Plant optimisation: leveraging data

analytics and modelling

More advanced modelling skills are needed at the design stage to realise the
promise of better optimisation

GOPI SIVASUBRAMANIAN
Arivergy

O
ptimisation can be
defined as the process, Enterprise
method or technique to data
achieve operation of a plant to Demand forecasting
produce the desired product at 1 Supply chain logistics
Planning Market, materials and product
the lowest cost while maximis- planning
ing the return on investment on
Plant maintenance
assets in the plant. 2 Inventory control
Today, reflecting the business Scheduling Staffing
Consistent
climate, there is increased expo- robust
Capacity scheduling

sure of the various optimisa- models 3

Plantwide real-time
tion offerings, at the equipment Plantwide
optimisation
management
level, sub-unit level or unit level. and optimisation Set point changes
A spate of vendors has entered
into the data mining/analytics 4
Sequence control
Process control
area, asset optimisation, asset Unit management
and control Abnormal situation management
performance, and event predic- Intelligent control
tion. Data analytics are some Soft sensors
of the tools and services they 5 Fault detection
offer that come under the broad Process monitoring,
analysis and control
Data reconciliation
Statistical analysis
umbrella of optimisation. All Parameter estimation
of them promise better utilisa-
tion of the asset. While this is Process
true, plant engineers have to be
aware of the scope and limita-
tion of the optimisation offering Figure 1 Layers of optimisation
they are considering. Reproduced with permission from McGraw Hill Company

Layers of optimisation
A process plant can potentially
have optimisation at many lay-
ers. This is well described in a
figure by Edgar et al (see Figure
1).1
For the purpose of this review
and discussion, the three layers
closest to the process in Figure
1, namely layers 5, 4 and 3, will
be referred to and analysed. An
easily identifiable (with refinery
operations) explanation for the
three layers is given in Robert
Young’s paper on real time
optimisation.2
Process monitoring, analysis
and control (Layer 5) is the layer
closest to the process. It meas-
ures and monitors equipment
and process streams via instru-

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 Optimisation today like a wet gas compressor trip
due to seal failure. Predicting
event or incident occurrence
Optimisation technique/method Layer Salient features
IIoT (industrial internet Layer 5, equipment/ Communication to local, can buy valuable time for an
of things) instrument level remote servers operator to intervene and avoid
Analytics/data mining/ Layer 5, DCS Ability to identify causal relationships, a trip or shutdown. However,
prediction information level hidden trends, predict event occurrence
the tool will be useful only as
MPC Layer 4, aka advanced Dynamic control of process
process control long as the causal relationships
RTO Layer 3, unit wide optimisation Steady state optimisation are correctly captured by the
prediction logic.
Table 1 Data analytics is also useful in
discovering causal relationships
ments. In DCS, this layer rep- ance, reaction kinetics, cost func- between a key process parame-
resents the information that is tions of feeds/products, and ter and other variables that may
processed, stored and used for utilities consumption and costs. not be easily visible. This is very
control and other actions. A good example is the RTO useful for studying or analysing
A good example of this layer of a fluid catalytic cracking unit equipment/unit performance
is the FIC controller maintaining (FCC), wherein the severity of extremities to identify varia-
a target flow rate by manipulat- operation is strongly related bles that cause such extreme
ing a control valve. non-linearly to heat balance and behaviour.
Unit management and con- yield of products. IIoT has opened the doors for
trol (Layer 4) is the model based remote asset management for
control layer, also known as Optimisation today smaller enterprises and remote
model predictive control (MPC) Exploring the various offerings process units. While big enti-
or advanced process control in the market today, one can ties had remote asset monitoring
(APC). A dynamic and linear group them into various layers before the advent of IIoT, IIoT
model based approach, MPC (see Table 1). will enable wider deployment,
takes the DCS information as The bulk of the recent push better tools for analytics and
input to predict plant behav- in optimisation and asset per- diagnostics, open standards and
iour. Using manipulated varia- formance has been in Layer falling costs.
bles, it minimises the difference 5, especially in the area of The other development which
between predicted behaviour data analytics and equipment is still relatively nascent is the
and preferred behaviour. The connectivity/IIoT. merging of the MPC and RTO
model is a simple linear rela- Data analytics can be useful layers to give dynamic RTO
tionship and could be corre- in predicting equipment or pro- (D-RTO) or non-linear MPC
lated from plant runs with cess limitations.4 Where there (NMPC). Developments in this
step changes. A sound model is a deluge of data, organis- field will help in the optimisa-
based on first principles ensures ing and analysing the data to tion of batch and semi-batch
success.3 make meaningful relationships processes.
A classic example of MPC is requires considerable effort.
the variation of pumparound Data analytics tools provide Process model
duty in a crude column when operators with an easy path to The bedrock on which process
the throughput is changed. understand the data and ana- optimisation is built is the pro-
Plantwide management and lyse them. cess model. A model could be a
optimisation (Layer 3) is the real Another important area for simple linear algebraic expres-
time optimisation (RTO) layer data analytics is to predict sion or a complex simulation
and is above the MPC. RTO event occurrence. Multiple ven- model. Ideally speaking, the
is a steady state and non-lin- dors offer event prediction soft- simulation model that is used
ear model based optimisation. ware and services. The event for design would be extended
Optimisation calculation is could be a process occurrence and used for various optimi-
based on the whole unit model such as a high liquid level trip sation efforts in other layers.
including the heat and mass bal- or an equipment level incident However, due to computing

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efforts and isolated platforms,
over the years different models
were built to address the needs
of different optimisation strat-
egies and methods. Recently,
there has been a considerable
move amongst vendors to have
platforms ready for a model
to go from the design phase
through the project lifecycle into
the operations and optimisation
phase.
During the design phase,
a simulation model is built
that will be used to generate
the heat and material balance,
stream summaries and pro-
cess information for equipment
design. These models are typi-
cally steady state and sequential
modular simulation models.
The models that are used
in MPC/APC could be equa-
tions that are fitted to model
the behaviour of the section of
the unit that is controlled. The
model used for MPC could take
instrument measurements as
inputs to predict process behav-
iour and affect control action
to bring the operation to the
desired optimum. These are
models that are not reflective of
the whole process or unit. Their
utility value is in the ability to
take instrument measurements
and control the unit dynami-
cally to meet desired operation.
The importance of capturing
the right first principles and
the correct process or technol-
ogy nuances in establishing the
model is key to bringing about
the desired results.3
The models used in RTO are
equation oriented simulation
models with reaction kinet-
ics and cost functions built into
them.
There is simulation software
that is able to convert a simula-
tion model built as a sequential
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1001455
modular model to an equation
oriented model. This feature
may pave the way to carrying
a model from the design stage
to optimisation phases such
as RTO, especially in open art
processes.
For plants running for more
than a few years, operators
would have to consider updat-
ing process simulation mod-
els that were used for design/
plant commissioning to cap-
ture newer feedstocks, revised
equipment information or other
updated processing limitations.
This is preferably done by engi-
neers and consultants who are
conversant with modelling
techniques for design and with
the technology that is behind
the process. This is important to
get representative optimisation
outputs.
Data analytics and models
The slew of new tools spawned
by data analytics can be made
meaningful and useful by hav-
ing a good process model to
back up the tools and check
the findings from these new
tools. Leveraging old knowl-
edge in models combined with
new tools such as data analytics
could bring about optimisation
opportunities that were not eas-
ily visible a few years back.
The reverse is also possible.
Information from data analyt-
ics could be used to tune models
and make them representative
of a running unit. In revamp/
debottlenecking projects in par-
ticular, the ability to identify
operational issues from DCS
data and incorporate them into
models has tremendous value.
A good example is identifying
equipment limitations from DCS
data under certain operating
conditions.
Considerations for a process
(simulation) model
One of the first models to be
built for a process unit is the
simulation model. It is probably
the one the operator or engineer
will also be referring to during
operations. Typically, the mod-
els for MPC or RTO have been
different. As mentioned ear-
lier, with expected convergence
of platforms, it may be a good
idea to build simulation mod-
els correctly during the design
stage, to increase their utility
value to other phases, especially
operation.
There is a wide interpretation
of what can pass as a simulation
model for a process. The follow-
ing are considerations for pro-
cess simulation modelling.
Safety
Safety issues that are part of
a process unit H&MB basis
should be captured as much
as possible in the simulation
model. In a list of constraints
for optimisation, this will be
a high priority. An example is
the minimum heater duty in a
hydrocracker loop for control
purposes.
Best operating practices
Most processes have best prac-
tices built into the process
design. Capturing best practices
in a process simulation model
will go a long way in not los-
ing such information when the
optimisation model is built or
optimisation is carried out. A
good example is the vacuum
column bottom quench loop to
maintain resid temperature at
a certain point. Modelling the
loop helps in avoiding many
pitfalls in design and engineer-
ing in the project phase and
later in optimisation.
PTQ Q4 2017 3
 Aligning the model with PFD
Building a simulation model
with PFD schematics of control
and operation (not necessarily
the physical layout) is a good
target. Although it is not always
possible to be one-to-one with
PFD, capturing the key opera-
tion and control issues with the
simulation model will make
future operations optimisation
easier. For example, setting up
the cold preheat train of a crude
unit with actual desalter water
splits at the right place(s) will
help the simulation model better
align with operations data and
lend itself to greater optimisa-
tion opportunities.
Equipment limits
A good practice is to cap-
ture the key equipment lim-
its in the model when they are
known. While such informa-
tion may not always be avail-
able in a model being built for
a grassroots design phase, it
will be a good idea to capture
what is known. An example is
the inclusion in the model of
the surface area limit and num-
ber of shells of a feed effluent
exchanger.
Flexible operation
Often, a process unit has to be
designed and operated for mul-
tiple feeds or different product
slates in blocked out operation.
The unit equipment/hardware
is designed to handle swings in
flows and duties. Capturing the
nuances of flexible operations in
modelling is a good practice. It
will help engineers through the
project cycle and in operations
to understand the flywheels
4 PTQ Q4 2017
and bypasses envisioned in the
design stage.
Equation oriented modelling
Simulation software vendors
are beginning to offer the ability
to convert a sequential modu-
lar simulation model to a equa-
tion oriented simulation model.
However, for a good conver-
sion it may be good to build in
recycle loops and other logic
blocks instead of workarounds
to force convergence of the pro-
cess model.
Notes
Last but equally important,
notes on the GUI screen may not
be a technical point but they do
provide a vital insight into the
process designer’s thought pro-
cesses on how he or she visual-
ised the simulation model to
work and what approach to take
for a model convergence.
Conclusion
Progressing an equation ori-
ented simulation model from
design stage to optimisation
is going to be more prevalent
in the coming years. With that
opportunity comes the need for
better modelling skills at the
design stage to realise the prom-
ise of better optimisation.
In future, plant engineers will
have considerable data min-
ing and analytics tools in their
hands. There will be many
sources of ‘insights’ into what
to tweak or modify to achieve
the optimum operation point. It
may be worth the effort to view
the insights provided by such
tools with conventional knowl-
edge such as simulation mod-
els. Excluding pure machinery
issues, insights related to pro-
cess should be taken in the con-
text of the full unit to bring out
the real cause of problems, the
right optimisation strategy and
the best return on investment on
the unit as a whole.
Disclaimer
Arivergy has a working relationship with
Seeq Corporation for providing data
analytics to its clients.
References
1 Edgar, Himmelblau, Lasdon,
Optimization of Chemical Processes, 2nd
Edition, McGraw Hill, 2001.
2 Young R E, IEEE Control Systems
Magazine, Dec 2006, 73-83.
3 Büning A K, Finlayson A, Friedman Z Y,
PTQ, Q3 2017, 43-51.
4 Li J, Peterson J, Productivity
Improvement Through Continuous
Contextualization of Manufacturing
Data. Video of presentation available
at: www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Y9HUqfEFNDI&feature=youtu.
be&platform=hootsuite
Gopi Sivasubramanian is a Principal
Consultant with Arivergy LLC. He has
24 years’ experience of process design,
revamps and engineering covering crude
and vacuum distillation, hydroprocessing,
hydrogen and sour water stripping/amine
treating. His experience also includes
consulting and PMC team roles.
LINKS
More articles from the following
categories:
Instrumentation, Automation and
Process Control
Process Modelling and Simulation
Reliability and Asset Management
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