CHEMICAL
Hydrogen Unit Uses FIELDVUE™ Diagnostics to Increase Uptime and Optimize Critical Loops
RESULTS
•AvoidedpullingacriticalNPS36tail-gasvalveandreducedunitdowntimetohours,notdays
•Restartedahydrogenunittwodaysaheadofschedule
•Improvedthereliabilityof30criticalcontrolvalvesandreducedtheunit’semissionlossesby1%
•Extendedtimebetweenmaintenanceoutagestotwoyears,insteadofone
APPLICATIONCriticalcontrolvalvesinahigh-purityhydrogenunit
CUSTOMERHydrogenunitinTexas,USA
CHALLENGEAhydrogenunit,operatingsince2003,wasexperiencingunplannedshutdownsofsomecriticalloops.TheplantanditslargeSteamMethaneReformer(SMR)providehigh-purityhydrogenandsteamtorefineriesalongtheGulfCoast.Theyneedtomaintainthissupply.
Spurioustripsorshutdownsarealwaysaproblem,withmanagementwantingaquickfix.Theworstissueforthemaintenanceteam,however,wasthelackofinformationavailabletoidentifytherootcause.Withoutdata-drivenresults,theycouldnoteasilyidentifywhichdeviceswerefailingorwhatperformanceproblemswereoccurring.Thus,theywerereactingtofailuresratherthanplanningaheadtomeetmaintenanceneeds.
ThefacilityappointedanInstrument&Controlsengineertoimprovetheunit’sreliability.Hehadtwospecificgoals:improveuptimeandfacilitaterepairswithoutalossofsupplytorefinerycustomers.ManycriticalFisher™andnon-FishervalvesalreadyhadFIELDVUE™digitalvalvecontrollerslinkedtoaDeltaV™controlsystemwithValveLink™softwareandFOUNDATION™fieldbuscommunications.Themaintenanceteam,however,wasnotfullyutilizingthesetools.Emersonpersonnelvisitedthesitetodemonstratediagnosticcapabilitiesandtorecommendwaystoenhancepredictivemaintenanceinthehydrogenunit.
“Using diagnostic tools such as FIELDVUE DVC6200f-PD instruments, we are able to see the mechanical aspects of control valve performance and plan maintenance. Access to better data makes our job easier and improves valve and unit reliability. We plan to expand our use of Emerson diagnostics technology at our other hydrogen units in North America.”Instrument & Controls Reliability EngineerHydrogenUnitinTexas,USA
D352338X012/Jul18
D352338X012/Jul18
CHEMICAL
SOLUTIONDuringasitevisit,Emersonsalesandserviceexpertshelpedhydrogenunitpersonnelunderstandtheircontrolissues.Theteambeganbygeneratingsignaturecurvesonvalvesincriticalloopsandmonitoringtheirperformanceduringprocessoperations.Bycomparingactualperformancetotheapplicationspecifications,theydiscoveredthatmodeledprocessconditionsdidnotmatchthefieldconditions.Valveswerebeingblamedforpoorcontrol,buttheywerenotoftenatfault.
Pullingoneofthecriticalvalves—anNPS36butterflyintailgasservice—forrepairswouldhaverequiredshuttingdowntheunit.Thecrewwouldneedacrane,6to8hoursofsetuptime,and3or4peopletomoveandrepairit.Thecostwouldincludeanexpeditingfee.
Instead,thevalve’sFIELDVUEDVC6200finstrumentwithPerformanceDiagnosticsidentifiedtherealcauseoftheproblem.Runningvalvescansduringanoutage,theteamdiscoveredthattheNPS36butterflyvalvehadaworn-out,non-Fisheractuator.Themaintenanceteamplannedamini-shutdownandswappedouttheactuatorinhalfaday.
WhenusedincombinationwithValveLinksoftware,FIELDVUEinstrumentsenablecustom-tuningofcriticalloops.Theycanbeautomatedtorunspecifictestsoncontrolvalvesatuser-specifiedintervals,withoutinterruptingtheprocess.Withthedetaileddatatheyprovide,operatorscanoptimizeloopperformance,notjustvalveperformance.
Sincethereliabilityprogrambegan,thiscustomerhasstandardizedonFIELDVUE-PDinstrumentsforallcriticalvalves.TheyareusingtheDVC6200familyofinstrumentswithbothHARTandFOUNDATIONfieldbuscommunications.ThereliabilityprogramwithFIELDVUEdiagnosticstechnologyisbeingexpandedtotwodozenotherhydrogenunitsacrossNorthAmerica.
RESOURCESBrochure: FIELDVUE DVC6200 Instrumentshttp://www.emerson.com/documents/automation/brochure-fisher-fieldvue-dvc6200-series-digital-valve-controller-en-125178.pdf
Emerson Automation SolutionsMarshalltown, Iowa 50158 USASorocaba, 18087 BrazilCernay, 68700 FranceDubai, United Arab EmiratesSingapore 128461 Singapore
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Fisher, FIELDVUE, DeltaV, and ValveLink are marks owned by one of the companies in the Emerson Automation Solutions business unit of Emerson Electric Co. Emerson and the Emerson logo are trademarks and service marks of Emerson Electric Co. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
The contents of this publication are presented for informational purposes only, and while every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy, nothing herein is to be construed as a warranty or guarantee, express or implied, regarding the products or services described herein or their use, performance, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Individual results may vary. All sales are governed by our terms and conditions, which are available upon request. We reserve the right to modify or improve the designs or specifications of our products at any time without notice. Responsibility for proper selection, use and maintenance of any product or service remains solely with the purchaser and end user.
Performance Diagnostic tests available within the PD suite of any FIELDVUE instrument provide a snap shot of multiple valve-performance parameters such as travel, friction, or air supply. With PD, operators receive an early warning of any control or maintenance issues.
