties in place to minimize gaps and ensure There is a lot to gain from investing in nel struggle to understand some of the lan-
that metrics are available enterprise- safety. Typically, with safety comes im- guage and how to apply it to their reality.
wide. Also, it is important that peoples proved operational performance. Process safety people sit in a world of sce-
perception of certain metrics match the KK: I do think there is an undue con- narios and models in which it is easy to di-
reality of operations. fidence at both the executive and field verge from reality. It is a bit like your house
MN: Major accidents are low-fre- levels that those things just dont happen being about to fall because it has wood ter-
quency but high-consequence. If some- to us. There is not that everyday sense of mites, but I am spending all my time paint-
thing happens, you cannot really make a caution that should be present in people ing it! I focus all my efforts on a process
judgement on whether there is a trend, or who are one procedure away from a ma- for painting. It is a false sense of security.
whether you are particularly vulnerable. jor catastrophic event. Most plant work- Operators need to know how to practically
Some people try and extrapolate near- ers and managers have never experienced apply process safety in the plant.
misses and look at other performance a major process safety event, so they be- KK: Operators do not get a good
indicators, but a lot of KPIs are based lieve it will not happen to them. We know picture of how change affects risk man-
on how well an organization implements that is not true. agement, or the aspects of the job where
safety processes. GC: Real safety happens on the they are the critical factor in managing
KK: Evaluating risk is always somewhat ground when people internalize it and do risk. Often, when investigating the failure
subjective. For the most part, companies not view it as a burden on everyday busi- of an asset, the question to operations is
have not been terribly transparent in the in- ness. That means risk exposure must be typically: Why werent you paying better
formation they use for monitoring process made visible, prominent and available so attention? The challenge back: Pay better
safety risk. Most people can point to their everyone can understand its impact on attention to what, and how?
numbers for personnel injuries and behav- the operational reality. MN: Process safety designs safeguards.
ioral safety observations, but catastrophic KK: When I first started in the indus- It does not really look at how risk is man-
events are rare, so they are not front-of- try 40 yr ago, fires and explosions were aged in real time. Process safety teams are
mind, even if the risk is always there. relatively common. Most workers had also not a strong voice in the organization.
Roundtable
They do not have a significant budget, and proach across business units to make it to analyze the plant and the processes
are always vying for priority with plenty of happen is another question. that relate to PSM. Then, this needs to
other groups in the organization. be incorporated into operational dash-
KK: Our risk models rely on the opera- What critical process safety boards in an actionable way.
tor for 99% execution. We do not often ex- information do people who MN: Operators need data that clearly
plain where operations teams really need make the daily decisions about shows if something unexpected is happen-
to be at the top of their game. We do not operating a plant need? ing, what the impact could be, how that
explain that when facilities change, they are GC: When we talk about making dai- affects the program of work, the threats it
potentially operating in a higher-risk envi- ly decisions, operational data must cor- creates and the effects of any remedial re-
ronment. The US Chemical Safety Board relate with the management of process action. Their number-one priority is con-
(CSB) report on the explosion of the elec- safety and vis--vis. Management needs tainment. They need data on the integrity
trostatic precipitator in the Torrance refin-
ery pointed out that as operations became
focused on the tasks required to complete
the shutdown, they became unaware that
the situation continued to change. They
did not know the importance of the key
process safety barriers they controlled.
JT: It takes a lot of hard work and com-
munication between the engineer, the
management and the operators on what
risk management is all about.
Who is responsible
for managing risk?
JT: From the CEO to an operator, me-
chanic, engineer, supervisorall levels of
management and workers. Everyone has
a key and different role to play, but risk
management should permeate through-
out the organization.
KK: We are a long way from being able
to take the operator out of risk manage-
ment, particularly in refining and petro-
chemicals. Management is responsible for
having systems in place to make operators
aware of changing risk patterns. Ultimate-
ly, executives must recognize that this is
part of managing process safety risk.
MN: Ultimately, it lands at the top of
the tree. Executives must make sure the
right people are involved in the right pro-
cesses and that they do the right things.
However, I would say operations are in
control of the plan. They are at the sharp
end, so they should be satisfied personally
that the risk level is acceptable. That said,
where there are multiple levels of deci-
sion-making, it can be confusing when it
comes to who owns risk.
GC: In our most recent environmen-
tal, health and safety study, about one
third of respondents have a formal risk
management organization in place. That
is presumably how they establish a frame-
work for risk management. Does it build a
risk awareness culture across the organi-
zation? It can. Whether those companies
also have the necessary collaborative ap-
31
Roundtable
of pipes and vessels and the condition of risk is of the tasks they are completing. KK: That consolidation of information
the actual detection systems themselves. One of the key issues is that there is certainly vital to more rational decision-
JT: People need a lot of information is so much data; it is hard to figure out making. The trouble is we do not provide
to make decisions. KPIs are needed at what is meaningful. You need to clearly consolidated systems for operations to ef-
the management level to help make deci- identify that type of information. The fectively assess if they can take one more
sions about operations, resources and pri- importance and the timing of activities step in their procedure.
orities. At the engineering level, they need are key, so operators can determine what For example, the Deepwater Horizon
inspection and test data to help determine is urgent and what can wait. You need a event needed approximately 11 layers of
frequencies of maintenance and repairs. whole picture of risk based on data so de- protection in place to prevent the scenar-
The operator needs data to understand cisions are not isolated from everything io that happened. One by one, those lay-
the current state of a process and what the else that is going on in a facility. ers of protection were whittled away. The
response was always, Well that is okay
because we have got this other ultimate
layer of protection.
It shows that even a plant with multi-
ple protection layers can experience a ma-
jor hazard because of an accumulation of
relatively harmless decisions. The existing
process safety barrier status must be visi-
ble to operations, but also to management
so appropriate decisions can be made.
MN: Ultimately, operators need data
that shows whether it is safe to operate
the plant.
How well-informed are front-line

leaders and workers about the
role of process safety barriers in
AdvaSulf TM preventing incidents?
KK: I would say they are only barely
aware of the layers of protection. In many
HySWEET cases, operationseven first-line engi-
COSWEET TM neersare not aware of the scenarios that
could lead to a catastrophic event in their
unit. The scenarios have never really been
SweetSulf TM
collated in a useful way for them. I think

Sprex
there is a general failure to really commu-
nicate, on a shift-by-shift basis, the status
AdvAmine TM of key barriers on any given day. For exam-
ple, I spoke to a team recently where there
was something wrong with a detection
device for a piece of safety-critical equip-
ment. The company said that the operator
is going to pay more attention, but no-
body translated that into what that meant
A UNIQUE TASTE OF SWEET FOR YOUR GAS for the operator, and how they would do
it. That is the most important thing when
operations are making daily decisions.
50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN GAS SWEETENING AND JT: It varies by facility. To be frank,
SULPHUR RECOVERY PROCESSES some do not have a clue, but some are do-
ing a pretty good job. There is an opportu-
With its unique and complete proprietary technologies portfolio,
PROSERNAT offers optimized solutions to bring on specs any
nity for improvement to ensure operators,
type of gas contaminated with CO2, H2S, COS and organic maintenance technicians and the front line
sulphur species, while producing sulphur with the most stringent really understand key hazards, safeguards
emissions standards. and the ideal state of the process safety
barriers. That is critical. I have not seen
www.prosernat.com a lot of facilities where they really have a
good handle on the barriers and how they
interrelate to prevent an incident.
32
Roundtable
GC: I think building a culture with the ing and subsea, individuals need multiple Previously, Greg spent 17 yr as a market intelligence
manager and strategic product analyst at Intel
right tools, right attitudes and right train- viewpoints. That is the source of informed Corporation, where he provided market insight to
ing can enhance the awareness of process decision-making: using technology to put senior executives and managers. In addition, he spent
safety barriers by making them part of the everyone in a much better position. 12 yr at globally respected market research firms, such
standard operating procedures of front- as Yankee Group, IDC Government and In-Stat. Mr.
Cline has an MS degree in computer and information
line leaders and workers. How can operators maintain their systems from Dartmouth College.
MN: I think that there is still a lack of safety and risk management
information available. The further down standards over time? KELLY KEIM retired as
the chain you go, the more abstract some KK: For the most part, operators do Chief Process Safety
Engineer from ExxonMobil
of that information is. I am not sure people not get feedback on their risk levels, let Research and Engineering
really understand risk and what it means alone their risk management performance. after more than 33 yr.
to them. That can put them in a vulner- Even companies that are doing a good job After 15 yr in several levels
of management in
able position to be exposed to risk they of tracking tier-three and tier-four process operations and
do not understand. If they did understand safety indicators are basing performance maintenance, Mr. Keim
it, I think some of their decisions might on lagging data. They are certainly not found his passion in
be different. I think that is the industrys communicating this to operations. If you process safety. In his final
years, Mr. Keim had the
challenge. We need to give the front line do not get good feedback, you cannot lead role in revamping ExxonMobils tools and
the ability to be better informed about the improve. I am not aware of anyone using methods for assessing and managing the risk
possible consequences of their actions, any process safety solution, other than the of operating hazards with the highest potential
even when making minor decisions. most basic tools, such as work permit sys- consequences, such as BLEVE, toxic releases
and vapor cloud explosions. Mr. Keim was part of
tems, to manage it. a team receiving the Harry M. West Service Award
What are the obstacles to access JT: I think there is merit to having a for contributions made to the process safety center,
this information in a timely manner, tool that shows an overall picture of haz- as well as the Trevor Kletz Merit Award for
contributions to the field of process safety.
and how can they be eliminated? ards, operational risk, barriers and safe-
JT: There are a few. First, we have so guardsupdated on a real-time basis. MIKE NEILL is the
much data, particularly with things like Constant communication with operations President of Petrotechnics
digital process control systems (DCS), is key so that they know the impact of any USA. With more than
35 yr of experience,
safety instrumented systems (SIS), main- changefor example, management of Mr. Neill has helped to
tenance systems, etc. We get information change (MoC), and how best to adjust. improve safety and
overload, and it is not always clear what GC: Safety and risk factors change performance management
is most important. Second, there can be all the time, so best practices must be re- for companies in
hazardous industries
a lag in the data. We do not always get sponsive to changing conditions. Creative around the world. Prior to
it when we need it, and things can be solutions can help organizations maintain joining Petrotechnics,
missed. Third, maintenance management and improve their safety performance he held roles in
operations, drilling and petroleum engineering for BP
and DCSs do not always make it easy to over time. in Scotland, Norway, the South of England and Egypt.
extract data. And that is just the start! MN: Safety standards define our risk Mr. Neill holds a BSc degree in mechanical engineering
KK: The information is there, but it is tolerance, and risk tolerance is not an exact and an MSc in petroleum engineering from Imperial
often in lots of different systemssome science. It is an interpretation of risk and College of Science and Technology at the University of
London, and an MBA degree in strategic management
of which may still be paper-based. Even whether certain outcomes are acceptable. from the Peter F. Ducker Graduate Management
for a process safety engineer who has Managers would love to have a physical de- Centre, Claremont Graduate School in California. He is
been on the site forever, it will take time vice with traffic signals that tell them they an active member of the CCPS, AIChE, ASSE, GPA, and
to pull all of that data together. If it is not need to do something or prioritize differ- the Mary Kay OConnor Process Safety Center.
consolidated and condensed in useful ently; we all would. But it is more about JEFF THOMAS is a
forms, nobody actually uses it for making being sure that systems are effective. It is Senior Process Safety
critical risk-based decisions. about an attitude of constant vigilance and and Reliability Engineer
GC: The Industrial Internet of Things questioninggiving people confidence in for the Process
Improvement Institute.
(IIoT) is enabling a new era where we each other and their data, and empower- He has more than 40 yr
have the capability to monitor and im- ing them with systems they can rely on. of experience in the
prove processes to ensure that they are upstream oil and gas
GREG CLINE is a Principal industry, including
safe. Safety must be implicit. I think, to Market Analyst for the positions in process/
the extent that operators can connect Aberdeen Group. As the facilities engineering,
operations with the information needed, head of research for production operations
via IIoT or another framework, they can Aberdeen Groups Product and PSM. He has a BS degree in chemical engineering
Innovation and from Ohio State University, and is a registered
overcome risk and help prevent incidents. Engineering (PIE) and Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. Mr. Thomas
MN: We need to connect the data we Manufacturing research spent numerous years in roles as a process engineer
have. We also need ways of assessing the practices, he covers topics and operations support advisor for gas plants, offshore
related to development platforms and other upstream operating facilities.
impact of doing something orequally He has significant experience in process safety,
and manufacturing of
importantNOT doing something. From products, ranging from where he was the Leading Global Technical Authority
maintenance and asset integrity to drill- new product development to embedded systems. for ExxonMobils production company.

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D I S C O V E R M O R E AT E N E R G Y W E B AT L A S . C O M
PETER MARTIN, VICE PRESIDENT
Viewpoint Schneider Electric
Finding value in the age of smart control

tional technology has imposed on automa- managing this would be to turn the pump
tion systems, particularly the constraints off, which leads to profit loss. However, in
that limited the ability of those systems to the age of smart control, the overheated
improve operational profitability, which pump is registered and process controls
should be their inherent purpose. are leveraged to communicate to the
For example, traditional process con- pump that it needs to slow down. This al-
trol has focused almost exclusively on lows workers to safely control the opera-
improving the efficiency of the operation. tion, but more importantly not diminish
However, the rise of the IIoT is making it the profitability of the operation. This is
possible for companies to begin control- the advantage of smart control, and it is
ling other key business variables, as well. revolutionizing how companies drive real-
Because they have more connectivity time operational profitability improve-
and computing power, todays smarter, ments, safely.
connected products, such as pumps, are In the heyday of the IIoT age, managers
practically able to control, monitor and and plant operators have never had more
secure themselves, essentially becoming opportunities to measure and improve the
PETER G. MARTIN, PhD, is the Vice President
autonomous assets. profitability of their operations in real time.
of business value consulting at Schneider With strong IIoT technology and prac- Management is now able to understand the
Electric. Dr. Martin has more than 35 yr in indus- tices in place, these smarter assets can real-time variable constraints of the opera-
trial control and automation. He has authored easily work together to form asset sets. tion. At the same time, plant personnel can
numerous articles, technical papers and books, For example, equipment assets connect understand the impact their decisions have
and holds multiple patents. Dr. Martin was named
as one of the 50 Most Influential Innovators
to form production unit asset sets, which on operational profitability in real time.
of All Time by Intech, and received the Life are typically connected to form produc- While it may seem like autonomous
Achievement Award from the International tion area asset sets, which, in turn, are instruments are completely functional
Society of Automation (ISA). In 2013, Dr. Martin connected to form site asset sets. Sites are without the help of plant operators, the
was elected to the Process Automation Hall grouped into enterprises. Combining this systems do not have the knowledge to au-
of Fame, and was selected as a Fellow of the
International Society of Automation. He holds
equipment asset perspective with other tomatically control all business variables
BA and MS degrees in mathematics and an MA industrial assets, such as energy, materials, and process dynamics. Often, there is a
degree in administration and management, a production and human assets, opens the benefit to having manual control over the
master of Biblical studies degree, a PhD in indus- door to controlling the most critical busi- operation, as these self-service controllers
trial engineering and a PhD in Biblical studies. ness variables in the same way operational can overlook key process dynamics that a
efficiency is controlled. human would be able to detect. Smart con-
This is called smart control. trol augments and empowers our workers
The Industrial Internet of Things In the era of smart control, the industry to make better decisions. It is mind plus
(IIoT) is vastly transforming how manu- is able to control critical business variables machine for a better business outcome.
facturing and process plants conduct their in real time. The world is more connected, which
daily operations. While the term IIoT This extended level of control enables presents the industry with new digitization
is being used left and right, whether the the workforce to better communicate opportunities. The benefits this connec-
industry is really leveraging IIoT technol- with the plant at a much faster rate, and at tivity provides mean that processing com-
ogy to find more value remains uncertain. a lower cost. An empowered workforce, panies and industrial manufacturers can
Connectivity, networking, big data, aided by technology, drives total asset op- move from managing their businesses to
predictive analytics, cloud computing, timization and makes better business and actually controlling them. To be successful,
fog computing, wireless communication, operating decisions at the right time. risk factors like safety, reliability and profit-
cyber physical systems and edge com- Todays technology enables the indus- ability, all of which have traditionally been
puting are gaining acceptance every day, try to detect abnormal conditions and to managed daily, weekly or monthly, are now
and when taken together, offer unprec- respond to them immediately. able to be controlled in real time too. The
edented promise. As an example of this, consider that a IIoT enables and pushes the boundaries to
In fact, some experts believe the IIoT is pump encasing harmful flammable chemi- find real, measurable and tangible value;
eliminating many of the constraints tradi- cals begins to heat up. The previous way of that is its true promise.
| Special Focus
PROCESS CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION
As the downstream processing industry moves toward a more digital
world, advanced process control solutions provide hydrocarbon processing
companies with inventive ways to manage difficult and complex operational
and reporting applications. Plant personnel are living in an evolving world of
wireless devices and software capabilities that allow management decisions
in real time; all are supported by vast amounts of process data available
instantaneously. This months Special Focus showcases innovations in control
devices, hardware and software to increase plant efficiency.
Photo: Air Liquide control operations. Photo credit: Stphane Rmael/La Company.
Special Focus Process Control and Instrumentation
A. GOGATES and J. GUNNELL,
Emerson Automation Solutions
Optimizing ethylene production

with laser technology
Ethylene is one of the most valuable organic compound cess excursions. Precise and rapid control of the catalyst activ-
building blocks in the world. Global ethylene production is ity is vital to maximize the ethylene produced. If the catalyst is
forecast to reach 200 MMtpy by 2020. Ethylene production is not active enough, then not all of the acetylene will be converted
a highly competitive industry where purity is of utmost impor- into ethylene. Conversely, if the catalyst is too active, then some
tance. Ethylene plants require highly responsive control tech- of the ethylene could be converted back to ethane. The ability
nologies to keep the process stable. Traditionally, gas chromato- to measure carbon monoxide (CO) is a key to controlling cata-
graphs (GCs) have been the measuring instrument of choice lyst activity. In addition, monitoring the concentration of acety-
for all areas of ethylene production. From feed qualification, lene is required to initiate the switch from the in-service to the
through the cracking furnaces and purification train, to the final standby unit. It is essential to look for acetylene breakthrough at
product certification of ethylene delivered via ship or pipeline, the outlet of the converters to avoid process excursions down-
a typical plant may have 4050 GCs. In many of these areas, the stream. Most importantly, measurement of the outlet must be
GC remains the best analytic choice. However, in some critical done quickly and with a very low limit of detection.
segments of the plant, GC capabilities meet only basic require-
ments, specifically in ethylene fractionation, acetylene control Ethylene fractionation. The goal of an ethylene plant is to
and real-time product certification. produce 99.99% pure product. This purity is ensured during the
final purification step, which takes place in an ethylene fraction-
The GC role. GC performance is more than adequate in eth- ation tower (FIG. 1). An analysis is required for process control
ylene purity applicationsunless the user has a better technol- of the fractionator to ensure on-spec production. Ethane and
ogy to choose, and that has been possible for only a relatively ethylene have similar physical properties, which makes them
short period of time. Over the last few years, laser technology difficult to separate. Process control of product purity requires
has quietly slipped into petrochemical manufacturing as an ana- a fine balance to maintain ethane close to the specification limit
lytical option, and it has now advanced to a point where it pro- without going off-spec or recycling ethylene. Operating the
vides a real improvement in terms of speed, precision, reliability tower efficiently offers considerable economic advantages in re-
and cost in critical areas of the purification train and product
certification. Before plunging into the performance advantages
of laser technology in the cold areas of ethylene production, it
is important to emphasize the critical benefits of GCs in the
hot end, which is the real moneymaker in an ethylene plant.
Increased throughput achieved by using GCs for furnace opti-
mization and control can mean big profits. In a plant producing
1 MMtpy of ethylene, a 1% change in throughput can produce
an enormous improvement in the bottom line. Although laser
technology does not have any application in this part of ethyl-
ene production, new developments in laser technology could
change its role in this section of the ethylene process.
Acetylene conversion. In the cracking process, some mol-

ecules are over-cracked into acetylene. An important step to
maximize production is to convert acetylene back into ethylene.
This process is done through the addition of hydrogen in cata-
lytic beds called acetylene converters. Two acetylene converter
units are usedone in service and one on standby. Analytical
data are required for the inlet stream, mid-bed and outlet streams
FIG. 1. Diagram of a typical ethylene fractionator.
of acetylene converters to optimize conversion and avoid pro-
Process Control and Instrumentation
ducing product giveaway, thereby minimizing energy usage and The novel feature is mounting the steering mirrors inside
avoiding ethylene recycle. Measuring the C1 and C2 molecules, the cell. This setup might seem strange at first, but it is no dif-
ferent from the normal practice of allowing the cell
mirrors to be in contact with the sample. For clean
Hybrid QCL/TDL laser technologies can streams, such as those in high-purity ethylene appli-
cations, no degradation of the optics is observed.
provide a measureable impact on plant The analyzer can combine up to six quantum cas-
cade lasers (QCLs) and tunable diode lasers (TDLs)
operations and financial outcomes. in a single system for multiple gas measurements in
a zero-gap configuration. The lasers are housed in
modules that are identical for QCLs and TDLs. The
as well as CO and carbon dioxide (CO2 ), allows the tower op- laser module has a gas-tight window situated directly in front
eration to be fine-tuned for maximum efficiency and ensures of the laser package window, and the laser light is divergent as
that ethylene production is on-spec. it enters the cell assembly.
A collimation optic for each laser is situated within the gas
The purification demand. In the ethylene purification steps, path, and is mounted to the laser module to allow the laser to
recent advances in laser gas analyzer technology can have sub- be aligned and collimated outside of the cell assembly. The col-
stantial impacts. Historically, conducting high-sensitivity mea- limated light from each of the six lasers is combined inside the
surements of gas components, using laser absorption spectros- gas path using beam steering optics into a single coaxial beam,
copy, has been compromised by the external path that the laser which is then directed into a section of the cell that houses
beam travels in the optical system. This external light path can either spherical or astigmatic mirrors to extend the length of
make a significant contribution to the spectrum, particularly the path the light travels. Two detectors can be installed in the
where strong absorption lines are being targeted for high-sensi- system to allow detection of the mid- and near-infrared (IR)
tivity measurements. A new approach is to completely eliminate light, depending on the types of laser installed. The light is
the external light path by close-coupling the lasers and detector distributed between the detectors using wavelength selective
to the measurement cell using a novel zero-gap design. beam splitters that are also located inside the gas path. The
laser lights total path length outside of the cell assembly is
How zero-gap design is achieved. The external path spec- less than 1 mm in this configuration. This arrangement virtu-
tral contribution is eliminated by reducing the portion of the ally eliminates any spectral absorption from the external light
laser beam exposed to the air to near zero. A typical analyzer path, which enables parts-per-billion measurements of gases
layout, where the laser beam passes through an external path, (such as H2O and CO2 ) for process gas streams.
is shown in FIG. 2. A layout with a zero-gap laser and detector
is shown in FIG. 3. Multicomponent detection. QCL and TDL lasers are semi-
conductor devices that produce light in the IR region. They
are fabricated to emit light at a desired wavelength, and are
made to scan a spectrum using a laser chirp technique.
When the laser is pulsed with electrical energy to start the
laser process, it heats up. As the temperature increases, the
wavelength of the emitted light also increases. A laser chirp
lasts about one microsecond. In this span, a spectrum of 13
wavenumbers is scanned. The raw detector signal is then pro-
TABLE 1. Ethylene purity measurements

FIG. 2. Standard analyzer layout with laser beam exposed to the
atmosphere. Limit of detection
Components Range1 (LOD)2 Units
Methane 01,000 5 ppmv
Acetylene 020 0.2 ppmv
Process
Ethane 0500 5 ppmv
control
CO 05 0.05 ppmv
CO2 05 0.05 ppmv
Ammonia 020 0.2 ppmv
Adders H2S 050 2 ppmv
for product
certification H2O 010 0.1 ppmv
Methanol 0100 1 ppmv
FIG. 3. Zero-gap analyzer layout wherein the path of light through the 1
Components and ranges are indicative. Analyzer requirements will depend on
atmosphere is minimized. complete gas list. Detailed specifications can be provided.
2
Repeatability 1% of reading or LOD, whichever is greater.
cessed to convert it into a spectrum from which the concentra- This speed of the laser measurement is helpful in the
tion of analytes can be calculated. QCL and TDL lasers can be process tower. However, it makes a huge difference in acety-
chirped at a frequency of up to 100 kHz, enabling many thou- lene control, where it can quickly detect a process upset that
sands of spectra to be gathered in a few seconds and processed might otherwise cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per
to provide a strong signal with a good signal-to-noise ratio. hour to correct.
The scanned wavelength region is selected to enable mea-
surement of the desired analytes. By careful choice of lasers, Product certification. Before exporting to customers, eth-
compounds as diverse as hydrocarbons, sulfur species, sol- ylene must be analyzed to ensure that it meets product speci-
vents and nitrogen compounds can be measured. In addition, fications (TABLE 1). This step is critical to profitability. Tradi-
each laser might be able to detect more than one compound. tionally, this analysis has been carried out using grab samples
For example, between six and 12 highly varied measurements and laboratory analysis with GCs. However, components such
can be made in a single analyzer. When GCs are used, mul- as ammonia, methanol, nitrogen monoxide (NO), nitrogen
tiple instruments are required; therefore, the use of lasers can dioxide (NO2 ) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can now be mea-
save capital expenditure costs. An advanced signal processing sured online in one analyzer using the hybrid laser technology.
procedure enables real-time validation of measurements and This multi-component measurement is valuable in product
greatly reduces the need for calibrations, reducing ongoing certification, which would normally take 36 GCs to measure.
operational costs. Speed is critical at this stage of the delivery process, but preci-
sion of measurement should not be compromised for rapid-
Response time. Response time is a major issue in these ap- ity. The laser technology allows for both, and online, real-time
plications, as well. In a QCL/TDL, the sample flows through a product certification can be achieved.
measurement cell where laser beams continuously analyze the
gas. The response time is typically less than 10 sec to achieve A significant leap. The use of GCs in ethylene production
90% of a step change. The output is effectively continuous and is established and proven. Plant personnel are knowledgeable
in real time. Conversely, GCs work on the principle of injec- on the use of the technology. It requires a significant boost in
tion followed by analysis. Cycle times for a GC vary from 1 performance improvement to suggest the need for a change.
min to more than 15 min, depending on the application; there- Hybrid QCL/TDL laser technologies can provide a measure-
fore, the concentration data is periodic rather than continuous. able impact on plant operations and financial outcomes.
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A. KERN, APC Performance LLC, Houston, Texas; and
B. ANDREW, Hydrocarbon Processing, Houston, Texas
The next generation of advanced process control

In this article, Hydrocarbon Processing provides published Going forward, how will the emerging APC 2.0 paradigm
references on model-based control, and contributing author differ in key respects from APC 1.0? A few examples include:
Allan Kern presents his views on model-less control. APC 2.0 will feature a matrix, but not necessarily models
Model predictive control (MPC) is well established for com- Focus will shift to control-layer automation and
plex dynamic systems. However, a caveat to MPCs definition business-layer optimization
says, the additional complexity of the MPC control algorithm Operational performance will become the new norm,
is not generally needed to provide adequate control of simple after 75 yr of Zeigler-Nichols.
systems, which are often controlled well by generic PID control-
lers. Common dynamic characteristics that are difficult for PID Behold the matrix! One of the most important and endur-
controllers include large time delays and high-order dynamics.1 ing contributions of the model-based era to process automa-
Hydrocarbon Processing has covered both model-based and tion will prove to be the matrix (not models). The matrix has
model-less control for decades. In September 2002, R. B. Agno- emerged as the natural way to define the essential aspects of
hitri and D. N. Jaguste authored, Rationalizing PID tuning with the multivariable nature of almost any process. It captures the
a model-based approach.2 Within the same issue, L.A. Robbins available handles, important constraints, useful interactions
wrote, Setpoint tuning method gives excellent response to load and optimization potentials in a useful intuitive format. It
changes.3 A. Kern authored, The history, and possible future, serves as a guide to operations and as a specification for auto-
of model-less multivariable control, and The lost art of pro- mation. The matrix puts all members of the operating team
portional band, and the accidental art of performance monitor- control engineers, process engineers and operations person-
ing, in October 2016 and August 2017, respectively.4,5 nelon the same page to align their efforts for more effective
One final clarification is that the phrase model-based de- operation. Industry owes a large debt to APC 1.0 for bringing
sign can have a different meaning for process engineers vs. the concept of the matrix to the forefront of process operation
control engineers. For a process engineer, the term model can and automation technology.
mean a full process simulation. Meanwhile, models have proven to be very unreliable and as
much a vulnerability as a strength. Experience has shown that
WHAT IS APC 2.0? building an APC solution based on model-based control theory
For more than 30 yr, large matrix model-based multivari- front-loads the solution with many ownership challenges. For
able control (i.e., MPC or APC 1.0) has been the dominant more than 30 yr, it remains to be shown whether that burden is
advanced process control (APC) technology used in indus- sustainable or ultimately outweighs the benefits of using mod-
tries such as oil refining, chemicals and petrochemicals.
The virtues and successes of MPC aside, it has also earned
a reputation as an ownership challenge in many areas, includ- Business planning
ing cost, maintenance, support and performance. While MPC and optimization Global
may always be the preferred solution in select applications,
many end users have long been moving away from MPC as an
everyday tool, even if the technology to backfill that gap (i.e.,
APC 2.0) has yet to fully emerge.
Operating teams
Experience makes it increasingly clear that industry needs real-time knowledge
a multivariable control tool that is much more agilemore
operation-friendly in every respectto enable renewed prog-
ress in advanced process automation. Thirty years of the APC
1.0 paradigm have left many people thinking that large-matrix, Local
model-based multivariable control and optimization must all Process control and automation
go togetherthat you cannot have one part without all the
others. However, experience shows that alternative solutions FIG. 1. The APC 2.0 paradigm avails itself of business-domain planning
are actually quite possible, and even readily available, within and optimization, which eliminates redundancy and empowers each
layer to focus on its core area of expertise and responsibility.
existing modern control system capabilities.
TABLE 1. A sample matrix for a crude oil distillation column. The principle elements of a matrix includes control handles, constraints,
interactions and optimization objectives
Constraints 51A|110 51A|115 51A|116 51A|125 51PC105 51PD|104
Handles NAP90 KERO90 KEROFLSH DSL90 PRESSURE TOP DP
51TC102 Feed heater +1
51FC103 Bottom steam +1
51FC128 Pumparound -1 -1 OPT
51TC106 Top temperature +1 OPT +1 +1 +1
51FC112 Kerosine draw +1 OPT +1
51FC122 Diesel draw +1 OPT
51HC128A Pumparound bypass +1 +1
one area where industry does not want a model-based solution.

Industry wants operational performance. This has been another
Target long, slow lesson of APC 1.0and of single-loop PID control,
Error minimization for an even longer time.
Operational Operational performance means having preset process speed
limits. This term means approaching targets and constraints in
FIG. 2. The analogy of a passenger plane changing altitude
a steady first-order manner, avoiding overshoot and oscillation
illustrates why operational performance criteria are more and taking extra precautions, where appropriate, to preserve and
appropriate for industrial process operation than for traditional ensure process stability at all times. This definition both differs
model-based error minimization. from, and conflicts with, traditional error-minimization control
performance criteria, which is based on process models.
els in the first place. Fortunately, experience and emerging tech- Experience has shown that operators are willing to sacrifice
nologies also suggest that models may actually be dispensable automatic controli.e., place loops in manual and circumvent
to closed-loop multivariable control performance (TABLE 1). (degrade or switch off) APCswhenever operational perfor-
mance is not forthcoming. To achieve greater success, APC
Automation rules! In most industrial process operations, the 2.0both single-loop and multivariablemust accommodate
optimization solution (i.e., the target operating point), just like operational process control performance criteria (FIG. 2).
the matrix (i.e., the operating window), is well-known by the
operating team. Process engineers are likely to make process Agility is the word. All of this information suggests a more ag-
economics and key process interactions the first priorities for ile APC 2.0 solution and paradigm. Agile means costs that fall
new processes, and operators are unlikely to move up to the within normal operating budgets; schedules that meet modern
console or supervision arena without learning these aspects of manufacturing precepts (days or weeks, not months or years);
operation. This knowledge is common among the operating support requirements that fall within the purview of in-house
team, so that building an optimizer into the APC solution to control engineers; performance that meets operations expec-
achieve a real-time basis is largely superfluous. It adds substan- tations and approval; and technology that falls within existing
tially to APC complexity and ownership burdens, without add- control system capabilities (e.g., function blocks). To the extent
ing commensurate new value. that this paradigm has yet to fully emerge, industry would do
A better paradigm is to allow optimization results to flow well to make it a target paradigm.
down from the business layer to the control layer, whether via
the computer system or the chain of command (both are com- LITERATURE CITED
mon today). The business layer has a greater global optimiza- Complete literature cited available online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
tion horizon and more complete information, and results do
not normally change in real time. The essential role of APC ALLAN KERN is the owner and President of APC Performance
LLC. He has 35 yr of industrial process control experience and
is to honor these optimization results in the live process en- has authored numerous papers on a wide range of practical
vironment, where the related process values (not the optimi- process automation solutions. He earned a BS degree in
zation results themselves) are subject to change in real time. chemical engineering from the University of Wyoming, and
This optimization paradigm is more streamlined, enables each holds professional engineering licenses in chemical engineering
and control systems engineering. Readers can provide feedback
player to focus on its essential role and eliminates one of the on APC 2.0 at APCperformance.com.
main sources (after models themselves) of MPC ownership
challenges (FIG. 2). BOB ANDREW is the Technical Editor for Hydrocarbon
Processing. He has extensive experience in risk management,
having served as an HSE best practices coordinator for
Operational control performance. Virtually every aspect of Mobil Global Professional Services in the mid-1990s, and
modern process control technology is rooted in the concept more recently as an HSE or process lead on mega-projects
of models. However, it turns out that control performance is in the LNG, oil and gas, and refining industries.
W. P. AVERILL, Visual Performance Solutions Inc.,
Annapolis, Maryland
Conceptual troubleshooting training

for refinery operators
Throughout the refining industry, the average number of How changes in heat transfer associated with heat
years of experience for console operators is decreasing, as large integration between liquid streams, liquid-to-vapor
numbers of very experienced console operators are retiring. heat of vaporization, and vapor-to-liquid heat of
Many throughout the industry are calling this the Great Crew condensation impact process chemistry.
Change.1 Most operations managers and supervisors agree
that the highest-value console operator competencies that are TROUBLESHOOTING
being lost in this crew change are associated with: After developing a sound understanding of these concepts,
Understanding process and controls operators are prepared to master conceptual troubleshooting,
The ability to troubleshoot abnormal process which includes detecting abnormal operation, iteratively and
and control malfunctions. narrowly searching down to the root-cause component, and
Closing this competency gap requires a new and better way then implementing corrective action.
of training troubleshooting skills and delivering the underlying
prerequisite conceptual knowledge. Rule-based vs. conceptual troubleshooting. To imple-
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the goal of the program is concep- ment and standardize a conceptual troubleshooting approach,
tual troubleshooting competency, as it is the most challenging a cultural transformation from rule-based to conceptual-based
performance objective. thinking must take place.
The prerequisite knowledge and skills acquired in the jour- The troubleshooting procedure in TABLE 1 is the simplest
ney toward that goal deliver significant added value beyond structure to illustrate a rule-based troubleshooting process.
troubleshooting. Operators learn how to leverage that under- When operators detect an off-normal process condition, they:
standing when predicting (mentally simulating) process re- Develop a list of observed symptoms that characterize
sponses to setpoint adjustments, remaining mentally engaged the off-normal condition
when optimizing operations, and ensuring normal operation Scan the list of symptom combinations in the
when performing critical procedures, such as mode changes, troubleshooting table to locate the combination
startups and shutdowns. that exactly matches the observed symptoms list
This training is applicable for console operator and front-
line engineer positions, which will be grouped together under
the term operators here. High competency in these critical Goal: Conceptual
frontline positions will significantly contribute to the improve- troubleshooting competency
Conceptual analysis and troubleshooting competency
ment of business performance.2

FCC r
it ( fo
U)
un ing
ng ot
L4 troubleshooting
cki sho
cra ble
Mental simulation/understanding. The first stage of con-

tic rou
tor
L3 cause and effects

aly l t
era
r
ceptual-based training is to instill and develop an operators

cat tua
ato
en
id ep
on
g
flu Conc
cti
-re
ability to mentally simulate (predict) process responses to con-

Fra
L2 baseline control
tor
:
eac
ic 1
trol loop setpoint changes and instrument malfunctions (false

:R
Top
ic 2
high or low indications). This requires a deep understanding of L1 chemistry

Understanding
Top
concepts that include: Topic E3: Conceptual troubleshooting

How changes to pressure and composition impact for basic distillation
da sho ual
nta ing
fun uble cept
me ot
Lesson 4: Troubleshooting
ls
hydrocarbon boiling point temperatures.

tro Con
Lesson 3: Cause and effects

How changes to heat and material balance in a Lesson 2: Baseline control
Lesson 1: Chemistry
distillation tower and other separation processes impact Topic E2: Heat exchange concepts
the flowrates and compositions of the products. Topic E1: Baseline control concepts
How changes in reactor chemistry factors, Time
such as reaction severity, impact reactor
FIG. 1. Journey to conceptual troubleshooting competency.
product compositions.
Conclude that the corresponding root cause is massive, and efficient formal training strategies to develop
in the table is the problem that knowledge base simply do not exist. Additional disadvan-
Perform the procedural steps for corrective action. tages of rule-based troubleshooting include:
Rule-based troubleshooting procedures are practical for in- It does not prepare operators to troubleshoot
dividual pieces of equipment and for simple process systems, malfunctions that they have never seen.
as operators need to recognize only a small number of malfunc- It is not transferrable to other processes or to new
tions and a small number of symptoms that must be considered control strategies implemented on their processes.
in the search for the root cause. Extensive and wasted effort by field operators can be
Most competent troubleshooters in refineries have been required to check the functionality of controls and
implementing rule-based troubleshooting strategies on com- equipment that cannot possibly be the root cause.
plex refinery processes throughout their careers. Over a long
period of time (typically more than 10 yr), each of those trou- Conceptual troubleshooting model and design. For
bleshooters has accumulated the equivalent of a massive trou- complex processes, operators must recognize a large number of
bleshooting procedure table in their long-term memory. The malfunctions and consider numerous symptoms in the search
knowledge was acquired from many opportunities to interact for the root cause. In these cases, conceptual troubleshooting
with the control systems and work through a multitude of mal- is the most effective approach.
function events on the job. For a complex refinery process, the The design basis for a performance-based training system
knowledge to support a rule-based troubleshooting approach should always begin with a performance vision. A universal
performance vision (FIG. 2) is consistent with the analysis strat-
egies employed by expert conceptual troubleshooters, regard-
1) Detect off-normal condition less of the industries in which they work.3
Conceptual troubleshooting is the most difficult to master,
but it is also the most powerful. As a prerequisite, operators
2) Collect additional data entering a conceptual troubleshooting program must have an
aptitude for conceptual analysis. With a well-designed training
program, operators can attain a high level of troubleshooting
competency within months. Comparatively, reaching the same
3) Develop hypotheses (possible root causes) level of competency with a rule-based troubleshooting ap-
proach can require many years.
While the conceptual knowledge that is prerequisite to
4) Mentally simulate each possible root cause conceptual troubleshooting is the most valuable, it is rarely ad-
dressed in traditional training and documentation systems.4
Create a system level control diagram. This diagram is

5) Compare mental simulation to collected data the centerpiece for a conceptual knowledge training program,
and it must convey a contextual understanding of the overall
No TABLE 1. Troubleshooting procedure tabular structure

6) Root cause found?
(Repeat for another Then the The corrective
possible root cause) If And if root cause is action is
Yes
Symptom 1 Symptom 2 Malfunction 1 Procedure steps
Symptom 1 Symptom 3 Malfunction 2 Procedure steps

7) Develop and implement corrective action plan
1) Detect off-normal conditionThis is based on knowledge of normal operating ranges Lecture, 5%

of training time
of training time
Less than 25%

More than 75%
and targets.
Conceptual troubleshooting training
2) Collect additional dataDevelop a list of observed symptoms that characterize Reading, 10%
the off-normal condition.
Increasing effectiveness
3) Develop hypothesesCreate a list of possible root cause components that, Audio-visual, 20%
Traditional training
if malfunctioning, could be the root cause.

4) Mentally simulate each possible root causePredict how the system would respond
to each component malfunction. Demonstration, 30% (examples)
of training time
5) Compare the mental simulation to real-time dataDetermine if the possible root cause
Less than 25%
component malfunction would result in all of the observed symptoms.

of training time
Discussion, 50%
More than 75%
6) Root cause found?If the comparison results in a match between predicted system Exercises promote
response and the observed symptoms, then go to Step 7. If there is not a match, these three high-value
loop back to Step 3 and analyze the next possible root cause. learning activities Practice, 75%
7) Develop and implement corrective action planThe plan includes two steps: mitigate
the malfunctioning components impact on the system; and determine and initiate Teach, 90%
actions required to repair or replace the malfunctioning component.
FIG. 2. Universal conceptual troubleshooting model. FIG. 3. Effectiveness of various training activities.
process system and relationships among the subsystems.5 The Topic E3: Final assessment
(provides three practice assessments)
g n
diagram must also be user friendly and easy to interpret, pro-
oti
Lesson 4: Conceptual troubleshooting
cep s
ion ho
con rcise
Conceptual analysis and troubleshooting fundamentals competency
(intro to functional troubleshooting method
llat les
vide a sufficient level of detail to facilitate conceptual analysis,
ing exe
isti oub
ts
customized for refinery processes)
ic d l t r
in
Lesson 3: Cause and effects
and consolidate all system components into a single view on a
esh pts
bas ptua
(Interactions among DeC4 controls )
ubl nce
for once
Lesson 2: Baseline control
oot
con ts Tro of co
single large sheet of paper. (purpose of DeC4 controls)
3: C
ber
ic E
Lesson 1: Chemistry
num
ts Top
(hydrocarbon products boiling point ranges
nd
and heat and material balance for DeC4)
Create a large example and exercise library. Examples
ya
ts
cep
cep
Topic E2: Final assessment
p
xi t
con
pts han onc
ple
(provides three practice assessments to prepare for final)
and exercises are the most effective vehicles to translate the
nce pts nce xc ry c
ge
om
e
Lesson 4: Fired heater
ha n
gc
l co nce s co at ist
(cause and effects among interacting heater controls)
general vision of performance into explicit representations of
tro co ct He em
exc
sin
Lesson 3: Hydrocarbon condensers and reboilers
h
e
rea
eat
C
(pressure, composition, and boiling point temperature relationships)
Inc
2: H
the ultimate on-the-job performance objectives. As illustrated Lesson 2: Steam heaters and steam generators
ic E
(pressure and boiling point temperature relationship)
Top
in FIG. 3, exercises are the primary vehicles to engage operators
e
Lesson 1: Liquid-liquid heat exchangers
con ntro d eff
pts
(heat integration concepts)
in discussions, practice and opportunities to mentor peers.6
line co an
l
ase line use
Topic E1: Final assessment
1: B Base Ca
(provides three practice assessments to prepare for final assessment)
This engagement strategy is the most effective way to promote Lesson 4: Cause and effects
(interactions among surge drum controls)
conceptual knowledge acquisition, understanding, long-term Lesson 3: Multi-level baseline control
(operation of cascade, ratio, and split range controls)
memory retention and the ability to apply it on the job. Lesson 2: Mental simulation statements (operation of single-loop controls:
ic E
Top
temperature, flow, level, and pressure controls)
Lesson 1: Manual and programmable control basics
(fundamentals of control loop operation)
Design a simple-to-complex curriculum. The training
Time
curriculum must progress in distinct stages and transition from
simple to complex.7 FIG. 4 illustrates an example sequence for FIG. 4. Simple-to-complex conceptual troubleshooting fundamentals
teaching operators conceptual troubleshooting fundamentals. learning curve.
This is the recommended first training module; it establishes a
common foundation using generic materials. Subsequent train-
ing modules for specific refinery process units should employ verify normal operation. This is particularly important dur-
the same sequence of topics as illustrated for Topic 3: chem- ing unit startup, unit shutdown and when implementing op-
istry, baseline control, cause and effects, and troubleshooting. erational mode changes. It is during these events when control
malfunctions are most likely to be revealed and, if not recog-
Design a conceptual knowledge description. The pro- nized, produce serious consequences. Given an opportunity
cess description manual content must cover the relevant con- to increase profitability (increase throughput, increase quality,
ceptual knowledge that supports the operator in the successful decrease costs, etc.), operators will think ahead and mentally
completion of the exercises. The organization of the content simulate process responses to possible adjustments, and then
should be parallel to the structure of the curriculum. Separate determine possible desired benefits and undesired results.
chapters should be devoted to chemistry, baseline control, A less-structured optimization strategy such as, Lets try
cause and effects, and troubleshooting. this can lead to undesired operational swings and possible
Design a standardized assessment strategy. Standardized upset conditions.
assessments are needed to measure the degree that learning
is taking place. The exercises in the assessments should be LITERATURE CITED
derived from the training exercises. Assessments are typically 1
Rhodes, M., Overcoming the challenges of the great crew change, Hydrocarbon
Processing, June 2015.
used as criteria for job qualification. Just as important, the 2
Floyd, R. C., Liquid Lean: Developing Lean Culture in the Process Industries,
analysis of assessment results provides insights into opportu- Productivity Press, 2010.
nities to improve training material. If multiple trainees score 3
Johnson, S. D., Training technical troubleshooters, Technical & Skills Training,
poorly on a specific assessment exercise, an in-depth analysis University of Illinois periodical, October 1991.
4
Hall, E. P., S. P. Gott and R. A. Pokorny, A Procedural Guide to Cognitive Task
of the exercise might indicate that the exercise statement or Analysis: The PARI Methodology, Manpower and Personnel Division, Brooks AFB,
layout is confusing, or that the supporting content in the pro- Texas, November 1995.
cess description manual may not adequately convey the pre- 5
Wallace, D. S., S. W. C. West, A. Ware and D. F. Dansereau, The effect of
knowledge maps that incorporate Gestalt principles on learning, The Journal of
requisite knowledge. Education, September 1998.
6
Roffel, J. and M. Ross, Leveling up: Progress from operator training to compe-
Added value/benefits. One of the most important train- tency management, AFPM Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, March
ing objectives is to develop the operators ability to mentally 2016.
7
Eisner, E. W., A look into Benjamin Blooms life work, Prospects: The quarterly
simulate (predict) how refinery processes respond to change review of comparative education, Vol. 30, No. 3, Unesco, Paris, September 2000.
events. As illustrated in FIG. 4, this development is central to
conceptual troubleshooting. An added value of this capability WARREN AVERILL has been developing and perfecting a world-
is that it can be applied in numerous other high-value activities. class console operator training program, with an emphasis on
Establishing a standard language for process analysis increases conceptual troubleshooting skills, for almost three decades.
Throughout his career, he has served as the lead on a long series
engaged participation by multiple operators when trouble- of successful documentation and training projects for most
shooting and resolving operational issues. major refining companies at more than 25 refineries and oil
production plants. From 1990 to 2003, Mr. Averill was the Chief
Engineer for the petrochemical training solutions department at RWD Technologies
Monitoring of process responses to procedure steps. Inc. In 2003, he founded Visual Performance Solutions Inc. Mr. Averill holds a BS
When making a control setpoint adjustment, the console op- degree in electrical engineering from Oklahoma University, and an MS degree in
erator should mentally simulate the system response and then electrical engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School.

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Process
Optimization
H. SALGADO, Ecopetrol, Cartagena, Colombia
Optimize a refinery H2 network using

spreadsheet tools
One of the major goals in every refining complex is to mini- ual gas is sent to purification units, such as pressure swing ad-
mize the utilization of its hydrogen (H2 ) generation units by sorption (PSA) units and H2 selective membranes, to recover
maximizing the H2 recovery from residual streams. Achieving the H2 present in the offgas. In other cases, this offgas is sent
this goal can have several benefits, including savings in raw to the fuel gas network to be used in fired heaters and boilers.
material for H2 generation, commonly natural gas, as well as Other conversion processes, such as catalytic reforming of
more room to process opportunity crudes with high contami- naphtha to produce high-octane gasoline and aromatics, and
nants content. Conversely, increasing demand for H2 for pro- steam cracking to produce light olefins, have high residual H2
cessing heavy crudes, and the need to meet fuel specifications, production. This production can provide an alternative H2
cause refining economics to be highly dependent on the avail- source for the refinery H2 balance. Typical H2 consumption
ability and cost of H2 . and production in several refining processes is shown in TABLE 1.
This work provides a straightforward and systematic meth- In a typical refinery with several of these process units, the
od to evaluate and optimize the H2 distribution network in a H2 is managed by a network that interconnects H2 produc-
refining complex by using common tools available to any pro- ing units (HPUs) with H2 consuming units, integrating H2
cess engineer, such as commercial spreadsheet software. As an purification units and compressors and delivering H2 at the
illustration of this method, data from a high-conversion refin- required purity and pressure, according to the process needs
ery is used to obtain a network redistribution proposal with of each consumer.
optimal recovery of residual H2 streams. Nevertheless, in the case of high-conversion refineries, or
those that process heavy and contaminated crude slates, the
H2 and the modern refining industry. H2 has become an demand for H2 is high, which requires dedicated HPUs. Due
essential molecule to convert heavy oils into sellable, valuable to its flexibility in processing different hydrocarbon stocks,
fuel and products, such as diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, propyl- from natural gas to naphtha and heavy oils, steam reforming
ene and ethylene. Furthermore, refineries around the world (SR) is the most common type of H2 production technology.3
are turning to heavier crude slates. These opportunity crudes Other technologies, such as autoreforming (AR) and partial
contain higher contents of contaminants, such as sulfur, nitro- oxidation (PO), are also used in several refineries, but to a
gen, oxygen and metals. Heavier crude slates demand more lesser extent.4,5
complex processing techniques to meet the desired conver-
sion and product quality. TABLE 1. H2 consumption and production in some refining
One of the key processes that ensures both conversion processes
and product quality is the hydrocracking of gas oils and other H2 consumption, Residual H2 concentration
heavy cuts. However, this process has a high H2 consump- Process scfb H2, scfb in offgas, vol%
tionbetween 1,500 standard cubic feet per barrel (scfb) and Naphtha hydrotreating 100500 530 4080
3,500 scfb. Another refining process that uses H2 to meet the
required quality, without providing significant conversion of Distillate 300800 30150 5090
hydrotreating
the hydrocarbon molecules, is the hydrotreating of naphtha
and distillates. This process consumes between 100 scfb and Gasoil hydrotreating 7002,000 100400 5090
800 scfb of H2 . The H2 consumption is driven by the quality Hydrocracking 1,5003,500 210700 5090
of the processed crude slate, specifically its H2 :C ratio and its
Semi-regenerative 6701,090 40851
contaminants content. catalytic reforming (net)1,2
These processes have an associated residual H2 production
due to the gas purge used to eliminate undesirable compounds, Continuous 1,0501,7101,2 60951
catalytic reforming
such as methane and ethane, that are formed during side crack-
ing reactions. Depending on the H2 concentration, this resid- Catalytic cracking 70200 10301

Process Optimization
Regardless of the technology chosen, hydrocarbon stocks Classic methods to optimize H2 distribution networks.
must be used for dedicated H2 production, which increases The previous statements justify the importance of setting the
the refinerys operational costs. A primary goal of refinery optimal configuration of an H2 distribution network to obtain
operations is to maximize the H2 recovery from the offgas the optimal recovery of H2 . Although modern refineries are de-
coming from the process units, rather than producing H2 from signed to recover most of the H2 from the process units offgas,
dedicated units. some H2 is left in the fuel gas system. Conversely, older refiner-
Since regulations for fuel quality have become more strin- ies generally have large quantities of H2 being burned as fuel
gent with time (FIG. 1), many older refineries have experienced gas, instead of being used to produce high-quality fuels.
H2 shortages; therefore, it is important to review the overall Proposed methods in technical literature for H2 network
H2 balance and make the right investment to recover more H2 optimization normally rely on pinch analysis, as well as on
to help meet new fuel specifications. complex linear or nonlinear programing algorithms (TABLE 2).
Even though these methods are reliable and proven to provide
applicable solutions, most of the refinerys H2 networks are
TABLE 2. Methods of optimizing H2 distribution networks
not very complex, and can be properly optimized by using any
in refineries
commercial spreadsheet software.
Method Description The key factor to successful optimization is building a prop-
Graphic/pinch/linear H2 surplus allocation using pinch er conceptual model, in a systematic way, with the right equa-
programming methodology and final optimization tions and constraints. To illustrate this approach, data from an
by linear programming 2,6,7 actual H2 distribution network, in a high-conversion refinery, is
Graphic/pinch/nonlinear Final optimization done by mixed-integer used to obtain a redistribution proposal to minimize the utiliza-
programming nonlinear programming8,9 tion of the dedicated HPUs; thereby improving the overall re-
Introduction of variable pressure for fining net margin. A three-step method is proposed to properly
producers and consumers in the equations10 model and optimize an H2 network in a conventional refinery.
Introduction of compressors, purifiers
and reformers in the equation11,12,13,14 10,000
Introduction of the effect of impurities,
such as H2S and light hydrocarbons,
in the equations15,16,17 1,000
Sulfur, ppm wt
TABLE 3. H2 sources with their initial values 100

Pressure, H2 purity, Flow,
Tag psig vol% MMscfd Comments Japan
10
PSA FG 110 43 4.25
US
EU
NHT 250 76.1 5,06 1
H2 header 300 99.9 rated 104.53 118.13 MMscfd 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
(max.) Year
HPU1/2 305 99.9 rated 94.19 100 MMscfd FIG. 1. Evolution of fuel quality (road diesel) regulation in time.
(max.)
PSA ROG 305 99.9 rated 10.34 18.13 MMscfd Recovered 10.34
(max.) H2 MMscfd
Recycle NHT 330 84 10.44
H2 header 0.22 Fuel gas
Off HCK/DHT 350 85 rated 14.32 Fix due to process 99.9% 4.38 RE MMscfd header
rated conditions MMscfd 76.1%
NHT
DHT1 1,200 98 50.8
DHT2 1,200 92 53.58 RE
71.46
MU DHT 1,350 99.9 rated 28.72 32.65 MMscfd MMscfd
94.19 MU HCK PSA-ROG
(max.) 14.32
MMscfd
Recycle DHT1 1,350 98 50.8 58.93 MMscfd HPU1/2 MMscfd
RE 85%
(max.) 4.26
13.87 MMscfd
Recycle DHT2 1,350 92 53.58 58.93 MMscfd DHT1 43%
MMscfd
(max.) Residual
MU RE H2 header
HCK 2,000 92.6 442.24
85%
14.82
MU HCK 2,200 99.9 rated 71.34 78.47 MMscfd MMscfd DHT2
(max.)
Recycle HCK 2,200 92.6 442.24 486.67 MMscfd
(max.) FIG. 2. Refinery H2 network under study.
The proposed method. The following sections outline the The second step is the construction of the source/sink
three steps to model and optimize the H2 network. To facili- tables, where the H2 purity and pressure specification and/or
tate this description, a case study from a high-conversion re- constraints for each source and sink are included. The optimi-
finery is presented. zation constraints are defined in this step.
The refinery H2 network scheme. The first step is to have It is important to mention that this step not only requires
a clear understanding of the H2 network, which can be depict- a deep level of knowledge about the refinery operational phi-
ed by the interconnections among producers and consumers. losophy, but also knowledge about the design criteria of the H2
Since the optimization is to be carried out on the H2 network, network and the process units, such as the maximum capac-
the analysis on the hydrocarbon stream is not shown in the fig- ity of process units and process equipment. This data is critical
ures. Nevertheless, H2 chemical consumption in process units to properly select the possible sources for each sink, since the
is a function of the hydrocarbon feed to such units. convergence will depend on such a selection.
A process scheme of the H2 network, with H2 flows before Additionally, the H2 mass balance around process units and
optimization, is shown in FIG. 2. compressors must be taken into account. For this case study, the
Defining H2 sources and sinks. Unlike other reported full list of sources with their respective initial values, and sinks
methods, an alternative definition of sources and sinks is giv- with their respective constraints, are detailed in TABLES 3 and 4.
en in this study.8,9 Sources and sinks are not only defined for
main process units, but also for main process equipment, such
H2 header
as makeup and recycle compressors, as well as H2 and fuel gas
Fuel gas
headers. Conversely, certain units or equipment can be an H2 SK SC header
source and sink at the same time; therefore, the concept used in SC SK SK
this work is related to the mass balance within the H2 network HPU RE PSA-ROG
SC SK
(FIG. 3). Sources can vary in concentration and flow, while sinks SC
SC
are constrained by their process requirements and/or design pa-
rameters. Nevertheless, during the optimization of the H2 net- SC SK SC SK Process SC
MU unit
work, the flow and concentration of H2 from each source will be
recalculated based on sink constraints and the networks mass
balance. In addition, some units can have multiple H2 sources. FIG. 3. H2 source and sink definition.
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Writing and solving the optimization model in the relative maximum tolerance of 0.1%; therefore, the results from
spreadsheet software. In this case, a proprietary spreadsheet the last iteration are taken as solutions to minimize the utiliza-
software was used. Any spreadsheet software can be used as tion of the dedicated H2 production units. The optimized refin-
long as it includes an optimization tool. As previously men- ery H2 network scheme is depicted in FIG. 4.
tioned, the objective function selected was the amount of H2 The minimum value obtained for the utilization of HPU1/2
produced by the dedicated HPUs (HPU1/2), while the select- was 93.24 MMscfd, which means a reduction of 0.95 MMscfd.
ed optimization method was the generalized reduced gradient Changes that must be implemented in the refinery H2 network
(GRG) nonlinear method. to achieve this reduction include:
All of the constraints defined in TABLES 3 and 4 can be eas- The H2 makeup to the naphtha hydrotreating (NHT)
ily written using the optimization tool button and parameters unit must be residual H2 from the hydrocracking
box, making reference to the cells in the spreadsheet where the (HCK) and distillate hydrotreating units (DHT1/2)
variables are located. The best way to introduce the variables in a once-through operation, without H2 recycle. This
and data in the spreadsheet is with a matrix. process is possible due to the relatively low H2 chemical
The initial values in the spreadsheet correspond to the consumption and availability required for this unit.
initial value of the H2 network before optimization. Since H2 Feed to the PSA-ROG will then be a combination
source values depend on the objective function and the sink of residual H2 from the HCK and DHT1/2 units,
constraints satisfaction status, these values change after run- along with residual H2 from the NHT unit.
ning the spreadsheet optimization tool; therefore, an iteration The feedrate to the PSA-ROG is reduced;
routine must be programmed in the spreadsheet tool so that therefore, recovered H2 to the header is also
the new values of the H2 source parameters match the previous reduced. The NHT unit will not consume H2
calculation. Typically, only 24 iterations are needed. from the header, compensating the former effect.
Service of the NHT compressor must be changed
Results and analysis. After three iterations, the flow and con- from a recycle compressor to a residual H2 booster
centration values for each H2 source were converged within a to feed the PSA-ROG.
TABLE 4. H2 sinks
Tag Pressure, psig H2 purity, vol% Flow, MMscfd Possible sources1
FG 100 Notes2 PSA FG, NHT
Recycle NHT 3
200 Notes 2
10.44 (max.) NHT, H2 header, Off HCK/CHT, DHT1/2, HCK
NHT3 290 84 (min.) Notes4 Recycle NHT, H2 header, Off HCK/DHT, DHT1/2, HCK
MU-DHT 290 Notes2 32.65 (max.) H2 header
MU-HCK 290 Notes 2
78.47 (max.) H2 header
H2 header5 300 99.9 rated 118.13 (max.) HPU1/2, PSA ROG
PSA ROG 6
310 50 (min.) 23.7 (max.) Recycle NHT, Off HCK/DHT, DHT1/2, HCK
Recycle DHT1 1,150 Notes2 58.93 (max.) DHT1
Recycle DHT2 1,150 Notes2 58.93 (max.) DHT2
DHT1 7
1,300 98 (min.) Notes 4
Recycle DHT1, MU DHT, HCK
DHT27 1,300 92 (min.) Notes4 Recycle DHT2, MU DHT, HCK
Recycle HCK 1,915 Notes 2
486.67 (max.) HCK
HCK 2,100 92.6 (min.) Notes4 Recycle HCK, MU HCK
1
The possible sources to be linked to certain sinks were limited to those with a higher pressure, to ensure a no new investment solution, since no new compressor will be
required to implement the optimized H2 distribution. This constraint can be removed, if a given source with lower pressure than the corresponding sink is selected
during the optimization; then, a new compressor must be studied as an alternative.
2
Calculated value during the optimization, based on the network mass balance.
3
Considering the lower operational pressure of the NHT unit, the optimization will be used to determine whether this compressor can use residual H2
from other units instead of H2 from the H2 header; therefore, other compressors and units are selected as possible sources.
4
Constraints for H2 flow to process units (NHT, DHT1/2 and HCK) are defined based on their H2 chemical consumption and H2 availability requirement (minimum total H2/
hydrocarbon ratio at the reactor inlet). For this case study, chemical consumption and availability are defined as a function of factors and the hydrocarbon feedrate, as follows:
H2 chemical consumption:
NHT: 271 scfb 14,925 bpsd = 4.04 MMscfd (pure H2 )
DHT1: 334 scfb 35,000 bpsd = 11.69 MMscfd (pure H2 )
DHT2: 360 scfb 35,000 bpsd = 12.6 MMscfd (pure H2 )
HCK: 1,729 scfb 35,000 bpsd = 60.52 MMscfd (pure H2 )
H2 availability:
NHT: 1.9 chemical consumption
DHT1: 5.4 chemical consumption
DHT2: 5.1 chemical consumption
HCK: 7.9 chemical consumption.
5
The H2 header is a virtual unit that collects high-purity H2 from the HPU1/2 (dedicated H2 production units) and the H2 purification/concentration unit PSA ROG to supply
to makeup compressors and the NHT unit.
6
It must be noted that the PSA ROG as the concentration unit has three concentration parameters: rated concentrations of 99.9 vol% and 43 vol% for the product
and the residual gas, respectively, and a concentration constraint of a minimum of 50 vol% for the mixed offgas feed.
7
The optimization is used to determine whether DHT units can use residual H2 from the HCK unit.
Although the H2 reduction from the HPUs is marginal (1% Recovered 6.91
reduction), the necessary changes are of minor scope, consist- H2 MMscfd
ing mainly of piping modifications, since no new process equip- H2 header Fuel gas
ment is needed. Therefore, after an economical assessment of 99.9% RE header
the required modifications, it was concluded that the imple- NHT
mentation of the proposal was economical. 5.37
Regardless of the results, the proposed method was proven MMscfd
RE 71.7%
useful to easily evaluate a typical refinerys H2 network by using 71.46
common tools available to any process engineer. MMscfd
93.24 MU HCK PSA ROG
Due to the reduction in feedrate to the PSA ROG, an addi- MMscfd 5.03
HPU1/2 MMscfd
tional benefit that was identified was the potential recovery of RE
85% 2.83
even more H2 by using the spare capacity of the PSA to process
13.87 MMscfd
residual streams from other units not considered in this study. MMscfd
DHT1 43%
This benefit is realized since only 44% of its 23.7 MMscfd of Residual
capacity would be used after optimization. Potential streams to MU RE H2 header
85%
be considered are shown in TABLE 5. Since the additional re- 14.82
sidual streams are at a low pressure, a new compressor would be MMscfd DHT2
needed to recover the H2 from these streams. To make the PSA
ROG suitable to process the new streams, an adsorbent change FIG. 4. Refinery H2 network after optimization.
needs to be considered, along with a 5% increase in capacity.
These modifications on the PSA ROG design are feasible
and would increase the H2 recovery by an additional 4 MMscfd. TABLE 5. Residual streams for further H2 recovery
After implementing all of the proposed modifications, the utili- Unit Flow, MMscfd H2 concentration, vol%
zation of the HPUs would be reduced by 4.95 MMscfd (5.2%).
Optimized feed to the PSA ROG 10.4 78.1
Takeaway. A refinerys H2 distribution network can be opti- FCCU 12.1 25

mized by using common tools available to process engineers, HCK/DHT low-pressure offgas 2.4 86
such as commercial spreadsheet software, without using so- Total 24.9 53.1
phisticated optimization tools that are not often available in
refineries. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 41, Iss. 23, 2002.
The proposed method was proven to be useful, and it ob- 7
Zhao, Z., G. Liu and X. Feng, The integration of the hydrogen distribution sys-
tained reliable outcomes that were in accordance with the tem with multiple impurities, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Vol. 85,
actual refinery operation. The method was relatively easy to Iss. 9, 2007.
8
Hallale, N. and F. Liu, Refinery hydrogen management for clean fuels produc-
implement and did not require any investment in new process tion, Advances in Environmental Research, Vol. 6, Iss. 1, 2001.
equipment. Further analysis of the results from the primary 9
Liu, F. and N. Zhang, Strategy of purifier selection and integration in hydrogen
optimization project showed additional H2 recovery (less uti- networks, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Vol. 82, Iss. 10, 2004.
10
Kumar, A., G. Gautami and S. Khanam, Hydrogen distribution in the refinery
lization of the dedicated HPUs). However, investment in new using mathematical modeling, Energy, Vol. 35, Iss. 9, 2010.
process equipment would be required. 11
Jeon, C. and C. Han, Byproduct hydrogen network design using pressure swing
adsorption and recycling unit for the petrochemical complex, Industrial and
NOTE Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 50, Iss. 6, 2011.
Microsoft Excel and Solver were used for this study because of the availability
12
Liao, Z., J. Wang, Y. Yang and G. Rong, Integrating purifiers in refinery hydrogen
of such tools at the time the study was carried out, and must be taken as only an networks: A retrofit case study, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 18, Iss. 3, 2010.
example; therefore, this study does not recommend any spreadsheet software in
13
Sardashti-Birjandi, M. R. and F. Shahraki, Off-gases optimization in hydrogen
particular. network refinery, Chemical Engineering and Technology, Vol. 34, Iss. 12, 2011
14
Zhou, L., Z. Liao, J. Wang and D. Hui, Optimal design of sustainable hydrogen
networks, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Iss. 7, 2013.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 15
Jia, N. and N. Zhang, Multi-component optimization for refinery hydrogen net-
The author acknowledges Sebastian Moreno, Ricardo Cortes and Luis C. works, Energy, Vol. 36, Iss. 8, 2011
Ballestas from Ecopetrols Cartagena refinery for contributing to the literature 16
Zhou, L., Z. Liao, J. Wang, B. Jiang and Y. Yang, Hydrogen sulfide removal process
and data review at the beginning of this study. embedded optimization of hydrogen network, International Journal of Hydrogen
Energy, Vol. 37, Iss. 23, 2012.
REFERENCES 17
Umana, B., A. Shoaib, N. Zhang and R. Smith, Integrating hydroprocessors in
1
Aitani, A. M., Processes to enhance refinery hydrogen production, Hydrogen refinery hydrogen network optimization, Applied Energy, Vol. 133, 2014.
Energy, Vol. 21, Iss. 4, 1996.
2
Alves, J., Analysis and design of refinery hydrogen distribution systems, PhD HERNANDO SALGADO is a Senior Process Engineer in the
thesis, University of Manchester, UK, 1999. refining industry, specializing in the areas of fluid catalytic
3
Bhat, S. A. and J. Sadhukhan, Process intensification aspects for steam methane cracking, hydroprocessing, crude distillation and energy
reforming: An overview, AIChE Journal, Vol. 55, Iss. 2, 2009. management. He earned a degree in chemical engineering
4
Holladay, J. D., J. Hu, D. L. King and Y. Wang, An overview of hydrogen produc- from the Industrial University of Santander in Colombia,
tion technologies, Catalysis Today, Vol. 139, Iss. 4, 2009. and a professional doctorate in engineering (process design)
5
Kothari, R., D. Buddhi and R. L. Sawhney, Comparison of environmental and from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
economic aspects of various hydrogen production methods, Renewable and Dr. Salgado has experience in process analysis, troubleshooting, optimization
Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 12, Iss. 2, 2008. and development, as well as in the economic evaluation of new facilities
6
Alves, J. J. and G. P. Towler, Analysis of refinery hydrogen distribution systems, and modification of existing units.

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Process
Optimization
J. NUNEZ, S. PRESLEY and D. RANA,
DuPont Clean Technologies, Overland Park, Kansas
HF alkylation conversion is finally

within reachPart 2
In Part 1 of this two-part series, recent technology develop- a robust design. As with the previous conversion solution,
ments to convert hydrofluoric acid (HF) alkylation to sulfuric the entire fractionation section can be reused with little
acid alkylation were discussed. Not only can HF conversion be or no piping modifications. This solution is intended to
completed with a much lower capital investment than previously be a lower-cost solution with a slight performance debit
thought, but significant expansion is also possible with little ad- compared to the gravity-flow HF conversion technology.
ditional cost due to some inherent differences between alkyla- Both solutions offer significant capital cost savings by maxi-
tion technologies that utilize HF and sulfuric acid as the catalyst. mizing the reuse of existing HF alkylation equipment. The two
The two expansion case studies introduced in Part 1 will be ex- case studies described in this article provide examples of this
plored in more detail in Part 2 of this series. equipment reuse. Depending on the conversion solution select-
ed, along with the configuration of the existing HF alkylation
Part 1 recap. HF conversion is finally within reach, thanks to unit, the estimated cost of conversion is 40%60% of the cost of
the development of proprietary, cost-effective, proven technol- a similar-sized grassroots sulfuric acid alkylation unit.
ogies. In conjunction with the conversion from HF to sulfuric Because sulfuric acid alkylation units operate at lower reaction
acid alkylation, these technologies can offer a significant capac- temperatures than HF alkylation units, a new refrigeration sec-
ity increase with minimal additional cost. Two of these solution is required for either conversion option. The addition of this
tions include: refrigeration section, including a refrigerant compressor, is the
Gravity-flow HF alkylation conversion technology most significant new construction required. If plot space is avail-
This solution replaces the existing HF acid coolers with able near the existing unit, then the installation of this new equip-
conventional reactors.1 The existing HF acid settler will ment can take place during normal operation outside of the turn-
be reused with the effluent routed back to the reactor tube around window. This would make it very feasible to complete the
bundles. The light components in the effluent are flashed remainder of the work during a typical 30 d45 d turnaround.
across a pressure control valve prior to entering the tube One of the most attractive aspects of these conversion solu-
bundle inlet to remove the heat of reaction. As in a typical tions is the ability to expand the alkylation unit simultaneously
effluent refrigerated alkylation unit, the tube bundle outlet with the conversion, with only minimal impact on cost. This
is routed to a new refrigeration section before proceeding benefit is possible by leveraging an inherent difference between
to fractionation. The flashed vapors are subsequently the HF and sulfuric acid alkylation technologies. In both tech-
compressed, condensed and returned to the reactor feed, nologies, a large recycle flow of isobutane to the reaction section
providing additional cooling and contributing a significant is required to promote the desirable alkylation reactions, and to
amount of isobutane to the isobutane-to-olefin ratio. The suppress polymerization reactions that can negatively impact
optimization of acid consumption and alkylate quality acid consumption and alkylate quality. In an HF alkylation unit,
can be achieved by staging the acid flow through the unit. all isobutane is recycled from the fractionation section, while in a
The converted acid settler can be segmented such that one sulfuric acid alkylation unit, only about one-half of the isobutane
large acid settler can function like two or three individual is recycled from the fractionation section, with the remainder
settlers. In most cases, the entire fractionation section can recycled from the refrigeration section. Therefore, it is possible
be reused, with little or no piping modifications required. to double the effective capacity of the alkylation unit without
Pumped-flow HF alkylation conversion technology requiring significant changes to the fractionation section equip-
This solution retrofits the existing horizontal acid settler(s) ment, thereby making the conversion more cost-effective.
into a novel reactor(s), which utilizes proprietary mixing
and separation equipment. The design of the patent- Metallurgical considerations. One consideration for any con-
pending novel reactor incorporates equipment that is version from HF to sulfuric acid alkylation is metallurgy. Both the
familiar to refinery operators, has no moving parts and has HF and sulfuric acid alkylation technologies are similar in that
of the HF alkylation unit that contain this type of alloy are nor-
carbon steel is widely used in the majority of the equipment and
mally not reused. However, because some refiners have upgraded
piping. However, in a few selected services in both technologies,
the metallurgy in other parts of the unit, a metallurgy
evaluation is recommended. While this special alloy is
It is important to note that there is no not suitable for streams consisting of a large concen-
one-size-fits-all solution, and optimization tration of high-strength sulfuric acid, it does provide
good corrosion resistance in hydrocarbon-continuous
within each stage is unique for each streams with dispersed sulfuric acid due to the protec-
refiner depending on feed composition, tion of the metal by the hydrocarbon phase.
alkylation unit configuration and the Benefits of acid staging. To make HF alkylation
condition of the alkylation equipment. conversion even more attractive to refiners, both pre-
viously mentioned solutions take full advantage of
innovative and fully optimized sulfuric acid staging
carbon steel does not provide adequate corrosion resistance, and concepts (FIG. 1). The HF acid settler is retrofitted as follows:
upgraded alloys are required. For HF alkylation units, a special the bottom portion of the acid settler is segmented into up to
nickel-copper alloy is typically used in these cases.2 Although this three compartments, and nozzles are installed for the emulsion
special alloy can be used effectively in low-strength sulfuric acid and acid flows. As in a traditional alkylation unit,3 the sulfuric
services, there is a sharp increase in the corrosion rate for higher acid-hydrocarbon emulsion flows from the reactors to the acid
acid strengths. Since most sulfuric acid alkylation units operate settler, and acid is recycled back to the reactor. Bottom nozzles
with acid strengths greater than 85 wt%, this special alloy is not are provided for the acid transfer between stages to allow each
compatible in services where large concentrations of sulfuric reaction zone to operate at an independent acid strength, which
acid are present. Typically, this is not a concern when convert- minimizes acid consumption. Coalescing media is installed
ing from HF to sulfuric acid alkylation because those portions at two different heights to provide bulk and fine separation of
sulfuric acid from the hydrocarbons. Combined settler effluent
exits the top of the settler and flows through the reactor tube
bundles to remove the heat of the alkylation reaction.
Combined settler effluent Makeup fresh acid is fed to the first stage, with the flexibility
to add to intermittent stages, if needed. The spent acid strength
is 90 wt% for butylene alkylation units, with lower acid strengths
Fine separation
coalescing media achievable for other feedstocks to minimize acid consumption.
Acid recontactor
Emulsion from
reaction stage 3
Acid
Bulk separation settler
coalescing media
Emulsion from
Emulsion reaction stage 2
from reaction
stage 1
Acid recycle to Acid Acid
reaction stage 3 cooler cooler Propane
Acid recycle
to reaction Acid recycle to stripper
Depropanizer
stage 1 reaction stage 2
Defluorinators
Propane
Feed dryers
FC FC AI FC AI AI Olefinfeed
Fresh acid Intermediate Intermediate Spent acid Rerun KOH
99.2 wt% ~95 wt% ~92 wt% ~ 90 wt%* M/Uisobutane treater
ASO
93 wt% Washer
Reactor ASO n-Butane
ASO
Contactor Contactor Contactor effluent
M reactor M reactor M reactor HCreliefheader ASO
Acidrelief surge
header Alkylate
Refrigerant recycle Reuse Isostripper
Repurpose
Olefin and Olefin and Olefin and Abandon/demo
Acid
isobutane isobutane isobutane Hydrocarbon
Acidrelief neutralizer
FIG. 1. Conventional reactors integrated with an HF acid settler.1
*Lower spent acid strengths are achievable with other feedstocks. FIG. 2. The original HF alkylation unit from Case Study 1.
The target acid strength for each stage is determined to mini- vertical acid settler and four acid coolers (FIG. 2). The fraction-
mize the acid consumption and maximize alkylate quality. ation equipment for this unit included an isostripper column
A patent-pending olefin and acid staging solution has also and a depropanizer column. Effluent from the acid settler was
been developed to optimize variables such as reactor feed com- split into a reflux stream to the isostripper and a feed stream to
position, reaction temperature and acid strength for each acid the depropanizer. The depropanizer overhead product was pro-
stage. This new staging solution can reduce acid consumption pane, and the bottoms product provided feed to the isostripper.
by up to 40%, which will represent significant savings for refin- The depropanizer also included a side stream, which provided
ers. In addition to acid consumption, several other benefits, approximately 20% of the recycled isobutane to the reaction
such as higher alkylate octane, lower alkylate distillation final section. The isobutane-rich isostripper overhead stream was
boiling point and increased throughput, are possible by apply- condensed and sub-cooled, then pumped to the reaction sec-
ing this improved technique for olefin and acid staging. It is tion to provide the remaining 80% of the recycled isobutane.
important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, A side stream from the isostripper was the n-butane product
and optimization within each stage is unique for each refiner stream, and the bottoms stream was the alkylate product. The
depending on feed composition, alkylation unit configuration design capacity for this unit was 13.5 Mbpsd of alkylate prod-
and the condition of the alkylation equipment. uct, with a feed stream consisting of mixed C3 and methyl ter-
tiary butyl ether (MTBE) raffinate.
Case Study 1. As mentioned in Part 1, Case Study 1 involved The proprietary conversion solution for this case involved
the conversion of a gravity-flow HF alkylation unit with a single adding four reactors,4 a refrigeration section and feed/effluent
TABLE 1. List of major equipment in Case Study 1

Existing equipment reused or repurposed New equipment required for conversion Existing equipment NOT used for conversion
Acid blowdown drum (remote) Alkylation reactors Acid coolers
Acid neutralization pit Dry alumina adsorption Acid rerun
Acid recontactor Feed/effluent exchangers ASO heater
Acid relief neutralizer Isostripper accumulator ASO pumps
Acid relief neutralizer circulation pump Refrigerant accumulator Propane KOH treater
Acid settler Refrigerant condensers Propane stripper
Acid storage drum (remote) Refrigerant recycle pumps Stripping IC4 superheater
Alkylate cooler Refrigeration compressor
ASO surge drum Suction trap/flash drum
ASO surge drum circulation pump
ASO washer
ASO washer circulation pumps
Depropanizer
Depropanizer accumulator
Depropanizer charge pumps
Depropanizer condensers
Depropanizer feed/bottoms exchangers
Depropanizer feed/recycle IC4 exchangers
Depropanizer reboiler
Depropanizer reflux pumps
Depropanizer side stream cooler
Feed dryers
Isostripper
Isostripper charge pumps
Isostripper condensers
Isostripper overhead pumps
Isostripper reboiler
Normal butane condensers
Propane condensers
Propane defluorinators

Refrigeration Compressor

heat exchangers, while repurposing existing equipment to be
used for the acid coalescer, dry alumina adsorption, propane
Suctiontrap/
flashdrum Refrigerant
Originalequipment product treatment and acid blowdown. TABLE 1 provides a list of
Freshacid Newequipment
accumulator Acid existing and new major equipment in the alkylation unit. Most
Acid settler Hydrocarbon modern HF alkylation units also have remote HF acid storage
vessels and remote HF acid blowdown drums. Depending on
the location of these vessels and the requirements of the conver
sion solution offered, these may be utilized as spent acid after
settlers, acid blowdown drums, suction trap/flash drums or sup
plemental acid settlers. Potential opportunities to reuse these
vessels will be determined on a casebycase basis. To maximize
product quality and to minimize acid consumption, the technol
PCV PCV Propane
Depropanizer ogy provider used patentpending designs to segregate olefin
Propanetreating feed and to stage acid flows between the reaction zones. FIG. 3
(defluorinators)
illustrates a simplified process flow diagram of the conversion
solution for this HF alkylation unit; however, olefin feed segre
Olefinfeed
gation and sulfuric acid staging are not depicted in this drawing.
As the isostripper was designed to provide 80% of the re
Feed Acidcoalescer
M/Uisobutane dryers (acidrecontactor) Dryalumina quired recycled isobutane, a significant capacity increase was
adsorption n-Butane achieved by using the existing equipment. By optimizing the
isobutanetoolefin ratio and maximizing existing equipment
HCreliefheader Spentacidaftersettler capacity, the technology provider increased capacity by nearly
(ASOwasher)
Acidrelief Alkylate 70%, while maintaining a similar product quality. TABLE 2 pro
header Isostripper vides a summary of feed and product streams for the conversion
solution offered for Case Study 1. Since a conventional sulfuric
Acid relief Acidblowdown acid alkylation technology was employed in this conversion so
neutralizer drum (ASOsurge) RecoveredHC lution, the technology provider can accurately predict alkylate
Spentacid
TABLE 2. Feed and product streams in Case Study 1
FIG. 3. HF alkylation unit converted to a sulfuric acid alkylation unit Olefin Isobutane Propane n-Butane Alkylate
in Case Study 1. feed feed product product product
Volume flow, bpsd 17,727 14,343 3,634 473 22,601
Acid recontactor Composition, vol%
Ethane 0.09 0 0.43 0 0
Acid settler Propane 13.19 8.53 98 0 0
Propane i-Butane 9.04 87.63 1.57 2.5 0.03
stripper
Defluorinators n-Butane 5.04 3.85 0 92.59 4.46
Acid Acid 1,3-butadiene 0 0 0 0 0

cooler cooler Propylene 31.35 0 0 0 0
Propane
Butylenes 39.85 0 0 0 0
Main Amylenes 0.97 0 0 0 0
fractionator
KOHtreater
C 5+ 0.47 0 0 4.91 95.52
Olefinfeed
Defluorinators
TABLE 3. Alkylate properties in Case Study 1
Feed
dryers Rerun % Propylene/total olefins (feed) 43.4
M/Uisobutane n-Butane
ASO % Isobutylene/total butylenes (feed) 0.5
ASO/KOH separator RON 95
HCreliefheader KOH treater
Alkylate (R+M)/2 93.5
Acidrelief
header Reuse Debutanizer D-86 T90, F (C) < 255 (124)
Repurpose
Acidrelief Abandon/demo D-86 EP, F (C) < 380 (193)
neutralizer Acid
Hydrocarbon Acid consumption, lb/gal 0.450.5
Alkylate Reid vapor pressure (RVP), psi 6
FIG. 4. The original HF alkylation unit in Case Study 2. Alkylate sulfur, parts per million (ppm) <2
properties utilizing proprietary correlations developed from existing and new major equipment in the alkylation unit. As dis-
decades of pilot plant testing and real-world empirical data. cussed in Case Study 1, most modern HF alkylation units have
TABLE 3 provides a summary of predicted alkylate properties. remote HF acid storage vessels and remote HF acid blowdown
drums. Depending on the location of these vessels and the re-
Case Study 2. This study also involved the conversion of a quirements of the conversion solution offered, these may be
gravity-flow HF alkylation unit with a single vertical acid set- utilized as spent acid aftersettlers, acid blowdown drums, suc-
tler and four acid coolers (FIG. 4). The fractionation equipment tion trap/flash drums or supplemental acid settlers. The poten-
for this unit included a main fractionator column and a debu- tial opportunities to reuse these vessels will be determined on
tanizer column. Effluent from the acid settler provided feed to a case-by-case basis. To maximize product quality and to mini-
the main fractionator. The main fractionator overhead product mize acid consumption, the technology provider employed
was the propane product, and the bottoms product stream pro- patent-pending designs to segregate the olefin feed and to stage
vided feed to the debutanizer. The main fractionator included a acid flows between reaction zones. FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified
side stream, which provided 100% of the recycled isobutane to process flow diagram of the conversion solution for this HF al-
the reaction section. The debutanizer overhead stream was the kylation unit; however, olefin feed segregation and sulfuric acid
n-butane product stream, and the debutanizer bottoms stream staging are not depicted on this drawing.
was the alkylate product. The design capacity for this unit was As the main fractionator was designed to provide 100% of the
10 Mbpsd of alkylate product, with a feed stream consisting of recycled isobutane requirement, a significant capacity increase
mixed C3s and fluid catalytic cracking-mixed C4s. was achieved by using the existing equipment. By optimizing the
The proprietary conversion solution for this case involved isobutane-to-olefin ratio and maximizing existing equipment
adding six reactors,4 a refrigeration section, feed/effluent heat capacity, the technology provider increased capacity by more
exchangers and dry alumina adsorption, while repurposing than 175%, while maintaining similar product quality. TABLE 5
existing equipment to be used for the acid coalescer, propane provides a summary of feed and product streams for the conver-
product treatment and acid blowdown. TABLE 4 provides a list of sion solution offered for Case Study 2. Because a conventional
TABLE 4. List of major equipment for Case Study 2

Existing equipment reused or repurposed New equipment required for conversion Existing equipment NOT used for conversion
Acid blowdown drum (remote) Alkylation reactors Acid coolers
Acid neutralization pit Dry alumina adsorption Acid rerun
Acid recontactor Feed/effluent exchangers ASO heater
Acid relief neutralizer Net effluent pumps ASO pumps
Acid relief neutralizer circulation pump Recovered hydrocarbon pump n-Butane defluorinators
Acid settler Refrigerant accumulator n-Butane KOH treater
Acid storage drum (remote) Refrigerant condensers Propane KOH treater
Alkylate cooler Refrigerant recycle pumps Propane stripper
ASO/KOH separator Refrigeration compressor Stripping IC4 superheater
Debutanizer Spent acid pump
Debutanizer accumulator Suction trap/flash drum
Debutanizer reboiler
Debutanizer reflux pumps
Feed dryers
Main fractionator
Main fractionator accumulator
Main fractionator condensers
Main fractionator feed pumps
Main fractionator feed/bottoms exchangers
Main fractionator feed/recycle IC4 exchangers
Main fractionator reboiler
Main fractionator reflux pumps
Main fractionator side stream cooler
Normal butane condensers
Propane condensers
Propane defluorinators

Refrigeration Compressor
TABLE 5. Feed and product streams in Case Study 2
Olefin Isobutane Propane n-Butane Alkylate Suctiontrap/
Freshacid flashdrum Refrigerant
feed feed product product product accumulator
Acid
Volume flow, bpsd 26,416 13,500 3,509 1,399 27,810 settler
Composition, vol%
Ethane 0.03 0 0.24 0 0
Propane 10.66 1.99 97.5 0 0
i-Butane 20.04 95 2.25 13.22 0.11
n-Butane 6.42 3.01 0.02 85.78 3.24
Propane
1,3-Butadiene 0.06 0 0 0 0 Propanetreating
PCV PCV (defluorinators)
Propylene 28.67 0 0 0 0
Butylenes 30.42 0 0 0 0
Amylenes 0.65 0 0 0 0 Mainfractionator
Feed
C 5+ 3.05 0 0 1 96.65 dryers
Olefinfeed
M/Uisobutane Dryalumina n-Butane
adsorption
TABLE 6. Alkylate properties in Case Study 2
HCreliefheader Acidcoalescer
(acidrecontactor) Spentacid
% Propylene/total olefins (feed) 48 aftersettler
Acidrelief
% Isobutylene/total butylenes (feed) 32.5 header (remoteacid
storage) Alkylate
RON 93 Debutanizer
Acidblowdowndrum
(R+M)/2 92 (ASO/KOHseparator) Originalequipment
RecoveredHC Newequipment
D-86 T90, F (C) < 275 (135) Acidrelief Acid
Spent acid neutralizer Hydrocarbon
D-86 EP, F (C) < 400 (204)
Acid consumption, lb/gal 0.50.55
FIG. 5. HF alkylation unit converted to a sulfuric acid alkylation unit
Alkylate RVP, psia 6 in Case Study 2.
Alkylate sulfur, ppm <2
2
Refers to Monel 400 nickel-copper alloy.
sulfuric acid alkylation technology was employed in this conver-
3
Refers to a DuPont STRATCO alkylation unit.
4
Refers to DuPonts STRATCO Model 74 Contactor reactors.
sion solution, the technology provider can accurately predict
alkylate properties utilizing proprietary correlations developed CORRECTION
from decades of pilot plant testing and real-world empirical data. Due to a drafting error, Fig. 3 in Part 1 shows an incorrect stream location. The
TABLE 6 provides a summary of predicted alkylate properties. isobutane recycle stream is shown to connect to the ASO stream. However, it should
connect to the feed stream immediately downstream of the feed dryers.
Takeaway. The technology developments described in this ar-
JASON NUNEZ is a Senior Technical Service Engineer at
ticle offer refiners a viable, safe alternative to the operation of DuPont Clean Technologies for the alkylation and
existing HF alkylation units, which are attracting unprecedented hydroprocessing businesses. He has more than 14 yr of
negative pressure from communities and regulatory agencies experience in the refining and petrochemical industries.
due to safety and environmental concerns. At 40%60% the cost Prior to joining DuPont in 2014, he served in various roles
at Citgo Petroleum Corp. and the Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery.
of a new unit, the cost to convert from HF to sulfuric acid alkyla- Mr. Nunez holds BS degrees in chemical engineering and
tion using these new conversion solutions is significantly lower environmental science from McNeese State University.
than any other option available on the market. Additionally, by
SHANE PRESLEY is the Technical Service and Development
taking advantage of a key difference in how isobutane is circu- Manager at DuPont Clean Technologies for the alkylation and
lated in HF and sulfuric acid alkylation units, a sizable capacity hydroprocessing businesses. Mr. Presley has more than 18 yr
increase at the same time as the conversion is feasible with little of refining and technology licensing experience, including roles
additional capital investment. Finally, the solutions discussed at Chevron, ExxonMobil and DuPont. He holds a BS degree
in chemical engineering from Mississippi State University.
here are designed for maximum reliability and operability, utiliz-
ing equipment that is very familiar to refinery process operators DIWAKAR RANA is the Research Investigator at DuPont Clean
and maintenance personnel. Whether refiners are interested in Technologies for the STRATCO alkylation business. Dr. Rana
has more than 11 yr of experience in the oil, gas and biofuels
conversion or expansion, these solutions are worth exploring. industries, including roles with Alfa Laval, Fluor, Lloyds
Register, Black and Veatch and DuPont. He holds a BCh
End of series. Part 1 of this article appeared in September. (Honors) in chemical engineering from Deenbandhu Chhotu
Ram University of Science and Technology, India, an MS degree
NOTES in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a PhD
1
Conventional reactor design refers to DuPonts STRATCO Contactor reactor in chemical engineering from Washington State University. Since 2009,
technology. Dr. Rana has been a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas.
Regional report L. NICHOLS, Editor/Associate Publisher
Diversification: The catalyst for the Middle Easts

downstream transformation
Over the past several years, the Middle East has made sub- tion is greater than 9.4 MMbpd. Over the last decade, the re-
stantial investments to increase its downstream processing gions appetite for oil has increased by more than 2.7 MMbpd.
capacity. These investments will continue through the early In turn, the Middle East plans to expand its refining capacity by
2020s. The region is making a deliberate move to diversify its approximately 1.5 MMbpd by 2022.
products portfolio in the refining, petrochemical and gas pro- Traditionally, Middle Eastern refineries have simple config-
cessing/LNG sectors. urations and high fuel oil yields, partly due to high power gen-
Hydrocarbon Processings Construction Boxscore Database eration requirements. However, this trend has seen a complete
is tracking nearly 400 active downstream construction projects reversal in recent years, with the region building a new gen-
in the Middle East. These projects equate to nearly $280 B in eration of highly complex plants. These facilities, combined
capital expenditures (CAPEX) through the early 2020s. More with upgrades and expansions at existing plants, are radically
than 85% of the regions active projects are in the refining and changing the product mix. New unit configurations include
petrochemical sectors, and more than half of these active proj- hydrocracking, catalytic cracking and hydrotreating capacities
ects are in the preconstruction stages. A full breakdown of ac- designed to minimize fuel oil output and maximize production
tive projects in the Middle East by activity level is: of middle distillates, diesel and gasoline.
Engineering16% The regions major crude oil refining initiatives focus on
FEED12% refining and petrochemical integration and clean-fuels pro-
Proposed/planning21% grams. The Middle East is building some of the largest and
Study6% most complex refineries in the world. These high-capacity
Under construction45%. mega-facilities will enable the region to produce higher-quali-
Saudi Arabia continues to hold the greatest share of total ac- ty refined products to diversify the regions products portfolio
tive projects in the region (FIG. 1). According to BPs Statistical away from crude oil exports.
Review of World Energy 2017, the Middle Easts oil consump- According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Mid-
Opening photo: Saudi Arabia will be the Middle Easts leader in downstream capital investments. The country has already completed major
capital-intensive projects. The 400-Mbpd SATROP refinery was developed by a JV of Saudi Aramco and Total SA. Saudi Arabia also commissioned
the $8.5-B Rabigh 2 mega-project (pictured) in late 2016. The complex produces a variety of high-value-added petrochemical products.

Regional Report
dle East oil demand is forecast to increase from 8.5 MMbpd in erations in the countrys South Pars gas fields, as well as for
2016 to nearly 9.7 MMbpd by 2023. With the increase in re- expansion, upgrading and grassroots capacity buildouts in its
gional oil consumption, some refined products destined for ex- refining, petrochemical and gas processing/LNG sectors. With
port may be diverted to domestic markets. the easing of Western sanctions, Iran is making a great effort
According to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals As- to attract foreign investment and technology, and that effort is
sociation (GPCA), the regions total petrochemical production starting to see positive results.
capacity is 150 MMtpy. The region is slated to see a substantial Iran is investing heavily to raise its domestic refining capacity
increase in petrochemical production. Several nations are build- from 1.9 MMbpd in 2016 to 3.2 MMbpd by 2020. The increase
ing, or plan to build, mixed-feed crackers, along with capacity in domestic refining capacity is part of the countrys 20-yr Out-
for ethylene derivatives, ammonia/urea and other petrochemi- look Plan between 2005 and 2025. Known as the Iran Proj-
cals. The Boxscore Database is tracking nearly $90 B in petro- ect, the countrys goal is to increase its refining capacity to 3.4
chemical CAPEX in the region. MMbpd by 2025. The country hopes to accomplish this ambi-
The Middle East has enjoyed a petrochemical feedstock ad- tious goal by constructing new refineries, as well as by expand-
vantage against the rest of the world, but is facing competition ing and upgrading those plants already in operation. The bulk of
from cheap US shale gas. The Middle East is also starting to the countrys planned grassroots facilities focus on processing
restrict the flow of ethane. Regional countries, such as Saudi condensate from the countrys South Pars fields.
Arabia, have even raised ethane prices to cut back on subsidies. The countrys grassroots refinery buildout will cost more
The ethane price increase has forced some producers to utilize than $20 B. This program includes the construction of the
propane and naphtha feedstocks in their crackers. The Middle Persian Gulf Star, Siraf, Siraz Gas Condensates, Bahman Geno
East still holds a price advantage, but the regions competitive- Heavy Oil and Anahita refineries.
ness against other producers, such as the US, has dwindled. Iran is also seeking approximately $14 B in investments to
Regardless, the Middle East will add a substantial amount upgrade its refining network to produce high-quality, low-sulfur
of new petrochemical capacity through the early 2020s. The fuels. This program focuses on upgrading the Esfahan, Tabriz,
petrochemical investments are part of the regions plans to di- Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Abadan refineries.
versify its products portfolio to include more refined fuels and The country is also seeking more than $30 B in foreign in-
petrochemicals. vestment to nearly triple its domestic petrochemical capacity.
The following sections contain detailed overviews of the ma- The country seeks to monetize vast reserves of natural gas from
jor refining and petrochemical trends happening in the region. its South Pars fields to produce petrochemicals.
According to Farnaz Alavi, Director of Planning and Devel-
Bahrain. The countrys state-owned oil and gas company, opment for Irans National Petrochemical Co., Iran will invest
Bahrain Petroleum Co., is progressing with the Sitra refinery up to $60 B in more than 25 petrochemical projects to increase
expansion project. The $5-B expansion will increase the refin- domestic petrochemical capacity from 60 MMtpy in 2017 to
erys distillation capacity from 267 Mbpd to 360 Mbpd. The 160 MMtpy by 2025. This investment would include the con-
project, referred to as Bahrains Refinery Master Plan Project, struction of new ethylene and ethylene derivatives capacity,
will produce high-quality refined products, as well as increase ammonia/urea projects, methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plants,
the plants energy efficiency. methanol capacity, and others.
The new production capacity will not be possible without
Iran. Over the past year, Iran has made great strides to develop foreign investment and technology. With the easing of Western
its downstream processing infrastructure. However, the future sanctions, the country is increasing its cooperation with more
of the countrys downstream buildout hinges on foreign invest- international firms.
ment, technology and construction expertise. These elements One of the countrys most ambitious projects is the Mokran
are also critical for expanding exploration and production op- Petrochemical Complex in Chabahar. According to the Iran
Projects website, the facility will include two olefins plants, an
aromatics plant, an MTO plant, a crystal melamine plant, four
urea/ammonia plants, four methanol/ammonia plants and five
methanol plants, along with utilities and terminal infrastruc-
Other1%
UAE9% ture. The three-phase construction plan could house up to 30
Turkey8% units, with a total production capacity of 25 MMtpy. Phase 1
Saudi Arabia25% is expected to be completed in 2020, with the remaining two
Qatar6%
Oman11%
phases to begin operations in 2022 and 2024, respectively. The
Kuwait11% total cost of the three phases is estimated at nearly $12 B.
Iraq17%
Iran10% Iraq. Within the last decade, the nations crude oil consumption
Bahrain2%
has more than doubled to 4.5 MMbpd. Iraqs crude oil produc-
tion is more than adequate to meet demand; however, the na-
tions refining network suffers from low utilization rates. This
predicament hinders Iraqs ability to satisfy domestic demand.
FIG. 1. Market share analysis of active projects in the Middle East. To mitigate refined product imports, the Iraqi government
Source: Hydrocarbon Processings Construction Boxscore Database.
announced an ambitious plan to boost domestic refining ca-
Regional Report
pacity. The plan was dubbed the second National Develop- The nation is investing nearly $13 B in the Duqm Refinery
ment Plan (NDP) for 20132017, and detailed the construc- and Petrochemicals and Liwa Plastics Industries complexes. The
tion of four grassroots refineries. These four facilities were $6-B Duqm project consists of a 230-Mbpd refinery and petro-
envisioned with a collective price tag of approximately $20 B, chemicals complex. The refinery will produce diesel, jet fuel,
and would have boosted the countrys domestic refining ca- naphtha and LPG. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2020.
pacity by 740 Mbpd. However, due to in-country fighting with Once completed, the complex will accomplish the major
ISIS and continued economic and political instability, only a goal of developing the Duqm industrial area, which is a pillar
fraction of the planned refining capacity is expected to begin of the nations Vision 2020 plan. The industrial zones strategic
operations by the early 2020s. location will allow cargoes to travel in and out of Oman without
The four refineries would have been located in Karbala, having to traverse the Strait of Hormuz.
Kirkuk, Missan and Nassiriya. At the time of publication, only Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Co. com-
the $5-B, 140-Mbpd Karbala refinery has seen tangible progress. pleted the $2-B, 60-Mbpd Sohar Refinery Improvement Project
Although the country is experiencing difficulty in building in 2017. The expansion of the Sohar refinery allows Oman to
the projects, Iraqs oil ministry has proposed the construction increase gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha and LPG production
of five additional refineries. These facilities, which could add to meet increasing domestic demand, as well as to enhance the
up to 610 Mbpd of new refining capacity, would be construct- countrys refined fuel export offerings.
ed in Anbar, Diwaniya, Fao, Kut and Samawa. These refiner- The facility will also provide most of the feedstock for the
ies would operate under a build-own-operate or build-own- $6.5-B Liwa Plastics project. Located in Sohar, the new petro-
transfer model. Each of the plants would be able to produce chemical complex will consist of an 800-Mtpy naphtha cracker,
Euro 5-standard fuels. These projects are in the early planning along with derivatives capacity. Also in Sohar, Oman Inter-
stages. If they are greenlighted, operations are unlikely to begin national Petrochemical Industries Co. is developing a world-
until the early- to mid-2020s. scale polyethylene terephthalate/purified terephthalic acid
(PET/PTA) plant. The $680-MM facility will produce up to
Kuwait. Domestic consumption has risen steadily due to in- 1.1 MMtpy of PTA and 250 Mtpy of PET.
creased petroleum-fired electricity generation. Rising demand
and a failing infrastructure have prompted Kuwait to develop Saudi Arabia. Leading the way in downstream capacity invest-
the Clean Fuels Project (CFP) and the New Refinery Project ments in the Middle East, Saudi Arabias Transformation Pro-
(NRP)also known as the Al-Zour refinery project. These gramalso known as Vision 2030calls for the Kingdom to
projects represent a collective CAPEX of approximately $33 B. diversify its economy away from a reliance on oil exports. This
The $17-B CFP is designed to upgrade and integrate the plan includes slashing subsidies, boosting renewable energy us-
Mina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadi refineries. The project in- age, developing a financial hub in the country, investing heavily
cludes the installation of 39 units, the revamp of seven units, in building out the countrys downstream refining, petrochemi-
and the closure of seven units. With the completion of the CFP, cal and gas processing capacities, and other initiatives.
Kuwait will be able to produce high-quality, low-sulfur trans- By 2020, Saudi Aramco plans to spend as much as $150 B
portation fuels. The sulfur content in gasoline will decrease to become the global leader in refined fuels and petrochemi-
from 500 ppm to less than 10 ppm. Benzene and aromatics con- cals production. This plan includes increasing domestic refin-
centrations will also decrease. Bunker fuel oil sulfur content will ing and petrochemicals capacity, as well as boosting ownership
decrease from 4.5 ppm to 1 ppm, and the maximum sulfur con- stakes in downstream processing facilities internationally. The
tent of full-range naphtha will drop from 700 ppm to 500 ppm. companys goal is to increase its global refining capacity from
Kuwait is also constructing the largest refinery in the Middle 5.4 MMbpd to 8 MMbpd10 MMbpd by 2025.
East. The $16-B grassroots Al-Zour project will process domes- Saudi Arabias domestic refining capacity is set to grow from
tic heavy crude oil, supply power generation plants in the coun- 2.9 MMbpd to 3.3 MMbpd by 2019. The additional 400 Mbpd
try with environmentally friendly fuel and provide alternatives of refining capacity will come from the startup of the $7-B Jazan
to gas imports for heavy fuel use. The mega-project is under refinery. The plant will provide refined products to the coun-
construction, with operations scheduled to begin in late 2019. trys western and southern regions, with excess refined products
The Al-Zour refinery will also provide propane and naphtha to be exported. The Jazan refinery will be the third mega-scale
feedstocks to the Olefins III-Aromatics II complex. The $8-B refinery to be completed in the Kingdom since 2014. Over the
project will consist of a mixed-feed cracker to produce 940 Mtpy past 4 yr, Saudi Arabia has added 800 Mbpd of new refining ca-
of polypropylene (PP), 1.4 MMtpy of paraxylene, 420 Mtpy of pacity with the startup of the SATORP and YASREF refineries.
gasoline and 209 Mtpy of additional fuels. The complex will be Saudi Aramco also plans to become a world leader in the pro-
integrated into the Al-Zour refinery, with operations scheduled duction of clean fuels, and has established a program to achieve
to begin in 2Q 2022. mandatory sulfur specifications for gasoline and diesel. The King-
dom is seeking to reduce sulfur content in diesel and gasoline to
Oman. The country is investing more than $14 B in new down- 10 ppm, and to lower benzene content in gasoline to 1%. Saudi
stream infrastructure. These investments will help diversify the Arabia has instituted multiple projects for the increased produc-
nations products portfolio, which is a major focus of Omans tion of high-quality, ultra-low-sulfur transportation fuels at the
Vision 2020 plan. The country plans to take advantage of its Jazan, Ras Tanura, Riyadh, PetroRabigh and Yanbu facilities.
strategic location on the Arabian Peninsula to build additional Saudi Arabia will be a leader in the regions petrochemical
refining, storage terminal and petrochemical capacity. capacity buildout. According to the GPCA, Saudi Arabia has a
Regional Report
total petrochemical production capacity of nearly 100 MMtpy, To satisfy increasing regional and domestic demand for pet-
and the country is investing billions of dollars to further expand rochemicals and detergents, Farabi Petrochemicals is building
domestic chemical production. Although the Kingdom enacted a $1-B plant in Yanbu to produce linear alkyl benzene (LAB)
price reforms on ethane and methane in 2016, significant petro- and n-paraffins. The plant will utilize diesel and kerosine from
chemical capacity additions are underway. the Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil refineries in Yanbu. Once
Due to the severe drop in crude oil prices in 2014 and 2015, completed in 2020, the facility will be able to produce 120
the Saudi Arabian government enacted new reforms to reduce Mtpy of LAB and 246 Mtpy of n-paraffins, as well as de-aro-
costs. One of the most significant reforms was the increase in matized specialty oils, asphalt, sulfonates, mining chemicals,
ethane and methane prices. The price of ethane increased from process oils and lubes.
$0.75/MMBtu to $1.75/MMBtu, and the price of methane Rufayah Chemical Co.s $500-MM chemical complex in
increased from $0.75/MMBtu to $1.25/MMBtu. The ethane Jubail Industrial City is also scheduled to go online in 2020. The
and methane price reforms represent an increase of 133% and plant will produce a wide range of specialty chemical products,
67%, respectively. The country is still the most cost-effective lo- with a total production capacity of 350 Mtpy.
cation for ethylene production, but Saudi Arabia has lost some
of its competitiveness to the US, which utilizes cheap shale gas United Arab Emirates (UAE). Under Abu Dhabi National
to produce ethylene. Regardless, Saudi Arabia is continuing its Oil Co.s (ADNOCs) 2030 Strategy, the UAE plans to:
petrochemical expansion program. Expand crude oil and sour gas production
The $20-B Sadara mega-complex started up its mixed-feed Double domestic refining capacity
cracker in 2016, and the last unit was put into operation in Au- Triple domestic petrochemical production capacity.
gust. The complex can produce more than 3 MMtpy of petro- This program is needed to meet increasing demand for re-
chemical products. fined products in the country. Energy demand in the UAE is
Saudi Arabia also commissioned the $8.5-B Rabigh 2 mega- increasing by approximately 9%/yr, and with the countrys
project in late 2016. The project included an expansion of the population expected to double by 2030, additional downstream
existing ethane cracker, the construction of an aromatics com- infrastructure will be needed to satisfy demand.
plex and the expansion of a facility to process 30 MMcfd of eth- The UAE has announced multiple downstream processing
ane and approximately 3 MMtpy of naphtha as feedstock for a capacity investments. Emirates National Oil Co. (ENOC) is
variety of high-value-added petrochemical products. investing $1 B to expand its Jebel Ali refinery. The project will
Additional petrochemical infrastructure is under develop- add 70 Mbpd of new domestic refining capacity by 2020. Once
ment in the Kingdom. In mid-2017, Saudi Aramco and Total completed, the Jebel Ali refinerys total refining capacity will
announced their plan to conduct a feasibility study for a new, reach 210 Mbpd.
world-scale, mixed-feed cracker in Jubail. The 1.5-MMtpy Renewed interest has been seen in the Fujairah refinery proj-
cracker would utilize feedstock from the two companies 400- ect. The $3.5-B, 200-Mbpd project was put on hold while the
Mbpd Satorp refinery. If built, the plant is estimated to cost projects developersInternational Petroleum Investment Co.
$3 B$5 B. However, the project would need to secure a vast (IPIC) and Mubadala Investment Co.completed their merg-
amount of new natural gas feedstock. Total does not plan to be- er. The company is assessing its long-term goals, which include
gin detailed studies on the project until the partners are able to a possible restart of the Fujairah project. The revived interest
obtain additional gas supplies. in the Fujairah project was sparked by a fire that knocked out
Saudi Aramco has also teamed up with Saudi Basic Indus- production at the Ruwais refinery, which increased domestic
tries Corp. (SABIC) to conduct feasibility studies on oil-to- transportation fuels demand; as well as a spat with Qatar that has
chemicals technology. Phase 1 of the study has been completed. closed the country to Qatars fuel imports. If greenlighted, the re-
If greenlighted, the project could cost up to $20 B. The prelimi- finery would not begin operations until the early- to mid-2020s.
nary timeline would see the plant beginning commercial opera- As part of the UAEs Vision 2030 plan, the country is mak-
tions in 2024. The products would be exported to markets in ing significant investments to boost domestic petrochemical
Asia and Europe. production capacity from 4.5 MMtpy in 2016 to 11.4 MMtpy
The Kingdom is expanding its phosphate fertilizer pro- by 2025. To help accomplish this ambitious goal, ADNOC and
duction. Saudi Arabian Mining Co.s (Maadens) subsidiary, Borealis are developing the Borouge 4 complex. The facility
Maaden Waad Al Shamal Phosphate Co., has completed will utilize a mixed-feed cracker to produce polyolefin and non-
construction on Phase 2 of its mega-scale phosphate fertiliz- polyolefin products. The projects FID will be taken in 2018. If
ers complex. The $8-B project can produce up to 3 MMtpy greenlighted, Borouge 4 is scheduled to begin commercial op-
of phosphate fertilizer products. The company plans to add erations in 2023.
a third phase that will increase production by an additional 3 At the JVs Borouge 3 complex, ADNOC and Borealis are
MMtpy. The $6.4-B Phase-3 project is scheduled to be com- developing a fifth PP plant. The PP5 project will use surplus
pleted in 2024. feedstock from the Ruwais refinerys propane dehydrogenation
To meet the growing demand for methyl methacrylate unit to produce 500 Mtpy of PP. Both the PP5 and Borouge 4
(MMA), Saudi Methacrylate Co. (Samac) invested more than projects will help the UAE increase its domestic petrochemi-
$1.1 B in the construction of the worlds largest MMA plant. cal production capacity to 10 MMtpy. Additional optimization
Dubbed the Alpha 2 project, commercial operations are ex- and debottlenecking projects at Borouge 1, 2 and 3 will help the
pected to begin in late 2017. The facility can produce 250 Mtpy country move closer to reaching its petrochemical capacity goal
of MMA and 40 Mtpy of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA). of 11.4 MMtpy by mid-2025.
Maintenance
and Reliability
W. K. ALLAH, A. AL-ABOOD, F. BALLARD and
K. BRASHLER, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Troubleshooting the repetitive failure

and shaft seizure of a hot oil circulation pump
The Shaybah NGL recovery plant has a single-stage, double- noticeable difference with visible splashing. Based on this ob-
suction between bearings, radial-split design for hot oil circula- servation and discussions with the pump vendor, it was decid-
tion. The original design had four pumps in operation and two ed to raise the oil level from the existing 50% sight glass level
on standby. The pumps are rated for 3.16 Mgpm, with a total (recommended level) to 75% and recheck the oil ring function.
dynamic head (TDH) of 483 ft. The pumps are driven by 500- Upon raising the level to 75%, no significant improvement in
hp induction motors at an operating speed of 3,570 rpm. The splashing occurred.
pumps utilize API-610 Plan M for the cooling water piping in- The oil level was then slowly raised until visible splashing
side the bearing housing water. These pumps were experiencing was observed, which occurred at a sight glass level of approxi-
several thrust bearing failures, including pump seizure events, mately 90%. The observed splashing and oil ring function was
since commissioning in October 2015. Typically, pumps start similar to the DE oil ring. FIG. 3 shows the NDE sight glass level
up with high-thrust bearing temperatures and operate for 2 at approximately 90%. The oil level was left at 90%, and the
wk3 wk, followed by a significant increase in bearing metal NDE thrust bearing metal temperature was trended to identify
temperature and, in most cases, a thrust bearing failure. any decrease in bearing metal temperature.
The Unit E pump NDE thrust bearing experienced a signifi-
Observations and findings. The primary factors that con- cant reduction in metal temperature from approximately 186F
tributed to the reliability issues mentioned with these pumps to 156F over a two-hour period. This observation was another
are outlined here. These pumps have a single rolling-element ra- indication that the bearings were not being properly lubricated.
dial bearing on the drive-end (DE), and a duplex set of rolling-
element bearings mounted in a back-to-back configuration on
the non-drive end (NDE).
Inadequate NDE bearing lubrication. All NDE thrust bear-

ings exhibited relatively high bearing metal temperatures
some as high as 200Fupon reaching stabilization tempera-
ture after startup. Three of the six pumps have experienced
complete thrust bearing failure and, in some cases, resulted in
pump seizure due to the severity of the failure. In all cases, the
inner bearing of the NDE duplex bearing set, which is furthest
from the oil ring, failed first. A visible inspection indicated that
the cage experienced a severe failure, which was followed by
skidding of the rolling elements. FIG. 1 shows the damaged NDE
inner thrust bearing on Unit E.
A visible inspection of the rolling elements showed discol-
oration, which is consistent with a lubrication failure. All of
the rolling elements showed two flat spots that were 180 apart
(FIG. 2), which is consistent with the suspected skidding condi-
tion following the cage failure.
Based on the suspected lack of lubrication, Unit Es breather
caps were pulled to check for proper oil ring function. Upon
inspection, the oil rings appeared to be relatively dry, without
significant splashing. The DEs oil ring was also inspected to
FIG. 1. Unit E thrust bearing failure.
compare the DE and NDE oil ring function, which showed a
Maintenance and Reliability
Another indicator of improper lubrication was the signifi- flow was provided back through the pump discharge line, for
cant differenceapproximately 40Fbetween the top and an undetermined length of time, at the discretion of the opera-
tor. No restrictive orifice (RO) was provided in this
line, so the bypass line globe valve was fully opened
A consequence of exceeding the initial to provide an undetermined amount of warmup flow
warmup rate is differential thermal expansion back through the pump. The warmup rate from the
pump casings initial ambient temperature of ap-
between the pump casing and the rotor, proximately 90F was monitored. Upon opening
which can result in damage to the the bypass valve, the pump casing temperature went
pumps internal components. from approximately 90F to 280F within a 10 min
15 min period, which significantly exceeded the rec-
ommended warmup rate and resulted in the pump
bottom bearing housing skin temperatures. After the oil level thermal shock. The recommended warmup flow and rate for
was raised, the temperature differential between the top and this size pump and process temperature is about 6 gpm, with
bottom of the NDE bearing housing was reduced to approxi- no more than a 50F/hr increase, respectively.
mately 15F20F. This drop in temperature indicated that Based on these measurements, it was determined that the
the bearings were now receiving lubrication, resulting in heat pump was experiencing a thermal shock condition during the
transfer to the oil. initial warmup. A consequence of exceeding this warmup rate
is differential thermal expansion between the pump casing and
Inadequate warmup system and procedure. A review of the rotor, which can result in damage to the pumps internal
the warmup and startup commissioning was performed prior components, including the thrust bearings. The existing con-
to the startup of pump C. After reviewing the piping and in- figuration utilizes a bypass line around the discharge check
strumentation diagram (P&ID) and conducting field verifica- valve, without an RO providing uncontrolled warmup back
tion, it was determined that these pumps lacked provisions for flow through the discharge line and back out of the suction noz-
a controlled warmup. zle. This configuration does not provide a controlled warmup
The warmup of the pumps was accomplished by opening the flow (i.e., no RO), which resulted in more warmup to the top of
bypass valve around the discharge line check valve (FIG. 4). This the casing. It will not uniformly warm up the pump casing from
the bottom to the top. Based on the recommended warmup
flow of 6 gpm and the maximum warmup rate of 50F/hr, the
initial warmup should take a minimum of 4 hr. The difference
between the top and bottom casings should not exceed 70F.
After implementing the warmup orifice at the site, as a tem-
porary solution, an acceptable increase in rate casing tempera-
ture was achieved. FIG. 5 is an illustration of increasing casing
temperature over a 2-hr period. TABLE 1 shows the temperature
ranges over the testing period.
FIG. 2. Damaged balls with discoloration and flat spots 180 apart.
FIG. 3. Unit E pump NDE sight glass oil level. FIG. 4. View of the bypass line globe valve for warmup flow.
Improper mounting of NDE thrust bearings. A visible in- do not provide adequate warning of the increased vibration
spection of the outer race of one of the failed bearings indicated amplitude associated with the pending bearing failure. An-
evidence of improper mounting or installation of the bearings. other contributing factor to the bearing failures without a
FIG. 6 shows the outer race, which shows the visible evidence machine trip was the bearing temperature shutdown logic.
of these bearings being forced (hammered) during the mount- Existing logic requires both the DE and NDE RTD faults for
ing. The marks on the outer race at the rolling elements are an machine shutdown.
indication of this improper mounting issue.
Changing the oil ring. The vendor has recommended
Inadequate thrust setting or end float. After observa- changing the oil ring size, which was implemented on all six
tion during bearing replacement activities, it was determined pumps. The bearing temperature indicated improvement, but
that the established thrust setting (axial float) was set at ap- the oil rings were inspected during the oil change and some
proximately 1 mm. The manufacturer recommended a thrust minor rubbing marks were found.
setting of 1 mm5 mm. The tighter setting can also contribute
to higher bearing operating temperatures. It was observed that Takeaways. After an anaylsis of the equipment, the following
pumps set at 3 mm have relatively lower operating tempera- aspects were noted:
tures compared to pumps that have a tighter clearance of 1 mm. Inadequate bearing lubrication was identified as a
The thrust setting is changed by adjusting the thickness of the
bearing end cover shim.
Insufficient vibration and bearing temperature shut-

down systems. The DE and NDE vibration accelerometers
are not directly mounted to the bearing housing and do not
meet API 670 requirements (FIG. 7). This was another con-
tributing factor to the pumps experiencing complete failure of
the NDE bearing without a shutdown of the machine. With-
out direct contact to the bearing housing, the accelerometers
FIG. 6. View of the outer race.
300
Top casing temp
Bottom casing temp
Temperature, F
200
100
0
2:30 2:35 2:40 3:00 3:10 3:20 3:30 3:40 3:50 4:00 4:10 4:20 4:40
FIG. 5. Illustration of the temperature increase in the casing during

the warmup period.
TABLE 1. Top and bottom casings temperature difference

Bottom casing Top casing Temperature
Time temperature, F temperature, F difference, F
2:30 80 83 3
2:35 81.6 84.5 2.9
2:40 81.7 88 6.3
3:00 83 93 10
3:10 96 109 13
3:20 104 130 26
3:30 111 162 51
3:40 123 180 57
3:50 140 202 62
4:00 141 203 62
4:10 145 210 65
4:20 150 218 68
4:40 175 237 62
65
OA_201708_ViscoplexCopi_AZ_3.375x4.875_Hydrocarbon_Processing_en_RZ_ZW.indd30.08.17
1 14:45
significant contributing factor to the frequent thrust and confirmed with the observed significant reduction
bearing failures with these pumps. in bearing metal temperatures.
The inadequate lubrication appears to be related to The inadequate warmup system and the observed
an improper oil level in the bearing housing, as evident thermal shocking of the pumps during warmup
from the oil level adjustment and observed splashing, were also identified as significant contributing factors
to the bearing failures.
The thrust setting or axial float was identified as
an improvement area to reduce the operating
temperatures of the thrust bearings.
An improper bearing-mounting technique
the basis of the preliminary bearing failure analysis
was identified, and was a contributing factor to the
poor reliability of the thrust bearings.
Inadequate bearing temperature shutdown logic
required both DE and NDE bearing temperature
faults to shut down the machine.
Inadequate vibration shutdown protection, due to
improper mounting of the seismic accelerometers
at both the DE and NDE locations. This configuration
also contributed to the bearing failure events without
a machine trip.
The following are some recommendations:
Revise the warmup system to incorporate an RO to
maintain a proper pump warmup rate. It is recommended
to revise the warmup system per the manufacturers
recommendation. The startup procedure for these pumps
FIG. 7. NDE vibration accelerometer and RTDs. should include warmup requirements to ensure that the
pumps do not experience thermal shocking and maintain
a continuous warmup in the standby condition.
Ensure that the warmup is conducted in a controlled
manner, as per the recommended warmup rate of
less than 50F/hr. The difference between the top
and bottom casings should not exceed 70F.
Others simply sell you a product The thrust setting, or axial float, should be set at
we offer a solution. 3 mm4 mm on future NDE thrust bearing
replacements to ensure clearance for these bearings
and to minimize the bearing operating temperature.
OHL Gutermuth
A control and shut off technique you can rely on.
Reconfigure the bearing RTD shutdown logic, which

requires both DE and NDE faults to trigger a pump
shutdown. This configuration resulted in complete failure
of the NDE bearing without a shutdown of the machine,
due to requiring faults on both DE and NDE bearings.
Revise the DE and NDE bearing housing accelerometers,
which were incorrectly mounted.
Future thrust bearing replacements should be performed
by following the procedure outlined in the maintenance
and repair manual to ensure proper installation and
Customized mounting.
Valve Design
MADE IN GERMANY WESAM KHALAF ALLAH is a Rotating Equipment Engineer with a BCh degree
from the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology. He has 5 yr of experience
alves
with Saudi Aramco.
ESD Best V 0
5
SOLAR since r1s
KEITH BRASHLER has 26 yr of rotating equipment experience in refining,
POWER Yea pipeline, power generation, pulp and paper, and nuclear facilities. His expertise
focuses on field pump and system troubleshooting.
OHL Gutermuth Industrial Valves GmbH FERNANDO BALLARD has 11 yr of experience, with 9 yr as a Fixed Equipment
Helmershuser Str. 9+12 63674 Altenstadt / Germany Specialist with ExxonMobil.
Phone +49.60 47. 80 06-0 Fax +49.60 47.80 06-29
www.ohl-gutermuth.de og@ohl-gutermuth.de ABDULLAH AL-ABOOD is a Vibration Engineer. He has 3 yr of experience
with Saudi Aramco.
66
Maintenance
and Reliability
J. THARAKAN, Suncor Energy Products,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Minimize engineering errors with competency

and proper engineering review
Industry has seen numerous engineering errors during the ings. The top 24 ft. of the tower had a thickness of only 0.25
commissioning phase of projects. Errors that slip through re- in. Tall, thin, cylindrical, stack-like structures are susceptible
views could lead to costly equipment failures. How do these to wind-induced oscillation due to vortex shedding. This vi-
errors creep in? Are organizations learning from incidents and bration occurs in a direction perpendicular to the direction of
capturing those learnings in their standards? How many times wind flow. When the frequency of vortex shedding approach-
has corporate memory failed us? Some interesting examples es the natural frequency of the tower, the oscillations gain am-
of errors that will provide a taste of the broad and diverse plitude. The wind velocity at which the frequency of vortex
range of potential errors are discussed here. Standards and shedding matches the natural frequency of the tower is called
specifications can address repeatable errors, but competency critical wind velocity. Vortex shedding occurs at relatively low-
and the right level of engineering review are required to mini- er wind velocities. Wind speeds in excess of 50 mph always
mize random errors. contain gusts that will disrupt uniform vortex shedding.2 The
presence of attachments like platforms and ladders lower the
Reliability vs. low initial cost. A set of spherical pressure chance of vortex shedding, as well. The original designer of
vessels for butane storage were fabricated using carbon steel. the tower had calculated that the critical wind velocity of the
However, corrosion allowance was not specified because the tower as 32 mph in an empty erected condition without pack-
service was deemed non-corrosive. After 30 yr of operation, ings. With packings, the critical wind velocity improved to 45
the sphere experienced a low rate of internal pitting and cor- mph. The vessel designer included a note in the drawings that
rosion, which made it thinner than the design thickness. It is the tower should be supported with guy-wires each time the
difficult to categorize it as a design error if the original speci- packing is removed.
fied design life was 25 yr. The truth is that pressure vessels are The guy-wires turned out to be an expensive undertaking
meant to operate for much longer than 25 yr, so it is prudent during turnarounds when the packings were dumped. This
to consider a corrosion allowance for all carbon steel equip- situation could have been eliminated by using a slightly thick-
ment. In this instance, the operator was forced to resort to er plate for the fabrication of the tower. Organizations should
fitness-for-service and the application of protective internal place emphasis on reducing lifecycle costs, not upfront costs.
coatings to extend the life of the vessel. The standards of this
organization require corrosion allowance for all carbon steel Wrong metallurgy. Companies rely on a positive material
equipment, regardless of service. identification (PMI) program to capture deviations prior to
Steam methane reformers use high-nickel cast high-perfor- commissioning. Most mix-ups are in small-bore fittings in
mance (HP) alloys for the catalyst tubes, which have a flanged low-alloy steel piping/equipment. It may be hard to put this in
opening at the top for filling catalyst. Some designs have a the engineering error category. An engineering error is when
flange at the bottom, as well. The manufacturers used low-al- the wrong metallurgy is selected without a full understand-
loy steel flanges at the top end of the catalyst tubes and carbon ing of the potential damage mechanisms. Such errors have
steel flanges at the bottom end. This cost-reduction measure
resulted in dissimilar welds on the catalyst tube, which are
prone to failures. The dissimilar welds at the top cracked due
to thermal fatigue (FIG. 1). The bottom flange is a dead-ended
section outside of the furnace. The dissimilar weld suffered a
combination of hydrogen (H2)-assisted cracking and carbonic
acid (H2CO3 ) corrosion.1
The designer of a carbonate regenerator adopted a unique
design premise to reduce the initial cost. This tower was 140 ft.
FIG. 1. Cracking of dissimilar welds at the top of the catalyst tube.
tall, had a diameter of 10 ft. and was filled with random pack-
led to many serious incidents in industry. Operating within The gasket seating stresses relax after assembly, and it is rec-
integrity operating windows (IOWs) is equally important to ommended to impart sufficient assembly load to compensate
avoid unforeseen material damages. The operating manuals for future relaxation. For example, the A193 B7 bolt should be
will not indicate the rationale behind material selection and stressed from 40 kilopounds per square inch (Ksi) to 70 Ksi
the corrosion control documents (CCDs) being created to fill for joint integrity; although, the flange design calculation uses
this gap. The American Petroleum Institute (API) published an allowable bolt stress of 25 Ksi. Many leaks on heat exchang-
RP 584 IOWs in 2014, and RP 970-CCD is expected to be er body flanges could be traced back to low-assembly loads
released in 2017. selected by vendors thinking that they should stay within the
design allowable stress of the bolt. With the release of ASME
Undersized equipment. Gas-liquid separators are sized for PCC-1 in 2010 and training and qualification requirements in
a recommended residence time to enable the separation of the the 2013 revision, this knowledge gap has narrowed.
vapor and liquid phases. If the sizing is not appropriate, liq-
uid can carry over to the downstream systems. These are not Lack of understanding of the design intent. At times,
easy fixes. FIG. 2 shows the failure of a compressors diaphragm we fail to communicate the design intent to the user. During
(stationary guide vanes) due to liquid carryover from an un- an engineering review, the author came across a case where a
dersized separator from which the compressor took suction. pressure relief valve (PRV) was twinned, but the operations
It may be worth noting that no knockout drum was present lined up both sets of valves, which doubled the relief capac-
between the separator and the compressor suction. ity. If a relief scenario were to occur, this setup could poten-
tially lead to valve chattering and seat/disk damage. Only one
Misinterpreting flange assembly loads. Flange joints set is supposed to be in line, and the other should be a spare.
are generally the weakest component in a pressurized system. Per API 520 Part 2, when spare relief devices are provided,
a mechanical interlock or administrative controlswhich
manage the proper opening and closing sequences of the iso-
lation valves to ensure that only one set is lined up at a time
should be provided.
Inadequate margin. Spring-loaded PRVs require a 10% mar-

gin between the operating pressure and the set pressure to pre-
vent valve simmering and leakage. For tank relief valves, there
is no spring loading, so the required margin is approximately
20%. Typically, tank pressure vacuum relief valves (PVRVs)
open and vent to the atmosphere during normal tank opera-
tion, as the level changes. Therefore, in a conventional tank
design, the PVRVs have the dual function of regulating the
tank vapor space pressure and overpressure protection.
When tank vapors contain toxic materials such as hydro-
gen sulfide (H2S), the function of regulating the tank pressure
is detached from the PRV. These tanks have a blanketing gas
supply to the vapor space through a pressure controller. The
FIG. 2. View of a broken compressors diaphragm due to liquid carryover.
normal venting from these tanks is either to a vapor recovery
system or to a flare. A PRV and emergency vent will be open
to the atmosphere on these tanks. The purpose is overpres-
sure protection only, and the valve is expected to remain shut
during normal tank operation. The author has encountered
multiple cases on these tanks where the PRV has leaked due to
an inadequate margin between the normal operating pressure
and the set pressure of the PRV. The root cause of this issue is
non-conservative design pressure for the tank, squeezing the
available margin to set the PRV.
High-pressure drop. In a Canadian facility, a hydrocracking

unit was started up after debottlenecking was completed. In
the piping circuit, more than a dozen piston check valves were
not opening enough at normal flow. The check valves piston
would have the upstream pressure at the bottom side and the
downstream pressure on the top side. The differential pres-
sure acts against the weight of the piston. Since the original
piston was heavy, the valve could not fully open at the avail-
FIG. 3. The original piston (left) and the modified piston (right).
able pressure differential. This setup restricted the capacity.
The pistons were replaced with lighter ones (FIGS. 3 and 4). when product is pumped out of the tank after the roof lands. A
Takeaway: The check valves ability to fully open at available clients standard required that the bleeder vent be located close
differential pressure must be checked at the design stage. to the center of the roof, with an additional requirement on the
projection of its sleeve above the tank roof. The seating face of
Design/fabrication errors. Reciprocating water-injection the valve was at the top of the sleeve. The tank designers prac-
pumps in a hydrocracking unit suffered a catastrophic failure. tice was to place the bleeder vent closer to the outer periphery
The failure began at the welding on the plunger attaching its of the roof. They attached the bleeder vent near the tank center,
cover to the barrel. It is not recommended to use a welded but failed to compensate the length of the sleeve for the roof
plunger in the first place, as the plunger sees severe cyclic sagging. When in service, the accumulation of snow/water on
stresses that could fail a weld. To make matters worse, the the roof caused the roof sagging to increase (FIG. 8). The ad-
weld was defective. ditional weight on the roof increased product displacement as
A failure investigation revealed that the vent hole was miss- per the floatation law. The resulting level difference (h) lifted
ing in the failed plunger (FIG. 5). This vent hole is required to the bleeder valve leaking product above the roof.
relieve the welding fumes, without which the welding is prone
to be defective. The plunger was replaced with a solid plunger Ligament failure. As per API 590, the convection tube sheet
to eliminate the welded joint in this severe cyclic service. of heaters requires a minimum 0.5-in thickness. The spacing
Another notable example was lamellar cracking of pump between the tubes is determined by the center-to-center spac-
boxestanks that hold slurryin a mining project (FIG. 6). ing of a 180 return bend, which is twice the nominal diameter.
The pump box had a rectangular shape with a conical bot- The holes on the tube sheet should be large enough to suit the
tom, and was fabricated from a 1-in.-thick carbon steel plate outside diameter of the fin (or stud) of the convection tubes.
conforming to A 572 Gr. 50. The major contributors leading This leaves a thin ligament, which is often inadequate to with-
to the lamellar cracking were the use of high-strength steel
(yield strength of 50 Ksi), with potentially low-transverse
ductility and a poor weld joint design. Weld shrinkage stresses
perpendicular to the rolling direction promote lamellar crack-
ing. FIG. 7 shows how a joint design can offset the direction of
weld shrinkage stresses. Preheating helps reduce weld residual
stresses, as well. The joint design principle would be applicable
for fabrication of thick header boxes for fin-fan exchangers.
FIG. 5. Cross-section of the plunger.
Misinterpretation of the standard. Floating roof tanks
have bleeder vent(s), which are meant to prevent vacuum
FIG. 6. Cracking in a pump box.
FIG. 4. Cross-section of the modified check valves piston. FIG. 7. The improved joint design eliminates lamellar cracking.

stand the operating load. The author has encountered multi- are discussed here; however, the designer failed to distinguish
ple cases of cracking of 0.5-in.-thick tube sheets at the narrow the specific limitations for their application. The first example
ligaments. FIG. 9 shows a cracked tube sheet that was repaired is the selection of a vortex flowmeter to measure the flow on
with stiffeners. Increasing the tube sheets thickness is required individual water-injection lines in a hydrocracker during a unit
where the ligament width is narrow. A companys standard revamp. Orifice meters previously used in this service were suc-
must supplement industry standards, based on experience. cessful. The piping where the flowmeters were mounted ran
through the platform of a bank of fin-fan coolers. Vortex meters
Technology selection. When selecting technology, avoid be- are sensitive to vibration, and the fin-fan platform, where the
ing guinea pigs. Two examples regarding proven technology meters were mounted, had sufficient vibration to affect the ac-
curacy of its readings.
A large upstream oil company selected oil-flooded screw
compressors for wet gas compression in its gathering centers.
In oil-flooded screw compressors, the lube oil provides the
sealing between the casing and the rotor lobes. The lube oil
gets mixed with the process gas, is separated in an oil/gas sepa-
rator, and is then pumped back to the compressor through the
oil cooler and the lube oil filter. The compressors experienced
frequent plugging of the lube oil filter. The takeaway was that
oil-flooded compressors were not an appropriate selection for
wet gas compression due to the potential liquid entrainment
in the gas, despite having a gas scrubber upstream of the com-
pressor.3 The entrained liquid degraded the oil, which created
gooey material/solid particles that choked the oil filter.
FIG. 8. When in service, the accumulation of snow/water on the
roof caused the roof sagging to increase, which increased Dry gas seals for pumps. Multiple pumps in light hydrocar-
product displacement. bon/high-vapor-pressure fluids with a dry gas seal developed
an interesting integrity issue. The seal plan was 74 for this dual-
pressurized seal (FIG. 10). The barrier gas, nitrogen (N), was at
a pressure higher than the pump stuffing box pressure. The N
leaked past the inner seal face and into the pump casing of the
pumps that were on standby. This leakage caused vapor lock
when the standby pumps were started. This was resolved by
connecting the seal vent to the vapor space of the pump suc-
tion vessel. This solution channeled the leaking N to the suc-
tion drum, which prevented it from getting into the pump.
Asymmetrical piping. Two pumps (A/B) at the bottom of a

fractionating tower (FIG. 11) had asymmetrical piping. If kept
on standby, Pump A would accumulate corrosion products in
the suction strainer. Pump As strainer required cleaning each
time the pump was started. The operations team adopted a so-
lution that entailed treating Pump B as an emergency spare and
FIG. 10. The connection of a seal vent to the vapor space of the pump
FIG. 9. View of a cracker tube sheet repaired with stiffeners. suction vessel channeled the leaking nitrogen to the suction drum.
running Pump A almost continuously. This plan is an example that entails additional levels of protection, such as a chop valve
where limitations can be managed, but a flip side to this ex- that closes at a low low level in the separator. Process safety re-
ample does exist. The plant follows a pump swinging program, quires multiple layers of protection. Engineering control is the
which enables the detection of hidden failures and maintains top tier of the hierarchy of these layers of protection. All inci-
even run hours between the machines. These pumps needed to dent investigations require adequate probing to identify hidden
be singled out from the pump swinging program. engineering errors, if any.
Organizations can keep both engineering and administra-
Takeaway. The author has not attempted to cover all of the tive errors in check through periodic PHA, damage mechanism
design errors experienced in this article. A few other examples review (DMR), pre-startup safety review (PSSR) and a robust
are discussed in other technical articles.4,5 Aside from initial de- MOC system. Networking and competency development of
sign, errors can creep in when changes are implemented. People engineers are equally important.
easily visualize changes associated with any alteration of hard-
ware, but can fail to identify other changes that affect integrity. REFERENCES
A change in the feed specification to a unit, in the heat duty of a 1
El Ganainy, O., Failure of dissimilar metals weld in reformer tubes, Process Safety
furnace, or an increase in flow through a heat exchanger can im- Progress, July 1985.
2
Moss, D. and M. Basic, Pressure Vessel Design Manual, 4th Ed., Elsevier, 2012.
pact integrity. A rigorous management of change (MOC) sys- 3
Mirza, B. and F. Al-Kharqawi, Key engineering highlights of facilities and equip-
tem and training are required to recognize and manage changes. ment for oil and gas production in Kuwait Oil Co., Journal of Energy and Power
Major engineering errors can lead to process safety events Engineering, January 2016.
(PSEs), which result in an unplanned or uncontrolled loss of
4
Tharakan, J., Vibration studies offer valuable lessons for correcting problematic
operations, Hydrocarbon Processing, March 2017.
primary containment (LOPC). Examples to illustrate how de- 5
Tharakan, J., A deeper examination of the thermal expansion issues in process
sign norms have changed over the years include: equipment and piping, Hydrocarbon Processing, May 2017.
1. Hydrocarbon liquid relief of a process vessel was
routed to the oily water sewer. Once, an over-pressure JOHN THARAKAN is a corporate static equipment specialist
scenario resulted in a massive release to the sewer, at Suncor Energy Inc. in Canada. He specializes in mechanical
integrity, with a focuses on troubleshooting, failure analysis
which led to a fire. and fitness for service. He holds an MS degree in mechanical
2. Due to the failure of a level controller, gas blowby engineering design and has more than 30 yr of experience
occurred from a two-phase separator to the in the oil industry.
atmospheric storage tank through the rundown line.
Both examples occurred on 50-yr-old plants.
Present design standards require the relief valve outlet to be
connected to the hydrocarbon flare. Gas blowby is a situation Idrojet s.r.l. & Idrokid s.r.l.
evaluated seriously through process hazard analysis (PHA), and proudly presents...
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71
Heat Transfer
M. BADSHAHWALA, R. C. PATIL and A. GUPTA,
Reliance Industries Ltd., Jamnagar, Gujarat, India
Ensure uniformity of air preheater flow

to obtain maximum heat transfer efficiency
Uniform flow distribution inside process equipment is desir- As an example, the flow of gas for the air heater explained in
able for maximizing performance. However, flow maldistribu- FIG. 1 would be as shown in FIG. 2. The sharp 90 turn at the inlet
tion occurs even in seemingly symmetrical design because of would cause greater flow of gas toward the right side of an air
asymmetric inlet and outlet piping. Quantification of the equip- heater, leading to greater gas flow over the tubes on the right half
ment efficiency loss caused by this non-uniform distribution is as compared to the design value. The left half would then have
an important field of study in chemical engineering. less gas flow as compared to the design value.
A case study is presented of a shell-and-tube air preheater To illustrate the effect of this non-uniform flow bifurcation
that experienced a maldistribution of the gas heating medium on the heat transfer efficiency, an air heater is divided into two
on the shell side. A simple methodology has been used to com- equal halves with an equal area of heat transfer, and simulated as
pute heater efficiency in terms of the gas maldistribution. two different heat exchangers, using commercial software. In the
design case for an air heater, the air and gas are equally divided
Quantification of efficiency with regard to maldistribu- into two parts and sent to two separate heat exchangers. In the
tion. In an air preheater, heat transfer between hot gas and cold case with the non-uniform distribution of gas, 70% of the mass
air generally occurs by convective mode of heat transfer. The flow of the gas goes to one heat exchanger, and the remaining
cold air flows through the tubes, and the hot gas flows over the 30% of the mass flow of the gas goes to the other heat exchanger,
tubes, as shown in FIG. 1. while the air flow distribution is even to both heat exchangers.
When designing an air heater, the designer assumes that the The non-uniformity can be defined in terms of standard de-
hot gas flow over the tubes and the cold air flow through the viation in gas flow in two heat exchangers, as shown in Eq. 1:
tubes will be uniform and will lead to the desired heater duty for
which it is designed. However, in practice, the inlet duct for the
Standard deviation =
2
i=1
2
( xi x )
2
/2
(1)
flow of the hot gas may lead to non-uniform flow over the tubes.
x
where xi is the percentage of gas flow to the ith heat exchanger
and x is the average percentage flow of gas to two heat exchang-
ers. For the design case where the gas flow is equally divided
(50% to both heat exchangers), the standard deviation is zero.
For the aforementioned case where the gas flow is non-uniform,
the standard deviation value is 0.4.
With an increase in the flow of gas to one heat exchanger, the
rise in the heat duty is due to the increased heat transfer coeffi-
cient. The increase in the coefficient is the result of both the in-
crease in the Reynolds number and the increase in the tempera-
ture difference caused by the high heating capacity of the gas.
Similarly, in the other heat exchanger where the gas flow is
reduced, the decrease in heat duty is expected because of the
reduction in the heat transfer coefficient. The decrease in the
coefficient is due to the reduced Reynolds number and the de-
crease in the temperature difference, which results from the low
heating capacity of the gas.
Overall, when the combined performance of both heat ex-
changers is compared with the design value, the reduction in
heat duty (and, therefore, the lower heat transfer efficiency as
compared to the design case) is anticipated. The heat transfer
FIG. 1. Diagram of an air preheater.
efficiency is defined in Eq. 2:
Heat Transfer
100
95
Heat transfer efficiency, %

90
85
80
75
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Standard deviation in flow
FIG. 3. Impact of flow distribution on heat transfer efficiency.
100
2 heat exchangers
95 3 heat exchangers
4 heat exchangers
Heat transfer efficiency, %

90
FIG. 2. Flow of gas at a sharp 90 bend in the inlet duct.
85
Combined heat duty of heat exchangers
with non-uniform gas flow 80
Efficiency i = (2)
Combined heat duty of heat exchangers
75
with uniform gas flow 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
Standard deviation in flow
The heat transfer efficiency for the design case will be 100%,
owing to the equal heat transfer area and the equal hot and cold FIG. 4. Standard deviation in gas flow vs. heat transfer efficiency.
fluid flow to each heat exchanger. In the case of the non-uniform
distribution of gas, the heat transfer efficiency is calculated as distribution. This data suggests that a single correlation can be
96.3%. The heat transfer efficiency can be simulated for mul- deduced between heat transfer efficiency and maldistribution
tiple cases where the standard deviation in the hot gas flowrate in terms of standard deviation of the gas flow.
can vary from zero to the maximum possible value of one, in A single equation (Eq. 3) between standard deviation (SDV)
this case. These calculations are mapped on a plot of standard and heat transfer efficiency (HTE) has been established:
deviation vs. heat transfer efficiency in FIG. 3.
HTE(%) = 17.0614 (SDV 2) 2.8256 (SDV) +
As explained previously, it can be seen that the heat transfer (3)
100.00 [R2 = 0.9972]
efficiency decreases with the increase in flow maldistribution.
The heat transfer efficiency falls as low as 79.9% in an unlikely If the total heat duty of the designed air preheater and the
worst-case scenario of maldistribution where the entire flow of actual heat duty offered by it are known, then the process en-
hot gas goes to one part of the air heater. It should be noted that, gineer can use this correlation to calculate the heat efficiency
when the heat exchanger is divided into two parts, the maxi- and the amount of maldistribution occurring in the gas flow of
mum value of the standard deviation is that for which the lowest an air preheater.
heat transfer efficiency is achieved. Heat transfer efficiency may
fall to even lower values when the air heater is divided into a Takeaway. A simple methodology has been developed to
greater number of parts, and the entire gas flow goes to one part quantify the effect of maldistribution of hot gas over the tubes
of the heater (i.e., when the standard deviation value is greater on the heat transfer efficiency of an air preheater. A correlation
than one). However, in this work, the standard deviation values has been established that equates the standard deviation in the
are limited to a maximum of one through the selection of practi- hot gas flow to the heat transfer efficiency of an air preheater.
cal cases with flows in all parts of the heat exchanger. Process engineers can use this correlation to determine the ex-
To verify the aforementioned observations, the exercise is re- tent of maldistribution in air preheaters.
peated by dividing an air heater into three and four heat exchang-
ers to represent the maldistribution. The simulation points from MUFFAZAL BADSHAHWALA is a Research Scientist in the refining research and
development (R&D) division of Reliance Industries Ltd. in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.
each are charted on a single plot in FIG. 4.
The important observation confirmed by FIG. 4 is that a vari- RAHUL C. PATIL is a Lead Research Scientist in the refining R&D division
ation of the heat transfer efficiency with the standard deviation of Reliance Industries Ltd. in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
in gas flow is almost the same when an air heater is divided into AJAY GUPTA is the Assistant Vice President in refining R&D at Reliance Industries
two, three or four heat exchangers to illustrate the effect of mal- Ltd. in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.

Heat Transfer
J. COLANNINO, ClearSign Combustion,
Seattle, Washington
New burner structure targets

significant NOx reduction
Delek US comprises both refining and logistic segments. invested nearly $1 B in technology and operational and envi-
The refining segment operates four moderate complexity refin- ronmental spending in pursuit of its goals.
eriesEl Dorado, AK; Krotz Springs, LA; Big Spring, TX; and In its continued search for new technology to improve opera-
Tyler, TXrepresenting a combined production capacity of tional and environmental excellence, Delek began a program to
more than 300 Mbpd. Deleks logistics segment gathers, trans- improve the flame profile in key heaters. One heater of particu-
ports and stores crude oil. It also distributes, stores and trans- lar interest was a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) preheater at its
ports refined products to West Texas and the Southeastern US. Tyler facility. The heater was originally sized for 15 MMBtu/hr
The Tyler facility processes local light sweet crude (West Texas in 1978, but it was operating at a reduced firing rate due to flame
Intermediate and similar) and produces a complete range of re- impingement issues. Flame impingement occurs when wayward
fined products. These products include LPG, NGL, gasoline, flames impact process tubes. The high heat causes the process
jet and diesel fuels, with the largest volume being light, high-val- fluid to lay down, insulating sediment or forming oligomers
ue products, such as gasoline and diesel. Delek has historically known as coke. Over time, these layers thicken, further insulat-
been forward-leaning with respect to technology and the envi- ing the tube wall from the cooling effect of the process fluid. If
ronment. For example, the El Dorado facility produces low-sul- coking continues unabated, the tube wall may become so hot
fur gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel that meet or exceed that it loses critical strength and ruptures. In a refinery, this issue
current clean-fuel standards. To date, Delek has invested nearly is of particular concern because the process fluid is flammable.
$1 B in technology, operational and environmental spending. In some instances, emissions reduction techniques can im-
Delek has been forward-leaning with respect to technol- pede heater operation. For example, low-nitrogen oxide (NOx)
ogy and the environment. For example, the El Dorado facility burners generally reduce NOx by elongating flames to allow
produces low-sulfur gasoline and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel more time for the flame to exchange radiant heat with the cooler
that meet or exceed clean fuel standards. To date, Delek has process tubes in the furnace. Such radiative cooling lowers the
flame temperature and reduces NOx since NOx is strongly af-
fected by three factors: temperature, time at temperature and
Furnace available oxygen (O2 ) concentration. To understand why this
happens, an overview of NOx formation mechanisms is needed.
NOx formation. NOx can be formed in three ways: 1) by the

Flame oxidation of nitrogen (N2 ) in a parent fuel molecule, termed fuel-
bound NOx ; 2) by the fusion of N2 and O2 in the combustion air
Burner tile to create NOx, termed thermal NOx1; and 3) by the fusion of N2
from the combustion air with partially decomposed fuel early in
the combustion process, termed prompt NOx.2 Nitric oxide (NO)
is the majority forma of NOx in heaters and boilers; the discus-
Fuel orifice Stabilizing cone sion focuses on that species of NOx. For gaseous refinery fuels,
N2 is generally not present as part of the fuel molecule. Moreover,
Burner
Air prompt NOx makes a small contribution to the total NOx budget.
That leaves thermal NOx, which is represented in Eq. 1.
b
[ NO ] = A [ N 2 ] e T [O2 ]dt (1)
Fuel Air register
Note: A and b are constants, the brackets represent concen-
FIG. 1. Elements of a typical burner, including fuel orifices, an air trations of the enclosed species, T is the temperature, and t is the
register, a pilot (not shown) and a means of flame stabilization.
time. The exact time-temperature-O2 history in industrial boil-
Heat Transfer
ers is too complex to allow for solution of Eq. 1. Notwithstand- Second, burner flame lengths in process heaters and boil-
ing, the equation is instructive in showing that NOx formation ers are typically measured in tens of feet. A long flame length,
increases with temperature increases (exponentially weighted), at high temperatures, provides ample combustion to generate
time (linearly weighted) and O2 concentration (square-root NOx. Conversely, with a distal surface, combustion is completed
weighted). A technique known as distal surface combustion can in inches, representing an order of magnitude less time for NOx
reduce the contribution of all three factors. formation. Ultra-short flame lengths are possible because com-
bustion is not kinetically limited, but rather mixing limited. In
Distal surface architecture. The elements of a typical burn- other words, the time it takes to mix the fuel and air is the princi-
er are shown in FIG. 1. All combustion equipment requires me- pal determinant of flame length. Once fuel and air are mixed, the
tering of the fuel, metering of the air, a means of ignition and a combustion reaction proceeds very quickly. By supporting com-
means of stabilizing the flame. In a conventional burner, these bustion only after the fuel and air mixing are complete, the flame
functions are fulfilled by the fuel orifice, air register, burner is confined to within and near the porous distal surface. Short
pilot and one or more burner tiles, stabilizing cones or other flames eliminate flame impingement, as well. Another possible
bluff bodies or swirlers. In FIG. 2, a combustion surface has been benefit of delayed ignition is the ability of the fuel and air to en-
added downstream (distal) from the burner, and the flame has train flue gas. This process dilutes the O2 and fuel concentrations
been transferred from the burner to the distal surface, which before ignitionthe third important factor in the NOx equation.
now radiates heat to the process. The distal surface dramatically
reduces NOx. For example, a conventional burner generates
about 50 parts per million (ppm) of NOx , while NOx from the
distal surface is usually 5 ppm (i.e., an order of magnitude less).
Why does this happen?
First, a porous ceramic body has an effective emissivity close
to that of a perfect blackbody radiator; therefore, it transfers
heat to the surroundings with much higher efficiency than the
flame. This effect is made apparent by comparing gaseous spe-
cies radiation from a natural gas flame with blackbody radiation
from a solid (FIG. 3). The area under the curve of the blackbody
radiator is much greater than the area under the curve for gas-
eous species radiation, and is proportional to the radiative heat
transferred. Comparing blackbody radiation to gaseous species
radiation shows that the blackbody surface has a greater ability FIG. 3. Comparison of blackbody vs. spectral radiation for a gaseous
to reduce flame temperature via radiative cooling. The result is fuel. A blackbody radiates with greater intensity than gaseous species
dramatically lower NOx. radiation. The total radiant energy is given by the areas under the
respective curves. By inspection, the area under the blackbody radiation
curve is much greater than the area under the gaseous species radiation
curve, indicating a much higher amount of radiant energy transferred.
Porous ceramic
surface
Furnace
Support
structure
Burner tile
Fuel orifice Stabilizing cone

Burner
Air
Fuel Air register

FIG. 4. Integral burner/distal surface assembly. Distal surfaces are
FIG. 2. Addition of a distal combustion surface. A distal porous added downstream of the burner proper as part of an integral burner
ceramic surface has been added downstream of the burner. The flame assembly. This allows for a burner-for-burner replacement, whereby
is omitted. All combustion takes place within and nearby the distal high NOx of flame-impinging burners are swapped one-for-one with
surface. Under such conditions, NOx is generally less than 5 ppm. the integral burner/distal surface assembly.

Heat Transfer
Delek burner upgrades. The typical way that the distal sur- development of a novel technology to enhance mixing, stabilize
face is installed in a heater is shown in FIG. 2. It is also in com- the flame and reconfigure specially designed distal surfaces.
mercial use in once-through steam generators (OTSGs). In
these configurations, the technology operates in units with State of the art. The new product has successfully proven it-
fired capacities as high as 62.5 MMBtu/hr. However, Delek self in full-scale laboratory testing over H2 concentrations rang-
preferred to install an integral burner-distal-surface assem- ing from 0% to 70%, and under anticipated turndown conditions
bly, because such an assembly would give Delek the ability to and a wide range of excess air scenarios. The next step is instal-
perform burner-for-burner replacements without the need to lation in Deleks Tyler, Texas refinery before the end of the year.
modify the heater. FIG. 4 shows the integral assembly that was Deleks FCC preheater is a six-burner heater. Two of the six
developed. In this case, no additional surfaces are installed in burners are to be replaced in the operating heater. The goals of
the heater. Rather, the burner assembly contains both the burn- this demonstration are twofold: to demonstrate that the burners
er and the distal surface. One of the challenges to installation can be safely swapped while the unit is in operation, and to dem-
was refinery fuel that contained varying amounts of hydrogen onstrate that flame lengths are reduced and flame impingement
(H2 ). H2 has markedly different combustion properties com- is eliminated. Pending a successful result, the remaining four
pared to hydrocarbons. For example, H2 has triple the flame burners will be replaced and NOx emissions will be measured.
speed and burns over an air-to-fuel range that is more than six With this and other efforts, Delek seeks to further establish its
times wider than natural gas. commitment to environmental stewardship and enhanced value
These characteristics conspire to form flames prematurely, for shareholders and society.
lengthen flames and inflate NOx. Moreover, bringing the distal
NOTE
surface closer to the burner requires faster mixing than afforded a
The other major species containing NOx is nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, for
by conventional burner designs. industrial combustion systems operating at 2%5% excess O2, NO2 is a relatively
To ensure that the final design would operate successfully minor component and not considered further.
under these conditions, the vendor4 performed extensive testing REFERENCES
in its facility, which varied excess O2 , H2 content, turndown and 1
Zeldovich, Y. B., Acta Physicochim, USSR, Vol. 21, Iss. 577, 1946.
flame detection locations. These variables were tested with vari- 2
Fenimore, C. P., Formation of nitric oxide in premixed hydrocarbon flames, 13th
ous burner and structural support configurations, with Delek International Combustion Symposium, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, 1970.
approving the final test matrix. The final design required the 3
ClearSign Combustion Corp., Seattle, Washington, www.clearsign.com.
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2017 AMETEK Inc. All rights reserved.

Environment
and Safety
S. ZARDYNEZHAD, Contributing Writer,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Design atmospheric aboveground storage tanks

for accident prevention
The design and construction of oil, gas and petrochemical To be considered competent to perform design activities
facilities is continuously improving, as increasing compliance and tasks, designers must be qualified, trained and experienced.
with ever-changing codes and standards, such as the American They should understand codes, standards and regulations, and
Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Fire Protection interpret them correctly. Designers should participate in the
Association (NFPA), is resulting in fewer atmospheric above- identification of the projects technical risks related to AAST
ground storage tank (AAST) accidents. design and plant layout. TABLE 1 shows modified input, tools and
The frequency of tank accidents has decreased with better techniques, and output for identifying risks related to AAST de-
design considerations and improved inspection, operation and sign activities,1 with some modifications.
maintenance activities, but fires and other incidents still occur. Incorrect roof selection for an AAST can be a potential cause
Due to the size of most AASTs, fire accidents involving large of fire. According to a study of 242 AAST accidents that oc-
AASTs carry increased consequences in terms of cost, property curred in industrial facilities over a 40-yr period (19602003),
damage, health, safety and environmental impacts, the inter- the external floating roof tank (EFRT) was the most frequent
ruption of operations and damaged public opinion. The fol- type of roof that experienced fire, followed by the atmospheric
lowing will review some main causes of fires or other types of cone fixed-roof tank.2
accidents, and discuss AAST design requirements that impact
safe and reliable tank operation. In addition, accident preven- Roof selection. Fixed-cone/dome-roof storage tanks include
tion methods will be detailed. vent nozzles to atmosphere that normally allow the tank to
AASTs are used to store or mix/blend flammable and com- breathe during loading, unloading and temperature changes.
bustible liquids in various ways, and may also be used for crys- Vent fires are typically related to fixed-roof tanks, such as cone/
tallization, phase separation and heat exchange. Each year, dome and internal floating roof tanks (IFRTs). The main cause
numerous AAST fires or other types of accidents occur in the of fire is a lightning strike that can ignite fugitive vapors that
US and around the world, despite different and updated stud- might be present at the vent. Depending on the location of the
ies and techniquessuch as risk studies, hazard and operability tanks in the plant and their proximity to the local community,
(HAZOP) studies, failure mode effects analysis (FMEA), etc.
that have been conducted during design or operation stages. Sizing and range
of liquids
Many factors must be considered during AAST sizing, se- Fire protection and Engineering and technical
lection and design to construct AASTs that are reliable for the fighting study requirements
Causes of accidents
entire service life of the plant (FIG. 1). It is important for design- (lesson learned)
Hazard identification Codes,
ers and for operations and maintenance personnel to be familiar standards,
with the causes of fires and the respective prevention methods. regulations
Material selection AAST
At first glance, it seems that the major causes of an AAST fire selection
are operational and maintenance errors, corrosion, lightning and design Environmental
Corrosion requirements
or sparks, or static electricity. All signs may indicate that these prevention
causes point to plant operators and the maintenance team. How-
Layout study Local fire department
ever, by using a detailed root cause analysis (RCA), the main Risk study/FMEA review and feedback
causes of a fire can be easily captured. For example, the generally
held belief is that the sinking of the Titanic was caused by the im- Community firefighting
pact of an iceberg. Actually, a post-tragedy RCA determined that facilities
more than 100 factors caused the great ship to sink. Poor AAST
design can trigger operation and maintenance errors, corrosion FIG. 1. Key factors that must be considered during AAST design
and selection.
or static electricity that may cause a fire or other incident.
Environment and Safety
the vents are equipped with environmental controls and flame This design is most common in EFRTs, based on the au-
arresters/diverters to capture emissions. thors experience. To weld the outside angle between the deck
An EFRT comprises vertical steel cylinders with a roof that plate and the outer ring plate (FIG. 5), the design of the angle
floats on the surface of the liquid in the tank. It is open to the should be modified, as shown in FIG. 6. Basically, the outer ring
atmosphere above; i.e., there is no fixed roof above the floating plate of the pontoon is extended vertically to make a 90 angle
roof. The risk of a fire in this type of tank is very high and prob- with the deck plate. This will allow the welder to weld the angle
able because the wetted shells are open to atmosphere when the from below the deck when the deck sits on supports. In FIG. 3,
floating roof travels downward. In addition, any leak could re- the deck plate is extended horizontally rather than the outer
sult in stock on the deck, which can cause a fire. Pontoon failure ring plate extending vertically, as shown in FIG. 6. The details
of the EFRT is another source of accident and can be caused by shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 may cause leakage of the liquid to the
several factors, including an incorrect selection of weld design. pontoon and sink the roof accordingly, causing many problems
FIG. 2 shows welding inside the pontoon, which is normally in- (even during hydrostatic test operations).
complete in length. Welding outside the pontoon (FIG. 3) can- Rim-seal fires are the main cause of a large majority of EFRT
not be done due to limited access and space between the tank fires, and can occur in IFRTs, as well. Lightning is the primary
shell and outer ring of the pontoon, which is 300 mm400 mm. source of ignition for rim fires for EFRTs, and an induced electri-
This clearance will not provide suitable access to weld the outer cal charge may also spark ignition.
ring plate to the deck plate, as shown in FIG. 4. In addition to manual semi-fixed or fully-fixed, rim-seal fire
FIG. 2. Welding inside the pontoon is normally incomplete FIG. 3. Limited access between the tank shell and outer ring of the
in length. pontoon prohibits welding.
TABLE 1. Inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs of risk-identification processes for AAST design activities
Inputs Tools and techniques Outputs
Equipment criticality table Expert judgment Risk register
Technical document and drawing Design review
Decision criteria Information gathering techniques
FMEA for each tank Group creativity techniques
Hidden failure study Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
Mean-time between failures (MTBF) Assumption validity analysis
Causes of accidents/lessons learned Diagnostic techniques
Technical deviations
Prototype design identification
Plant layout
Plant hazard identification/HAZOP
Plant safety philosophy
Stockholder register and analysis
Community/neighborhood study
Codes, standards and regulations
protection systems, an automatic foam injection system mount- welded to the tank surfaces (FIG. 9). At the very least, the num-
ed on the floating roof deck in different locations should be con- ber of fixed cooling piping rings should cover from the top to
sidered to cover 360 and quickly inject foam to the rim seal. near the middle of the tank surface.
Rim-seal fires for IFRTs are more difficult to combat compared
to EFRTsparticularly when semi-fixed or fully-fixed systems Tank height. Careful selection of tank height is important, as
are not considered by the designerbecause the only access for it affects firefighting operations and productivity. Designers
fire extinguishing is through the vents or access covers on the prefer to reduce AAST diameter and increase the height for the
fixed roof (FIG. 7). following reasons:
To provide positive head for unloading pumps
Layout. One key aspect of AAST design is determining the best [The AAST must always remain filled above the
location (for cost minimization, required safety, etc.) for the low pump-out level (LPO) during operation,
AAST during the preparation of the plant plot plan. If a plant which is a fixed distance above the bottom of the tank]
is on a slope and must be designed over several terraces, design- The cost of a floating roof is proportionally higher
ers sometimes install the feed and intermediate products of than that of a shell for a given tank capacity
the AAST upstream of the process plant to minimize costs and To reduce the bottom surface area, shorten the maximum
pumping power requirements. However, if the large-feed AAST
collapses due to fire, then the fire and hydrocarbon liquid may Outer ring plate Welding is not possible
reach the plant and create a dangerous and out-of-control situa-
tion. It is better to install the tanks downstream of the plant on Inner ring plate
the slopethe overall plant layout should be carefully studied
on a case-by-case basis. Shell plate
The surrounding areas and a suitable number of access routes
to the tanks location have significant impacts on firefighting
Pontoon 300 mm400 mm
activities and success. Safe distances from other process equip-
ment must be calculated. The layout and distance of the hydrant FIG. 5. A method of pontoon welding design.
and monitors around/to each tank should be carefully studied,
and decisions should be based on the number of tanks in each
area, wind direction, migration of fire risk to adjacent tanks, etc. Outer ring plate
Water supply. A large volume of water is critical during AAST Inner ring plate
firefighting operations for cooling and extinguishing purposes.
If the plant is located near the sea, connecting the main fire-wa- Shell plate
ter piping system to the seawater in case of emergency is highly
recommended. Also, during the design phase, consider suitable Pontoon
portable or fixed monitors around the tank to cool it evenly. Un- 300 mm400 mm
even cooling of the AAST will allow the tank shell to soften and
ultimately fail where the uneven cooling was applied (FIG. 8). Welding is now possible from under the deck
The fixed cooling piping rings and associated supports in-
stalled around the tank perimeter are suitable for working under FIG. 6. Recommended method of pontoon welding design.
high-temperature conditions as a result of fire, and are carefully
FIG. 4. The limited space between the tank shell and the outer ring
of the pontoon. FIG. 7. Automatic foam injection-deck mounted.

distance to sump and minimize the formation of ing AAST operations: slop-over, froth-over, boil-over and py-
bird baths rophoric ignitions.
To reduce vapor space in fixed-roof tanks
To reduce the cost of foundation, cathodic protection, Dike designs. Dikes around the AAST serve two main purposes:
earth work, etc. Provide a physical barrier to prevent the spread of
The recommended height of an AAST is a maximum of 15 tank contents if the tank overflows, or if the tank
m, depending on land acquisition and cost limitations. It is im- structure fails due to corrosion or other causes
portant that the fire-water streams trajectory can reach to the Segregate and group tanks according to their
top of the tank. During a fire, obstructed full liquid surface content classifications.
fires can occur in a fixed roof, EFRT and IFRT. The roof or pan Dike types and materials (i.e., compacted earth, concrete or
blocks access to the burning surface, and this becomes more dif- other material) are carefully selected and designed. The dikes di-
ficult when the tanks height is increased. If the tank height can- mensions (height, perimeter, etc.) are functions of the volume of
not be limited at 15 m, then an elevated monitor tower should the tanks enclosed within a particular dike area. Dike design must
be considered to allow fire water or foam to reach the top of the consider containment of the tanks total contents, and it should be
tank for firefighting and cooling. designed according to the volume of the largest tank, plus an ad-
ditional percentage as a safety margin (FIG. 10). The dikes waste
Open flames. Hot particles can ignite flammable vapors around and rainwater drain piping system should be furnished with a
an AAST. The risk of explosion of process equipment, such as suitable gate valve located safely outside the dike area: that valve
large process towers, should be considered during plant layout, should be normally closed with a proper locking device. Equip-
and a safe distance should be determined following risk and other ment, lighting towers, transformers, etc., should also be installed
required studies. In a fire case at a mega petrochemical plant, a outside the dike area, and all openings on the dike walls should be
large process tower, with a height that exceeded 120 m, exploded carefully and completely sealed by proper materials.
due to an increase of internal pressure caused by overheating. Hot
flying particles reached an EFRT that was used to store naphtha, Emergency pumpouts. During firefighting, it is sometimes
igniting a large fire. If the tank had been an IFRT rather than an necessary to decrease the volume or level of flammable and com-
EFRT for this service, then the accident may not have happened. bustible liquid inside the tank as quickly as possible, particularly
for floating-roof tanks where decks or pans block access to the
Static electricity. Friction between two sliding or rolling parts burning surface. Eliminating combustible material greatly as-
made of different materials or substances generates static elec- sists firefighting efforts. Designers should check the capacity of
tricity. The electrical charges on the surface of the objects bal- tank unloading pumpsparticularly large tanksand consider
ance each other by the free flow of electrons. However, when proper margins that allow higher flowrates when needed, such
they are separated, each part is left with an extra or shortage of as using variable frequency drives (VFD) and parallel opera-
electrons, causing both parts to become electrically charged. tions. The temperature of the tanks contents during a fire will be
When the produced charges lack a rout to the ground (e.g., increased, and designers should consider this when considering
by grounding probe or wire), the charges create static electricity, materials and pump seal selections, as well as the transfer of hot
which, if not eliminated from the system, will build up and change liquid to other tanks during the fire. However, when the prod-
to a spark to a grounded part or another less highly charged part. uct is removed from the tank that is on fire, air is drawn into the
If a flammable or combustible vapor or dust mixture exists, as vapor space as liquid is removed, creating a hazard and bringing
in a hydrocarbon AAST, the result can be a fire or an explosion. more oxygen into the tank. This must also be considered.
Static electricity can build up during liquid transfer and
through contact with other materials, such as when liquid is Roof plate joint designs. The details of fixed-roof AAST
pumped to a tank, agitated inside, stirred or transferred in pip- joints (including the fixed roof for an IFRT) are shown in
ing. Designers should consider suitable designs and materials In the authors opinion, this joint design is unsuitable
FIG. 11.3
to eliminate the risk of fire due to static electricity. because the vapor inside the tank can be diffused and trapped
between the gap of two roof plates (e.g., A and B) and condensed
Special design considerations. Designers should remain by changing the ambient temperature or roof plate temperature.
aware of, and plan to prevent, the following phenomena dur- This configuration helps sever the corrosion condition that
can happen between the two plates when
the vapor contains a corrosive element
(e.g., the high sulfur content in gasoil).
As the author was inspecting a gasoil
tank in an oil refinery with a high sulfur
content run for 30 yr, part of the roof be-
neath his feet broke. A detailed root study
showed high corrosion in the gap between
the two plates. An alternative to prevent
trapped vapor in the gap is to install plate
FIG. 8. Steel tank softens and fails when FIG. 9. Cooling piping supports soften. A on plate B, and plate C below plate B,
heated. (Photo courtesy of Shana.) (Photo courtesy of Shana.) and so on. This configuration causes the
condensed vapor to be drained from the gap between the roof level, different shell courses may have different corrosion allow-
plates. This is not in compliance with API 650 (11th Ed.) and ances. The corrosion allowances for removable parts, such as pipe
should not be used without API and designer approval. How- spools, and permanently welded parts, such as columns, should
ever, the author believes that this alternative supplements the be considered. The roof structure may also require a corrosion
standard design where highly corrosive vapor exists. allowance, particularly if the service and vapor are corrosive.
Frangible roof joint designs. Clause 5.10.2.6 of API 650 Column design. The following example illustrates the design
(11th Ed.) allows a frangible roof joint design for fixed-roof of columns. A project has two aboveground atmospheric AASTs
AASTs, after securing purchaser approval. This is not a man- with IFRTs, each with a diameter of 70 m and a height of 15 m.
datory requirement as per API 650, but rather a recommended Each AAST is being designed by a different engineer. One en-
practice for emergency venting. (This causes the roof-to-shell gineer considers a fixed dome roof with 130 columns of 6 in. to
joint of the tank to fail before the shell-to-bottom plate or an- 12 in., and the other is designing a dome roof without columns
nular plates in the event of excess internal pressure, preventing and with a self-supported roof. Both meet code requirements
tank collapse and catastrophic failure.) In this case, the design in terms of roof stability and strength. The fixed-roof columns
pressure is limited to the equivalent pressure of the dead weight pose the following disadvantages:
of the roof plates, including structural rafters. They must penetrate into the floating roof/pan,
The designer should explain this API 650 requirement and causing vapor or liquid leakage from the opening and
its respective advantages to the purchaser. If the frangible joint requiring extra costs for sealing around the opening.
is designed and fabricated carefully, the roof will only be sepa- They occupy the volume of the tank.
rated, causing a fish mouth opening and not rocketing the roof They require inspection during operation and extra cost
into the air. for scaffolding.
Corrosion may occur on the surfaces of the columns.
Brittle fractures. Knowing the type and range of fluid, operat- They need adjustment and added shims after a field
ing temperature, design life, geographic location and minimum hydrostatic test to prevent roof damage due to foundation
design metal temperature (MDMT) for the plates is important. settlement.
MDMT defines which grade of steel is necessary to prevent They increase the cost of the project.
brittle fracture, and is the basis for establishing the required They may obstruct future inspections of the bottom, roof
toughness for the selected steel. plates and respective welds.
The susceptibility of the material to brittle fracturethe It is recommended to minimize the number of columns for
tensile failure of a material showing little deformation or yield- the AAST and, preferably, design the tank without the column.
ingis one of the most important material selection consider-
ations for an AAST. Literature provides evidence regarding tank Nozzle stress relief. API 650 (clauses 5.7.4.2 and 5.7.4.3) re-
failure due to brittle fracture, even during hydrostatic tests.4 quires post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) for all nozzle open-
The designer should be aware of two ways to ensure that se- ings of 12 in. and larger that are fabricated in a certain shell ma-
lected steel for an AAST has adequate toughness for the tanks terial group. API requires that nozzle openings are prefabricated
MDMT. The first is to proof-test each plate by impact tough- into the shell plate or thickened insert plate, and that the pre-
ness testing samples at or below the MDMT (e.g., using the fabricated assembly is thermally stress relieved together prior
Charpy V-notch method). The second method is purchasing a to installation. In the authors experience, most contractors and
material with adequate toughness (preferably one with a tran- vendors prefer to install nozzles in the field, do local PWHT
sition temperature that is below the MDMT), eliminating the and request a deviation to API 650, as they normally erect and
need for expensive impact testing, which can add 5%10% to weld the shell plates onsite without the nozzles to accelerate
the cost of the plate. construction activity.
Older codes, along with some newer codes, do not have
toughness requirements, such as the API 12 series standards
and the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) tank standards. API
650 has clearly defined a basis for impact testing and toughness
requirements of the plates in clauses 4.2.8 and 4.2.9, as briefly
explained in FIG. 12 for plate material of A 283-C (Group 1) and
an MDMT of 14F (10C).
The best practice for selecting steel for tank construction is
to use steel above its ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. FIG. 10. Common dike for several AASTs.
This helps ensure that the steel has adequate toughness for the
temperature conditions at the specified geographical location. Plate C
Plate B
Corrosion allowance. The designer should clearly define the Plate A No seal weld; vapor/gas can enter
corrosion allowance for AAST components to meet both eco- between plates and condense by
nomic and safety requirements. Normally, 1.5 mm is the mini- Roof-plate joint temperature change
mum thickness for the shell, and 0.75 mm for the roof. However,
FIG. 11. Roof-plate joint as per Figure 5-3A of API 650.
based on the water/corrosive elements content and the water
Average value of
3 nos test < 41 J Reject
Thk. > 9-mm Impact test Table 4-4
Figure 4-1 is required
A 283-C Average value of
MDMT = 10C 3 nos test > = 41 J
Thk. < = 9-mm Impact test Table 4-4
Figure 4-1 is not required
One value of 3 nos

test < 20 J and > = 2/3 Accepted
(20J) = 13.3 J
(4.2.8.3 and Table 4-4) All of 3 nos test
> = 20 J (4.2.8.3 Accepted
Two values of 3 nos and Table 4-4)
test < 20 J and > = 2/3 Reject, re-test
(20J) = 13.3 J new 3 nos
(4.2.8.3 and Table 4-4) specimens (4.2.8.3) One value of 3 nos
> = 20 J (4.2.8.3 Reject
One value of and Table 4-4)
3 nos test > = 2/3
(20J) = 13.3 J
(4.2.8.3 and Table 4-4)
FIG. 12. Example of impact test chart according to API 650.4
to remove a larger portion of the shell, weld the nozzle into a

new plate, conduct a PWHT, butt-weld the inserted assembly
into the shell and then weld a re-pad onto it. This requirement
is unclear and must be addressed by API in detail.
Takeaways. Many studies have been conducted regarding the

causes of accidents (mainly fires) on AASTs in oil, gas and pet-
rochemical facilities. Fishbone diagrams are used to categorize
and list causes and sub-causes in groups such as operational er-
ror, lighting, static electricity, tank crack/rupture, maintenance
errors and others. However, design is rarely reviewed and ad-
dressedit is assumed that, if the design is based on API and
other standards, then it meets all technical requirements and
the designers job is completed. It should be noted that stan-
dards, codes and regulations only cover the minimum (and not
all) technical requirements. Most tank accidents could have
been avoided if good engineering practice in design had been
implemented and executed.
LITERATURE CITED
1
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK Guide,
Project Management Institute Inc., 5th Ed., January 2013.
2
Chang J. and C.-C. Lin, A study of storage tank accidents, Journal of Loss
FIG. 13. Nozzle to inserted plate assembly. Prevention in the Process Industries, December 2004.
3
Welded steel tanks for oil storage, American Petroleum Institute, API 650, 11th
Ed., Figure 5-3A, June 2007.
However, API does not allow local stress relief of a nozzle 4
Design and construction of large, welded, low-pressure storage tanks, American
after it has been welded into the shell plate. A designer cannot Petroleum Institute, API 620, 11th Ed., January 2008.
accept this deviation because, as FIG. 13 shows, the local stress
relief in the field cannot be conducted for a nozzle-to-shell weld SHAHAB ZARDYNEZHAD is an Alberta-based Registered Senior
(Point 1). However, it can be done for a flange-to-pipe weld Mechanical Equipment Engineer with 25 yr of experience
working on many of the worlds largest oil, gas and
(Point 2). Schedule and cost are not valid reasons for deviating petrochemical projects. His areas of specialization and industrial
from codes, standards and regulations. experience include the engineering, design, procurement,
The requirement is clear for a new AAST, but, when API 653 inspection, installation, startup, maintenance and
troubleshooting of AASTs. He holds a BS degree in mechanical
is used regarding nozzle replacement of an existing tank, the engineering from the University of Petroleum, an MS degree in industrial
PWHT requirement refers to API 650. For an existing tank that engineering from the Iran University of Science & Technology (IUST),
requires a shell nozzle replacement for any reason, it is required and an MEng degree in project management from the University of Calgary.
Environment
and Safety
K. DEAN, MSA Senscient, Poole, UK
Turn to open-path laser detectors

for HF gas safety
Process engineers at a refinery in one of the Rocky Moun- The solution. To help the refinery solve its HF gas detection
tain states were concerned about detecting the potential ac- concerns, the process engineers at the plant contacted a manu-
cidental release of hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas at their plant facturer and told it that they were seeking a highly reliable HF
as part of a recent series of upgrades to the facility. HF is a gas monitoring solution that would provide the maximum
catalyst commonly used in petroleum refining alkylation pro- level of protection with the highest service uptime availability
cesses that create octane-boosting additives for gasoline pro- and no maintenance.
duced at the plant. The manufacturers team recommended a gas monitoring
The process engineers take great pride in living and work- system composed of four individual enhanced laser diode spec-
ing in their community, and the refinery is located near one troscopy (ELDS) open-path HF gas detection sensors, creating
of the regions major cities, which is recognized as a regional a full detection perimeter around the alkylation units process-
hub for its strong economy, including oil and gas production ing area. The open-path gas detector (OPGD) shown in FIG. 2
and refining. relies on ELDS to detect specific toxic and flammable gases. In
Maintaining a safe working environment at the refinery is the event of a gas leak, the sensors laser technology recognizes
the top priority for the companys process engineers. The po- and analyzes a gas specific harmonic fingerprintwhich, in
tential presence of hazardous toxic, flammable and combustible this case, is HF gasand issues an alarm when gas is present.
gases requires the plant to employ a highly reliable safety moni- During normal operation, some of the laser light is reflected
toring system with advanced detection sensor technologies. continuously through a sample of the target gas contained by
The refinery (FIG. 1) has a crude oil capacity of more than a hermetically sealed reference cell. This design ensures that
50 Mbpd. Crude oil is purchased from local producers and the laser remains locked on the selected gas wavelength for the
imported from Canada via pipeline. The plants refined prod- specific target gas, such as HF. The detectors harmonic finger-
ucts are distributed primarily to the eastern slope of the Rocky print technology (FIG. 3) helps ensure precise gas recognition,
Mountain region, including the Denver metro area, eastern eliminating the potential for false alarms, even during adverse
Wyoming and western Nebraska. environmental conditions.
The problem. Alkylation is a conversion process used in many

petroleum refineries, creating additives that boost the octane of
gasoline by converting isobutanes into alkylates. This process
requires the presence of a strong acid acting as a catalyst, and
in many refineries (including this facility), HF is the acid used.
Refinery alkylation processes with HF pose two process
safety operating hazards. First, large amounts of hydrocarbons
are processed, which are both flammable and explosive. The
accidental release of toxic HF gas is also a serious potential
threat to plant employees and the surrounding area, should a
gas cloud form and be carried away on a windy day.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
regulate HF as a highly toxic substance. If HF is released into
the atmosphere, it often rapidly forms dense vapor clouds that
hover near land and can travel over great distances. Like other FIG. 1. The potential presence of hazardous toxic, flammable and
powerful acids, HF can cause deep, severe burns and damage combustible gases requires refineries to employ a highly reliable
safety monitoring system.
the eyes, skin, nose, throat and respiratory system.
FIG. 3. Multipoint harmonic fingerprint illustration.
with a fast response time (< 3 sec) compared to other toxic gas
detection technologies. The ELDS gas detector features sepa-
rate transmitter and receiver assemblies, which are certified for
use in potentially explosive atmospheres and can detect HF
over distances of 5 m120 m.
The ELDS gas detectors are constructed of high-grade,
corrosion-resistant 316 stainless steel. Unlike traditional point
FIG. 2. A gas monitoring system composed of four individual enhanced detectors and other field instruments, HF corrosion is of less
laser diode spectroscopy (ELDS) open-path HF gas detection sensors concern as this transmitter/receiver arrangement allows them
was recommended to surround the alkylation units processing area. to be located away from the high HF concentrations found
close to a potential leak source.
False alarms pose a serious problem with many gas and ELDS detectors are ideally suited for onshore, open and en-
flame detection technologies. They can result in excessive plant closed environments, including the cold winter temperatures
downtime, which often requires complex investigations and in the Rocky Mountain states, or the high temperatures in the
regulatory reporting. From a safety perspective, frequent false Middle East or Africa. Heated optics provide service over a
alarms lead to a lack of confidence by employees in the detec- wide temperature range, from 67F140F (55C60C),
tion technology, and a culture of apathy that can cause employ- and the detector is hazardous area-approved to CSA, UL Class
ees to fail to act promptly during an actual emergency event. 1, ATEX, IECEx, EAC and INMETRO standards.
Class 1 eye-safe lasers are used to penetrate thick fog, heavy
rain and snow beyond the capability of traditional open-path Results. The refinery process engineering team continues to
infrared (OPIR) detectors. With its automated safety integrity be satisfied with the performance of the open-path gas detector
self-check, the typical OPIR sensor gas checks and recalibra- for HF monitoring, and no missed events or false alarms have
tions that usually require field technician time to address are occurred since the detection system was put into service. The
not needed. Unlike electrochemical cells, ELDS sensors are engineers also appreciate having virtually zero maintenance
also immune to sensor poisoning and interferent gases, thanks detectors, which are expected to provide a significant opera-
to their gas-specific harmonic fingerprint detection. tional maintenance cost savings over other types of HF gas de-
The refinery plant team reported that the new HF gas detection technologies.
tectors were relatively easy to install, commission and operate.
Bluetooth wireless technology with advanced smart diagnos- KEVIN DEAN is a Product Manager with MSA Safety, and
tics are an additional feature. No technician or physical inter- has more than 35 yr of experience in industrial gas detection.
vention is required for local interrogation, event log download- He has held numerous sales, marketing and product
management roles within the industry before joining
ing and troubleshooting. Senscient, which is now part of MSA Safety. Mr. Dean has
The process engineers at the refinery considered this gas an HNC in engineering and a postgraduate diploma in
detectors performance to be excellent for their application, marketing with the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing.
SULFUR
MANAGEMENT
Special Supplement to
COSO case study: 22 years CORPORATE PROFILES

of reliable sulfur removal Veolia S91
S86
COVER PHOTO
Moving sulfur granules into piles.
Image courtesy of WorleyParsons.
SULFUR MANAGEMENT
COSO CASE STUDY: 22 YEARS

OF RELIABLE SULFUR REMOVAL
M. KOLAR, COSO Operating Co., California; W. ECHT and S. OSGOOD, Merichem Co., Houston, Texas
Coso Operating Co. LLC operates a injected into the geothermal field with containing LO-CAT units: the Navy 1
300-MW electricity generation facility at water (H2O). Over time, this H2S abate- power plant and Navy 2 power plant. The
the China Lake Naval Weapons Station, ment method became costlier, mostly due site has a total of three LO-CAT units
approximately 170 mi northeast of Los An- to compressor maintenance. In 1993, the (TABLES 1 and 2). The Navy 2 site has
geles, California, at Coso Junction. After first of three LO-CAT units was installed. two LO-CAT units, the Navy 2 unit and
steam wells are tapped and gathered, they After startup, the non-condensable car- the Navy 210 unit. Only the Navy 210 is
produce electricity from the renewable bon dioxide (CO2 ) and H2S were flashed, discussed here, since the Navy 2 unit is
geothermal energy source. The produced compressed and routed to the LO-CAT only periodically operated.
steam is passed through a set of turbines/ unit for sulfur removal before being emit- Overall, the units have operated well
generators. Non-condensable vapors are ted into the atmosphere. throughout their history.
separated from the condensed steam (wa- The LO-CAT process has been remov-
ter) at low pressure. Finally, the brine is re- ing H2S at the site for the past 22 yr. This LO-CAT process description and pro-
injected into the geothermal field. technology greatly reduced sulfur emis- cess flow. The LO-CAT process converts
The non-condensable vapors cannot sion exceedances and operating costs rela- H2S contained in the raw feed gas into
be vented to the atmosphere until small tive to technologies used prior to installing elemental sulfur (FIG. 1).
amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are the LO-CAT unit.1 Before entering the LO-CAT unit,
removed. When the plant was started up The site has a total of four power raw feed gas passes through an activated
initially, the H2S-laden vapors were regeneration facilities, with two of them carbon bed to absorb mercury and other
heavy metals. The raw gas then enters the
TABLE 1. LO-CAT units in operation at the facility autocirculation vessel where the H2S is ab-
Plant name Power generated, MW LO-CAT installation date Operating status
sorbed into a proprietary LO-CAT cata-
lyst solution. The catalyst is deactivated
Navy 1 75 1993 24/7
in the absorber section where H2S is con-
Navy 2 90 1993 On standby verted into elemental sulfur. Subsequently,
Navy 210 90 1996 24/7 the catalyst is regenerated in the oxidizer
section of the same autocirculation vessel.
TABLE 2. LO-CAT unit design parameters Regeneration is achieved by contact-
ing the LO-CAT solution with oxygen
Plant name Raw gas flowrate, sft3m Inlet H2S, vol% Recovered sulfur, ltpd* contained in air. The air and sweetened
Navy 1 3,688 1.18 2.4 gas exit to the atmosphere as vent gas. The
Navy 2 6,774 1.55 5.8 LO-CAT solution is circulated between
Navy 210 6,228 3 10 the absorber and oxidizer sections via a
*Long tons per day system of baffles and weirs, with density
difference as the driving force.
Elemental sulfur formed via the reac-
tion becomes suspended in the catalyst
solution. To remove the elemental sul-
fur from the process, a circulation pump
sends a slipstream of solution to a settler
vessel, which allows the sulfur to concen-
trate and form a slurry. The slurry is rout-
ed to a filter, which separates the sulfur
from the LO-CAT solution and washes
the filter cake. The sulfur is discharged
into a sulfur bin while the clarified solu-
tion (i.e., filtrate) is returned to the auto-
circulation vessel.
Even with H2O washing of the sulfur
FIG. 1. Simplified flow diagram of the LO-CAT unit. filter cake, some LO-CAT solution exits
S86 SULFUR MANAGEMENT|OCTOBER 2017|HydrocarbonProcessing.com

SULFUR MANAGEMENT
with the solid sulfur. Makeup catalyst is 8,000 ppmv and 13,000 ppmv), with aver- CAT unit was installed. One incident
added to maintain the solution at opti- age concentrations close to 1 vol%. occurred in December 2000, when the
mum concentrations. A surfactant is add- Navy 1 initially produced sulfur at de- vent gas H2S was reported at 90 ppmv. As
ed to help prevent foam and floating sul- sign rates of 2.4 long tons per day (ltpd), shown in FIG. 4, this incident happened
fur. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is added with spikes of up to 2.7 ltpd. Over time, because the solution chemistry was out of
for pH control. the average sulfur production actually balance. All readings above 30 ppmv cor-
increased before declining to the current relate to rapid changes in the feed gas con-
Operations review. Two key parameters sulfur production of 1.25 ltpd1.75 ltpd. ditions that require operator response.
ensure consistent LO-CAT operations: The reason for sulfur production decreas- Since early 2001, the vent gas H2S has
1. Prevent sulfur from settling ing over time is that H2O condensed from rarely exceeded 30 ppmv. Typical per-
in incorrect places the steam wells (which are now free of formance measures at approximately 15
2. Maintain proper solution sulfur) is injected into the geothermal res- ppmv, which maintains the unit within
chemistry. ervoir. This process dilutes the sulfur con- environmental permit requirements.
Operating practices keep sulfur tent of the produced steam. The LO-CAT The Navy 210 unit was designed for 3
from settling in the wrong places within unit was adapted to turndown conditions vol% H2S in the feed gas, but H2S levels
the unit. The main method is to use via the sparger shuffling procedure men- have not exceeded 2.8 vol%. At present,
air blasts that are placed strategically tioned previously. inlet H2S has declined from an average of
throughout the unit in regions of low During the early years of operation, 2 vol% to approximately 1 vol%.
flow. Nozzles send bursts of air into stag- the Navy 1 unit periodically experienced At startup, the Navy 210 LO-CAT unit
nant areas within the autocirculation high H2S in the vent gas. However, these produced sulfur at rates of 4 ltpd6 ltpd,
and settler vessels, which prevents sulfur few instances of exceedance were lower with spikes of up to 7.2 ltpd. Over time,
buildup. When feed gas flows through than other technologies used to meet the average sulfur production declined to
the unit at the process design rate, sulfur environmental standards before the LO- 3 ltpd4 ltpd.
in the solution is less likely to settle in the
wrong places within the unit.
Coso and Merichem have developed
special flushing and sparger shuffling
methods to prevent sulfur settling when
the unit is operating at low flowrates. The
gas flow to each sparger head (internal
vapor distributor) is blocked, allowing
gas pressure buildup. Water is then peri-
odically flushed through the spargers to
keep them clean. This shuffling is done
approximately every 4 hr8 hr to each
sparger in rotation.
As a result of this attention to detail,
Coso is able to run both active LO-CAT
units consistently for a full year, until the
entire plant takes the mandated geother-
mal field shutdown. The need for a shut- FIG. 2. Sulfur data for the Navy 1 unit.
down is determined by the backpressure
on the raw gas compressors. An increase
in raw gas backpressure indicates sulfur
buildup on the floor or at the spargers of
the autocirculation vessels. Unplanned
outages due to high backpressure are very
rare. Outages are typically due to low- or
no-flow from the upstream power plants,
which causes sparger plugging.
The H2S removal performance of the
Navy 1 and Navy 210 units is summarized
in FIGS. 2 and 3. The Navy 1 unit was
designed for 1.2 vol% H2S in the feed gas,
but experienced highs of 1.4 vol%1.5
vol% during its first 5 yr of operation.
Those peaks came less often over the last
17 yr. The inlet H2S has been consistent at
between 0.8 vol% and 1.3 vol% (between FIG. 3. Sulfur data for the Navy 210 unit.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING|OCTOBER 2017|SULFUR MANAGEMENT S87

SULFUR MANAGEMENT
The startup and operations experi- working catalyst solution within a defined chemicals solution concentrations have
ence from Navy 1 helped the startup and range of alkalinity, catalyst concentration stayed relatively stable throughout 22 yr of
operation of the Navy 210 unit. Initially, and sufficient regeneration. operating both LO-CAT units.
the H2S in the vent gas averaged 15 ppm, Trending daily solution analysis results Coso measures the alkalinity and
with occasional spikes ranging from 30 help operations keep the solution within oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of
ppmv40 ppmv. Since 2007, the H2S an optimum range. However, rapid chang- the regenerated LO-CAT solution daily.
vent gas has averaged less than 10 ppm, es in the inlet gas rate and composition These measurements ensure that the unit
with occasional spikes of up to 20 ppm. can cause excursions that could result in operates reliably because these measure-
Despite these spikes, the treated gas has off-specification treating. Additional solu- ments determine the chemical addition
consistently complied with environmen- tion testing immediately after measurable rates needed to keep the solution chem-
tal permit requirements. inlet gas changes helps operations main- istry within the required guidelines. Coso
tain solution chemistry during the upset performs a shake test that measures how
LO-CAT solution maintenance. In gen- and mitigate any adverse treating effects. quickly the sulfur particles sink to adjust
eral, LO-CAT units offer robust, consis- Merichem recommends monthly de- the rate of surfactant addition.
tent performance that meet unit design tailed analysis, but Coso decided to send ORP measurements indicate whether
criteria over a wide range of operating a sample to Merichem every two weeks. the catalyst solution is properly regenerated
conditions, including varying inlet gas This process generated a large amount of in the oxidizera key parameter for deter-
flowrates and composition. This per- operating data for analysis. Merichems de- mining catalyst activity. As shown in FIGS.
formance is possible by maintaining the tailed analyses show that the proprietary 4 and 5, ORP typically stayed within the
optimum operating range. If the catalyst is
over-regenerated, then chemical usage is
higher. Under-regenerating the catalyst re-
duces the active catalyst available for sulfur
reaction, and may cause off-specification
treating in the absorber section. This issue
appears to have been the case early in the
operation of the Navy 1 unit, which may
have caused some of the high H2S in the
vent gas that was noted in FIG. 2.
One discovery during the early years of
the Navy 1 unit operations was the impor-
tance of alkalinity as an operating variable
over pH. Most LO-CAT units monitor pH
only; however, that is not the case when
treating streams with high concentrations
of CO2. Large amounts of acidic CO2 in
solution reach equilibrium with the basic
LO-CAT solution and serve as a buffer,
stabilizing the pH. This scenario makes pH
measurement a less responsive indicator of
FIG. 4. Solution analyses for the Navy 1 unit. the solutions H2S solubility. In addition,
increased alkalinity is known to reduce the
solubility of CO2 in the LO-CAT solution.
In December 2000, data from the Navy
1 unit (FIG. 4) indicated that the solution
alkalinity was at an all-time low. This read-
ing corresponded to the highest treated
gas H2S content of 90 ppmv, as shown in
FIG. 2. The low alkalinity caused the sol-
ubility of the H2S in the LO-CAT solution
to fall so low that significant amounts of
H2S were measured in the vent gas. The al-
kalinity and ORP in the Navy 210 unit has
been more tightly controlled vs. the Navy
1 unit, due to the lessons learned during
the early operation of the Navy 1 unit.
LO-CAT sulfur product. The two out-

FIG. 5. Solution analyses for the Navy 210 unit. puts from the LO-CAT unit are the vent
S88 SULFUR MANAGEMENT|OCTOBER 2017|HydrocarbonProcessing.com

SULFUR MANAGEMENT
gas and the sulfur cake. The sulfur cake is hr/d3 hr/d of operator time to conduct lb of sulfur removed. Additionally, the
approximately 65% sulfur and 35% mois- solution testing and other operator tasks. Navy 210 LO-CAT unit achieved signifi-
ture. Washing the slurry during the drying Operator responsibilities include activities cant throughput turndowns of 25%35%,
process minimizes the loss of chemicals for other process units within the power without adverse process effects and with
(and operating cost). plant, in addition to the LO-CAT unit. only minor operational adjustments.
The elemental sulfur produced by the
LITERATURE CITED
LO-CAT unit is sold to Hondo Inc. in lieu Takeaway. The data shows that the units 1 Mason, T., CalEnergys Coso operation: A sub-
of being sent to a landfill. Hondo blends consistently meet H2S specifications, with stantial commitment to the environment pays off,
the sulfur with gypsum, and sells it as a operating costs in the range of just $0.29/ Geothermal Resources Council Bulletin, June 1996.
soil amendment. The Coso LO-CAT
sulfur has recently been certified as meet-
TABLE 3. Electrical demand for both LO-CAT units
ing the guidelines for use in fertilizing or-
ganically grown crops. Major electricity user Navy 1 Navy 210
Air blowers, kW 50 300
Cost of operation. The LO-CAT units Slurry pump, kW 20 30
two largest operating cost components
Belt filter, kW 15 20
are chemicals consumption and electrical
usage. TABLES 3 and 4 show the operating Total electricity, kW 85 350
costs of the two units at the Coso facility.
The electrical demand is constant, even TABLE 4. Operating cost per amount of sulfur removed
when changing the sulfur load. The Navy
210 unit has a larger inventory of solution; Operating cost $US/long ton US/lb
therefore, it requires more air to regener- Merichem catalyst/chemicals 420 0.19
ate the catalyst. KOH 93 0.04
The basis for the values is a total of 5.6 Electrical ($0.07/kW-hr) 130 0.06
ltpd1.6 ltpd produced by Navy 1 and
Major operating cost 643 0.29
3.9 from Navy 210. Minor costs include 2
LIVE WEBCAST: Tuesday, November 7, 2017

11 a.m. EST / 10 a.m. CST / 4 p.m. UTC
Designing Corrosion Out of Your Fireproofing System

Hydrocarbon processing plants are challenged with protecting assets against both
SPEAKER
corrosion and fire damage. Corrosion poses a great threat to structural integrity
Russell Norris especially in a fire scenario. Corrosion underneath fireproofing can be hard to detect,
Intumescent Coating Specialist
Sherwin-Williams and when its found, the costs to mitigate the corrosion and replace fireproofing
materials can overwhelm plant maintenance budgets.
This presentation highlights differences in fireproofing types and how each type
correlates with corrosion potential. It will help owners and specifiers select the proper
fireproofing materials to last the desired life of their assets, while eliminating the
threat of corrosion.
Register For Free: HydrocarbonProcessing.com/Webcasts

MODERATOR
Lee Nichols
Editor/Associate Publisher
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING|OCTOBER 2017|SULFUR MANAGEMENT S89

I am resourcing the
world through sulfuric
acid regeneration.
twitter: @veolia_na
www.veolianorthamerica.com
VEOLIA
DRIVING A MORE CIRCULAR

INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY THROUGH
SULFURIC ACID REGENERATION
According to research published by Accenture, The circular econ-
omy could generate $4.5 trillion of additional economic output by
2030. The research also finds that todays business practices will
contribute to a global gap of 8 billion tons between the supply and
demand of natural resources by 2030.
As the global leader in water, waste and energy management,
Veolias a major player in driving a more circular economy for industry.
This translates into services and technologies for diverting waste from
landfills, moving materials up the waste hierarchy, beneficial reuse
strategies, and producing quality materials and products that are com-
petitively priced and have a smaller environmental footprint than those
made with virgin materials.
INVESTING IN SULFURIC ACID MANAGEMENT

Sulfuric acid, for example, is the most widely usedand reused
chemical compound in the world, with applications in nearly every
industry, including refining, fertilizers, chemical manufacturing, pharma- What makes Veolias sulfuric acid business different from other
ceuticals, personal care and electronics, among others. players in this market is its Acid Technology Center (ATC), which is a
Since acquiring the Sulfur Products business from Chemours in 2016, group of over 30 engineers, scientists and technicians who exclusively
Veolia now owns seven operating sites across the United States that are support the companys sulfur products plants and customers. The nature
dedicated to sulfuric acid regeneration and production. At these plants, of the ATC is to maintain, improve and provide customer support and
elemental sulfur, spent sulfuric acid and recovered acid (sulfur) gases to bring experts together to solve problems. This nimble group travels
are processed into clean fuming and non-fuming sulfuric acids and other to customer sites as needed, supported by assistance to operations
high-value sulfur derivative (HVSD) products. Four of these plants are in engineers located at every Veolia plant.
geographies that make strategic sense to customers, product transporta-
tion and other supply chain logistics. The other three plants in Veolias OPTIONS FOR REFINERS
network are located on-site or adjacent-to a major refinery customer. For refiners, sulfuric acid management is a required, but non-core,
For example, Veolias Morses Mill sulfuric acid regeneration plant is component of their operation. Available options include sending materi-
located inside the gate at the Phillips 66 Bayway refinery in New Jersey. als off-site for regeneration, or managing it through on-site regeneration
All of the refinerys spent acid, plus its acid gases, are directed to this plants. Both present opportunities for Veolia to leverage its capabilities,
plant. The spent acid is regenerated into fresh sulfuric acid and returned operations and maintenance experience and expertise. We can partner
to the refinery. The acid gases are processed into sulfur products and sup- with a refinery to manage their spent acid at one of our existing regen-
plied to other customers in the merchant market. The plant also produces eration plants, or build a new regeneration plant to meet their specific
and supplies high-pressure steam to the refinery. Additionally, this plant needs. Alternatively, if refiners want to outsource their existing regen-
takes spent acid from other refineries to process and return as fresh acid. eration systems, Veolia is open to operating them on their behalf. This
allows them to focus on their core business of processing oil, not dealing
RAMPING ALKYLATION MARKET with the challenges of running a sulfuric acid plant safely and reliably.
One of the primary drivers for sulfuric acid in the refining segment
is the demand for alkylate. As consumer and regulatory demand for
gasoline with higher octane and lower vapor pressure ratings increases,
alkylate has emerged as the preferred additive. For the approximately
100 refiners with alky units in North America, alkylate is high-value and
in constant demand.
Sulfuric acid is one of two catalyst options for refiners running CONTACT INFORMATION
alkylation units. The other is hydrofluoric acid, in which Veolia also Veolia North America, Regeneration Services Main Office
plays a regenerative role through its potassium hydroxide (KOH) manu- 131 Continental Dr. Suite 300 Newark, DE 19713
facturing process. Since adding sulfuric acid regeneration capabilities, P: 302-444-9172
Veolia is positioned to offer a circular economy solution to every refinery contactus@veolia.com
with an alkylation unit. veolianorthamerica.com
SPONSORED CONTENT HYDROCARBON PROCESSING|OCTOBER 2017|SULFUR MANAGEMENT S91

ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS
INTO US NATURAL GAS FACILITIES
The Energy Web Atlas is a comprehensive source of data for facilities and installations in
the US natural gas industry. The web-based GIS application includes detailed data on more
than 500 US gas processing plants, 400 natural gas underground storage locations,
and 58 natural gas market hubs.
Data Points
The platforms mapping, search and query
tools allow users to interrogate up-to-date
facility and project data and find the
information needed for major decisions.
Data points include:
Key contacts (address, email, phone)

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Plant status
Owner/Operator
Gas storage capacity
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Comprehensive
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Built for ease-of-use, the platform facilitates
access to the most relevant data, with
functionality including:
Custom reporting, charting and graphing
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Data exports
Production quality maps, PDF exports
Interactive charts/statistics.
Additional Data/Maps Available. To schedule a personal demonstration,

contact JNette Davis-Nichols at
JNette.Davis-Nichols@EnergyWebAtlas.com,
Global LNG/pipeline data or at +1 (713) 520-4426.
Show Preview ADIPEC 2017
A. BLUME, Executive Editor
ADIPEC 2017 to forge ties and drive growth

with new downstream program
1316 November 2017 The 20th edition of Abu Dhabi In- ebrate excellence in energy; the Women
ternational Petroleum Exhibition & in Energy conference, which addresses
Abu Dhabi National Conference (ADIPEC) will take place gender balance in the energy sector; the
Exhibition Centre, 1316 November at the Abu Dhabi Security in Energy conference, which ex-
National Exhibition Centre. Hosted by amines the real-life security threats and
Abu Dhabi, UAE Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (AD- challenges facing the industry; Young
NOC), and supported by the UAE Min- ADIPEC, a dedicated edutainment
20th edition of Abu Dhabi istry of Energy, the Abu Dhabi Chamber program designed to encourage students
International Petroleum and the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture to choose a career in energy; and a VIP
Authority, ADIPEC 2017 will promote conference program for members of the
Exhibition & Conference dialogue between ministers and global Middle East Petroleum Club.
More than 10,000 delegates, business leaders. ADIPEC 2017 conference sessions
900 speakers and More than 10,000 delegates, 2,000 include Offshore and Marine, and Secu-
exhibiting companies and 900 speak- rity. The sessions will feature presenta-
2,000 exhibiting companies
ers from 135 countries are projected to tions on a number of prominent topics:
from 135 countries gather in the UAE capital for ADIPEC Exploration and production
Enhanced opportunities 2017 (FIG. 1). Also, 25 Country Pavil- geoscience
for dialogue with ministers ions will encourage business generation Production facilities technologies
and extensions of existing bilateral trade Field development
and global business opportunities. Operational excellence
leaders, and for networking In line with the events theme for 2017, Drilling and completion
with business partners Forging ties, driving growth, ADIPEC technology
2017 will feature two ministerial sessions, Health, safety and environment
and colleagues four global business leader sessions, four (HSE)
New in 2017: Downstream downstream global business leader ses- Project engineering and
global business leaders sions, eight panel sessions, three offshore management
plenary panels, nine C-suite dialogue ses- Gas technology
speak at plenary and Unconventional resources
sions (FIG. 2), three industry breakfasts
technical sessions geared and three topical luncheons.
toward the downstream
Returning programs: Conference program. The ADIPEC
conference program is organized in col-
Women in Energy, laboration with the Society of Petroleum
Security in Energy, Engineers (SPE). It will feature more
ADIPEC Awards, Young than 900 speakers at 200 technical and
strategic conference sessions.
ADIPEC, VIP conference New this year is the introduction of
for Middle East Petroleum global downstream technical sessions to
Club members drive the conversation on downstream
expansion, diversification and technology FIG. 1. The ADIPEC Exhibition is anticipated
innovation, research and development. to draw more than 10,000 delegates
www.adipec.com Returning conference features in- from 135 countries to speak with oil and
gas companies operating worldwide.
clude the ADIPEC Awards, which cel-
ADIPEC 2017
Improved and enhanced oil ber and infrastructure security within oil stream investment, expansion, diversifi-
recovery and gas operations. cation and development.
People and talent The panels will include top executives
Petroleum advanced analytics. New downstream program. ADI- from ADNOC, Borealis, BP, CEPSA,
The full-day Women in Energy pro- PECs global downstream plenary pan- EQUATE Petrochemical Co., Mubadala
gram will focus on the opportunities for, els are new in 2017. At a time when in- Investment Co., Nova Chemicals, OMV,
and achievements of, women working in tegration and collaboration across the Petronas, PARCO, TAKREER and Total.
the oil and gas industry. The co-located industrys value chain continue to be- Day 2 of ADIPEC will feature a panel
Security in Energy conference will re- come increasingly significant, ADIPECs on driving growth and investment into
turn for a second year, recognizing the global downstream technical sessions are downstream refining and petrochemicals.
growing and critical importance of cy- set to drive the conversation on down- Day 3 will include panels on refining and
petrochemicals integration and down-
stream expansion for sustainable growth,
redefining feedstock allocation and diver-
sification, and rethinking technology to
enhance industry performance and coun-
teract market disruptors.
The downstream technical tracks of
the conference will feature sessions on re-
fining and petrochemicals technology and
operations; marketing and distribution of
refined products; connected performance
technology and services; gas processing
and hydrogen technology and operations;
project management, engineering technol-
ogy and implementation; and operational
FIG. 2. C-level executive speakers at ADIPEC 2016. excellence, maintenance and HSE.
BE INFORMED. BE INSPIRED. BE THERE.
11 15 June
Frankfurt am Main,
Germany
World Forum and Leading Show for
the Process Industries
3,800 Exhibitors from 50 Countries
170,000 Attendees from 100 Countries
www.achema.de
BOB ANDREW, TECHNICAL EDITOR
Bob.Andrew@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Innovations
New testing facility has been increased significantly to yield The Series 2000 digital converter has
for process pumps more accurate results. When limit values an onboard microcontroller. It is ready
are exceeded, the integrated monitoring to use with no programming. The Pet-
At the beginning of 2017, Lewa function triggers an alarm and, if neces- rochemical software provided with the
GmbH commissioned its newly designed sary, utilizes direct communication with converter calculates specific gravity, API
process pump testing room (FIG. 1). The the drive unit to safely switch off the test gravity and can also display corrected
previous testing facility was outdated, so motor. In addition, there is additional gravities using information generated
it was completely refurbished and the data that was not available previously. All from the density cell.
technology was modernized. The new measured values are stored synchronous- Select 2 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
testing room can accommodate up to four ly so they can be used for follow-up analy-
large process pumps, with a total power ses and serve as the basis for condition Real-time answers to
consumption of 800 kW (and each sepa- monitoring and predictive maintenance
rately driven by a variable frequency de- systems. Furthermore, the low-voltage
engineering challenges
vice). These pumps can be operated and system, with a completely new design and ANSYS has released a technology pre-
monitored in parallel. In this process, all its own medium voltage transformer, en- view of a new product called ANSYS Dis-
relevant process and pump data are con- sures malfunction-free power supply to covery Live (FIG. 3). This new simulation
tinuously recorded. This data validates the test objects and devices. environment provides real-time, instanta-
test operation of the machines through Thanks to increased test capacity, re- neous answers to engineering challenges.
endurance testing, and also provides the placement of safety devices and the pro- Prior to its 1Q 2018 release, interested
necessary initial data required for analyses curement of specially developed, state-of- users can download (or can use a limited
during the product development process. the-art measurement technology, Lewa experience cloud option) at no charge, at
In addition to its high-function density, has created the best possible conditions ansys.com/discovery. ANSYS would like
the testing facility features comprehensive for innovative product developments. In feedback so they can learn how to best use
system integration of process/drive/auto- the future, prototypes of products, par- this revolutionary new technology and
mation and measurement technology. ticularly newly developed process pumps make improvements.
The process water system in the test- and individual assemblies such as drive Select 3 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
ing room supplies the conditioned con- units or pump heads, will be completed
veying fluid for test operation of test and validated in the testing room. En-
objects in a fully automated process. An durance testing with various diaphragm
adiabatic heat exchanger system, with a materials or clamping methods can be
redundant design, has been installed to used to examine long-term behavior of
discharge heat in the conveying fluid that the products at a customers facility. This
is generated through pumping. The main guarantees reliability and durability.
aim was to achieve hygienic, environ- Select 1 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
mentally-friendly system operation, en-
suring that no legionella or deposits can Petroleum software
form. Motors with an electric connected
load exceeding 500 kW can be used as a
displays corrected
pump drive. Regardless of the load curve gravities FIG. 1. Process pump testing facility at Lewa.
and type of electrical machines used, the Measure the density of crude oil,
use of state-of-the-art frequency inverter butane, diesel fuel, distillates, gasoline,
technology guarantees zero circuit feed- ethane gas, isobutene, jet fuels, LPG,
back during power train operation. Tem- kerosine or propane using a Dynatrol CL-
perature increases in the area around the 10-HY density cell and Series 2000 den-
test field are minimal, thanks to liquid- sity digital converter (FIG. 2).
cooled power electronics. Dynatrol cells come in a full range of
A data detection and recording system corrosion-resistant materials that are both
developed in-house is used to record the weather-tight and explosion proof. They
measured values required for short- and also serve broad temperature and pres-
long-term testing to determine the condi- sure ratings, with no moving parts for a
tion of the test object. The scanning rate FIG. 2. Liquid and gas density measurement.
long operating life.
Hydrocarbon Processing|OCTOBER 201794A
Innovations
Convert HF alkylation equipment during normal operations. Programmable Logic

With the installation of new equipment,
to H2SO4 alkylation the remainder of the conversion work can
Controller (PLC) awarded
DuPont Clean Technologies has be finalized within a typical 30 d45 d critical certification
launched DuPonts ConvEx HF alkyla- turnaround window. Honeywell Process Solutions Con-
tion conversion technology, the first cost- The suite of HF conversion technolo- trolEdge PLC (FIG. 5) has received
effective solution that enables refiners to gies offered by DuPont was developed ISASecure Embedded Device Security
convert volatile and toxic hydrofluoric with flexibility to adapt to the strategic Assurance (EDSA) Level 2 certification
acid (HF) alkylation units to the safer sul- objectives of refiners operating HF alkyla- by exida, the ISO 17065 accredited certi-
furic acid alkylation technology (FIG. 4). tion units. One of the options that was de- fication body who conducted the assess-
The technology offers refiners the oppor- veloped utilizes conventional STRATCO ment. The certification recognizes the
tunity for significant capacity increases at Contactor reactors to achieve optimum integrity of both the PLC and its devel-
minimal additional cost. product quality. A second option incor- opment lifecycle, and includes rigorous
Historically, the expense of converting porates a novel reactor design, allowing communication robustness testing, as
from HF to sulfuric acid alkylation was for significant cost savings with only a well as functional and software develop-
estimated by the industry at 80% of the minor performance debit. By taking into ment security assessments.
cost of a grassroots sulfuric acid alkylation consideration the current HF alkylation ControlEdge PLC is the first PLC to
unit of a similar size. This perceived high- unit technology and configuration, Du- be awarded the ISASecure Level 2 cer-
conversion cost and the lack of any other Ponts customized solutions can be tai- tification, which builds on the Level 1
economic benefits deterred refiners from lored to meet the specific business needs capabilities by providing additional se-
committing to this change. By reusing of the refinery. curity features such as the confidentiality
much of the existing equipment, conver- Fundamental to the expansion aspect and integrity of data at rest and in mo-
sion with ConvEx technology is estimated of the ConvEx technology is the differ- tion, detection of unauthorized changes
to be significantly lower. At approximately ence in the way in which isobutane is recy- and additional protection against Denial
40%60% of the cost of a grassroots sulfu- cled between the HF and sulfuric acid al- of Service attacks. The ISASecure-com-
ric acid alkylation unit, this new technol- kylation technologies. HF alkylation units pliant controller has advanced features
ogy represents a step-change reduction provide all isobutane to the reaction zone including a secure boot capability to pre-
in cost. In situations where plot space is by recycling it from the fractionation sec- vent uploading of unauthorized software
available near the existing facility, down- tion, while sulfuric acid alkylation units and a built-in firewall. PLC communica-
time can be reduced by installing new provide half of the required isobutane tion can also be secured using IPSec to
from fractionation and half from the re- prevent man-in-the-middle attacks and
frigeration section. This difference is sig- unauthorized access.
nificant, as conversion from HF to sulfuric The ISASecure program has been de-
acid alkylation means isobutane required veloped by the ISA Security Compliance
from fractionation is cut in half, freeing Institute (ISCI) based upon the ISA/IEC
up fractionation space; therefore, effec- 62443 series of standards, with a goal to
tively doubling the capacity of the alkyla- improve cyber security for industrial au-
tion unit without requiring any significant tomation and control systems.
changes to the fractionation equipment. ControlEdge PLC is used in a variety
HF alkylation conversion using Du- of balance-of-plant control applications,
Ponts ConvEx technology is unique and such as water treatment, pump systems
FIG. 3. 3D model showing fitting flow regime. innovative, but the design elements and and material handling. It is part of a next
know-how that have made STRATCO generation family of controllers offer-
alkylation the leading global alkylation ing unprecedented, secure connectivity
technology are incorporated in these con- through all levels of process and business
version solutions. The resulting product operations.
includes proven technology applications, Honeywells integrated Distributed
a robust design, and equipment that is fa- Control System (DCS)/PLC approach
miliar to refinery operators. provides a significant reduction in inte-
Select 4 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS gration efforts and project costs. These
benefits are achieved through seamless
integration of a DCS with PLC, remote
terminal unit (RTU), HART field device
asset management, and HMI panel PC.
An expanded version of
FIG. 4. HF alkylation vs. H2SO4 alkylation Innovations can be found online
schemes. FIG. 5. certified programmable logic controller. at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
94BOCTOBER 2017|HydrocarbonProcessing.com
MARKETPLACE / L.Kane@GulfPub.com / +1 (713) 412-2389
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American Petroleum Institute ..................... 24 (152) Dechema ...................................................94 Kobelco ...................................................... 2 (62)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-152 Evonik Oil Additivies USA Inc ....................... 65 (157) www.info.hotims.com/66267-62
Ametek Process Instruments ........................ 11 (65) www.info.hotims.com/66267-157 Maire Tecnimont SpA ...................................31 (154)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-154
www.info.hotims.com/66267-65 ExxonMobil Chemical Company .....................6 (69)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-69 Merichem Company...................................... 5 (84)
Ametek Process Instruments ....................... 27 (155)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-155 Gulf Publishing Company
Neste Jacobs Oy ..........................................13 (151)
Ametek Process Instruments .......................40 (74) Construction Boxscore Database...............46 www.info.hotims.com/66267-151
www.info.hotims.com/66267-74 EventsWGLC ......................................... 99 OHL ........................................................... 66 (158)
Ametek Process Instruments ....................... 76 (160) Gulf DataEWA .................................34, 92 www.info.hotims.com/66267-158
www.info.hotims.com/66267-160 HP Marketplace ....................................... 95 Prosernat .................................................. 32 (153)
Axens .......................................................100 (51) HP Subscribers ........................................ 52
Shell Global Solutions .................................16 (92)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-51 HP Webcast .......................................49, 89 www.info.hotims.com/66267-92
China Petrochemical Technology Co. Ltd .......18 (59) Harsco Industrial Air-X-Changers/Hammco .. 22 (56) Veolia.........................................................91 (72)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-59 www.info.hotims.com/66267-56 www.info.hotims.com/66267-72
Cudd Energy Services ................................. 39 (156) Idrojet ........................................................71 (159) ZymeFlow Decon Technology ...................... 20 (93)
www.info.hotims.com/66267-156 www.info.hotims.com/66267-159 www.info.hotims.com/66267-93
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RUSSIA/FSU INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE,

Lilia Fedotova THAILAND
Anik International & Co. Ltd. Peggy Thay
Phone: +7 (495) 628-10-333 Publicitas Singapore Pte Ltd
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Phone: +1 (713) 520-4421 E-mail: Singapore@GulfPub.com
E-mail: Catherine.Watkins@GulfPub.com TURKEY, WESTERN EUROPE
Hamilton Pearman JAPAN
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Phone: +33 608 310 575 Yoshinori Ikeda
SALES OFFICESNORTH AMERICA Hamilton.Pearman@GulfPub.com Pacific Business Inc.
Phone: +81 (3) 3661-6138
EASTERN UNITED STATES, EASTERN CANADA UNITED KINGDOM/SCANDINAVIA E-mail: Japan@GulfPub.com
Merrie Lynch Patrick Djuma
Phone: +1 (617) 357-8190 Phone: +44 20 3409 2243 KOREA
Mobile: +1 (617) 594-4943 E-mail: Patrick.Djuma@GulfPub.com YB Jeon
E-mail: Merrie.Lynch@GulfPub.com Storm Associates Inc.
Phone: +82 (2) 755-3774
GULF COAST, SOUTH TEXAS SALES OFFICESOTHER AREAS
E-mail: Korea@GulfPub.com
Keith Smith AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST
Phone: +1 (713) 520-4449 Tanya Mbaluli MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA,
E-mail: Keith.Smith@gulfpub.com Twiga Media Partner SOUTH AMERICA
Phone: +254 722 376 972 Marco Antonio Monteiro
MIDWEST, NORTH TEXAS Email: Mbaluli@GulfPub.com Mobile: +55 21 99616-4347
Josh Mayer E-mail: Brazil@GulfPub.com
Phone: +1 (972) 816-6745 CHINAHONG KONG
E-mail: Josh.Mayer@GulfPub.com Iris Yuen CLASSIFIED SALES
Phone: +86 13802701367 (China) Laura Kane
WESTERN UNITED STATES, Phone: +852 69185500 (Hong Kong) Phone: +1 (713) 412-2389
WESTERN CANADA E-mail: Iris.Yuen@GulfPub.com E-mail: L.Kane@GulfPub.com
Rick Ayer
Phone: +1 (949) 366-9089 INDIA DATA PRODUCTS
E-mail: Rick.Ayer@GulfPub.com Manav Kanwar JNette Davis-Nichols
Phone: +91-22-2837 7070/71/72 Phone: +1 (713) 520-4426
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MIKE RHODES, TECHNICAL EDITOR
Mike.Rhodes@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
People
EnLink Midstream has Mehdi Adib has joined The board of directors Schneider Electric has Gabriela Koren has joined
named Rhonda L. Price SNC-Lavalin as VP of of Kingsbury Inc. has appointed Carlos Villa to industrial cyber security
to succeed Jennifer K. downstream for oil and appointed Michael VP of its industry business company Indegy as VP,
Johnson as Senior VP gas. He oversees all Brawley to the position (US). In his new role, he Americas. She brings more
of human resources. downstream activities of President and CEO. will oversee the continued than 20 yr of international
Ms. Johnson is retiring for SNC-Lavalin, including He will succeed William development of Schneider experience in enterprise
after more than 13 yr of chemicals, petrochemicals Strecker, who has held the Electrics digitally-enabled technology sales, business
service to EnLink and its and syngas, refining, position since May 2007. solutions and network development, alliances
predecessor, Crosstex fertilizers, utilities and Mr. Brawley began his of distribution partners management and field
Energy. Ms. Price has related infrastructure. Kingsbury career in 1985 nationwide to support marketing. Prior to joining
more than 30 yr of global Mr. Adib joins SNC-Lavalin as a Sales Applications US industrial customers. Indegy, Ms. Koren was
and national-level HR from his role as CEO Engineer, and held Mr. Villa joined the Executive VP at Panaya,
experience, including of Best Consulting and multiple positions within company as Industry VP, an Infosys company,
7 yr as VP of HR at Enterprise Co., where the sales department Mexico, in 2014. where she was responsible
EnLink, where she has he helped the refining, before being promoted for sales and marketing
been involved in every petrochemical and related to Division Manager, in the Americas. She also
mergers and acquisitions infrastructure industries and then Director, of Jacobs Engineering served as General
transaction and set to develop and expand Kingsburys newly formed Group Inc., as part of the Manager for North
EnLinks employee benefits their international markets. magnetic bearings acquisition of CH2M HILL America at Radvision,
strategy. Prior to her career He has also supported division. Following roles Co. Ltd., has formed an an Avaya company.
at EnLink, she served as the development and as Division Manager of integration management
VP of HR at Centex Corp. implementation of major the repair and service office (IMO) to oversee
projects in the US, Canada, division and then VP of the integration of Jacobs Saeid Rahimian has joined
Brazil, France, Saudi the repair and service and CH2M. The IMO will Aereon as Chief Executive
Braun Intertec has Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, division, he assumed the be jointly led by senior Officer. He joins Aereon
appointed Keith Linton Russia, Singapore and title of Chief Operating executives from both after serving as President
as Senior Environmental Malaysia. Prior to Best Officer (COO) of North companies. Gary Mandel, and CEO of Gardner
Consultant. Mr. Linton Consulting, Mehdi worked America Operations, who most recently served Denver Energy Group, a
brings decades of for major international where he was responsible as Jacobs President of division of KKR-sponsored
environmental site companies such as C.E. for Kingsburys stateside petroleum & chemicals Gardner Denver Inc.
assessment and Lummus (now CB&I manufacturing operations. (P&C), has been
remediation experience Lummus), Bechtel appointed to lead the
working with refinery and and Sipchem. integration for Jacobs. Javier Jimena has been
oil and gas clients, oilfield ValvTechnologies Inc. Jacobs also announced appointed President
service companies and has appointed Michael that Vinayak Pai has and General Manager of
chemical manufacturers. BCCK Holding Company Teele as Director of global been appointed interim Spirax Sarco Inc., and
For 20 yr, he has performed (BCCK) has appointed quality management. head of global P&C. is responsible for the
risk-based assessments on Matt Amilian as Director His 25 yr of experience Mr. Mandel joined companys US business.
the Resource Conservation of business development includes applying core Jacobs as Executive VP Mr. Jimena has more
and Recovery Act (RCRA), to support company quality, lean, Six Sigma and of operations overseeing than 32 yr of experience
Superfund, Voluntary growth in the Oklahoma, continuous improvement various global portfolios, in leadership roles with
Cleanup Program (VCP) Appalachian and Rocky disciplines and leveraging including the upstream demonstrated success in
and other corrective action Mountain regions. He industrial engineering, and downstream oil strategic development.
sites, and developed and joins BCCK from Condit manufacturing, R&D, and gas businesses. He comes from Spirax
implemented strategies Co., where he served as testing and reliability Prior to joining Jacobs, Sarco Argentina, where
to successfully achieve site gas processing market competencies. He he served as Executive VP he was the Regional
closure. He has managed manager. Mr. Amilian is VP previously served as for Aker Solutions. General Manager leading
large, complex remediation of the Mid-Continent Gas Regional VP of operational Mr. Pai served as Argentina, Chile, Peru
projects for energy clients, Processors Association excellence at Proserv, Senior VP of global and Latin America.
including one that recently (GPA) Midstream Chapter, Global Quality Assurance operations for Jacobs P&C Before joining Spirax
successfully received and a member of the Manager at Array business, and has more Sarco, he held a number
approval for an extensive Rocky Mountain and Holdings Inc., and Quality than 28 yr of experience of general and strategic
cleanup at a former Permian Basin GPA Assurance Manager at in the oil and gas and management positions
refinery site. Midstream Chapters. Tyco Valves and Controls. petrochemical industries. in Argentina and Brazil.
November 12, 2017 | Hyatt Regency Houston | Houston, Texas
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SPECIAL FOCUS:
LNG TECHNOLOGY
13 Embracing innovation and
diversity in liquefaction
technologyPart 1
J. G. Baguley and L. A. Clark
19 Precooling strategies
for eficient natural
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G. Krishnamurthy,
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13 31 Floating cryogenic hoses

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31 33 Optimal design and
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COMPRESSION
37 Meet compression
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DEPARTMENTS
Gas Processing News .................................................................................... 6
PIPELINES
US Industry Metrics ....................................................................................... 8 45 Manage risks
New in Gas Processing Technology ......................................................... 49 for trans-country
pipeline projects: India
COLUMNS case studyPart 2
Editorial Comment ................................................................................................... 4 A. Moitra
US to dominate LNG market through next decade
Regional Focus............................................................................................... 9
Russia and Iran join forces to expand
Southeast Asias LNG market Cover Image: INPEX operates the Ichthys LNG
project onshore processing facility at Bladin Point,
near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
EDITORIAL COMMENT
www.GasProcessingNews.com
P. O. Box 2608
US to dominate LNG market Houston, Texas 77252-2608, USA

Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301
Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
through next decade Editorial@GasProcessingNews.com
PUBLISHER
Catherine Watkins
Catherine.Watkins@GulfPub.com
EDITORIAL
The ongoing development of shale gas resources in Editor
the US has spurred infrastructure construction for both Adrienne Blume
natural gas processing capacity and LNG export terminals. Managing Editor
New gas processing projects include the construction of Mike Rhodes
multiple cryogenic and gas processing plants, NGL frac- Technical Editor
tionators and multibillion-dollar pipeline infrastructure. Bob Andrew
This abundance of natural gas has fueled an unprece- Editor/Associate Publisher,
dented surge in the construction of new LNG export ca- Hydrocarbon Processing
Lee Nichols
pacity. In total, the US has announced more than 36 LNG
export terminal projects. These projects represent more MAGAZINE PRODUCTION
than 330 MMtpy of LNG export capacity at an investment Vice President, Production
A. BLUME, Editor
of more than $200 B by 2030. Nearly 80% of the nations Sheryl Stone
LNG export capacity projects are located along the US Gulf Coast. Manager, Advertising Production
Due to the global oversupply of LNG, it is highly unlikely that the majority of Cheryl Willis
these projects will be completed. Regardless, the US is expected to become one of Manager, Editorial Production
the largest LNG-exporting nations by 2020. By the early 2020s, the country will chal- Angela Bathe Dietrich
lenge Australia and Qatar to become the largest LNG exporter in the world. The US Assistant Manager, Editorial Production
is scheduled to start operations on approximately 71 MMtpy of LNG export capacity Lindsey Craun
by 2020 (TABLE 1). These projects constitute total CAPEX of approximately $50 B. Artist/Illustrator
David Weeks
A second wave of US LNG export capacity could contribute an additional capac-
ity of 30 MMtpy. These projects include LNG trains at Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi, Graphic Designer
Andreina Keller
Cameron and Freeport. Multiple LNG export projects are also expected to be built. It
is imperative that these projects secure LNG offtake agreements to reach final invest- ADVERTISING SALES
ment decisions. See Sales Offices, page 50.
Nearly all of the US LNG projects under construction have secured customers for Copyright 2017
by Gulf Publishing Company.
their LNG capacity. US LNG export volumes will vary in response to global demand All rights reserved.
and the difference between domestic and global natural gas prices. At present, LNG
is traded under oil price-linked contracts. However, as the LNG market expands,
contracts are expected to change, weakening their ties to oil prices.
As global LNG trade is forecast to increase substantially over the next 15 yr, so
is the amount of LNG export capacity. The projects that secure offtake contracts
President/CEO
quickly will be in better shape to obtain financing and build their facilities. Regard- John Royall
less, the US is quickly becoming one of the leading nations in the LNG industry. GP
CFO
Alan Millis
TABLE 1. US LNG export capacity expected to come online by 2020 Vice President
Project Location No. of liquefaction trains Capacity, MMtpy Andy McDowell
Sabine Pass LNG Sabine Pass, LA 5 27.5 Vice President

Ron Higgins
Cameron LNG Hackberry, LA 3 13.5
Vice President, Finance and Operations
Freeport LNG Freeport, TX 3 13.2 Pamela Harvey
Cove Point LNG Lusby, MD 1 5.75 Vice President, Production
Corpus Christi LNG Corpus Christi, TX 2 9 Sheryl Stone
Other Gulf Publishing Company titles include:
Southern LNG (Elba Island) Elba Island, GA 2 2.5 Hydrocarbon Processing , World Oil ,
Petroleum Economist , Pipeline & Gas Journal
Total 16 71.45 and Underground Construction.
4SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017|GasProcessingNews.com
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GAS PROCESSING NEWS
B. ANDREW, Technical Editor
LNG carrier Gas to be primary energy source by 2035

sets Northern Sea DNV GLs Energy Transition
Outlook (ETO), a forecast that
Route record spans the global energy mix
On August 17, the Sovcomflot- to 2050, predicts that global
owned icebreaking LNG carrier demand for energy will flatten
Christophe de Margerie completed in 2030, then steadily decline
its first commercial voyage, over the next two decades,
thanks to step changes in energy
transporting LNG through the
efficiency. The fossil fuel share
Northern Sea Route (NSR) from
of the worlds primary energy
Norway to South Korea. mix will decrease from 81%
During this voyage, the vessel at present, to 52% in 2050.
set a new time record for an NSR Demand for oil is expected
transit of just 6 d, 12 hr and 15 min. to peak in 2022, driven by
Moreover, Christophe de Margerie expectations for a surge in the
has also become the worlds first use of light-duty electric vehicles, which are expected to account for 50% of new car sales globally by 2035.
merchant vessel to travel the full However, the stage is set for gas to become the largest single source of energy to 2050, and the last of the
length of the NSR without any fossil fuels to experience peak demand, which DNV GL expects will occur in 2035.
icebreaker escort. Gas will continue to play a key role alongside renewables in helping meet future, lower-carbon energy
During the record-setting requirements. Major oil companies intend to increase the share of gas in their reserves, and DNV GL expects
voyage, the LNG carrier covered an accelerated shift by 2022 as companies decarbonize their business portfolios.
4,060 km from Cape Zhelaniya of While demand for hydrocarbons will peak over the next two decades, significant investment will be needed
the Novaya Zemlya archipelago to add new oil and gas production capacity and to continue operating existing assets safely and sustainably.
to Cape Dezhnev at Chukotka, However, the results of DNV GLs model reinforce the need to maintain strict cost efficiency to achieve the
Russias easternmost continental margins necessary for future capital and operational expenditures.
point. The average speed during
the passage exceeded 14 knots, Shell to monetize gas via Egypt LNG Petronas eyes
even though the Christophe de
Margerie had to sail through ice Royal Dutch Shell is pipelines for
fields 1.2 m thick in some areas. considering options to bring
gas from Noble Energy and
Canada gas
The total time of the voyage
from Hammerfest in Norway to Delek Drillings giant Leviathan
the port of Boryeong in South gas field offshore Israel and
Korea was 19 d, approximately Cyprus to market.
30% faster than the regular Under discussion is a proposal
southern route through the wherein Shell would buy natural
gas from Leviathan, combine it
Suez Canal. The speed achieved
with gas production from the
demonstrates the economic
Aphrodite field (in which Shell
potential of using the NSR for
owns a 35% stake) offshore Cyprus, and then send it to Shells Idku LNG
large-capacity vessel transits. Malaysias state-owned oil
export terminal in Egypt.
Christophe de Margerie is and gas company, Petroliam
Combining the production from the two fields could serve to
the worlds first (and, at present, improve the economics of the projects. Noble Energy and Delek Drilling Nasional Berhad (Petronas), is
the only) icebreaking LNG carrier. have cited an estimated development cost for Leviathan of $3.75 B. considering investing in a pipeline
The vessel was built to order If the partners strike a deal with Shell, then they will need to secure to market its Canadian gas assets,
for Sovcomflot to serve the Yamal additional funds for development to increase Leviathans output. after scrapping plans for an LNG
LNG project and transport LNG Noble Energy remains in negotiations to supply natural gas to the project in Canada.
year-round through the difficult Egyptian market. Petronas would use the
ice conditions of the Kara Sea and If settled, the multi-partner, multi-field deal could go a long way pipeline to connect and market
the Gulf of Ob. The vessel was toward fulfilling the Eastern Mediterranean regions aspirations to natural gas from an area of
delivered to Sovcomflot on March become a major gas-exporting hub. western Canada that holds
27, following successful ice trials in Egypt was a net exporter of LNG until 2014, when dwindling gas 22.3 Tcf of proven unconventional
the Kara and Laptev Seas. production and power shortages resulting from political uprising forced gas to the rest of Canada and
The LNG carrier is capable of the country to reserve the fuel for domestic use. North America.
sailing independently through ice Cyprus is also eager to develop its gas sector. The concept of Petronas scrapped its
of up to 2.1 m thick. Christophe de building floating LNG (FLNG) vessels to process the Aphrodite gas may proposed $29-B LNG export
Margerie has been assigned an ice be a viable option if regional politics prevent the construction of cross- terminal in western Canada
last month due to weak global
class of Arc7, the highest ice class border gas pipelines.
prices, in a blow to its ambitions
among existing merchant vessels.
to expand its LNG portfolio
The ships propulsion system Gazprom: Sanctions will not stop pipeline beyond Malaysia.
has a power of 45 MW, which However, industry analysts
is comparable to the capacity The $11-B Nord Stream 2 expansion project to add a second Russian
said the decision was expected
of a modern nuclear-powered trans-Baltic gas export pipeline will be implemented, regardless of and would bring the company
icebreaker. Christophe de Margerie how new US sanctions related to the Ukraine crisis and the 2016 US long-term benefits, as it frees up
also became the worlds first presidential elections are interpreted, according to Gazprom. funds for other domestic projects.
vessel with a high ice class to Earlier this year, Uniper, Wintershall, Shell, OMV and Engie agreed to Petronas is working diligently on
have three Azipod units installed, each loan 10% of the cost of the pipeline. Gazprom will remain the sole its Refinery and Petrochemical
providing the vessel with a high shareholder in Nord Stream 2, shouldering 50% of the cost. The conduit Integrated Development (RAPID)
ice-breaking capability and will have the capacity to carry 55 Bcmy of gas to a terminal in Germany, project in Malaysias southern
pronounced maneuverability. and is due to start operating in 2019. state of Johor.
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US INDUSTRY METRICS
A. BLUME, Editor
In the US, Henry Hub natural gas spot prices hovered around $3/ US gas production (Bcfd) and prices ($/Mcf)
MMBtu in August, according to US EIA data. In the week ending 100 7
September 6, dry natural gas production grew by 2% on the 6
80
week, in spite of Hurricane Harvey reducing production in the 5
Gas prices, $/Mcf

Production, Bcfd
Gulf of Mexico by an average of 409 MMcfd between August 60 4
30 and September 4, according to the Bureau of Safety and 40 3
Environmental Enforcement. Meanwhile, US production of NGL, Monthly price (Henry Hub) 2
LPG, ethane/ethylene and propane/propylene rose in July and 20 12-month price avg.
Production 1
August, after across-the-board decreases in May and June. GP 0 0
J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A
2015 2016 2017
US natural gas spot prices at Henry Hub Production equals US marketed production, wet gas. Source: EIA.
and NGL spot prices at Mont Belvieu, $/MMBtu

US natural gas plant field production of NGL,
25 LPG, ethane/ethylene and propane/propylene, Mbpd
Natural gasoline
Isobutane 40
20 Butane
NGPL composite 35
US gas plant field production, Mbpd

Propane
Ethane
15 Natural gas spot prices (Henry Hub) 30
$/MMBtu
NGL
25 LPG
10 Ethane/ethylene
Propane/propylene
20
5 15
10
0 June- July- Aug.- Sept.- Oct.- Nov.- Dec.- Jan.- Feb.- Mar.- April- May- June-
Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. April May June July Aug. Sept. 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017
2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 Source: US EIA
REGIONAL FOCUS
Russia and Iran join forces to expand

Southeast Asias LNG market
E. GERDEN, Contributing Writer
Russian natural gas monopoly Gaz-

prom is strengthening its presence in the
gas market of the Middle East through the
planned construction of an 11-metric-
MMtpy12-metric-MMtpy LNG plant
in Iran. The plant will source gas from the
South Pars gas field (FIG. 1), Irans largest.
The majority of the LNG product will be
exported to Southeast Asia and the EU.
The expansion into Southeast Asia
will allow both Russia and Iran to form
the so-called Middle East-Asian Energy
Ring. It will also make the two countries
the largest suppliers of LNG to one of the
worlds most densely populated regions,
where gas demand has significantly in-
creased in recent years.
Gazprom has reached a preliminary
agreement with state-run National Ira- FIG. 1. The South Pars field, from which the new LNG plant will source its gas.
nian Oil Co. (NIOC), the operator of
the South Pars gas field, for the establish-
ment of a JV that will be responsible for LNG project strategy. A foreseen chal- sian Ministry of Energy, the majority of
the implementation of the project. The lenge for the project is low global gas the funds will be provided by Gazprom.
company has been operating in South prices. According to assessments by the South Pars total gas reserves are esti-
Pars since 1997, when it participated in Russian Ministry of Energy, global LNG mated at 13.8 Tm3. Irans reserves are just
the development of the second and third prices have declined by 45% since the over 12 Tm3, with the remaining reserves
phases of the field. beginning of 2017, compared to aver- located in the territorial waters of Qatar.
However, due to the imposition of age LNG prices in 2016. The decrease Iran holds approximately 17% of global
economic sanctions on Iran by the UN is due to an abundance of LNG on the gas reserves and is the third-largest gas
Security Council in 2006, further opera- global market, as well as to the link be- producer in the world. In 2016, Irans gas
tions of Gazprom and other oil and gas tween natural gas and oil prices, which output totaled 192.5 Bm3, while domes-
majors within Iranian territory were sus- are also weak. If prices for natural gas tic consumption was measured at 191.2
pended. On January 16, 2016, sanctions and LNG remain low, then payback pe- Bm3. To make use of its massive gas re-
were lifted, which allowed foreign energy riods for the project may be longer than serves, Iran plans to commission up to 60
companies to resume operations in Iran. originally envisioned. metric MMt of LNG production capacity
Gazprom signed a memorandum Another issue is that approximately over the next 10 yr12 yr.
of understanding with the Iranian gov- 90% of Irans gas transportation fleet is Gazprom considers the LNG project
ernment in March 2017 outlining the operated by Chinese firms. China is not in Iran to be of strategic importance for
planned cooperation of Russia and Iran expected to encourage deliveries of LNG diversifying its operations. The impor-
in the global gas industry, and in particu- produced in Iran to Southeast Asia, as tance of the project, and the impacts of
lar the LNG sector. The new venture will the region falls under Chinas sphere of Russias ongoing financial crisis, are un-
be registered in the form of a service en- energy influence. derlined by Gazproms recent decisions
terprise. This strategy should help avoid NIOC is expected to aim for a con- to suspend or cancel several similar do-
legal problems in Iran, as production of trolling stake in the LNG venture with mestic LNG projects. The company has
oil and gas in the country can be con- Gazprom; however, this will depend on suspended implementation of the Vladi-
ducted only by state-owned companies, adequate funding for the project and the vostok LNG project in the Russian Far
under state law. technologies used. According to the Rus- East. Gazprom already operates an LNG
Gas Processing|SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 20179
REGIONAL FOCUS
plant in Sakhalin with the capacity to pacity to be commissioned in 2018 will double during the next several years, as lo-
produce 10 metric MMtpy of LNG. exceed 133 metric MMt. Of this volume, cal production cannot satisfy growing re-
From a strategic point of view, invest- 60 metric MMt will come from US proj- gional demand. This expanding consump-
ments in Iran might justify themselves, ects, while another 53 metric MMt will tion provides an opportunity for both
since Gazprom will be able to redirect a come from Australia. Russia and Iran to significantly increase
portion of the volume of Iranian LNG their shares in the global LNG market.
destined for Europe to Southeast Asia Southeast Asia to need more LNG. For example, Thailand has recently
instead. This would also minimize Irans Demand for gas is increasing in the re- announced its plan to cut domestic gas
expansion into the EU gas market, which gion. Delivery via LNG carrier is thought production and to increase imports of
is largely controlled by Gazprom. to be a more viable option than pipelines low-cost spot LNG in an effort to con-
Work on the new LNG plant could be for many countries, due to their geo- serve its declining gas reserves. The Thai
started by the end of the current year, as graphical location and the high costs as- government aims to reduce gas produc-
the partners may speed up the process to sociated with pipelines. tion from the Gulf of Thailand by 10%,
secure contracts for future LNG supplies According to predictions by the Rus- from approximately 79 MMm3d at pres-
in a competitive marketplace (FIG. 2). sian Ministry of Energy, the volume of ent to 71 MMm3d by 2018 (FIG. 3).
According to some forecasts, LNG ca- LNG imported to Southeast Asia may At the same time, Indonesia is consid-
ering LNG imports by 2019 if no new oil
fields are developed, according to the In-
donesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources. The country could become a
net importer of LNG by 2030, as its do-
mestic gas reserves are steadily declining.
Vietnam is expected to become an-
other major LNG consumer in the com-
ing years. To date, the country has re-
lied mostly on coal-fired power plants,
which provide about 40% of its electric-
ity needs. However, amid growing envi-
ronmental concerns and declining coal
reserves, the countrys government has
shifted its attention to gas as an alterna-
tive energy reserve. On top of this, Ban-
gladesh has announced its plan to begin
LNG imports after 2020.
Before the imposition of sanctions,
Iran had planned to build at least two
LNG plants on the basis of South Pars.
One, referred to as Persian LNG, would
have included two LNG trains, each with
a capacity of 8.1 metric MMtpy. The liq-
uefaction process initially selected for the
FIG. 2. Preparations for building an LNG plant at South Pars. project was Shells double mixed-refriger-
ant process.
Another project, Pars LNG, would
have seen the construction of an LNG
plant with a capacity of 10 metric MMtpy.
Frances Total and Malaysias Petronas had
planned to partner on the project. The
implementation of both projects was sus-
pended when sanctions were imposed. GP
EUGENE GERDEN is
an international
contributing writer
specializing in the
global oil refining and
gas industry. He has
been published in a
number of prominent
industry publications.
FIG. 3. Gas production platform in the Gulf of Thailand.
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SPECIAL FOCUS: LNG TECHNOLOGY
Embracing innovation and diversity

in liquefaction technologyPart 1
J. G. BAGULEY and L. A. CLARK, LNG Ltd., Houston, Texas
The LNG liquefaction business has

witnessed many transitions as it has
moved from the remotest corners of the
world to settle in more developed indus-
trial environments, including the US Gulf
Coast (USGC). The innovative combina-
tion of elements from existing technolo-
gies, together with creative engineering
designs, introduces an optimized facility
process and execution profile to enable
the successful realization of projects in
these new market conditions.
Departure from the tried and true
is viewed with a healthy and appropriate
dose of technical and commercial skepti-
cism. However, the application of proven
technologiesincluding one with over
100 yr of industrial experiencemakes FIG. 1. A typical remote LNG project site.
it possible to introduce enhancements to
the LNG production process and gener- demands of a closed market with carefully tracts and arbitrage opportunities is free-
ate surprisingly beneficial results. The in- balanced supply and demand. For the pro- ing up opportunities for nimble produc-
creasing importance of thermal efficiency ducers, the capital investments necessary ers. Nominally, 70% of the worlds LNG
in LNG liquefaction facilities is addressed, in the LNG value chain have always been still trades (at least initially) under the
including the appropriate selection of re- substantial, often with extended payout historic long-term contract model; how-
frigeration compressor drivers as a means periods requiring a high degree of cer- ever, this percentage is slowly and steadily
to lower GHG emissions, enhance pro- tainty in the revenue streams to ensure the dropping as more producing nations and
duction and facilitate startup. financial viability of the projects. facilities enter the market.1
Using an ongoing USGC project as a For consumers, access to a reliable sup- Throughout this market evolution and
case study, the effects of recovering waste ply of LNG has been vital to electricity increasing flexibility in the value chain,
heat to drive the precooling process are generation, industrial consumption and LNG baseload production facilities have
discussed and quantified. A discussion on domestic use underpinning national econ- remained substantially unchanged. This
the available alternatives for precooling re- omies. The solution was a closed market extended design inertia in the face of
frigerant is also presented. In Part 2, the ap- with point-to-point deliveries from spe- changing industry dynamics has created
plication of a proprietary single mixed-re- cific producers to specific consumers us- the opportunity to take a fresh look at pro-
frigerant (SMR) liquefaction process in a ing dedicated shipping. These operations duction facilities to generate innovation
mid-scale LNG project will be explored, in were locked under long-term, highly re- and diversity in the production market.
which existing technologies are combined strictive contracts intended to protect the
in an innovative manner to improve key interests of all parties. Energy and capital LNG construction trends. Since the in-
project attributes, enabling the delivery of efficiencies were important, but some- ception of the commercial LNG industry
a creative, reliable and efficient design. what secondary, considerations within the in the 1960s, LNG projects have main-
greater equation of project viability. tained certain defining characteristics:
Evolution of the LNG market. The Today, the LNG market is changing. Historically, LNG projects have
foundations of the global LNG industry While long-term take-or-pay contracts been limited to the domain of
were established on the firm bedrock of still dominate the industry, an emerging large, integrated national and
safety and reliability, consistent with the market of spot cargoes, short-term con- international oil companies.
Only major organizations of this to extreme weather conditions. Limited infrastructure development
nature have had access to the The costs of these infrastructure requirements. Sites may have
technical, financial, logistical developments can run into access to nearby regional power
and managerial resources to the billions of dollars while grids, water, roads, ports, telecoms,
successfully deliver projects of providing zero direct return security and hospitals.
this cost and complexity. on their investment. Ready access to well-established
Facility owners have traditionally Regulatory programs at many of the regional supporting industries,
been involved in the development traditional sites are loosely defined often located amidst the worlds
of the entire gas supply value (if existing at all), with no previous largest petrochemical complexes.
chain, from gas field discovery and industrial development of a similar Ready access to supporting
assessment through production nature. Overlaps, conflicts and gaps expertisesuppliers, contractors,
well installation, feed gas pipelines, between local, regional and national subcontractors, engineers, craft
LNG facilities, shipping and requirements can exist. skills, vendor service centers and
marketing of the product. LNG facilities in these locations representatives.
LNG proponents have been potentially represent life-changing Broad choice of readily available
(or have partnered with) highly and culture-changing transitions specialty chemicals and refrigerants.
mature organizations with extensive in local communities. Great care Third-party gas supply from a
global engineering standards, and planning must be taken to national grid accessing multiple
processes, procedures and existing ensure that the new facilities providers.
operational petrochemical facilities. and the associated construction Well-established regional and
LNG facilities have been located and operational workforces national regulatory processes with
in some of the worlds harshest can harmonize with the region, extended schedules.
and most remote environments providing a positive catalyst for Increased sensitivity to greenhouse
challenging to reach, let alone to necessary and positive changes gas emissions. (Note: Whether one
operate successfully within (FIG. 1). without altering the nature of the agrees or disagrees with the impact
Extensive logistics programs have communities being served. of greenhouse gases on the global
been vital to operations and to With the emerging migration of LNG environment, there is certainly an
the success of the projects. The projects to the US Gulf Coast and other enhanced interest in the topic).
absence of local or regional economically and structurally developed Background air emissions from
facilities are a hallmark of LNG regions, the project and proponent profile existing regional industries that
sites, and excellence in logistics has changed radically and rapidly. Key dif- must be incorporated into plant
planning and execution is essential ferential characteristics of projects under emission modeling and limits.
to mere existence. development include: Greater attention paid to plant
Massive infrastructure development Brownfield or brownfield-type energy efficiency. Energy efficiency
programs are necessary, sometimes environments. Many of the new has always been a consideration, but
requiring years to complete. The US export facilities are converted at remote sites the gas is essentially
project sites can be hundreds import terminals with existing free, as it has no regional
of km from existing regional storage and marine facilities. value unless converted into a
infrastructure. They may lack roads, Small, lightly funded, lightly transportable product such as LNG.
docks, marine facilities, food, water, staffed emerging owner On the USGC, LNG facilities must
shelter, electricity, communications, organizations with total company pay for every Btu of gas they receive
emergency response and security headcounts in the 100s rather from a pipeline, so efficiency and its
capacity. They may also be subject than the tens of thousands. impact on project finances become
more important and visible.
TABLE 1. Development of LNG plants Fundamentally, this is not LNG busi-
ness as usual. Yet, despite these substan-
Typical 1980 baseload Typical 2015 baseload Typical 2015 baseload tial structural changes, the vast major-
facility (remote) facility (remote) facility (USGC)
ity of LNG plant development in North
Capacity 2.3 metric MMtpy 4.5 MMtpy5 MMtpy Same America is proceeding on the same tech-
2.5 metric MMtpy nical and execution bases as the historical
Acid gas removal MEA or sulfinol aMDEA Same remote site facilities (TABLE 1).
Cooling medium Seawater Air Same From TABLE 1, the most significant
Heating medium Steam Hot oil Same
changes over a 35-yr period from 1980 to
the present include:
Compressor drive Steam turbine Gas turbine Gas turbine or motor
Nominal increase in capacity
Precooling Propane Propane Same by 100%
refrigerant Migration from water-cooled
Liquefaction Mixed refrigerant (MR) MR or C2C1 cascade Same to air-cooled
refrigerant Migration from indirect-fired
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steam turbine drive to direct-fired volume of LNG near the start of EPC organizations: LNG plant
gas turbine drive the projects EPC phase, nominally developments rely heavily on the
Emergence of the cascade 3 yr4 yr prior to the actual skills and knowledge of highly
liquefaction process as a baseload delivery. The buyer makes onward qualified EPC contractors to
technology. commitments for the sale or use deliver these complex facilities
TABLE 1 also shows that the migration of of that LNG and, consequently, to market. Lending institutions
LNG facilities from remote environs to the must have confidence that it will be require project developers to
substantially more industrially developed available as contracted, as alternate obtain guarantees from the EPC
USGC has resulted in virtually no changes. sources may be unavailable or contractors for plant capacity, fuel
The US/USGC facilities being construct- characterized by unacceptable consumption and schedule. These
ed or newly in operation at Sabine Pass, economics. As with investors, guarantees often include make-
Corpus Christi, Cameron, Freeport, Cove the purchasers of LNG cast a good obligations on production
Point and Lake Charles Trunkline are vir- wary eye on anything considered rates and contract terms, with
tually indistinguishable from their remote- novel or new, as this represents substantial performance damages
site cousins, despite the substantial struc- a risk to their business models for failure to achieve. Within this
tural differences highlighted previously. and onward commitments. commercial environment, the EPC
Lenders: Lending institutions contractors must be comfortable
Barriers to innovation. Humankind in- are vital to developing projects, with the expected performance
herently resists change. A report in the No- providing access to the significant of the technology to avoid taking
vember 2010 Journal of Experimental So- capital requirements of LNG on excessive risk.
cial Psychology 2 concluded that the longer projects amounting to billions
something is believed to have existed, the of dollars. Obviously, these Drivers for innovation. Albert Einstein
more highly it is regarded. The nature of organizations are not charities; is quoted as saying, We cannot solve our
the LNG industrycharacterized by high they expect timely repayment and problems with the same thinking we used
development costs, long development take a dim view of any perceived when we created them. With this advice
schedules, delivery contracts of up to 20 yr, risks to reimbursement. The in mind, the question why innovate?
criticality of supply reliability to importers lenders must be confident that seems almost silly. Drive an automobile
and limited alternate sourcesdoes not the facility will reliably and safely from the 1970s or 1980s, replete with an
lend itself to risk taking. Several key groups deliver LNG over its design life. AM radio and perhaps an optional eight-
must be satisfied with the project design Insurers: LNG facilities must track player, hand-crank windows, bias-
concepts and arrangements to enable a obtain insurance coverage during ply tires, solid rear-axle suspension and
project to move forward to market: the construction, startup and hard-starting carburetors, and the benefits
Investors: For small companies operational phases. This coverage of innovation become quickly obvious.
requiring access to external funding should include construction Companies innovate to stay in busi-
sources, investors must be confident risk, delayed startup, business ness and respond to the demands of an
in the technology. This confidence interruption and operations evolving market. In the case of LNG, the
enables the initial development coverage. Insurance organizations market has indeed changed, although in
funds to be secured, thereby closely review the risk profile of more subtle, fundamental ways:
allowing the project to be advanced a facility to understand how it Efficiency matters: Purchasing
through the design, estimation and compares to the historical industry feed gas from third parties makes
regulatory processes. For an LNG experience. Step-out technologies plant energy efficiency an economic
project, this level of investment can can make it challenging for insurers necessity. For a 10-metric MMtpy
be significant (in excess of $100 to perform their risk assessments LNG facility, a nominal change in
MM from inception to start of EPC to develop this profile, potentially the retainage (quantity of feed gas
when bank funding can be secured), impacting availability and/or consumed as fuel) from 8% to 6% of
and the entire development cycle, premiums for insurances. feed gas represents an annual savings
from initial activities through to Regulatory agencies: Stepping to the facility of $35 MM, at a gas
LNG production, can span 6 yr7 outside of a well-traveled technical purchase price of $3/MMBtu, to
yr. High costs and long durations or project execution pathway can produce the same quantity of LNG.
require a high degree of confidence result in the need for additional Emission matters: According
by investors that the project and its time for regulatory agencies to to the US Energy Information
technology will eventually generate complete their activities and satisfy Administration (EIA),3 burning
a return on their investments. their obligations under governing 1 MMBtu of natural gas generates
LNG purchasers: When an LNG laws. Conversely, innovations that 117 lb (53.1 kg) of CO2. Reducing
buyer signs up with a producer to inherently improve safety or reduce the retainage from 8% to 6% of feed
provide LNG (through a tolling plant emissions can be viewed gas in a 10-metric MMtpy LNG
arrangement or a conventional sales favorably by regulators once facility reduces CO2 emissions by
purchase agreement), the buyer they have gained familiarity with 1.38 B lb/yr (626 metric Mtpy of
takes itself out of the market for that the arrangements. CO2 emissions reduction).
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Reliability matters: Engineering heating duty oil/water coils, generation machines.

to achieve high levels of simplicity combined-cycle steam systems) Addition of waste heat recovery
and provide facilities with inherent Application of liquid expanders can greatly increase overall
redundancy increases reliability. Application of LNG product flash gas turbine cycle efficiency.
Flexibility matters: With the gas as a heat sink A common industrial frame
nature of the US gas supply market Number of refrigerant stages selected gas turbine efficiency is on the
(not accessing a designated gas Cooling medium (air vs. water) order of 32%34%. Adding
field), there is a need for production Where system boundaries are light duty process heating
flexibility. These emerging projects drawn (i.e., including or excluding recovery can raise efficiency to
benefit from having LNG trains infrastructure utility loads). 36%38%. Aeroderivative and
with designs that enable significant Setting aside the hyperbole, some gen- high-efficiency industrial machines
turndown and feed flexibility. eralizations can be made: provide efficiencies in the range
Safety matters: Simplification The difference in efficiency between of 40%45%, while incorporation
also promotes inherent safety. facilities with the greatest and the of combined cycle can increase
The safest piece of equipment in least efficiency is not numerically delivered efficiencies to the range
a process facility is the one that large, representing only a few of 50% and higher.
was eliminated. Reducing percent of the feed gas supply to Motor drives introduce additional
quantities of flammable and an LNG plant. The best achievable inefficiencies. Instead of directly
explosive hydrocarbons through LNG plant efficiencies run in the coupling a gas turbine to a
improved configurations and range of 92%94%, while the lowest compressor, the gas turbine
use of alternate refrigerants run in the range of 88%90%. drives a generator, which then
promotes inherent safety. While these differences are drives a motor, which drives the
Overall, the status quo is comfortable small numerically, considering compressor. Some of the additional,
but inherently incapable of advancement. the large gas flowrates into an inherent inefficiencies induced
Innovation is a necessity. LNG facility, they are significant by the generator and motor can
on an absolute basis. be recovered if the power plant
Key elements impacting LNG plant ef- Mixed refrigerants are generally efficiency is high enough.
ficiencies. LNG plant efficiencies can be more efficient for liquefaction than Steam turbine-driven LNG plants,
addressed in two fundamental ways: pro- pure component refrigerants, as while highly reliable, are among the
cess selection and plant configuration. Pro- the natural gas cooling curve can least efficient.
cess selection garners the most attention, be more closely approximated.
representing the core of the LNG technol- Depending on the composition of Efficiency elements. Part 2 will ad-
ogy licenses and technologies commonly the natural gas and the number of dress two of the key efficiency elements
applied and including the choice of refrig- refrigeration stages selected, this in greater detail, followed by a case study
erants. Numerous articles have been pub- difference can be minor or it can of an innovative USGC LNG design and
lished on the topic. Not all have performed be more significant. delivery project opportunity. GP
comparisons of process efficiencies on the Precooled liquefaction
LITERATURE CITED
same basis, nor have they demonstrated a arrangements are generally more Complete literature cited available at
consensus agreement on the results.4,5,6 efficient than arrangements using a GasProcessingNews.com.
Comparing inconsistent elements of single refrigerant. It is challenging
plant configuration can contribute to dif- to maintain a close approach to JOHN G. BAGULEY serves as
ferences, and others may not have had ac- the natural gas cooling curve over Chief Operating Officer for the
Magnolia LNG and Bear Head LNG
cess to the latest optimizations applied to the entire range of ambient down projects, and Chief Technical Officer
the designs. An additional complication to 160C (260F) with a single for LNG Ltd. His involvement in
is that, in some cases, the differences in refrigerant selection. international LNG project
process efficiencies are quite small, such Nitrogen expansion processes are development and delivery spans
nearly 37 yr and includes project management,
that variations in the assumptions used in some of the least efficient. engineering, construction and commissioning roles.
the modeling (ambient temperature, re- Gas turbine plants deliver their He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering
frigerant compositions, etc.) can impact greatest efficiency when the from Michigan State University and is a registered
Professional Engineer in Texas.
the results. turbines are run at full capacity.
Plant configuration can have an even Aeroderivative gas turbine drivers LINCOLN CLARK is the Group
larger impact on the effective efficiency are more efficient than industrial Engineering and Operations
of a given LNG installation. Plant con- gas turbine drivers, although some Manager for LNG Ltd. He has 25 yr
of experience in oil and gas projects
figuration in this context refers to several of the newer-generation industrial covering the design, construction,
elements: machines deliver efficiencies as commissioning and operation of
Driver selection (steam turbine, high as, or higher than, those of LNG plants, gas processing facilities,
oil production facilities and power stations. Mr. Clark
industrial frame gas turbine, competing aeroderivative machines.
joined the LNG Ltd. team in 2005 and has been closely
aeroderivative gas turbine, motor) Newer-generation gas turbines involved with the development of the Gladstone LNG,
Waste heat integration (process are more efficient than earlier- Magnolia LNG and Bear Head LNG projects.
Precooling strategies
for efficient natural gas liquefaction
G. KRISHNAMURTHY, M. J. ROBERTS and C. M. OTT,
Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania
The invention of the propane precooled mixed refriger- erant stream to produce LNG. The refrigerant is compressed
ant (C3MR) natural gas liquefaction process in 1970 brought and cooled using air or cooling water prior to providing the
about better efficiency and greater economies of scale than had refrigeration duty. The LNG is reduced in pressure and may be
previously been available to the young LNG industry. Splitting sent to an endflash drum before it is sent to the storage tank.
the refrigeration duty between two refrigerants allows each to Any endflash vapor generated during pressure letdown is typi-
be individually optimized; the first is used to precool the natural cally used as fuel gas.
gas feed to a moderate temperature, and the second is used to The refrigeration duty for the precooling, liquefaction and
liquefy and subcool the precooled gas to produce LNG. Due to subcooling processes may be provided by a single refrigerant,
these advantages, precooling is used in a majority of baseload as shown in FIG. 1, or it may be split among multiple cooling
LNG trains today. sections, each with individually optimized refrigerants. FIG. 2
Various precooling refrigerants have been proposed in the shows a precooled gas liquefaction process with two refriger-
LNG industry, such as propane, mixed refrigerant (MR), am- ant circuits, a precooling circuit with a precooling refrigerant for
monia, carbon dioxide (CO2), ethane, propylene and fluoro- cooling the pretreated gas to 20C to 50C, and a liquefaction
carbons. Guidelines are provided here for selecting an optimal circuit with a main refrigerant for liquefying and subcooling the
precooling refrigerant, considering multiple factors, such as ef- precooled natural gas to an LNG temperature of approximately
ficiency, precooling temperature, operability, refrigerant avail- 130C to 150C. The main refrigerant is cooled to ambient
ability, flammability, ambient temperature and safety. Addition- temperature with air or cooling water, and then to about 20C
al thermodynamic factors that are relevant in the selection, such to 50C against the precooling refrigerant prior to providing
as specific heat ratio and critical temperature, are also discussed. liquefaction duty to the feed.
A direct comparison is also provided of several precooling
To fuel
refrigerants, highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of each,
and demonstrating that optimal selection of both the precool- Pretreatment
NGL Precooling, liquefaction End-
ing refrigerant and the precooling configuration plays a critical unit (AGRU, dryer,
removal and subcooling flash
Hg removal) drum
role in driving project success.
Selection of a liquefaction process cycle is a key component LNG to
in the design of a natural gas liquefaction facility. It is driven by Fractionation tank
various factors including design capacity, ambient temperature, unit
plot space availability, floating or land-based applications and
others. A crucial decision that impacts this selection is whether
the cycle should involve a dedicated precooling circuit and, if so, FIG. 1. Simplified schematic of a natural gas liquefaction facility.
which precooling refrigerant should be used.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematic for an LNG facility. Natu-
To fuel
ral gas is first pretreated to remove contaminants including acid
gases, water and mercury, after which it is optionally sent to an Pretreatment Liquefaction End-
unit (AGRU, NGL
NGL removal unit for removal of C2C5 hydrocarbon compo- dryer, Hg removal Precooling and flash
subcooling drum
nents. NGL removal may be performed prior to precooling, as removal)
shown in FIG. 1, or it may be integrated with the precooling and LNG to
liquefaction processes. The NGL stream may be sent to a frac- Fractionation tank
tionation unit, where individual components are separated for unit
sale or used as refrigerant makeup in the facility.
Heavy hydrocarbons (C6+ components) may be removed
with the NGL stream. Some facilities include a separate heavy
hydrocarbons removal unit to prevent freeze-out of these com-
ponents during liquefaction. The pretreated gas is then pre- FIG. 2. Simplified schematic of a precooled natural gas liquefaction
facility.
cooled, liquefied and subcooled against at least one cold refrig-
The primary benefits of a dedicated precooling circuit are higher efficiency and lower equipment size. Only boiling pre-
as follows: cooling refrigerants are considered here.
1. It debottlenecks the liquefaction circuit, since both Another proposed configuration is an absorption-based
the natural gas feed and the main refrigerant are cycle, such as using aqueous LiBr. The precooling temperature
precooled prior to being introduced into the main achievable by aqueous LiBr is limited to 0C, the freezing point
exchanger. This reduces the main refrigerant of water. Deeper precooling is generally preferred, as it maxi-
circulation rate, liquefaction heat duty requirement, mizes the overall process efficiency of the liquefaction process.
and main exchanger size. Other absorption-based processes, such as ammonia absorp-
2. It allows for independent optimization of each refrigerant. tion, have been proposed but are not evaluated here due to op-
These benefits lead to an improvement in overall efficiency erational considerations that are outside the scope of this study.
of up to 20%, depending on feed conditions and project re- Single- and multiple-pressure evaporative precooling con-
quirements, and make dedicated precooling circuits desirable figurations are widely used due to their high efficiency, simple
for baseload LNG facilities. operability, versatility and low cost. Many refrigerants have
been employed in these processes, such as pure components,
Heat transfer mechanism and precooling configuration. multi-components and azeotropic mixtures.
Two heat transfer mechanisms by which precooling and liq- With a pure-component, single-pressure configuration, all of
uefaction take place are boiling and sensible. In boiling heat the refrigerant evaporates at a fixed temperature. The efficiency
transfer, liquid refrigerant is vaporized, taking advantage of the of this process can be significantly improved by adding addi-
latent heat of vaporization to provide cooling duty. In sensible tional pressure levels. Each pressure level provides refrigeration
heat transfer, refrigerant is warmed without undergoing phase at a progressively lower temperature, so only a fraction of the
change to provide the same cooling duty. refrigeration is provided at the coldest temperature.
For most fluids, the latent heat capacity of vaporization is Three- and four-pressure precooling configurations are ad-
46 times greater than the sensible heat capacity; therefore, vantageous for LNG train capacities of 3 MMtpy5 MMtpy.
more refrigeration per mass of refrigerant can be obtained by An example of a pure-component, multi-pressure precooling
latent heat transfer than by sensible heat transfer. Boiling heat configuration is shown in FIG. 3. The pretreated natural gas is
transfer reduces the refrigerant circulation rate, which results in precooled against a precooling refrigerant prior to being liq-
uefied and subcooled against mixed refrigerant (MR) in the
LNG to end-flash drum main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE), which is shown as
a coil-wound heat exchanger. Coil-wound heat exchangers are
state-of-the-art exchangers for gas liquefaction and are known
for their high thermal stability, safety, small footprint and high
Precooling refrigerant heat transfer area. They contain helically wound tube bundles
housed within an aluminum or stainless steel pressurized shell.
The MCHE in FIG. 3 contains two bundles: warm (bottom) and
cold (top).
Pretreated natural gas Precooled natural gas feed enters the bottom end of the
Precooling MCHE, where it is cooled, liquefied and subcooled as it flows
through tubes and exits as LNG. Refrigeration is provided by
boiling MR on the shell side of the MCHE. MR is a mixture
of nitrogen, methane, ethane or ethylene, propane, butanes and
MR other hydrocarbons. A warm, low-pressure MR stream with-
drawn from the warm bundle is compressed in a series of com-
FIG. 3. Four-pressure, pure-component precooling and MR liquefaction pressors, cooled against ambient air or cooling water, and fur-
configuration.
ther cooled against the precooling refrigerant. It is then sent to a
phase separator to produce an MR vapor (MRV) stream and an
MR liquid (MRL) stream, both of which are cooled in the tubes
of the MCHE. At the top of the warm bundle, the cooled MRL
is flashed across a Joule-Thomson ( J-T) valve and sent to the
shell side of the warm bundle to provide refrigeration duty. At
the top of the cold bundle, the liquefied MRV is flashed across a
J-T valve and sent to the shell side of the cold bundle to provide
Feed Feed Feed Feed refrigeration duty. The shell-side fluids vaporize and provide
HP MP LP LLP
cooling duty to the fluids in the tubes.
FIG. 4 shows the details of the precooling circuit. The pre-
cooling refrigerant is a pure component, such as propane in the
Feed Feed Feed Feed case of the proprietary C3MR cycle, and is vaporized at four
MR HP MR MP MR LP MR LLP pressure levels. Natural gas and MR are cooled against the boil-
ing refrigerant in parallel heat exchangers, as shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 4. Four-pressure precooling process configuration.
The refrigerant is condensed and subcooled prior to being di-
Every compressor we ship endures a vigorous inspection process to ensure maximum build
and quality. Once approved, one of our highly trained mechanical inspectors proudly affixes his
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Quality: embedded in everything we do.
vided into two streams, one for each parallel set of heat exchang- cooling temperature for a specific configuration depends pri-
ers. The subcooled refrigerant is then let down in pressure and marily on the refrigerant composition and the lowest pressure at
partially vaporized in the high-pressure (HP), medium-pres- which it boils. Typically, the lowest pressure is kept at a positive
sure (MP) and low-pressure (LP) exchangers. pressure (i.e., non-vacuum), to prevent air ingress in the event of
The vapor streams produced from each stage are mixed and minor leaks. Air ingress will affect the precooling performance.
introduced into the precooling compressor as HP, MP and LP For flammable refrigerants, it is a potential safety issue.
side streams, while the liquid streams produced in each stage Assuming typical process parameters (a pressure of 1.1 bara
are let down in pressure and sent to the subsequent exchang- at the compressor suction, a 0.2-bar pressure drop in the suc-
ers. The precooling fluid is fully vaporized in the final low-low tion drum, and a 3C approach temperature in the LLP ex-
pressure (LLP) exchanger, sent to a suction drum to remove changer), FIG. 5 presents the lowest precooling temperature
any liquid, and subsequently sent to the suction of the precool- achievable for seven different precooling refrigerants: propane,
ing compressor. ammonia, propylene, ethane, R-410A, CO2 and MR. R-410A
is a 5050 wt%, near-azeotropic blend of hydrofluorocarbons
Precooling refrigerant selection. Several considerations (HFCs) R32 and R125.
must be taken into account when selecting a precooling refriger- In this group, ammonia has the warmest precooling temper-
ant. This section highlights key factors that need to be evaluated ature of approximately 25C. Propane, propylene and R-410A
and their implications for the overall process. have lower precooling temperatures, while ethane and CO2 can
Desired precooling temperature. A key optimization vari- be precooled to as low as 80C. MR may be used as a precool-
able for a liquefaction process is the temperature of the natural ing and/or main refrigerant, and has the ability to cool the natu-
gas and MR leaving the precooling section, which is called the ral gas, liquefy it to LNG, and subcool the LNG to colder tem-
precooling temperature or cut temperature. The lowest pre- peratures. As a result, it does not have a precooling temperature
limit; however, beyond the liquefaction temperatures, it is no
NH3 Propane Propylene R-410A Ethane CO2 MR
longer considered a precooling refrigerant.
0 Optimal precooling temperature. Although a refrigerant
-20
can cool natural gas to a certain temperature, it may not be op-
timal to do so. An optimal precooling temperature exists that
-40 results in the highest overall process efficiency. The optimal
-60 precooling temperature is driven by the ambient temperature
and relative efficiencies of the precooling and main refrigerants.
Temperature, C
-80 For cooler ambient conditions, it may be preferable to precool

-100 the natural gas to lower temperatures.
FIG. 6 shows the overall process efficiency vs. precooling tem-
-120
perature for a dual MR (DMR) process that utilizes separately
-140 optimized MR streams as the precooling and main refrigerants.
-160 The optimal precooling temperature is 37C, based on specif-
-180
ic process conditions for the scenario considered. The optimal
precooling temperature varies as the ambient temperature and
FIG. 5. Lowest precooling temperature achievable without a vacuum process conditions of the gas feed change. As the precooling
design. temperature warms, refrigeration load is transferred into the liq-
uefaction system, and the main refrigerant must be optimized
101 for a larger temperature range.
Optimum Conversely, as the precooling temperature cools, refrigera-
tion load is transferred into the precooling system. The shape of
100 the optimum curve and sensitivity to warmer vs. colder precool-
ing temperature varies on a case-by-case basis and is a strong
Relative overall efficiency, %
function of the choice of precooling and liquefaction refriger-

99 ants, configurations, ambient temperature and other factors.
FIG. 7 shows the power split for the precooling and lique-
faction circuits as the precooling temperature differs from the
98 Transfer load
into precooling
optimum. At a warmer precooling temperature, the precool-
ing power requirement is reduced and the liquefaction power
97 Transfer load requirement is increased. The temperature difference between
into liquefaction
hot and cold sides in the MCHE increases, lowering the over-
all efficiency. On the other hand, at a lower precooling tem-
96 perature, the precooling power requirement is increased and
-10 -20 -30 -40 -50 -60
Precooling temperature, C the liquefaction power requirement is reduced. In this case,
the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides of
FIG. 6. Optimal precooling temperature for a DMR process at specific the precooling exchanger increases, reducing the overall effi-
process conditions.
ciency of the process.
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Refrigerants with deeper precooling ability may be advanta- ly 25% of the heat duty provides precooling to the feed. In other
geous for applications in colder ambient conditions1 because words, precooling reduces the load on the liquefaction circuit
lower precooling temperature provides a better balance be- by precooling both the feed and the MR.
tween the precooling and liquefaction heat duties. Several factors influence the process efficiency of a refrig-
The precooling temperature impacts the driver power split erant. The ratio of the constant-pressure specific heat and the
desirable for a given project. Selection of the driver2 and ma- constant-volume specific heat, also known as the specific heat
chinery configurations,3 while not within the scope of this arti- ratio, is an important parameter (Eq. 1). Most of the commer-
cle, are also important factors that require consideration during cially practical refrigeration processes compress the vapor re-
the design phase. frigerant, which can be modeled as a polytropic process.
Process efficiency. One of the most important factors to For a polytropic compression process, Eq. 2 gives the rela-
be evaluated is the overall process efficiency, since the need for tionship between the pressure and temperature of a fluid. The
higher efficiency is often a justification for precooling. The ef- combination of Eqs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrates that, for a given pres-
ficiency of a precooling process measures how much power is sure ratio, the temperature rise of a refrigerant during compres-
required to provide a given amount of refrigeration. sion is determined by the specific heat ratio of the refrigerant.
For a precooled process using a boiling main refrigerant, As the ratio increases, the temperature at the compression out-
such as MR, about 75% of the total precooling heat duty goes let warms, which indicates that more work is expended during
toward partially condensing the main refrigerant. Approximate- compression. Conversely, as the specific heat ratio decreases,
the temperature at the compression outlet cools, thereby mak-
ing the process more efficient. Generally, refrigerants with a low
100 specific heat ratio are preferred.
cp
k= (1)
80 cv
Liq
P1nT n =Constant (2)
Relative power, %
60 Liq Liq
n k
= P (3)
n1 k1
40 where:
k = Specific heat ratio
cp = Specific heat at constant pressure
Pre cv = Specific heat at constant volume
20
Pre p = Polytropic efficiency
Pre P = Pressure
0 T = Temperature
-57 -37 -77
Precooling temperature, C Critical temperature. The critical temperatures of various
pure-component refrigerants are shown in FIG. 8. The critical
FIG. 7. Optimal precooling temperature: Precooling (Pre) and
point is the point on the phase diagram (see FIG. 9) where the
liquefaction (Liq) power requirements.
dew and bubble lines meet. Above the critical temperature,
both gas and liquid phases have the same density and cannot
140 be separated. FIG. 8 also includes lines that represent an average
Hot ambient ambient temperature of 25C, a hot ambient temperature of
120 Average ambient 40C and a cold ambient temperature of 10C. CO2 and ethane
Cold ambient
have the lowest critical temperature of approximately 31C.
100 For CO2 and ethane applications at cold ambient tempera-
ture, it may be possible to operate the process below the critical
Temperature, C
80 temperature so that the process functions similarly to any other

subcritical process. However, for hot and likely average ambi-
60 ent cases, the refrigerant temperature will be higher than the
critical point, causing the process to be transcritical in nature.
40 Another scenario where CO2 and ethane would function as
subcritical refrigerants is when the natural gas arrives cold
20 for instance, if it is already precooled to 30C, and if CO2 or
ethane is used to liquefy or further cool the natural gas.
0 FIG. 9 shows a pressure-enthalpy (P-H) diagram for sub-
CO2 Ethane R-410A Propylene Propane Ammonia critical and transcritical processes. In a subcritical process (FIG.
9, left), the refrigerant vapor (A) is at a pressure of P1 and a
FIG. 8. Precooling refrigerant critical temperatures. temperature of T1, and is compressed to pressure P2 and tem-
perature T2 (B). The compressed vapor is then desuperheated The temperature at point E after heat rejection is set by the
to the dewpoint (C), condensed to the bubble point (D), and ambient temperature plus a heat exchanger approach temper-
subcooled to produce subcooled liquid (E). The subcooled liq- ature. Due to the vertical nature of the constant temperature
uid is then flashed to the original pressure, P1 (F), and vapor- lines above the critical point, point E is in the central portion
ized to complete the cycle and return to vapor phase (A). Dur- of the graph. Therefore, when refrigerant is let down in pres-
ing steps B through E, the process rejects heat to ambient air or sure from point E to point F, a two-phase stream with large
cooling water. During steps F through A, the process provides amounts of vapor is produced. Point F typically has a higher
cooling duty to a process stream. vapor fraction in a transcritical process than in a subcritical
In a transcritical process (FIG. 9, right), the cycle diagram process, which leads to a lower process efficiency.
looks similar; however, the heat rejection steps B through E FIG. 10 shows a graph of hot- and cold-side temperatures
occur above the critical point. The process starts with refrig- vs. heat duty, also known as cooling curves, for the heat-
erant vapor (A) at pressure P1 and temperature T1 below the rejection steps B through E in a subcritical process using pro-
critical temperature. It is then compressed to pressure P2 and pane, as well as in a transcritical process using CO2. For a sub-
temperature T2 (B), which is above the critical temperature. critical process, desuperheating, condensing and subcooling
Above the critical point, a fluid does not possess distinct zones are distinct, and a majority of the cooling is provided
vapor and liquid phases. Therefore, when it is cooled from during condensation. In a transcritical process, the zones are
point B to point E, it does not condense. The fluid exhibits not distinct and the temperature difference between the hot
vapor-like properties at point B and liquid-like properties at and cold sides increases at the warm end, leading to ineffi-
point E. However, unlike the subcritical condensing process, ciency. This process further reduces the efficiency of trans-
where temperature stays constant during the condensation critical processes.
process (steps C through D), the temperature decreases con- Generally, refrigerants with critical temperatures above the
tinually during the transcritical heat-rejection step. ambient temperature plus approach temperature are preferred
Bubble line T2
Dew line T1 T3
T3 T1 T2 Constant temperature lines P2 E B
E D C B
P2
Liquid Liquid + vapor Vapor Liquid Vapor
Pressure
Pressure
P1
F A
P1 Liquid + vapor
F A
h0 h1 h2 h0 h1 h2
Enthalpy Enthalpy
FIG. 9. P-H diagram for subcritical (left) and transcritical (right) processes.
80 80
70 Hot (precooling refrigerant) 70 Hot (precooling refrigerant) B
Cold (ambient) Cold (ambient)
60 B 60
50 50
Temperature, C
Temperature, C
C
40 D 40
E
E
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
Duty Duty
FIG. 10. Cooling curves for subcritical (left) and transcritical (right) cooling.

to ensure stable subcritical operation. Some challenges associ- both the specific heat capacity and the density of the refrigerant.
ated with transcritical operation include: As the specific heat capacity increases, the mass of refrigerant
1. Lower process efficiency required decreases. Lower refrigerant mass flowrate and higher
2. Challenges with supercritical refrigerant storage density lead to smaller pipe sizes.
in the accumulator
3. Lack of references with transcritical refrigerants Site- and feed-specific precooling refrigerant evaluation.
in baseload LNG facilities. Various precooling refrigerant options are presented for a land-
Refrigerant availability. Several natural gas liquefaction fa- based natural gas liquefaction project of 5 MMtpy nominal ca-
cilities are in remote locations where importing refrigerants is pacity. The ambient temperature is 25C, and air coolers with
difficult and/or expensive. For such projects, it is preferable to an air temperature rise of 10C are used. Natural gas feed is at a
use refrigerants available in the natural gas feed. Some refriger- pressure of 70 bara and contains 90% methane and a significant
ants are present in the natural gas itself, such as propane, ethane amount of NGL components. As shown in FIG. 2, the process in-
and components of MR, and may be extracted using a fraction- volves an acid gas removal unit (AGRU), followed by removal of
ation system, depending on the feed gas composition. water, mercury, heavy hydrocarbons and NGL. The pretreated
Flammability. Refrigerant flammability is also an impor- natural gas is precooled in the precooling system, followed by liq-
tant consideration, especially for FLNG projects. It is desirable uefaction and subcooling in the MCHE. LNG is let down to stor-
to minimize the onboard flammable inventory, specifically the age pressure, and the vapor produced by flashing is sent to fuel.
propane inventory. Therefore, certain precooling refrigerants Precooling circuit. The precooling configuration is illustrat-
are better suited for FLNG applications than others. ed in FIG. 4 and involves four pressure levels and parallel precool-
Additional considerations. Other factors that should be ing of the natural gas and main refrigerant. Six cases with differ-
taken into account include corrosiveness, toxicity, global warm- ent precooling refrigerants were performed. A seventh case was
ing potential, equipment count and size. Corrosive refrigerants done using MR as the precooling fluid at a single pressure level.
are detrimental to heat exchangers and other equipment, re- The following precooling parameters were held constant in
duce equipment life, and increase the frequency of shutdowns all cases:
for repairs. They are also unfavorable for overall plant availabil- 1. A fixed precooling temperature of 25C; this value
ity and economics. Safe, nontoxic and environmentally friendly is based on ammonia that has the warmest achievable
refrigerants with low global warming potential are preferable. precooling temperature among the refrigerants
Equipment size and count impact capital cost, and are driven considered, as shown in FIG. 5
by the precooling configuration, refrigerant, operating pressure 2. Heat transfer coefficient times heat exchanger area (UA)
and other process conditions. Equipment size is a function of for the desuperheater, condenser and subcooler heat
exchangers, which ensures that the analysis is based on
A1 the same number of air cooler bays
P1
3. Pressure drop across each unit operation
4. Approach to ambient temperature for the desuperheater,
P4 P3 P2 condenser and subcooler heat exchangers
5. Air temperature rise for the desuperheater, condenser
and subcooler heat exchangers
Feed Feed Feed Feed
HP MP LP LLP 6. Minimum allowable temperature difference between
the refrigerant and the process stream in all eight
heat exchangers.
The following precooling parameters were optimized in
Feed Feed Feed Feed each case, as highlighted in FIG. 11:
MR HP MR MP MR LP MR LLP 1. Four pressure levels: P1, P2, P3 and P4
2. Air flowrate A1, which was varied to yield a fixed
FIG. 11. Optimized parameters in four-pressure precooling circuit. air temperature rise.
TABLE 1. Precooling refrigerants score card

Propane Ammonia CO2 Propylene Ethane R-410A MR
Relative precooling efficiency 100% 97% 82% 100% 81% 100% 100%
at 25C precooling temperature
Coldest precooling temperature 33 25 81 39 81 43 No limit
without vacuum design, C
Critical temperature, C 97 132 31 92 32 72 No limit
Flammability Yes Low No Yes Yes No Yes
Available in feed Yes No No No Yes No Yes
Global warming potential Low None Low Low Low High Low
Toxicity and corrosiveness No High No No No No No
Liquefaction circuit. For all cases considered, the liquefac-

tion and subcooling heat duty are provided by MR in the con-
figuration shown in FIG. 3. Several parameters were held con-
stant in the liquefaction circuit:
1. Natural gas and LNG pressure, temperature and INNOVATIVE VALVE TECHNOLOGY
flowrate throughout the liquefaction circuit
2. MR pressure, temperature and flowrate throughout
ENGINEERED + PATENTED
the liquefaction circuit
3. Pressure drops across all equipment
QUARTER TURN MECHANICAL SEAL
4. Fuel flowrate ZERO LEAKAGE
5. Air temperature rise ON/OFF & FLOW CONTROL
6. Air cooler UAs PROTECTED SEAT DESIGN
7. J-T valve outlet pressure.
In essence, no parameters in the liquefaction circuit were al- PIGGABLE DESIGNS
100
lowed to vary, and the resulting liquefaction power is the same CARTRIDGE FEATURE REDUCES DOWNTIME
for all cases. HIGH TEMPERATURE/METAL SEAT 80
Machinery. The precooling and liquefaction compressors
Production, Bcfd
were modeled as polytropic, with a fixed efficiency of 83% in 2-24 60
all cases. No machinery constraints were imposed in any of the 40

cases. Therefore, the analysis is not biased toward any specific
20
machinery selections, such as driver choice and driver-com-
pressor arrangements. 0
Results and discussion. A score card comparing the seven

precooling fluids against the key selection parameters is shown
in TABLE 1. DOWNSTREAM
Precooling efficiency. The relative precooling process ef- SEAT
ficiency of the refrigerants at a fixed precooling temperature of UPSTREAM
25C is shown in FIG. 12. Among this group of refrigerants, pro- 25
SEAT
pane, propylene, MR and R-410A have the highest efficiency.
One reason for this is the low specific heat ratio, Cp /Cv, for these 20
refrigerants. Ammonia has 3% lower precooling efficiency than
propane. One of the factors causing this is its higher Cp /Cv ratio 15
compared to propane. Ethane and CO2 have the lowest efficien- DOUBLE BLOCK & BLEED/DIB
$/MMBtu
cies because of their higher specific heat ratios and the transcrit-
VERIFIABLE SHUTOFF VALVE 10
ical nature of these processes, as demonstrated in FIG. 9 and FIG.
10. Although ethane and CO2 have similar critical temperatures, DOUBLE BLOCK AVAILABLE
CO2 has a slightly better efficiency than ethane, partly due to its IN HIGH TEMP 5
slightly lower Cp /Cv ratio compared to ethane.
Of the seven refrigerants compared in TABLE 1, propane, pro- 0
pylene, ammonia, ethane and CO2 are pure-component refriger-
100
95
Relative efficiency, %
40
90
35
US gas plant field production, Mbpd
85 30
25
80 15B S TRADE CENTER PKWY, CONROE, TX 77385
PH (936) 539-5770 FAX (936) 539-2990 20
75 EMAIL SALES@CHROMATICINDUSTRIES.COM 15
Ethane CO2 NH3 Propylene R-410A Propane MR
WWW.CHROMATICINDUSTRIES.COM 10
FIG. 12. Relative precooling efficiencies at a fixed precooling
temperature of 25C. API & ISO CERTIFIED
14JULY/AUGUST 2017|GasProcessingNews.com
ants. R-410A, being a near-azeotropic blend of R32 and R125, With the exception of ammonia, which is limited to a pre-
functions similarly to a pure-component refrigerant. These re- cooling temperature of approximately 25C, all of the other
frigerants were evaluated in a four-pressure precooling configu- precooling refrigerants can precool to the optimal precooling
ration. MR, on the contrary, is a multi-component refrigerant temperature and offer an advantage over ammonia. As men-
comprising (in this instance) nitrogen, methane, ethane/ethyl- tioned previously, the relative efficiencies in FIG. 12 are shown
ene, propane and butane, and was evaluated in a single-pressure for a fixed precooling temperature of 25C for all of the fluids
precooling configuration. Even for single-pressure MR precool- to ensure a common basis. However, all of the fluids, other than
ing, the overall process efficiency is comparable to multiple- ammonia, have the advantage of precooling to the optimal tem-
pressure propane precooling. This is because the hydrocarbon perature. For instance, propane precooling at 33C provides
mixture boils over a wide temperature range, leading to a smooth an additional improvement in overall efficiency as compared to
cooling curve, and provides an opportunity to optimize cooling propane precooling at 25C.
curves with small temperature differences and high efficiency. Although fluids like CO2, ethane and MR can precool to
The efficiency for a precooled process can be further im- very cold temperatures, it was not optimal to precool to these
proved by adding features such as inlet air chilling, gas turbine temperatures. Propane precooling temperature was found to
heat recovery, endflash gas recycle, hydraulic turbines, boiloff be close to optimal for typical ambient conditions. As the am-
gas (BOG) reliquefaction and others. However, these features bient temperature cools, the optimal precooling temperature
are not limited to specific precooling refrigerants and may be decreases, and refrigerants with colder precooling ability are
applied across the board. When comparing processes with dif- advantageous.
ferent precooling refrigerants, it is crucial to compare them
based on the same features. Project conditions and liquefaction cycle selection. Con-
Precooling temperature. As shown in FIG. 5, the precooling siderations for the liquefaction cycle selection in light of proj-
temperature achievable varies with the refrigerant. FIG. 13 shows ect conditions are discussed in the following sections.
the optimum precooling temperature that yields the highest Critical temperature. The critical temperatures of the re-
overall process efficiency for this application. Note that the op- frigerants are shown in FIG. 8. A higher critical temperature im-
timal temperature is a strong function of ambient temperature, plies that the process can operate at high ambient temperatures
process conditions and liquefaction process selection, and must within the subcritical regime. Propane, propylene, ammo-
be determined on a case-by-case basis. nia and R-410A have critical temperatures higher than 70C,
which is well above typical hot ambient temperatures. Being a
mixture of multiple hydrocarbons, critical temperature is not
an issue for MR. CO2 and ethane have a critical temperature of
approximately 31C, causing these processes to involve trans-
critical cooling at cold ambient temperatures.
Flammability. An advantage of non-hydrocarbon refriger-
ants, such as CO2, R-410A and ammonia, is that they reduce
LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS flammable inventory onsite. Propane, being an LPG compo-
nent, is typically not preferred for FLNG service. MR also
Firefighting Training for includes flammable hydrocarbons; however, they can be de-
Bulk Storage Facilities signed to operate efficiently without propane, and have gained
prominence for FLNG applications.
Refrigerant availability. Propane, ethane and components
found in MR have the advantage of being present in typical nat-
NH3 Propane Propylene R-410A Ehtane CO2 MR

0
-20
This is a excellent firefighting training video for facilities that Optimal precooling temperature
handle LP-Gas. The program was developed and videotaped -40
with the assistance of the Texas A&M University Firefighting
-60
Training School in College Station, Texas.
Temperature, C
-80
Series parts include: -100
Part 1: Small vessel fire
Part 2: LPG rail car fire -120
Part 3: Tank truck fire -140
Part 4: Flange leak fire
Part 5: Pump seal fire -160
Part 6: LPG leak and gas cloud Price: $495 DVD -180
Part 7: LPG fire in stacked bottles
FIG. 13. Optimal precooling temperature based on ambient
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temperature, site-specific.
ural gas feed. Depending on the feed gas composition, it may GOWRI KRISHNAMURTHY is a Senior Research Engineer in the
LNG Process Technology group at Air Products. She has
be possible to generate sufficient quantities of these compo- participated in the development of liquefaction process cycles
nents onsite, using an NGL removal and fractionation system. and heat exchanger designs for several LNG projects, including
While CO2 has a slightly higher efficiency than ethane, the both land-based and FLNG, and has also participated in plant
availability of ethane in the feed gas is a significant advantage performance tests. Dr. Krishnamurthy is actively involved in
various research and development (R&D) initiatives for the
for ethane over CO2. development of new and improved natural gas liquefaction processes and
Global warming potential. HFC refrigerants, including heat exchanger designs, and is listed as an inventor on 15 patent applications.
R-410A, typically have high global warming potential, which In addition, she is responsible for intellectual property strategy and development
for the LNG business at Air Products, and is a registered patent agent with the
must be kept in mind when making a selection. This is not an US patent office. Dr. Krishnamurthy also has experience in R&D for reaction
issue for the other refrigerants considered. engineering, adsorption and renewable energy. She holds a BS degree in chemical
Toxicity and corrosiveness. Unlike the other precooling engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Chennai and a PhD
refrigerants evaluated, ammonia has the significant disadvan- in chemical engineering from Purdue University in Indiana.
tage of being both highly corrosive and toxic in nature, which MARK J. ROBERTS is an Engineering Associate in LNG at
may have serious implications for safety, equipment life, cost, Air Products. He joined Air Products in 1996, and has 26 years
plant availability and overall facility performance. of experience in developing cryogenic cycles for gas separation
and liquefaction. Several US and international patents have
been issued in his name, including the patent for the AP-X
Recommendations. Over the past few decades, precooling process. His responsibilities include developing and evaluating
has been implemented in a majority of baseload gas liquefac- new approaches to LNG liquefaction and technical support
tion facilities and has improved the efficiency, increased the of sales estimates for Air Products LNG business.
capacity and enhanced the overall performance of these pro- CHRISTOPHER M. OTT is the Lead Process Engineer for the
cesses. Multiple precooling refrigerants and configurations LNG Process Technology Group at Air Products. He joined
have been proposed in the LNG industry. Various consider- Air Products in 2001 after receiving his BS degree in chemical
engineering from Villanova University. He began working for
ations must be taken into account when making a selection Air Products in process design work for LNG and hydrocarbon
for a project. cryogenics. He then moved to assignments in air separation,
Here, seven precooling fluids have been directly com- chemicals technology and electronics before returning to the
LNG process group in 2005, where he has worked on many recent LNG projects,
pared: propane, MR, ammonia, CO2 , ethane, propylene and including several mid-size LNG and FLNG facilities. He has also participated in
fluorocarbons. The refrigerants were evaluated on a fixed ba- the startup and performance testing of many baseload and mid-size LNG plants.
sis against several important parameters, such as efficiency,
precooling temperature, refrigerant availability, flammability,
operability, ambient temperature and safety. These factors,
along with key thermodynamic parameters (such as specific
heat ratio and critical temperature), have a significant impact
on the precooling process and must be closely evaluated on a
case-by-case basis. eltherm Specialist for electrical heat tracing systems
Of the precooling refrigerants proposed, propane and
MR possess several advantages, such as high efficiency, deep Trace heating for all industrial applications
precooling temperature, subcritical operation and simplicity. Turnkey heat tracing solutions from
They are also well proven and easily available. They are both Engineering to Commissioning
nontoxic and noncorrosive, and have low global warming po- Secure, reliable systems for high process
tential. MR possesses the additional benefits of low propane temperatures and hazardous areas
inventory, a small footprint and deeper precooling tempera- Customised energy saving and monitoring
ture, which make it a preferred choice for FLNG and cold systems
ambient applications. International operating company with
The actual selection of precooling refrigerant for a specific 40 years technology experience
application should be carefully determined based on the pa- High quality and flexibility
rameters highlighted here, along with project-specific require-
Own production site
ments and site conditions. The optimal selection of both the
precooling refrigerant and the precooling configuration plays Products include:
a crucial role in overall plant economics and performance. GP - heating cables and tapes
- heating mats and jackets
LITERATURE CITED - heated hoses
1
Schmidt, W. P., C. M. Ott, Y. N. Liu and J. W. Wehrman, Arctic LNG plant design: - measurement and control systems
Taking advantage of the cold climate, LNG17, April 2013. - accessories
2
Schmidt, W. P., C. M. Ott, Y. N. Liu and W. A. Kennington, How the right techni-
cal choices lead to commercial success, LNG16, 2010. eltherm GmbH Visit us at
Krishnamurthy, G., M. J. Roberts and J. W. Wehrman, Drive your LNG project to Ernst-Heinkel-Str. 6-10 Adipec, ational
habi Intern Conference,
3
success with optimal machinery selections, LNG Journal, May 2015. 57299 Burbach, Germany The Abu D &
Exhibition
Petroleum
Phone: +49 27 36/ 44 13-0
E-Mail: info@eltherm.com nd 1 3 4 6 4
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Hall 13 Sta ber 2017
vem
The authors would like to thank William P. Schmidt for his valuable contribu- 13 - 16 No
tions to this work. www.eltherm.com

REAL-TIME LNG DATA
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and modification
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REST OF WORLD: Alastair Noakes, +44 (0) 203 409 2244

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Floating cryogenic hoses unlock

new opportunities in LNG transfer
V. LAGARRIGUE, Trelleborg Oil & Marine, Clermont-Ferrand, France
The LNG market is both growing and vessels would moor at the dockside and coming from the woven fabric layers.
changing. According to a recent study, use a jetty platform for ship-to-shore The number and arrangement of mul-
global demand for LNG is projected to transfers, or use bridging arms for ship- tiple polymeric film and woven fabric
increase by a factor of 50% by 2020, com- to-ship transfers between an FSRU and layers is specific to the hose size and ap-
pared to 2014. Much of this demand is a carrier, bunkering vessel or LNG-pow- plication (FIG. 1).
spurred by the fact that LNG is usable in ered ship. Gas in its liquefied form pres- The polymeric film and fabric mate-
multiple markets, regions and configura- ents a different challenge since it must be rials are selected to be compatible with
tions, and is widely available. transported at a temperature of 163C. the conveyed product and the operating
At the same time, big changes are be- LNG transfer solutions require spe- temperatures likely to be encountered.
ing seen in demand patterns for LNG, cialized cryogenic hosing to safely trans- Insulated hoses can reduce boiloff by
particularly gas power generation in the fer LNG to regasification plants. In many as much as 60%, equating to a savings
Asia-Pacific region. India is leading the cases, there will be a need for traditional of 10 BBtu of energy over the course of
charge, while China, Japan and Korea are jetties; however, due to the requirement 500 transfers. The outer protective hose
both eyeing natural gas in a push to move for specialist cryogenic hoses for LNG draws on flexible rubber-bonded hose
away from high-polluting fossil fuels. In transfer, more focus is being placed than technology, which is well known for its
addition, remote regions of Indonesia ever before on hose technology and its high resistance to fatigue and its ability
and the Philippines are looking to LNG capabilities. to withstand harsh environmental condi-
to fill the energy gap where access to Composite LNG hoses typically con- tions. The flexibility and high flowrates
the main grid is limited or unreliable, or sist of multiple, unbonded, polymeric achievable with cryogenic technology
where power generation capabilities are film and woven fabric layers encapsu- mean that it increases the economic fea-
restricted. Reliable access to energy is vi- lated between two stainless steel wire sibility of power generation, terminal,
tal to the success of economic growth in helicesone internal and one external. and marine bunkering projects that
these remote regions, and LNG can play Essentially, the film layers provide a flu- are located away from existing infra-
a key role in delivering sustained growth. id-tight barrier to the conveyed product, structureparticularly in areas where
Clear acceleration in demand is seen with the mechanical strength of the hose jetty-based transfer would be infeasible
for small- and medium-scale LNG. In de-
livering LNG to these remote regions, it is
necessary to be able to split it into smaller
load parcels. To accommodate this need,
the global fleet of LNG carrier vessels is
diversifying. Today, the worlds LNG fleet
of around 500 vessels includes 26 FSRUs
and 33 small-scale ships with a storage
capacity of 30,000 m or less. These ves-
sels have specialized capabilities in oil
and gas transfer. To carry out these opera-
tions successfully, they require innovative
and flexible transfer solutions to adapt to
the requirements of both the cargo and
the recipient. This requires moving away
from solutions that had facilitated the
transfer of coal or fuel oil.
Rethinking transfer operations. Tra-

FIG. 1. Cryogenic floating hoses.
ditional thinking has been that LNG
because of harsh conditions or environ- length of the transfer operation, further Floating transfer terminals or barges can
mental concerns (FIG. 2). reducing risk (FIG. 3). be connected to the shore using cryogenic
Similarly, in offshore environments, hoses, which can then be easily connected
cryogenic hose technology allows trans- Unlocking the transfer zone. A major with a vessel using a transfer system on a
fer to occur in deeper seas and in more advantage of hose-in-hose technology barge. These solutions can be built, out-
challenging conditions. In comparison is that it can negate the need for fixed fitted and commissioned offsite in paral-
to traditional side-by-side transfer using onshore infrastructures; a concrete plat- lel, with relatively light civil engineering
loading arms, cryogenic hoses can be form onshore combined with hose trans- activity, thereby reducing the overall time
used in a tandem configuration, signifi- fer solutions offers an alternative that scale from contract award to first gas.
cantly increasing the distance between can be up to 80% more cost-effective As a self-contained mobile unit, a
the vessels involved: approximately for locations where fixed onshore infra- floating barge or transfer unit can be read-
100 m150 m for FLNG-to-carrier structure would be prohibitive. ily adapted for alternative deployment in
transfers, and 300 m500 m for carrier- Collaborations between hose manu- the event of local changes or a desire to
to-FSRU offloading transfers. This dis- facturers and transfer equipment man- move location entirely. A floating solu-
tance plays an important role in miti- ufacturers demonstrate how certain tion also allows for refuge to be sought in
gating the risk of collision, as does the ship-to-shore operations can be further safe harbor during storms or hurricanes,
fact that the high flowrates afforded by enhanced, as well as offer increased flex- for deep maintenance to be undertaken
the technology significantly reduce the ibility and a choice of transfer options. at a shipyard, and for integration with
a variety of LNGC mooring configura-
tions. Moreover, the barge is only used
when transfer is underway, minimizing
the impact on the environment. Cru-
cially, it is also suited to smaller carriers,
for which many existing docking facilities
are not configured.
In conclusion, cryogenic hoses in
floating configurations unlock new op-
portunities for LNG transfer, both at
sea and in nearshore environments, re-
ducing the risk of safety incidents and
downtime, and lowering handling proce-
dure times by as much as 60% in some
instances. It is perhaps unsurprising that
the prognosis for this technology is in
rude health; a study conducted by Mor-
dor Intelligence estimated that the glob-
al cryogenic equipment market would
reach $23.5 B by 2021.
FIG. 2. Cryogenic hoses in ship-to-shore configuration.
As LNGs role in the global energy mix
increases, it is imperative that transfer
technology keeps pace. Cryogenic hose
technology is demonstrating that transfer
technology can match the ubiquity and
flexibility of LNG fuel itself. GP
VINCENT LAGARRIGUE, Director of
Trelleborg Oil & Marine, is an expert
in crude oil offloading solutions and
LNG offshore transfer, and has
worked at Trelleborg for more than
10 yr. Mr. Lagarrigue handles the
Oil & Marine groups complete
product range of oil and gas transfer systems,
including solutions for FLNG and small-scale LNG
applications. At Trelleborg, he has been responsible
for the design and qualification of flexible bonded
hoses for offshore crude oil transfer (e.g., oil offloading
lines, reel systems) and LNG transfer. Mr. Lagarrigue
holds an MSc degree in mechanical engineering from
the French Institute for Advanced Mechanics (IFMA)
in Clermont-Ferrand, and an Executive MBA degree
in finance and entrepreneurship from the EMLyon
FIG. 3. Tandem ship-to-ship offloading.
Business School in cully, France.
Optimal design and operation of molecular

sieves for gas dehydrationPart 2
R. H. M. HEROLD, Contributing Writer; and S. MOKHATAB, Gas Processing Consultant,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Part 1 of this article examined the main design elements of ecules from the bulk gas phase to the molecular sieve active sur-
a molecular sieve dehydration unit, although it is virtually im- face, reducing the water removal capacity of the sieve. Wetting
possible to design such a process unit without taking operational of the molecular sieve also increases the sieves susceptibility to
aspects into account. However, once a molecular sieve unit is attrition, which will lead to dust formation, increased pressure
constructed and the gas processing plant has started up, some drop and channeling. The only way to prevent these develop-
elements during its operation require special attention. ments is to operate the molecular sieve beds a few degrees above
Part 2 focuses on the operation of a molecular sieve unit used the hydrocarbon dewpoint, which can be achieved by installing
for natural gas dehydration. Debottlenecking and troubleshoot- a heater downstream of the feed KO drum.
ing options are also discussed. Capacity test runs, which provide information on the amount
of water adsorbed by the molecular sieve at the time of testing,
Addressing common issues. A contributing factor to molecu- are essential for evaluating the performance of the molecular
lar sieve deactivation is the deposition of liquids, such as amines, sieve over its run length and for estimating the remaining life-
that originate from the upstream amine unit being deposited on time.3,7 Once the capacity has been determined from a test run,
the molecular sieve.16 Such liquids can enter the macropores of it can be plotted against the number of regeneration cycles that
the molecular sieve and, during regeneration, cause severe degra- the bed has experienced. If the results of the test runs are plot-
dation of the molecular sieve by destroying the binder material. ted against the expected deactivation curve, then an evaluation
This process can ultimately result in caking and coking, mecha- can be made as to whether it is possible to reach the planned
nisms discussed in Part 1. changeout time. When sufficient data points are collected over
The deposition of liquid droplets can arise from poor uptime, the true deactivation profile can be determined and ex-
stream liquid/vapor separation, retrograde condensation or trapolated to estimate the remaining lifetime. The results of sev-
a regeneration profile that results in the formation of liquid eral of these test runs for three trains are summarized in FIG. 1.
water. To minimize this effect, the knockout (KO) vessel up- As shown in the graph in FIG. 1, the results suggest that the
stream of the dryer beds usually has advanced deentrainment molecular sieve beds are deactivating much faster than expect-
internals, such as vane type, mist mat, or swirl deck and mist ed. Once some certainty is established that the beds perfor-
mat (SDMM) installed. While these internals should provide mance is indeed lower than expected, an attempt can be made to
adequate separation, it is conceivable that they have not been identify the cause. The aim is to avoid an unplanned shutdown
installed properly, which can lead to liquid carryover in the form for changing out the molecular sieves and to keep the units run-
of entrainment. It is also possible that a slug from the upstream
amine unit will enter the molecular sieve bed. This type of liq-
uid carryover is difficult to prevent and can cause serious dam- 200
age to the molecular sieve unit, which usually requires immedi-
ate changeout unless it is identified early.
If operational indicators show that a large volume of liquid
Water uptake capacity, wt%
150
(e.g. through foaming of the upstream amine unit) has been de-
posited on the bed, then it can be mitigated only by a slow and
careful ramp-up in the following regeneration step. Additional 100
protection of the molecular sieve against small droplets can be
provided by the installation of a guard layer on top of the bed. Train A
This layer is composed of a small coating of silica or alumina 50 Train B
Design
specifically installed to catch liquid droplets and protect the Train C
molecular sieve bed. 0
If capillary condensation of hydrocarbons takes place in the 0 200 400 600 800 1,000
bed, this can also lead to a rapid increase in the rate of deacti- No. of regeneration cycles
vation. Liquid hydrocarbons wet the sieve, covering it in a film,
FIG. 1. Molecular sieve dehydration unit test run results.
which adds extra resistance to the mass transfer of water mol-
ning until the planned shutdown. At that moment, only a lim- samples available. In general, when discussing the quality of gas
ited amount of data can be collected and analyzed in an attempt samples, the subject of sampling reliability will inevitably arise.
to identify the cause of underperformance of the beds.7 As the molecular sieve dehydration unit (DHU) is still run-
The first type of dataset to be collected is plant datamore ning, it will not be possible to extract molecular sieve samples
specifically flow, feed temperature, pressure, temperature pro- from the vessels. However, if the cause for the beds underper-
files during regeneration, regeneration gas flow, pressure drop formance is not easily identified, then molecular sieve samples
over the beds and analyzer data. The analyzer data is the data should be taken and analyzed at the first opportunity.
collected by the moisture analyzers, generally located in the bot- Even when no problems are detected with the DHU, it is
tom of the bed and in the common outlet. Sometimes a mid-bed recommended to take and store samples during the planned
probe is also present. The dataset collected should be analyzed changeout. In this manner, samples are available for comparison
for anomalies by a comparison with historical data (i.e., data if the need arises. When vessels are opened and unloaded, close
from a period of time where the plant was functioning well). observation should be made as to whether signs are present of
If not already part of the standard sampling and analysis caking (clumps of molecular sieve particles), excessive dust for-
scheme implemented to monitor plant performance, conden- mation, excessive discoloration and darkening of the sieve, and
sate samples can be taken from the feed gas and regeneration channeling (discoloration on the wall).
gas KO drums for analysis. As before, the dataset collected Fresh spent molecular sieve samples can be analyzed by a va-
should be analyzed for anomalies by a comparison with histori- riety of commonly used techniques:3,7
cal data, as well as with new plant data. The sampling scheme is Bulk-crushing strength and plate-crushing strength
presented in FIG. 2. analyses to determine whether particles maintained
Feed gas samples are collected and analyzed on a regular basis. their strength
However, this type of analysis will generate only a bulk composi- Thermometric gravimetric analysis (TGA) adsorption
tiondata that is needed for analysis but that does not generate measurements of capacity and mass transfer properties
information on trace components due to the limited amount of to determine if an excessive decrease has occurred in
the water adsorption capacity of the adsorbent (i.e., to
measure the degree of deactivation of the adsorbent)
Gas Pyrolysis combustion mass spectrometric elemental
samples (PCME) and/or flash combustion analysis to determine
the amount of coking
Feed Mercury porosity determinations provide information
gas
4A sieve samples about the pore structure of a material and its degradation.
280C320C One of the more common failures seen in DHUs is the failure
of the bottom support structure of the vessel.1,3,4 The bottom sup-
port is an essential structure in the vessel, as it must ensure proper
Bypass
Condensate Condensate flow distribution during regeneration. The bed rests on a sup-
samples samples port, with the bottom dome of the vessel having a void space. A
Dry gas bottom dome filled with ceramic balls will achieve the same goal.
The root cause of the problem is the continuous expansion
FIG. 2. Sampling options in molecular sieve dehydration unit. and contraction of the bottom support during thermal cycles. If
a weakness exists in the bottom support structure that can create
a gap, then the molecular sieve particles will almost certainly find
that hole. Once the molecular sieve starts flowing, it behaves like
External insulation water and part of it will likely flow into the bottom dome.
When opening a vessel, a clear indicator of an issue is the ob-
100-mm turn-up along servation that a depression exists in the bed. Such a depression
wall of 20-mesh screen Vessel wall would create a channeli.e., a path of least resistance manifest-
Hold-down ring ing itself as an early breakthrough of the bed. The molecular sieve
in the bottom dome might also start to swirl, thereby grinding
itself to dust and potentially creating problems for downstream
10-mesh screen
Ceramic rope
equipment. A sketch of a classic bottom support structure is
5-mesh screen shown in FIG. 3.
Support grid The most common causes of bottom support failure for the
classic bottom support are mesh screen installation failures, in-
correct sizes of ceramic balls used, and incorrect installation of
Support ring ceramic rope packing in the gap. An example of the latter is that
the ceramic rope is too tightly packed, to the point where it loses
its flexibility. Accumulation of dust between the support grid
and the wall can result in a deformed support grid.
An alternative to the classic bottom support structure is the
FIG. 3. Detailed sketch of a classic bottom support.
use of V-wire mesh screens, although these also have problems.
Note: Care should be taken not to copy the design used in hy- purged to ensure that coadsorbed species, such as hydrocarbons
drotreater vessels. Although these reactors operate at high tem- and sulfur species, have been removed to acceptable levels.
peratures, they are not exposed to continuous temperature cy-
cles. The other option is filling the bottom dome with ceramic
balls, as shown in FIG. 4.
The main advantage of filling the bottom dome with ceramic
balls is eliminating issues with the bottom support as it is re-
moved from the vessel. However, there are a few disadvantages Ceramic balls, in.
to this method. The weight of the vessel increases, which can
be a significant disadvantage for floating or offshore structures,
where weight and plot space are major cost items. Adsorbent layer, in.
Also, due to the larger inventory in the vessel, more heat is
required for regeneration. Using the same regeneration flow
means that more time is needed for regeneration (heating and
cooling)i.e., the minimum required uptake capacity increas-
es. (Note: As discussed in Part 1, the minimum required uptake Adsorbent layer, 116 in.
capacity is essentially determined by the minimum time needed
for regenerationi.e., the fastest time the system can be heat-
ed up and cooled down while ensuring that the beds are fully Ceramic balls, in.
Ceramic balls, in.
regenerated.) Such a system also has a higher CO2 footprint, Ceramic balls, in.
another characteristic that is evaluated during modern design. Ceramic balls, 1 in.
Proper loading of the molecular sieve beds is a critical opera-
tion. Thorough checks should be carried out during installation
of the ceramic rope, the mesh screens, the ceramic balls and the
first layer of molecular sieve. Unloading of the vessels should
be carried out quickly, but safely, to minimize downtime. Be- FIG. 4. Sketch of an adsorber vessel with a bottom dome filled
fore unloading takes place, the beds should be regenerated and with ceramic balls.
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One issue that is often neglected when operating DHUs is denser molecular sieve9,10 could be combined with variable cy-
the disposal of spent adsorbent. Several aspects must be consid- cling as a debottlenecking option.
ered. Health, safety and environmental regulations demand that In summary, recommendations to help ensure that the DHU
full personal protection equipment be worn during loading and will run in a way that guarantees production of on-spec product
unloading and during transport and storage. When loading and and to ensure that the planned shutdown data will be available
unloading, dust will be an issue. De-dusting before startup via include:
piston purging is recommended. Local regulations for the han- Conduct performance test runs on a regular basis
dling and transport of possibly contaminated materials, as well Ensure proper design and operation of the
as regulations for the safe destruction and recovery of spent ad- upstream separator
sorbents, will apply. The latter is usually not an issue with spent Use a guard layer
molecular sieves. Pay attention to the design and integrity of vessel internals
In general, it is important to realize that public concerns with Select good-quality molecular sieves
regard to the handling and storage of possibly contaminated Ensure proper loading of the molecular sieve
materials might endanger the license to operate. For spent mo- Implement a regeneration profile that prevents
lecular sieves, several disposal options are available. Usually, the the formation of liquid water
sieve will be stored onsite, which is not a permanent solution. Analyze spent molecular sieve samples.
Spent molecular sieve is disposed of through a landfilling proce- Based on the data presented, it might seem as though mo-
dure that is completely controlled by local regulations. lecular sieve units are the source of many problems in a gas pro-
One of the minimum requirements for landfilling is that a cessing plant. In reality, that is not the case. These units tend
stabilization and leaching test confirms the safety of the landfill- to be reliable and require relatively little operational attention.
ing option. Safe destruction is also an option, but this tends to That in itself can be problematic when issues arise, however, as
be the most expensive one. In this context, vendors will usually experience with troubleshooting these units is sometimes dif-
assist with spent adsorbents. Some vendors even offer cradle- ficult to find. GP
to-grave support services.
Other equipment items that create problems on a regular ba- LITERATURE CITED
sis are the valves surrounding the vessels, which enable switch- 1
Mokhatab, S., W. A. Poe and J. Y. Mak, Handbook of Natural Gas Transmission and
Processing, 3rd Ed., Gulf Professional Publishing, Burlington, Massachusetts, 2015.
ing between the beds and guide the flow for adsorption and 2
De Bruijn, J. N. H., M. A. Huffmaster, J. M. van de Graaf, P. F. A. van Grinsven and
regeneration.8 The valves used in this environment must adhere H. Grootjans, Maximizing molecular sieve performance in natural gas processing,
to stringent specifications to provide a tight seal over a wide presented at the 81st GPA Annual Convention, Dallas, Texas, March 1113, 2002.
temperature range at high pressure. In a worst-case scenario, a
3
Carlsson, A. F., J. B. Rajani and A. J. Kodde, Finding the fountain of youth
for a molecular sieve dehydration unit, presented at the GPA Europe Annual
valve would leak and deposit hot, wet regeneration gas on a bed Conference, Provence, France, September 2224, 2004.
in adsorption, thereby severely reducing the uptake capacity of 4
Hawes, P., Molecular sieves in natural gas processing, presented at the GPA
that bed and possibly even inducing caking. Europe Young Professional Training Day, Manchester, UK, February 11, 2016.
5
Terrigeol, A., Molecular sieves in gas processing: Effects and consequences by
Few vendors can deliver these types of valves. In some de- contaminants, presented at the GPA Europe Annual Conference, Berlin, Germany,
signs (or applications, such as oxygen plants), regeneration is May 2425, 2012.
carried out at a lower pressure, which provides an additional 6
Meyer, P., Molecular sieves troubleshooting, presented at the 27th GPA Europe
driving force for desorption and thereby increases the efficien- Annual Conference, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2224, 2010.
7
Herold, R., Use analytical tools to investigate LNG molecular sieve underperfor-
cy of the regeneration. Such an operation raises the pressure mance, Gas Processing, April 2015.
differential over the valves, making a leak more likely to occur. 8
Pack, B. and A. Shackleford, Gas conditioning failures show need for design scru-
This is one of the reasons that regeneration is carried out at the tiny, Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 111, Iss. 5, May 2013.
same pressure for temperature-swing adsorption (TSA) units,
9
Meyer, P., Easy and sophisticated debottlenecking of molecular sieve plants,
Hydrocarbon World, Vol. 5, Iss. 1, 2010.
although it is not the main reason. The primary reason is that 10
Meyer, P., Cost reduction using high-density molecular sieves, presented at the
regeneration at a similar pressure occurs as the feed reduces 90th GPA Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas, April 36, 2011.
the size of the compressor in the regeneration loop.
RUUD H. M. HEROLD was formerly senior process engineer
at Shell Global Solutions International BV in Amsterdam,
Takeaway. Despite careful design and operation of the molec- The Netherlands. He joined the company in 1986 and began
ular sieve dehydration unit, a variety of reasons (e.g., different working in the gas processing group in 2001, where he
feed composition or upstream equipment not working prop- specialized in adsorption and catalytic processes used in
erly) could make it impossible to run the unit in the manner gas and liquid treating. Mr. Herold holds an MSc degree
in chemical engineering from the University of Amsterdam.
for which it was originally designed. If quick fixes are not pos-
sible, then a few options are available for consideration. SAEID MOKHATAB is one of the most recognizable names
If the main purpose is to reach the next planned shutdown, in the natural gas processing industry. He has been actively
and if some capacity is still left in two or more beds (assuming involved in the design and operation of several gas processing
plants around the world, and has contributed to gas processing
a 2 + 1 configuration), then one option is to continue operat- technology improvements through 300 technical papers
ing at a reduced flow throughput. If one bed is severely under- and two well-known handbooks (published by Elsevier in
performing, then another option is the combination of reduced the US). He founded Elseviers Journal of Natural Gas Science
& Engineering, and has given invited lectures on gas processing technologies
flow throughput with running in 1 + 1 mode. worldwide. As a result of his work, Mr. Mokhatab has received a number
Unfortunately, these options will always carry a large price of international awards and medals, and has been listed in prestigious
tag. In the case of the beds structurally underperforming, a biographical directories.
COMPRESSION
Meet compression train base package design

requirements for FPSOsPart 1
E. ABRAHAM and H. MILLER, the Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power & Gas, Olean, New York
Floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels

are used throughout the world for the processing of oil and gas,
for oil storage and for offloading to a tanker or through a pipe-
line. FPSOs can be subject to high winds and accelerations from
the pitch, roll and heave of the sea. Continued safe operation of
onboard equipment under both normal and adverse conditions
is essential.
Base packages typically consist of a compressor, a gear and a
driver, and are mounted on three anti-vibration mounts (AVMs)
to minimize the loads and displacements being transmitted into
the base package. The three-point mount bases require the
analyses of a significant number of operational and upset load
conditions to ensure safety and sustained equipment operation.
Transport and package lifting must also be evaluated. The FIG. 1. Typical FPSO layout.
normal operating loads include dead weight; acceleration due
to FPSO; pitch, roll and heave; unbalance; torque; wind; and
nozzle loads. The upset loads could include motor short-circuit
torque, maximum acceleration and survival wind loading.
A modal and harmonic response analysis may also be re-
quired to ensure that response at key locations on the package re-
main within acceptable vibration limits due to rotor unbalance.
It is important to perform these calculations early in the design
phase, as design changes may be required to satisfy criteria.
The analytical procedures presented can apply to any driver,
although motor drives are presented in most of the examples.
These procedures also apply to either a standard gear or a vari-
able hydraulic gear. The three-point mount examples show the
use of AVMs, and the procedures could apply to gimbal mounts.
Single-body compressor train examples are shown in the ex-
amples, and the presented procedures have also been applied to
base packages with multi-body compressors.
FIG. 2. An FPSO at a fabrication yard in Korea.
FPSO worldwide distribution and operation. FPSO ves-
sels first emerged in the mid-1970s. Since that time, 186 FPSOs onboard, including gas injection compressors, gas lift compres-
have been commissioned into service; 147 of these remain in sors, export gas compressors, gas boosting compressors and
operation today. FPSOs are widely deployed offshore in Latin fuel gas compressors. A view of two motor-driven compressor
America, Asia, West Africa, the Middle East, the North Sea and trains is shown in FIG. 3. Water-injection pumps and gas turbine-
most recently in the Gulf of Mexico. driven power generation trains may also be present, as shown
The use of FPSOs appears to be still growing. The larger FP- in FIG. 4. The compressors and pumps are usually driven by
SOs have storage capacities in excess of 2 MMbbl of oil, and liv- mechanical-drive gas turbines or electric motors.
ing accommodations for crews of between 100 and 200 people. In most instances, a speed-increasing gearbox is also used
They are also capable of processing up to 20 MMsm3/d of natu- between the driver and the driven equipment. It is common to
ral gas and injecting up to 300 MMbpd of water.1 mount the compressor, gear and driver on a common, single-lift
A typical FPSO layout is shown in FIG. 1, and an actual FPSO baseplate. The baseplate is fabricated from structural steel and
is shown in FIG. 2. Several types of turbomachinery may exist contains mounting pedestals for each piece of equipment.
COMPRESSION
In some cases, all of the auxiliary equipment needed to sup- FPSO technology has matured significantly over the years,
port the compressor and its drivers (such as a lubricating oil with the vessels gradually growing larger and more complex.
system, a dry gas seal system, instrumentation, and a local con- As many as 50 risers can be connected through its mooring sys-
trol panel) are also mounted on or within the baseplate. Some tem. These risers have more sophisticated processing capabil-
FPSOs have utilized steam turbine-driven electric generator ity, with the latest evolution being the introduction of natural
sets. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show two steam turbine-driven generators gas liquefaction to an FPSO. When an FPSO is utilized for the
of different powers. Both are mounted on the top decks of their production of LNG, it becomes known as an FLSO. A typical
respective FPSOs. FLSO design is shown in FIG. 7.
The worlds first FLSO is undergoing commissioning at
this time, but several more FLSOs are in the planning stages.
This innovative method for producing oil and natural gas can
have several advantages compared to conventional offshore
platforms, the primary examples of which are cost-effective
production of smaller-sized reservoirs and the ability to oper-
ate in waters considered too deep for conventional platforms
and portability. Many FPSOs can disconnect from their risers,
allowing them to be moved away from hurricanes and severe
storms.2 The technology must overcome some challenges, in-
cluding mooring system development, turret system develop-
ment, flexible riser systems, safe handling of flaring, govern-
ment regulations, financing, and coping with wave motion.
FIG. 3. Two motor-driven, gas-injection compressor trains showing

the drive motor, speed-increasing gear and compressor mounted
on a common baseplate, together with a base-mounted lube oil
system, dry gas seal system and local control panel.
FIG. 6. Three 24-MW condensing steam turbine generator sets on

board the Peregrino FPSO.
FIG. 4. A typical aeroderivative gas turbine-driven electric generator
destined for operation on an FPSO.
FIG. 5. Two 27-MW steam turbine generator sets on board the FIG. 7. FLSO design concept. Used with permission from Excelerate
Knock Allan FPSO for power generation. Energy.
COMPRESSION
This last challengewave motionwarrants additional speed gear. Adequate bending stiffness is required for package
discussion. FIG. 8 illustrates the peak tilt angle experience by lifting and ship heave.
a typical FPSO during a 6-hr time period. Note the random FIG. 9 shows a motor, gear and compressor package support-
fluctuation of the tilt, which achieves a maximum value of ed by a torque box design. The lube oil console is cantilevered
more than 18. (Note: For the sake of comparison, the cruise off the end of the base. A top view showing the base (skid) struc-
industry considers a tilt of 15 to be extremely severe. In such ture is shown in FIG. 10. The primary flexural and torsional mem-
events, cruise passengers are usually injured by falls and sliding ber is the fabricated torque box. FIG. 11 shows the bottom view
objects; some have even been thrown overboard.) and the positioning of the three AVMs. Two AVMs are located
On an FPSO, the ability to properly mount and secure rotat- under the compressor, and one is located under the motor.
ing machinery is of paramount importance. Of critical impor- An analytical model of a torque tube concept is shown in
tance are the mechanical design of the baseplates upon which FIG. 12 and FIG. 13. This package includes two compressors and a
the turbomachinery is supported, and the mounting of the
baseplate to the topsides deck. The baseplate must be properly 20
secured to and support the rotating equipment and the loads 18 Max. roll
mounted on it, and it must be able to handle the forces and mo- 7
16 10
ments imposed by the FPSO hull and deck motions. 12
14
Max. roll, degree

Typical base package designs. The typical base package 12
6-hr average
design uses torque boxes or torque tubes to provide torsion- 10
al and bending stiffness. The flexural stiffness is required for 8
dead weight, package lift and ship heave. The torsional stiffness 7
6
limits the overall base package twist resulting from both vessel
4
pitch and roll, and from wind loads. Adequate torsional stiff-
ness is required to limit the relative displacements between the 2
0
shaft ends. This relative displacement must be limited both on
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
the high-speed end between the compressor and high-speed
gear, and on the low-speed end between the driver and the low- FIG. 8. Wave motion roll angle experienced by an FPSO.
THE FUTURE IS
REFINED HERE.
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COMPRESSION
gear. The base is bolted to another base that includes the driver, but it also results in a heavier base. FIG. 14 shows a compressor,
so this package includes only the two AVMs under the com- gear and motor package supported by wide flange beams with
pressor. The base with the driver includes one AVM under the the lube oil console cantilevered off the end of the base. The
driver. The torque tube provides flexural and torsional stiffness. flexural stiffness is provided through the two large, wide flange
A third design concept does not use either a torque tube or a beams that run in the longitudinal direction. These two beams
torque base; instead, wide flange beams are used on the perim- also provide the support for the cantilevered lube oil console.
eter of the base and for the main transverse beams. This design The longitudinal beams, together with the transverse beams,
typically results in higher torsional and bending stiffnesses, provide the torsional stiffness.
Base design considerations. A number of considerations af-

On an FPSO, the ability to fect the base design. The required flexural strengths must be
properly mount and secure met, and this requires the detailed analyses discussed in this ar-
ticle. Bases fabricated from wide flange beams have been shown
rotating machinery is of paramount to reduce shaft-end relative displacements, but they have also
importance. Of critical importance been shown to be 18%22% heavier. It is important that the
shipbuilder has a good estimate of the total package weight.
are the mechanical design of Costs of material and fabrication, including welding, are im-
the baseplates upon which the portant. Total base costs are typically obtained from a number
of base fabricators. The cost to manufacture a beam base vs. a
turbomachinery is supported, box or torque tube base varies by manufacturer.
In many cases, it is advantageous to include the lube oil con-
and the mounting of the baseplate sole under the gear as opposed to cantilevering it off the end
to the topsides deck. of the base. FIG. 15 shows a base beam with the lube oil console
under the gear. Top and bottom views of the base are shown in
FIG. 9. Typical torque box base package design with motor, gear, FIG. 11. Bottom view of torque box base.
compressor and lube oil console.
FIG. 10. Top view of torque box base. FIG. 12. Typical FPSO base package with torque tubes.
COMPRESSION
FIG. 16 and FIG. 17. The entire base package is shorter, and space vide rotational flexibility. Cushioned uplift restraints provide
is at a premium on the FPSO. stiffness in the vertical uplift direction during ship heave or
The other advantage is that it is easier to meet the API 2.5 during ship pitch and roll.
drain requirement from the gear to the lube oil console. Typi- The vertical movement at the mount position is limited
cal ship roll, pitch and heel are 12, 3 and 1, respectively. For to 3 mm6 mm. All mounts can gimbal by 0.35 in all three
a 3 ship pitch, the pipe slope must be 3 plus 2.5, or 5.5. If rotational directions. For a 4.6-m-wide base, one side could
the lube oil console is positioned off the end of the base, it displace upward by 13 mm, and the other side could displace
might be too long to achieve the required drain angle. If the downward by 13 mm. WMCs have high damping (15% to 20%
ship roll is specified as 12, then the drain would be 14.5 in of critical damping). Three-point mounts are easier to install
the lateral direction if the pipe needs to be run laterally for a than a multi-point system, which is difficult to properly install.
certain distance. The bolts between the base and pads, and between the pad and
The torque tube design can also accommodate a lube oil deck, are slip-critical. Shear pins are used in some designs.
console under the major equipment. However, the disad- The advantages of AVMs over gimbal mounts are:
vantage of including the lube oil console under the gear for a AVMs are generally considered to offer better
torque tube design is that there is no large center torque tube vibration isolation
extending from one end of the base to the other. It must be AVMs are not as high as gimbals, which raises
replaced by two smaller torque tubes that run along the sides the height of the overall package
of the lube oil console. AVMs do act as gimbals in that they allow rotation,
but the rotation is limited compared to a gimbal
Three-point mounts. Three mounts are used for each pack- No significant cost difference is observed
age, and these are key to the successful operation of the package No sliding large forces can be transmitted into
onboard the FPSO. Typical AVM designs are shown in FIG. 18. the skid from the deck, although gimbals can be
The top pad of each AVM is bolted to the base, and the designed with sliding.
bottom pad is bolted to the ship deck. Wire mesh cushions
(WMCs) are used to provide the stiffness. These cushions are
stacked and positioned to provide the proper stiffness in each
direction per the package requirements. The AVMs also pro-
FIG. 13. Top view of base showing torque tubes.

FIG. 15. Wide flange beam base with lube oil console under the gear.
FIG. 16. Top view of wide flange beam base with lube oil console
FIG. 14. Typical FPSO base package with wide flange beams. under the gear.

COMPRESSION
The advantages of gimbal mounts include: other operational loads. Additionally, displacement limits are
More rotation is allowed if needed (15 for gimbals vs. more stringent for the high-speed coupling on the compressor
0.375 for AVMs), which is advantageous in situations side than for the low-speed coupling on the driver side.
where higher rotation is seen between the top and The AVMs isolate the base package from the vessel hull
bottom plates of the mounting system and deck in two ways. First, the AVMs are heavily damped,
Gimbals do not add to displacements at pipe decreasing the amplitude of base package displacement. This
connections, and there is no relative (dynamic) large frictional damping is provided by the WMCs. As a result
movement between the deck and the package. of this damping, amplification factors for an AVM are typical-
AVMs are more often used because of their high damping ly 2.5. As a comparison, amplification factors for coil springs
and successful experience with their use. AVMs provide stiff- and rubber are 20 and 10, respectively. Damping is lower for
ness and damping in the axial, lateral and vertical directions. vibration loads like rotor unbalance, and very good vibration
FIG. 19 shows typical AVM placement. Many early designs in- isolation between the base package and the deck is realized.
cluded two AVMs under the driver and one under the com- The AVMs are particularly effective in preventing structure-
pressor; however, designs with two AVMs under the compres- born noise from being transmitted to the package.
sor and one under the driver have been shown to more easily Second, sliding is allowed in two directions, as shown in
meet displacement criteria. One reason for this is that incor- FIG. 19 where AVM No. 1 is allowed to slide in the axial (X)
porating two AVMs under the compressor limits the compres- direction and AVM No. 3 is allowed to slide in the lateral (Y)
sor rotation due to the nozzle loads, vessel pitch and roll, and direction. This sliding prevents deck twist from being trans-
mitted to the base package. As the deck bends and twists, the
package has the capability to slide in the axial and lateral direc-
tions, minimizing the twist and bending that are transmitted
into the base.
The AVM sliding is activated under normal operational
loads and upset loads. Sliding does not occur as a result of
vibrational loads because the smaller vibrational loads can-
not overcome the friction. For this reason, the sliding is ac-
tivated in the analytical model for the static analyses of the
Mount No. M1
Fixed
AVM No. 2
+Y Mount No. M2
-X +X
B Global
coordinates
AVM No. 1 -Y
Sliding A
Sliding
FIG. 17. Bottom view of wide flange beam base with lube oil console
under the gear. Plan view
AVM No. 3
B
Mount No. M3
FIG. 19. AVM fixed and sliding directions to isolate base package
deflection from FPSO deck twist and bending
194 209
2,458 7,261 3,781
A
1,450 P2A Joint Kz
AVM No. 3 AVM No. 1 (kN/cm)
1,675
1,675 P1A 1,118
P3A P1A
AVM No. 2 P2A 2,207
4,275 P3A 1,054
P1B 1,013
P2B AVM No. 1
AVM No. 3 P2B 907
1,675
P3B 1,748
1,675 P3B P1B
AVM No. 2
1,975
A
FIG. 18. Typical AVM designs. FIG. 20. FPSO deck location where stiffness is required.
COMPRESSION
operational and upset loads. For dynamic analyses (harmonic 3,000

response), the rotor unbalance loads are not high enough to
overcome the friction, even in the sliding direction. The three-
2,000
point mount also serves to keep the package level.
A typical arrangement of base packages on an FPSO deck
is shown in FIG. 20. The axial direction of the equipment is 1,000
generally installed parallel to the ships longitudinal direction,
Load, KN
and the packages lateral direction is parallel to the athwartship 0
direction. The vessels deck stiffness under each AVM is pro-
vided by the shipbuilder for inclusion in the analytical model. -1,000
If not provided, deck stiffnesses from similarly sized jobs are
used until the final deck stiffnesses are available. Inclusion of
the deck stiffness in the operational and upset load analyses -2,000
(pseudo-static analyses) have been shown to increase shaft-
end relative displacements by as much as 8%. Therefore, it is -3,000
conservative to include them. -5.0 -4.0 -3.0 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Deflection, min.
AVM stiffness values are determined from load-deflection
curves (FIG. 21). The individual WMCs are tested to determine FIG. 21. AVM load vs. deflection curve supplied by AVM vendor.
their load-deflection curve. The load-deflection curve is then
determined analytically, based on how the WMCs are stacked
and arranged inside the AVM. A linear stiffness value is ex- detail is included in the finite element analysis (FEA) mod-
tracted from this curve and used in the analysis. This process is els to accurately calculate the shaft-end relative displacement.
accomplished by using the tangent stiffness at the typical load. These details include more accurate modeling of the rotors,
The AVM vendor requires load data on each AVM for all bearing connections, compressor pedestal sliding, and keel
load cases to properly design the AVM. The AVM is designed blocks. The importance of initiating the analysis while using
and built concurrently with the base build and the analysis. preliminary data is emphasized as the base manufacture and
Therefore, preliminary values of AVM stiffness are used early analysis phases are conducted concurrently. Base modifica-
in the analysis phase. This can be accomplished in one of two tions that are identified early in the manufacturing cycle are
ways. AVM load-deflection curves from similar packages can much easier to implement than those identified later.
be utilized, or the AVM stiffness can be estimated. Since the Improvements in data gathering, FEA model preparation
AVMs are designed to give a response of 12 Hz15 Hz in the and the automation of worst load case combinations have re-
vertical direction, the preliminary vertical stiffness for each sulted in a 40% reduction in analysis time. The analytical mod-
AVM can be calculated from Eq. 1: els provide a valuable tool in assessing the suitability of three-
point base package design for operation on FPSOs.
1 Part 2, to be published in December, will examine data gath-
Fn = Kv / M (1)
2 ering for the FEA and construction of the FEA model. GP
where: LITERATURE CITED

Kv = AVM stiffness in vertical direction 1
Axial and centrifugal and expander compressors for petroleum, chemical and
Fn = 12 Hz to 15 Hz gas industry services, American Petroleum Institute (API), Vol. 617, 7th Ed.,
July 2002.
M = R/g = total mass supported by AVM 2
Mastrangelo, C., K. Barwick, L. Fernandes and E. Theisinger, Petrobras America
(R = AVM vertical reaction) Inc., FPSOs in the Gulf of Mexico, January 911, 2007, Kenner, Louisiana,
The AVM load-deflection curves, such as the one in FIG. 21, online: http://offshorelab.org/documents/FPSOs_in_the_GoM.pdf
are typically supplied late in the analysis phase. Then, the most
critical cases are rerun using the final AVM stiffness values. If NOTES
This article was presented at the Asia Turbomachinery and Pump Symposium
the preliminary AVM stiffness values are adequately estimated, in Singapore, February 2225, 2016, and is published with permission of the
then the final results typically do not vary from the preliminary Turbomachinery Laboratory.
results by more than 1%2%.
EDWARD ABRAHAM is Principal Solid Mechanics Engineer
Takeaway. Worldwide distribution of FPSOs and typical ap- for the Dresser-Rand business, which is part of Siemens
Power & Gas. He has performed numerous analyses of
plications have been discussed. The three AVMs dampen the turbomachinery components, including cases, impellers,
response and isolate the base package from the FPSO deck. lifters, rotors and base packages.
Three base designs have been discussed. Torque box and
torque tube designs provide torsional stiffness and result in
lighter base packages. Larger I-beam designs are heavier, but HARRY MILLER is Director of Emerging Technology for the
they provide higher torsional stiffness and allow for a shorter Dresser-Rand business. He has authored several technical
papers and articles, has been awarded and has contributed
package by including the lube oil reservoir under the base. to several patents, and has received the Dresser Industries
The shaft-end relative displacement criteria have been Annual Technical Achievement Award. He is also a member
shown to be more limiting than the stress criteria. Significant of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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PIPELINES
Manage risks for trans-country

pipeline projects: India case studyPart 2
A. MOITRA, Indian Oil Corp., New Delhi, India
Sourcing gas by investing in a trans-country pipeline is an developed. The IPI pipeline projectalso known as the
option being considered for India. It has potential to improve peace pipelinehas drawn international attention as a rival
the countrys energy mix, economy and per-capita energy con- to the TAPI project. It envisaged sourcing gas from Iran for
sumption. The outcome of a situational analysis and a SWOT delivery to Pakistan and India. The project had an estimated
analysis (discussed in Part 1 of this article) supported the in- cost of approximately $7 B in 2005 and would bring a total of
vestment to meet project objectives. According to an Energy 5.2 Bft3d of gas to Pakistan and India.
Politics in Eurasia (ENERPO) journal report from May 2016, Under the plan, each country would build a pipeline in
the opportunity for India exists primarily in sourcing gas from their respective territories. Iran constructed a 1,172-km pipe-
large producers such as Russia, Qatar, Iran and others through line from Asaluyeh to the Iran-Pakistan border and signed
trans-country gas pipeline projects. a formal agreement with Pakistan in 2010. However, due to
The Project Management Institute (PMI) describes proj- international sanctions, progress on the project thawed. India
ect risk as: An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has kept open the option of rejoining the negotiation.
has a positive or a negative effect on at least one project objec- According to a 2013 ADB report titled, An overview of
tive, such as time, cost, scope or quality. Multiple factors in- energy cooperation in South Asia, no significant further
herent in these projects create or increase project uncertainty, progress has been made on the project, and investors have ex-
which mandates both risk analysis and financial analysis for pressed diminished interest.
decision-making on project appraisal.
The following sections elaborate on both qualitative and Project success criteria. Both the TAPI and IPI projects
quantitative risk analysis. The procedures and techniques have similar project success criteria and project rationale.
used in this study may include other available project options; Situational and SWOT analyses gave similar results. Mr. Klaus
however, this case study is limited to two specific projects Gerhaeusser, Director General of the Central and West Asia
the TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia (TAPI) pipe- Department at the ADB, said in 2012 of the TAPI project,
line and the IranPakistanIndia (IPI) pipeline (FIG. 1). The pipeline represents a win-win scenario for each TAPI
country, as it will give Turkmenistanwith the worlds fourth-
TAPI pipeline project. The TAPI pipeline is proposed to largest [gas] reservesmore diverse markets and help fuel the
be approximately 1,800 km in length and would export up to energy-hungry economies to the South. Each country stands
33 Bcm/yr of natural gas from the Daulet-
abad gas field in Turkmenistan. The Turkmenistan China
countries agreed, in principle, that India
Tehran Dauletabad gas field
and Pakistan would equally share approx-
imately 1 Bft3d, while Afghanistan would Proposed Turkmenistan-
Afghanistan-Pakistan- Herat Afghanistan
take 0.2 Bft3d. Iran
India Pipeline (TAPI) Islamabad
TAPI Pipeline Co. Ltd., incorporated Proposed Iran-Pakistan- Pakistan
in November 2014, appointed Turk- Iraq India Pipeline (IPI) Kandahar Quetta Multan Fazilka
mengaz as consortium leader. GAIL (In- Kuwait
dia) Ltd. and Inter State Gas System Pvt. Persian Bandar-E Dera Bugti District Sui
Asaluyeh Abbas Iranshahr New Delhi
Ltd. signed a sales purchase agreement Gulf Khuzdar
as a first step. The Asian Development South India
Pars gas Baluchistan
Bank (ADB) was appointed as transac- field Qatar
Gulf of Oman Karachi
tion advisor. Saudi Arabia
Arabian Sea
United Arab Emirates Oman
IPI pipeline project. Iran holds
0 Miles 500
the worlds second-largest natural
gas reserves. However, due to sanc-
FIG. 1. Proposed routes for the TAPI and IPI pipeline projects.
tions, proven reserves remain under-
PIPELINES
to gain, making this not only the peace pipeline, but a pipeline Financial risk. Prime factors for economic viability of a
to prosperity, as well. project are completing the project within estimated costs and
The Central Asia Regional Cooperation (CAREC) strategy envisaged revenues. Any significant departure from these es-
for regional cooperation in the energy sector identified TAPI as timates generates financial risk. The probability of cost over-
one of the links in the energy interrelationship among CAREC run is high for complex projects due to technical uncertainties
countries. The project would accomplish this by ensuring en- (e.g., challenging terrain, resource mobilization, etc.) and po-
ergy security through balanced development of regional in- litical uncertainties. Furthermore, multibillion-dollar projects
frastructure and institutions, stronger integration of markets rely on loans. The impacts of foreign exchange fluctuation and
and economic growth through enhanced energy trading. The interest rates also contribute to financial risk.
IPI projects success criteria was also found to be strategically The mechanisms of public-private partnerships (PPP) and
aligned with CAREC objectives. build-own-operate (BOO) implementation serve to manage
the financial risk of projects.
Project risk analysis. The project study analyzes and identi- Strategic risk. Political uncertainties may change the pri-
fies which of the projects is the best fit for the region, has mini- orities of investor countries, cause project delays or cancella-
mal risk and satisfies multiple objectives. The Institute of Risk tion, or bring revenue loss. Adverse impacts to revenue inflow
Management (IRM) has identified four key risks, which are ex- will lower the return on investment (ROI), thereby jeopardiz-
ternally driven and beyond control. ing the project.
Financial risk The governments of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan
Strategic risk and India have established a natural gas pipeline consortium
Operational risk under a PPP. This mechanism may mitigate risk for the pro-
Hazard risk. posed TAPI project if the owners implement the project slow-
These four risks are examined in the following sections, us- ly. However, the success of the project remains reliant on the
ing a qualitative risk analysis. strategic intents of the participating governments.
TABLE 1. Qualitative analysis of key risks for pipeline projects on a five-point scale
Sub-factors 1 2 3 4 5 Key
(from project Factor Risks (as
point of view) Selection criteria score Very Good Good Satisfactory Bad Very Bad per IRM)
Impact of insurgency and terrorist IPI X

1 Regulations/security
activity, current scenario, history
TAPI X
Strategic risk
Political perspective, country's IPI X
2 Geopolitical factors
priority, bilateral relations
TAPI X
Board, vision and mission, IPI X

3 Organizational factors
structure of organization
TAPI X
Financial investment, credits, IPI X Financial risk

4 Financial factors
international support
TAPI X
Resources Labor, machinery, data handling, IPI X

5
(other than financial) material, communication
TAPI X
Unstable political climate, IPI X

6 Force majeure
earthquake-prone zone
TAPI X
Hazard risk
Impact of terrain, current IPI X

7 Geographical factors
scenario, historical data
TAPI X
Awareness of risk Political situation, education, IPI X

8
and environment awareness, demography
TAPI X
Technical knowledge, IPI X
Operational risk
9 Technical factors construction, inaccessible

geographical terrain, maintenance TAPI X
Market scenario of seller IPI X

10 Market uncertainty
and buyer countries
TAPI X
PIPELINES
Another project organizing strategy is to adopt the BOO stituted, isolated or addressed with suitable control measures.
route. The BOO contractor of a project usually obtains rev- To assess and eliminate such hazard risk, the engaged agen-
enue through a fee charged to the project owner. The project cies must have the requisite experience, competence and
owner (investor) directly takes tariffs charged to consumers. knowledge. It is imperative that efficient and effective proj-
For the proposed TAPI project, the BOO operating company,
TAPI Ltd., would use its business expertise, technical skills and TABLE 2. Weighted score of key risk sub-factors for pipeline
resources to mitigate risk. A similar strategy to circumvent risk projects on a 10-point scale
is envisaged for the proposed IPI project. Sub-factors
Operational risk. As the gap between demand and supply (from project point of view) Weight Weightage factor (a)
of natural gas is high, the operational risk from consumers and
1 Regulations/security 9 0.14
competition is deemed low. However, technical risks run high
for the two proposed projects. Almost 50% of the land area of 2 Geopolitical factors 10 0.15
Pakistan and Afghanistan is mountainous. This difficult ter-
3 Organizational factors 5 0.08
rain can be a challenge for workers and heavy machinery.
In addition, the areas snow-fed rivers are prone to flooding 4 Financial factors 8 0.12
in the summer months, which creates a challenging climatic 5 Resources 4 0.06
condition in which to operate the pipeline. Moreover, the por- (other than financial)
tions of the planned pipeline route located in the seismic zone
6 Force majeure 4 0.06
have an increased probability of disruption. The challenges to
design, construction, regular maintenance and operation of 7 Geographical factors 10 0.15
the pipelines contribute to higher operating cost.
8 Awareness of risk 7 0.11
The TAPI and IPI pipelines are characterized by similar and environment
operational risks. These risks could be controlled or mitigated
by engaging experienced expert consultants and contractors. 9 Technical factors 5 0.08
Hazard risk. Indias Health and Safety Authority states that 10 Market uncertainty 4 0.06
hazard risk must be assessed for financial, legal, moral and ethi-
cal reasons. Accordingly, hazard risk must be eliminated, sub- Sum total 66 1.00
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PIPELINES
TABLE 3. Qualitative analysis of key risk sub-factors for pipeline projects and aggregate scores
Aggregate score
Sub-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
factors
% risk
(from Resources Awareness
project Regulations/ Geopolitical Organizational Financial (other Force Geographical of risk Technical Market
point of security factors factors factors than majeure factors and factors uncertainty
view) financial) environment
Weightage
0.14 0.15 0.08 0.12 0.06 0.06 0.15 0.11 0.08 0.06
factor (a)
Factor
4 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 2
score
Calculated
factor 0.55 0.61 0.23 0.36 0.18 0.18 0.61 0.42 0.23 0.12 3.5 70
score
Factor
4 5 2 1 2 4 4 4 2 1
score
Calculated
factor 0.55 0.76 0.15 0.12 0.12 0.24 0.61 0.42 0.15 0.06 3.2 64
score
ect management be established to ensure the mobilization of combined with financial analysis, is required to examine high-
resources and expertise required for putting in place control CAPEX project proposals for different scenarios and countries.
measures and emergency preparedness to avoid safety inci- The likelihood of project success can be appraised with the help
dents from flammable natural gas. of qualitative and quantitative risk analyses. Project risk must
also be managed throughout the entire lifespan of the project,
Project risk assessment using a decision-making tool. and this case study suggests that project risk management can
Project risk assessed for the two competing pipeline projects be a strategic initiative.
includes both qualitative risk and quantitative risk, using the Developing India aims to sustain its GDP growth and pro-
weighted factor scoring model as a tool (TABLES 1, 2 and 3). With vide energy access to a wider spectrum of the population. A situ-
this methodology, the quantified score enables decision makers ational analysis shows that sourcing low-cost, environmentally
to assess risks, compare options and make informed decisions. friendly gas from neighboring nations will not only have a posi-
Projects with higher scores involve higher risk. tive impact on per-capita energy consumption, industry and the
economy, but it will also provide a platform for sustained trade
Risk assessment and outcome. Qualitative analyses are shown relations, broaden employment avenues and encourage a win-
in TABLE 1. Four key risks are identified and considered. Each key win solution for investing countries.
risk is broken down into sub-factors for each alternative, and each However, undertaking such mega-projects requires elaborate
sub-factor is given a factor score under a five-point scale: very risk assessment for informed decision-making. Proposed proj-
good (1), good (2), satisfactory (3), bad (4), very bad (5). ects like TAPI and IPI can offer avenues for pinpointing how
Quantitative analyses are shown in TABLE 2 and TABLE 3. Each developing countries with similar challenges may improve per-
sub-factor is assigned weight in a 10-point scale, where the fac- capita energy consumption and sustain growth. As the future
tor with the least risk and impact on the project is scored as 0 unfolds, it will become clear how stakeholding countries set pri-
and the factor having the most risk and impact is scored as 10. orities to successfully harness risk and capture opportunities. GP
The weightage factor is calculated for each sub-factor, as sum-
marized in TABLE 2. The factor score is then calculated, giving an ANINDITA MOITRA, Deputy General ManagerProjects at Indian
aggregate score. The percentage of the aggregate score gives the Oil Corp. Ltd., has more than two decades of experience in
percent risk factor for each project alternative, as summarized project management. At present, she is pursuing a PhD in
business management (corporate governance) and holds a first-
in TABLE 3. class MTech degree from Calcutta University in Calcutta, India,
The outcome of the aggregate scorei.e., the percent risk as well as a first-class MBA degree, with specialization in general
factorfor the TAPI project is 3.2 (64%). For the IPI project, management, from ICFAI Business School in Hyderabad, India.
Ms. Moitra was a GATE scholar, and received honors with her BSc degree from
it is 3.5 (70%). The aggregate risk of the IPI project is compara- Calcutta University. She was also the recipient of the Best Performer medal during
tively higher than that of the TAPI project, although it is in a the Hybrid Certificate Program in project management from U21 Global in
similar range. Singapore, and holds an executive diploma in project management. She has also
received a number of women executive awards for her work in the Indian oil and
gas sector, particularly with regard to project management. Ms. Moitra has
Recommendations. The diversification of Indias energy mix presented papers on project risk management at events organized by Hydrocarbon
and an increase in the volume of environmentally friendly fuel Processing in Houston, Texas; and on corporate governance at the Business School
will pave the way for enhanced energy security. Risk analysis, (Kolkata). She is a member of the All India Management Association (AIMA).
NEW IN GAS PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY
B. ANDREW, Technical Editor
Compressor Australias LNG boom enters final stretch

delivery for The delivery of the last massive component of Australias $180-B LNG
Russias Yamal LNG construction boom has stepped up a race between Anglo-Dutch giant
Shell and Japans INPEX to start chilling gas for export in 2018. Company
reputations are at stake, as well as first access to overlapping gas fields and
Australia leapfrogging Qatar as the worlds largest exporter of LNG.
The Ichthys Venturer, a floating production, storage and offloading
facility, travelled 3,500 mi from a South Korean shipyard and will be moored
220 km off Western Australia to handle condensate from the Ichthys field.
Japans top oil and gas explorer, INPEX Corp., is running Ichthys, which is both the countrys biggest
overseas investment and its first LNG megaproject. First production, due by March 2018, will be more than
China National Offshore Oil 1 yr behind target. Costs have ballooned by more than 10% to $37 B since the projects approval in 2012.
Corp. (CNOOC) delivered the final Nearby, Royal Dutch Shells $12.6-B Prelude projectthe worlds largest floating LNG (FLNG) facility
LNG core module for Novateks is also behind schedule. Shell lost out on becoming the worlds first producer of FLNG when Malaysias
Yamal LNG project in Russia in Petronas started up a smaller FLNG facility this year.
mid-August. Shells facility, six times the size of the biggest aircraft carriers and with a deck longer than four US soccer
CNOOC, an offshore oil and gas fields, arrived last month. Shell expects hookup and commissioning to take up to 12 mos, indicating possible
specialist, was commissioned to startup between April and July 2018.
build 36 key compressor modules Whichever project starts first will pump gas away from the others field, as the two straddle the same
for the Arctic LNG project. A reservoirs. The race means more to Prelude than to Ichthys, as Prelude is smaller, according to Wood Mackenzie
compressor helps liquefy natural analyst Saul Kavonic. INPEX also has an each-way bet: It owns 17.5% of Prelude, as well as 62.2% of Ichthys.
gas at an LNG plant.
Novatek, with its Chinese
partners and Frances Total, plan Research for US gas storage hub Skangas to
to launch Yamal LNG later this in Appalachia supply LNG
year. The terminal is designed to
produce 16.5 MMt of LNG by 2019, The region around West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio has for ESL carriers
as well as gas condensate. abundant natural gas resources. The three states are working to turn
Novatek will export both the those resources into economic growth. A West Virginia University
LNG and condensate, with the (WVU)-led research team is helping with the effort.
majority of the volumes going to On August 29, WVU released to the public a study that shows how
Asia through Arctic waters via the region can support storage facilities that are critical for attracting
Russias Northern Sea Route. petrochemical and related industries to the area. Researchers planned
to present the data at a technical workshop in Canonsburg,
Pennsylvania, hosted by the Eastern Petroleum Technology Transfer
ABS approves Council (PTTC), at WVU.
FLNG hull design Researchers from the geological surveys in West Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Ohio studied geologic formations that could offer
ABS has granted approval Skangas, supplier of LNG in the
suitable locations for developers to build underground facilities to store
in principle (AIP) to an FLNG Nordic markets, and ESL Shipping,
NGL from Marcellus and Utica wells.
hull design by Hyundai Heavy a carrier of dry bulk cargoes in the
The team identified and mapped all potential options for subsurface
Industries (HHI). ABS and HHI Baltic region, have entered into a
storage of NGL along the Ohio River from southwestern Pennsylvania
collaborated with the objective marine fuel agreement. Skangas
to eastern Kentucky, and the Kanawha River in West Virginia. The
of developing a safe, technically will supply gas fuel to ESLs LNG-
researchers focused on three options for subsurface storage.
feasible and class-compliant One option includes areas where the Salina F Salt is at least 100 powered bulk carrier newbuilds.
FLNG hull design. The ABS ft thick and suitable for solution mining, a type of mining that uses a The two new vessels will start
AIP demonstrates the design liquid, such as water injected through a borehole, to dissolve and extract operating during first half of 2018.
substantially complies with class salts and minerals. The first of the two vessels was
Another option includes areas where the Greenbrier Limestone is named Viikki in June 2017. The
and regulatory requirements and
present 1,800 ft2,000 ft below the surface and is at least 40 ft thick. new, ice-class 1A ships will be
minimizes risk to project schedules
Converting existing sandstone reservoirs in depleted gas fields and the first LNG-fueled large bulk
and safe operations, giving
inactive gas storage fields to NGL storage is the third option. carriers in the world, representing
regulatory agencies and other
Previously, the consortium had conducted studies of the Marcellus the latest in technology. They will
key stakeholders confidence in
and Utica shale gas plays. Results from those studies have been used carry out sea transports within
the design. In addition, a newbuild
by both small producers, such as Northeast Natural Energy, and large the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
conversion FPSO hull concept
multinationals, such as ExxonMobil, and have helped fuel the regions As part of the agreement,
design is under development,
shale gas industry. Skangas will also deliver ESL
following the same process.
Shipping with the low-carbon
liquefied biogas (LBG). LBG and
GE biogas engines for Turkey LNG are interchangeable as fuel,
and so the same LNG supply
As Turkey looks to implement new energy targets under its economic development strategy, its focus is on chain is used. The Viikki is fitted
increasing renewable energy sources and digitalization. with a dual-fuel engine.
Helping support these goals, GE will provide its Jenbacher biogas engine technology and myPlant Asset Shipowners are turning to
Performance Management (APM) solution for three new landfill power production sites in Turkey owned by LNG as their primary source of
ITC-Ka Enerji Uretim Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS (ITC), the largest landfill gas power producer in the country. fuel. By 2020, nearly 200 vessels
The three landfill gas power facilities will convert organic waste into biogas that can generate renewable are expected to be running on
electricity and heat. The biogas produced will be used to fuel four of GEs Jenbacher J420 biogas engines at LNG worldwide. This number
Eskisehir, nine at Antalya and three at the Alanya landfill sites. is expected to rise significantly, as
The sites are configured to generate up to 50% of the common limit for nitrous oxide and will provide 22 LNG is recognized by the marine
MW of electrical power to the national grid. This represents enough power for 30,000 households in the three industry as the most
cities. The equipment will be built at GEs Distributed Power facility in Jenbach, Austria, and it is expected to viable alternative fuel to
enter service during the second half of 2017. reduce emissions.

SALES OFFICESEUROPE ADVERTISER INDEX
ITALY, EASTERN EUROPE
Fabio Potest Air Products & Chemicals Inc. .................... 2
Mediapoint & Communications SRL
Phone: +39 (010) 570-4948 American Petroleum Institute ..................39
E-mail: Fabio.Potesta@GulfPub.com
Ametek Process Instruments ....................12
TURKEY, WESTERN EUROPE
Catherine Watkins, Publisher Hamilton Pearman Ariel Corporation ..........................................21
Phone/Fax: +1 (713) 520-4421 Phone: +33 608 310 575
E-mail: Catherine.Watkins@GulfPub.com Hamilton.Pearman@GulfPub.com Chromatic Industries................................... 27
www.GasProcessingNews.com
UNITED KINGDOM, SCANDINAVIA Eltherm GmbH ..............................................29
SALES OFFICESNORTH AMERICA Patrick Djuma Gas Asia Summit ..........................................47
Phone/Fax: +44 20 3409 2243
EASTERN UNITED STATES, EASTERN CANADA E-mail: Patrick.Djuma@GulfPub.com Gulf Publishing Company
Merrie Lynch
Phone: +1 (617) 357-8190 SALES OFFICESOTHER AREAS Energy Web Atlas ............................. 30, 50
Mobile: +1 (617) 594-4943
E-mail: Merrie.Lynch@GulfPub.com CHINAHONG KONG EventsWGLC ............................................51
Iris Yuen Hunter Buildings ...........................................17
GULF COAST, SOUTH TEXAS Phone: +86 13802701367 (China)
Keith Smith Phone: +852 69185500 (Hong Kong) Kobelco Edti Compressors Inc ..................15
Phone: +1 (713) 520-4449 E-mail: Iris.Yuen@GulfPub.com
E-mail: Keith.Smith@gulfpub.com Linde Engineering North America ............ 7
INDIA
MIDWEST, NORTH TEXAS Manav Kanwar Merichem Company ......................................11
Josh Mayer Phone: +91-22-2837 7070/71/72
Phone: +1 (972) 816-6745 Mobile: +91-98673 67374 Metrix ..............................................................35
E-mail: Josh.Mayer@GulfPub.com E-mail: India@GulfPub.com
Pentair Filtration & Process ......................52
WESTERN UNITED STATES, JAPAN
WESTERN CANADA Yoshinori Ikeda
Redguard.......................................................... 8
Rick Ayer Pacific Business Inc. Shell Global Solutions................................... 5
Phone: +1 (949) 366-9089 Phone: +81 (3) 3661-6138
E-mail: Rick.Ayer@GulfPub.com E-mail: Japan@GulfPub.com SNC-Lavalin ...................................................23
DATA PRODUCTS World Gas Conference .............................. 44
JNette Davis-Nichols This index and procedure for securing additional information are
Phone: +1 (713) 520-4426
E-mail: Jnette.Davis-Nichols@GulfPub.com provided as a service to advertisers and a convenience to our readers.
Gulf Publishing Company is not responsible for omissions or errors.
ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS INTO US

NATURAL GAS FACILITIES
The Energy Web Atlas is a comprehensive source of data for facilities
and installations in the US natural gas industry. The web-based GIS
application includes detailed data on more than 500 US gas processing
plants, 400 natural gas underground storage locations, and 58 natural
gas market hubs.
Data Points
The platforms mapping, search and query tools allow users to
interrogate up-to-date facility and project data and find the
information needed for major decisions. Data points include:
Key contacts Owner/Operator
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content, infrastructure storage data.
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Additional Maps Available. To schedule a personal demonstration, contact JNette Davis-Nichols

Global LNG/pipeline data at JNette.Davis-Nichols@EnergyWebAtlas.com, +1 (713) 520-4426.
November 12, 2017 | Hyatt Regency Houston | Houston, Texas
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Engage with key industry leaders at WGLC for presentations and discussions on: Keynote Speakers
DAY 1 KEYNOTE The Essentials of Engineering Leadership and Innovation,
Dr. Pamela McCauley, Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering and
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DAY 2 KEYNOTE Discipline Career Management and Knowledge Management,

Susan Rosenbaum, Director, Schlumberger
DAY 2 PANEL DISCUSSION STEM: Are we really making progress?

Moderator: Ray Dempsey, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, BP America
Keynote Day One
Panelists: Pam Darwin, Vice President Africa, ExxonMobil Exploration Company
Pamela McCauley
Dr. Reagan Flowers, Founder and CEO, C-STEM Teacher and Student Support
Services, Inc
Johanna Haggstrom, Director of Technology, Baroid Product Line, Halliburton
Natalia Shehadeh, Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, Weatherford
DAY 2 PANEL DISCUSSION Digital transformation: The impact on the industry

Moderator: Soumya Seetharam, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions, Schlumberger
Panelists: Morag Watson, Vice President, Digital Innovation, BP
Maria Claudia Borras, President & CEO, Oilfield Services, Baker Hughes, a GE company
Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy, Technology Fellow & Chief Data Scientist, Halliburton
Mehrzad Mahdavi, Vice President Digital Solutions, Weatherford Keynote Day Two
Susan Rosenbaum
WGLC is the oil and gas industrys largest and most important womens event, which
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