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SEPTEMBER 2010

HPIMPACT SPECIALREPORT TECHNOLOGY

REFINING DEVELOPMENTS

‘Clean fuels‘ use unique solutions

Are recent gains by US refiners sustainable?

Debating low-carbon fuel standards

Update on spiralwound gaskets

Calculate temperature in horizontal tanks

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SEPTEMBER 2010 • VOL. 89 NO. 9

SPECIAL REPORT: REFINING DEVELOPMENTS

29 20 questions: Identify probable causes for high FCC catalyst loss

P. K. Niccum

39 Consider high-impact constructability issues for refineries R. Carter

45 Bottomless refinery: Improve refinery economics P. McKenna and F. Sheikh

51 Biorenewables update: What is beyond ethanol and biodiesel?

R. Cascone and B. Burke

57 Upgrade FFC performance—Part 1 L. M. Wolschlag and K. A. Couch

67 Fine-tune processing heavy crudes in your facility T. Falkler and C. Sandu

75 Mitigate corrosion in your crude unit N. P. Hilton and G. L. Scattergood

81 Improve vacuum tower revamp projects S. Costanzo, S. M. Wong and M. Pilling

Cover Marathon’s Garyville, Louisiana refinery completed a major expansion with startup in December 2009. This project increased the refinery’s rated capacity from 256,000 bpd to 436,000 bpd and is now among the five largest US refineries as well as the 20 largest international refineries. More details of the Garyville project can be found on page 22. Photo courtesy of Marathon Oil Corp.

HPIMPACT 15 Strong second quarter

for US refiners

15 Low-carbon fuel standard could cause ‘crude shuffle’

16 $8.4 billion Chinese pump market by 2015

17 BP to pay $50.6 million for Texas City explosion

COLUMNS 9 HPIN RELIABILITY

Eccentric reducers and straight runs of pipe at pump suction

11 HPINTEGRATION STRATEGIESSustainability program management with EAM

13 HPIN CONTROLAPC application ownership

130 HPIN WATER MANAGEMENTUtility water boot camp for process engineers—Part 1

HEAT TRANSFER/VESSELS

89 Calculating the temperature distribution in horizontal vessel saddle supports

G. N. van Zyl

MAINTENANCE/RELIABILITY

95 Spiral-wound or kammprofile gaskets? C. Yoder and D. W. Reeves

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION 2010—SUPPLEMENT

99 Managing projects in a global evironment S. K. Poddar

LOSS PREVENTION

115 Hydrobulging of storage tanks and its effect on first support selection

M. G. Choudhury, S. Johri and R. Tripathi

ENGINEERING CASE HISTORIES

123 Case history 58: Piston pin plug wear T. Sofronas

DEPARTMENTS7 HPIN BRIEF • 21 HPIN CONSTRUCTION 26 HPI CONSTRUCTION BOXSCORE UPDATE126 HPI MARKETPLACE • 129 ADVERTISER INDEX

HP ONLINE EXCLUSIVESUpgrade FFC performance—Part 2L. M. Wolschlag and K. A. Couch

GPC’s Software Reference—Fall 2010

Following page 132

4

EDITORIAL Editor Les A. KaneSenior Process Editor Stephany RomanowProcess Editor Tricia CrosseyReliability/Equipment Editor Heinz P. BlochNews Editor Billy Thinnes

European Editor Tim Lloyd WrightContributing Editor Loraine A. HuchlerContributing Editor William M. GobleContributing Editor Y. Zak FriedmanContributing Editor ARC Advisory Group (various)

MAGAZINE PRODUCTIONDirector—Editorial Production Sheryl StoneManager— Editorial Production Angela BatheArtist/Illustrator David WeeksManager—Advertising Production Cheryl Willis

ADVERTISING SALESSee Sales Offices page 128.

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HYDROCARBON PROCESSING (ISSN 0018-8190) is published monthly by Gulf Publishing Co., 2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020, Houston, Texas 77046. Periodicals postage paid at Houston, Texas, and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hydrocarbon Processing, P.O. Box 2608, Houston, Texas 77252.

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GULF PUBLISHING COMPANYJohn Royall, President/CEORon Higgins, Vice President

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Other energy group titles include:World Oil®

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HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SEPTEMBER 2010 I 7

[email protected]

BILLY THINNES, NEWS EDITOR

HPIN BRIEF

■ Refinery financing

In these troubled economic times, it is nice to see some lending and financ-ing for large scale projects being given the green light. The Egyptian Refining Co. (ERC) recently signed a debt pack-age of $2.6 billion to finance construc-tion of its $3.7 billion second-stage oil refinery in the greater Cairo area of Egypt. The refinery will produce over 4 million tpy of refined products when completed, including 2.3 mil-lion tons of EURO V diesel.

The debt package includes $2.35 billion of senior debt and $225 mil-lion of subordinated debt. Institutions participating in the senior debt package include the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank. First draw-down under the senior debt facilities is expected in the coming two months.

Mitsui & Co., which is part of the consortium of contractors building the refinery, is providing $200 million of subordinated debt financing. The African Development Bank is provid-ing an additional $25 million of sub-ordinated debt financing.

News of the debt package came just weeks after the International Finance Corp. announced it would invest equity of $100 million in the project. The refinery, to be located in the greater Cairo district of Mostorod, will sell its production to the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) under a 25-year offtake agreement at international prices.

ERC has obtained all regulatory and environmental approvals and signed a lump-sum turnkey contract with GS Engineering & Construction/Mitsui & Co. The project’s builders expect to complete construction and operational testing of ERC in the second half of 2014 in time for opera-tions to begin in 2015

“Considering the financial and reg-ulatory complexity of building a refin-ery today, the signing of ERC’s debt package has come together remark-ably quickly,” said Tom Thomason, CEO of ERC. HP

Canada Products (Shell) and Delek US Holdings, Inc. have agreed to end negotiations regarding a potential sale of the Shell Montreal East refinery. Shell and Delek US met last week in an effort to address outstanding issues that both parties had been unable to resolve in negotiations held earlier this year. Negotiations once again reached an impasse, leading both parties to terminate discussions.

“Unfortunately, after considerable efforts to find common ground on a number of complex issues, both sides have determined not to pursue further negotiations with regard to the Montreal East Refinery,” said Uzi Yemin, president of Delek US Holdings.

“Because no buyer for the refinery had been identified by the end of last year, we announced on January 7, 2010 that we intended to convert the refinery to a terminal and so started detailed planning for the conversion,” said Richard Oblath of Shell. “Although we retained hope that a buyer could be found, the conversion was planned in parallel to the sale process, since there was no guarantee a sale would occur.”

The late July fire at Frontier Oil’s Cheyenne, Wyoming, refinery has been problematic for the company, but its leadership does not see the incident as having a long term effect on Frontier’s overall bottom line.

“We suffered a recent setback in Cheyenne as a result of a fire near our crude unit,” said Mike Jennings, chairman of Frontier. “Our third quarter production and costs will reflect this outage, which is expected to last approximately two to three weeks. Despite this event, our Cheyenne refinery has been delivering on its cost reduction and yield improvement goals. Still ahead of us is the completion of Cheyenne’s LPG recovery proj-ect, which is scheduled to come online in mid-2011.”

Rive Technology Inc. has an agreement with W. R. Grace & Co. Conn. to jointly develop and commercialize Rive’s zeolite technology for use in catalysts for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) processes within a petroleum refinery. Rive’s proprietary technology makes zeolite refining catalysts more accessible to hydrocarbon molecules, resulting in increased yields of transportation fuels and less coke. Rive’s technology creates refinery wide operating flexibility due to enhanced coke selectivity. Refiners can profit from the improved catalytic performance by increasing refinery throughput, processing heavier crude oil and maximizing production of high quality fuels. Under the agreement, Rive and Grace will develop, manufacture and market FCC catalysts incorporating Rive’s technology worldwide.

The grand opening of the Castrol China Technology Center recently took place in Shanghai’s Pudong Jinqiao Science Park. The new facility will be dedicated to developing lubricant technology solutions for the automotive, aviation, industrial, offshore and marine market sectors in China. The center comprises specialist laboratories dedicated to conducting lubricant development and modification, a friction testing cen-ter to evaluate and screen new formulations for industrial and automotive applications, a driveline testing laboratory and a vehicle workshop for testing product performance.

Huntsman Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the chemicals business of Laffans Petrochemicals Ltd. Located in Ankleshwar, India, the Laffans chemicals business manufactures amines and surfactants. The chemicals business has 130 employees and annual sales of approximately $45 million. The acquisition is sub-ject to certain terms and conditions and is expected to occur in the first half of 2011.

Gevo has signed definitive agreements to acquire Agri-Energy’s ethanol production facility in Luverne, Minnesota. Mechanical retrofitting of the plant will begin upon closing the transaction. Isobutanol production is expected to begin by the first quarter of 2012. During most of the retrofit process, it is expected that the facility will continue to produce ethanol. HP

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HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR

HPIN RELIABILITY

[email protected]


Questions relating to proper reducer application in centrifugal pump suction lines date back many decades. Until his death (at age 84, in 1995), world-renowned pump expert Igor Karassik frequently corresponded with the writer and other pump users on pump-related subjects. We rarely pass up an opportunity to highlight some of his experience-based comments.

Once, a pump user referred to Fig. 1 and noted that this was quite typical of illustrations found in many textbooks. In essence, Fig. 1 indicates that, with a suction line entering the pump in the horizontal plane, the eccentric reducer is placed with the flat at the top. Available texts often give no indication as to whether the pumpage came from above or below the pump.

Igor Karassik agreed that, if the supply source was from above the pump, the eccentric reducer should be installed with the flat (horizontal) surface at the bottom. Entrained vapor bubbles could then migrate back into the source instead of staying near the pump suction. If the pump suction piping entered after a long horizontal run or from below the pump, the flat of the eccentric reducer should be at the top.1

Still, in many older texts it has been assumed that the pump-age source originated at a level below the pump suction nozzle. Karassik reminded us that older Hydraulic Institute Standards commented on the suction pipe slope:

“...Any high point in the suction pipe will become filled with air and thus prevent proper operation of the pump. A straight taper reducer should not be used in a horizontal suction line as an air pocket is formed in the top of the reducer and the pipe. An eccentric reducer should be used instead.”

This instruction applies regardless of where the pumpage originates. Depending on the particulars of an installation, trapped vapors can reduce the effective suction line cross-sectional area. Should that be the case, flow velocities would tend to be higher than anticipated. Higher friction losses would occur and pump performance would be adversely affected.

In the case of a liquid source above the pump suction, and particularly where the suction line consists of an eccentric reducer followed by an elbow turned vertically upward and a vertical pipe length—all assem-bled in that sequence from the pump suction flange upstream—it will be mandatory for the eccentric reducer flat side to be at the bottom. That said, Fig. 2 should clarify what reliability-focused users need to implement.

Also, whenever vapors must be vented against the flow direction, the line size

upstream of any low point must be governed by an important criterion. The line must be a diameter that will limit the pump-age velocity to values below those where bubbles will rise through the liquid.

In general, it can be stated that wherever a low point exists in a suction line, the horizontal piping run at that point should be kept as short as possible. In a proper installation, the reducer flange will thus be located at the pump suction nozzle and there is usually no straight piping between reducer outlet and pump nozzle. Straight pipe lengths are, however, connected to the eccentric reducer inlet flange. On most pumps, one usually gets away with five diameters of straight length next to the reducer. In the case of certain unspeci-fied velocities and other interacting variables (e.g., viscosity, NPSH margin, pump style, etc.), it might be wise to install as many as 10 diameters of straight length next to the reducer inlet flange. The two different rules-of-thumb explain seeming inconsistencies in the literature, where both the 5 and 10-D rules can be found. HP

LITERATURE CITED 1 Karassik, Igor J., Centrifugal Pump Clinic, 2nd Ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1989.

Eccentric reducers and straight runs of pipe at pump suction

The author is HP’s Equipment/Reliability Editor. The author of 17 textbooks and over 470 papers or articles, he advises process plants worldwide on reliability improvement and maintenance cost reduction opportunities. His coauthored Bloch/Budris text, Pump User’s Handbook, is comprehensive and very widely used. Find the 2nd edition under ISBN 0-88173-517-5.

Suction Suction

Air pocket

Incorrect Correct

Illustration of eccentric reducer mounting from Hydraulic Institute Standards. FIG. 1

Source of supplybelow pump.

Eccentric reducers should bearranged with the bottomsflat when source of supply

is above the pump.

Correct

Suction Suction

Suggested modifications for eccentric reducer mountings.FIG. 2

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HPINTEGRATION STRATEGIES


Larry O’Brien is part of the automation consulting team at ARC covering the process industries, and an HP contributing editor. He is responsible for tracking the market for process automation systems (PASs) and has authored the PAS market stud-ies for ARC since 1998. Mr. O’Brien has also authored many other market research, strategy and custom research reports on topics including process fieldbus, collaborative partnerships, total automation market trends and others. He has been with ARC since January 1993, and started his career with market research in the field instrumentation markets.

[email protected]

RALPH RIO, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Sustainability program management with EAM Moving to a sustainable manufacturing model requires signifi-

cant changes throughout the enterprise. Some HPI companies use a top-down approach in which senior managers set targets to which engineers and plant operators must respond. Others use a more collaborative approach, providing visionary goals and allowing project leaders to emerge. In either case, companies must manage and monitor progress to ensure that overall business needs are met. An effective program requires structure.

Focal points for managing sustainability. Sustainable manufacturing embodies three principal concepts: design-, envi-ronment- and resource-friendly products; produced in environ-ment- and resource-friendly plants; with an environment- and resource-friendly supply chain.

Available software applications can help HPI plants and other manufacturers manage each of the product, plant and supply chain domains. For example, manufacturers typically use enter-prise asset management (EAM) applications to manage the life cycle of assets in the plant and supply chain. This can be extended to also manage a sustainability program for plant assets.

Manual merges create mayhem. Sustainability concerns for a plant include both the various inputs into the plant (feed-stocks, power, water, air and MRO materials), plus the different plant outputs (gasses, liquids and solids) that can have a detri-mental effect on humans or the environment. The problem is that each asset category within a plant typically has its own specific operational control applications and systems.

For most manufacturers, rolling up the carbon footprint across a site involves accessing each of these different systems and per-forming manual data mergers, which at best, is a time-consuming and error-prone process.

HPI companies can leverage the knowledge base resident in their EAM and maintenance management systems to help man-age the plant’s sustainability program. EAM systems improve equipment uptime and performance (Fig. 1). This benefit can be extended to reduce both a company’s carbon footprint and emissions. EAM can also help manufacturers comply with future carbon reporting regulations.

EAM applications have an asset-specific structure. They man-age each asset as either an individual item (like a compressor), or as a group (like a distillation train). EAM has well-established functions for managing each asset. These include work-order management (scheduling, dispatching and monitoring comple-tion), parts inventory management, labor management, informa-tion management and analytics.

A sustainability program also needs this asset-specific approach to identify those assets that need improvement. For example, a plant’s wastewater contains a mixture of effluents from a variety of plant sources. The volume and composition is inconsistent over

time. The obvious emitters have probably already been addressed. What do you do next? Examining the wastewater is too late in the process. To improve sustainability, manufacturers need to move upstream to the source, and closely examine the individual assets.

The major areas of asset-specific functionality relative to man-aging a sustainability program include:

• Program management: set goals, measure and benchmark performance

• Alert management: monitor, trend and notify• Planning and analytics: optimize asset performance• Emissions and resource compliance: track and verify for

corporate governance and government regulations.

Plant sustainability program scope. HPI plants already see significant new resource-based constraints, regulations and business drivers. These will only escalate. Also, it is reasonable to expect higher prices for feedstocks, energy and carbon emissions in the future. As shown in the figure, these resources involve a variety of different plant production, IT, and other assets.

Usually, each of these assets has a supervisory control system or historian. These supervisory systems provide an excellent data source for the EAM system to use to manage sustainability. Rather than periodic manual data collection, data collection should be an automated process with integration between the EAM system and these supervisory control systems. HP

The author has been with ARC since 2000. Prior to joining ARC, he was with GE Fanuc Automation as its manager of marketing for its CIMPLICITY software and ser-vices. Prior to that, Mr. Rio was Intellution’s marketing manager for all HMI software products. Mr. Rio holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering and an MS degree in management science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York.

Power

Inputs Processing

MRO

Air

Waste

Outputs

Production

IT data center

HVAC

Lighting, other ...

Plant assets EAM

EmissionsWater

Steam

Natural gas

Managing sustainability via assets with EAM. FIG. 1

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Y. ZAK FRIEDMAN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

HPIN CONTROL

[email protected]

The author is a principal consultant in advanced process control and online optimization with Petrocontrol. He specializes in the use of first-principles models for inferential process control and has developed a number of distillation and reactor models. Dr. Friedman’s experience spans over 30 years in the hydrocarbon industry, working with Exxon Research and Engineering, KBC Advanced Technology and since 1992 with Petrocontrol. He holds a BS degree from the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and a PhD degree from Purdue University.


Advancec process control (APC) requires skilled control engi-neers, and where such engineers are not available, even well-implemented APC applications quickly become ineffective. That much is known and has been published.1–4 Feeling frustrated over the dire APC manning shortage, I wrote an editorial recommend-ing simplifying APC to the point of giving up on some of the benefits, aiming to reduce maintenance requirements and improve the APC success rate. Another school of thought, represented best perhaps by Allan Kern, suggests that we do away with multivari-able predictive control (MVPC) tools altogether, and move back to implementing APC strategies as DCS structures, going by the name of advanced regulatory control (ARC).

I do not share Kern’s view against MVPC but think that com-plexity is the real culprit. Good intentions of capturing all of APC benefits have led control engineers to overly complex designs that might be beneficial with constant attention, but fall into disuse without attention. I have implemented many simple MVPCs, as well as ARC applications, and if you structure such an applica-tion with say, one inferential-quality model plus one override constraint without any built-in economics, it works day-in and day-out. If you wish to incorporate more constraints, especially constraints with slow dynamics and more economic consider-ations, MVPC is your tool, and that application requires almost daily attention to work well.

‘Why?’ Management asks. “We have paid a lot to develop APC, why do we need to invest more engineering time, and yet daily, to keep this application in good repair?” Complexity has something to do with it. Refinery economics can vary wildly. Seasonal or blocked-operation jumps are obvious and predictable, but there are other events that change economics quickly: delayed shipments, storms, equipment problems, troubles in a neighbor-ing refinery, political unrest on a different continent or, in fact, any unforeseen event. Can the preconfigured MVPC economics cope with actual economics of the day? It absolutely cannot!

And how would a wise operator respond to a mismatch between refinery economics versus MVPC configuration? He/she would continue using valid APC functionality and disable offending functionality, usually by clamping manipulated variables (MVs). I have seen applications with 40 controlled variables (CVs) by 20 MVs where only two MVs were not clamped. Worse yet, operators are not expected to be aware of plantwide economics. With lack of guidance they might let APC drive the unit against the economics of the day, and what have we achieved then?; nice-looking multi-variable responses that cause the refinery to lose money.

That is why economics-driven APC applications need daily attention. The site APC engineer should always be aware of cur-rent economic situations. While the engineer cannot quickly rede-sign the APC to follow current economics, he/she must find a way to set economic drive coefficients and CV targets to approach the

real economics, and then instruct operators about how to work with these settings. That is what I call ownership. Being aware of refinery economics is perhaps a two-hour-a-week task, and figur-ing out how to make APC comply with current economics could take six more hours a week.

There’s more to say about inferential control models. They are important because as APC moves the unit, keeping prod-uct qualities on target is key to correct optimization. I advocate inferential models based on first principles, whereas many APC practitioners employ regression-based models. That, in itself, is not a disaster. While the regression is necessarily inferior, a good process engineer can perhaps specify model inputs correctly to achieve workable models. Either way, inferential models require careful and detailed monitoring. As a minimum—track unbiased inferences against the lab to investigate inferential bias patterns, especially if it is related to operational modes. Upon seeing that the regression model no longer fits, the APC engineer should devote time to collect data and come up with another regression. That is perhaps a two-to-four-hour a week job, depending on the number of inferential models and their quality.

What about outsourcing APC engineering? In my view, APC ownership, i.e., the responsibility to monitor econom-ics and inferential models, and to set the APC to agree with unit economics, should rest with the site engineer. But communica-tions tools today certainly permit engaging a remote expert to help the site APC engineer set the application correctly, and/or to rework inferential models. I support inferential models in many refineries, though not to the point of daily attention.

The count of hours above leads to a simple conclusion that a good APC engineer can steward four major applications, five or six with outside help. If you cannot afford this level of engineering support—why spend money implementing APC to begin with? In that case implement only simple APC with quality targets and constraints but without economic drives. HP

LITERATURE CITED 1 Friedman, Y. Z., “Avoid advanced control project mistakes,” Hydrocarbon Processing, October 1992. 2 Friedman, Y. Z., “Advanced process control—it takes effort to make it work,” Hydrocarbon Processing, February 1997. 3 Latour, P. R., “Does the HPI do its CIM business right?” Hydrocarbon Processing, July 1997. 4 Kane L. A., “Controversy in Control,” Hydrocarbon Processing, March/April 1998.

APC application ownership

The author is a principal consultant in advanced process control and online optimization with Petrocontrol. He specializes in the use of first-principles models for inferential process control and has developed a number of distillation and reactor models. Dr. Friedman’s experience spans over 30 years in the hydrocarbon industry, working with Exxon Research and Engineering, KBC Advanced Technology and since 1992 with Petrocontrol. He holds a BS degree from the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and a PhD degree from Purdue University.


HPIMPACT

Strong second quarter for US refiners

Baker & O’Brien issued an August report that stated US refinery cash margins have increased, on average, by almost $3 per bar-rel vs. the previous quarter, with the stron-gest improvement noted on the West Coast. Countering the general improvement trend was the East Coast, where margins declined slightly because of a widening light-heavy crude oil discount and general market con-ditions. Overall US first half 2010 (10H1) cash margins were much stronger than the last half of 2009 (Table 1). However, during the second quarter of 2010 (10Q2), refining crack spreads began to slip relative to the previous quarter, with further weakening noted in July.

The light-heavy differential increased in the first half of 2010, resulting in the improvement of margins for Gulf Coast coking refineries. However, margins for East Coast cracking refineries remained stuck at depressed 2009 levels (Fig. 1), even with the previous shutdown of two area refineries (Valero’s in Delaware City, Delaware, and Sunoco’s in Westville, New Jersey). With the recent announcement by Western Refining of plans to close the Yorktown, Virginia, refinery, East Coast refinery capacity will soon be reduced by a cumulative total of almost 400,000 bpd, which is 23% of the East Coast’s atmospheric distillation capac-ity operating in November 2009.

Recent margin improvements have encouraged US refineries to increase throughputs (Fig. 2), with overall refinery utilization rates increasing during the quar-ter from 82.2% to 88.7%. The increases in throughput varied widely across regions, with the Midwest only increasing by 2% vs. an increase of 12% in the Gulf Coast.

The consultants at Baker & O’Brien hold the opinion that, during the second quarter of 2010, US refiners exhibited much stronger performance. But they wonder whether the industry can sustain this performance for any extended period depends upon strengthening demand for transportation fuels. Supply-side challenges in the medium term include currently high gasoline and diesel inventory levels, addi-tional capacity from new projects that are near completion and announced plans to restart idled refining capacity.

Low-carbon fuel standard could cause ‘crude shuffle’

The National Petrochemical and Refin-ers Association (NPRA) recently released a report examining how a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) policy intended to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the trans-portation sector could actually result in “shuffling” or “leakage” of emissions. The study says an LCFS would actually increase global GHG emissions by up to 19 million metric tpy. This is in contradiction to those

who advocate the LCFS, saying it would reduce emissions. Barr Engineering of Min-neapolis, Minnesota, conducted the study for members of NPRA.

The study assumes that because an LCFS would prevent US refineries from import-ing petroleum obtained from oil sands in neighboring Western Canada, the US would instead have to import more oil in tankers from the Middle East and elsewhere. At the same time, the Canadian oil would be shipped in tankers across the Pacific to China and other Asian locations.

The study calls this long-distance move-ment of oil thousands of miles around the world in tankers a “shuffle” that would result in higher carbon dioxide emissions than simply extracting the Canadian petro-leum from the oil sands for US consump-tion, due to emissions created by shipping the oil such great distances.

“In conducting this technical study, we looked at the most accurate data publicly

BILLY THINNES, NEWS EDITOR

[email protected]

Jan-09

Gros

s m

argi

n, $

/bbl

inpu

t

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Apr-09

East coast resid cracking, W AfricaGulf coast coking, Maya

Jul-09 Oct-09

East Coast resid cracking vs. Gulf Coast coking margins

Jan-10 Apr-10

East Coast resid cracking vs. Gulf Coast coking margins from January 2009–April 2010.

FIG. 1

East Coast

Mbp

d

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

Midwest

2007200820092010 Q12010 Q2

Gulf Coast

Source: US DOE/EIA

Total crude + feedstock inputs to US refineries

RockyMountains

West Coast

Crude and feedstock inputs to US refineries from 2007 to 2010 Q2.

FIG. 2

TABLE 1. US refiner cash margins compared to previous periods, $/bbl

10Q2 vs. 10Q1 10H1 vs. 09H2

East Coast (0.54) +0.55

Midwest +4.04 +2.83

Gulf Coast +2.40 +3.73

Rocky Mountains +4.28 +3.22

West Coast +5.41 +1.82

US Total +2.94 +2.86

16 I SEPTEMBER 2010 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING

HPIMPACT

available, and the conclusion was clear,” said Joel Trinkle, senior air quality consultant at Barr and one of the authors of the study. “Crude shuffling under a nationwide LCFS would substantially raise overall greenhouse gas emissions.”

The study found that an LCFS imple-mented in the US results in a notable increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to the displacement of Canadian crude imports to the US and the rerouting of crude imports and exports to accommodate this displacement (Table 2).

“Nearby Canadian crude sources would be diverted to regions not affected by an LCFS and replaced with supplies from distant parts of the world,” the study says. “While it is likely that an LCFS would change the mix of crude imports to the US, LCFS implemented in the US is not expected to change over-all trends in energy use and demand for crude resources throughout the rest of the world. A shift in US crude-supply pref-erences will simply cause redirection of crude supplies elsewhere.”

This analysis of the change in crude-transport-related emissions accompany-

ing implementation of an LCFS indicates that the net effect will be a doubling of GHG emissions associated with changes in crude-transport patterns. It indicates an increase in global GHG emissions by 7.1 million to 19.0 million metric tons per year, depending on the extent of resulting Canadian crude displacement (Fig. 3).

Canada is currently the largest supplier of petroleum imported into the US, but other nations are looking to the Canadian oil sands as a potential energy source. China alone has already invested more than $6 billion in Canadian oil sands projects as it continues to rapidly increase its presence in overseas energy production.

“By denying the American people access to oil from our friendly neighbor Canada, a low-carbon fuel standard would raise fuel costs and wipe out millions of American jobs,” said NPRA President Charles T. Drevna. “Now this latest study shows that a nationwide LCFS won’t reduce overall global GHG emissions—it will actually raise them. These findings simply reinforce NPRA’s long-held belief that a federal low-carbon fuel standard is a policy of all pain and no gain.”

Additional concerns regarding Ameri-can access to Canadian oil sands resources have surfaced following a recent US State Department decision regarding a proposed pipeline to transport Canadian crude to refineries in the Gulf Coast region. The decision will allow federal agencies an additional 90 days to comment on TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL proj-ect, pending the State Department’s release of a final environmental impact statement. The proposed pipeline expansion would more than double the amount of Canadian crude imported to the US.

Several regional and state LCFS initia-tives are currently underway, including a statewide LCFS program in California established as part of the state’s AB 32 cli-mate law, and proponents of a federal LCFS continue to seek its enactment.

A federal LCFS provision was included in the 2008 Lieberman-Warner climate-change bill that was defeated in the Senate. The 2009 Waxman-Markey climate-change bill also contained an LCFS provision, although it was removed before the bill was passed by the House.

Two other recent studies cast additional doubt on the efficacy of an LCFS. A June 2010 report by Charles River Associates found that a nationwide LCFS implemented in 2015 would result by 2025 in: the loss of between 2.3 million and 4.5 million US jobs; an increase of up to 170% in the price of gasoline and diesel fuel; and a 2–3% decrease in the US gross domestic product.

The other report, by the Canadian Energy Research Institute, issued in Octo-ber 2009, examined the impacts of develop-ing Canadian oil sands on the US economy. It found that such development (which would be threatened by the implementation of a nationwide LCFS in the US) would result in an estimated 343,000 new US jobs between 2011 and 2015, and that US out-put of goods and services would increase by an average of $62 billion per year from 2009 through 2025.

$8.4 billion Chinese pump market by 2015

McIlvaine is predicting that China will account for 21% of the $40 billion 2015 world market for industrial pumps. China is completing a five year plan which is adding 15,000 million gallons daily of municipal sewage treatment. Also of note is that China now has twice the big power plant scrubbers as does the US. These scrubbers each need

TABLE 2. Total transport GHG emissions under LCFS examined in detail

Metric tons CO2-e total Metric tons CO2-e total per day per day (assumes tanker (assumes tanker transport—Scenario transport—one way) roundtrip/deadhead)

Base case

All Canadian imports to US displaced 35,160 40,519

All Canadian imports to US Midwest II displaced 16,651 19,189

Crude shuffle case

All Canadian imports to US displaced 76,478 92,507

All Canadian imports to US Midwest displaced 36,218 43,809

0All MidwestCanadian

crudeimports

displaced

Base caseCrude shuffle

GHG emissions per barrel Total GHG emissions per day

LCFS GHG impacts: Base case vs. crude shuffle

One waytanker transport

One waytanker

transport

Round-trip-deadheadtanker transport

Round-trip-deadhead

tankertransport

All USCanadian

crudeimports

displaced

All USCanadian

crudeimports

displaced

All MidwestCanadian

crudeimports

displaced

20

40

Thou

sand

met

ric to

ns C

O 2-e

/day

60

80

100

0.0E-03

0.5E-03

1.0E-02

Met

ric to

ns C

O 2-e

/bbl

1.5E-02

2.0E-02

2.5E-02

LCFS GHG impacts: Base case vs. crude shuffle.FIG. 3

118

4_e

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up to 400,000 gpm of abrasive slurry. China is building more new coal plants than the US or all of Europe combined.

BP to pay $50.6 millionfor Texas City explosion

The US Department of Labor’s Occu-pational Safety and Health Administra-tion announced that BP Products North America Inc. will pay a full penalty of $50.6 million stemming from the 2005 explosion at its Texas City, Texas, refinery that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others. The agreement resolves failure-to-abate citations issued after a 2009 follow-up investigation. In addition to paying the record fine, BP has agreed to take immediate steps to protect those now working at the refinery, allocating a minimum of $500 million to that effort.

“This agreement achieves our goal of protecting workers at the refinery and ensuring that critical safety upgrades are made as quickly as possible,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The size of the penalty rightly reflects BP’s disregard for workplace safety and shows that we will enforce the law so workers can return home safe at the end of their day.”

Under the agreement, BP immediately will begin performing safety reviews of the refinery equipment according to set schedules and make permanent corrections. The agreement also identifies many items in need of immediate attention; the com-pany has agreed to address those concerns quickly and to hire independent experts to monitor its efforts.

Additionally, the agreement provides an unprecedented level of oversight of BP’s safety program including regular meetings with OSHA, frequent site inspections and the submission of quarterly reports for the agency’s review. Finally, in a step toward workplace safety corporate-wide, BP agrees to establish a liaison between its North Ameri-can and London boards of directors and OSHA, which will allow the agency to raise compliance problems at the highest level.

“Safer conditions at this refinery should result from this arrangement, which goes far beyond what can normally be achieved through abatement of problems identified in citations,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels. “Make no mistake, OSHA will be watching to ensure that BP complies with the agreement and safeguards its workers.”

In September 2005, OSHA cited BP for a then-record $21 million as a result of

the fatal explosion at its Texas City refinery in March of that year. Upon issuance of the citations, the parties entered into an agreement that required the company to identify and to correct deficiencies. In a follow-up investigation in 2009, OSHA found that although the company made many changes related to safety, it failed to live up to several extremely important terms of that agreement. As a result, OSHA cited BP for “failure to abate” violations with

penalties totaling a record $50.6 million that BP now has agreed to pay.

During that same 2009 investigation at the Texas City refinery, OSHA also identified 439 new willful violations and assessed more than $30 million in penal-ties. Litigation before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission regarding those violations and penalties is ongoing and is not impacted by today’s settlement. HP

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TREND ANALYSIS FORECASTINGHydrocarbon Processing maintains an extensive database of historical HPI proj-ect information. Current project activity is published three times a year in the HPI Construction Boxscore. When a project is completed, it is removed from current listings and retained in a database. The database is a 35-year compilation of proj-ects by type, operating company, licen-sor, engineering/constructor, location, etc. Many companies use the historical data for trending or sales forecasting.

The historical information is available in comma-delimited or Excel® and can be cus-tom sorted to suit your needs. The cost of the sort depends on the size and complex-ity of the sort you request and whether a customized program must be written. You can focus on a narrow request such as the history of a particular type of project or you can obtain the entire 35-year Boxscore database, or portions thereof.

Simply send a clear description of the data you need and you will receive a prompt cost quotation. Contact:

Lee NicholsP. O. Box 2608

Houston, Texas, 77252-2608Fax: 713-525-4626

e-mail: [email protected].

HPIN CONSTRUCTIONBILLY THINNES, NEWS EDITOR

[email protected]

North AmericaAdvanceBio Systems LLC has a con-

tract with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, to provide a biomass pretreatment reactor system for its inte-grated biorefinery research facility. The equipment will be used for research, devel-opment, demonstration and deployment in support of national transportation fuel diversification objectives, specifically those associated with performing the advanced technologies that make fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass cost-competitive.

Xebec Adsorption Inc. has signed a sig-nificant contract to build a complete biogas upgrading plant for Terasen Gas in west-ern Canada. The plant will be installed at a landfill site in British Columbia to upgrade biogas to biomethane which will then be injected into the utility’s natural gas grid for residential uses such as home heating and cooking. The biogas plant features the lat-est generation of Xebec’s proprietary rapid-cycle pressure swing adsorption technology. Commissioning and startup is expected to take place in early 2011.

ProSep has $2 million contract to pro-vide process engineering and specialized internals for crude separation. This con-tract was awarded through a commercial alliance with Thermo Design and will be installed at a super major oil and gas producer’s steam-assisted gravity drainage facility located in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada. The crude separation equipment will be built using ProSep’s free water knock-out and treater vessel designs and internals, allowing for efficient separation of crude, natural gas, water and solids from the production stream.

Syntroleum Corp.’s new Dynamic Fuels plant that will produce high quality renewable fuels from animal fats and greases is mechanically complete, and work is now underway to prepare for the start of opera-tions. The prime contractor on the project in Geismar, Louisiana, achieved mechanical completion in July and turned the entire plant over to Dynamic Fuels LLC, a joint venture of Syntroleum and Tyson Foods.

The commissioning activities in progress include flushing of all lines, verifying opera-tion of the control system and installation of catalysts and absorbents. Dynamic Fuels currently expects to begin fuel production and ramp up of production rates during the third quarter of 2010.

South AmericaFoster Wheeler AG’s Global Engi-

neering and Construction Group has an owner’s engineer contract for a new LNG receiving terminal to be built in Montevideo, in the region of Río de la Plata, Uruguay. The contract was awarded by Uruguay’s state-owned oil company, Administración Nacional de Combusti-bles, Alcohol y Portland (ANCAP). Fos-ter Wheeler’s scope of work includes tech-nical assistance through the initial phases of the development of the project, concep-tual design of the terminal, and develop-ment of the invitation to bid for the role of owner and operator of the terminal. The owner/operator role will include the responsibility for, among other elements, the engineering, procurement and con-struction (EPC) contract. Foster Wheeler’s scope also includes the supervision of the EPC contractor from detailed engineering through to startup.

EuropeThe Shaw Group Inc. has a contract

with Dogu Akdeniz Petrokimya ve Rafin-eri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (DAPRAS) to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for a grassroots refinery in Yumurtalk located in the Ceyhan region of Turkey on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Shaw will also conduct pre-front-end engi-neering design development for 14 process units, utilities, offsites and marine facilities at the site.

The planned facility, the Adana Dogu Akdeniz refinery, will be designed to process 212,000 bpd of crude oil. The crude will flow into the Ceyhan region from various sources, including Iraq, Russia and the Cas-pian areas, and will target the domestic and regional export markets.

INEOS Oxide says it will build and operate a new 1-million-tpy ethylene ter-

minal, to be constructed at its Zwijndrecht facilities in Belgium. Operation of the new deep-sea terminal is expected to start in 2012. Once completed, the new terminal will be connected directly to INEOS’ eth-ylene consuming facilities in the Antwerp/Rotterdam area and into Europe via the ARG ethylene pipeline linking Antwerp to Cologne and the Ruhr industrial areas.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has a contract with The Dow Chemical Co. to provide engineering and construction management services for the expansion of Dow’s facility in Fombio, Italy. The expansion will accommodate the manu-facturing of uniform particle size (UPS) copolymers to be used in ion exchange resins. The scope of the contract includes a range of services from detailed design and construction management activities, up to mechanical completion. The project includes the installation of new process equipment. The new equipment covers two existing buildings and includes an upgrade and tie-in of existing utilities and a new control system.

ConocoPhillips, Rompetrol Rafinare S.A. and Rominserv S.A. have a license

TREND ANALYSIS FORECASTING

Hydrocarbon Processing maintains an extensive database of historical HPI proj-ect information. The Boxscore Database is a 35-year compilation of projects by type, oper-ating company, licensor, engineering/construc-tor, location, etc. Many companies use the his-torical data for trending or sales forecasting.

The historical information is available in comma-delimited or Excel® and can be cus-tom sorted to suit your needs. The cost of the sort depends on the size and complexity of the sort you request and whether a custom-ized program must be written. You can focus on a narrow request such as the history of a particular type of project or you can obtain the entire 35-year Boxscore database, or por-tions thereof.

Simply send a clear description of the data you need and you will receive a prompt cost quotation. Contact:

Lee NicholsP. O. Box 2608, Houston, Texas, 77252-2608

Fax: 713-525-4626e-mail: [email protected]


HPIN CONSTRUCTION

22

Completed on schedule during the fourth quarter of 2009, the Garyville Major Expansion (GME) units are fully integrated with the original refinery operations. With the expansion, the refinery’s rated capacity increased from 256,000 bpd to 436,000 bpd, making it among the largest refineries in the US. The 180,000-bpd expansion will provide the equivalent of 7.5 mil-lion gallons of clean transportation fuels each day; the initial cost for GME was an estimated $3.2 billion.

In addition to the installation of a new crude and vacuum distillation units, expansion plans called for the construction of infrastructure and other process units: 44,000-bpd delayed coker, 70,000-bpd heavy gasoil hydrocracker, 65,000-bpd reformer and a 47,000-bpd kerosine hydrotreater. The new facilities incorporate the latest safety and environmental control

technologies at the refinery, which is the first and only refinery to be included in the US Environment Protection Agency’s elite National Environmental Performance Track (NEPT). Mara-thon’s Garyville refinery was also one of the first refineries to achieve this distinction.

The construction project was one of the largest private sec-tor projects underway in the US. Some of the most important project partners existed offsite—citizens in the local parish and in the state of Louisiana who trusted Marathon Oil and endorsed this project. Because of this successful partnership, Marathon was able to:

• Provide over 270 full-time employees and contract positions

• Award $1.7 billion in contracts to local Louisiana companies

• Contribute approximately $60 million during the construction project in State and parish tax revenues

• Provide an economic boost to the community, in the wake of natural disasters and a worldwide economic recession.

During construction, the GME required approximately 2,000 construction workers, with over 9,100 workers at peak periods. In total, more than 40,000 workers participated in this expan-sion project.

More than 31 million construction hours were logged. With an OSHA Recordable Incident Rate of 0.27 compared to OSHA’s published average of 4.7 for general construction projects. The GME used enough steel to build over 15,000 cars, created 10 miles of new paved roads, and installed over 1,000 miles of wire and cable. This was truly a global effort with 1,300 engineers from the Philippines, Mexico, India and the US all working tirelessly to develop over 60,000 blueprints.

Around the world, and around the clock, major equipment was manufactured in 12 countries. Over 50 barges traveled tens of thousands of miles to deliver this hardware to the site. To preserve integrity of the Mississippi River dike while delivering some equipment, a $3.5 million temporary bridge was con-structed. Once the hardware was onsite, the team safely executed over 100 critical equipment lifts, some as large as 850 tons.

Note: Marathon Oil Corp. is an integrated energy company focused on value creation through the responsible development of liquid hydrocarbon and natural gas resources to help meet the world’s energy needs. It is

• 4th largest US-based integrated oil and gas company• 5th largest US petroleum refiner• Headquartered in Houston, Texas. HP

TABLE 1. GME overview timeline

2006 2007 2008 2009

March Contractor to begin clearing site January Commence steel erection March Complete engineering effort

May Begin hauling fill March Commence piping erection May Begin commissioning activities

July Commence filling July Commence construction of marine facilities

October Mechanical completion

December Detailed engineering effective start

September Commence foundations December Critical vessels delivered to site

December Startup

Garyville refinery major expansion facts

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and technical services agreement for the revamp of the existing delayed coker unit at Rompetrol’s Petromidia refin-ery in Romania. The revamp will utilize ConocoPhillips’ delayed coking technol-ogy to further improve the reliability, the environmental performance and the oper-ability of the existing 22,000-bpd unit. Construction of Rompetrol Rafinare’s Petromidia refinery delayed coker revamp is expected to be completed in 2012.

Foster Wheeler AG’s Global Engi-neering and Construction Group has a framework agreement, awarded by Statoil, acting on behalf of Gassco AS as operator for the Gassled joint venture, for front-end engineering design (FEED) services valid through 2013 to support the development of the Kårstø oil and gas processing plant in Norway. Statoil is modifying, on behalf of Gassco, the processing plant to enable it to process new light oil/condensate pro-

duction coming onstream in the Norwe-gian North Sea.

Middle EastFlowserve Corp. has received final

approval from Saudi Aramco on a mas-ter purchase agreement to supply pumps, valves and services for the Yanbu’ export refinery project (YERP). Under the terms of the corporate procurement agreement (CPA) established between Flowserve and Saudi Aramco, Saudi Aramco plans to make significant future purchases of Flowserve pumps, valves and value-added services. Flowserve expects to begin book-ing orders under the CPA later in 2010.

Under construction on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, YERP will be a 400,000-bpd, full-conversion refinery being built in Yanbu’ Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. The refinery is designed to process Arabian heavy crude and will produce high-quality, ultra-low-sulfur refined products, including gasoline and diesel fuel. The new refinery is expected to be operational in 2014.

Tecnimont SpA has a contract with Kuwait National Petroleum Co. to develop a treatment plant for acid gas and condensates. The project, scheduled for completion by 2014, will be executed a on turnkey basis and has a value of approxi-mately $400 million. The contract includes the provision of engineering services, pur-chase materials, construction and com-missioning of the plant for a new train of process and treatment systems including softening gas and condensates (for the new treatment plant acidgas), as well as the revamping of the existing gas treatment systems ( for the current extraction system of acid gases) for the refinery in the Mina Al-Ahmadi section of Kuwait City. The new plant will have a processing capacity of approximately 78,000 bpd of condensate.

The Shaw Group Inc. has a con-tract with Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co. (Takreer) to provide project management consultancy services during the engineer-ing, procurement and construction phase of a base oils plant at the Ruwais Indus-trial Complex in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The planned facility will be capable of produc-ing 500,000 tpy of Group III base oils, as well as 100,000 tpy of Group II base oils, and is scheduled to begin commercial pro-duction in 2013. Group II and III base oils are used for blending top-tier lubricants for car engines. HP

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HPI CONSTRUCTION BOXSCORE UPDATE Company City Plant Site Project Capacity Unit Cost Status Yr Cmpl Licensor Engineering Constructor

UNITED STATES Massachusetts Northeast Biodiesel Greenfield Greenfield Biodiesel 3.5 MMgal 2.5 U 2011

CANADA British Columbia Spectra Energy Dawson Creek Dawson Creek Gas Processing 200 MMcfd 1500 P 2013

LATIN AMERICA Argentina Tierra Del Fuego P&C Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego Ammonia 1.5 Mtpy F 2012 KBR Chile ENAP Pemuco Pemuco LNG Regasification 600 Mm3/d P 2012 Chile ENAP Pemuco Pemuco LNG Storage (4) 200 m3 P 2012 Colombia Reficar Cartagena Cartagena Refinery Treater LPG None E 2011 Merichem Colombia Reficar Cartagena Cartagena Refinery Treater, Jet Fuel None E 2011 Merichem Colombia Reficar Cartagena Cartagena Refinery Treater, Spent Caustic None E 2011 Merichem

EUROPE France Total Gonfreville Gonfreville Distillation, Crude EX 205 Mbpd 950 E 2013 FW France Total Gonfreville Gonfreville Hydrocracker EX 48 Mbpd 950 E 2013 Technip France Total Gonfreville Gonfreville Hydrotreater, Gas Oil 364 Mbpd 950 E 2013 Technip Georgia Georgian Oil and Gas Corp Undisclosed GOGC Refinery Refinery None S 2014 Germany Sud Chemie Straubing Straubing Bio-ethanol 2 Mt 36 U 2011 Netherlands Gate Terminal BV Rotterdam Maasvlakte Compressor None E 2011 Techint Burckhardt Compression|TS LNG BV TS LNG BVRomania ConocoPhillips/Rompetrol Rafinare Navodari Navodari Coker, Delayed RE 22 Mbpd 50 E 2012 Rominserv RominservSerbia NIS-Refinery Novi Sad Pancevo Pancevo Hydrogen Generation 40 tpd 100 U 2011 Haldor Topsøe Jacobs |Heurtey Heurtey

ASIA/PACIFIC China CNPC Anning Kunming Oil Refinery Refinery 200 Mbpd 3400 E 2012 China INEOS Phenol/Sinopec YPC Nanjing Nanjing Chemical Ind Park Phenol 400 Mtpy S 2013 China Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Ningbo Ningbo ADI (aliphatic isocyanate) None S 2013 China Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Ningbo Ningbo Polyethers None S 2013 China Tianjin Bohua Tianjin Tianjin Dehydrogenation, Propane 600 Mm-tpy U 2012 CB&I China Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Yantai Yantai ADI (aliphatic isocyanate) None S 2013 China Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Yantai Yantai MDI 600 Mtpy C 2010 India IOCL/TIDCO JV Ennore Ennore LNG Terminal 2.5 MMtpy 64 P 2015 Singapore Stolthaven Singapore Pte Jurong Jurong Terminal 61 Mm3 350 E 2011 Chiyoda Singapore Pte Taiwan Dragon Steel Corp Taichung Taichung Coke Oven Plant 3 Mtpd F 2012 Uhde Taiwan Dragon Steel Corp Taichung Taichung Gas Treating EX 146 Mm3 F 2012 Uhde

MIDDLE EAST Jordan Jordan India Fertilizer Co Eshidiya Eshidiya Phosphoric Acid 500 Mtpy 625 E 2012 SNC-Lavalin Jordan Jordan India Fertilizer Co Eshidiya Eshidiya Sulfuric Acid 4.5 Mtpy 625 E 2012 SNC-Lavalin Kuwait KNPC Mina Al Ahmadi Mina Al Ahmadi Acid Gas Removal 230 MMcfd 400 E 2014 Tecnimont Kuwait KNPC Mina Al Ahmadi Mina Al Ahmadi Acid Gas Removal (2) RE None 400 E 2014 Tecnimont Saudi Arabia Arabian Chlorovinyl Company Al Jubail Al Jubail Caustic Soda 245 Mtpy U 2011 Uhde Daelim |Jacobs Daelim Saudi Arabia Dammam 7 Petrochemicals Jubail Jubail 2 Ind Zone Acrylic acid\acrylates 200 Mtpy S 2014 Aker Solutions Aker Solutions

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REFINING DEVELOPMENTS SPECIALREPORT

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SEPTEMBER 2010 I

29

20 questions: Identify probable causes for high FCC catalyst lossHere is a list to troubleshoot your catalyst problems

P. K. NICCUM, KBR Technology, Houston, Texas

F luid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) performance and reliability are the primary drivers of refinery econom-

ics. Containment of the finely powdered catalyst within the circulating FCC unit inventory is a critical element of effective FCC operation. Identifying the probable causes of high catalyst losses from a FCCU remains one of the more important yet eso-teric challenges that can be faced by FCC operators and engineers. The answers to 20 key questions provide a basis to list the more likely causes of high losses. Armed with this list, a refiner can develop cost-effective mitigation strategies to relieve, if not solve, the problem online or be pre-pared to confirm and correct the situation during the next unit shutdown. This can prevent chasing unlikely solutions, while the real culprits escape detection.

Workhorse unit of the refinery. FCCU performance and reliability do impact refinery economics. Containment and minimizing losses of the finely pow-dered catalyst within the circulating FCC unit inventory is critical. It is remarkable that two-stage reactor and regenerator cyclones, as depicted in Fig. 1, typically capture more than 99.997% of the catalyst dust entrained with the product and flue gas vapors. Any significant loss in the abil-ity to contain the catalyst will have serious negative economic consequences, such as:

• Catalyst contamination of slurry-oil product reducing its value in the market.

• Severe erosion of slurry-circulation pumps

• Required cleaning of heavy oil tanks due to catalyst buildup

• Loss of compliance with permitted atmospheric particulate emissions

• Premature failure of flue gas power recovery turbines

• Loss of catalyst fluidity causes irregu-

lar or unstable catalyst circulation leading to lower FCC unit throughput and less desirable product yields

• Several fold increase in fresh catalyst makeup costs.

After a refinery notices an increase in FCC catalyst loss rate, it may prematurely conclude that the high loss rate must be due to mechanical problems that can only be cured by a unit shutdown and repairs. This scenario can then deepen when no obvious mechanical damage is found dur-ing the shutdown and it becomes apparent that the root cause of the losses can only be diagnosed by gathering clues and studying unit operations while the FCC unit is in service. Indeed, the worst thing that can be found during the shutdown and inspection could be finding nothing at all.

There are three categories of questions that can be asked when gathering clues to determine the most likely cause of high FCC catalyst losses:

• Questions with answers at your fin-gertips

• Questions that should have readily available answers

• Questions whose answers require data or analysis beyond that considered routine.

These listed groupings can provide an order for an investigation, starting with the questions where answers are most eas-ily available, and working down the list toward those requiring more time and costs to answer.

Another complicating factor in FCC catalyst loss investigations, like many trou-bleshooting exercises, is that some of the supposed evidence may be corrupt or just plain wrong. It is up to the investigator to look for what is being indicated by the pre-ponderance of the evidence, and not be drawn into making premature conclusions based on limited data.

First things first: Q1–Q7. If the increased rate of catalyst loss is not severe, the first indication may be the report of higher than expected fresh catalyst additions needed to maintain the unit catalyst inventory. The

Cut-away view of FCC unit.FIG. 1

REFINING DEVELOPMENTSSPECIALREPORT


first order of business is to ascertain which side of the reactor-regenerator system, if not both sides, is responsible for the increased catalyst loss, as listed in Table 1.

Q1: What is the relative rate of catalyst loss in the fractionator bottoms compared to normal? Calculating the catalyst loss rate through the reactor cyclones is normally a straightforward multiplication of the slurry oil production rate times the concentration of ash in the slurry oil product.

Q2: What is the relative stack opac-ity or rate of fines catch compared to normal? An increase in regenerator stack opacity generally indicates an increase in stack catalyst emissions. It is noted that particles with diameters greater than a few microns generally have an increasingly smaller impact on opacity while those with diameters in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 microns have the larger impact on opacity.1,2 The presence of third-stage separators, electro-static precipitators and flue gas scrubbers can obscure the impact of increased regen-erator catalyst losses on stack opacity.3

A concept referred to throughout this article is “What is normal?” Unfortunately, in many cases, this “normal” data may be difficult to obtain as the incentive to docu-ment problems often gets more priority

than collecting data concerning what things look like when all is well.

It is also noteworthy if either the reactor or regenerator loss rate has decreased while losses from the other vessel have increased. With a constant rate of fines input (fresh catalyst) and fines generation by attrition, anything that reduces the fines losses from one vessel will increase the fines concentra-tion in the unit and result in a corresponding increase in fines flowrate from the other ves-sel. For instance, commissioning a catalyst slurry oil filter with recycle back to the riser will increase the loss rate from a regenerator.

The equilibrium catalyst data sheet provides a long-term accounting of many important equilibrium catalyst properties that are useful in diagnosing catalyst loss issues. Chief among these is the particle size data.4

Q3: What is the relative amount of equilibrium catalyst in the 0–40 micron range? An equilibrium catalyst data sheet provides a long-term accounting of many important equilibrium catalyst properties that are useful in diagnosing catalyst loss issues. Chief among these is the particle size data.4 The relative amount of fines in the catalyst inventory is often indicated by the percentage of the catalyst particles

having a diameter less than 40 microns. This parameter provides an indication of whether or not the increased loss rate is due to cyclone malfunction versus an increase in fines generation due to increased attri-tion or a higher loading of fines with the fresh catalyst.

Q4: What is the average equilibrium catalyst APS compared to normal? The change in average particle size (APS) of the equilibrium catalyst generally moves opposite the fraction of fines in the cata-lyst. However, APS can also increase over time due to decreasing equilibrium catalyst withdrawals that traps the largest particles within the circulating catalyst inventory.

Q5: How does the volumetric flowrate of reactor product vapors through the cyclones compare to normal? The volu-metric rate of vapor flowing through the reactor cyclones can be estimated based on the reactor operating temperature and pres-sure together with the hydrocarbon product rate, reactor and stripper steam rates, and an estimate of the hydrocarbon product molecular weight. The rates and molecular weights of any hydrocarbon recycle streams should also be included in the calculations.

Q6: How does the volumetric flowrate of air or flue gas through the regenerator compare to normal? The regenerator air rate together with the regenerator operating temperature and pressure provide an indica-tion of the volumetric vapor traffic through the regenerator and its cyclone system. Even better accuracy can be obtained by calculat-ing the molar rate of the flue gas based on the air rate and flue gas composition.

Q7: How does the catalyst circula-tion rate compare to normal? The most common method of estimating the catalyst circulation rate is based on the regenerator air rate, flue gas analysis, and reactor and regenerator temperatures. For the purpose of catalyst loss troubleshooting, the consis-tency of method is more important than the absolute accuracy of the method.

The next level. As listed in Table 2:Q8: What is the relative rate of cata-

lyst loss from the regenerator compared to normal? On the regenerator side, quan-tification of the catalyst loss rate is best determined over a period of time by sub-tracting the reactor catalyst loss rate from the catalyst addition rate. Careful attention to changes in the unit and catalyst hopper inventories over the same time period is important for the catalyst balance.

Previously, the presence of particulate capture devices downstream of the regen-

TABLE. 1. Questions with answers at your finertips

1. What is the relative rate of catalyst loss in the fractionator bottoms compared to normal?

2. What is the relative stack opacity or rate of fines catch compared to normal?

3. What is the relative amount of equilibrium catalyst in the 0–40 micron range?

4. What is the average equilibrium catalyst APS compared to normal?

5. How does the volumetric flowrate of reactor product vapors through the cyclones compare to normal?

6. How does the volumetric flowrate of air or flue gas through the regenerator compare to normal?

7. How does the catalyst circulation rate compare to normal?

TABLE 2. Questions needing more investigation to resolve

8. What is the relative rate of catalyst loss from the regenerator compared to normal?

9. How does the fresh catalyst makeup rate compare to normal?

10. Are the losses steady or intermittent?

11. When did you last change the type of fresh FCC catalyst?

12. When did the loss increase first occur?

13. How long did it take for the losses to increase from a normal rate?

TABLE 3. More difficult to resolve questions on FCC operations

14. What is the relative angularity of the equilibrium catalyst?

15. What is the relative angularity of lost catalyst?

16. What is the relative APS of the catalyst in the reactor carryover?

17. What is the shape of the differential particle size curve of the catalyst in the reactor carryover?

18. What is the relative APS of the catalysts in the regenerator carryover?

19. What is the shape of the differential particle size curve of the catalysts in the regenerator carryover?

20. How does the cyclone system pressure drop compare to normal?

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erator may obscure the impact of increased regenerator catalyst losses on stack opacity. In these cases, the investigator can review the catalyst catch rate in the post-regenerator flue gas cleanup equipment. For instance, data on the catch rate in a fourth-stage cyclone fines hopper or in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) dust bins can provide more evidence of increased regenerator catalyst loss.

Q9: How does the fresh catalyst makeup rate compare to normal? Docu-mentation of catalyst additions is important for several reasons. Firstly, after accounting for any changes in routine equilibrium cat-alyst withdrawal rates, increasing fresh cata-lyst additions to maintain unit inventory corroborates other indications of increas-ing catalyst losses. Second, increasing the fresh catalyst addition rate generally leads to increased losses due to increased fines input with the fresh catalyst and because the newer catalyst may have surfaces that are more easily abraded.5

Q10: Are the losses steady or intermit-tent? If the increased catalyst losses seem to come and go with time, this is an indica-tion that the problem may be more related to operating conditions than mechanical damage. For instance, the diplegs may be operating close to a flooded condition, where changes in gas rate or catalyst load-ing drastically affect the cyclone efficiency. In a counter-example, if the increased loss rate is due to a hole in a plenum or cyclone outlet tube, then the losses are more likely continuous and increasing.

Q11: When did you last change the type of fresh FCC catalyst? If the type of fresh catalyst has changed in a timeframe that could coincide with the increased cata-lyst losses, the catalyst itself becomes suspect. Similarly, the same is true if the fresh catalyst receipts show significant physical property changes, especially in terms of the fraction of fines, density or Attrition Index.6

Q12: When did the loss increase first occur? It is also worthwhile to consider the date when the increased catalyst losses seemed to begin. Look for coincidences with other significant events in the FCC operation. For instance, did the time of the increased loss rate correspond with a unit turnaround or upset? Equipment damage is more likely to occur during a startup, upset or shutdown. Loss of restriction orifices that can cause an attrition problem more commonly occurs during a turnaround. Were there other significant changes in the operation corresponding to the time of the increase in catalyst losses such as changes in feedrate, combustion air rate, catalyst circulation rate or feedstock quality?

Q13: How long did it take for the losses to increase from a normal rate? If the catalyst loss rate made a step change from normal to a higher value, then this generally indicates that the problem is not an erosion induced hole somewhere in the cyclone system; as the hole size will increase gradually if erosion is to blame.

Harder-to-answer questions. As shown in Table 3, these require sample cap-ture and/or laboratory testing that would be considered non-routine.

Q14: What is the relative angularity of the equilibrium catalyst? As shown in Fig. 2, looking at the sample of the equilib-rium catalyst loss under a microscope can be very revealing. If the sample contains a lot of small, jagged or broken pieces, it indicates an abnormally severe degree of catalyst attrition.7

Q15: What is the relative angular-ity of lost catalyst? Generally speaking, samples of catalyst lost from the reactor are readily available from a sampling of the slurry oil product or circulating slurry oil. The slurry oil can be washed and fil-tered in a laboratory, and the captured

catalyst can be viewed under a micro-scope. If available, samples of catalyst lost from the regenerator can be viewed under a microscope. The microscope can reveal whether the sample contains a high concentration of small, jagged or broken pieces indicating an abnormally severe degree of catalyst attrition.

Q16: What is the relative APS of the catalyst in the reactor carryover? Catalyst taken from the slurry oil can be subjected to the all important particle size analysis. For a given rate of fines input and fines generation within the unit, material bal-ance considerations dictate that the APS of the lost catalyst must increase as the loss rate increases. The image from the micro-scope can corroborate the particle size analysis by showing more than an expected fraction of larger particles and even very large particles that would never escape a properly functioning cyclone system.

• If the APS of the lost catalyst is smaller than normal, and if the loss rate is higher than normal, then that would indicate an increased degree of fines input or increased catalyst attrition.

• Moderately increasing APS would indicate some loss of cyclone efficiency; if the loss rate is higher than normal or a reduction in fines input or attrition if the loss rate is less than normal.

• Moderately increasing APS indicates a reduction in fines input or attrition if the loss rate is less than normal.

• A large increase in APS indicatesa major cyclone malfunction or serious damage.

Q17: What is the shape of the differ-ential particle size curve of the catalyst in the reactor carryover? The particle size analysis of a loss sample can also be reported as differential particle size distribution, indicating the fraction of particles falling in narrow size ranges. This is a different pre-

Microscopic view of FCC catalyst. FIG. 2

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10

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Particle size, microns

Perc

ent,

%

Typical PSDPoor second-stage

cyclone performance

Reduced system efficiency. FIG. 3

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sentation than a cumulative particle size dis-tribution displaying the weigh percentage of particles having less than a given diameter.8 The shape of the differential particle size distribution curve can be insightful:

• If the curve has only a single broad peak centered about a higher than normal particle size, as shown in Fig. 3, this could indicate a partial loss of cyclone efficiency but not complete bypassing of solids.

• A bimodal curve having a peak near that considered normal, as well as a second-ary peak at a lower than normal particle size as shown in Fig. 4, may indicate a catalyst attrition problem.

• Some bypassing of material around the cyclones altogether would occur with a breached plenum chamber or a hole in a secondary cyclone outlet tube, as shown in Fig. 5. This would exhibit itself with a bimodal curve having peaks near that con-sidered normal, as well as a secondary peak at a higher than normal particle size.

Q18: What is the relative APS of the catalysts in the regenerator carryover? Collecting a representative sample of catalyst lost from the regenerator is less straightfor-ward than the collection of fines from slurry

oil. Ideally, a dust sample can be collected from the regenerator effluent, and the results can be analyzed as previously discussed with respect to catalyst separated from slurry oil. If dust collection equipment exists down-stream of the regenerator, such as a scrub-ber, ESP or TSS, the fines catch can also be analyzed and used in the investigation.

Q19: What is the shape of the differ-ential particle size curve of the catalysts in the regenerator carryover? If a dust sample from the regenerator effluent can be obtained, the results can be analyzed as previously discussed with respect to catalyst separated from slurry oil.

Q20: How does the cyclone system pressure drop compare to normal? Some FCC units are instrumented with differen-tial pressure measurements across the ves-sel disengaging space and the vapor outlet. This provides an indication of the pres-sure drop through the cyclone system and it will indicate whether there has been a significant change in the catalyst or vapor loadings of the cyclones.

Once answers to many of the 20 questions are available, these answers can be analyzed for fit with the characteristics of the problems described below to establish the more likely causes of the catalyst loss problem.

Possible FCC catalyst losses. More common causes of high catalyst losses are:

Excessive attrition in a fluid bed. Cat-alyst attrition in a fluid bed is caused by catalyst particles colliding at high velocity with other particles or solid surfaces. The high particle velocities in a fluid bed are chiefly the result of particle acceleration driven by high-velocity gas jets within the fluid bed. The focus of an investigation into the source of excessive catalyst attrition can include looking for these problems:

• Missing restriction orifices or open orifice bypasses associated with pressure

taps, torch oil nozzles, and other vessel connections intended to pass only a small amount of gas, air or steam.

• High-velocity gas jets can also emanate from broken or eroded steam or air distrib-utors where gas escapes without traveling through a velocity reducing nozzle typically used in the design of such distributors.

A high fines concentration in the lost catalyst; high fines content in the catalyst inventory; and splintered, broken and jagged particles as viewed with a microscope, all are indicative of a catalyst attrition problem.

Excessive reactor or regenerator dilute phase attrition. Since there is little catalyst in a dilute phase, by definition, high attri-tion rates in this region are likely associ-ated with particle impacts on solid surfaces within the cyclones, especially cyclones with high exit velocities.

• The nature of the solid surfaces can also play a role in catalyst attrition with badly damaged refractory or unusually rough refractory surfaces providing more opportunity for abrupt impact of the trav-elling catalyst.

Plugged reactor secondary cyclone dipleg. Secondary cyclone dipleg plugging is much more common than the plugging of primary cyclone diplegs. The reason is smaller diameter diplegs. The plugging of a second-stage reactor cyclone dipleg often calls for an immediate shutdown of the FCC unit due to high catalyst losses.

• Coke can form in a reactor cyclone and then fall into the dipleg, causing a full or partial plug.9

• If feed is introduced into the reac-tor before the internals are sufficiently heated, such as can happen during startup or upsets, then large amounts of coke can appear wherever feedstock can condense.

• Some cyclones have check valves on the dipleg. Anything that can cause the flapper to stick or be held closed, includ-

Attrition

0123456789

10


Perc

ent,

%

Bi-modal distribution indicating an attrition problem. FIG. 4

Hole or crack in outlettube or plenum

0123456789

10


Perc

ent,

%

Bi-modal distribution indicating cyclone bypass. FIG. 5

What can be done to correct a plugged reactor cyclone dipleg online?

• Lower the stripper bed level to unseal the diplegs.

• Pressure bump the unit by changing the vessel operating pressure rapidly, say 4 psi in 15 seconds.

What can be done to correct an attrition problem online?

• Locate and correct any missing orifices or valve openings.



35

ing design problems or hinge coking, will provide an effectively plugged dipleg.

• Failures of the cyclone hexsteel attachments to the cyclone interior shell can release sheets of hexsteel and refrac-tory sufficiently large enough to plug even large diameter diplegs. Such failures can be attributed to poor hexsteel design or instal-lation as well as coke induced refractory anchor failure.10

Plugged reactor primary cyclone dipleg. The causes of primary reactor cyclone dipleg plugging are the same as those given for the plugging of reactor secondary cyclone diplegs. Plugging of reactor primary cyclone diplegs is rela-tively uncommon due to the large dipleg diameters normally associated with primary cyclones. If a primary cyclone dipleg does become plugged, and if the vapor outlet is associated with a secondary cyclone, as is common, the catalyst loading to the sec-ondary cyclone may exceed the capacity of the secondary cyclone dipleg. In this event, the secondary cyclone will become flooded with catalyst, and full-range catalyst will begin flowing at a high rate from the sec-ondary cyclone outlet.

Plugged regenerator cyclone diplegs. Plugging of regenerator cyclone diplegs has similar causes and effects to those encoun-tered with respect to the reactor cyclones, but plugging of regenerator cyclone diplegs is less common. In the regenerator, the cok-ing phenomenon that is at the root of most reactor cyclone plugging problems does not exist. There are, however, some situations peculiar to the regenerator cyclones:

• A phenomenon unique to regenerator secondary cyclone diplegs is that the almost extinct use of spray water in the regenerator primary cyclone outlets can lead to the for-mation of wet catalyst in dipleg, preventing catalyst flow.

• Regenerator upsets, such as a sud-den drop in pressure or the activation of emergency spent catalyst riser lift steam, can precipitate a large catalyst carryover that may persist even after the disturbance is gone. This has been explained by not-ing that defluidized solids will drain from a cyclone much more slowly than fluidized solids. So much catalyst can be thrown into the cyclones that it defluidizes before it can get into the dipleg. Then, even at normal entrainment, the catalyst will not drain out of the cyclone fast enough to eliminate the packed catalyst level in the cyclone.11

Holes in plenum or second-stage cyclone outlet tube. A hole in a plenum or secondary cyclone outlet tube, as shown

in Fig. 6 provides a direct path for cata-lyst escape, bypassing the cyclone system, and allowing even large catalyst particles to show up in the main fractionator bottoms or flue gas system. Even a 10-mm hole can increase the catalyst losses several fold. In time, the passage of high velocity catalyst through the hole will increase the hole size, and the catalyst losses will intensify.

• Holes often start as cracks or tears in the metal; in time, they grow due to the erosive effects of the catalyst flow. If the catalyst loss problem is not yet severe, a unit inspection may have difficulty finding the cracks, as the cracks may tend to close as the unit cools.

• The impact of a hole in the out-let tube or plenum of a reactor with riser cyclones will be less than with an inertial riser termination device because there will be little catalyst in the dilute phase that can be sucked into the hole.

Holes in a second-stage cyclone. Holes in a secondary cyclone (or a single stage cyclone), including holes in the cyclone dipleg, will have serious consequences on catalyst containment. The rate of perfor-mance deterioration will be controlled by how quickly the hole enlarges due to ero-sion. Holes in the dipleg allow the vapor flow into and up the dipleg. This can restrict the ability of catalyst to flow down the dipleg. If the hole is in the cyclone body,

then the incoming vapor jet can disrupt the desired vapor profile in the cyclone, damag-ing the collection efficiency.

Holes in first-stage cyclone. Holes in primary cyclones are not as common due to the lower velocities in primary cyclones. The catalyst loss impact from a hole in a primary cyclone will be much less severe compared to a hole in a secondary cyclone, because the secondary cyclone will catch almost all the catalyst lost from the primary cyclone. In fact, it may be difficult to even notice the increased catalyst loss associated with a hole in a primary cyclone.

Stuck open or missing flapper in first-stage cyclone. Most first stage cyclones are submerged in a fluid bed and do not have or need check valves because the catalyst traffic is sufficiently high enough that gas does not force itself up the dipleg. Some-times check valves, as shown in Fig. 7, are included to limit losses during startup when the diplegs are not submerged. In these cases, a stuck-open flapper will be of little consequence during normal operations.

In some cases, due to the unit geom-etry or technical preference, the primary cyclones can be designed to discharge above the bed. In these cases, assum-ing the cyclone is not a positive pressure riser cyclone, a properly functioning valve is required. The consequences of a valve that is stuck open would be a major loss of

What can be done online to correct a plugged regenerator cyclone dipleg?

• Pressure bump the unit by changing the vessel operating pressure rapidly, say, 4 psi in 15 seconds

• Partially unload the catalyst and then return to a normal operating level. • Following a cyclone overload, sometimes normal operation can be restored

by reducing the air rate to a very low level for several minutes so that overfilled cyclone hoppers can drain the defluidized catalyst.

Two-stage regenerator cyclone system.

FIG. 6 Cyclone dipleg check valve. FIG. 7


36

cyclone efficiency, increasing the loading to the secondary cyclones and increasing the catalyst losses from the unit.

Stuck open or missing flapper in sec-ond-stage cyclone. A flapper that is stuck open or missing may not affect the cyclone performance if the dipleg is submerged suf-ficiently in a well-fluidized bed. If the bed fluidization is erratic, then the losses may increase due to unsteady catalyst flow down the dipleg or due to gas bypassing up the dipleg. If the secondary cyclone dipleg is not

submerged into the fluid bed, a stuck open or missing flapper turns the dipleg into a vac-uum tube sucking vapors into the cyclone; destroying the cyclone efficiency. A detached dipleg would have similar consequences.

Reactor cyclone overload. A reactor cyclone system can become overloaded if the catalyst or vapor traffic exceeds the design hydraulic capability of the cyclone system. The cyclone system pressure drop increases with both catalyst and vapor load-ing. As the pressure drop increases, the cata-

lyst in the dipleg must backup to a higher elevation, as shown in Fig. 8, to provide enough static head to force the catalyst out of the dipleg. When the catalyst height in the dipleg reaches the dipleg top, the swirl-ing vapors in the bottom of the cyclone will reentrain the catalyst and drastically reduce cyclone collection efficiency. This situation is referred to as “cyclone flooding.” Increas-ing reactor vapor traffic beyond the cyclone dipleg hydraulic limit can occur by operat-ing at an increased feedrate, higher conver-sion, and reduced operating pressure.

• Catalyst loss can be intermittent when cyclone dipleg hydraulic limitations are the issue.

• When operating near the cyclone dipleg hydraulic limit, even a small increase

What can be done to correct a cyclone design issue online?

• Nothing, but try to rule out the other possible causes before shutting down.

• Adjust operating conditions to minimize losses until design modifications are possible.

Catalyst bed level

Dipleg catalyst level

First-stage cyclone

Second-stagecyclone

Cyclone hydraulic balance. FIG. 8

What can be done to correct a stuck open or detached check valve online?

• It may be possible to reduce catalyst losses by raising the bed level to seal the dipleg.

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37

in catalyst circulation or vapor rate can result in increased catalyst losses.

• Dipleg sizing is rarely a limitation dur-ing normal operations, but if the regenera-tor temperature falls to very low levels while maintaining riser outlet temperature, the catalyst circulation will increase. At extreme conditions, the reactor cyclone dipleg can restrict the flow of catalyst.

Regenerator cyclone overload. A regenerator cyclone system can also become overloaded when catalyst and vapor traf-fic exceed the hydraulic capability of the cyclone system:

• Catalyst loss can be intermittent when cyclone dipleg hydraulic limitations are the issue. In some cases, the flue gas stack can appear to be puffing.

• Increasing vapor traffic beyond the cyclone dipleg hydraulic limit can occur by operating at increased regenerator air rate, higher temperature and reduced operating pressure.

• Catalyst overload in regenerator cyclones can occur for the same reasons as vapor overload because the catalyst entrainment rate to regenerator cyclones, as shown in Fig. 9, is a function of regen-erator superficial vapor velocity.12

Poor efficiency—Cyclone design. The suspicion of a poor efficiency cyclone design will typically be raised only after the instal-lation of a new set of cyclones. Poor reactor cyclone efficiency due to coke formation within the cyclone has also been reported.9

Having said this, it would be a charac-teristic of a low efficiency cyclone design to exhibit a rather large average catalyst par-ticle size in the lost catalyst. Also, the differ-ential particle size analysis curve would have only a single peak as opposed to a bi-modal peak associated with a damaged cyclone. A low concentration of fines in the circulating inventory would also be characteristic of low cyclone system efficiency.

Poor efficiency—Regenerator design. It would be a characteristic of a low-effi-

ciency regenerator design to lack sufficient height or diameter to effectively disengage the catalyst rising from the fluid bed. Such a regenerator would exhibit a rather large average catalyst particle size in the lost cata-lyst while the differential particle size analy-sis curve would have only a single peak as opposed to a bi-modal peak associated with a damaged cyclone. A low concentration of fines in the inventory would also be char-acteristic of a low-efficiency regenerator design. The quality of the bed fluidization may also affect the catalyst entrainment rate and cyclone operability:

• Defluidized sections of the bed may inhibit flow from the submerged diplegs.

• Spouting spent catalyst risers can throw more catalyst up to the cyclones.

• Specially designed baffles placed within the bed have been observed to reduce catalyst entrainment.13

Fresh catalyst too soft. Soft FCC cata-lyst is one that inherently suffers from a higher than average attrition rate when subjected to the rigors of circulation in the FCC unit. The softness of a catalyst is the opposite of its hardness, a parameter defined by the catalyst manufacturers as an Attrition Index.5 This index is based on a laboratory simulation of FCC catalyst attrition relying on the punishment of a laboratory sample with a high-velocity gas jet at defined standard conditions.

• Catalyst manufacturers offer varying degrees of catalyst hardness. Soft catalyst is rarely an explanation for a catalyst loss problem today.

• Catalyst that is too soft will manifest itself as higher catalyst losses from both the reactor and regenerator and higher than normal equilibrium catalyst fines content.

Fresh catalyst—High 0–40 micron content. A fresh catalyst with a high 0–40 micron content is one that is shipped with a larger than typical fraction of particles hav-ing diameters less than 40 microns. Cata-lyst with this character will lose a higher

percentage of their mass from the inventory shortly after being loaded into the unit.

Fresh catalyst—High addition rate. FCC unit catalyst losses have a definite cor-relation with the rate of fresh catalyst addi-tions because increasing fresh catalyst addi-tion rate increases fines input and because the fresh catalyst may have fragile edges that are lost more easily when the catalyst is first introduced into the unit.

• Higher catalyst losses are an expected, normal result of increasing fresh catalyst addition rate.

Increased reactor fines retention. Whenever changes occur that limit the abil-ity of fines to escape from a reactor system, the fines will find their way out of the unit via a different avenues, which are limited to the regenerator cyclones and increased catalyst withdrawals. Examples of changes that increase reactor catalyst retention are:

• Recycle of fines from the fractionator bottoms back to the FCC reactor via con-ventional slurry oil recycle system or a slurry-oil filter system.

• Installation of new reactor cyclones having a higher design efficiency.

Increased regenerator fines retention. If the catalyst fines cannot get out through the regenerator, they will be forced to exit the unit through the reactor. Examples of changes that increase regenerator catalyst retention are:

• Recycle of fines from an electrostatic precipitator or third-stage separator back to the regenerator.

What can be done to correct a dipleg hydraulic problem online?

• Reduce dipleg submergence by lowering the catalyst bed level

• Lower vapor and/or catalyst circulation rates.

• Increase operating pressure.

What can be done to correct catalyst-induced loss problem online?

Sometimes refiners purposely add fresh catalyst with high fines content, low density, lower Attrition Index, or just an increase in fresh catalyst makeup rate to improve the fluidity of the catalyst inventory. With that in mind, consider:

• Ordering fresh catalyst with lower agreed limits on 0–40 micron particle content.

• Changing to a catalyst with higher particle density or one with increased attrition resistance.

• Reducing the fresh catalyst makeup rate.

Ve = Effective superficial vapor velocity, fpsp = Particle density, lb/ft3

g = Gas density, lb/ft3

e = Entrainment, lb cat/ft3 vapor

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02V e/

p

0.011 10 20 3098765

e/ g

2 43

Catalyst entrainment correlation.FIG. 9


38

• Installation of new regenerator cyclones having a higher design efficiency

• Feed contaminants and regenerator operating conditions that lead to sticky catalyst within the regenerator.

In the presence of high levels of fluxing agents such as sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorides or vanadium that can be intro-duced with contaminated feedstock, and especially at high temperatures, the catalyst can become sticky. These fluxing agents can form low melting eutectics with the

catalyst at temperatures as low as 930°F to 1,200°F.5

There will be times that even with thoughtful consideration of the answers to the 20 questions, and even after unit shutdowns and inspections, the cause of high FCC catalyst losses will remain elu-sive. However, FCC product economics, reliability and environmental concerns may compel refiners to resort to extraor-dinary tactics for finding the source of the high losses.

Extraordinary measures. A number of more costly and time-consuming options in searching for the root cause of high cata-lyst losses include:

• Cold-flow modeling• Radioactive tracers and gamma ray

scans• Cyclone pressure testing• Computational fluid dynamic simula-

tions. The road to the conclusion of an investi-

gation into the cause of high catalyst losses may prove to be long and arduous. How-ever, if the investigation stays the course, the road will usually lead to success. HP

LITERATURE CITED 1 Ensor D. S., and M. J. Pilat, “Calculation of Smoke Plume Opacity from Particulate Air Pollutant Properties,” 63rd Annual Meeting of the Air Pollution Control Association, St. Louis, Missouri, June 14–18, 1970. 2 McClung, R. G., “Effect of FCC Catalyst Fines Particle Distribution on Stack Opacity,” The Catalyst Report, Engelhard Corp., 1994. 3 Niccum, P. K., E. Gbordzoe and S. Lang, “FCC Emission Options,” NPRA Annual Meeting, March 2002, San Antonio. 4 Montgomery, J. A., “More about Davison’s Equilibrium Fluid Cracking Catalyst Analysis Program,” Davison Catalagram, No. 63, Davison Chemical Division, W. R. Grace & Co., 1981. 5 Linden, D. H., “Catalyst Deposition in FCC Power Recovery Systems,” Katalistiks’ 7th Annual Fluid Cat Cracking Symposium, Venice, Italy, May 12–13, 1986. 6 Weeks, S. A. and P. Dumbill, “Method speeds FCC catalyst attrition resistance determinations,” Oil & Gas Journal, April 16, 1990, pp. 38–40. 7 Zhou, F., C. Liu, J. Liu and S. Shu, “Use micro- graphs to diagnose FCC operations,” Hydrocarbon Processing, March 2006. 8 Fletcher, R., “Stepwise method determines source of FCC catalyst losses,” OGJ, Aug. 28, 1995. 9 McPherson, L. J., “Causes of FCC Reactor Coke Deposits Identified,” OGJ, Sept. 10, 1984. 10 Session II.A-Fluid Catalytic Cracking, Mechanical Question 6, NPRA Q&A Session on Refining and Petrochemical Technology, 1994. 11 Zenz, F. A. and D. F. Othmer, Fluidization and Fluid-Particle Systems, Reinhold Publishing Co., New York, 1960. 12 Giuricich, N. L. and B. Kalen, “Dominant Criteria in FCC Cyclone Design,” Katalistiks’ 3rd Annual Fluid Cat Cracking Symposium, May 26–27, 1982, Marriot Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 13 Miller, R. B., Y-Lin Yang, T. E. Johnson, S. J. McCarthy and K. W. Schatz, “REGENMAX™ Technology: Staged Combustion in a Single Regenerator,” NPRA Annul Meeting, March 1999, San Antonio.

Phillip Niccum joined KBR’s fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) team in 1989. He has held various FCC-related positions at KBR including process manager, chief tech-nology engineer of FCC, and is currently director of FCC Technology for KBR’s Technology business unit. Following graduation from California State Polytechnic University with a degree in chemical engineering in 1980, he began his career in the Central Engineering Department at Tex-aco USA headquarters, where he provided design and technical assistance to Texaco FCC units worldwide.




Consider high-impact constructability issues for refineries Upfront investment has a positive effect on project execution

R. CARTER, Fluor Constructors International, Sugar Land, Texas

Simply put, construction is the merging of information, material and labor. The construction goal is to create a

product that operates at or above the speci-fication; a product built without any health, safety or environmental incidents; and a product with the highest-level of quality, meeting time and budget parameters.

In refinery construction, especially operating refineries, it is challenging to bring all these factors together to create the perfect project. However, a successful project should always be the goal. History states that a good project start creates a better chance of achiev-ing success than a rough start. The article will focus on the events leading up to construc-tion and why these events are so important to the goal of a successful project.

Any project, regardless of size or com-plexity, should start with preconstruction planning or constructability. The Construc-tion Industry Institute (CII) states that the greatest opportunity for project and con-struction savings comes early in the project life cycle. The opportunity to influence cost can start as early as the conceptual planning phase and it diminishes as the project flows through front end engineering and design (FEED), detailed engineering, procurement and ultimately field execution, commission-ing and startup.

Why constructability? Effectively uti-lizing construction knowledge and experi-ence are key elements in the process and planning of how a project is built. As men-tioned, CII studies indicate that cost sav-ings associated with a project are in direct proportion to the project phase in which constructability is initiated. The earlier con-structability is implemented on a project, the greater the savings. Projects that fully implement the constructability process can see a 10:1 benefit-to-cost ratio.

Successful projects—regardless of their total cost, site location, owner, industry type, or project schedule—utilize influen-tial constructability goals. A summary of some of the highest impact, most reward-ing goals is presented here along with their expected impact on a project.

Safety in design and execution. The single most important task on a project is to ensure that all team members work safely in the office and at the site. Addition-ally, design elements should be finalized after consideration is made for safe assem-bly and operations of the subject facility. Key considerations should include protec-tion from falls, minimization of trenching and excavation, risk analysis of heavy-lift activities, pre-assembly and modulariza-tion, as well as numerous other safety issues and concerns. Many of these issues are complex, but some are as simple as pre-punching steel columns for fall-protection static lines and the scheduling of heavy lifts on weekends when manpower and conges-tion are at a minimum. It is every project team member’s responsibility to reduce and eliminate accidents. As such, the most important element of the project execution plan is the safety plan.

Input—not review. Constructability facilitates the integration of engineering, procurement and construction goals and objectives. Site input saves time and money, and it more effectively integrates a project’s goals and objectives. Concurrent engineer-ing and site management, and modulariza-tion and other fast-track project techniques do not allow time for multiple “reviews.” It benefits everyone concerned when design and procurement is right the first time. Plot plans require site input early on to maxi-mize construction equipment utilization,

interference studies, erection sequencing and facilities layout. If construction has to “review” a plan and is not able to provide input to that plan, then the benefit of the “review” is severely limited.

Onsite productivity improvement. Clients also look for significant opportu-nities to increase productivity onsite. This concept can include integrating technology use, decreasing the number of staff and craft, improving workforce-density relationships, advancing methods and materials, promot-ing the performance of work offsite in less congested and unsafe areas, working at grade level, pre-assembly, as well as numer-ous other techniques and applications.

Site productivity starts as early as the design of temporary facilities and the plan to move the workforce from point to point. Work in existing facilities is especially chal-lenging due to space limitations, permit requirements and blast-zone effects. Get-ting craft resources to the point of work and then keeping them fully engaged has a tremendous effect on productivity. This is as important in greenfield construction as it is in revamp work or work in any kind of operating facility.

Work smarter, not harder. Simplic-ity is a bargain for everyone involved in a project. Examples include plot plan layouts to material acquisition and tracking, and single-source and alliance vendors offering competitively priced, quality products, sup-port and service. Innovative construction techniques such as modularization, sub- and pre-assembly of piping and equipment skids and modules, premanufactured form-ing systems, modular scaffolding systems and welding processes that are automatic or semi-automatic all contribute to simplicity of construction and enhanced productivity.


40

Uniformity of material types and specifica-tions are less cost prohibitive if applied cor-rectly. Value-engineering reviews can offer simplified scope enhancements. As an exam-ple, consider systems running with “off-the-shelf ” pumps instead of “owner-specified” models that cost thousands of dollars more.

Know your labor and its cost. Plan-ning and coordination will be lost if an ade-quate, well-trained and motivated workforce is not available. Understand the source and

cost of your labor, regardless of the supply and execution strategy. Execution can be direct-hire labor, through multiple sub-contractors providing the labor, or through labor brokers. Along with labor availability, you must also fully understand its cost. As an example, what comes with direct labor costs? Are there incentives that need to be paid for broker fees, travel expenses, per diems, building construction camps, bonuses, requirements for overtime payments, shift differentials and various other benefits? As

an example, you’ve estimated an appropriate cost of labor including wages, fringe benefits, payroll taxes and insurance, only to discover that the labor will not come to your site without the incentive of daily subsistence.

This cost should be researched and iden-tified during the bid stage, and then verified during the preconstruction phase. You must have a clear understanding of all these costs to bid and execute the project successfully.

Standardize materials and fabri-cation details. Constant review of cli-ent standard details and specifications for material and fabrication will result in cost and productivity improvement. Examples include using “sonotube” for installing con-crete piers, pre-assembly of concrete catch basins and manholes, using precast founda-tions, and using consolidated bulk materi-als such as gaskets and stud-bolts.

Some projects have saved significant cost by utilizing single sizes and specifications for reinforcing steel and concrete, so that the cost was minimized in the design, pro-curement and construction for a single ele-ment. As an example of commitment to this philosophy, contractors should subscribe to the process industry practices (PIPs) that are intended to standardize the practices and standards across individual companies throughout the process industry.

Utilize automated systems. The industry has many automation tools that integrate proprietary software solutions with commercial software configured to enhance the engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance of capital projects. For the wide variety of industries served, these tools enhance the ability to execute projects on schedule, within budget and with operational excellence.

Contractors should work with outside resources, including leading industry insti-tutes and university research programs, in developing technology applications that manage resources, tasks and priorities across the project life. As an example, automation tools exist that track material from delivery through warehousing, installation, testing and turnover to the client. Contractors must implement automation tools that site per-sonnel can access and use with ease. These tools improve communication and efficiently collect, store and share accurate data.

The latest wave of three-dimensional (3D) modeling tools integrates multiple databases to provide customers with real-time, walk-through simulations before and during project execution. These tools help

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customers identify potential problems; link them to project progress information such as equipment installation and mate-rial availability; generate “what if ” scenar-ios when deviations occur in scheduling, sequencing, material delivery and planning; and document construction completion.

Minimize excavations. Excavations for underground pipe and electrical systems can cause large-scale disruptions to produc-tivity and safety planning. Underground plans should be carefully developed and sequenced if a significant portion of any site is impacted by excavation, or if the critical path of a schedule falls on underground work. Site methods should be employed to minimize the excavation amount and the time that trenches are left open. This is a perfect example of the merging of informa-tion, material and labor. Trenches should not be opened until all three are readily available. All safety precautions should also be used. Some considerations are:

• Using competent person requirement

• Using barricades• Using trench boxes (when required)• Keeping trenches clean and dry

• Ensuring the integrity of adjacent foundations

• Using common trenches• Use straight runs and pre-assembly• Use flowable backfill where applicable.

Pre-assemble and modularize. Most projects can benefit from taking a “known” scope of work offsite and producing that same work with better tools, possibly a per-manent and more productive workforce, bet-ter conditions (shop, weather, craft support), and closer supplies and vendors, etc. By fully applying pre-assembly concepts and prin-ciples, significant cost reductions have been seen. As an example of pre-assembly, many vertical vessels can be insulated at grade and fitted with piping, ladders and platforms, as well as electrical components and instrumen-tation, before being erected without impact-ing a crane’s safe operating capacity. Other examples are the prefabrication of equip-ment and piping skids, either offsite or preas-sembled onsite to reduce congestion.

Minimize scope in operating units. Productivity and safety concerns are heightened while performing any work inside or near an operating facility or unit.

Permitting, access, training and material management are significantly more diffi-cult to plan, manage and coordinate. As an example, hot work, such as grinding, welding or cutting, is more difficult, if not entirely out of the question, without a shut-down in some units. Reduction of piping tie-ins is always a benefit, if possible. To maximize productivity in operating units, blast-proof or blast-resistant structures for temporary facilities may need to be utilized to keep the craft workforce in the work area. Having to leave the work area to clear the blast zone for breaks and meal periods has a direct, negative effect on productivity.

Completion and turnover of systems. Clients insist that contractors complete and turn over plant systems and material in an orderly fashion, with docu-mentation and in the proper sequence for startup. It does not make sense to turn over primary process systems if the utilities or conveying systems are not in place to sup-port them.

Essential elements of a proper turnover plan include: early definition of, and assign-ment of, responsibilities for systems identifi-cation, sequencing, mechanical completion, testing and check-out, precommissioning, commissioning, startup and documentation requirements. A comprehensive startup and commissioning program should be in place shortly after the civil phase of the project begins. Knowing how the systems need to be turned over and started up will influence the project’s planning and execution phases.

Conclusion and implementa-tion. Constructability challenges compa-nies (owners and contractors alike) to go beyond their conventional approach to project execution by expanding front-end planning. Refinery construction is complex, inherently dangerous and subject to many changes. As a result, an upfront investment in constructability will undoubtedly have a positive effect on project execution. By applying construction knowledge and best practices in the early stages of a project, opti-mal financial impact will be achieved. HP

Ric Carter is president of Fluor Constructors International, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Fluor Corporation. Mr. Carter is a 27-year veteran of Fluor and has 38 years of

industry experience. During those years he has par-ticipated in construction projects across most business lines including power, energy and chemicals, industrial and infrastructure, governmental and maintenance and modification in numerous industries.


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Bottomless refinery: Improve refinery economics Integrating gasification process with residue upgrading can produce high-value multiproduct streams while decreasing total refinery emissions

P. McKENNA and F. SHEIKH, GE Energy, Houston, Texas

Today’s global refining environment is very competitive, facing low mar-gins and increasingly more stringent

environmental standards. Residual fuel oil surpluses are emerging in places where there is a rising demand for transportation fuels and a lack of deep processing of the oil barrel. In addition, low-cost natural gas is increasingly displacing fuel oil for power generation. The recent MARPOL emis-sions regulations on bunker fuel will fur-ther deteriorate the supply-demand balance over residual fuel oil with negative implica-tions for refining margins, particularly for hydroskimming configurations.

Refiners can address this challenge by upgrading process residue with conversion processes to meet the increasing demand for transportation fuels. However, these upgrading processes leave behind a more contaminated residue with sulfur and met-als that are difficult to remove. Additionally, the residue also requires more cutter stock to meet viscosity and emissions standards. Disposal of the bottom residue poses an economical and environmental challenge to the refiner.

New gasification technology can be used to help mitigate these challenges; gasifica-tion can be applied to process the leftover residue and produce additional hydrogen supplies needed for desulfurization and conversion operations. Sulfur and metal contaminants can be scrubbed, signifi-cantly reducing the refinery emissions. Any remaining residue can be used to generate power and steam, through an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) pro-cess, resulting in a bottomless refinery.

Alternatively, remaining residue can also be used to produce liquid fuels for blend-ing or chemicals for industrial applications. Further, the gasification plant can be con-

figured to capture carbon on a pre-com-bustion basis to meet possible future green-house gas (GHG) regulations (Fig. 1).

Traditional refinery. A hydroskim-ming refinery (Fig. 2) consists of an atmo-spheric crude distillation unit (CDU), which separates the oil into product frac-tions—liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, gasoline, kerosine/diesel, gasoil (GO) and residue. These product frac-tions are treated for sulfur removal in a hydrotreating unit to meet local regula-tions on clean fuels. Hydrogen is consumed in the hydrotreating unit, combining with sulfur to form hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is converted to elemental sulfur in the Claus unit.

The hydroskimming refinery also has a catalytic reformer unit that produces aromatics for blending in gasoline to increase octane. The reformer is a major source of hydrogen production for the refinery. Desulfurized GO or light distillates are blended in the residue to meet the viscosity and emissions standards required for fuel oil as saleable product (380 CST Bunker, No. 6 fuel oil, M100), thus negatively impacting the refining margins.

The product fractions and hydrogen demand are dependent on the °API and sulfur content of the feed crude oil. Over-all, a hydroskimming refinery is generally short on hydrogen and long on residue products. Incremental hydrogen demand is often met by an onsite steam methane reformer or purchased over the fence. Hydrogen demand is increasing with ever more stringent regulations on clean fuels. Additionally, as the hydroskimming refiner upgrades and increases conversion level, (i.e., decreases residue production), hydro-gen demand will increase further.

A hydroskimming refiner will typically add a vacuum distillation unit (VDU) as a first step to upgrade the refinery. Vacuum distillation allows some lighter fractions, such as GO, to be separated from residue without the need for high temperatures that result in thermal cracking. The vacuum res-idue (VR) is blended with desulfurized GO or light distillates as cutter stock to meet the local fuel oil specifications for viscos-ity and emissions. The refiner can go for deeper processing of VR to further decrease fuel oil production with these options:

• Visbreaker is a mild thermal crack-ing process that produces lighter products and tar

• Solvent deasphalting is an extraction process that separates the lighter fractions (deasphalted oil) from the asphaltenes

• Delayed coking unit is a deep ther-mal cracking process that produces lighter products and petroleum coke.

The Sarlux S.r.l. Refinery polygeneration plant operated by SARAS S.p.A. , has been gasifying refinery residuals using gasification technology since 2001. With a power block of three syngas turbines, the plant, located in Sardinia, produces 500 MW of power, plus steam and hydrogen for the refinery.

FIG. 1



GO or deasphalted oil (DAO) can be further processed in a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) or hydrocracker to increase yield of transportation fuels. Metals, sulfur and other contaminants are generally concentrated in the residual frac-tion. Thus, the bottoms from the processes described here—tar, asphalt and coke—have higher contamination levels than the feed. Disposal of the bottoms becomes an environmental challenge.

Gasification. As the refinery upgrades, a phased approach to gasification can be applied. Gasification solutions can be implemented starting with the atmospheric

residue (Phase 1). Gasification will use the residue and produce valuable hydrogen for desulfurization, decreasing the net residue production. This will enable the refinery to upgrade high-sulfur fuel oil into low-sulfur fuel oil, increasing refining margins.

When the refiner adds a VDU, the gasification solution for the atmospheric residue can be applied for VR (Phase 2) with some configuration changes (Fig. 2). Finally, when the refiner adds deep process-ing units—visbreaker (VB), solvent deas-phalting (SDA) or delayed coker (DCU)—the ultimate goal of bottomless refinery will be achieved. The same gasification solution from Phase 1, with some design changes,

can be applied for VB and SDA, since these are liquid bottoms. If a DCU is selected, a solids gasifier will be needed.

The major building blocks of a gasifica-tion plant are:

• Air separation unit (ASU)• Gasification island• Shift and cooling• Acid gas removal (AGR)• Pressure swing adsorption (PSA)• Power island.The gasification plant is configured

to integrate seamlessly with the refining processes to meet hydrogen and power demand. Planning the integration process and reducing the need for feedstock storage can save capital cost.

Partial oxidation. An entrained-flow-quench gasifier design is used for the partial oxidation of refinery bottoms. Feed and oxygen are introduced separately through the feed injector and mix in the gasifier chamber. Water or steam is used as a mod-erating agent to maintain the gasifier tem-perature below a certain limit, but above the ash-fusion temperature (Fig. 3).

The resulting partial oxidation reactions produce syngas composed of mostly hydro-gen and carbon monoxide (CO), preserv-ing most of the chemical energy from the residue feedstock. The syngas exiting the gasifier contacts with water in a quench chamber, allowing efficient removal of solids and introducing water in the syngas for the CO shift reaction, to increase the H2:CO ratio. The water contaminated with solids undergoes several separation stages to recover solid waste. Part of the clean water is recycled back to the gasifier. Metal con-taminants in the feed can be recovered from the solid-waste stream exiting the process.

Gas cleanup. Clean syngas, now scrubbed of solids and particulates, enters the catalytic shift process, which is designed to handle sulfur in the syngas (sour shift). Here, CO combines with water to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). Any carbonyl-sulfide present in the syngas is also converted to H2S and CO2.

The raw syngas exiting the shift sec-tion is cooled in heat exchangers produc-ing medium-pressure steam. The cooled syngas is scrubbed of acid gases (H2S and CO2) in the AGR unit, a solvent extrac-tion-based process.

Hydrogen sulfide is removed first. A por-tion of the clean syngas is fed to the power island, producing electric power through a gas turbine. The hot flue gases from the

Gasificationisland

Airseparation

unit

Shift andcooling

Refinery

Bottoms

O2

Syngas

Solid waste

Acid-gasremoval

Powerisland

Electricity

Pressureswing

adsorption

Pure H2to refinery

Sulfurrecovery

Sulfur

H2S

Cleansyngas

CO2

Shiftedsyngas

H2

Process flow diagram of syngas production using residuals.FIG. 3

HDT

Reformer

HDT

VDU

CDU

Coker

Cracker

Gasoil

Residual fuel oil

Cutter-stock

LPG/naphtha

Gasoline

Kerosine/diesel

Hydrogen

Gasoil

Gasoil

Vacuum residue

Long residue

Residualfuel oil

Crude oil

Hydroskimming refinery

Hydrogen

Hydrogen Hydrogen(if hydrocracker)

Petcoke

Kerosine/diesel

Naphtha

Gas/gasoline/naphtha

Phase 3 Option 1

Phase 2

CDU = Crude distillation (atm.)VDU = Vacuum distillationHDT = HydrotreaterSDA = Solvent deasphaltingDAO = Deasphalted oil

Cutter-stock

Phase 3 Option 2

Phase 3 Option 3

Visbreaker

DAO

Asphalt

Tar

Gas/gasoline/naphtha

Phase 1

SDA

Process flow diagram of a hydroskimming refinery.FIG. 2


47

gas turbine are used to generate steam with a heat-recovery-steam generator (HRSG), before releasing to atmosphere. The gener-ated steam is used to produce more power through a steam turbine. Alternatively, the steam can be exported to the refinery.

The balance of the clean syngas is stripped of CO2 and sent to the PSA unit for hydrogen purification. The PSA unit delivers 99.8% pure hydrogen to the refin-ery, to be used for desulfurization and con-version. Alternatively, all the syngas can be stripped of carbon dioxide for capture and storage, making the gasification plant carbon capture ready.

The ASU uses cryogenic distillation for the fractionation of air. It provides oxygen to the gasification and sulfur recovery unit. The ASU also provides compressed nitro-gen to the gas turbine to control NOx and enhance power production.

The sulfur recovery unit uses the Claus process to produce elemental sulfur from hydrogen sulfide. Other ancillary units include utilities, cooling water, instrument air, and tail-gas treatment.

Case study. A 70:30 mix of Arab light and Arab heavy crude oil, yielding a medium grade °API, is used for two dif-ferent refinery sizes of 6 MMtpy (120,000 bpd) and 10 MMtpy (200,000 bpd) to develop the case study.

For simplification, it is assumed that atmospheric residue and vacuum residue are similar to visbreaker tar, so only the vis-breaker tar (VB) case (Phase 3 Option 1) is explored in further detail. Table 1 sum-marizes the composition of VB tar, asphalt, and petcoke for the 70:30 Arab light and Arab heavy crude mix.

A total of six cases were selected for the two different refinery sizes and three upgrade options as described in Table 2.

The listed cases are for the co-produc-tion of hydrogen and power, except Case 3B, which is for hydrogen only. Each of the cases result in the complete destruc-tion of the residue, resulting in a bottom-less refinery, except Case 2A, where a lower throughput is used to enhance the gasifier and gas turbine configuration.

Hydrogen production. The gasifier and gas turbine configuration are enhanced for hydrogen and power production. The avail-ability requirement for hydrogen is more critical than that for power. Power outages can be backed-up by external utility sup-ply. Syngas for power can be re-directed for hydrogen production, increasingly hydro-

TABLE 1. Bottoms composition for 70:30 mix of Arab light and Arab heavy

Composition VB tar Asphalt Petcoke

Carbon,% 84.84 84.60 88.41

Hydrogen,% 10.16 8.91 3.34

Sulfur,% 4.50 4.90 5.91

Nitrogen,% 0.31 0.68 2.04

Oxygen,% 0.05 0.78 0.02

Ash,% 0.10 0.13 0.28

Total,% 99.96 100.00 100.00

Heating value (HHV) in KJ/kg 40,472 39,775 35,123

TABLE 2. Gasification cases for refinery upgrade and bottoms destruction

Cases Case 1A Case 1B Case 2A Case 2B Case 3A Case 3B

Crude Oil, million 6 (120,000) 6 (120,000) 10 (200,000) 10 (200,000) 10 (200,000) 10 (200,000) tpy (bpd)

Residue Visbreaker tar Visbreaker tar Asphalt Asphalt Petcoke Petcoke

Feed, metric tpd 1,750 1,750 2,700 3,200 1,540 1,540

Gasifier size, m3 (ft3) 12.7 (450) 12.7 (450) 25.5 (900) 25.5 (900) 12.7 (450) 12.7 (450)

No. of operating gasifiers 2 2 2 2 2 2

No. of spare gasifiers 0 0 0 0 0 1

Gasifier pressure, barg 65 65 65 65 65 65

Gas Turbine model 9E 6FA 6FA 9E 6FA None

No. of gas turbines 1 2 2 2 1 None

Syngas to hydrogen, % 37 28 50 27 41 100

0.000 0.020 0.040 0.060 0.080 0.100 0.120 0.140 0.160

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gen availability. This flexibility eliminates the need for a spare gasifier, provided the syngas to hydrogen is less than 50% of total syngas produced by the gasification island.

Using this logic, the spare gasifier can be eliminated thus lowering capital expense (CAPEX) with the exception of the delayed coking process scheme. Two different gas turbine models are selected—6FA and 9E, in the 50 Hz platform—to target a NOx limit of less than 25 ppm. A combined cycle is used to maximize power production. Effi-ciency gains are available through steam integration with the refinery steam loads.

To develop the economics of bottoms gasification for coproduction of hydro-

gen and power, it is important to estimate the cost of hydrogen. This is best done by using a replacement-cost approach, where the cost of hydrogen from bottoms gasifi-cation is fixed at the cost of hydrogen from steam methane reforming (SMR). Cost of electricity (COE) and the impact on refining margins can be calculated based on capital return requirement. The cost of hydrogen calculation assumes:

• CAPEX for 110,000 Nm3h hydro-gen SMR plant is $150 million

• Natural gas price is $7/MMBtu (~$254/1,000 Nm3).

These assumptions result in a hydro-gen cost of $0.12 per Nm3. The cost of

hydrogen from SMR is primarily driven by natural gas prices. A $7/MMBtu natural gas price assumption is valid for India and China, considering the long-term outlook. It is also applicable to Russia, if the oppor-tunity cost of selling natural gas to Western Europe is taken into account.

Case study results. Using the listed assumptions, we can determine the cost of electricity for several processing cases:

• Capital charge rate is 10%/yr• CAPEX estimate is US Gulf Coast

basis as of Q1 2010 with –15% to +30% accuracy

• CAPEX for India, Russia and China are assumed to be ~60% of US Gulf Coast

• Depreciation period is 25 years• Operational expenses (OPEX) and

maintenance expenditures per year is 3.5% of CAPEX

• Cost of residue is $20/metric ton• Cost of hydrogen from SMR is

$0.12/Nm3

• Availability for hydrogen is 90% on an annual basis

• Availability for power is 75% on an annual basis.

Note: The availability of hydrogen and power are consistent with global experi-ences in coproduction.

Availability of power is lower than hydrogen due to the absence of spare gas-ifier. Availability of power can be increased by supplying backup natural gas to the gas turbines in the event of a shutdown of an operating gasifier.

The basis of the economic analysis is to use the listed assumptions and calculate the net cost by considering capital charge, OPEX and maintenance, depreciation and feedstock (residue) cost. From this net cost, the hydrogen cost is subtracted using a replacement cost basis from SMR. The resulting cost is the cost of electricity.

Table 3 summarizes the case study results. An analysis of the results indi-cates that Case 2 has the best econom-ics, i.e., lowest COE at 5.2 ¢/kWh. Case 2B has the highest throughput of residue and uses a 9E class turbine. Moreover, hydrogen production is enhanced for the loading and selection of the gas turbine. Residue throughputs above 2,500 metric tpd are advantageous for coproduction of hydrogen and electricity.

The value of hydrogen can offset the CAPEX and OPEX excluding capital charge (interest). Accordingly, hydrogen production recovers all of the investment costs, excluding capital charge, and there is

TABLE 3. Gasification cases for refinery upgrade and bottoms destruction

Cases Case 1A Case 1B Case 2A Case 2B Case 3A Case 3B

Crude oil , million tpy 6 6 10 10 10 10

Crude oil, bpd 120,000 120,000 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000

Residue VB tar VB tar Asphalt Asphalt Petcoke Petcoke

Feed, metric tpd 1,750 1,750 2,700 3,200 1,540 1,540

Syngas to hydrogen, % 37 28 50 27 41 100

Hydrogen, Nm3h 60,000 45,500 118,000 76,000 41,000 100,000

H2 (Nm3) production per barrel of crude 12 9 14 9 5 12

Net MW export 120 165 115 275 67 0

Feedstock utilization efficiency 39 38 40 36 32 52 HHV basis (thermal for H2 + net electric), %

CAPEX, Million USD 615 656 778 850 554 440 (60% of US Gulf Coast basis)

Cost of electricity (COE), ¢/kWh 7.7 7.5 5.2 5.2 15.1

CAPEX, $ per ton ofresidue capacity/day

0 5 10COE in cents/kWh

15

Capital charge, %/year

Cost of residue, $/ton

Availability of H2, %

DownsideUpsideAvailability of power, %

OPEX and maintenance,% of CAPEX

Cost of hydrogenfrom SMR, $/Nm3

Feedstock utilization efficiencyHHV basis (thermal for H2+net

electric) %

200,000 500,000

7 15

10 75

40% 32%

16 0.1

2.5 5

98 85

80 70

COE sensitivity analysis chart for Case 2B (Tornado chart.)FIG. 4



no net cost to recover from electricity. This is an alternative view to value the project investment and it is important in light of the surplus in the residue/fuel oil segment.

To better understand the impact of the assumptions made earlier on the COE, sensitivity analysis is done on Case 2B and listed in Fig. 4. The Base Case in Fig. 4 is the same as Case 2B with a COE of 5.2 ¢/kWh. The tornado chart (Fig. 4) cap-tures the impact of variability over COE assumptions. Note: Each assumption is changed one at a time, keeping other assumptions the same as the Base Case.

Refinery margins and emissions. Value addition can be calculated by Eq. 1:

Gross margin = (KW � COE + Hydro-gen � Cost of hydrogen) – Residue � Price of residue (1)

For Case 2B, equating Eq. 1 to zero results in a residue price of $176/ton. This implies that, as long as the residue price is lower than $176/ton, the refinery gross mar-gin will be positive. Additional value is real-ized by reducing cutter stock, which is typically a low-sulfur, high-value distillate product.

The air emissions from the IGCC com-plex meet applicable industry standards

and regulations. The CO2 can be sepa-rated for future storage or enhanced oil recovery (EOR). All further increase value in the event that limits on, or a cost of, CO2 is established.

Typical emissions are: NOx ≤ 50 mg/Nm3

SOx ≤ 10 mg/Nm3

Outlook. Several conclusions can be drawn from the cases analyzed in this article:

• Coproduction of hydrogen and elec-tricity is economically attractive when residue throughput is higher than 2,500 metric tpd

• Increasing hydrogen production results in better economics.

• The most attractive case uses 9E turbines and a configuration to produce approximately 76,000 Nm3h of hydrogen. This results in COE of 5¢/ kWh for China, India and Russia.

• As an alternative to power produc-tion, producing chemicals (methanol, methanol derivatives or ammonia) or liquid fuels for blending may be more economi-cal for smaller refineries with lower residue throughput.

• Refinery gross margins will be further improved by releasing previously consumed cutter-stock.

• Total refinery emissions for NOx and SOx will be reduced significantly. Addi-tionally, metal contaminants in the resi-due can be recovered from the solid waste stream. HP

BIBLIOGRAPHYCambridge Energy Research Associates, “Oil demand and supply,” January 2010.Cambridge Energy Research Associates,” Refined products prices and margins,” January 2010.Purvin and Gertz, Inc., “Study on oil refining and oil markets,” January 2008.Surinder, P., Refining Processes Handbook, Elsevier, 2003.

Patrick McKenna is a commercial leader for gas-ification technology platform at GE Energy. He has over 18 years of engineering, construction, operations and business development in the energy industry including the application of gasification technologies for refining industry. Mr. McKenna holds an MBA in finance from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS degree in elec-trical engineering from Rutgers University.

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Biorenewables update: What is beyond ethanol and biodiesel?New processing technologies have broadened potential ‘drop-in’ alternatives for transportation fuels

R. CASCONE and B. BURKE, Nexant, White Plains, New York

I n July 2007, the article entitled, “Biofuels: What is beyond ethanol and biodiesel?” began the quest to inves-

tigate how biofuels will be incorporated into the transportation fuel supply. This article provides a status assessment on the replacement of hydrocarbon-based fuels, chemicals and polymers with carbohydrate and lipid-based materials.

In 2007, ethanol and biodiesel were the biofuels of wide commercial interest; corn, sugarcane, soybeans and palm oil were the main feedstocks for dedicated biofuels facil-ities. Although that profile has not materi-ally changed, now there is wider interest in developing more fungible biofuels that are drop-ins for gasoline and diesel, and in the broader concept of biorefineries, with coproduction of renewable chemicals and polymers. This change in focus reflects sev-eral important factors:

• Strong public policy drivers and fund-ing, including mandated use of second-gen-eration biofuels

• A maturing platform of R&D data and experience provided by universities and government agencies

• Entrepreneurial activity by individuals and organizations across a wide spectrum

• Sponsorship and capital investments by venture capitalists

• Sponsorship, capital investments, product off-take agreements and other integral involvement by large energy, chemical, agricultural and other stake-holder companies

• Experience gained in commodity-scale feedstock supply and bioprocessing.Of particular interest to readers is that:

• Valero has become a leading player in North American ethanol through acquisi-tion of production and logistics assets, inte-grated with retail operations

• Strategic interest and investments in ethanol-to-ethylene is emerging commer-cially on several fronts, in value chains for ethylene glycol (MEG), polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

• More than four potential bio-routes to p-xylene—for green polyethylene terephthalate (PET)—are emerging, e.g., from Gevo, Virent, Anellotech and Global Bioenergies (France)

• Bio-hydrocarbon projects (iso-prenoids, biodiesel, bio-olefins, etc.) are being developed in Brazil, elsewhere by Amyris and others

• Refining and aircraft interests are sponsoring algae, jatropha, biomass-to-liquid (BTL), synthetic paraffinic kero-sine (SPK) as non-recourse users of liquid biofuels (kerosine range)

• There is progress and further pros-pects in fermentation routes to industrial chemicals, e.g., by NatureWorks, Metabo-lix, Amyris, Myriant, Gevo, etc.

• The forest products industry, a huge potential platform for carbohydrate-based biorenewables production, remains a largely unexploited resource, except for combus-tion for heat and power, which has recently been raised as a controversy in Massachu-setts and elsewhere.

Failure of FAME. There has been a general failure of fatty acid methyl ether (FAME) biodiesel to develop as rapidly as originally planned. The resulting shortfall may be relieved by other, thermochemi-cal approaches to make bio-based diesel fuel, including renewable diesel, BTL and pyrolysis. The key reason for the shortfall is a general paucity of virgin and used lipids (natural fats, oils and greases) feedstocks. In addition, while the lipids (or triglycerides) in natural oils and fats are relatively close

to being suitable for use in compression-ignited internal combustion engines, with minimum conversion by transesterification to FAME, nature makes relatively little oil as a fraction of total biomass. Thus, most existing supplies of natural oils and fats are committed to food, animal feed or oleo-chemicals uses, and, therefore, there is not enough to meet the large volumes required to replace petroleum-based diesel. Key driv-ers that are impacting the development of biorenewables are discussed here.

Societal objectives. The most common objectives of renewable fuels, chemicals and polymers development are to achieve or improve: lower carbon footprint, energy security, jobs—rural development and reduced emissions on a lifecycle basis.

For each of these, there is competition from other solutions such as other lower carbon alternative fuels and alternative renewable energy sources, energy conser-vation and materials recycling.

Political atmosphere is favorable.While there has been much press attention against biofuels and materials since 2007 on the points of “food vs. fuel,” and the indirect land use impacts of agriculture for biofuels, these concerns have largely been discredited. After plummeting in early 2009, the price of crude oil is up to 2006–2007 levels, and it shows little prospect of returning to histori-cal $20–$30/bbl levels. Strength in crude oil prices is driven by increasing demand in developing economies, continued political instability in many producer nations, and the industry having to venture farther afield into increasingly difficult venues.

ExxonMobil has embraced the poten-tial of renewables, and has taken a position with Craig Venter’s Synthetic Genomics for algae development. Many other energy



and chemical companies and related stake-holders are now interested and invested in renewables, including Chevron, Shell, BP, Total, Neste Oil, Petrobras, Dow, Braskem, UOP, Pemex, GE, Marathon, Solvay, Mit-subishi Chemical, BASF and PTT. From a shorter term perspective, BP’s Macondo oil well incident in the US Gulf of Mexico has dramatically raised interest in renewable and bio-based energy and materials.

Competing renewables, lower carbon alternatives. Similar to biorenewables, the environment is favor-able for other renewable and lower carbon approaches, which include:

• Unconventional/new methane resources, such as:

º Shale gas and coal-bed methane º Fugitive methane to market (M2M),

including landfill gas (LFG) and bio-digester gas. These can be developed for use in natural gas vehicles (NGVs), enabled by implementing small-scale LNG to capture, clean and manage these resources.

Shale gas is being aggressively devel-oped in North America, but there are also substantial resources on most major land masses, including Central Europe, China, Southeast Asia, India and Australia.

• Electric vehicles (EVs), wherein the electricity is provided by solar PV, wind, wave, hydroelectric and other low-carbon sources. (In Brazil, new initiatives toward enabling EVs are creating anxiety and resentment in the sugar/ethanol industry and may free up ethanol capacity in the future to supply feedstock to green chemi-cals and polymers production.)

Table 1 is a conceptual review of the relative merits of competing renewables. As indicated, each has counterbalancing strengths and weaknesses, and no clear win-ner is yet apparent.

The development of biofuels and renew-able chemicals and polymers involves many challenges:

• Biodiesel development disappoint-ing. The world vehicle fleet is undergoing

a shift from gasoline to clean diesel (“die-selization”). Compression internal combus-tion engines need mostly paraffinic hydro-carbons. Triglycerides are largely paraffinic, but nature does not make much as a percent of total biomass, and most production is already claimed for food or oleochemicals. Algae as a potential solution for large-scale, low-priced supply is judged to be at least 10 years away from commercialization. With jatropha, while there is some commercial development, this is limited to developing countries. The business model is seen by many to be viable only with subsistence labor, with no economic basis for mecha-nized agriculture.

• Some users have few alternatives to liquid fuels. Land transport can theoreti-cally drastically reduce or eliminate liquid fuel use, e.g., with EVs, NGVs, hybrids, H2, LNG, etc. But these solutions do not apply well to propulsion for aircraft and, to a lesser extent, water craft, which will have limited alternatives for liquid fuels.

• Biobased technologies are challeng-ing. Most fermentations are batch, with unit operations most different from chemi-cal/refining processing. This places limits on economies of scale. Fermentations are vulnerable to feedstock inhibition, attack by alien microbes, phage infections, genetic drift/mutation, etc., further limiting feasi-bility of continuous operations. Cellulosic biomass feedstocks have logistics limitations due to regional growing density, bulk, mois-ture content/weight, tendency to rot, etc. Charring/torrefaction of feeds in the field as a solution does not apply to fermentations.

• Brazil has a short operating year. While biotech companies are flocking to form joint ventures (JVs) with Brazilian sugar mills, these typically operate only about 200 days per year due to seasonal weather/growing cycles. This is a long grow-ing season relative to North America or Western Europe. However, sugarcane and its juice cannot be stored like corn, wheat and even cassava; sugar mills are capital-inefficient compared to using these feed-

stocks and to traditional petroleum-based industries, which operate year-round.

Ways to adapt this industry to a longer operating year (such as off-season opera-tion on molasses, etc.) are being developed. If dehydration of ethanol to ethylene is the objective, ethanol can be stored for feeding in the off-season. But if feeding the sugar juice to another type of fermentation is the objective, then the solutions will likely need to be more integral and customized to each technology.

Poor progress in cellulosic etha-nologens. Corn and sugarcane are viewed as transitional feedstocks that will produce the vast majority of ethanol and other fer-mentation biofuels until technologies for conversion of biomass become commercially competitive. The latter will yield a mixture of C5 and C6 sugars, with lignin for sepa-ration and utilization, and with inhibitors present that are typically generated in the pretreatment and/or hydrolysis steps. The role of oil companies is increasing in sup-porting development of advanced generation of biofuels, including that of ethanologens (ethanol-producing organisms).

Even more significantly, BP has just announced acquisition of Verenium and its demonstration plant in Jennings, Loui-siana. However, Nexant believes that nei-ther corn nor sugarcane ethanol are going away anytime soon. Also, both types of plants can be easily modified to produce second- and third-generation biofuels and renewable chemicals. Nexant also believes the carbon life cycle performances of both types of plants are better than some popular perceptions, especially for corn ethanol.

There is a huge diversity of life-cycle analysis (LCA) factors used by analysts. The actual performance of any one plant depends heavily on location, but there has been steady progress throughout the industry to improve LCA performance. For example, the US Department of Agriculture reported in 2009 that water consumption rates for corn ethanol can be as low as 10 gallons water/gallon ethanol in the US Corn Belt region, or as high as 324 gallons water/gallon ethanol in the Northern Plains.

Refiners are becoming active. It is understandable that refiners will embrace market participation in ethanol production, given how integral ethanol has become to the entire fuel value chain. The cost and tax structure of ethanol pro-duction can also make such involvement highly profitable for refiners.

TABLE 1. How “green” are alternative energy sources?

1 is weakest rating, 3 is strongest

Drivers/energy sources First-gen. Ferm. Next-gen. Bio New CH4 Biogas M2M

Carbon footprint 2 3 2 3

Energy security (incl. scale) 2 2 3 3

Jobs and rural development (incl. scale) 3 3 2 3

Other sustainability 2 3 2 3

Feasibility (experimental=0, commercial=3) 3 1 3 3

Total 12 12 12 15Source: Nexant



RFS targets reduced. Short-term Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for biodiesel and second-generation biofuels have been cut back, due to slower than anticipated progress in the commercializa-tion of these technologies. The ethanol “blend wall” is a potentially major barrier for continued growth in ethanol use in the US, making it practically impossible to achieve the RFS goals. This is because an increased supply is not likely to be con-sumed by the E85 (85% ethanol blended fuels) market, and most of the nation’s retail stations have already transitioned to E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline). An increase to 15% allowable ethanol (E15) or higher in gasoline is being considered by the US EPA, and Nexant expects a level above 10% will be approved in the near future.

Government funding. There are sev-eral major US government funding initia-tives for biofuels that serve the dual purposes of widespread dissemination of federal funds to help drive economic recovery and pro-mote clean energy. This includes Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) technical sponsorship through the Fungible Biofuels and Algae Consortia. Through an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) program, 19 diverse biorefinery projects have been given grants totaling $564 million; Table 2 summarizes these projects.

n-Biobutanol vs. isobutanol. A big development of the last three years is the growth in interest in isobutanol relative to n-butanol. Gevo, Cobalt and Butalco (DuPont/BP joint venture) are all focused on isobutanol, and French Global Bioen-

ergies has developed a fermentation route directly to isobutylene. Gevo has achieved demonstration-scale operation in a con-verted corn ethanol line in St. Joseph, Mis-souri. One concept proposed by Gevo is to use isobutanol together with ethanol to avoid the ethanol “blend wall” in achieving RFS goals. As described here, bio-isobutanol can be the starting point of a value chain leading to “green” terephthalic acid (PTA).

Bio-hydrocarbons. Another exciting development is that Gevo and several others are developing potential routes either aimed at, or capable of making “green” paraxylene (PX). This can serve as a feedstock for green PTA, one of the two monomers for PET. These developments overlap with Gevo’s efforts at fuels production. Recognizing its progress in developing its iso-C4 platform,

TABLE 2. ARRA biorefieries grantees

DOE Other grant, funds,Grantee $MM $MM Project Location Description

1) Pilot and Demonstration Scale FOA - Pilot Scale

Algenol Biofuels, Inc. 25 34 Freeport , TX 100,000 gpy ethanol using algae

American Process Inc. 18 10.1 Alpena, MI Up to 890,000 gpy ethanol and 690,000 gpy potassium acetate, startup 201

Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. 25 10.5 Emeryville, CA Diesel substitute by fermenting sweet sorghum, plus lubricants, polymers, petrochem substitutes

Archer Daniels Midland 24.8 10.9 Decatur, IL Hydrolyze biomass with acid, for fuels or energy, make ethanol and ethyl acrylate

ClearFuels Technology Inc. 23 13.4 Commerce City, CO Renewable diesel and jet fuel, integrating ClearFuels and Rentech technologies, use baggase and biomass mixes

Elevance Renewable Sciences 2.5 0.6 Newton, IA Complete preliminary engineering design for jet fuel, renewable diesel, high value chemicals from plant oils and poultry fat

Gas Technology Institute 2.5 0.6 Des Plaines, IL Complete preliminary engineering design for green gasoline and diesel from woody biomass, ag residues and algae

Haldor Topsøe, Inc. 25 9.7 Des Plaines, IL Wood to green gasoline integrating and optimizing multi-step gasification, 21 tpd feedstock

ICM, Inc. (with Gevo) 25 6.2 St. Joseph, MO Modify existing corn-ethanol plant for switchgrass and energy sorghum, using biochemical conversion

Logos Technologies 20.4 5.1 Visalia, CA Ethanol based on switchgrass and woody biomass via biochemical route

Renewable Energy Institute 20 5.1 Toledo, OH Pyrolysis and steam reforming of ag and forest residues for green diesel, International 25 tpd feedstock

Solazyme, Inc. 21.8 3.9 Riverside, PA Algae oil—validate projected economics of commercial scale biorefinery

UOP LLC 25 6.7 Kapolei, HI Integrate existing Ensyn/UOP technologies for green gasoline, diesel, jet fuel based on ag residues, woody biomass, energy crops and algae

ZeaChem Inc. 25 48.4 Boardman, OR Hybrid technology to convert poplar wood to ethanol and acetic acid/acetates

2) Pilot and demonstration scale FOA—demonstration scale

BioEnergy International, LLC 50 89.6 Lake Providence, LA Succinic acid by fermentation of grain sorghum

Enerkem Corporation 50 90.5 Ponotoc, MS At an existing landfill, woody biomass from MSW to ethanol, green chemicals via gasification and catalysis

INEOS New Planet Bioenergy, LLC 50 50 Vero Beach, FL 8 MM gpy ethanol and 2 MW electricity from ag residues and MSW, combined gasification and fermentation, startup end of 2011

Sapphire Energy, Inc. 50 85 Columbus, NM Algae ponds for green jet fuel and diesel, using Dynamic Fuels refining

3) Increased funding of existing biorefinery projects

Bluefire LLC 81.1 223.2 Fulton, MS 19 MM gpy ethanol based on wooy biomass, sorted MSW

564.1

Source: US Department of Energy



Lanxess has recently taken a sponsoring/partnership position with Gevo.

The other monomer, ethylene glycol has been made for decades by Indian Glycols via the ethanol dehydration process developed by Scientific Design Co. This process route is now being used in PET production.

Besides the iso-C4 developments, there is a high interest in green olefins in many regions. This interest is variously aimed at ethanol-to-ethylene for MEG, PE and PVC, as well as for many other derivatives. Green propylene, on the other hand, has a wide variety of potential routes for its manufacture, including dehydrogenation of “green” propane (e.g., from renewable diesel processes), though this is not yet commer-cialized.) Metathesis of bio-ethylene with bio-n-butene has several possible sources.

A number of developers are also focused on isoprene, including Amyris, which has specialized in C5 hydrocarbons. These con-sist of “isoprenoids”—isoprene, d-limonene, farnesene—for fuels and chemicals produc-tion. These and other developers are flock-

ing to Brazil to forge JVs with the major players for access to cheap sugar syrup for both chemicals and fuels production.

Biodiesel. Biodiesel is a lame duck among bio-renewables. Biodiesel (FAME) produc-tion in the US has stagnated , with many ventures shutting down due to the lapse of the US $1.00/gal tax credit. Future growth in non-petroleum diesel will likely be driven by biodiesel from non-food oils, such as algae and jatropha, as well as by new supplies of renewable diesel via hydrocracking.

White biochemistry—biopoly-mers. Compared to biofuels, develop-ment of renewable chemicals and polymers is much more complex and only highlights are discussed herein. There has been a pro-liferation of players and projects in polylac-tic acid or polylactide (PLA) and the suc-cinic acid/BDO value chains. At the same time, there is a great deal of confusion in the market and in public perception over biopolymers’ properties, use and disposal,

and growing focus among companies on the differences among:

• Biodegradable renewable (PLA, PHA)

• Biodegradable/degradable—non-renewable or only partially so

• Non-biodegradable (fungible) renew-able—“green” PE and polypropylene (PP).

Customers and the polymer industry are at a crossroads in making choices among these, and in developing improvements to better fit end-use needs.

New feedstocks. New marginal food crops are emerging as biorenewable feed-stocks. These are crops that are widely known and cultivated, but must be considered sec-ond tier compared to corn, wheat and rice. Among these are sorghum (grain and sweet), cassava and sweet potatoes. China, for exam-ple, has mandated that corn not be used for ethanol manufacture, in favor of crops like sweet potatoes. With some of these starchy crops, however, new diseases are emerging (e.g., cassava rot) to threaten plans for effi-cient monoculture plantations.

Jatropha and algae have had a smaller impact than expected. D1 and BP, longtime champions, pulled out of jatropha, although there have been some successes among local “small is beautiful” developers in developing economies such as India and Africa.

Algae. Algae are single-cell species that, unlike other plants, can produce high lev-els of lipids along with carbohydrates and proteins. Algae technology has been pur-sued for decades, with some recent break-throughs. There continues to be more interest and investment in algae, despite the challenges associated with it that need to simultaneously meet these requirements:

• Cheap land• Excellent insolation• Water resources• Superior biota (yield/area)• Source of clean, concentrated CO2• Other cash flows.Generic technologies for algae are open

ponds and photobioreactor (PBR) systems. In general, the economics of both systems are not competitive to conventional fuel or chemical production economics. Develop-ers of various technologies often rely heavily on income from production of high-value byproducts to substantiate even the current poor economics. Conceptual results of Nex-ant’s economic models for open ponds and PBRs are shown in Fig. 1. This indicates that even the state-of-the-art technology is far from being commercial. Nexant believes

Feedstock Catalyst and chemicals Byproduct creditUtilities Fixed costs Capital related costs

Pric

e, $

/gal

US PBR algae oil – 50 MMgal US open pond algae oil – 50 MMgal

Diesel prices for expectedrange of crude oil prices

PBR and open pond algae lipids conceptual cost of production. (Nexant analysis)FIG. 1

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1,000 10,000Market volume, million tons

Pric

e, $

/ton

Nylon 6.6n-Butanol

Portland cement

Fertilizer

Ethanol

LLDPEFAME

PVCFish oil

DHA

Beta carotene

Corn

CaffeineKevlar

Conceptual price-volume exclusion correlation. (Nexant analysis)FIG. 2



that algae oil production at true economic commercial scale operations (defined as producing tens of thousands barrels per day for fuels) is at least 10 years away.

ExxonMobil has recently announced positive progress in its JV with Synthetic Genomics, opening a new greenhouse facility in California to examine different growth systems, temperatures and lighting systems for algal growth. This JV appears to be taking a very systematic approach to algae technology development, with targets for development over time that, if met, are designed to lead to large-scale commercialization.

It is not clear which technology is likely to accomplish this first. In addition to the generic models, several interesting alterna-tives are being pursued:

• Algenol—ethanol, not lipids—production in a PBR system, with back-ing/partnering including Dow Chemical, Valero and Linde AG.

• Solazyme—sugar-fed, non-photosyn-thetic (without sunlight or CO2) algae-based conventional fermentation to make lipids

• Martek (a PBR/open-pond staged hybrid, with emphasis on high-value co-products.)

Many algae technology developers rely on the high-value specialty byproducts to support their economics. There is a dan-ger in assuming that such byproducts will maintain their high prices as algae capaci-ties approach commercial scale, due to the impact of market price/volume elasticity. Fig. 2 makes it clear, considering a very wide range of commodity and specialty prod-uct types (building materials to polymers, chemicals and nutraceuticals), that one can-not have the high volumes of sales needed for commercial production of fuels, while maintaining high prices. Markets tolerate either commodity-scale production or high unit prices. Rarely is it possible to have both. Effectively, if production of algae-based byproducts increases significantly, they will oversupply their markets and prices will rap-idly fall to commodity levels.

Outlook. The biorenewables industry has evolved since 2007, with these key drivers:

• Strong public policy drivers and fund-ing, including mandated use of second-generation biofuels

• Growing interest and investment by traditional oil and chemical firms

• Weak performance by biodiesel sector

• Slow progress in technical and commer-cial development of cellulosic-based fuels

• No clear winners from a technical approach and feedstock basis have yet to emerge. HP

Bruce F. Burke is a vice president of Nexant’s Energy Resources Business Unit, with responsibility for energy-related consulting assignments in North America, South America and Asia. Relevant areas of interest include technology assessment, petroleum refining, natural gas utilization, market and price forecasting, and emerging alternative fuel use in the global energy industry. An experienced international project manager, Mr. Burke has conducted numerous studies on the production and integration of first- and second- generation biofuels with conventional refinery and chemicals production. He has a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and began his career with Gulf Oil Refin-ing, following by energy consulting with ChemSystems (from 1980), and Nexant (from 2001).

Ron Cascone is manager of biofuels development at Nexant, Inc./ChemSystems’ White Plains, New York office. He is a chemical engineer with 40 years of indus-trial experience in a broad range of energy and chemi-cal processes and products, most recently focusing on biorenewables (fuels, chemicals and biopolymers) as part of Nexant’s global practice. He deals with technol-ogy and project development through feasibility stud-ies, market and due diligence assignments, as well as leading multi-client reports, including the recently pub-lished “Liquid Biofuels: Substituting for Petroleum,” and “Algae: Emerging Options for Sustainable Biofuels.”


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Upgrade FFC performance—Part 1New ceramic feed distributor offers ultimate erosion protection

L. M. WOLSCHLAG and K. A. COUCH, UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company, Des Plaines, Illinois

Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) technology has been a part of the petroleum industry since the 1940s. Despite being a very mature technology, continued development is vital, especially

as many refiners move their FCC operations from fuels produc-tion to higher-value products. Advanced diagnostic and design tools are accelerating process developments.

Through the development and commercialization of world-scale FCC units, technical discoveries have emerged that provide opportunities for improvements across all units, independent of size. Using sophisticated engineering tools, such as computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling combined with radioactive tracer and tomography, will streamline physical inspection reports and commercial yield analysis. The article highlights advancements in regenerator technology for higher capacity through existing assets, emissions reduction and feed distribution systems for large-diameter risers.

Dual-radius feed distributors. As refiners look to capital-ize on economies of scale, design throughputs of FCC units have reached record levels. At these scales, opportunities have emerged from the background noise of the data to improve FCC technol-ogy. Through pushing multiple constraints to design limits on one particular unit, yields and conversion deviated from benchmark performance, with gasoline selectivity lower, conversion lower and dry gas higher than benchmark performance. To get more out of the existing asset, an intensive program was undertaken to achieve benchmark performance.

The riser for a particular FCC unit has an inner diameter (ID) of 6.6 ft at the point of feed injection, which expands to 9 ft immediately above. The feed is injected into the riser through a set of circumferen-tially positioned distributors. The combi-nation of low conversion and high dry gas yield seems counter-intuitive, given tradi-tional FCC operations. A hypothesis was raised that the large riser diameter might be preventing the feed from adequately distributing across the full cross-sectional area of the riser. To test this hypothesis, a CFD model of the riser was created to analyze the fluid dynamics of the system. Results of the model supported that raw oil feed would only penetrate the riser a finite distance, thus creating a vapor annulus, and that much of the catalyst flowing up the riser would form a high-density core. Based on CFD results, a tomographic anal-

ysis (gamma scan) of the riser was completed. The scan results confirmed the CFD model prediction as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Radioactive tracer work was also completed on the 9-ft ID riser. Irradiated Krypton-79 gas was injected into the riser base. Detectors were positioned along the riser length and reactor to measure the tracer as it moved through the system. The results indicated that the time of flight of the krypton gas from one detector to another did not provide a sharp response peak. An early peak followed by a secondary peak which was skewed a high degree is shown in Fig. 2.

A mathematical evaluation was performed to determine what type of continuous stir tank reactor (CSTR) response would be needed to emulate the measured data. To accurately reproduce the field data plot, a composite plot modeled 100, 40 and 15 CSTR responses (Fig. 2).

Unit performance, CFD modeling, tracer and tomography tests, and mathematical analysis all indicated the same pathol-ogy—the feed was not adequately accessing the full cross-sec-tional area of the riser leading to the presence of a high-density core of catalyst and a low-density annulus, which caused low conversion and high dry gas and coke make. One solution to this problem would be to install two, smaller diameter risers to match more conventional FCC sizes. However, installing dual risers, even with new construction, is substantially more expen-sive. For an FCC unit of 200,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd), the estimated cost difference between a single, large-radius riser and a pair of smaller risers has a cost estimated at $60 million. A substantially lower cost solution with an implementation of dual-radius feed distributors was developed (Fig. 3). This design

CFD prediction and gamma scan of 6.6-ft riser.FIG. 1



ensures optimal feed distribution across the entire riser, while avoiding adjacent spray impact that could cause undesirable spray interference.

Another CFD model that incorporates the dual-radius feed distributors was created. Fig. 4 shows catalyst density profiles of an axial slice of the riser, both with and without dual-radius feed distributors. The riser on the left side without the dual radius feed distributors shows the high-density core of the catalyst; the CFD model with the dual radius feed distributors indicates that the catalyst’s dense core is effectively eliminated.

The dual-radius feed distributors were installed on a FCC unit designed with an 8-ft-diameter riser at the point of feed injection. The unit was commissioned in May 2009. Results indicate that dry gas yield and conversion and gasoline selectivity were within expec-tations. The riser’s gamma scans indicate that the catalyst’s high density core was effectively eliminated. The catalyst density profile of the riser at approximately 1 pipe diameter above the point of dual radius feed injection, indicates that core annular flow has been achieved with an evenly distributed catalyst density profile (Fig. 5). Additional tomography scans were completed at varying feed ratios to optimize distribution of oil and steam across the riser.

Erosion of the inner feed distributors was a client concern. This was mitigated by using ceramic feed distributors. Ceramic

offers the ultimate in erosion protection, and feed distributors with ceramic tips can withstand highly erosive environments with zero discernable erosion.

CERAMIC FEED DISTRIBUTORS

Development. FCC feed distributor tips are subjected to a high-temperature, high-velocity erosive environment. To func-tion in this harsh environment, FCC feed distributors have his-torically been fabricated from various erosion-resistant materials. While these materials are proven effective at reducing rates of erosion, most erosion-resistant materials are, by their nature, generally hard and brittle and can be susceptible to brittle frac-ture. Erosion and brittle fracture have been an industry-wide issue, and can be induced mechanically or by thermal shock. This must be considered in the design of FCC feed distributors as erosion and brittle fracture can occur when relatively cold oil and/or steam are rapidly introduced to the system in which the tips are hot from circulating catalyst.

These issues were addressed in many ways with a distribution system. Following proper operating procedures will avoid thermal shock and brittle fracture. However, erosion is more a function of operating environment as opposed to improper operation.

Designs. Advanced design feed distributors include three pri-mary designs: standard, weld overlay and ceramic. The standard design—the new distributor for most FCC applications—bal-ances the erosion issue and the possibility of cracking due to ther-mal shock. The tip incorporates a more erosion-resistant metal alloy, changing the geometry and reducing stress concentrations. Incorporating orifice extensions extends the flashing hydrocarbon feed further away from the metal tip. Additional protection can be provided by applying a very hard diffusion coating over the cobalt-based (Co-based) alloy.

The weld overlay design is applied to resolve chronic problems with wet steam and installations that have a high risk of thermal shock. The erosion-resistant weld overlay is applied to a softer, more ductile base metal for superior thermal shock resistance. To further combat erosion, this tip incorporates orifice exten-sions to move the flashing hydrocarbon feed further away from

0

1,000

800

600

400

200

01 2 3

Seconds

March 14, 2007, gas injection

Resp

onse

4 5 6 7

Riser ex top – avg40 – CSTR responseComposite100 – CSTR response15 – CSTR response

Early peakfeed plugflow core?

Centroid 77.18st-res = 1.32s

velocity 9.3 m/s

Late peakwall holdup?

Mathematical composite.FIG. 2

Schematic of dual-radius feed distributors.FIG. 3CFD models of the riser catalyst profiles with and without dual-radius feed distributors.

FIG. 4

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the distributor tip. While a very hard diffusion coating is used to provide additional protection against erosion, the primary design goal is resistance to thermal shock, and, therefore, it is recommended only for FCC operations that have proven to be particularly susceptible to thermal shock.

Finally, the ceramic design represents a step-change improve-ment for superior erosion resistance. Determining the erosion potential of FCC feed distributors is based on the physical prop-erties of the feedstock. The ceramic design is used in applications where erosion is forecast to be higher than normal or in units that have previously exhibited high erosion rates. Even though the ceramic material is very hard, quench testing in the laboratory

and commercial application have indicated that new ceramic tips are no more susceptible to thermal shock than traditional fabrica-tions with co-based alloys. Fig. 6 shows three new tip designs, as well as older versions.

Ceramic tips—design challenges. Ceramic materials are widely accepted and proven to be more resistant to erosion than metallic materials. The characteristics that impart erosion resis-tance also tend to make these materials more brittle. Successful application of ceramics in FCC feed injection required that two technical challenges be overcome: 1) selecting a suitable ceramic material that can be fabricated into the required geometry and 2) developing a means to connect the ceramic tip to the metallic base assembly of the distributor.

The geometry used for the ceramic distributor tip was the same as the traditional elliptical-feed distributor. The same prin-ciples and considerations applied to reducing mechanical stresses and improving thermal shock resistance in metallic tips were applied to address the brittle nature of ceramics. The ceramic tips were subjected to laboratory quench testing to simulate the unique temperature profiles in the feed-injection system. Quench testing was used to help select the proper ceramic material, and it confirmed that the final material was no more susceptible to brit-tle fracture than previous FCC feed distributor metallic tips.

The large differences in thermal expansion coefficients between the materials provided the next challenge—a means of attaching the ceramic tip to the metallic base assembly. The attachment should provide a liquid-tight seal at design pressure drop across the distributor, while accommodating a wide range of feed and steam temperatures experienced across startup, normal operation and FCC unit shutdown. Creative engineering, stress modeling, full-scale prototyping and therma-cycle testing were all used to develop a proprietary mechanical connection. With an acceptable ceramic identi-fied and a means of connecting the ceramic to the metal base assembly, the next step was to demonstrate new distributors in a commercial application.

Ceramic tips—a commercial experience. As the design details for the new ceramic tip and connection were finalized, an opportunity presented itself in which two ceramic tips could be installed in the same reactor riser at the same time as metal-lic tips, providing an ideal side-by-side commercial test.1 The subject FCC had a history of aggressive feed distributor tip ero-sion, and a trial installation of the ceramic tips was welcomed. Final design details regarding tip connection were addressed. In

Gamma scan of 8-ft ID riser with dual-radius feed distributors.

FIG. 5

FCC feed distributor tip designs.FIG. 6 Metallic and ceramic feed distributor tips after 18 months in operation.

FIG. 7

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April 2007, ceramic tips were commissioned in a commercial FCC reactor riser.

After 18 months of operation, the ceramic tips were inspected and were free of erosion and cracking, while the adjacent metal-lic tips exhibited signs of erosion. In Fig. 7, the metallic tip shows significant erosion, while the ceramic tip shows zero discernable erosion.

The viability and benefit of using ceramic tips for the feed distributor were confirmed. The expected life of the distributors in this application was revolutionized, from imminent failure (with an average run life of 2–3 years), to potentially a life with perpetual success.

Since January 2010, FCC ceramic feed distributors have been delivered to three refiners in addition to the trial installation. The second installation was placed into service on May 17, 2009, and it continues to perform well with two additional project ship-ments pending. Ceramic distributors are currently recommended and supplied as the premiere offering to improve reliability in installations with aggressive distributor tip erosion.

Elephant trunk arm combustor riser disengager. The market drive to maximize returns through economies of scale can present technical challenges with respect to scale-up. A phenomenon occurred on a large combustor style FCC regenera-

tor in which flue-gas catalyst losses appeared to increase at the higher end of superficial velocities that are typically stable for smaller designs. In this case, the refiner was interested in achiev-ing a higher capacity through an existing asset.

The inside of the upper regenerator has two major pieces of equipment: cyclones and a combustor disengager. The combus-tor disengager provides the first-stage inertial separation of cata-lyst from the combustion products, and the cyclones provide the final separation. Layout of this particular regenerator is unique in that the cyclone pairs are configured on two different radii (Fig. 8). While this has been a common plan view layout for bubbling-bed regenerators, this was the first time it was applied to a combustor-style unit.

To start the evaluation, a CFD model of the regenerator was created to study the unit-specific gas flow paths in the upper regenerator. The model demonstrated that the gas flow exiting the standard tee disengaging arms was in the range of 4–9 m/s (Fig. 11). This velocity range is between 50%–100% higher at a 15% lower superficial velocity compared to the next largest combustor-style regenerator. The model also indicated that the jet length projected from the disengaging arm was long enough that the high-velocity gas stream moved horizontally in the area of the dipleg termination. This resulted in fines re-entrainment with preferential flow to the inner-radius cyclone pair, at a rate that exceeded the catalyst discharge capacity of the cyclones. This result was initially difficult to believe, as the primary cyclone inlets on the two different radii were only 18 in. apart. However, the preferential flow was readily apparent upon internal unit inspections at the turnaround six years after commissioning. A slight change to the base design had a profound impact on the equipment performance.

Solution. The solution developed was a variation on what is called the elephant trunk disengager (Fig. 12). While basic elephant trunk disengagers were used in FCC reactor riser disen-gagers in the late 70s and early 80s, the regenerator application required substantial engineering work to ensure that the proper gas flow paths and catalyst separation efficiencies were achieved. The disengager arm was curved to lower the impact transition, reduce catalyst attrition and improve lining reliability. The shroud was extended to direct the catalyst more into the catalyst bed, but was limited in length so as not to provide excessive separation Dual-radius cyclone system in regenerator.FIG. 8

Tee and elephant trunk arm disengage.FIG. 9 CFD model of the gas profiles in the upper regenerator with tee and elephant trunk arm disengagers.

FIG. 10


efficiency that would lead to increased afterburn and high dilute phase temperatures. The outlet area was optimized to ensure that the combustion gases bleed off horizontally with minimal cross-wind at cyclone dipleg terminations (Fig. 9).

The CFD model of the final design indicated that at a super-ficial velocity of 1.05 m/s, slightly higher than the base case model, the gas velocities exiting the arms of the elephant trunk disengager were significantly lower than the gas velocities for the tee disengager, with peak gas velocities reduced by 25% and the horizontal gas velocities at the dipleg outlets reduced to nearly zero (Fig. 10).

With the original design, 10 out of 11 inner cyclones holed through after six years of operation. With the elephant trunk disengage installation, the fines entrained to the inner-cyclone set were reduced sufficiently to reasonably expect a 10-year ser-vice life. This enables the refiner to either significantly reduce maintenance costs and realize greater onstream reliability, or to push the system harder for greater operating margin.

CFD model validation. CFD models have historically met with substantial skepticism in mixed-phase fluidized bed systems. To validate the CFD modeling efforts, multiple oper-ating regenerators were modeled, and the results compared with turnaround field inspection reports. The CFD modeling has proven to be predictive with respect to erosion of both the cyclones and the external support braces when compared with field inspection reports.

To further evaluate the accuracy of the CFD modeling and determine the proper boundary conditions for the models, mul-tiple radioactive tracer tests were completed on regenerators with the tee disengager and elephant trunk disengager. The downward gas flow predicted with the tee disengager was validated, and the residence time of the flue gas within the upper regenerator was within 6% of the CFD model. Tracer studies of the elephant trunk disengager confirmed a greater amount of gas dispersion, eliminating regions of high gas velocity, and effectively using regenerator volume.

The first commercial combustor riser elephant trunk disen-gager was commissioned in 2009. Initial results have been very promising. Catalyst containment is very good and continues

to be closely monitored. The flue gas residence time in the upper regenerator increased by as much as 26%—substantially improving regenerator performance. The unit design and opera-tion resulted in extremely low delta coke operation and a regen-erator average dense-bed temperature as low as 1,198°F. Even with this low regenerator temperature operating at maximum throughput, the average afterburn is only 8°F. This is a step-change advancement in regenerator combustion performance and it supports that the modeled increase in flue-gas residence time was achieved.2

The elephant trunk disengager was developed to improve the performance of a very large combustor. CFD modeling, tracer work, unit inspection and operational data collectively contrib-uted to its creation, proof of principle and commercialization. However, by using these sophisticated tools, other benefits were

Cyclone 1

Cyclone 2

Cyclone 3

Cyclone 4

Cyclone 5Cyclone 6

Cyclone 7

Cyclone 9

Cyclone 10 14%

12%

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%0%

Catalyst tracer results for a bubbling bed regenerator with a gull-wing design.

FIG. 11

Gull-wing and piped spent-catalyst distributor. FIG. 12


64


discovered that are applicable to all sized units. Eliminating the high-velocity regions reduces erosion to internals and associated catalyst attrition. The increased residence time improves the burn-ing capacity of the regenerator, enables lower excess oxygen opera-tion and directionally reduces NOx emissions. Now, the elephant trunk arm disengager has become the standard design for all new combustor-style regenerators, with several revamp and new unit designs in progress.

SPENT CATALYST DISTRIBUTOR

Problem. Engineering tools and associated skills used to solve the previously discussed problems for very large FCC units can be used on FCC units of all sizes and types, to support operating and reliability needs of individual refiners. In one example, an 80,000-bpsd FCC unit with a bubbling bed regenerator exhibited a regen-erator cyclone outlet temperature differential of 100°F from one side of the regenerator to the other. This afterburn differential resulted in a localized hot spot that limited the throughput of the unit against a main air-blower constraint. The regenerator was an older design that used a gull-wing spent-catalyst distributor design. Catalyst maldistribution in the regenerator causes fuel-rich areas in the dense phase, with localized hot spots directly above in the dilute phase. Hot spots can be completely invisible within a unit depending on where instrumentation is placed in relation to the spent-catalyst inlet.

To validate the temperature data, catalyst tracer work was completed on the regenerator to evaluate the flow distribution in the unit. With ideal distribution, a radar plot of the detector signals would show perfect symmetry. The actual unit data showed that the catalyst was heavily skewed to one side, which was not a surprise (Fig. 11).

Solution. The typical spent catalyst distributor installed in a bubbling-bed regenerator of this vintage was the gull wing design with an external lift riser. Fig. 12 is a schematic of the distributor. Air maldistribution in this type of regenerator design results from two sources. First, the external riser lift air discharges vertically out of the disengager, resulting in an oxygen-rich environment in the dilute phase. Second, high localized catalyst density and resultant

CFD model of the catalyst densities in a regenerator with gull-wing and piped spent-catalyst distributors.

FIG. 13

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65

hydraulic head caused a preferential flow of combustion air to the opposite side of the regenerator.

To achieve a more even catalyst density and uniform coke distribution, the piped spent catalyst distributor was developed (Fig. 12). The piped distributor was designed to radially dis-tribute both the lift air and spent catalyst across the regenerator bed through a set of side arms. The size and orientation of the distributor arms were designed in an iterative process with CFD modeling to ensure as much even catalyst and air distribution as possible within the back-pressure limitations of the existing lift air blower.

CFD models of the gull-wing distributor and the piped spent catalyst distributor were created to predict the catalyst distribu-tion, gas flow paths and bed-density profiles in the bubbling-bed regenerator. With the gull wing distributor, the catalyst was concentrated in the bed center. With the piped spent catalyst distributor, the catalyst distribution was much more uniform throughout the bed (Fig. 13).

Results. The piped spent-catalyst distributor was commis-sioned in December 2006. Post-revamp tracer tests were con-ducted on the regenerator. The actual catalyst distribution is very close to the ideal distribution as illustrated in Fig. 14.

Operational data also indicate a significant improvement in the regenerator performance. The dilute phase temperature differential was reduced from 100°F pre-revamp to about 15°F following the implementation of the piped spent-catalyst dis-tributor. As a result, the refiner was able to lower the excess oxy-gen level in the flue gas from a pre revamp minimum of 2 mol% to a post-revamp 1 mol%, enabling a higher capacity through existing assets and saving on utility consumption. HP

Part 2 of this article can be viewed online at HP’s Website in the September 2010 issue. The article will discuss improvements in FCC technology that achieve lower

coke yield, optimum coke combustion while retaining existing equipment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors thank the following individuals for their assistance in providing

data and/or support that made this article a reality—Peter J. Van Opdorp, UOP, who provided the yield estimate comparisons between the design case and outer maximum case; Reza Mostofi-Ashtiani, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering Center, for providing his assistance and expertise with the CFD models; and Dave Ferguson, Justin Tippit, Benjamin Chang, Pannatat Trikasem, Brian Octavianus and Nurudin Sidik, at Tracerco, for their dedication and effort that contributed to a successful project.

LITERATURE CITED 1 Mitchell, T. P. and K. A. Couch, “Optimix (ER) Commercialization— Ceramic Tips,” July 2009. 2 Couch, K. A., K. D. Seibert and P. J. Van Opdorp, “Controlling FCC Yields and Emissions,” NPRA Annual Meeting, March 2004.

Lisa Wolschlag is senior manager of the FCC, alkylation and treating develop-ment department for Honeywell’s UOP business located in Des Plaines, Illinois. She has 18 years of experience working in various areas of UOP including research and development, field operating service, technical service and process development. Ms. Wolschlag received a BS degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Keith Couch is senior business leader of BTX/aromatic derivatives for Honeywell’s UOP business located in Des Plaines, Illinois. He has worked for UOP for 18 years in manufacturing, research and development, field operating service, technical service, sales support and process development. Mr. Couch received a BS degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and is pursuing an MBA from the Univer-sity of Chicago—Booth School of Business.

14.00%

12.00%

8.00%

6.00%

4.00%

2.00%

0.00%

10.00%

Catalyst tracer results for bubbling-bed regenerator with piped spent-catalyst distributor.

FIG. 14


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Fine-tune processing heavy crudes in your facilityA better understanding of asphaltene stability in crude oils allows refiners to increase blending of ‘opportunity’ feedstocks

T. FALKLER and C. SANDU, Baker Hughes, Sugar Land, Texas

Heavy crude oils are often appealing feedstocks for refin-eries, due to their lower cost. The availability of these heavy crudes is improving as production rates increase,

particularly in North and South America. Refiners want to keep certain key performance indicators (KPIs) such as heat trans-fer coefficients, corrosion rates, pressure drop and throughput under control. However, asphaltenes present in heavy crudes can significantly affect these KPIs when they become destabilized and agglomerate to the extent where precipitation can occur. Asphaltene particles can stabilize emulsions, causing desalter performance and oil carry-under problems, and can contribute to accelerated fouling in crude unit preheat exchangers.

This article reviews the prob-lems associated with asphaltene destabilization and discusses new tools available to improve and control asphaltene behavior. A laboratory asphaltene stability test has been successfully used to determine heavy crude feedstock compatibility. Case histories show how new field techniques were used to develop appropriate blend ratios for specific sets of crude feedstocks, and how this information was used, together with an asphaltene control-additive program, to improve the utilization of these crudes and avoid downstream operational problems.

Heavy feeds. Heavy crude oils are forecast to be more significant feedstocks for refineries due to increased production coupled with growing global energy demand. The heavy feedstocks commonly processed in US refineries usually come from California, Canada (Alberta or the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin), Venezu-ela, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Canadian heavy crude imports are steadily increasing due to the pipeline infrastructure that has been recently developed and extended.1–3 To accommodate the growing influx of heavy crudes, several US refineries are revamping process configurations; such modifications involve more bottoms upgrad-ing capability and greater consumption of steam, hydrogen and power.3–5 These measures require a significant capital investment, and due to present economic conditions, their implementation is progressing at a slow rate.

Operational challenges. Heavy crude oils are commonly blended with lighter crudes and other feedstocks at terminals or in refinery crude tanks to facilitate transportation and processing. Each heavy crude oil has unique physical and chemical character-istics that can represent specific operational challenges.

Heavy crudes are usually characterized by high levels of filter-able solids, asphaltenes, water and salts, as compared to lighter crude oils. Industry experience indicates that blending heavy crudes with other crude oils or lighter feedstocks can form unsta-ble or incompatible crude blends that can lead to serious opera-

tional problems such as: • Sludge buildup in crude

storage tanks• Stabilized emulsions• More frequent desalter

upsets• Increased desalter water

and salt carryover• Increased amounts of oil in

the desalter effluent water • Greater fouling in crude-

preheat exchangers, and in atmospheric and vacuum tower furnaces.

Greater salt carryover can also lead to increased corrosion activity in the atmospheric tower and the overhead condensing system.

Fouling impact. The economic impact from fouling is very significant. It is estimated that billions of dollars are spent annu-ally to address this problem.6 Major areas affected by feedstock asphaltene destabilization are:

• Crude storage tanks• Crude unit preheat exchangers• Crude unit atmospheric and vacuum furnaces• Resid hydroprocessing units• Delayed coker furnaces• Visbreaker furnaces and preheat exchangers.Fig. 1 illustrates the locations where fouling is observed in

crude distillation unit operations. These impacted areas all cre-ate significant operational problems by increasing energy costs, raising greenhouse gas emissions and limiting unit throughput. Typical measures that refineries can use to mitigate fouling phe-nomena include:

■ The ability to measure crude blend stability and compatibility quickly and accurately can create a competitive advantage for refiners wanting to improve feedstock flexibility and reduce feedstock costs by processing greater quantities of heavy crude oils. A robust field testing instrument and analysis procedures have been developed that provide on-site measurements of crude blend asphaltene stability allowing more timely feedstock segregation and blend optimization decisions.



• Increasing the frequency of heat exchanger and furnace tube cleaning operations

• Increasing furnace firing rates to compensate for furnace inlet temperature losses

• Chemically treating the crude charge with specialty chemi-cal additives, such as asphaltene dispersants and stabilizers, to improve asphaltene stability in the blended feed.

A combination of methods is often the most economical solu-tion for managing fouling.7, 8

Considering that new, more stringent environmental regula-tions are anticipated, and rigorous control and lower levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions will be required, refineries are challenged to identify the best approaches to mitigate and control fouling phenomena with minimum capi-tal expenditures.5–8

Role of asphaltenes. Asphaltenes are one of the major com-ponents of refinery fouling deposits. Asphaltenes are defined as a class of hydrocarbons that are soluble in xylene and toluene, but not soluble in paraffinic solvents such as heptane or pentane. They are polar compounds that normally contain hetero-atoms like sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen. When asphaltenes form aggregates, it is possi-ble to generate sludge in storage tanks and fouling on equipment.

Asphaltenes can also aggregate at oil/water interfaces, where they stabilize water-in-oil emulsions, or at oil/solid interfaces where they can alter surface wetting properties. One area in the refinery where this phenomenon is frequently encountered is around the crude unit desalter.9,10 In several cases where heavy Canadian feedstocks were processed, it was observed that asphaltene destabilization resulted in either a stabilized water/oil emulsion in the desalter, increasing basic sediment and water (BS&W) carryover into desalted crude, or the appearance of asphaltenes in desalter effluent water.

The stability of a feed is not directly proportional to the asphaltene amount present. More important, it is the stability of the asphaltenes that are present in the organic matrix, and the quality of the solvent in the organic matrix of the feed. Light oils with limited amounts of asphaltenes are more likely to cause problems during production than heavy crude oils with larger amounts of material in the asphaltene fraction.11,12

Heavy crude oils, although they contain higher amounts of asphaltenes vs. typical crudes, are also characterized by a rich organic matrix of intermediate components such as resins, aromatics, polynuclear aromatics with 2–3 rings, and naph-thene-aromatics that are good asphaltene solvents. Light oils can consist principally of paraffinic materials in which, by definition, asphaltenes have very limited solubility. The key to identifying feed stability lies in having a very accurate method to measure the optimum ratio of the “good solvent species” vs. the paraffinic components, thus preventing the destabilization of asphaltenes by maintaining the optimum ratio throughout the entire refining process.

Impact of blending on asphaltene behavior. There is no linear behavior in crude blending; only in specific cases may the behavior be close to “linear” where crude blends might exhibit stabilities between the two individual crude oil stabilities. These cases are usually encountered when crudes with a similar amount of asphaltenes, as well as similar organic matrixes, are mixed (e.g., light crude with light crude, or heavy crude with heavy crude). In most real-life situations, the nonlinear behavior is frequently seen where blends of light crude with heavy streams are used. Fig. 2 shows a real-life example of a stability trend obtained by mixing light crude with heavy crude. This example illustrates clearly that the crude blend obtained has lower stabil-ity vs. the initial stabilities of the blend components, and there is no linear behavior.

It is imperative for the refiner to assess the compatibility/stability of the feedstocks prior to their blending, and to iden-tify the optimum mitigation solution. Crude compatibility is defined as the ability to blend two or more crude types without inducing asphaltene precipitation. Crude stability is an intrinsic physical characteristic and refers to the capacity of the crude oil to keep all constituents, including the asphaltenes, well dis-

Cold crudepreheat

Hot crudepreheat

Vacuumfurnace

Atmos.crudetower

Vacuumdistillation

tower

Pipeline

Crudestorage

Crudefurnace

Desalters

Crude unit locations impacted by asphaltene fouling phenomena.

FIG. 1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Decr

ease

d st

abili

ty

Light crude oil in blend, %

Example of nonlinear stability behavior upon mixing light crude with heavy crude.

FIG. 2Example of crude incompatibility resulting in asphaltene precipitation raw crude A (right); raw crude B (left); and 50/50 blend of crudes A/B (center).

FIG. 3

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persed. Both parameters require evaluation prior to blending or processing.

Fig. 3 shows an example of two crude oils that, upon mixing, become incompatible and asphaltene destabilization occurs. On the left side of Fig. 3 is the heavy crude oil that, by itself, is sta-ble; on the right side is the lighter asphaltenic containing crude that is also stable. Both crudes show no evidence of asphaltenes precipitated on the bottle walls. By creating a 50/50 blend of these two individual crudes, a very unstable mixture is produced that immediately displays asphaltenes precipitated on the walls of the bottle, thus indicating the incompatibility of these two selected feedstocks. In practice, refineries blend their feedstocks by considering a series of factors such as storage-tank availability and capacity, feedstock availability and inventory, targeted refin-ery throughput and yield characteristics of the blend.

Measuring asphaltene stability. A series of conventional analytical tools are used to characterize and quantify the physical and chemical properties of received feedstocks. The most typical characterization performed measures the amount of saturates, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes (called a SARA analysis) in the oil sample. The asphaltene-to-resin ratio is usually used as a rough indication of the stability of the crude or crude oil blend (A/R > 0.35 indicates unstable oil). Although these methods are useful directional indicators of feedstock stability and compatibility, these techniques are not always sensitive enough to measure, predict and control the stability and compatibility of crudes and heavy crude oil blends. To obtain more valuable information, a versatile laboratory asphaltene stability technique was developed and is frequently used in laboratories.

Laboratory asphaltene stability technique. The labo-ratory asphaltene stability test was developed to provide highly sensitive information about the stability of crude oils as well as their blends, and to detect very small changes in the blend sta-bility. As little as a 2% change in the blend composition can be resolved with the method. The asphaltene stability test measures the stability of asphaltenes in crude oils via determination of the onset of the asphaltene flocculation point using a solvent-titration method.

The test instrument is equipped with a coherent near-infra-red (NIR) source that transmits through a sample. The device also has a solid-state detection system capable of measuring the

change in intensity upon a titration with an asphaltene precipi-tant (a nonsolvent such as pentane). An inflection point can be observed in a plot of transmittance vs. the volume of added non-solvent as flocculation begins. The point of inflection, expressed as the asphaltene stability index (ASI), corresponds to the point of asphaltene precipitation and provides a relative measure of the asphaltene’s stability in the oil.

A scale of ASI values was developed that can classify the feed-stock with respect to its stability and fouling potential:

• 0–130 ASI: High fouling potential• 130–200 ASI: Medium fouling potential• 200 and higher ASI: Low fouling potential. This technique is used to measure the stability of crude, crude

blends and the effects of chemical additives upon asphaltene stability.13

Asphaltene stability test case. A US West Coast refinery displayed poor desalter dehydration and brine quality issues when processing a particular heavy Canadian crude. The refinery was interested in improving the desalter operation; the emulsion or rag layer was building up and significant amounts of solids and asphaltenes were present that diminished the salt-removal effi-ciency and affected the quality of the effluent brine. The refinery was interested in solving these issues, but it also wanted to boost the amount of this heavy crude processed above 7,000 bpd.

Laboratory tests were performed on the heavy crude, the refin-ery blend and multiple synthetic blends to identify the optimum ratios for processing. The laboratory asphaltene stability test was used to perform this study. Fig. 4 shows the asphaltene stability results obtained for the standard refinery blend, where no heavy blend component or asphaltene stability additives were present; the heavy crude oil alone; and a blend containing 90% of the standard unit blend with 10% heavy crude.

The standard unit feed shows a moderate fouling potential. The heavy Canadian crude is severely unstable, with an ASI value of 26. By adding only 10% of the heavy component into the stan-dard crude blend, the asphaltene stability of the processed feed decreased by about 11.3%. Thus, the heavy crude is expected to have detrimental effects on the desalter performance, reducing dehydration efficiency and affecting effluent water quality.

A decision was made to evaluate several samples using chemical additives to improve the stability of the 90/10 crude blend. Fig. 5 shows the results obtained with two additives that displayed

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

0 50 100 150 200 250ASI

Heavy crudeStandard refinery feed90/10 blend 90%standard feed and10% heavy crude

26 168149

Inte

nsity

Comparison of the asphaltene stability: heavy crude, standard refinery feed and crude blend of 90/10 standard feed/heavy crude.

FIG. 4

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Inte

nsity

ASI

Decreased fouling potential

90/10 crude blendAdditive 1 additionAdditive 2 addition

149 192171

Chemical additives increase stability of crude blend with 10% heavy feed: 90/10 crude blend, Additive 1 on crude blend and Additive 2 on crude blend.

FIG. 5



the best asphaltene-stabilizing effect. Additive 1 increased the stability of the 90/10 crude blend by 15%. Additive 2 showed an improvement of 29% and shifted the stability to a range of values indicative of lower fouling potential.

Based on these results, it was recommended that Additive 2 be applied in the field. Using this additive program, the refiner could increase the rate of heavy oil processed from 7,000 bpd to 15,000 bpd, while maintaining desired salt-removal efficiency, as well as, dehydration performance.

After seeing this positive response from the stabilizer additive, the refinery wanted to process more than 10% of the heavy crude oil component. Another round of testing was done on the new heavy feed as well as on the currently processed feed. A blend of 80% processed feed with 20% heavy crude was made. Additive 2 was applied to this new crude blend; test results are illustrated in Fig. 6.

The 80/20 crude blend showed a 15% decrease in its stability in comparison with the processed feed. Treating the heavy crude with Additive 2 prior to mixing with the processed feed resulted in a 23% improvement in stability. Based on these laboratory data, the refinery more than doubled the amount of processed heavy Canadian crude from 7,500 bpd to 17,500 bpd and maintained good desalter performance.

These results illustrate the importance of identifying the sta-bility and/or compatibility of multiple crudes or crude mixtures when heavy streams are part of the blending formulation. Also important is determining the optimum blending ratio of the feeds prior to charging them to the processing units, and selecting the most cost-effective chemical treatment program to improve blend stability. By performing this exercise before the blending step, refineries can avoid significant operational problems, reduce energy costs, and lower feedstock costs by increasing the amount of heavy crudes in the crude blend.

To obtain this information, refiners usually ship samples to testing laboratories and wait until results are returned, which can take from one week to one month. This approach is not satisfac-tory in the refinery environment where decisions must be made in a matter of hours, or where information is needed onsite for a particular feed with specific operating conditions.

Field asphaltene stability testing. In response to refiners’ need to access valuable information onsite and to enable operators to screen feedstocks for asphaltene stability and blend compatibil-ity, a new portable field asphaltene stability monitoring technique was developed. Having this technical capability available onsite can provide several advantages:

• Greater flexibility in selecting feedstock types• More ability to optimize the blend feedstock ratios• Capability to improve optimization of any asphaltene stabil-

ity additive program. The new field asphaltene stability technique is similar in principle with the laboratory method now used.

This instrument is more rugged, self-contained and com-pletely portable. As with the laboratory test, the technique itself measures the stability and blend compatibility of refinery feed-stocks, the impact of chemical additives on these parameters and the optimum amount of chemical needed to improve blend stability. However, the field asphaltene stability test has improved sensitivity and detection capabilities to make these measurements quickly and accurately.

Case study on crude-oil blend stability. A series of crude feedstocks were obtained from a Texas Gulf Coast refinery. The asphaltene stability was measured using both laboratory and field techniques. Laboratory results were obtained on samples received from the field and measured within 1–2 weeks. The

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Inte

nsity

ASI

Heavy crude feed80/20 crude blendProcessed feedAdditive 2 appliedto 80/20 crude blend

Decreased fouling potential

45 146 172

180

Chemical additive increases stability of crude blend with 20% heavy feed: heavy crude, 80/20 crude blend, processed feed and Additive 2 on 80/20 crude blend.

FIG. 6

57.92 62.17

85.76 94.84

010

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Untreatedcrude

Currenttreatment

Proposedtreatment

Experimentalstabilizer

ASI

Improved asphaltene stability for crude blend No. 1 using chemical additives.

FIG. 8

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Crude # 8

Crude # 7

Crude # 6

Crude # 5

Crude # 4

Crude # 3

Crude # 2

Crude # 1 Field Laboratory

Crude stability comparison on samples measured with both laboratory and field techniques from a Texas Gulf Coast refinery.

FIG. 7


73

results obtained with the field instrument were recorded in the field on samples provided by the refinery.

Fig. 7 illustrates the results from this experiment and shows the same stability trend obtained with both techniques: Crudes No. 1 through No. 5 are very unstable and have a high potential for fouling, and Crudes No. 6 to No. 8 show medium stability and have moderate fouling potential.

Based on these results, Crude No. 1 was selected as the best candidate to perform more in-depth studies on the effects of chemical additives to improve asphaltene stability vs. the current chemical treatment program. Initially, one additive dosage was tested for all stability measurements. The results are illustrated in Fig. 8. As shown, a slight increase in asphaltene stability is provided with the current treatment program. These tests also suggest that using newly developed products can provide a 64% improvement in asphaltene stability.

Working with the refinery to optimize both the blend ratio and cost performance, a proposed chemical solution was recom-mended where a 48% stability improvement could be obtained. This testing was performed in the test laboratory and in the field at the refinery. A protocol to correlate these test results with field experience is being planned for this refinery location.

Overview. The ability to measure crude blend stability and compatibility quickly and accurately is an important competitive advantage for refiners wanting to improve feedstock flexibil-ity and reduce feedstock costs by processing greater quantities of heavy crude oils. Suitable laboratory techniques have been developed that can determine these measurements, but these techniques require long lead times to receive good results. A robust field testing instrument and analysis procedures have been developed that allow onsite measurements of crude blend asphaltene stability.

Based on results obtained, this new technology is a versatile tool that will allow more timely feedstock segregation and blend opti-mization decisions, and it will provide more effective asphaltene stability additive program optimization. This new capability can help refiners increase their heavy crude processing while maintain-ing desired desalter operation and performance. HP

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe authors wish to thank several Baker Hughes employees, especially Jerry

Weers, director of Industrial Technology; Lawrence N. Kremer, technical advisor; and Marco Respini, technology development specialist, for contributing to the manuscript and Roger Metzler, technical support manager, and Bruce Wright, technical field engineer, for supporting this work and reviewing the manuscript.

LITERATURE CITED 1 Worrell, E. and C. Galitsky, “California Industries of the Future Program,” Energy Analysis Department and Environmental Energy Technologies, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, July 2004. 2 “Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Petroleum Refineries in California,” Energetics Incorporated Report, April 2004. 3 “Crude Oil Forecast, Markets and Pipeline Expansions,” Canadian Association of Crude Oil Producers Report, June 2009. 4 “Downstream industry struggles with fewer resources,” Oil & Gas Journal, pg. 52, 2008. 5 Gunaseelan, P., “Changing US Crude Imports are Driving the Refinery Upgrades,” Oil & Gas Journal, August 2009. 6 “Fouling Minimization,” Office of Industrial Technologies, US Department of Energy, January 1999. 7 Wright, B. and T. Falkler, “Fouling Control Programs Reduce Energy Consumption, CO2 Emissions,” NPRA Annual Meeting, AM-09-52, March 22–24, 2009. 8 Smaïli, F., V. S. Vassiliadis and D. I. Wilson, “Mitigation of Fouling in

Refinery Heat Exchanger Networks by Optimal Management of Cleaning,” Energy & Fuels, 2001, 15, pp. 1038–1056. 9 Kremer, L. N., and S. Bieber, “Rethink Strategies When Handling Heavy Feedstocks,” Hydrocarbon Processing, September 2008, pp. 113–122. 10 Horne, B., “Homing in on Heavy Crudes,” Hydrocarbon Engineering, October 2009. 11 De Boer, R. B., K. Leerlooyer, M. R. P. Eigner and A. R. D. van Bergen, “Screening of Crude Oils for Asphalt Precipitation: Theory, Practice and the Selection of Inhibitors,” SPE Production & Facilities, February 1995, pp., 55–61. 12 Branco, V. A. M., G. A. Mansoori, L. C. De Almeida Xavier, S. J. Park, and H. Manafi, “Asphaltene flocculation and collapse from petroleum fluids,” Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 32, pp. 217–230, 2001. 13 Stark, J., L. N. Kremer and J. M. Nguyen, “New method prevents desalter upsets from blending incompatible crudes,” Oil & Gas Journal, March 18, 2002.

Dr. Corina Sandu is a project manager in Baker Hughes’ Commercial Develop-ment Group, Industrial Technology, in Sugar Land, Texas. In her current position, Dr. Sandu is responsible for leading the development of new technologies to enhance the performance of fireside additives for gas turbine applications. She is also responsible for Baker Hughes’ control/prediction programs for heavy fuel oil stability/compatibility. Dr. Sandu holds a PhD in materials chemistry from the University of Houston, and a post-doctorate from Rice University in Houston. She is a member of ACS and SPE. Dr. Sandu has authored and co-authored 19 publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as many conference publications, and has two patents.

Thomas Falkler is a senior research scientist in Baker Hughes’ Fouling Control Group in Sugar Land, Texas. He has over 30 years of experience with Baker Hughes in developing technologies to improve the stability of petroleum fluids and laboratory test methodologies to identify new mitigation and application strategies for refinery fouling. Mr. Falkler has authored or co-authored papers and patents focusing on coker-furnace fouling, asphaltinic polymers in FCC slurries, oxidation polymerization in naphtha streams, and asphaltene stability in crude oil and heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks.

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Mitigate corrosion in your crude unitReal-time analyzers can provide improved monitoring of chloride levels and enable better corrosion control practices

N. P. HILTON, Nalco Energy Services, Sugar Land, Texas; and G. L. SCATTERGOOD, Nalco Energy Services, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

In the refining industry, 90% of crude-unit overhead corrosion occurs during just 10% of operating time. These periods of unstable operation may occur during crude tank switches,

slop oil processing, processing of opportunity crudes, or other interruptions to normal operation. Traditional approaches to corrosion monitoring can easily miss problems that occur during this narrow “corrosion window,” or they may detect problems only after significant damage has already been done.

Traditional corrosion monitoring methods. Tradi-tional methods used to monitor and control corrosion in the overhead condensing system of an atmospheric crude distillation unit (CDU) may include installation of corrosion monitoring equipment, use of caustic in the crude oil and a variety of other chemical corrosion control solutions. Some refiners have elected, at great expense, to upgrade the overhead condensing metallurgy and all associated piping.

These traditional approaches, properly applied, provide acceptable corrosion control during the 90% of operating time when the unit is functioning normally. However, they may not detect or allow adequate or timely responses to the upsets that occur or the damage they can cause, during 10% of unit operating time. Tools available to the refiner and chemi-cal supplier are not sensitive enough, and the frequency, reli-ability and accuracy of measurements are not good enough to facilitate a timely response. Result: Even the best corrosion-control programs may not detect significant problems before the damage is done.

Solutions. New solutions are being developed to detect and to capture significant changes in the corrosive environ-ment in realtime, to measure the changes accurately, and to address and correct those changes before significant corrosion has occurred. For example, a new crude unit overhead analyzer (patent pending) that continuously measures pH, chlorides and iron in refinery process water has been developed. It can provide the accurate, real-time data required for effective and timely corrosion control.

Monitoring frequency. Refiners and chemical suppliers use a variety of wet chemistry tests in conjunction with corrosion monitoring tools to track the corrosive environment in crude overhead condensing equipment. These wet chemistry tests quantify several components, such as pH, chloride, ammonia, sulfide and iron in the overhead accumulator water.

The effectiveness of this testing is limited by the time it takes to collect and analyze samples. These tests are generally part of the routine service performed by refinery operations personnel or the chemical supplier, and they may only be performed at daily or weekly intervals. Generally, refinery operations staff will run a few of these tests once per shift, typically pH and possibly chloride. The result is the collection of minimal data, most of it during periods of stable operation. Only rarely and by chance is the data collected during a period of unit upset, when 90% of corrosion occurs. When upsets do occur, refinery operations staff are usually busy trying to get the crude unit lined out and back to steady-state, and data collection is a very low priority.

Typically, the amount of data collected through a corrosion-control program in the course of one year is just a fraction of the amount of process data captured by a refinery process historian over an equivalent period.

pH is the most frequently measured parameter in the crude-unit accumulator boot water, which may be checked from 4 to 10 times a day, possibly more often if a low pH is observed, or if it is a problematic unit. Some refiners have installed online pH probes to monitor the overhead accumulator boot water. But, these probes have a poor track record for reliability and they require frequent calibration. Many refiners give up on these systems and return to a reliance on manual pH measurements.

The frequency of sampling and performing the other wet chemistry tests—chloride, iron and ammonia—is substantially less. These tests tend to be the responsibility of the chemical sup-plier or the refinery’s central laboratory. The result may be a total of between 52 and 260 data sets per year; the majority of them are collected during periods of stable operation when little or no cor-rosion occurs. The same limitations apply to corrosion-rate data collected from probes and other monitoring devices in the over-head. Some refiners have attached data loggers to relay these mea-surements to their central control system, in an attempt to gather more timely information, but this is not a common practice.

Accuracy and speed. Test accuracy and speed of results turnaround are significant concerns when relying on manual wet chemistry testing. Human error, choice of test method, and the temptation to take shortcuts in sampling technique and preparation, can significantly affect test accuracy.

The time lag between sampling and performing the actual test can also make a significant impact on the value of the data



for effective corrosion control. Samples are usually collected on a set schedule, at the end of a shift, and four to six hours may elapse before they are processed in the refinery’s main laboratory and test results communicated to unit personnel. While this may be an adequate response time during periods of stable operation, and when data are used primarily to measure unit performance against a key performance indicator (KPI), it is too slow to facilitate a timely response within the corrosion window, the relatively brief period of upset when the most serious corrosion occurs. Without accurate, frequent and timely testing, corrosive

incidents may be completely missed or discovered only after significant damage has occurred.

Real-time solutions. The key to controlling corrosion, with-out throwing metallurgy at the problem, is the ability to capture accurate data in real time, detecting and closing the corrosion window before significant damage occurs. At present, field test-ing is underway on a new crude-unit overhead analyzer at several refineries in North America.

Process water from the crude unit overhead is continuously sampled and passed through the crude unit overhead analyzer, where specially designed pH electrodes provide a real-time mea-sure of the pH, as shown in Fig. 1 in the overhead water.

Simultaneously, the analyzer performs an automated, online analysis of chloride and total iron concentration in the process water. Chloride and iron analyses can be performed at frequen-cies ranging from one to six times per hour, depending on sys-tem conditions. With the online analyzer, the refiner can detect the onset of a corrosion window in time to adjust the corrosion-control chemical program, using closed-loop automated con-trollers, thus avoiding lag time and under-feed or over-feed of critical chemical components.

Table 1 lists the data collected with a typical service-interval approach vs. a real-time monitoring system through the crude unit overhead analyzer. This increase in the frequency of data collection can provide the refiner with much greater capability to control operational changes, excursions and upset conditions that can lead to unacceptable corrosion. The continuous sampling captures data around the clock, including the 10% of operating time during which 90% of corrosion and fouling occur. In addition, it provides test results in a timely manner for the refiner to respond, or for the online closed-loop controllers to take corrective action.

Fig. 2 illustrates the advantage of continuous chloride moni-toring with the crude unit overhead analyzer (blue dots) vs. the current practice of manual collection and analysis (green dots). As shown by the data, the industry current practice failed to capture any corrosion-causing excursions or upset conditions, which were captured by the more frequent samples tested by the analyzer. Not only is data more frequently collected by the analyzer, but it

is also more accurate and repeatable. The analyzer has eliminated human error, expo-sure to contaminants during sampling, and lag time due to transportation and test-ing at the refinery central laboratory. At any time, operations personnel can check the current pH, chloride and iron values by glancing at the analyzer display. Addi-tionally, the analyzer records all data and streams wirelessly via a proprietary server; thus, the data can be viewed in table or graphical format, in real time.

Performance indicators. Today’s refinery operations place a great empha-sis on tracking KPIs. If we set the KPI for chloride at 50 ppm (Fig. 2), industry cur-rent practice (red dots) shows that chlo-ride values are in specification 100% of the time. But the crude unit overhead ana-lyzer data (blue dots) shows this not to be the case, with chloride values out of spec

TABLE 1. Test data summary of traditional and online collection methods

Industry current Crude-unit overheadTest practice, frequency/yr analyzer, frequency/yr

pH 1,460 to 3,650 52,560

Wet chemistry (Cl, Fe) 52 to 260 8,760 to 52,560

Chloride test data using manual field testing and online analyzer.FIG. 2

Online analyzer

Neutralizer based on pHpH 6.5Filmer based on ironIron 0.5

Control caustic in crude basedon chloride, or customer-set limitChloride 25 ppm

Crude-unit overhead analyzer enables continuous monitoring and process chemical control to mitigate corrosion during upset and abnormal processing incidents.

FIG. 1


77

for considerable periods of time. The analyzer is capturing the true picture of chloride variability in the unit’s crude overhead. Unless, by chance, the industry current practice happens to capture data during an upset condition, it will not provide the refiner with an accurate understanding of corrosive conditions within the system.

pH issues. Maintaining the accumulator pH within an accept-able range, typically 5.5 to 6.5, is a key requirement of an effec-tive overhead-corrosion program. While the importance of the actual pH in the accumulator water is not as critical as the pH in the overhead bundles upstream, the relationship between the two values can be established and is critical. Due to less water being present and the absence of ammonia at the point of initial condensation, the pH will generally be even lower upstream than in the accumulator. Fig. 3 shows another example where, over a weekend, the crude unit overhead analyzer picked up a signifi-cant dip in accumulator pH, which ranged between 3 and 4 for a full 48-hour period. Again, industry current practice would likely have missed this significant corrosion window.

Fig. 4 shows the relationship between a large increase in chloride and the corresponding increase in iron, with the resulting decrease in pH level. If you only observed the pH decrease from 7 to 6, you would assume there isn’t much cause for alarm. But the crude unit overhead analyzer clearly picks up the increases in both the chloride and iron readings, an indica-tion that immediate corrective action is required to prevent a significant spike in corrosion.

Real-world example. Results from real-world trials of the crude unit overhead analyzer have demonstrated benefits in pro-viding data in time for corrective adjustments to the corrosion control program. This real-time data enables the refiner to control overhead corrosion, extend equipment life, avoid unplanned shutdowns, decrease off-spec material and costly reprocessing, and reduce maintenance costs.

A clear illustration of this can be seen in Fig. 5. A North American refiner had a recurrent corrosion issue in the overhead exchangers that would force unscheduled shutdowns or process

unit slowdowns to replace damaged overhead bundles. Using data collected by the crude unit overhead analyzer with active partici-pation by operations and the chemical supplier, the refiner was able to decrease the average corrosion rate by more than 60%.

Due to the sheer amount of data available and the ease of gath-ering it with the crude unit overhead analyzer, operations and the chemical supplier were able to detect changes in unit operations more frequently, and respond to them more promptly to optimize the corrosion control program.

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Cl Fe pH 1 pH 2

Relationship between a large increase in chloride and an increase in iron, with the resulting decrease in pH levels.

FIG. 4

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pH value trend in crude unit overhead.FIG. 3

Web: www.acsseparations.com • Email: [email protected]: www.acsseparations.com • Email: [email protected]

GRASS ROOT AND REVAMP PROJECTSGRASS ROOT AND REVAMP PROJECTS


Selas FluidSubsidiary of The Linde Group

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Linde has built a history of proven results with over 250 synthesis gas plants and 2,800 air separation plants installed worldwide. As a world class supplier of synthesis gas and air separation plants, Linde Engineering and its subsidiary, Selas Fluid, provide single source responsibility for engineering, procurement and construction of complete synthesis gas and air separation plants.

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79


Future development. As the example just cited shows, real-time monitoring has greatly enhanced the refiner’s ability to detect and take timely action to correct variations in process conditions that can lead to corrosion. It should be noted that these results were achieved over an 11-month period through the use of manual adjustment of the corrosion-control program. The next stage in development of the crude unit overhead ana-lyzer will be the addition of state-of-the-art closed-loop, auto-mated control of the chemical portion of the corrosion-control program, further enhancing its value to the refiner.

Rust never sleeps. To be truly effective, a corrosion-control program must go beyond the industry current practice of peri-odic sampling and manual sample processing. To this end, the crude unit overhead analyzer can provide continuous, accurate, repeatable data, including conditions during the critical 10% of operations when 90% of corrosion occurs. By detecting these “corrosion windows” consistently and in real time, the analyzer provides the refiner with a continuous view of pH, chloride and iron levels in the system, permitting the application of timely and effective chemical solutions before significant corrosion has occurred. HP

Nigel P. Hilton is the marketing manager of downstream with Nalco Energy Services, Sugar Land, Texas. He joined Nalco in 1990, starting as a technical service representative, working in the downstream refining and petrochemicals division. Mr. Hilton has held several positions throughout his Nalco career in sales and marketing in both the US and Europe. His current responsibilities are the strategic development on new technologies for Nalco’s downstream refining and petrochemical division.

Glenn L. Scattergood joined Nalco in 1978 as a quality control chemist at the Sugar Land manufacturing facility. He then spent 8 years in RFM Research, develop-ing test methods and new chemistries for corrosion control and emulsion breaking. Following that, he spent 15 years in sales as an area manager and district manager in Chicago, Illinois, and Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Scattergood has authored and presented numerous technical papers at several industry conferences and was selected to author the chapter on refinery corrosion inhibitors for the 13th Ed. of American Society of Metals, Metals Handbook. At present, he is in Beijing, China as technology manager for RFM, Asia-Pacific region.

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Probe #1 Probe #2 9.34 avg MPY prior online

analyzer installed

5.39 avg MPY first 3 monthswith online analyzer

3.62 avg MPY last 6 monthswith online analyzer

Corrosion monitoring program for a North American refiner’s crude unit overhead.

FIG. 5


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Improve vacuum tower revamp projectsA ‘balanced approach’ investigates separation of vapor and liquids in the flash zone/wash section design

S. COSTANZO, S. M. WONG and M. PILLING, Sulzer Chemtech USA, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Revamping an existing vacuum col-umn to operate at a higher feedrate, higher flash zone temperature, lower

pressure and different feedstock character-ization is a complex task. It requires review-ing the column design with respect to the revamp conditions and identifying suitable solutions to reliably operate at the new con-ditions. Unless all of the design and operat-ing aspects work together in unison, the net result will be, at best, less than optimum, and at worst, a very costly problem. To get a complete view of the flash zone opera-tion, we must also take into account all the peripheral regions, including the heater, transfer line, inlet nozzle, inlet feed device, stripping section, and the overflash (slop wax) collector tray. Also, it is important that we consider the type and character-istics of the crude oil being processed. All these aspects are integrally involved in the design revision; the correct balance among them identifies the optimum solution.

Balancing conditions. The operating requirements that determine the optimum, balanced design are yield recovery, product quality, operating flexibility and reliability. An important aspect affecting recovery and product quality is the level of entrainment (heavier residue liquids) carried by the vapor in the flash zone and wash section. Entrainment generated from the flashing feed and carried to the upper sections can be a source of product quality deterioration as well as operational reliability. Therefore, it is important to understand the sources of entrainment generation as well as the methods used to reduce entrainment. All good vacuum tower designs must evalu-ate these factors to balance capacity, per-formance and operational reliability (i.e., coking resistance).

PROCESS AND EQUIPMENTFig. 1 shows the bottom portion of

a vacuum column along with the heater and transfer line, and defines the focus area when reviewing the flash zone and wash section. Revamping the vacuum unit will likely create significant changes to the operating conditions for the vacuum column, as well as, the heater and the transfer line. Changes in vacuum tower products generally require modifying the tower flash zone temperature and pres-sure, which are directly dependant on the heater outlet conditions and transfer line hydraulics. All of this equipment is linked from a process performance stand-point. Any complete process study should include these components.

Vacuum heater. The vacuum heater must supply the appropriate duty to the

vacuum tower feed without exceeding tube-wall temperature limits where exces-sive coking occurs. Aside from the feed composition, heater coking is mainly a function of tube-wall temperature and residence time, which are controlled by feed and heater outlet temperature. Steam can be injected in heater passes to miti-gate coking, but this extra volume must then be handled in the transfer line and column. The heater outlet stream is fed to the transfer line, typically from vari-ous passes of a multiple-pass heater. Since this stream is continually flashing, the transfer-line hydraulics, which are quite complex,1 also affect the heater and col-umn operation. Extra pressure drop cre-ates additional flashing, which lowers the fluid temperature, requiring a higher heater-outlet temperature to maintain the desired flash-zone temperature.

Vacuum tower bottom section, heater and transfer line. FIG. 1



Transfer line. The transfer line trans-ports feed from the heater to the column-flash zone, with the pipe typically increas-ing in diameter as it approaches the column inlet. There is a significant pressure profile created by the increasing velocity of the stream due to flashing, which progressively reduces the fluid (mixed-phase) density along the transfer line. Reusing an existing transfer line for operating conditions other than for which it was originally designed may adversely affect the new mixed-phase fluid behavior traveling through the pipe. The final result is that the flashing behav-ior within the pipe creates additional entrainment. An undersized transfer line will increase entrainment in the vacuum column feed. Therefore, the transfer line should be designed to minimize pressure drop as is practical, and to avoid flow regimes that create excessive quantities of very small liquid droplets that are more difficult to de-entrain.

Column. Inside the column, we have to review the flash zone, stripping section, and wash section.

Flash zone. The flash zone transitions the high velocity two-phase feed from the

transfer line into the column, separating the liquid and routing it to the bottom of the column while providing initial distri-bution of vapor upward to the wash sec-tion. The column inlet can have several arrangements with single or multiple inlet nozzles oriented tangentially or radially. The feed-inlet distributor functions as a vapor/liquid disengagement device and as a vapor distributor. It uses the feed inertia to redirect the feed stream to contact and to remove dispersed liquid particles. Liquids, still entrained in the upward flowing vapor portion of the feed, must be minimized and/or removed because they contain high amounts of heavy-end contaminants such as metals and hydrogen-deficient molecules. These contaminants can poi-son downstream catalyst, form coke, and adversely affect the distillate product end-point and color.

If no modifications are made to the transfer line and inlet nozzles during a revamp, the transfer line will discharge into the flash zone via an inlet nozzle that was originally designed for less aggressive conditions. In this case, the inlet device within the column becomes very impor-tant since it has to correct for the higher

momentum and increased entrainment from the transfer line and still provide good liquid disengagement and uniform vapor distribution to the wash section. Condi-tions in the flash zone are critical as they affect the performance of the wash section with respect to de-entrainment capabilities, coking resistance and conditioning of the vapor flowing to the section above.

Slop-wax collector chimney tray. The next important device is the slop-wax col-lector chimney tray that separates the flash zone from the wash section. It serves three purposes within the column:

• Redistributes and equalizes vapor flow on a large-scale basis due to its inherent pressure drop and chimney distribution

• Provides a de-entrainment effect, depending on the chimney hat shape

• Collects liquid leaving the bottom of the wash bed.

The slop wax liquid product collected on the tray consists of “overflash” (heavy condensed components from the vapor feed), the heavy portion of the clean wash oil making through the packed bed with-out being re-vaporized and the coalesced entertainment from the flash zone. Process economics usually dictate that the clean




wash-oil rate to the wash section be minimized while maintaining a sufficient flow so that coking is avoided. This liquid is rela-tively low volume; if kept on the tray for a prolonged period, it is prone to cracking due to its com-position and high-temperature operating conditions. Therefore, a specific sloped design is recom-mended to lower residence time and mitigate coking.

Wash zone. Vapor leaves the chimney tray with any remain-ing entrained liquids and enters the bottom of the wash section, which is typically packed with a combination of grid in the bottom and structured pack-ing at the top. The wash section is critical for vacuum column product quality. It must provide the lowest practicable amount of contaminants and entrained liquids to upper sections with-out coking. A small liquid gasoil (GO) stream (“clean wash oil”) is fed to the top of the wash sec-tion to wet packing and prevent it from drying out and coking. The packing removes heavier components in the vapor flowing upward from the flash zone by condensation and by coalescing entrained liquid droplets. This lowers the heavy vacuum gasoil (HVGO) end point by removing heavier components that belong in the vacuum residue. It also serves to reduce other contaminants such as organic metals, carbon and asphaltenes.

The performance of the wash section is directly related to liquid distribution qual-ity and flow control of the wash rate. Typi-cally, two types of liquid distributors can be used, either a spray header or a gravity-flow distributor. Any design must provide a homogeneous distribution to the top of the packed bed to assure uniform wetting of the packing and to also prevent vapor maldistribution within the bed. Since the packing itself has a low pressure drop, vari-ances in liquid loads can create regions of higher or lower pressure drop, adversely affecting the vapor flow uniformity through the bed. The combination of liquid distri-bution quality, distributor reliability and coking resistance are crucial factors in selecting a distributor.

Stripping section. The last portion of the column is the bottom stripping sec-tion; this section performs the final recov-

ery of lighter components from the residue. It is typically equipped with trays and is fed from the bottom with steam that strips residue liquids leaving the bottom of the column. Proper stripping in the bottom of the column directly affects column yield as it recovers valuable distillate product components. The design configuration of the stripping section itself and transition of vapors to the flash zone are important to avoid possible entrainment and to guaran-tee the reliability of the column.

DISTRIBUTION VS. ENTRAINMENTAs discussed in Pilling et al., an issue

that requires close review is the feed-device design with respect to entrainment removal and vapor distribution to the wash section.2 From an operational standpoint, the true goal of the flash zone and wash section is to reliably provide the best possible vapor feed to the VGO recovery section above the wash section. Accordingly, it provides the lowest possible amount of contaminants and entrained liquids, as well as the most uniform vapor distribution.

Vapor distribution. Uniform vapor distribution to the wash bed is very important. While the effects of entrainment can be measured with some effort, the effects of maldistribution are not easily measured and often are difficult to quantify. Vapor maldistribution causes higher pressure drop through the pack-ing. It causes variations of the vapor/liquid ratio within various regions of the packing. It is cer-tain that these effects reduce the de-entrainment capabilities of the wash bed. Poor distribution can cause localized entrainment through the bed (i.e., localized “flooding”) that can allow heavy-end contaminants to reach the VGO recovery section.

Maldistribution can result in hot spots in the packing where coking and fouling are more likely to commence. Although it is desirable to minimize entrain-ment from the flash zone to the wash bed, it is imperative that the vapor-feed distribution to the wash bed is uniform so the bed can perform properly. A well-designed wash section will provide excellent de-entrain-ment levels (> 98%) and sub-sequently excellent HVGO

quality. So, if the bed is operating in a region where entrainment is critical and coking is likely, which is common, then maldistribution is clearly something that must be minimized.

Entrainment levels from the flash zone and wash sections can almost always be further reduced, but this often comes at the expense of pressure drop, coking resis-tance or vapor distribution. One difficulty is actually knowing the entrainment lev-els and droplet sizes. Proprietary correla-tions have been developed based on many commercial reference cases to estimate the amount of entrainment generated from various feed devices.2 These can be used to estimate flash-zone entrainment and subsequent wash section de-entrainment. However, to have a reasonably accurate estimation, one must also be able to account for the entrainment rates and droplet sizes entering the column from the transfer line.

Validation of entrainment should be done by running simulations of the col-umn with specific attention to estimating

Elevation of vacuum tower flash zone and wash section. FIG. 2

Factors affecting entrainment generation. FIG. 3



the true overflash at the operating condi-tions. The balance between the measured slop wax and overflash should give the most reliable estimation. Unfortunately, this exercise is not routinely practiced; therefore, empirical correlations based on practical data or other analytical methods can help. Based on the understanding of the controlling parameters, a further validation of de-entrainment capability in the vacuum tower can be done using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study. The goal is to associate the dynamic behavior of vapor from the flash zone to potential entrainment carried over due to maldistribution.

The entrainment regions within the vacuum column are shown in Fig. 2 and are the regions of the flash zone immedi-ately above the feed-inlet device and above the wash section. These areas are essentially open regions above the feed where liquid can be carried upward with the vapor. The region above the feed device is affected mainly by the feedrate, composition and flow conditions, as well as the design of the feed inlet and the feed device itself. The region above the wash section is affected by distribution and characteristics of the vapor and liquid feeds to the wash section as well as the design of the wash section and slop-wax collector tray.

Factors affecting entrainment. Fig. 3 shows several factors that can affect entrainment. Entrainment in the feed starts as far upstream as the heater. As the feed vaporizes within the heater and flows as a two-phase regime through the pipes, liquid is being entrained into the vapor. As the feed flow continues to flash within the transfer line, velocity often increases up to sonic velocity. A significant amount of entrainment can be generated in the transfer line. Typically, the cases where the problem of entrainment is occurring are when existing columns are going to be operated at new conditions such as increased feedrate or reduced flash zone pressure maintaining the existing transfer line and inlet nozzle. The increased feed and/or lower flash-zone pressure (higher feed vaporization) increase velocity in the transfer line and inlet nozzle, thus increas-ing entrainment. As hydraulic conditions become more severe, more entrainment with smaller droplet sizes will be gener-ated. This applies to the feed nozzle and the feed internals.

For the feed device, any design char-acteristics that create re-entrainment or

A and B (high-performance vapor horn): Elevation just below chimney tray at 100% and 120% design rates.

FIG. 6

A and B (standard vapor horn): Elevation just below chimney tray at 100% and 120% design rates.

FIG. 5

CFD column review at various elevations.FIG. 4



droplet shattering (as opposed to coales-cence) will create more entrainment that is more difficult to remove. In principle, any abrupt flow change can shatter droplets, so placement of feed baffles (to enhance vapor distribution) must be done carefully. This is where the benefits of CFD can be effectively used.

Entrainment within the flash zone is governed by Stokes’ Law, where droplet entrainment is a function of droplet size and vapor velocity, with the other prop-erties (fluid density and viscosity) being inherent to the particular tower conditions, and, therefore, out of our area of influence. CFD is also effective in modeling these conditions in this part of the column.

Finally, the design and performance of the stripping section can affect entrainment in a few different ways. First, it provides additional vapor flow upward into the flash zone that will influence the fluid flow pat-terns and gradients. Second, the chimneys at the top of the stripping section can influ-ence the vapor flow patterns in the bot-tom of the column. Improper designs can cause vapor to entrain additional liquids off the chimney tray deck. Third, improp-erly designed chimneys and hats can be a source of entrainment. Although their design is typically not critical, it still must be accounted for.

CFD STUDIESAs mentioned earlier, fluid dynamic

studies developed with CFD can be a pow-erful tool when properly applied. A few examples are analyzed here. Fig. 4 shows a typical vacuum tower application where a vapor horn design is being evaluated. To make a complete review of the vacuum tower, velocity profiles are generated at various elevations in the bottom portion of the tower. The lowest elevation view is just above the stripping section (Plane 0). At this elevation, it is important to be sure that the swirling action of the feed above is not adversely affecting the flows on the stripping section chimney tray and vice-versa.

The next higher view is at the tower feed elevation (Plane 1). At this eleva-tion, the flow through the inner portion of the column can be evaluated to ensure that the vertical vapor velocities are not too high. This is important when evaluat-ing the effect of the cross-sectional area blocked by the feed device. Open area of the feed device is a critical parameter in vacuum column flash-zone design. The next elevation view is just above the feed

elevation (Plane 2). This is where the first transition from high velocity feed to verti-cal column flow can be seen. This view helps when evaluating the effectiveness of the vapor distribution function of the feed device. The next elevation up is just below the chimney tray (Plane 3). This view helps in evaluating the vertical spac-ing requirements between the feed device and the chimney tray. The highest eleva-tion view is just below the wash section bed (Plane 4). This is arguably the most important view as it shows the final result of vapor distribution to the wash section. If this view shows substantially uneven vapor distribution, modifications to the column design should be considered.

Vapor-horn design issues. It is also important to study the flow distribution at the various possible design rates. Figs. 5–8 show CFD results for a study of two devices (standard vapor horn and a high performance vapor horn) at two different feedrates (100% design and 120% design).

Figs. 5A and 5B show the 100% and 120% design rates for the standard vapor horn at an elevation below the chimney tray. As shown here, there are some substantial high vapor velocity regions for both cases, with the 120% case being more extreme. Figs. 6A and 6B show the same views for a high-performance feed device. Note: There is a substantial reduction in the red areas signifying less high vapor velocity regions for this device.

Figs. 7A and 7B show an elevation just below the wash section packing for the standard vapor horn. Note: Reduction of the higher velocity regions from Figs. 5A and 5B is the result of the redistribution caused by the chimney tray. Figs. 8A and 8B show the same view for the high-per-formance device. As expected, this view shows improvement over the lower eleva-tion views seen in Figs. 6A and 6B due to the chimney tray redistribution.

By using this analysis, the user can see the benefits of one device over another and can also see the effects at varying design

A and B (standard vapor horn): Elevation just below wash section bed at 100% and 120% design rates.

FIG. 7

A and B (high-performance vapor horn): Elevation just below wash section bed at 100% and 120% design rates.

FIG. 8



rates. In certain cases, some devices handle high rates better than others. This is espe-cially true when devices start to occupy a substantial amount of the column cross-sectional area. Specifically, in the case shown here, the standard vapor horn occupies a greater amount of the column cross section. We can see from Figs. 7A and 7B that the 20% increase doubles the high velocity region (shown in red) below the packed bed. For the high-performance vapor horn, Figs. 8A and 8B show that the

20% increase in flow only slightly changes the flow profiles of the vapor feed to the packed bed.

Figs. 9A and 9B show an even more extreme example of feed effects on vapor profiles. These show the vapor velocities just below the wash-section packing for a cyclone-type feed device. At the base design rate, there are some very small high-veloc-ity regions around the perimeter of the column. However, at 130% of design, the high-velocity regions around the perim-

eter are quite substantial, and, somewhat surprisingly, there is a large high-velocity region in the center of the column. This further emphasizes the importance of understanding the effects of loading on column internals.

Looking inside. Vacuum tower design, especially for revamps, is a complex task. Much of the process is interdependent, and the solution is iterative and must con-sider a wide range of process equipment. For a design to be successful, the engineer must understand the fundamentals of the process and have design tools that reflect real world experience. By understanding the column hydraulics, and, specifically, flow distribution and entrainment char-acteristics, the engineer is well on their way to providing a successful, balanced, effective design. HP

LITERATURE CITED 1 Ha, H., et al., “Stepwise Simulation of Vacuum Transfer Line Hydraulics,” Petroleum Technology Quarterly, Revamps, 2009. 2 Pilling, M., M. Roza and S. M. Wong, “Entrainment Issues in Vacuum Column Flash Zones,” Petroleum Technology Quarterly, Q1, 2010.

A and B (cyclone-feed distributor): Elevation just below wash section bed at 100% and 130% design rates.

FIG. 9

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In the process industries, with equipment operating at high temperatures, it is often required to know the temperature distribution in the horizontal-vessel saddles, and more specifi-

cally, the temperature at the saddle base. Cases where such a need may arise include:

• Selecting the correct type of antifriction material under a sliding saddle when high temperatures could be a concern

• Where the supporting structure integrity could be influ-enced by high temperatures transferred from the vessel through the saddles

• Selecting the correct material for the saddle plates. Existing calculation methods mainly concentrate on pipe sup-

ports and consider conduction through the support plates only. Such calculations are applicable where the supports are also cov-ered by insulation, but are not valid for most cases that consider horizontal-vessel and heat-exchanger saddle supports.

In this article, the heat-transfer theory of cooling fins is applied to develop a calculation method for the temperature distribution in saddle supports that consider convection heat loss to atmosphere. Calculations are supported by finite-element analysis (FEA) and verified by on-site temperature measure-ments. The calculations will be explained by application to an example case study.

Case study. A steam drum operates with an internal tempera-ture of 249°C. The drum contains liquid up to a certain level, at relatively low-velocity flow conditions.

A steady-state thermal FEA was performed to calculate the temperature distribution in the saddle. A convection heat transfer coefficient of 20 W/m2K between the process fluid and the shell was used. This is consistent with laminar-flow conditions inside the drum. Convective heat transfer from the saddle plates to ambient was modeled using a measured ambient temperature of 46°C and a heat-transfer coefficient of 20 W/m2K. The resulting temperature distribution is shown in Fig.1. These results were correlated with temperature measurements along the lines shown in Fig. 2. The calculated temperatures are compared to measured results in Fig. 3. This figure shows that the finite-element model predicts the correct temperature distribution.

Theoretical calculations. The saddle plate of a horizontal vessel can be considered as a cooling fin, transferring heat from

the inside of the vessel, through conduction in the saddle plate and by convection to the atmosphere. From (1) the temperature distribution in a cooling fin can be theoretically calculated as:

T (x) = (Tb Ts )e

mbx

b2

+ emb

x

b

+ e 2mb (1)

where:

m =2hk

1

2 (2)

=

m +ha

k

mha

k

(3)

Calculating the temperature distribution in horizontal vessel saddle supportsThe heat-transfer theory of cooling fins is applied

G. N. VAN ZYL, SABIC, Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Calculated temperature distribution on saddle.FIG. 1


90

h = convection coefficient from fin faces and sides ha = convection coefficient from fin tip k = conduction coefficient of fin material Tb = temperature at a fin base Ts = surrounding temperatureConsidering that the heat loss through the saddle base plate

is mostly negligible due to contact resistance, small temperature

differences and (sometimes) the antifriction pad insulating prop-erties, the equations can be simplified by taking ha = 0. Eq. 3 reduces to � = 1 and Eq. 1 becomes:

T (x) = Tb Ts( )e

mbx

b2

+ emb

x

b

1+ e 2mb (4)

The practical application of the method to calculate the tem-perature distribution in a saddle then reduces to the use of Eqs. 2 and 4 where:

h = convection coefficient from saddle plate to atmosphere k = saddle material conduction coefficientTb = temperature at saddle and shell junction Ts = atmospheric temperatureIn most cases, the ultimate aim of the calculation will be to

determine the temperature at the saddle base plate. In this case, Eq. 4 reduces to:

δ

b

xx = 0

Terminology for theoretical calculations.FIG. 4

Paths for results extraction.FIG. 2

00

50

100

150

200

250

200 400 600 800 1,000Distance from saddle base plate, mm

A-A FEAA-A measuredB-B FEA

C-C FEAC-C measured

B-B measured

Tem

pera

ture

, °C

1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000

Comparison of FEA-calculated and measured temperature distributions.

FIG. 3

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92

T (b) = (Tb Ts )2e mb

1+ e 2mb (5)

As in most applied engineering calculations, some assumptions have to be made. For this problem, there are two basic assump-tions: the temperature at the saddle-to-shell junction and the con-vection coefficient for heat loss from the saddle to atmosphere.

With the saddle acting as a cooling fin, temperature in the vessel shell near the junction with the saddle will be lower than in other regions. Calculating the temperature at the saddle and shell junction is nontrivial. In most cases, making the conservative assumption that Tb = internal temperature will be adequate.

The coefficient for convection heat loss from the saddle to ambient depends on the difference between local wall and air temperatures and air-flow velocity. In most cases, assuming a convection coefficient of 20 W/m2K, which is typical for moderate wind conditions, will be adequate.

Assigning values to the constants that are applicable to the case study:

b = 1,200 mm � = 20 mm Tb = 190°C (determined from FEA result)Ts = 46°C h = 20 W/m2K k = 46 W/m2KFig. 5 compares the results of the theoretical calculation to the

FEA results and the on-site temperature measurements. Good agreement between the three sets of results can be seen. HP

BIBLIOGRAPHYKraus, A. D., A. Aziz and J. R. Welty, Extended surface heat transfer, 2001.

Gys van Zyl has been a mechanical consultant at SABIC Engi-neering and Project Management since 2006. Prior to joining SABIC, he served as a principal engineer at an engineering con-sultation firm in Secunda, South Africa. Mr. van Zyl holds B. Eng and M. Eng degrees from Stellenbosch University in South Africa

and has 15 years of experience in mechanical engineering and numerical analysis for design and maintenance in the petrochemical and power industries.

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,4000

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Distance from saddle base plate, mm

Tem

pera

ture

, °C

A-A FEAA-A measuredA-A theoretical

Comparison of FEA, measured and theoretical results.FIG. 5

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Both spiral-wound and kammprofile gaskets are used exten-sively in refineries and petrochemical plants for applications subject to thermal cycling, pressure variations, flange rota-

tion, stress relaxation and creep. In recent years, however, there has been a discernable shift away from the use of spiral-wound gaskets in favor of kammprofiles, which tend to provide better sealing performance and longer service life.

Spiral-wound gaskets were developed to improve performance in high-pressure applications ranging from flanged pipe connec-tions to heat exchangers. Consisting of alternating plies of com-pressible filler material and thin-gauge metallic strip wrapped phonographically, spiral-wound gaskets provide the requisite pressure resistance in these applications (Fig. 1). In the 1980s, alternative materials such as flexible-graphite replaced asbestos as the filler in these gaskets, yet their basic design has remained unchanged since they were invented in the early 1900s.

Initially, these gaskets were centered using a length of wire looped over two opposing studs in the flange, commonly referred to as a loop winding (Fig. 2). Today, the most common method for centering a spiral-wound gasket is a metal outer ring. This outer guide ring serves to center the gasket in the flange and limit its compression. If the sealing surfaces are compressed against this centering ring (and no inner ring is present) a metal-to-metal seal

may be formed. This is acceptable provided the flanges remain at a steady temperature. However, when gasket assembly stress cannot be adjusted to accommodate upset conditions or thermal cycling, the seal may be subject to premature failure. This is especially true when graphite fillers are used without inner rings. In addition to its performance-related functions, the outer guide ring also serves to identify the size, pressure class and material composition of the gasket.

Spiral-wound gasket dimensions for ASME B16.5 and B16.47 flanges are delineated in ASME B16.20 (Metallic Gaskets for Pipe Flanges). The outer guide ring is dimensioned to center the gasket in the flange off the inner edge of the bolts, allowing it 1/16 in. of radial movement in the flange. The ASME B16.20 specification also provides generally accepted sealing-element dimensions.

Functionality and troubleshooting. During gasket instal-lation the filler material extrudes from between the alternate metallic plies to create a seal against the flange surfaces, including any imperfections. Gasket failures can result from either gasket under- or over-compression.

Vulnerabilities. Increasingly, spiral-wound gaskets are being supplied with inner rings as well. If not, there is a greater risk

Spiral-wound or kammprofile gaskets? There appears to be a shift toward the latter, but the choice isn’t always clear. Here’s where best to apply each type.

C. YODER, Garlock Sealing Technologies, Palmyra, New York; and D. W. REEVES, Chevron Richmond Refinery, Richmond, California

The spiral-wound gasket structure is reinforced with metal rings to prevent buckling in service and damage from improper handling.

FIG. 1 Loop winding spiral-wound gaskets to center them on a flange has largely given way to the use of an outer guide ring depicted in Fig. 1.

FIG. 2



that the gasket windings will buckle inward, limiting the load that can be applied and maintained on them (Fig. 3). The dam-aged inner windings can contaminate the system or damage downstream components. Even if the windings are properly loaded, the graphite can move and the gasket relax as the bolted connection heats. As a result, the gasket can lose the stress

required for the seal integrity. In some cases, highly loaded windings can also cause buckling of the inner ring itself if it is not wide enough.

In addition to density and compression, ease of handling can be an important factor in selecting the proper gasket for a par-ticular application. For example, installing a gasket in a confined space or 20 feet in the air can pose a number of challenges. Spiral-wound gasket windings are particularly susceptible to damage, “springing” when bumped, dropped or otherwise mishandled. Large spiral-wound gaskets can be especially difficult to handle since the windings can have a tendency to pop out. In addition, they are sometimes hard to seal since the initial winding density can be so low that the guide rings are contacted before the wind-ings are properly loaded. If the gasket is unloaded, the windings can come apart like a spring (Fig. 4).

Kammprofile gaskets. Kammprofile gaskets were devel-oped in Europe, where the original grooved cross-section was developed in Germany and standardized in DIN 2697 nearly 40 years ago. Designed as an alternative to both traditional metal-jacketed and spiral-wound gaskets, kammprofiles have seen increased use in the US for the past decade and are displacing spiral-wound gaskets in many systems. Although the original design has been modified over the years, it is relatively simple:

Spiral-wound gaskets without inner rings can buckle, limiting the load that can be applied and maintainedon them.

FIG. 3

Improperly or unloaded spiral-wound gaskets can come apart like a spring.

FIG. 4

Kammprofile gaskets feature a serrated metallic core with soft, conformable materials bonded to both sides.

FIG. 5

Kammprofile gaskets feature a serrated metallic core with soft, conformable materials bonded to both sides.

FIG. 5A

NATIONAL PETROCHEMICAL & REFINERS ASSOCIATION




a solid metal core with concentric serrations and faced with a nonmetallic material such as flexible graphite or various grades of PTFE (Figs. 5 and 5A).

When the gaskets are installed, the soft facing material is forced into the metal core serrated grooves. The compressive stress increases the facing material density within the grooves and multiple, concentric high-pressure seals are created across the gasket face. These gaskets can be configured simply as a profiled and faced ring, or they can incorporate an outer ring, much like a standard spiral-wound gasket. This outer ring can be integral to the core metal or a separate, floating ring.

Kammprofile gaskets offer the advantage of sealing at a rela-tively low seating stresses. Radial shear tightness (RAST) testing at TTRL in Canada showed these gaskets to seal reliably down to 4,000 psi seating stress, but some users consider 6,000 psi as an absolute minimum. Suggested gasket stress is generally in the range of 10,000 psi to 40,000 psi. Kammprofile gaskets can also maintain a seal under extremely high seating stresses. In Europe these gaskets are replacing jacketed and clad gaskets in pressure vessels and heat exchangers, where it is difficult to achieve and maintain sufficient gasket seating stresses due to flange design and system conditions, such as thermally induced stud-load changes and differential thermal expansion between sealing surfaces.

Kammprofile vs. spiral-wound gaskets. Kammprofile pipe flange gaskets compress significantly less than spiral-wound gaskets, on the order of 0.022 in. compared with 0.030 in. to 0.075 in. for a spiral wound. This means kammprofile gaskets load more quickly with less risk of nonparallel flanges. One disad-vantage is that the graphite facing is more susceptible to mechani-cal damage if not properly handled. Since the graphite is not protected by the windings as it is in spiral-wound gaskets, it also can be damaged by oxidation at temperatures between 600°F and

800°F depending on the grade of graphite. (Higher temperatures may be possible by including a mica-based layer around the OD to protect the graphite.) It is, therefore, recommended to specify good-quality, inhibited graphite when using these type gaskets.

In the case of ASME/ANSI flanges, the faced portion of the kammprofile ring is the same for any given flange size regard-less of pipe class. However torque values for different pressure classes must be adjusted to obtain consistent gasket stresses since stud number and size will vary (Table 1). Unlike a spiral-wound gasket, all of the compressive force is transmitted directly onto the kammprofile graphite facing, resulting in a very tight seal. Since the kammprofile is solid metal as opposed to alternating plies of metal and filler, it is extremely stable and easy to handle even in large diameters.

Kammprofile gaskets are significantly more expensive than spiral-wound gaskets, but can help avert costly, unscheduled out-ages and downtime. When properly manufactured, both gasket types provide reliable seals. Spiral-wound gaskets may have a slight advantage if the flanges are extremely close together, and the gasket might be susceptible to mechanical damage during instal-lation. Likewise, they may be more resistant to oxidation since the windings hold the graphite in place and protect it. Kamm-profiles can be more tolerant of sealing surface defects and seal more effectively in fugitive emissions services. While the choice of which gasket to use is sometimes based on properties that are specific to one or the other, often the choice comes down to personal preference. HP

Chad Yoder is an applications engineer with Garlock Sealing Technologies, Palmyra, New York.

TABLE 1. Causes of over-and-under gasket compression

Under-compression

Cause Effect Solution

Insufficient torque Filler not conformed to sealing surfaces Increase torque to increase gasket stress

Premature leakage or reduce winding cross-sectional area

Insufficient available bolt force Filler not conformed to sealing surfaces Reduce cross-sectional area or use a kammprofile

Premature leakage

Filler density too high Problems sealing at low stud loads Address gasket design with manufacturer

Leaks can develop if windings take the initial

load and the graphite is under-loaded

Over-compression

Cause Effect Solution

Excessive torque/available bolt force Radial buckling (especially with gaskets with Reduce torque (see gasket manufacturer)

no inner rings) of the windings and/or inner ring

Process stream contamination/leakage

Low-density winding-flanges contact outer guide ring Reduced stress within the windings Address gasket design with manufacturer

Leakage because gasket cannot be loaded properly

Filler density too high Gasket will seal if compressed sufficiently Address gasket design with manufacturer

Outer guide ring cups, warps or tilts

Can cause inner ring to buckle and excessive

guide ring roll

David W. Reeves is senior specialist, bolting and sealing technology, Chevron Richmond Refinery, Richmond, California.

Special Supplement to

CONTENTSManaging projects in a global environment |E–101

Corporate Profi lesMustang |E–105 CCC |E–107 Foster Wheeler |E–109 KTI |E–111 Shaw |E–113

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SPONSORED CONTENT HYDROCARBON PROCESSING ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION 2010 I E–101

Two line caption

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION 2010

Globalization is driving many EPC projects to be interna-tional in nature. As such, the project owner and/or selected contractors are from various parts of the world. Sometimes, the international project is not located in the main contrac-tor’s homeland but is located in a third country. Such sce-narios are becoming more prevalent than ever before.

Managing any project, particularly an international proj-ect, requires special leadership skills and awareness by the project manager, and his/her team must work together in a coherent manner to drive project success. This article explains the challenges and opportunities in managing international projects. More important, it discusses the special leadership skills needed.

KEY DRIVERS TO EXECUTE A PROJECTSuccessful execution of a given project is influenced by

properly controlling the budget (cost), schedule (time) and deliverables. All of these interdependent factors are accom-plished by people (project manager and team) and supported by the best available technical knowledge and tools.

The leadership and management skills coupled with the technical strengths of the project team—not necessarily project management consultant (PMC)—determine the suc-cess of the project.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESFor an international EPC project, the challenges are:1. Technical. This involves the engineering/technical

strength of the project manager and the project team mem-bers.

2. Non-technical or cultural. This challenge requires special leadership skills.

Challenges associated with the technical part are mostly similar irrespective of whether they are for a national or an international project as long as the project manager and the team members are technically qualified and proficient in using the best available technologies and tools. Challenges associated with the non-technical part, however, deserve special attention because they involve leading the project team effectively, which requires special leadership skill sets. Technical and non-technical challenges involve:

Understanding and establishing the scope of work. At the start of any project, a clear understanding of the scope of work (SOW) is vitally important. For an interna-tional project, the SOW must be established by careful dis-cussions, including face-to-face clarification meetings to arrive at the client’s real expectation. During this step, the team must carefully address all four Ws (Which, Where,

When and Why) and one H (How). Often, the SOW will include a request for proposal (RFP); the RFP may not be exactly what the client’s expectations are for the project. Accordingly, understanding and executing the SOW is even more important for bid preparation. Any divergence in understanding can potentially cause substantial monetary loss and lasting dissatisfaction from the client. Although the SOW is a technical issue, it is a significant part that requires a good understanding of the diversity and differences stem-ming from the client’s culture.

Implementing a disciplined and structured engi-neering approach. For a typical project involving engi-neering, procurement and construction (EPC), the total installed cost (TIC) is split between three phases: E–10% to 20%, P–35% to 45% and C–40% to 50%, respectively. There-fore, the common notion is to focus heavily on the procure-ment and construction phases of the project because P&C are two significantly higher cost components for any given project. However, the cost influence of engineering most often can be very significant. Attention to details should be considered at the very beginning of project development as shown in Fig. 1.

Following a rigorous systematic methodology and gated approach during the engineering phase, E, can help avoid any adverse impacts on the remaining two significantly higher cost components—P and C. Once the engineering phase is completed, the influencing factor minimizing cost overruns and the overall project schedule diminishes signifi-cantly and often is completely eliminated.

Estimating various project cost levels at progres-sive execution stages. This part of the project is purely

Need date

100%Cost expenditure

TimeStart date

High

Low

Ability toinfluencecost andschedule

Cost influence

Conceptual/preliminary

Detailed engineering

Startup

Procurement

Construction

FIG. 1. Life cycle for a project and cost influence.

Managing projects in a global environmentWhat does it take to facilitate projects in several time zones away?

S. K. PODDAR, Poddar & Associates, Houston, Texas

E–102 I ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION 2010 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SPONSORED CONTENT


technical. Typically, during the progression of the project’s life cycle, cost-estimate accuracy improves from ±40% to preliminary ±25% to definitive ±10%. Although the termi-nology and associated percentage of accuracy may change from country to country or organization to organization, they are basically same. There is no special consideration of non-technical skills necessary for an international vs. a domestic project.

Developing a realistic project schedule. For this activity, one must understand the client’s culture. Depend-ing on the country and the client’s culture, some cultures are more tolerant and/or demanding than others. In gen-eral, most projects are schedule driven, and adherence to schedule becomes extremely important. One must remem-ber that the project cost and project schedule are very much interdependent. Earned value analysis (EVA) is often done to evaluate and track progress with reference to project cost.

Negotiating contract terms to drive project execu-tion through EPC phases. Understanding the contract language and the pros and cons of various contracts, and understanding the client’s culture, are extremely important to achieve successful negotiation. This step is often a signifi-cant challenge in an international environment.

Developing suitable quality assurance and control procedures. A rigorous quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedure must be developed to appropriately monitor project performance. Open intra- and inter-level discussion with the project team members, with appropri-

ate level of involvement and input from the client, are very essential when implementing a detailed QA and QC scheme at the onset of project execution.

Understanding and implementing EHS issues into project execution plan. Successful implementation of environment, health and safety (EHS) issues and require-ments depend on the technical knowledge, as well as a clear understanding of various requirements of local gov-ernment and other nongovernmental entities where the project is located. Special attention to understanding these requirements and integrating them early in the project execution planning (PEP) is very important for any interna-tional project. In particular, understanding cultural diver-sity plays a significant role to determine the agreed upon methodology to achieve a well-thought-out EHS strategy and its execution.

Managing risk factors associated with interna-tional projects. These risks can be of different natures; there could be technical risks, especially when the project involves implementing new technologies, or a first-of-a-kind situation without any prior experience. There could be engineering and other performance risks involving con-struction performance.

For international projects, the interface management risks with the client are often challenging. This can intensify when dealing with a first-time international client and/or any major international supplier located overseas. A few other risks to address include managing suppliers, especially new and/or unproven ones; traffic and logistics risks, such as heavy hauls to the project construction site; and expatriate content and risks for local customs and duties.

If the project is a lump-sum, turnkey (LSTK) project, then the pricing risks include currency issues as appropriate. Sometimes, it is mitigated by choosing a basket of currency in the offer as well as incorporating currency hedging in an international project. Project location risks include local poli-tics, political stability, security, labor availability and quality. Also, site accessibility could be of great importance.

Caution should be taken in selecting subcontractors and negotiating subcontract languages. This requires a thorough knowledge of local government and non-gov-ernment requirements including the local content require-ment. Sometimes, a project specific joint venture may be a better approach to mitigate some risks associated with subcontractors.

Prior knowledge and understanding, and proper proac-tive recognition of these risks in implementing them in the PEP are critically important for the successful execution of any international project.

Managing in-country rules, regulations and spe-cific requirements. A thorough understanding of these requirements is important even before a project bid is pre-pared, let alone during the project execution stage. Very often, managing in-country becomes a catch up effort, and it creates many difficulties.

Poddar & Associates is a consulting company with three major areas of expertise and interests. They are:

1. Developing projects and businesses for its clients internationally

2. Offering training courses on various aspects of project management and leadership skills and

3. Teaching selected technical courses including Refining Overview, Chemical Engineering Fundamen-tals for Non-Chemical Engineers and Operators, Coal & Biomass Conversion Processes, Gas to Liquids (GTLs) and Practical Approach to Heat Exchanger Design.

For more information, contact Syamal Poddar Ph.D., P.E., Fellow AIChE @ e-mail: [email protected]

Adding value to our customer is our motto



SPECIAL LEADERSHIP SKILLSThere is a fundamental difference between management

and leadership. “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing.” Vision is a unique trait of true leaders as they overcome barriers to change. A leader is able to instill a common vision to employ-ees across the boundary by absorbing available cultural diversity as strength and by not setting aside such diversity as a weakness. An organization driven by an effective leader translates vision to reality. This translation is manifested by an effective 360° communication between leaders and their followers. The two important leadership traits are credibility and commitment fueled by trust and integrity.

Getting the message across all levels is the key to success. This is achieved through establishing a com-mon goal (vision) and creating alignment among all team members. Trust is the glue that keeps the organization moving forward, and effective leadership is the catalyst that builds trust. More important, trust creates account-ability, dependability, integrity, predictability and identity for any organization. Effective leaders pull people together by attracting, energizing and motivating them towards a common goal. Effective leaders are proactive listeners. All of these are achieved by special character traits and other proactive day-to-day actions influenced by the leaders’ effective communication in a cross-cultural environment. Fig. 2 is a qualitative representation of how the leaders’ communication effectiveness influences the process of Trust building.

Communication and cross-cultural communication. It is important to recognize the importance of the leaders’ effective communication skills. Leaders managing interna-tional projects must be culturally sensitive with a global outlook. Creating effective human capital from a diverse cultural background is becoming more important than mon-etary capital. Proficiency in cross-cultural communications is of tantamount importance. The leaders who create cultural synergy emphasize similarities and common concerns, and integrate differences to enrich organizational strength. Culturally sensitive and skilled leaders, who value diversity as strength and not weakness, are the leaders who are suc-cessful in managing international projects. The key element of success in a multi-cultural setup is proficiency in nonverbal communication skills.

GLOBAL LEADERS FOR GLOBAL PROJECTSVery often, successful project execution calls for not only

the project manager’s and the team’s technical competen-cies in effectively managing the above, but also for special leadership skill-sets to understand, integrate and manage the cultural diversity.

Most often, it is not the technical strength of the project management team but the soft leadership skills such as understanding of cultural differences, effective communi-cation skill and extraordinary level of interpersonal skills, as shown schematically in Fig. 3 that create trust and drive

the project success. This is even truer for an international project. A successful project execution delivers two impor-tant end-results. They are: profit, and most importantly, client satisfaction.

Communication effectivenessLow High

Low

High

Trust

FIG. 2. Trust vs. communication effectiveness.

International project

Project success:ProfitableCustomer satisfaction

Technical understandingand skills Special leadership skillsTRUST

FIG. 3. Key project drivers for international project success.

Dr. Syamal K. Poddar brings over 35 years of professional experience combining university teaching and industry. His industry experience extends over a broad range of technology and in pro-cesses related to the hydrocarbon and energy industries, encom-passing RandD, process and project engineering, project and busi-

ness development, and management. Prior to forming a consulting company, Poddar and Associates, Dr. Poddar worked in various capacities in the hydrocarbon industry sector including Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Bechtel Corp. and CDI. His global business exposure and Indian heritage helped him to acquire a unique set of skills to develop, lead and manage international projects. In addition to his industrial career, he maintained his teaching interest as an adjunct faculty for several years. Dr. Poddar has given several technical, project and business development and leader-ship courses nationally and internationally. With Bachelors and Masters degrees in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University, India, Dr. Poddar earned his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to authoring 42 technical papers and holding 2 US patents, he has made numerous technical and business presentations at national and international conferences, and organized and chaired many such conferences. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas. He is a passionate volunteer and, as elected president, contributed significantly in the growth of professional and social organizations. He has held vari-ous elected positions at the AIChE’s divisional level. At present, he is the chair of the Fuels and Petrochemicals division, a member of Operating Council and a Trustee of the AIChE Foundation. He is an elected Fellow of the AIChE.

Using Experience toIntegrate Total EPCM Delivery

Mustang offers hands-on construction operations experience to make sure project delivery is what youexpect – safe, on time, within budget and with no surprises. We provide a fully integrated approach for everystage on projects of any type, any size, anywhere in the world.

We handle any and all aspects of the project, from front-end planning through startup, including:

■ Safety & Environmental ■ Materials■ Project Controls ■ Administrative/Subcontract■ Site Planning ■ Engineering Coordination■ Quality Assurance ■ Inspection Services■ Construction Engineering

Contact us to put our horsepower to work on your next project.

People Oriented...Project Driven®

[email protected]

www.mustangeng.com




Mustang’s construction operations personnel are indus-try professionals with vast hands-on field experience and working knowledge of planning, scheduling, design, QA/QC, procurement, material management, construction and installation. That expertise helps Mustang provide its clients with a competitive advantage. Regardless of project size, its construction operations teams can be involved in every stage, from initiation through pre-commissioning and startup.

In managing any project phase, Mustang puts safety first. Mustang’s approach to Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) on projects extends beyond mere compliance. From the executive level down, Mustang’s commitment to implement and execute sound HSE practices is reflected in everything it does and its safety performance is exceptional. Mustang’s outstanding performance not only protects lives, but also benefits clients with increased productivity and reduced project costs.

MAKING HEROESMustang’s culture is designed to make heroes of all project

participants—clients, vendors, fabricators, contractors, busi-ness partners and Mustangers. Project execution involves all parties from the earliest stages, encouraging communication, ingenuity and innovation.

Construction operations teams work closely with engi-neering and design to provide constructability and cost estimate input during the FEL process and provide construc-tability planning during detailed engineering. Their input greatly enhances the quality of deliverables and overall project success.

MANAGING AN ENTIRE PROJECT OR JUST A PORTIONMustang’s flexibility offers the most sensible project

approach. It can manage all project phases or be designated as the owner’s representative, providing various levels of oversight or specialized services, such as inspection or laser scanning, depending on scope and client needs. It can tailor a solution by providing various levels of support to maintain a close, on-site relationship with the client providing the neces-sary counsel and management services for all project phases.

Mustang’s integrated global EPCM services encompass project controls, site planning, quality assurance, construc-tion engineering, materials and equipment control, and administrative oversight. Mustang’s worldwide entities are further supported by parent company Wood Group, a multi-national energy firm with operations in 50 countries and annual revenues exceeding $5 billion.

INSPECTORS PROVIDE ADDED VALUEMustang’s highly experienced inspection team interfaces

with all project participants, providing a synergy to make

all project aspects seamless and successful. It assists engi-neering in developing inspection and execution plans. It helps develop specifications and apply appropriate codes and standards to assure safety compliance and intended performance. Along with procurement, inspectors evaluate suppliers with in-depth audits, facility surveys, Q/A assistance, and vendor data assessments for safety and quality appro-priateness. With a thorough understanding of all necessary codes, industry standards and jurisdictional requirements, the team performs quality assurance inspections on the con-struction site, in the fabrication facility or at the equipment manufacturer’s plant.

FIRST CHOICEExtensive experience and strong vendor and contrac-

tor relationships help Mustang take projects from concept through startup, accelerating project schedules, improving coordination, providing high levels of QA/QC and bolstering the bottom line. This assures that its vision of making heroes becomes a reality for all project participants.

Contact information16001 Park Ten PlaceHouston, TX 77084Phone: 713-215-8000Fax: 713-215-8506Website: www.mustangeng.com

Mustang’s construction operations enhance EPCM capabilities

CORPORATE PROFILE: MUSTANG


Two line caption

ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION 2010CORPORATE PROFILE: CCC

CCC GroupConsolidated Contractors Company (CCC), founded in

1952 in Lebanon, is a diversified international construction company active in over 50 countries across five continents; from the Middle East to Australia.

Our diverse portfolio now encompasses energy, heavy civil, building, infrastructure, mining, power and real estate services.

We have had record revenues for the past five years, and Engineering News Record has ranked CCC consistently in the top 20 International Construction Contractors for 9 straight years.

Our diversified local workforce consists of 120,000 quali-fied men and women representing over 70 nationalities.

We have a turnover in excess of US$ 5 Billion with more than 70% generated from projects in the Middle East.

We have a proud history, an active past and a promising future.

Our Core BusinessCCC offers a wide range of business activities in line

with the highest commitment to HSE, Quality and Social Responsibility.

Our Core Business across the EPC Chain ValueWe capture all aspects of the Engineering, Procurement

and Construction (EPC) value chain, starting with Feasibility Studies, into Design, Procurement, Construction, Commis-sioning, Operations and Maintenance for:

• Oil and Gas Projects• Petrochemical Projects• Pipelines• Offshore Construction Works• Environmental Projects• Heavy Civil and Marine Works• Buildings• Roads and Infrastructures• Power and Water Projects• Dams, Harbours and Airports

Other Business ServicesThrough market and geographical diversification, CCC can

now offer, in addition to our core business, a wide range of services and assistance in multiple market segments:

• Mining. We participate and invest in worldwide mining exploration and development.

• Real Estate Development. With creative solutions and commitment to excellence, we provide a multitude of real estate development services for commercial, residential, retails, hospitality and combined properties.

• Power Generation and Water. As the world is highly dependent on power, we invest and construct power gen-

eration and desalination projects, dams and networks in the Middle East and Africa.

• Environment. Dedicated to the Environment, we offer viable environmental solutions.

• Alternative Energy. CCC is committed to participating in the global drive towards alternative energy.

How we OperateWe work with clients, partners and stakeholders to find

quality solutions for a wide range of business segments and activities.

By combining our immense construction expertise and experience gained over 50 years, with our diversified services and commercial acumen, we supply innovative solutions across the markets and industries around the world.

An essential part of our success is our responsible approach towards all our operations, our employees, clients, suppliers, local communities, the environment and society as a whole.

Our core business principles, derived from the CCC fam-ily values, set out the company values and behaviours that define how we work.

Our diversified services, flexibility and adaptability com-bined with the abilities of our people, offered through a “one address,” have made us the partner of choice for many companies.

Contact informationConsolidated Contractors CompanyPhone: +30 2106182000Fax: +30 2106199224Website: www.ccc.gr

Excellence, commitment, human touchCCC is the partner of choice for all your global needs

RasGas Onshore Onplot LNG Enpansion (Trains 6 & 7) Ras Laffan, Qatar

Visit us on the web at www.fwc.com

Delayed Cokingand so much more...

What more can we do for you?



ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION2010CORPORATE PROFILE: FOSTER WHEELER

As an EPC company with over 100 years of experience, Foster Wheeler designs, engineers and constructs leading-edge processing facilities and related infrastructure for the upstream oil & gas, LNG, gas-to-liquids, coal-to-products, carbon capture & storage, refining, chemicals & petrochemicals, environmental and power industries, as well as pharma, biotech & healthcare. With a proven track record in everything from conceptual studies through full EPC execution, we continue to invest in the process technology that is transforming our industry.

As a pioneer in refinery clean fuels projects, with technology leadership in delayed coking through our SYDECSM (Selective Yield Delayed Coking) process, we are committed to provide safe, reliable and environmentally-conscious solutions for residue upgrading or zero fuel oil production. We continue to evolve the technology to improve safety, lower maintenance requirements, extend equipment life, reduce operating costs, and so much more. Understanding that residue upgrading can be a significant investment, UOP / Foster Wheeler’s Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) technology offers refiners a lower cost solution to “bottom of the barrel” upgrading.

As refiners are faced with increasingly stringent fuel specifications and environmental constraints, we continue to focus on ventures in sustainable technology development and licensing, to provide cost-effective clean fuel solutions. Our recent partnering in micro-crop biomass to develop clean fuels that are functionally compatible with petroleum-based fuels is just one example. We are working to create end-to-end market solutions for the large-scale production of green gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and specialty chemicals. Foster Wheeler also has extensive experience in other areas of “green” initiatives such as gasification (including biomass), carbon capture, power generation (including wind and solar, as well as clean coal plants).

With the need for increasing hydrogen generation to support hydroprocessing, refiners routinely turn to Foster Wheeler for the technology solutions that provide operating flexibility and maximum reliability, coupled with the EPC construction solutions that can reduce construction cost and schedule. We have designed, engineered and constructed over 100 hydrogen and synthesis gas plants over the last 60 years, reforming natural gas, refinery gases and light liquid feeds, as well as partial oxidation of both gaseous and liquid feedstocks, ranging in size from 1.4 million standard cubic feet (mscf) to 95 mscf.

In addition to our refining technology and EPC portfolio, we also have a long and illustrious track record in the chemicals, petrochemicals and polymers market. From consultancy and small process unit revamps to large integrated grass roots complexes, we deliver comprehensive solutions that meet your needs. Furthermore, we are proud of our strong and expanded base to serve the upstream oil and gas business. Our recent acquisitions and new

strategic resources allow us to execute larger and more complex onshore and offshore global projects from concept to completion. With such a breadth of global and comprehensive offerings, and talented people delivering innovative and sustainable solutions to address the current industry challenges, we think it is clear that Foster Wheeler truly provides so much more.

WHAT MORE CAN WE DO FOR YOU?

Contact details:585 N. Dairy AshfordHouston, Texas 77079Phone: 713-929-5555e-mail: [email protected]

Delayed Coking… and so much more


ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION2010

Since December 2007, the U.S. economy and many sec-tors of the global economy, experienced one of the worst recessions on record. And just when we thought we were out of the woods, we’ve felt the back-to-back global shocks of first the Euro crisis and now the possible slowdown in the U.S.’s economic recovery. We’ve tried to manage our organizations and bottom lines through significant uncertainty, resulting in two years of work force reduc-tions, hiring freezes and re-assigned workers. As we’ve suc-cessfully managed through these sustained pressures, we finally now have a positive data point that should generate some cheer: “Exxon Mobil Corp’s second-quarter earnings jumped 91%, helped by higher commodities prices and a surge in refining profits and production. Exxon’s smaller rival, ConocoPhillips, said its second-quarter earnings tri-pled, while Chevron Corp is expected to post substantially higher earnings.” WSJ, July 30, 2010.

With confirmation that industry earnings have reached solid ground, we’ll start seeing stalled projects move for-ward again. However, as the recovery begins to take shape, our organizations may not be ready to capitalize on this opportunity. From a staffing, training and personnel devel-opment perspective, now’s the time to start preparing for the recovery. Managers should take this opportunity to further develop their personnel with incremental training and personal development investment. Training programs such as KTI’s Advanced Fired Heater School are useful tools for cost effectively strengthening technical skill sets in a rebounding market.

KTI’s program offers comprehensive fired heater training, from thermal process design to commissioning, over two and one half days of structured presentations. KTI’s objective is to train professional attendees in the fundamentals of fired heater design and auxiliary equipment. The program cov-ers each step in a project’s life-cycle with a focus on quality assurance throughout the entire process. In-depth discus-sion includes many of the key topics which focus on fired heater technology and innovation. Attendees will complete the program with a strong understanding of all aspects of managing a fired heater project, with special emphasis on operations and maintenance. The cost for this class is a nominal $250 per attendee—a must attend for the refining and petrochemical industries.

Despite the depth and severity of the recession, industry innovation kept advancing. While the recession forced less competitive suppliers to the sidelines, market dynamics continued to shape our global supply chain. If you haven’t been keeping up, it’s time to get caught up. And let’s not

forget an industry concern that was widely shared before the global recession hit—an aging workforce. While we may not be attracting young talent like Internet search compa-nies, we’re just as vital to the global economy. Identifying and growing talent is critical to sustaining growth and KTI can help as you seek to further develop your internal staff. Whether your with an engineering service company or inte-grated energy producer, it’s time to plan ahead. For more details on KTI’s Advanced Fired Heater School, go to www.kticorp.com and learn how additional, specialized training can boost your team’s productivity.

Contact details:KTI Corporation11720 Katy Freeway, Suite 110Houston, TX 77079Phone: 281-249-2400Fax: 281-249-2328e-mail: [email protected]: www.kticorp.com

KTI Advanced Fired Heater School, Houston, Texas, United States

CORPORATE PROFILE: KTI

The market’s bouncing back—Are you ready for the rebound?Jump ahead of the pack with fired heater training from KTI

OUR TECHNOLOGY & EPC SOLUTIONS, YOUR MAXIMUM PERFORMANCEAt Shaw, we understand today’s market challenges and the demand for profi table,

effi cient solutions. Whether the need is for licensing process technology, building

a grassroots plant or revamping an existing unit, Shaw can help you achieve

optimum operating performance.

CONSULTING

LICENSED TECHNOLOGY

FEASIBILITY STUDIES

FRONTEND ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING

PROCUREMENT

CONSTRUCTION

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

COMMISSIONING & STARTUP

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY

34M062010D

ENERGY & CHEMICALS

www.shawgrp.com



ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION 2010CORPORATE PROFILE: SHAW

Shaw is one of the world’s leading technology-driven engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contrac-tors. A full-service organization, Shaw can provide the engi-neering talent needed for the design and construction of new facilities, as well as refurbishment and modernization of existing facilities. We also are recognized for our ability to develop, commercialize and integrate a wide range of process technologies.

Refining. From improving cracking margins to produc-ing petrochemicals from the bottom of the barrel, Shaw offers the technology, expertise, and experience necessary to meet our client’s challenges. We are a leader in the applica-tion of fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) technology, having licensed 48 FCC grassroots units and performed more than 200 revamps to plants based on both Shaw and non-Shaw technology designs.

Olefins. Shaw’s ethylene plants have a worldwide reputa-tion for exceptionally high operational reliability. Since our first ethylene plant was built in 1941, we have designed and/or built more than 120 grassroots ethylene/propylene units.

Petrochemicals. Our services support all stages of a project, from conceptual development to sustaining the total business asset for petrochemical complexes worldwide. Through our research center, we offer a wide range of services (many in conjunction with alliance partners) for process development, commercialization, and modernization.

Upstream. Our legacy of oil and gas experience includes projects ranging from conceptual design through project management consultancy. Shaw’s experienced upstream personnel are well versed in delivering oil and gas produc-tion facilities, gas processing, transmission and storage, and syngas projects safely and effectively.

Integration. Oil and petrochemical companies are look-ing for ways to integrate their refining and petrochemical facilities to improve profitability. At Shaw, we leverage our refining and petrochemical technologies and our EPC experi-ence to deliver an integrated solution that reduces costs and increases plant reliability.

Project Management Consultancy. Shaw’s background in technology and EPC enables us to manage complex proj-ects that involve many different technology-licensed units. We offer the convenience and reliability that comes with a single-point, client-contractor contact. This direct line of com-munication is essential to maintaining consistency from all licensors and their deliverables. As a project is implemented, Shaw functions as a client representative for all aspects of the project including EPC.

Consulting. Shaw Consultants International provides independent commercial, financial and technical advice to operating companies, the financial sector, developers, utilities and governments, with projects in the hydrocarbon processing, power and related industries.

Select Technology/Know-how

Olefins: Ethylene and propylene production, Pyrolysis fur-naces, Ripple TraysTM, Refinery Off-Gas

Refining: Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC), FCC propri-etary equipment, Catalytic high olefins cracking, Benzene reduction

Petrochemicals: Ethylbenzene, Styrene monomer, Cumene, Bisphenol-A (BPA)

Polymers: Polyolefins, Polystyrene, Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)

Upstream: Gas-to-liquids, Syngas

Contact information1430 Enclave ParkwayHouston, TX 77077Phone: +1 281.368.4000Website: www.shawgrp.com

Shaw’s Energy & Chemicals Group

Knowledge is power.At URS, we believe that the more involved you are with

a process from beginning to end, the better equipped you

are to provide solutions. So when it comes to meeting

today’s increasing demand for oil and gas, we bring proven

experience with us. From oil sands, gas production, and

petroleum refining to constructing a facility, maintaining

one, or developing an expansion plan. Which is why, in the

Industrial & Commercial sector, more people are turning

to us to get it done. We are URS.

POWER

INFRASTRUCTURE

FEDERAL

INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL

URSCORP.COMSelect 101 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

LOSS PREVENTION


In the hydrocarbon industry, especially refineries, many storage tanks exist. A storage tank is a container or vessel generally used to store raw crude, intermediate and final-product liquids from

refineries or other process industries. The roots of these tanks can be fixed, cone, domed or floating. Tanks vary in diameter and can measure up to 102 m. Large-diameter tanks, larger than 90 m with heights up to 20 m are not uncommon in refineries. These tanks act as feed sources to feed pumps and as reservoir to store discharge from pumps.

With regards to differential settlement between the tank and connected piping (generally large pipes), there are two pipe-supporting approaches:

• Spring support—first support away from the tank nozzle that supports the connected pipe

• Support directly from the tank foundation or extended tank foundation.

The effectiveness of both approaches will be discussed in rela-tion to the effect of hydrobulging on large-diameter liquid-filled tanks and the interrelated effects on nozzle-load analysis.

Background. Tank settlement occurs in large diameter tanks holding heavy products, so stress analysis needs to be performed on piping that is connected to tank nozzles. To take care of heavy loads on the nozzle due to tank settlement, spring support is an acceptable approach. However, another school of thought advo-cates first support from the tank foundation—this avoids using a spring support, saving cost. This support is taken directly from the tank foundation or by extending the tank foundation.

Before proceeding, the following terms need to be understood:Tank settlement—gradual settling of the tank foundation dur-

ing an extended period of time which creates a relative difference in elevation between the piping and the tank nozzle. Most settle-ment occurs during hydrotesting of the tank but it can continue for years since it’s a slow process and it may take more years to reach full settlement. The tank settlement amount depends on soil characteristics—primarily, consolidation and compressibility.

Spring supports—flexible supports used when excessive loads are encountered on the nozzle due to vertical displace-ments of line and equipment. These supports are used to absorb/accommodate the vertical displacement and to support the line in these conditions.

First support from tank foundation—refers to normal rest supports that are taken from the tank foundation or by extending the tank foundation to support the line connecting to the tank nozzle. This serves the same purpose as using a spring support.

This type of support will also settle by the same amount as the tank foundation.

Tank bulging—radial growth occurs on the shell due to product static head for large-diameter tanks. Bulge formations appear because a static head may cause circumferential and longitudinal strains.

Methodology. For large-diameter storage tanks with heavy liq-uid, tank bulging occurs since there is a slight growth of the tank shell in radial direction. When this radial-shell growth occurs at the nozzle location, the nozzle is rotated slightly. Even the smallest nozzle rotation will cause the associated piping to either lift-off from the first support from the tank foundation or excessively compress the pipe at the first support from the tank foundation. This happens even if the vertical displacement of the tank nozzle is in a downward direction. This assumes that the first support is a rigid support from the tank foundation extension.

A case study was done on the piping connected to a 36-in. nozzle on a 76-m-diameter tank that was used for crude stor-age in a refinery tank farm. Various interrelated aspects of tank bulging on the first support from the tank foundation and nozzle loads were studied. Radial-shell growth and nozzle vertical dis-placement at varying heights and shell thickness were tabulated. A vertical displacement effect on the nozzle occurred due to it rotating from tank bulging. This caused the support of the asso-ciated piping to lift off or come down. Nozzle-load analysis for both systems—first support from the tank foundation and spring supports—were developed.

A similar stress-run was made where all design parameters were kept similar except that the first support from the tank foun-dation was replaced by a spring support. Nozzle loads for both the stress-runs and the behavior of first support from the tank foundation and spring support were compared and studied.

Case study with the following tank design parameters:

Tank diameter: 76,000 mmTank product design height (H): 18,500 mmSpecific gravity of liquid (G): 1.0Vertical distance (L) between nozzle (N1) and tank bottom:

875 mmShell thickness at shell-nozzle junction(t) : 38 mmNozzle (N1) standout from outer shell (S): 340 mmNozzle (N1) and connecting pipe size: 36 in.No anchor chair on tank base.

Hydrobulging of storage tanks and its effect on first support selectionCase studies prove that installing variable spring supports is a viable option

M. G. CHOUDHURY, S. JOHRI and R. TRIPATHI, BecRel Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India

LOSS PREVENTION


Notes:1. The case study was done for a hydrostatic condition; how-

ever, the temperature effect on tank bulging was not considered.2. Radial deflection due to tank bulging is calculated based

on Appendix P clause P.2.5.1 of API-650, using the understated formula:

W =9.8 10 6GHR2

Et1 e L cos( L)

LH

+ R T (1)

Temperature effect, i.e., � RΔ T; in Eq. 1 is considered 0. Thus, Eq. 1 is rewritten as:

W =9.8 10 6GHR2

Et1 e L cos( L)

LH

where: W = the shell’s unrestrained radial growth (mm) G = design specific gravity of the liquid H = maximum allowable tank filling height (mm) R = nominal tank radius (mm) � = characteristic parameter, 1.285/ (Rt)0.5 (1/mm) L = vertical distance from the opening centerline

to the tank bottom (mm) E = modulus of elasticity (MPa) t = shell thickness at the opening connection (mm) � = thermal expansion coefficient of the shell material

(mm/mm, ºC)

ΔT = normal operating temperature minus installation temperature (°C)

� = unrestrained shell rotation resulting from product head (radians)

S = Nozzle standout from outer shell X = Vertical displacement of nozzle due to rotation,

i.e., lifting-off support (mm)= S x tan �

Calculating radial growth in relation to height: � = characteristic parameter = 0.001068815 (1/mm) � L = 0.935213 (radians) W = 24.4738 mm � = –0.01811 radians; –1.0376 degrees tan � = –0.01811 X = –6.1583 mmA negative sign indicates lifting-off support since the nozzle

rotates in a clockwise direction. Table 1 shows W calculated at different thicknesses and varying heights from the tank base.

Based on Table 1, an L vs. W chart is plotted to observe the trend of changing radial-shell growth at different heights from the tank base (Fig. 1).

Vertical displacement effect on nozzle due to tank bulging on nozzle loads

Case 1—Nozzle load with first support from the tank foundation and vertical displacement due to nozzle rotation because of a bulge.

For the piping arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2, nozzle loads are listed in Table 2. The loads and displacements for first support from the tank foundation are listed in Table 3.

TABLE 1. Calculation scenarios when using different shell thicknesses

t (mm) W (mm) L (mm)

38 31.5062825 2,500

34 27.62671196 5,000

33 27.34424293 7,250

26 22.8354091 10,000

22 19.04995468 12,500

16 15.27965145 15,000

11 6.349985021 17,500

10 3.492491761 18,000

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2,500 5,000 7,250 10,000 12,500 15,000 17,500 18,000L

W

Series 1

Radial-shell growth (W ) vs. heights from tank base (L). FIG. 1

220

230240

250

260

270

280290

320

Y First support (rigid) from tank foundationwith settlement same as using anchorC node and displacement concept

Tank modeledas rigid element

Tank modeledas rigid elementVertical displacement from

nozzle rotation due to bulgeinput at nozzle node usingdisplacement

XZ

Piping arrangement of line connected to tank nozzle using first support from tank foundation.

FIG. 2

Y

XZ

220230

240250

260270

280290

320

First support (rigid) from tank foundationwith settlement same as using an anchorC node and displacement concept


Tank foundation asanchor with settlement

Piping arrangement of line connected to tank nozzle with first support from tank foundation.

FIG. 3

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LOSS PREVENTION


Behavior of first support from tank foundation—it is evi-dent from Table 3 that the line doesn’t rest on the support taken from the tank foundation at node 290. The support doesn’t take any load in both operating and sustained conditions.

Case 2—nozzle load with first support from the tank founda-tion, without vertical displacement.

The piping arrangement shown in Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 2, except that the vertical displacement due to nozzle rotation from

tank bulging is not considered at nozzle node 340. For the piping arrangement shown in Fig. 3, nozzle loads are listed in Table 4. The loads and displacements for the first support from the tank foundation are listed in Table 5.

Table 4 indicates that, if there is no hydrostatic bulge and no nozzle rotation, the rigid support from the extended foundation is reliable.

Behavior of first support from tank foundation—Table 5 indicates that the rest support from the tank foundation serves its purpose of supporting the line when vertical displacement due to nozzle rotation is taken out of the picture. This support settles at the same rate as that of the tank, thereby reducing the loads coming on nozzle. This is similar to the function served by the spring support at the same location as that of the rest support (refer to Cases 3 and 4).

TABLE 2. Calculated nozzle loads and moments using first support from tank foundation and vertical displacement

Node 340 FX FY FZ MX MY MZ

Operating case 7,764 –61,076 –9,422 79,100 12,966 –8,965

Sustained case –310 –61,043 596 79,119 –435 –8,937

MAX 7,764 –61,076 –9,422 79,119 12,966 –8,965

TABLE 3. Calculated loads and displacements on first support from tank foundation with vertical displacement from nozzle rotation because of bulge

Node 290 FX FY FZ DX DY DZ

Operating case 0 0 0 1.145 0.460 9.050

Sustained case 0 0 0 –0.038 –0.448 –0.411

MAX 0 0 0 1.145 –0.460 9.050

TABLE 4. Calculated nozzle loads and moments using first support from tank foundation, without vertical displacement from nozzle rotation because of bulge


Operating case 7,924 –33,689 –9,942 2,626 12,918 –37,469

Sustained case –144 –32,476 55 501 –469 –37,053

MAX 7,924 –33,689 –9,942 2,626 12,918 –37,469

TABLE 5. Calculated loads and displacements using first support from tank foundation, no vertical displacement from nozzle

Node 290 FX FY FZ DX DY DZ

Operating case 0 –16,362 0 1.140 –13.0 9.459

Sustained case 0 –17,751 0 –0.042 –13.0 0.002

MAX 0 –17,751 0 1.140 –13.0 9.459

TABLE 6. Calculated nozzle loads and moments considering spring support, without vertical displacement


Operating Case 7,987 –8,231 –9,956 –34,760 13,173 –16,950

Sustained Case –87 –8,044 45 –35,504 –235 –17,292

MAX 7,987 –8,321 –9,956 –35,504 12,918 –37,469

TABLE 7. Spring details for spring support at node 290

Type Variable spring support

Load variation 13%

Quantity 1

Model DV35

Size 17

Horizontal movement 9.529 mm

Vertical movement –9.279 mm

Hot load 51,349 N

Installed load 44,850 N

Spring rate 700 N/mm

Y

XZ

240250

260270

280 290

320 Tank modeledas rigid element

First support spring


Piping arrangement of line connected to tank nozzle using spring support as first support.

FIG. 4

240250

260

270

280290

320

Y

XZ First support spring



Vertical displacement dueto nozzle rotation from bulgeinput at nozzle node usingdisplacement

Piping arrangement of line connected to tank nozzle with first support as spring support.

FIG. 5

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LOSS PREVENTION

120

Case 3—Nozzle load, using first support with a spring and no vertical displacement.

The piping arrangement illustrated in Fig. 4 is analyzed with a variable spring support in lieu of rest support from the tank

foundation at node 290. Vertical displacement from nozzle rota-tion because of a bulge is not considered at nozzle node 340. For this case, nozzle loads are listed in Table 6. The details for spring support at node 290 are listed in Table 7.

Case 4—Nozzle load with first support as spring, with vertical displacement.

The piping arrangement shown in Fig. 5 is analyzed with a variable spring support in lieu of rest support from the tank foun-dation at node 290, with consideration of vertical displacement from nozzle rotation because of bulge considered at nozzle node 340. For this case, nozzle loads are listed in Table 8. Details for spring support at node 290 are listed in Table 9.

For all cases, all forces (FX, FY and FZ ) at nozzle node 340 are in Newtons. Moments (MX, MY and MZ) are in Newtons-meter. All displacements (DX, DY and DZ) at node 290 are in mm. Pip-ing analysis is done using stress analysis software.

Inferences. As seen from the calculations, using the first sup-port from the tank foundation in lieu of a spring support is not the best approach. Although this support settles with the same value as that of the tank foundation, this support is not active since nozzle rotation occurs from tank bulging, resulting in nozzle loads that are higher than should be allowed.

First support for lines connected to nozzles on large-diam-eter tanks with significant settlement values is better served to use a spring support. Keep in mind, the spring support should be designed to take in settlement effects. Also, the spring sup-port, if possible, should be designed for vertical displacement of the nozzle due to nozzle rotation from tank bulging. This is evident from the spring behavior as seen in calculation. The spring may show opposite displacement behavior during settle-ment and the nozzle’s vertical displacement from rotating due to tank bulging.

Conclusion. For large-diameter tanks, tank bulging plays a role in nozzle loads and support selection. The nozzle rotation effect when considered in stress analysis, gives an indication of adverse effects from first support from the tank foundation on nozzle loads. Therefore, it is advisable to install variable spring supports for such cases. HP

M. G. Choudhury is senior vice president and head of piping engineering at BecRel Engineering Pvt. Ltd. He has over 38 years of experience in piping design and engineering, including pipe stress analysis. Mr. Choudhury has also worked at EIL, TOYO, CHEMTEX and SABIC.

Saurabh Johri has been working extensively in the field of pipe stress analysis for the past four years at BecRel Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India. Mr. Johri is a production engineering gradu-ate and also has a mechanical engineering diploma from Aligarh Muslim University, India. He was involved with pipe stress analysis

for Reliance SEZ Refinery in Jamnagar, Gujrat, India (JERP).

Radharaman Tripathi is a mechanical engineering graduate and has been associated with pipe stress analysis at BecRel Engi-neering Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, India. He has a mechanical engineering diploma. Recently, Mr. Tripathi has been involved with the pipe stress analysis for Reliance SEZ Refinery in Jamnagar, Gujrat, India (JERP).

TABLE 8. Calculated nozzle load moments using a spring support, with vertical displacement from nozzle rotation because of bulge


Operating case 7,857 –23,871 –9,445 –24,238 13,340 21,081

Sustained case –223 –23,844 580 24,265 –78 21,104

MAX 7,857 –23,871 –9,445 24,265 13,340 21,104

TABLE 9. Spring details for spring support at node 290

Type Variable spring support

Load variation 7%

Quantity 1

Model DV35

Size 17

Horizontal movement 9.126 mm

Vertical movement 4.982 mm

Hot load 51,291 N

Installed load 54,780 N

Spring rate 700 N/mm


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Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North America unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation,

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Th e following companies are display advertisers in the Fall 2010 edition of the Upstream/Downstream Software Reference Guide. You can access the entire guide online at www.gulfpub.com/gpc/. Th is edition will also be available at many key industry meetings, trade shows and conferences.

ENGINEERING CASE HISTORIES


An internal combustion engine experienced aluminum particles in the oil after only 700 hr of operation. Previ-ously the engine was overhauled at 1,700 hr with no wear

noted. A literature review and discussions with the manufacturer did not identify any definitive causes.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the aluminum piston pin plug that failed due to excessive wear. The plugs keep the steel piston pin from contacting the cylinder wall.

With only historical data on the engine available an aluminum plug wear model was developed to understand how the variables contributed to the wear, � .1

� = [ 0.042 K � V t ] / BHN, in.

The piston speed, V, is 20,000 in./min, BHN is the plug Brinell hardness, � is the pressure pushing the plug against the cylinder wall and t is the rubbing time in hr. The plug boundary rubbing condition against the cylinder wall is K and is obtained from calculated life data. It is the key to understanding the lubri-cation and surface finish effect, and can range from metal-to-metal to a nonmetal contacting hydrodynamic film.

A sensitivity analysis of the variables on wear with 1,700 hours and a � of 0.005 in. is used as a basis for normal life and is shown in Table 1.

The first row of Table 1 represents a normal wear life of 1,700 hr from which K is calculated with a cylinder finish of 2 μ-in. after break-in. This is a mirror finish as observed at rebuild and 0.005 in. plug wear. Using the harder new-design aluminum bronze plug with 170 BHN would reduce the wear to 0.003 in.

The second row represents the calculated K value required for 0.35 in. wear in 700 hr. Since K increases as the square of the rough-ness, this represents a roughness of 25 μ-in., which is a typical break-in honing pattern. However, the finish at 700 hr was smoothed to a mirror finish by the rings and is probably not the failure cause.

The third row illustrates that the load on the plug would have to increase 150 times to result in only a 700-hr life and 0.35 in. actual wear. This might be possible with a stuck plug or rod misalignment.

While loose plug fits and rod misalignment were mentioned as possible causes in the literature, neither were evident at rebuild.

Even though no root cause was identified from the analysis, a plan forward can be established.

• Follow the specifications for straightness and plug fits and use harder AlBr plugs.

As with all troubleshooting efforts, only continued monitor-ing and time will tell if the actions taken have been successful. At least the effects of some of the critical variables are now better understood and so is the problem complexity. HP

LITERATURE CITED 1 Sofronas, A., Analytical Troubleshooting of Process Machinery and Pressure Vessels: Including Real-World Case Studies, p. 113, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN: 0-471-73211-7.

Case history 58: Piston pin plug wearA wear analysis can help when failure data are meager

T. SOFRONAS, Consulting Engineer, Houston, Texas

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Sofronas, P.E., was worldwide lead mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil before his retirement. Infor-mation on his books, seminars, technical help and comments to this article are available at http://mechanicalengineeringhelp.com.

Piston Steel pin

Aluminum plug

Cylinder wall Connectingrod

Plugrub track

Cylinderhead end

Wear, δ

Piston pin plug rub track on cylinder wall.FIG. 1

TABLE 1. Effect of variables on wear rate

Condition � psi K unit-less BHN Wear, � in.

Normal, 1,700 hr cylinder finish 2 µ-in. 1 4 x 10-7 100 0.005

700 hr cylinder, determine finish 1 6 x 10-5 100 0.35

700 hr. same K, determine � 150 4 x 10-7 100 0.35

Aluminum piston pin plug wear.FIG. 2

CALL FOR ABSTRACTSGulf Publishing Company’s publications Hydrocarbon Processing and World Oil will host the Process Control & Instrumentation Conference for the process industries. In March of 2011 in Galveston, Texas. This technical conference will be devoted to advancing process control and instrumentation in the oil and gas industry.

You are invited to submit an abstract to present at the conference. Abstracts submitted for consideration should be approximately 250 words and should include all authors, affi liations, pertinent contact information and proposed speaker(s).

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DuPont Vespel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 (61)www.info.hotims.com/29423-61

Eaton Filtration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 (119)www.info.hotims.com/29423-119

Emirates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 (54)www.info.hotims.com/29423-54

Flexitallic LP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 (93)www.info.hotims.com/29423-93

Foster Wheeler . . . . . . . . . . . . 108–109 (100)www.info.hotims.com/29423-100

Garlock Sealing Technologies . . . . . . . 12 (84)www.info.hotims.com/29423-84

Gas & Air Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 (75)www.info.hotims.com/29423-75

Grace Davidson GmbH . . . . . . . . . . 119 (91)www.info.hotims.com/29423-91 . . . . . . .

Haldor Topsoe A/S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 (72)www.info.hotims.com/29423-72

Heurtey Petrochem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 (67)www.info.hotims.com/29423-67

Hunter Buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 (156)www.info.hotims.com/29423-156

ITT Goulds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 (86)www.info.hotims.com/29423-86

Johnson Screens Europe . . . . . . . . . . 18 (88)www.info.hotims.com/29423-88

KBC Advanced Technologies Inc . . . . . 74 (82)www.info.hotims.com/29423-82

KBR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 (83)www.info.hotims.com/29423-83

KTI Corporation . . . . . . . . . 44, 110–111 (90, 95)www.info.hotims.com/29423-90

Linde Process Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 (81)www.info.hotims.com/29423-81

Lurgi GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 (59)www.info.hotims.com/29423-59

MBI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 (99)www.info.hotims.com/29423-99

MBI Leasing LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 (94)www.info.hotims.com/29423-94

Merichem Company . . . . . . . 23, 25, 27 (79)www.info.hotims.com/29423-79

Messe Dusseldorf North America . . . . 64 (163)www.info.hotims.com/29423-163

Microtherm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 (159)www.info.hotims.com/29423-159

Mustang Engineering . . . . 66, 104–105 (69)www.info.hotims.com/29423-69

NPRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 (98)www.info.hotims.com/29423-98

Ohmart/Vega . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 (155)www.info.hotims.com/29423-155

Optimized Gas Treating . . . . . . . . . . . 92 (172)www.info.hotims.com/29423-172

Parcol SpA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 (167)www.info.hotims.com/29423-167

Prosernat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 (153)www.info.hotims.com/29423-153

Prosim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 (171)www.info.hotims.com/29423-171

Rentech Boiler System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (58)www.info.hotims.com/29423-58

Saint-Gobain NorPro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 (52)www.info.hotims.com/29423-52

Saudi Aramco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 (65)www.info.hotims.com/29423-65

Selas Fluid Processing Corp. . . . . . 56, 78 (60, 96)www.info.hotims.com/29423-60

Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112–113 (85)www.info.hotims.com/29423-85

Sick Ag (Sick Maihak) . . . . . . . . . 63, 65 (162)www.info.hotims.com/29423-162

SNC-Lavalin Eng. & Constr. Inc. . . . . . 40 (157)www.info.hotims.com/29423-157

SO.CA.P. Srl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 (168)www.info.hotims.com/29423-168

Spraying Systems Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 (62)www.info.hotims.com/29423-62

Sulzer Chemtech, USA Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 4 (151)www.info.hotims.com/29423-151

T.D. Williamson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 (66)www.info.hotims.com/29423-66

Team Industrial Services. . . . . . . . . . . 43 (73)www.info.hotims.com/29423-73

Thermo Fisher Scientific . . . . . . . . . . . 33 (97)www.info.hotims.com/29423-97

Trachte USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 (173)www.info.hotims.com/29423-173

Tricat, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 (165)www.info.hotims.com/29423-165

Unifrax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 (68)www.info.hotims.com/29423-68

United Lab. Intl., Llc/Zyme-Flow . . . . . 19 (152)www.info.hotims.com/29423-152

UOP LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Veolia Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Washington Group (URS) . . . . . . . . . 114 (101)


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HOW TO USE THE INDEX: The FIRST NUMBER after the company name is the page on which an advertisement appears. The SECOND NUMBER, appearing in parentheses, after the company name, is the READER SERVICE NUMBER. There are several ways readers can obtain information:1. The quickest way to request information from an advertiser or about an editorial item is to go to www.

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LORAINE A. HUCHLER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

HPIN WATER MANAGEMENT

[email protected]


The refining and petrochemical industries employ a large number of process engineers. Plants often assign newly gradu-ated engineers to the utility water area. Process engineers in each operating unit are responsible for the cooling water cir-cuit and waste-heat steam generators. A lack of specific water

treatment training and general experience in plants challenges new process engineers. This series of articles will focus on the basic understanding required by process engineers.

Crisis management. Equipment failures and unplanned shutdowns are expensive ways to learn lessons about proper operation of utility water systems. Table 1 lists some of the failures that require immediate action and the consequences of choosing to continue operating. HP

Next month: Slowly developing problems. Often, problems develop slowly, with failures occurring with no clear causal event. Next month, we will discuss how to detect and avoid long-term problems.

The author is president of MarTech Systems, Inc., an engineering con-sulting firm that provides technical services to optimize water-related sys-tems (steam, cooling and wastewater) in refineries and petrochemical plants. She holds a BS degree in chemical engineering and is a licensed professional engineer in New Jersey and Maryland. She can be reached at:[email protected].

Utility water boot camp for process engineers—Part 1

TABLE 1. Crises management situations and recommended actions

Failure Recommended action Consequence of no action or insufficient corrective action

Partial or complete loss of water • Shutdown • Unplanned boiler tube failures for weeks or months

purification equipment capability • De-rate due to deposits and overheat

(influent clarifiers, softeners, • Immediately obtain mobile water • Carryover in boilers

demineralizers, reverse osmosis units) as necessary to restore production • Risk of turbine fouling and failure

Process leak from a heat exchanger (HX) • Isolate HX from service (if it is redundant) • Additional damaged HX from deposition, microbiological fouling,

to repair or replace under-deposit corrosion

• Implement leak response procedures in • Collateral damage: perforations in tubes of other HX in the same

cooling water treatment program cooling water circuit

• Shut down process as necessary to repair • Legionella risk: process contaminants feed bacteria; drift containing

or replace HX legionella bacteria infects susceptible persons downwind

of the cooling tower

Partial loss of mechanical • Increase oxygen scavenger chemical • Economizers or boiler tubes will fail rapidly (in days) with inadequate

deaeration capability feedrate for boilers deaeration; the risk increases with boiler pressure

• If dissolved oxygen > 20 ppb with

increased chemical, shutdown immediately

for repairs

• If dissolved oxygen < 20 ppb with increased

chemical but exceeds ASME guidelines,

shutdown within one month for repairs

Update: Legionella standard (CTI STD-159: Legio-nellosis Related Practices for Evaporative Cooling Water Sys-tems) the committee has modified the standard significantly, incorporating many of the suggestions described in this column in May 2010 and June 2010. The most important change is giving the cooling tower owner more control: the owner has the primary responsibility to assess the magnitude of a change, the requirement to conduct a hazard assessment, and the need to conduct a revalidation of the microbiologi-cal protocol. To register as a corresponding member of the committee contact Virginia A. Manser, CTI administrator, by e-mail: [email protected] or by phone at 281-583-4087.

As the world’s leading provider of pressurized piping system mainte-nance and repair capabilities, TDW delivers innovative, customized products, services and solutions that optimize system performance with a minimum of downtime.

Give us a call. And put our solutions to work for you.NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA: 918-447-5000 | EUROPE/AFRICA/MIDEAST: 32-67-28-36-11

ASIA/PACIFIC: 65-6364-8520 | OFFSHORE SERVICES: 832-448-7200

®Registered trademarks of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and in foreign countries. / TM Trademarks of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and in foreign countries.

T.D. Williamson, Inc.TDW Services, Inc. TDW Offshore Services


Improve your swing and maximize

your return

Single source ISO 9001 technology and service provider

www.axens.net

Beijing +86 10 85 27 57 53 Houston +1 713 840 11 33 Moscow +7 495 933 65 73

New Delhi +91 11 43399000 Paris +33 1 47 14 25 14 Tokyo +81 335 854 985

AxSorb™ is a complete range of high quality activated alumina and molecular sieves

These adsorbents have been designed for drying, purification and speciality applications in the refining, petrochemicals and gas processing industries. Squeeze the most from your swing adsorption units and reduce operating costs with AxSorb.


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The best software available for designing, rating, and simulating heat transfer equipment

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CAPE-OPENCompliant!


FA L L 2010 SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C E 3

PublisherBill WageneckProduction ManagerAngela BatheCover DesignAmy DoddAdvertising Production ManagerCheryl Willis

Advertising SalesLaura KanePhone: +1 (713) 520-4449

Gulf Publishing CompanyP.O. Box 2608Houston, Texas 77252-2608Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433

A SUPPLEMENT TOF a l l 2 0 1 0

Advertising Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

BUSINESS MANAGEMENTBudgeting, Capital Allocation & Planning . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Business Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Enterprise Operations Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Land and Leasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Plant Lifecycle and Performance Monitoring . . . . . . . . . .5

Regulatory Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

DOWNSTREAMAlarm Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Asset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Collaboration and Knowledge Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Confi guration Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Design, Construction and Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Dynamic Simulation and Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Energy Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Enterprise Portal Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Online Monitoring & Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Planning, Scheduling and Blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Plant Lifecycle and Performance Monitoring . . . . . . . . .16

Predictive Maintenance and Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Process Control and Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . .18

Process Engineering and Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Refi ning, Petrochemical and Gas Processing . . . . . . . . . .20

SIS/Safety Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

UPSTREAMAlarm Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Asset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Data Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Data Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Design, Construction and Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Field Data Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Process Control and Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . .28

Process Engineering and Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Production Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Regulatory Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Well Log Data Access and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

u p s t re a m / d o w n s t re a m

Visit the Software Reference Website: www.gulfpub.com/gpc/CONTENTS

4 SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C E FA L L 2010

BUDGETING, CAPITAL ALLOCATION AND PLANNING

3esi#200, 1601 Westmount Road N.W.Calgary, Alberta T2N 3M2CanadaPhone: 403-270-3270Fax: 403-270-3343E-mail: [email protected]

Company Bio:3esi is an international E&P, Software and Ser-vices Company committed to serving the Oil and Gas industry by creating Integrated Busi-ness Planning and Capital Management Soft-ware Solutions designed to increase effi ciency by streamlining all of the processes associated with the Oil and Gas Value Chain.

Products:esi.manage™ is an Integrated Business Planning and Capital Management solution that sup-ports the E&P processes focused on managing the portfolio of opportunities (projects) from the planning stages through execution and look-backs. esi.manage™ allows companies to collect and analyze opportunities, perform portfolio analysis in order to create Long Term Plans and Budgets. esi.manage™ off ers the capability of importing actuals from 3rd party applications to allow companies to prepare variance reports and perform look-backs analysis.

esi.manage™ improves an E&P companies busi-ness results through superior decision making due to enhanced corporate agility and improved data quality; by entrenching best practices and key business processes and by improving work-force eff ectiveness.


BUSINESS INTEGRATION

m:pro IT Consult GmbHKirchgasse 4765183 WiesbadenGermanyPhone: +49 611 39843 0Fax: +49 611 39843 12E-mail: [email protected]

Company Biom:pro IT Consult is a project services and soft-ware products company which enables petro-leum refi ning, petrochemical and other indus-tries to achieve total integration of information sources and applications, from business systems, ERP and supply chain management through to plant information, production planning, sched-uling and operations decision support.

Products:m:pro delivers enterprise wide or point solu-tions - easy and fast to implement - which truly integrate the production and business applica-tions required to manage the overall assets.

m:pro enables, consult and assists business process improvements, especially for refi ning supply chain management (SCM).

Th e m:pro Integration Platform (m:ip) provides the total integration of information sources and applications including ERP, planning, schedul-ing, functional databases, plant information systems, forecasting in a phased justifi ed ap-proach. Th e m:ip enables and improves the use of best-in-class software, plant and business ap-plications = asset maximization.

Th e m:pro object warehouse (m:owh) is our integration, data storage/management, and business intelligence back-end. Th e m:owh is based on standard and open relational data-base technology.

Th e m:pro explorer (m:exp) is our feature rich, fully web-enabled common graphical user in-terface including build and administration tools. Th e m:exp can run as the portal or can seamlessly be embedded in popular web portal environments.

m:pro provides standard applications/inter-faces for:

Production planning, scheduling and blending• Performance monitoring and dashboards• Data and process quality• Information analysis, visualization, fl ow-• sheeting, trending and reporting

Featured applications/interfaces are:Analyzer Monitoring• Blend Monitoring and Reporting• Crude Composition Tracking• Crude Scheduling• GRTMPS Planning Interface• Heat Exchanger Monitoring• KPIs, Operating Envelops, Plan vs Actual• Lab Interface and Reporting• LP Data Collector• Oil Movement Logging• ORION Scheduling Interface• PIMS Planning Interface• Quality Tracking• Tank Calculation System•


ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Oildex1999 Broadway, Suite 1900Denver, Colorado 80202Phone: 303-863-8600Toll Free: 888-922-1222Fax: 303-863-0505E-mail: [email protected]

Other Oildex Offi ce Locations:11777 Katy Freeway, Suite 350Houston, Texas 77079Phone: 281-741-6300Fax: 281-741-6296

Company Bio:Oildex is the energy industry’s leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider of ePayables, digital data, workfl ow, and spend analysis solutions. With Oildex, companies can do more in less time, and managers can get up-to-the-minute data to help them make well-informed decisions. Th at’s why today, more than 8,400 companies depend on Oildex to receive and process their electronic invoices, check stubs, and joint interest bills.

Service products and descriptions: Oildex provides software solutions to companies looking to get the most out of their resources, so they can quickly and accurately process, track, and manage critical business information. Oil-dex is the energy industry leader when it comes to supplying digital data, workfl ow, and spend analysis solutions to companies that want to boost productivity and cut costs.

Proven Technology to Transform the Business of Energy:

Spendworks™—Oildex’s ePayables (EIPP) sys-tem for simplifying the way companies manage invoices and track spending.

Checkstub Connect™ (CDEX)—Th e industry’s largest eRevenue data exchange which speeds-up the processing of check stub data.

JIB Connect™—Oildex’s ePayables, joint inter-est bill exchange for automating JIB processing and eliminating routine monthly data entry.

CDEX Complete™—Th e industry’s only eRev-enue solution to address time-consuming check stub detail. It eliminates hand-keying and con-verts paper check stub data into a digital, up-loadable format.

Owner Relations Connect™—Oildex’s eIn-formation, owner-relations tool for providing secure web access to monthly statements of rev-

UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCEBusiness Management

5SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C EFA L L 2010

UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCE Business Managementenue, production, gas balance, JIBs, frequently asked questions, and more.

Oildex Helps Energy Companies:Save time & work smart• Spot opportunities• Cut up to 70% of processing costs• Track revenue & expenses• Collaborate via the Internet•


LAND AND LEASING

geoLOGIC systems ltd.900, 703 6 Avenue SWCalgary, ABCanada T2P 0T9Phone: 403 262-1992 Fax: 403-262-1987E-mail: [email protected] Hood, VP Business Development & Sales

Company Bio:geoLOGIC systems ltd. is a widely recognized developer of high quality databases and premi-um software products that off er more compre-hensive, relevant solutions to the Oil and Gas industry. geoLOGIC has provided Oil and Gas professionals with industry-leading, integrated software and value-added data coupled with unsurpassed customer support for 27 years. Th e company is an innovator in supplying data in more accessible and usable forms so clients can make better decisions—from the well head to senior levels of accounting and administration.

Products:geoSCOUTTM is a fully integrated, Windows-based exploratory system that combines presen-tation-quality mapping and cross-section tools with data handling and analysis software. It integrates public and proprietary data on wells, well logs (Raster and LAS), land, pipelines and facilities, fi elds and pools, and seismic stud-ies. It includes powerful, easy-to-use tools for searching, viewing, mapping, reporting, graph-ing, analysis and managing information.

Th e gDC™ (geoLOGIC Data Center) is a com-prehensive online solution that integrates pub-lic wells and land data across Western Canada. Designed on a PPDM 3.8 model, geoLOGIC value-added data is accessible through virtually any petroleum industry software application. Th e gDC off ers spatial data in an industry stan-dard GIS format that is accessible through most mapping applications.

petroCUBETM is an innovative suite of prod-ucts that provide unbiased, consistent statis-

tical insights that can help you make more profi table decisions about petroleum plays. From reserve and production data through to full-cycle economics, petroCUBE gives you immediate access to a full spectrum of current geostatistical, technical and fi nancial informa-tion and comprehensive analytical tools. pet-roCUBE instantly delivers the data engineers and geologists need to accurately assess risk and justify exploration and development pro-posals before wells are drilled.


PLANT LIFECYCLE AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING


Company Bio:m:pro IT Consult is a project services and soft-ware products company which enables petro-leum refi ning, petrochemical and other indus-tries to achieve total integration of information sources and applications, from business systems, ERP and supply chain management through to plant information, production planning, sched-uling and operations decision support.

Products:m:pro delivers enterprise wide or point solutions - easy and fast to implement - which truly integrate the production and business applications required to manage the overall assets.

m:pro enables, consult and assists business pro-cess improvements, especially for refi ning sup-ply chain management (SCM).

Th e m:pro Integration Platform (m:ip) provides the total integration of information sources and applications including ERP, planning, schedul-ing, functional databases, plant information systems, forecasting in a phased justifi ed ap-proach. Th e m:ip enables and improves the use of best-in-class software, plant and business ap-plications = asset maximization.Th e m:pro object warehouse (m:owh) is our in-tegration, data storage/management, and business intelligence back-end. Th e m:owh is based on standard and open relational database technology.Th e m:pro explorer (m:exp) is our feature rich, fully web-enabled common graphical user in-terface including build and administration tools. Th e m:exp can run as the portal or can

seamlessly be embedded in popular web portal environments.m:pro provides standard applications/inter-faces for:• Production planning, scheduling and blending• Performance monitoring and dashboards• Data and process quality• Information analysis, visualization, fl owsheeting,

trending and reportingFeatured applications/interfaces are:• Analyzer Monitoring• Blend Monitoring and Reporting• Crude Composition Tracking• Crude Scheduling• GRTMPS Planning Interface• Heat Exchanger Monitoring• KPIs, Operating Envelops, Plan vs Actual• Lab Interface and Reporting• LP Data Collector• Oil Movement Logging• ORION Scheduling Interface• PIMS Planning Interface• Quality Tracking• Tank Calculation System


Quest Integrity Group, LLC2465 Central Avenue, Suite 110Boulder, CO 80301Phone: 303-415-1475Fax: 303-415-1847Email: [email protected]

Company Bio:Quest Integrity Group provides highly accurate, technology-enabled inspection and assessment solutions that help companies in the process, pipeline and power industries increase profi t-ability, reduce operational and safety risks, and improve operational planning. Th e company is built upon a foundation of leading-edge science and technology that has innovated and shaped industries for nearly forty years.

Products:Signal™ FFS software performs Fitness-for-Service and fracture mechanics analyses on fi xed and rotating equipment. It implements the API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 standard and performs crack assessments in accordance with the BS 7910 procedure. Users can per-form Level 1 and 2 assessments on many fl aw and equipment types. An advanced fracture mechanics module allows users to also per-form limited Level 3 assessments.

FEACrack™ is fi nite element analysis software that rapidly generates 3D crack meshes utiliz-ing an intuitive interface. Users can perform

6 SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C E FA L L 2010

UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCEBusiness Management UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCE

detailed fracture and fatigue analyses with un-limited levels of crack mesh refi nement.

LifeQuest™ Heater software provides com-plete analysis and remnant life assessment of fi red heater tubes on a foot-by-foot basis uti-lizing API 579. Th e fi nal output is a system risk curve displaying remaining life in hours versus probability of failure. It combines with heater performance monitoring and process modeling for extensive heater reliability man-agement.

LifeQuest™ Pipeline software delivers inspec-tion and Fitness-for-Service assessment results through a powerful data viewer. Analysis and assessment capabilities include standard cal-culation methods B31G, B31G Modifi ed and API 579.

RMS™ software facilitates the implementation of risk-based assessment programs in a wide range of industries. It addresses the needs of pressure systems not met by existing reli-ability management programs and eliminates the high data and manpower demands of fully quantitative systems.


REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Codeware, Inc.Codeware, Inc.5224 Station WaySarasota, FL 34233United StatesPhone: (941) 927-2670Fax: (941) 927-2459E-mail: [email protected]

Company Bio:Since 1985, Codeware has focused exclu-sively on providing the most comprehensive software for the design and analysis of ASME vessels and exchangers. Codeware’s Austin, Texas based development team has the exper-tise needed to understand the complexities of the Code rules and the practical experience re-quired to implement an eff ective solution.

Products:Let COMPRESS be your expert assistant. From individual components to complex mul-tiple diameter towers, COMPRESS can model virtually any geometry.

Th e standard functionality of COMPRESS includes everything needed to perform ASME Section VIII, Division 1 pressure vessel calcu-lations. Th is includes the U.S. Customary and Metric Editions of Section II, Part D as well as a selection of Building Codes and related Engineering Standards.

To tailor COMPRESS to your needs, the fol-lowing optional modules are available: • ASME Section VIII, Division 2 • Heat Exchangers (includes TEMA Standard, ASME UHX rules, tube fi eld layout capability and bi-directional interface with HTRI’s Xchanger Suite) • Drafter (converts COMPRESS fi les into AutoCAD drawings) • Coster (creates Excel compatible vessel cost estimates)

COMPRESS generates both detailed and ab-breviated reports, the former suitable for use as a calculation audit trail. COMPRESS also generates ASME U forms and NBIC R forms. Once fi nalized, forms can be saved in PDF or EDT compliant format. EDT compliant fi les can be directly submitted to the National Board electronically. To simplify document management, a new “Project” feature allows users to organize, view and backup fi les of any type from within COMPRESS.

Visit www.codeware.com to download your complimentary COMPRESS trial software today.


RISK MANAGEMENT

Th e Equity Engineering Group, Inc.20600 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 1200 Shaker Heights, OH 44122 Phone: 216-283-9519Fax: 216-283-6022E-mail: [email protected] Alvarado, VP Sales and Client Service

Company Bio:Th e Equity Engineering Group, Inc. is a recog-nized leader on aging infrastructure fi xed equip-ment service and support for the oil and gas industry. Equity helps plants manage risk and improve profi tability with cutting-edge soft-ware and consulting strategies that maximize equipment operational availability, control in-spection costs and avoid costly shutdowns.

Products:VCEPlant ManagerTM is a fully-integrated software tool for the lifecycle management of plant assets. It off ers equipment and data man-agement in one application and database on a universal .net standard platform that encom-passes all modules with a single IT installation procedure.

Plant Manager takes advantage of the integra-tion of design and in-service codes and stan-dards that is now becoming a focal point in the industry, and can be used for the design and subsequent management of a plant’s reliability program. Th e design features in Plant Manager are provided in VCESage and cover pressure vessel, heat exchanger, piping, and tankage de-sign in accordance with ASME and API codes and standards. Th e fi xed equipment reliability tools include: • VCESage for performing Fitness-For-Service assessments • API RBI for inspection planning • CMLWise for tracking and analyzing thickness reading data from inspections • IMS for developing equipment-specifi c, detailed inspection plans and reports • VCEDamage for identifying and under-standing your plant’s potential damage mecha-nisms • VCEIntelliJoint for troubleshooting and eliminating fl ange joint leakage problems.

To fi nd out more about how Plant Manager can benefi t your plant’s reliability program, contact [email protected] or check our website at www.equityeng.com.


PLANT LIFECYCLE AND

PERFORMANCE MONITORING, CONT.

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7

UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCE

ALARM MANAGEMENT

PAS16055 Space Center Blvd. Ste. 600Houston, TX 77062Phone: +1.281.286.6565Fax: +1.281.286.6767Email: [email protected]

Company Bio: PAS improves the automation and operation-al eff ectiveness of process plants worldwide through innovative software products and ex-pert consulting services. Our solutions ensure safe running operations, maximize situation awareness, and reduce plant vulnerabilities. Our comprehensive portfolio includes Alarm Management, Automation Genome Mapping, Control Loop Performance Optimization, and High-Performance Human Machine Interfaces.

Products: PAS pioneered the fi rst commercially available alarm management software in 1996, which is still the most widely used in the industry. PlantState Suite (PSS) software from PAS is recognized as the only comprehensive solution in the market addressing all requirements out-lined in EEMUA 191 guidelines and ISA 18.2 standards. PSS is system and vendor neutral.

PSS aggregates and stores all alarm-related in-formation and provides a broad set of analyses, reports, and metrics that help identify the state of the alarm system, discover improvement opportunities, and provide powerful visualiza-tion.

PSS Alarm Advanced Elements ensures that plant alarm systems are equally as eff ective during abnormal situations, when operators need them the most, as they are during normal conditions. PSS Alarm Advanced Elements includes Alarm Shelving, Documentation and Rationalization, Dynamic Alarming, and Audit and Enforce applications.

PAS also developed the fi rst Six Sigma alarm improvement methodology and authored the fi rst comprehensive “how to” book for improv-ing an alarm system. Th e seven-step alarm im-provement methodology outlined in Th e Alarm Management Handbook has become a best prac-tice for alarm management practitioners world-wide. Th is best practice is fully embodied in PlantState Suite software.


Yokogawa Electric CorporationWorld Headquarters9-32, Nakacho 2-chrome, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8750, Japanwww.yokogawa.com

Yokogawa Corp. of America12530 West Airport Blvd, Sugar Land, TX 77478www.yokogawa.com/us

Yokogawa Europe B.V.Databankweg 20 3821 AL Amersfoort, Th e Netherlandswww.yokogawa.com/eu

Yokogawa Engineering Asia PTE. LTD.5 Bedok South Road, Singapore 469270,Singaporewww.yokogawa.com/sg

Yokogawa Electric China Co., LTD.22nd Floor Shanghai Oriental Centre31 Wujiang Road (699 Nanjing West Road) Jing’an District, Shanghai 200041, ChinaPhone: 86-21-5211-0877 Fax: 86-21-5211-0299

Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquartered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, trans-mitters, controllers, recorders, data acquisition products, meters, instruments, safety instrument-ed systems, distributed control systems and more.Products:CAMS—Yokogawa’s Consolidated Alarm Man-agement System (CAMS) is an alarm manage-ment software designed on the innovative concept of acquiring real-time alarms and events from a variety of various automation systems - not only from Distributed Control Systems (DCS) but also Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), Super-visory and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA and DAQ) and Plant Asset Management Sys-tems (PAM); then to sort and deliver only essen-tial alarms to the right person at the right time. Important information such as the root cause of alarm occurrence and role-based guidance are also added to the displayed message.AAASuite—AAASuite is a comprehensive alarm management system that optimizes and enhances process alarms issued by control systems. AAA-Suite improves operator performance by minimiz-ing nuisance alarms and providing timely notifi ca-


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SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C E8 FA L L 2010


tion of only necessary alarms, thereby preventing alarm fl ooding and enabling safe, stable and cost eff ective plant operations.


ASSET MANAGEMENT









Products:Signal™ FFS software performs Fitness-for-Ser-vice and fracture mechanics analyses on fi xed and rotating equipment. It implements the API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 standard and performs crack assessments in accordance with the BS 7910 procedure. Users can perform Lev-el 1 and 2 assessments on many fl aw and equip-ment types. An advanced fracture mechanics module allows users to also perform limited Level 3 assessments.

FEACrack™ is fi nite element analysis software that rapidly generates 3D crack meshes utiliz-ing an intuitive interface. Users can perform detailed fracture and fatigue analyses with un-limited levels of crack mesh refi nement.

LifeQuest™ Heater software provides complete analysis and remnant life assessment of fi red heater tubes on a foot-by-foot basis utilizing API 579. Th e fi nal output is a system risk curve displaying remaining life in hours versus prob-ability of failure. It combines with heater per-formance monitoring and process modeling for extensive heater reliability management.


RMS™ software facilitates the implementation of risk-based assessment programs in a wide range of industries. It addresses the needs of pressure systems not met by existing reliability

management programs and eliminates the high data and manpower demands of fully quantita-tive systems.







Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquartered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, transmitters, con-trollers, recorders, data acquisition products, meters, instruments, safety instrumented systems, distrib-uted control systems and more.

Products:PRM™—Plant Resource Manager (PRM) is a real-time instrument device maintenance and management software package that provides a platform for advanced instrument diagnos-tics. PRM is an integrated software solution that unifi es the monitored data from intelli-gent and non-intelligent fi eld devices running within Yokogawa’s CENTUM VP and STAR-DOM control systems or as a stand-alone solution. Th e key feature of PRM is that it provides easy access to automatically collected data from fi eld networks such as Foundation Fieldbus, and HART allowing integration, management and maintenance these devices using a common database.

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PRM provides integrated plant and device performance data, maintenance records, audit trails, device confi guration with auto-device detection, historic data management, param-eter comparison, advanced device diagnostics information, and access to on-line documen-tation such as device drawings, parts list and manuals in a client server architecture that provides information to multiple users within a plant facility. It provides the ability to adjust the parameters of intelligent devices online and allows comparison of the current data to historical data of a device.

Fieldmate™—FieldMate™ is an asset manage-ment software developed for portable laptop computers that provides confi guration and maintenance of intelligent fi eld devices. Field-mate™ supports the use of open interface Field Device Tool (FDT) technology to facilitate the confi guration and adjustment of fi eld de-vices such as sensors and valves at production sites, regardless of the manufacturer or the communication protocols. Fieldmate™ also supports Electronic Device Description Lan-guage (EDDL) interface technology.

With its device navigation and device mainte-nance information management features, this software relieves users of the diffi culties with dealing with a variety of communication proto-cols and confi guration methods from multiple manufacturers which used diff erent confi gura-tors and/or multiple confi guration procedures.


COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE CAPTURE





Yokogawa Electric China Co., LTD.22nd Floor Shanghai Oriental Centre31 Wujiang Road (699 Nanjing West Road)

Jing’an District, Shanghai 200041, ChinaPhone: 86-21-5211-0877 Fax: 86-21-5211-0299

Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Elec-tric Corporation, a global leader in the manu-facture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquar-tered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, transmitters, controllers, record-ers, data acquisition products, meters, instru-ments, safety instrumented systems, distributed control systems and more.

Products:Exapilot—Exapilot is a patented Advanced Operation Effi ciency Improvement software package that plant operators use to develop a structured methodology of operating certain standard procedures. Exapilot makes it pos-sible to incorporate the know-how and plant operation expertise of experienced operators in automated plant operation procedures that en-sure standard and uniform plant operation. By enforcing a common and structured operating methodology, Exapilot helps plants run more effi ciently and safely.


CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT

PAS16055 Space Center Blvd. Ste. 600Houston, TX 77062Phone: +1.281.286.6565Fax: +1.281.286.6767Email: [email protected]

Company Bio: PAS improves the automation and operation-al eff ectiveness of process plants worldwide through innovative software products and ex-pert consulting services. Our solutions ensure safe running operations, maximize situation awareness, and reduce plant vulnerabilities. Our comprehensive portfolio includes Alarm Management, Automation Genome Mapping, Control Loop Performance Optimization, and High-Performance Human Machine Interfaces.

Products: Manage, leverage and make sense of the com-plex confi gurations in, and interactions among,


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your automation systems. Gain quick access to the large and continually changing automation systems confi guration databases and provide comprehensive management of change (MOC) for them. Dramatically improve the productiv-ity of plant personnel by signifi cantly reducing the time required to fi nd accurate and up to date plant information.

PAS’ Integrity™ Software maps the Automation Genome™, which is the collective confi gura-tions within and among all automation systems in a plant. It aggregates and contextualizes plant automation confi guration databases, programs, and user interfaces, and simplifi es the visualiza-tion of their information in context with work being performed.

Additional layered applications for Integrity are available to improve the productivity of plant personnel. Integrity Loop Sheets automatically generates, on demand, a single loop sheet con-taining the full signal genealogy from instru-mentation, wiring, marshalling, and through the entire automation system confi guration. Integrity Recon™ monitors and reports vital information and vulnerabilities about critical automation infrastructure. It provides an eff ec-tive means for defi ning and managing common operating environments (COE) within the au-tomation fi rewall.

Integrity currently supports over 40 diff erent au-tomation systems from a multitude of vendors.


DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING

Chemstations, Inc.2901 Wilcrest, Suite 305Houston, TX 77042Toll Free: 800-243-6223Phone: 713-978-7700Fax: 713-978-7727E-mail: [email protected] Brown, V.P. Sales/Marketing

Company Bio:With offi ces worldwide, Chemstations is a lead-ing global supplier of process simulation soft-ware for the following process industries; Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Chemicals, and Fine Chemicals, including Pharmaceuticals. We currently off er several individually licensed, and tightly integrated, technologies to address the needs of the chemical engineer, whether doing new process design or working in the plant.

Products:CC-STEADY STATE Chemical Process Simu-lation Software - Includes database of chemical components, thermodynamic methods, and unit operations to allow steady state simulation of continuous chemical processes from lab scale to full scale.CC-DYNAMICS Dynamic Process Simulation Software—Takes your steady state simulations to the next level of fi delity to allow dynamic analysis of your fl owsheet. Th e combination of two pieces of software, CC-ReACS and CC-DCOLUMN make CC-DYNAMICS the dy-namic simulator of choice.CC-BATCH Batch Distillation Simulation Software—As an add-on or stand alone pro-gram, CC-BATCH makes batch distillation simulation and design easy with intuitive, op-eration step based input.CC-THERM Heat Exchanger Design & Rat-ing Software—As an add-on or stand alone program, CC-THERM makes use of multiple international standards for design and materials to make sizing your next heat exchanger faster and more accurate.CC-SAFETY NET Piping & safety relief Net-work Simulation Software—A subset of CC-STEADY STATE, this program allows rigorous analysis of any piping network.CC-FLASH Physical Propertieis & Phase Equilibria Calculation Software—A subset of the CHEMCAD Suite (all of the CHEMCAD Suite products include CC-FLASH capabili-ties), this program allows rigorous calculation of pure component and mixture physical prop-erties and phase equilibria (VLE, LLE, VLLE).






To tailor COMPRESS to your needs, the fol-lowing optional modules are available: • ASME Section VIII, Division 2 • Heat Exchangers (includes TEMA Stan-dard, ASME UHX rules, tube fi eld layout capability and bi-directional interface with HTRI’s Xchanger Suite) • Drafter (converts COMPRESS fi les into AutoCAD drawings) • Coster (creates Excel compatible vessel cost estimates)


Visit www.codeware.com to download your com-plimentary COMPRESS trial software today.


Heat Transfer Research, Inc.Worldwide150 Venture DriveCollege Station, TX 77845 USAPhone: 979-690-5050Fax: 979-690-3250E-mail: [email protected] D. Beyer, President and CEOFernando J. Aguirre, VP, Sales and Business Development

Asia - Pacifi cWorld Business Garden Marive East 14FNakase 2-6, MihamakuChiba 261-7114 JapanPhone: 81-43-297-0353Fax: 81-43-297-0354E-mail: [email protected] Uozu, Regional Manager

EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)Th e Surrey Technology Centre40 Occam RoadGuildford, Surrey GU2 7YG U.K.Phone: 44-(0)1483-685100Fax: 44-(0)[email protected] U. Zettler, Regional Manager

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IndiaC-1, First Floor, Tower-B, “Indraprasth Complex”Near Inox Multiplex, Race Course (North)Vadodara 390007, Gujarat, IndiaPhone: +91 (982) [email protected] Rajan Desai, International Coordinator

Company Bio:HTRI operates an international consortium founded in 1962 that conducts industrially relevant research and provides software tools for design, rating, and simulation of process heat transfer equipment. HTRI also produces a wide range of technical publications and provides oth-er services including contract research, software development, consulting, and training.

Products:HTRI Xchanger Suite—Integrated graphical user environment for the design, rating, and simulation of heat transfer equipment.Xace—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of air-cooled heat exchangers, heat recovery units, and air preheaters.Xfh—Simulates the behavior of fi red heaters. Calculates the radiant section of cylindrical and box heaters and the convection section of fi red heaters. It also designs process heater tubes and performs combustion calculations.Xhpe—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of hairpin heat exchangers.Xist—Designs, rates, and simulates single- and two-phase shell-and-tube heat exchangers, in-cluding kettle and thermosiphon reboilers, fall-ing fi lm evaporators, and refl ux condensers.Xjpe—Designs, rates, and simulates jacketed-pipe (double-pipe) heat exchangers.Xphe—Designs, rates, and simulates plate-and-frame heat exchangers. A fully incremental pro-gram, each plate channel is calculated individu-ally using local physical properties and process conditions.Xspe—Rates and simulates single-phase spiral plate heat exchangers.Xtlo—Graphical standalone rigorous tube lay-out software; also integrated with Xist.Xvib—Performs fl ow-induced vibration analy-sis of a single tube in a heat exchanger bundle. It uses a rigorous structural analysis approach to calculate the tube natural frequencies for vari-ous modes and off ers fl exibility in the geom-etries it can handle.Xchanger Suite Educational—Customized ver-sion of Xchanger Suite with the capability to design, rate, and simulate shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-coolers, economizers, and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. Available to educa-tional institutions only.R-trend—Calculates and trends fouling resis-tances for shell-and-tube heat exchangers in sin-gle-phase service. Uses Microsoft Excel as work-ing environment with optional link to Xist.


KRC Technologies6637 Covoy Ct.San Diego, CA 92111Toll Free: 888-467-2127Phone: 858-490-0028Fax: 858-777-5462E-mail: [email protected] Stephenson, President

Company Bio:KRC Technologies provides engineering soft-ware solutions. Th e company sells hundreds of commercial engineering software applications from the company’s website. KRC Technolo-gies also develops custom engineering solu-tions and has delivered software for the design and analysis of heat exchangers, on-line six sigma, factory automation and valve tray de-sign software.

Products:KRC Technologies develops, sells and distributes software to engineers. Our mission is to provide software solutions to increase the productivity of engineers. For this reason, our products tran-scend most engineering disciplines. You can fi nd software on our website to solve a multitude of engineering tasks. Some of these include:

Design programs:• Shell and tube heat exchangers• Waste heat boilers• Cooling towers• Steam heaters• Heat recovery steam generators• Fluid mixers and atmospheric tanks• Mixer designs in vertical tanks• Vertical and horizontal storage tanks• Plate-fi n heat exchangers• Compact heat exchangers• Heat transfer in process vessels and fermentersPhysical properties:• Steam tables (IFC-97)• Gas compressibility calculators (AGA-8)• Psychrometrics• Combustion analysis• Th ermodynamic and transport properties of over 600 common organic and inorganic com-poundsEconomic evaluation:• Cogeneration• Flash tanks• InsulationTransport:• Piping pressure loss• Pipe Networks• Duct design• Flow calculation (nozzle, orifi ce, venturi)Structural:• Wind Load analysis• Snow load analysis

DOWNLOAD YOUR TRIAL SOFTWARE TODAY www.codeware.com

COMPRESS

Simplify ASME VIII Code Calculations

We have the expertise needed to understand

the complexities of the Code rules and the

practical experience required to implement

an effective solution. Let COMPRESS be

your expert assistant.

Intuitive interface

Code rule reminders during input

ASME U and NBIC R form generation

New “Project” view

™


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• Single or multiple span beams• Rods• Self supported stacks• Guy wire supported stack• Analysis of horizontal vessels supported on

two saddlesKRC Technologies also creates custom software to various industries, including oil and gas. Th ese have included:• Factory automation• On-line leak testing with six-sigma on-line

analysis• Mist eliminator design• Valve tray design• Compact heat exchanger designMany products have demo versions that can be downloaded from the website,www.engineering-software.com.


DYNAMIC SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION



Products:CC-STEADY STATE Chemical Process Simu-lation Software—Includes database of chemical components, thermodynamic methods, and unit operations to allow steady state simulation of continuous chemical processes from lab scale to full scale.

CC-DYNAMICS Dynamic Process Simulation Software—Takes your steady state simulations to the next level of fi delity to allow dynamic analysis of your fl owsheet. Th e combination of two pieces of software, CC-ReACS and CC-DCOLUMN make CC-DYNAMICS the dy-namic simulator of choice.

CC-BATCH Batch Distillation Simulation Software—As an add-on or stand alone pro-gram, CC-BATCH makes batch distillation simulation and design easy with intuitive, op-eration step based input. CC-THERM Heat Exchanger Design & Rat-ing Software—As an add-on or stand alone program, CC-THERM makes use of multiple international standards for design and materials to make sizing your next heat exchanger faster and more accurate. CC-SAFETY NET Piping & safety relief Net-work Simulation Software—A subset of CC-STEADY STATE, this program allows rigorous analysis of any piping network. CC-FLASH Physical Properties & Phase Equi-libria Calculation Software—A subset of the CHEMCAD Suite (all of the CHEMCAD Suite products include CC-FLASH capabili-ties), this program allows rigorous calculation of pure component and mixture physical prop-erties and phase equilibria (VLE, LLE, VLLE).


ENERGY MANAGEMENT


Asia—Pacifi cWorld Business Garden Marive East 14FNakase 2-6, MihamakuChiba 261-7114 JapanPhone: 81-43-297-0353Fax: 81-43-297-0354E-mail: [email protected] Uozu, Regional Mgr.


IndiaC-1, First Floor, Tower-B, “Indraprasth Complex”Near Inox Multiplex, Race Course (North)Vadodara 390007, Gujarat, India

Phone: +91 (982) [email protected] Rajan Desai, International Coordinator

Company Bio:HTRI operates an international consortium founded in 1962 that conducts industrially rel-evant research and provides software tools for design, rating, and simulation of process heat transfer equipment. HTRI also produces a wide range of technical publications and provides other services including contract research, soft-ware development, consulting, and training.

Products:HTRI Xchanger Suite—Integrated graphical user environment for the design, rating, and simulation of heat transfer equipment.

Xace—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of air-cooled heat exchangers, heat recovery units, and air preheaters.

Xfh—Simulates the behavior of fi red heaters. Calculates the radiant section of cylindrical and box heaters and the convection section of fi red heaters. It also designs process heater tubes and performs combustion calculations.

Xhpe—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of hairpin heat exchangers.

Xist—Designs, rates, and simulates single- and two-phase shell-and-tube heat exchangers, in-cluding kettle and thermosiphon reboilers, fall-ing fi lm evaporators, and refl ux condensers.

Xjpe—Designs, rates, and simulates jacketed-pipe (double-pipe) heat exchangers.

Xphe—Designs, rates, and simulates plate-and-frame heat exchangers. A fully incremental pro-gram, each plate channel is calculated individu-ally using local physical properties and process conditions.

Xspe—Rates and simulates single-phase spiral plate heat exchangers.

Xtlo—Graphical standalone rigorous tube lay-out software; also integrated with Xist.

Xvib—Performs fl ow-induced vibration analy-sis of a single tube in a heat exchanger bundle. It uses a rigorous structural analysis approach to calculate the tube natural frequencies for vari-ous modes and off ers fl exibility in the geom-etries it can handle.

Xchanger Suite Educational—Customized ver-sion of Xchanger Suite with the capability to design, rate, and simulate shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-coolers, economizers, and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. Available to educa-tional institutions only.

R-trend—Calculates and trends fouling resis-tances for shell-and-tube heat exchangers in sin-gle-phase service. Uses Microsoft Excel as work-ing environment with optional link to Xist.


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ENTERPRISE PORTAL SYSTEMS


Company Biom:pro IT Consult is a project services and software products company which enables petroleum refi ning, petrochemical and other industries to achieve total integration of in-formation sources and applications, from business systems, ERP and supply chain man-agement through to plant information, pro-duction planning, scheduling and operations decision support.

Products:m:pro delivers enterprise wide or point solu-tions - easy and fast to implement - which truly integrate the production and business applica-tions required to manage the overall assets.

m:pro enables, consult and assists business pro-cess improvements, especially for refi ning sup-ply chain management (SCM).

Th e m:pro Integration Platform (m:ip) provides the total integration of information sources and applications including ERP, planning, schedul-ing, functional databases, plant information systems, forecasting in a phased justifi ed ap-proach. Th e m:ip enables and improves the use of best-in-class software, plant and business ap-plications = asset maximization.

Th e m:pro object warehouse (m:owh) is our integration, data storage/management, and business intelligence back-end. Th e m:owh is based on standard and open relational database technology.

Th e m:pro explorer (m:exp) is our feature rich, fully web-enabled common graphical user in-terface including build and administration tools. Th e m:exp can run as the portal or can seamlessly be embedded in popular web portal environments.

m:pro provides standard applications/inter-faces for:• Production planning, scheduling and blending• Performance monitoring and dashboards• Data and process quality• Information analysis, visualization, fl owsheeting,

trending and reporting

Featured applications/interfaces are:• Analyzer Monitoring• Blend Monitoring and Reporting

• Crude Composition Tracking• Crude Scheduling• GRTMPS Planning Interface• Heat Exchanger Monitoring• KPIs, Operating Envelops, Plan vs Actual• Lab Interface and Reporting• LP Data Collector• Oil Movement Logging• ORION Scheduling Interface• PIMS Planning Interface• Quality Tracking• Tank Calculation System


ONLINE MONITORING AND OPTIMIZATION


Company Bio:With offi ces worldwide, Chemstations is a leading global supplier of process simulation software for the following process industries; Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Chemicals, and Fine Chemicals, including Pharmaceuticals. We currently off er several individually li-censed, and tightly integrated, technologies to address the needs of the chemical engineer, whether doing new process design or working in the plant.

Products:CC-STEADY STATE Chemical Process Simu-lation Software—Includes database of chemical components, thermodynamic methods, and unit operations to allow steady state simulation of continuous chemical processes from lab scale to full scale.

CC-DYNAMICS Dynamic Process Simulation Software—Takes your steady state simulations to the next level of fi delity to allow dynamic analysis of your fl owsheet. Th e combination of two pieces of software, CC-ReACS and CC-DCOLUMN make CC-DYNAMICS the dy-namic simulator of choice.

CC-BATCH Batch Distillation Simulation Software—As an add-on or stand alone pro-gram, CC-BATCH makes batch distillation simulation and design easy with intuitive, op-eration step based input.


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CC-THERM Heat Exchanger Design & Rat-ing Software—As an add-on or stand alone program, CC-THERM makes use of multiple international standards for design and mate-rials to make sizing your next heat exchanger faster and more accurate.

CC-SAFETY NET Piping & safety relief Net-work Simulation Software—A subset of CC-STEADY STATE, this program allows rigorous analysis of any piping network. CC-FLASH Physical Propertieis & Phase Equilibria Calculation Software—A subset of the CHEMCAD Suite (all of the CHEM-CAD Suite products include CC-FLASH capabilities), this program allows rigorous calculation of pure component and mix-ture physical properties and phase equilibria (VLE, LLE, VLLE).


Flexware, Inc.PO Box 110Grapeville, PA 15634-0110Phone: 724-527-3911Fax: 724-527-5701E-mail: sales@fl exwareinc.comwww.fl exwareinc.com

Company Bio:Flexware® is focused on servicing compa-nies interested in monitoring and improv-ing turbomachinery performance for energy conservation and capacity improvements. Central to this is software development to assist the rotating equipment engineer in as-sessing the operating equipment along with training programs and supporting consult-ing services.

Products:Gas Flex®, fi rst developed as a DOS program in 1990, does gas compressor performance calculations using BWR (Benedict, Webb & Rubin) equations of state. In it’s present form, Gas Flex® “Live Analysis” will auto-matically process compressor data. Gas Flex® will read raw data, process it and store results for trending purposes while you watch the results displayed on the OEM performance curve. Th e trending, including transients like hard startups aid troubleshooting eff orts.


PLANNING, SCHEDULING AND BLENDING

AMI Consultants, Inc.4102 Tremont Ct.Sugar Land, TX 77479Phone: 281-565-4745Fax: 281-565-1196Email: [email protected]

Company Bio:AMI Consultant develops and markets software for Petroleum refi nery planning and economics. Since the introduction of the PetroPlanSM soft-ware in 1996, AMI’s customer base has grown with installations now at over 50 sites world-wide. Licensees include operating and E&C companies as well as educational institutions.

Products:PetroPlanSM is a software to simulate the whole refi nery using a truly user-friendly graphic in-terface. Applications include: evaluation of re-vamp/expansion options, planning of grassroots facilities, evaluation of alternative feedstocks, changed product specifi cations and optimiza-tion of plant operations.

In the simulation each refi nery unit is repre-sented by a block (e.g. FCC). For each block, the prediction of product yields and properties is based on feed characteristics and user speci-fi ed parameters (e.g. conversion). Th e equa-tions for predicting a block’s performance are visible to the user and are editable. Crude oil cutting and specifi cation product blending are integrated into the main simulation.


Haverly Systems, Inc.12 Hinchman AvenueDenville, NJ 07834Phone: 973-627-1424Fax: 973-625-2296E-mail: [email protected]

Other Haverly Offi ce LocationsVentura, CA: 805-653-5355Houston, TX: 713-776-3161St. Albans, U.K.: +44 1727 826321 Singapore: +65 9630 6364

Company Bio:Haverly Systems Inc. is an independent soft-ware company that has specialized in the devel-opment and use of optimization-related prod-ucts and services for over four decades. Th eir systems are used in more than 50 countries worldwide by international and independent oil companies, chemical companies, and many other industrial and government entities. Th e eff ectivenss of their products has long been rec-ognized in the continued patronage and good-will of their clients. Th e ownership has been unchanged since the company’s founding, and most senior management and technical staff has been with the company for more than 15 years. Th is continuity in ownership, manage-ment, and business specializaiton is refl ected in the corporate stability, continued profi tability, and very personal pride found in satisfying each client’s need for technically excellent products and services.

Products:H/CAMS: a software system for the manage-ment, development, analysis, and application of crude assay data. H/CAMS determines and relates the eff ects associated with mixing and distilling crude oils, as well as other virgin hydrocarbons. Hundreds of varying whole crude, distillate, and residue properties are accepted, reported, corre-lated, or otherwise calculated. Raw assay data is easily entered and results displayed through vivid graphs. Th ese can be readily smoothed, augment-ed, and contraasted against other properties and known references to provide the very best repre-sentation of crude behavior to applications that depend on good assay data. Correlations and calculations-based sound engineering principles provide users additional intelligence in determin-ing data quality and best data interpretation. H/CAMS features several useful utilities that allow easy updating of existing assays with refi nery labo-ratory or current operating data and assure accu-rate representations. H/CAMS may be supplied with one or more high quality, industry developed crude assay libraries to supplement a user’s local library and extend the application of the system.

H/COMET: the on-line version of H/CAMS which allows for the quick access and evaluation of crude oils from a large, on-line crude assay da-tabase. Crudes may be easily cut, blended, com-pared, and analyzed using advanced graphical and computational techniques. LP optimization technology is used to calculate netback value for selected crude or blends of crude. Crude netback values may readily be determined for a user cus-tomized set of refi nery confi gurations.

GRTMPS: Haverly’s premier economic opti-mization planning system. GRTMPS is used to model individual refi nery and petrochemical plant operations, as well as entire business enter-prises, of any size and complexity, and over any time horizon. It employs both advanced linear and non-linear modeling techniques. Its non-lin-ear modeling abilities extend to cut-point optimi-zation, reformulated gasoline modeling, rigorous process simulation interfacing, and investment

ONLINE MONITORING AND OPTIMIZATION, CONT.


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opportunity studies. Haverly also off ers an ad-vance refi nery modeling platform in GRTMPS structure and developed by the industry consult-ing fi rm: Turner, Mason & Company -- to assist in the development and execution of models.

H/Sched: advanced operations scheduling tools. Each H/Sched system couples superior schedule simulation and generation technology with state-of-the-art graphics to provide tools with unsur-passed scheduling optimization abilities. Schedules are automatically generated and optimized, using Haverly’s own Progressional LP technology. After reviewing informative Gantt charts, fl ow diagrams, inventory profi les and detail windows - schedulers may directly modify these mediums to alter their schedules and obtain more desirable results.

H/Gal-XE: an expert H/Sched application specifi cally designed for the optimization of gasoline blend scheduling. Allow for fast con-struction and execution of models constrained by operational parameters typically found in gasoline blending and distribution operations.



Company Biom:pro IT Consult is a project services and soft-ware products company which enables petro-leum refi ning, petrochemical and other indus-tries to achieve total integration of information sources and applications, from business systems, ERP and supply chain management through to plant information, production planning, sched-uling and operations decision support.

Products:m:pro delivers enterprise wide or point solutions - easy and fast to implement - which truly integrate the production and business applications required to manage the overall assets.m:pro enables, consult and assists business pro-cess improvements, especially for refi ning sup-ply chain management (SCM).Th e m:pro Integration Platform (m:ip) provides the total integration of information sources and applications including ERP, planning, schedul-ing, functional databases, plant information systems, forecasting in a phased justifi ed ap-proach. Th e m:ip enables and improves the use of best-in-class software, plant and business ap-plications = asset maximization.Th e m:pro object warehouse (m:owh) is our in-tegration, data storage/management, and business

intelligence back-end. Th e m:owh is based on standard and open relational database technology.Th e m:pro explorer (m:exp) is our feature rich, fully web-enabled common graphical user inter-face including build and administration tools. Th e m:exp can run as the portal or can seamlessly be embedded in popular web portal environments.m:pro provides standard applications/interfaces for:• Production planning, scheduling and blending• Performance monitoring and dashboards• Data and process quality• Information analysis, visualization, fl owsheeting,

trending and reporting

Featured applications/interfaces are:• Analyzer Monitoring• Blend Monitoring and Reporting• Crude Composition Tracking• Crude Scheduling• GRTMPS Planning Interface• Heat Exchanger Monitoring• KPIs, Operating Envelops, Plan vs Actual• Lab Interface and Reporting• LP Data Collector• Oil Movement Logging• ORION Scheduling Interface• PIMS Planning Interface• Quality Tracking• Tank Calculation System


M3 Technology, Inc10375 Richmond Ave., Suite 380Houston, TX 77042Phone: +1-713-784-8285Fax: +1-832-553-1893E-mail: [email protected]

Company BioM3 Technology is the premier supplier of supply chain management solutions focused on enterprise planning, advanced asset scheduling and optimiza-tion solutions for the petroleum, petrochemical & LNG industries. M3’s solutions capture economic oppor-tunities and reduce the cost of managing complex facilities at the plant level, regional operat-ing level and global enterprise level. M3 has a global network of implementation partners to provide lo-cal consulting expertise and customer support.

Products:

SIMTO™ Scheduling

Visit www.haverly.com to learn more or call us at (973) 627-1424

Revolutionary Web-Based Application With H/COMET you can: • Quickly access & evaluate crudes from a large assay database• Select crudes based on user-defi ned criteria• Compare crudes side-by-side for any desired qualities• Re-cut and blend crudes using Haverly s̓ H/CAMS technology• Determine netback values of crudes or blends for a variety of refi nery confi gurations.

Crude Oil Management Evaluation Tool


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SIMTO™ Scheduling is the next generation plant scheduling technology

Powerful comprehensive fl owsheet modelingModels facility connections• Easy to create multiple modes of unit opera-• tionModels pipeline and jetty operations• Handles imperfect tank mixing•

Flexible Plant SimulatorPredicts plant inventories, compositions, • properties, and unit yieldsRuns multi-month simulations in seconds• Friendly and easy to use interfaces• Interactive, dynamic process fl owsheet• User confi gurable Gantt charts, trends and • tabular view, all are fully synchronizedCustom scheduling logic without programming•

Quick and low cost implementationMany customers self implement• Easy to maintain; saves manpower•

Scalable Enterprise Workfl ow/CollaborationUsers are notifi ed of data changes detailing • who changed what, whenEasy to integrate with plant and enterprise • systems using standard web services.Standardized reports•

Profi table:Today it is not enough to drive cost out of your supply chain. SIMTO Scheduling pro-vides you the agility to take full advantage of profi t opportunities.

SIMTO™ BlendingSIMTO™ M-Blend is a multi-period, multi-blend optimization technology for blending crude oil, gasoline, distillate, fuel oil, asphalt, petrochemical feedstock and more.

M-Blend is part of the native construct of SIM-TO Scheduling and inherits the rich capability and robustness of the parent.

Powerful blend modelingModels rundown streams, component tanks • and group blendingRespects logistic and running gage con-• straintsModels multiple blenders operating separate-• ly or in parallelSupports non-linear blend correlations such • as CARBOB

Flexible blend recipe optimizationPredicts non-linear, linear and index based • propertiesOptimizes single blend and multiple blends• Allows priority for near term blends• Issues component buy/sell signals•

Intuitive and easy to use interfacesProvides blend performance analysis for • comparing schedule vs. actual, and adjusting blend correlationsBlend operators can customize and confi gure • Gantt charts, trends and tabular view, to fully meet individual needsVisualization of inventories and specifi cation • violations improves understanding of blend-ing eff ects

Fast and low cost implementationOutputs standard blend recipes or transfers to • an advanced blend control systemEasy to maintain; saves manpower•

Leverageable blend knowledge base builds competitive advantage

Blend Knowledge Base contains data about • product specifi cations, property bonuses and interactions, and blending methods used in blending optimization.Easy to update blend methods to assure com-• pliance with government regulations.

Profi table, high ROI, fast time-to-cash

Reduces quality giveaway, maximizes profi t across the planning horizon, able to capture profi t opportunities, assures timely comple-tion of blends to minimize demurrage, effi -cient use of human resources, empowers per-sonnel to quickly troubleshoot profi t stealing problems.

SIMTO™ DistributionSIMTO™ Distribution is a supply and distri-bution optimizer designed specifi cally for the petroleum downstream industry. It is built with the latest software systems such as .NET and SQL Server along with integration via industry standard web services. SIMTO Distribution de-livers sustainable benefi ts today and in the fu-ture. It is part of M3’s ongoing commitment to our customers to develop best-in-class solutions.

Powerful supply chain modeling system

Inventory and location modelingBuy—supply locations and materials• Sell—demand locations and materials• Trade/exchange—locations and materials• Locations—inventory/material constraints• Point-to-point network• Logistics for point-to-point movements•

Material blend modelingRecipes for material blending• Quality specifi cation for blending• Components used for blending• Material qualities used in blending•

Route modelingpipeline and vessel routes•

Commercial modelingAll cost and contract matters including tiered • pricing

Versatile supply and distribution optimizationTrade Management— make/buy/exchange• Cost Management—Transportation pricing, • availability and routingInventory Management—safety stock, sea-• sonal changeover, turnaroundsTerminal Management—right product, place, • price and timeProduct Mix—material blending•

Flexible, user advantageProvides customizable presentations of the • supply and distribution environmentProvides optimized solution for decision • supportEmpowers the planner/scheduler/trader to • make fast, accurate and profi table decisionsEasy to maintain; saves manpower•

Profi table: low cost, very short payback

Bottom-line reduction in distribution cost, right sizing terminal inventory and safety stock, maximizes profi t across the planning horizon, able to assure timely completion of transactions and transfers; empowers people to seize profi t opportunities.


PLANT LIFECYCLE AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING



Products:Signal™ FFS software performs Fitness-for-Service and fracture mechanics analyses on fi xed and rotating equipment. It implements the API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 standard and performs crack assessments in accordance with the BS 7910 procedure. Users can per-form Level 1 and 2 assessments on many fl aw and equipment types. An advanced fracture

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mechanics module allows users to also per-form limited Level 3 assessments.




RMS™ software facilitates the implementation of risk-based assessment programs in a wide range of industries. It addresses the needs of pressure systems not met by existing reliability management programs and eliminates the high data and manpower demands of fully quantita-tive systems.


PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR




Th e standard functionality of COMPRESS includes everything needed to perform ASME

Section VIII, Division 1 pressure vessel calcu-lations. Th is includes the U.S. Customary and Metric Editions of Section II, Part D as well as a selection of Building Codes and related Engineering Standards.

To tailor COMPRESS to your needs, the fol-lowing optional modules are available: • ASME Section VIII, Division 2 • Heat Exchangers (includes TEMA Stan-dard, ASME UHX rules, tube fi eld layout capability and bi-directional interface with HTRI’s Xchanger Suite) • Drafter (converts COMPRESS fi les into AutoCAD drawings) • Coster (creates Excel compatible vessel cost estimates)





Company Bio:Th e Equity Engineering Group, Inc. is a rec-ognized leader on aging infrastructure fi xed equipment service and support for the oil and gas industry. Equity helps plants manage risk and improve profi tability with cutting-edge software and consulting strategies that maximize equipment operational availabil-ity, control inspection costs and avoid costly shutdowns.

Products:VCEPlant ManagerTM is a fully-integrated software tool for the lifecycle management of plant assets. It off ers equipment and data management in one application and database on a universal .net standard platform that en-compasses all modules with a single IT instal-


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lation procedure.




PROCESS CONTROL AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS






Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokoga-wa Electric Corporation, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquartered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse cus-tomer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, transmit-ters, controllers, recorders, data acquisition products, meters, instruments, safety instru-mented systems, distributed control systems and more.

Products:CENTUM VP™—CENTUM VP is an inte-grated production control system used to man-age and control the operation of plants. Th e highly acclaimed, extremely reliable integrated production control system combines rugged control station and remote I/O hardware with a scalable Windows XP/VISTA-based op-eration. Designed to handle information and control from small-scale facilities to the very largest of plants, the CENTUM VP provides a highly scalable, easy to operate, engineer, and maintain, high performance automation platform. Th e system architecture includes a 1 GB control and information highway utiliz-ing Yokogawa’s deterministic VNet protocol over Ethernet that provides built-in security for critical communications. CENTUM VP is an open platform for control and information providing high performance with low cost of ownership and a seamless technology migra-tion to its installed base.

ExaQuantum™—Exaquantum is an intelligent and scaleable Plant Information Management System that provides a platform for collecting, storing and displaying current and historical data from production equipment. It’s histo-rian software processes and stores process data, alarms and events acquired from the produc-tion control system through a standard OPC interface. Plant operational performance can be monitored and analyzed using this data as it is an enabling platform for production man-agement applications like data reconciliation, production accounting, performance monitor-ing, environmental monitoring, and operations electronic logbook. Exaquantum also enables supervisory enterprise applications to be able to share this data.


PROCESS ENGINEERING AND SIMULATION



Products:CC-STEADY STATE Chemical Process Simula-tion Software - Includes database of chemical com-ponents, thermodynamic methods, and unit opera-tions to allow steady state simulation of continuous chemical processes from lab scale to full scale. CC-DYNAMICS Dynamic Process Simulation Software - Takes your steady state simulations to the next level of fi delity to allow dynamic analysis of your fl owsheet. Th e combination of two pieces of software, CC-ReACS and CC-DCOLUMN make CC-DYNAMICS the dy-namic simulator of choice. CC-BATCH Batch Distillation Simulation Software - As an add-on or stand alone pro-gram, CC-BATCH makes batch distillation simulation and design easy with intuitive, op-eration step based input. CC-THERM Heat Exchanger Design & Rat-ing Software - As an add-on or stand alone program, CC-THERM makes use of multiple international standards for design and materials to make sizing your next heat exchanger faster and more accurate. CC-SAFETY NET Piping & safety relief Net-work Simulation Software - A subset of CC-STEADY STATE, this program allows rigorous analysis of any piping network. CC-FLASH Physical Propertieis & Phase Equilibria Calculation Software - A subset of the CHEMCAD Suite (all of the CHEMCAD Suite products include CC-FLASH capabili-ties), this program allows rigorous calculation of pure component and mixture physical prop-erties and phase equilibria (VLE, LLE, VLLE).


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To tailor COMPRESS to your needs, the fol-lowing optional modules are available:

• ASME Section VIII, Division 2

• Heat Exchangers (includes TEMA Standard, ASME UHX rules, tube fi eld layout capabil-ity and bi-directional interface with HTRI’s Xchanger Suite)

• Drafter (converts COMPRESS fi les into Au-toCAD drawings)

• Coster (creates Excel compatible vessel cost estimates)





Asia—Pacifi cHeat Transfer Research, Inc.World Business Garden Marive East 14FNakase 2-6, MihamakuChiba 261-7114 JapanPhone: 81-43-297-0353Fax: 81-43-297-0354E-mail: [email protected] Uozu, Regional Mgr.

EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)Th e Surrey Technology Centre40 Occam RoadGuildford, Surrey GU2 7YG U.K.

Phone: 44-(0)1483-685100Fax: 44-(0)[email protected] U. Zettler, Regional Manager

IndiaC-1, First Floor, Tower-B“Indraprasth Complex”Near Inox Multiplex, Race Course (North)Vadodara 390007, Gujarat, IndiaPhone: +91 (982) [email protected] Rajan Desai, International Coordinator


Products:HTRI Xchanger Suite—Integrated graphical user environment for the design, rating, and simulation of heat transfer equipment.Xace—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of air-cooled heat exchangers, heat recovery units, and air preheaters.Xfh—Simulates the behavior of fi red heaters. Calculates the radiant section of cylindrical and


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box heaters and the convection section of fi red heaters. It also designs process heater tubes and performs combustion calculations.Xhpe—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of hairpin heat exchangers.Xist—Designs, rates, and simulates single- and two-phase shell-and-tube heat exchangers, in-cluding kettle and thermosiphon reboilers, fall-ing fi lm evaporators, and refl ux condensers.Xjpe—Designs, rates, and simulates jacketed-pipe (double-pipe) heat exchangers.Xphe—Designs, rates, and simulates plate-and-frame heat exchangers. A fully incremental pro-gram, each plate channel is calculated individu-ally using local physical properties and process conditions.Xspe—Rates and simulates single-phase spiral plate heat exchangers.Xtlo—Graphical standalone rigorous tube lay-out software; also integrated with Xist.Xvib—Performs fl ow-induced vibration analy-sis of a single tube in a heat exchanger bundle. It uses a rigorous structural analysis approach to calculate the tube natural frequencies for vari-ous modes and off ers fl exibility in the geom-etries it can handle.Xchanger Suite Educational—Customized ver-sion of Xchanger Suite with the capability to design, rate, and simulate shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-coolers, economizers, and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. Available to educa-tional institutions only.R-trend—Calculates and trends fouling resis-tances for shell-and-tube heat exchangers in sin-gle-phase service. Uses Microsoft Excel as work-ing environment with optional link to Xist.


REFINING, PETROCHEMICAL AND GAS PROCESSING


Company Bio:Th e Equity Engineering Group, Inc. is a recog-nized leader on aging infrastructure fi xed equip-

ment service and support for the oil and gas industry. Equity helps plants manage risk and improve profi tability with cutting-edge soft-ware and consulting strategies that maximize equipment operational availability, control in-spection costs and avoid costly shutdowns.






Asia—Pacifi cHeat Transfer Research, Inc.World Business Garden Marive East 14FNakase 2-6, MihamakuChiba 261-7114 Japan

Phone: 81-43-297-0353Fax: 81-43-297-0354E-mail: [email protected] Uozu, Regional Mgr.



Company Bio:HTRI operates an international consortium founded in 1962 that conducts industrially relevant research and provides software tools for design, rating, and simulation of process heat transfer equipment. HTRI also produc-es a wide range of technical publications and provides other services including contract research, software development, consulting, and training.

Products:HTRI Xchanger Suite—Integrated graphical user environment for the design, rating, and simulation of heat transfer equipment.

Xace—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of air-cooled heat exchangers, heat recovery units, and air preheaters.

Xfh—Simulates the behavior of fi red heaters. Calculates the radiant section of cylindrical and box heaters and the convection section of fi red heaters. It also designs process heater tubes and performs combustion calculations.

Xhpe—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of hairpin heat exchangers.

Xist—Designs, rates, and simulates single- and two-phase shell-and-tube heat exchangers, in-cluding kettle and thermosiphon reboilers, fall-ing fi lm evaporators, and refl ux condensers.

Xjpe—Designs, rates, and simulates jacketed-pipe (double-pipe) heat exchangers.

Xphe—Designs, rates, and simulates plate-and-frame heat exchangers. A fully incremental pro-gram, each plate channel is calculated individu-ally using local physical properties and process conditions.

Xspe—Rates and simulates single-phase spiral plate heat exchangers.

Xtlo—Graphical standalone rigorous tube lay-out software; also integrated with Xist.

Xvib—Performs fl ow-induced vibration analy-sis of a single tube in a heat exchanger bundle.

PROCESS ENGINEERING AND SIMULATION, CONT.

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It uses a rigorous structural analysis approach to calculate the tube natural frequencies for vari-ous modes and off ers fl exibility in the geom-etries it can handle.

Xchanger Suite Educational—Customized ver-sion of Xchanger Suite with the capability to design, rate, and simulate shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-coolers, economizers, and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. Available to educa-tional institutions only.

R-trend—Calculates and trends fouling resis-tances for shell-and-tube heat exchangers in sin-gle-phase service. Uses Microsoft Excel as work-ing environment with optional link to Xist.


M3 Technology, Inc10375 Richmond Ave., Suite 380Houston, TX 77042Phone: +1-713-784-8285Fax: +1-832-553-1893E-mail: [email protected]

Company BioM3 Technology is the premier supplier of sup-ply chain management solutions focused on enterprise planning, advanced asset schedul-ing and optimization solutions for the petro-leum, petrochemical & LNG industries. M3’s solutions capture economic oppor-tunities and reduce the cost of managing complex facilities at the plant level, regional operating level and global enterprise level. M3 has a global network of implementation partners to provide local consulting expertise and customer support.

Products:

SIMTO™ Refi ningSIMTO Refi ning is a comprehensive solution for refi nery planning, scheduling and blending that includes:

SIMTO Scheduling schedules all pipeline and tank transfers, crude oil receipts, process unit operation, product run downs, product single blend optimization and shipment

SIMTO M-Blend™ provides multi-period blend optimization including rundown blend-ing for gasoline, distillates, fuel oil, other refi n-ing products, crude oil that blends from vessels, pipelines & tanks with or without a separate crude feed tank

SIMTO Dock Manager calculates and visual-izes demurrage, automatically schedules vessels and berths/jetties

SIMTO Global manages distributed refi ning

assets and inventories, inherits and synchro-nizes with multi-plant scheduling models

SIMTO Integration Depot provides integra-tion with the plant information system, LIMS, oil movements, plant LP planning, advanced optimization process models, crude assay sys-tem, and ERP for crude nominations, and is made easy and robust through the use of web services standards and a multitier architecture.

User Experience:SIMTO Refi ning is used by planning, schedu-ing and operating personnel. Th e soft-ware’s

Service Oriented Architecture enables collabo-ration across the entire enterprise. Recently a SIMTO user said, “Th anks for this GREAT tool. We are in preparation for a turnaround and without this amazing software I would be totally lost.”

Benefi ts:SIMTO Refi ning produces benefi ts of over $11–18 million for a 200,000 bpd high-con-version refi nery or about 15–25¢/bbl.


Introducing

Life Cycle Management

on a Single Platform

For more information, contact [email protected]

www.equityeng.com

VCEPlant Manager


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SIS / SAFETY SYSTEMS

exida64 North Main StreetSellersville, PA 18960Phone: 215-453-1720Fax: 215-257-1657E-mail: [email protected] www.exida.comIwan van Beurden, Senior Safety Engineer, [email protected]

Company Bio:exida is an engineering consulting fi rm special-izing in safety critical / high availability auto-mation systems, control system security, and alarm management. Core competencies in de-sign, analysis, implementation, operation, and maintenance of critical automation systems, along with expertise in the application of the IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 / ISA 84 functional safety standards, has allowed exida to develop an extensive suite of software tools that assist in the implementation of the Safety Lifecycle.

Products:exSILentia® Integrated Safety Lifecycle Suite: Th e exSILentia® integrated toolset helps tackle three of the most important steps in the safety lifecycle: Safety Integrity Level (SIL) selection, Safety Requirements Specifi cation, and SIL verifi cation. exSILentia lets the user defi ne a project consisting of one or more Safety In-strumented Functions. It helps you manage project documentation through easy report generation and viewing of reports in Microsoft Word. Sharing data for multi-person projects, for independent review, or for input into other lifecycle tools (e.g. PHA), is easy with the built-in exSILentia import/ export functionality.

exSILentia provides fully customizable SIL se-lection options like risk graph, hazard matrix, and frequency based targets. In addition, a com-plete SIF SRS template ensures completeness in requirements defi nition. exSILentia contains the most comprehensive SIL verifi cation pro-gram on the market, SILver, allowing extensive Safety Instrumented Function defi nition, and an IEC 61508-approved calculation engine based on the Markov Modeling technique. Fi-nally exSILentia includes a built-in reliability database from the best-selling Safety Equip-ment Reliability Handbook (SERH), speeding up the process of SIL verifi cation by allowing users to select equipment items directly from the database without having to manually enter reliability data. For more information, please visit www.exSILentia.com.







Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Elec-tric Corporation, a global leader in the manu-facture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquar-tered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, transmitters, controllers, record-ers, data acquisition products, meters, instru-ments, safety instrumented systems, distributed control systems and more.

Products:ProSafe-RS™—ProSafe-RS is an integrated safety instrumented system (SIS) designed for such applications as emergency shutdown (ESD), Fire and Gas (F&G), Boiler manage-ment (BMS). It provides safe, reliable and avail-able control without compromise and is certi-fi ed by the German certifi cation organization, Technische Üeberwachungs-Verein (TÜV) to meet Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3 as specifi ed in IEC 61508. An integral feature is that it can be combined with Yokogawa’s CENTUM VP DCS system that allows all information to be combined into one screen integrating alarms and events, tag data onto graphics and trends. With ProSafe-RS, the safety-instrumented sys-tem uses the common DCS network for safety communications—with absolute integrity.


TRAINING








SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C EFA L L 2010 23

UpstreamUPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCE

ALARM MANAGEMENT






Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquartered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, trans-mitters, controllers, recorders, data acquisition products, meters, instruments, safety instrument-ed systems, distributed control systems and more.

Products:CAMS—Yokogawa’s Consolidated Alarm Man-agement System (CAMS) is an alarm manage-ment software designed on the innovative concept of acquiring real-time alarms and events from a variety of various automation systems - not only from Distributed Control Systems (DCS) but also Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), Super-visory and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA and DAQ) and Plant Asset Management Sys-tems (PAM); then to sort and deliver only essen-tial alarms to the right person at the right time. Important information such as the root cause of alarm occurrence and role-based guidance are also added to the displayed message.AAASuite—AAASuite is a comprehensive alarm management system that optimizes and enhances

process alarms issued by control systems. AAA-Suite improves operator performance by mini-mizing nuisance alarms and providing timely notifi cation of only necessary alarms, thereby preventing alarm fl ooding and enabling safe, stable and cost eff ective plant operations.


ASSET MANAGEMENT

Merrick Systems, Inc.4801 Woodway, Suite 200EHouston, TX 77056Toll Free: 800-842-8389Phone: 713-579-3400Fax: 713-579-3499E-mail: [email protected] Kidwai, V.P. Sales, [email protected]

Company Bio:Merrick Systems provides the industry’s most robust software and hardware solutions ad-dressing production operations, engineering and asset tracking. Recognized for its industry expertise and innovative technologies, Merrick is committed to delivering best of breed solu-tions to improve production operations, help-ing companies extend oil and gas producing as-set life, lower lifting costs, increase production and optimize operations. Merrick’s integrated applications, installed or hosted (Software as a Service), include real-time surveillance and op-timization; fi eld operations management; fi eld data capture; hydrocarbon production account-ing; mobile computing for fi eld and drilling operations and ruggedized RFID for drilling and asset management.

Products: RFID Diamond Tags: Industrial, rugged, pat-ented Radio Frequency Identifi cation (RFID) tags that survive extreme environmental condi-tions including high impact, vibration, corro-sion, sustained temperatures up to 200C (400F) and pressures up to 2070 bar (30,000 psi) and are readable through thick layers of drilling mud, for tracking surface, subsurface and sub-sea drilling and industrial assets. Th e tag suite includes various durable and rugged tags and mounting methods for diff erent components including drill pipe, HWDP, subs, drill collars, bits, risers, fl ow iron, casing, production tub-ing, safety equipment and more. Th e tags al-low to uniquely identify, trace and document high-value assets for location, measurements, maintenance, use, inspection history and certi-fi cations. Th e RFID Diamond Tags are part of Merrick’s Asset Tracking system which includes the DynaCap software, rugged mobile or fi xed

readers and additional Automatic Identifi ca-tion and Data Capture (AIDC) technologies and consulting services to provide a complete solution for all asset tracking needs even under the harsh conditions of drilling, subsea and in-dustrial operations.

DynaCap Asset Tracking Software: Confi gu-rable asset tracking system manages operational assets for increased effi ciency, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. DynaCap captures any type of data that may be needed, includ-ing asset location, dimension, manufacturer specifi cations, maintenance and inspections. Th e System can serve as an enterprise system or can interface with in-house or leading 3rd party ERP/EAM systems such as Maximo, SAP and others. Providing access in near-real time to vital asset information across the organization, DynaCap allows companies to make informed decisions on asset use and re-use, manage as-sets effi ciently, reduce inventory, downtime and operational cost and reduce the risk of cata-strophic failure, improving the safety of both operations and people.

RFID features include: • Asset tracking solution includes rugged RFID tags, intrinsically safe (I.S.) or non-I.S. mobile or fi xed readers, software, complementa-ry technologies and consulting services for proj-ect scoping, management and implementation • A suite of fi t-for-purpose, durable and rugged RFID tags and mounting methods for diff erent components including drill pipe, HWDP, subs, drill collars, bits, risers, fl ow irons, casing, production tubing, safety equip-ment and any other downhole, sub-sea and surface equipment components that requires tracking • Tags are rated for sustained temperatures up to 200C (400F) and pressures up to 2070 bar (30,000 psi), expected under harsh drilling and operating conditions • Tags can be installed during the compo-nent manufacturing process or retrofi tted in the fi eld • RFID data is linked to corporate-wide asset management, maintenance management and ERP/EAM systems including Merrick’s DynaCap software or any in-house asset track-ing system.





Upstream UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCE




Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquartered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers, fl ow meters, trans-mitters, controllers, recorders, data acquisition products, meters, instruments, safety instrument-ed systems, distributed control systems and more.

Products:PRM—Plant Resource Manager (PRM) is a real-time instrument device maintenance and management software package that provides a platform for advanced instrument diagnostics. PRM is an integrated software solution that unifi es the monitored data from intelligent and non-intelligent fi eld devices running within Yokogawa’s CENTUM VP and STARDOM control systems or as a stand-alone solution. Th e key feature of PRM is that it provides easy access to automatically collected data from fi eld net-works such as Foundation Fieldbus, and HART allowing integration, management and mainte-nance these devices using a common database.

PRM provides integrated plant and device performance data, maintenance records, audit trails, device confi guration with auto-device detection, historic data management, parameter comparison, advanced device di-agnostics information, and access to on-line documentation such as device drawings, parts list and manuals in a client server archi-tecture that provides information to multiple users within a plant facility. It provides the ability to adjust the parameters of intelligent devices online and allows comparison of the current data to historical data of a device.

Fieldmate™—FieldMate™ is an asset manage-ment software developed for portable lap-top computers that provides confi guration and maintenance of intelligent fi eld devices. Fieldmate™ supports the use of open inter-

face Field Device Tool (FDT) technology to facilitate the confi guration and adjustment of fi eld devices such as sensors and valves at pro-duction sites, regardless of the manufacturer or the communication protocols. Fieldmate™ also supports Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) interface technology.

With its device navigation and device mainte-nance information management features, this software relieves users of the diffi culties with dealing with a variety of communication proto-cols and confi guration methods from multiple manufacturers which used diff erent confi gura-tors and/or multiple confi guration procedures.


DATA MANAGEMENT

geoLOGIC systems ltd.900, 703 6 Avenue SWCalgary, AB Canada T2P 0T9Phone: 403 262-1992 Fax: 403-262-1987E-mail: [email protected] Hood, VP Business Development & Sales



Th e gDC™ (geoLOGIC Data Center) is a com-prehensive online solution that integrates pub-lic wells and land data across Western Canada. Designed on a PPDM 3.8 model, geoLOGIC value-added data is accessible through virtually any petroleum industry software application.

Th e gDC off ers spatial data in an industry stan-dard GIS format that is accessible through most mapping applications.

petroCUBETM is an innovative suite of products that provide unbiased, consistent statistical in-sights that can help you make more profi table decisions about petroleum plays. From reserve and production data through to full-cycle eco-nomics, petroCUBE gives you immediate access to a full spectrum of current geostatistical, tech-nical and fi nancial information and comprehen-sive analytical tools. petroCUBE instantly deliv-ers the data engineers and geologists need to accurately assess risk and justify exploration and development proposals before wells are drilled.


DATA VISUALIZATION




Th e gDC™ (geoLOGIC Data Center) is a com-prehensive online solution that integrates pub-lic wells and land data across Western Canada. Designed on a PPDM 3.8 model, geoLOGIC value-added data is accessible through virtually

ASSET MANAGEMENT, CONT.

25


any petroleum industry software application. Th e gDC off ers spatial data in an industry stan-dard GIS format that is accessible through most mapping applications.



PIXOTEC, LLC15917 SE Fairwood Blvd.Renton, WA 98058 USPhone: 425-255-0789Fax: 425-917-0104E-mail: [email protected] Echert, Director of Marketing

Company Bio:PIXOTEC, LLC specializes in the develop-ment of software for the analysis of com-plex data in three or more dimensions. Dr. David Lucas, the originator of Slicer Dicer, heads the software development eff orts and is co-owner of PIXOTEC. Slicer Dicer® and its precursors have been under development since the late 80s.

Products:Slicer Dicer—Volumetric Data Visualization Software for Windows, is designed for geosci-entists and engineers involved with complex data defi ned in three or more dimensions. Th is easy-to-use tool is employed for the analysis of seismic data and geological model outputs. It has users in over 50 countries. Th e latest version of Slicer Dicer, v5, includes 3VOTM Slicer Dicer’s powerful new 3D viewer. It simplifi es rotating, zooming, and other ma-nipulations of your data scene, all by simply moving your mouse.

With Slicer Dicer, you can explore your mul-tidimensional volume data visually by “slicing and dicing” to create arbitrary orthogonal and oblique slices, rectilinear blocks and cutouts, isosurfaces, and projected volumes. You can generate animation sequences featuring contin-uous rotation, moving slices, blocks, paramet-ric variation (time animation), oblique slice ro-tation, and varying transparency. Use the new 3VOTM viewer to easily rotate, zoom, control

lighting and light refl ection, and change the center of rotation of your data image.

Pricing for Slicer Dicer starts at only $495. Go to our web site, SlicerDicer.com, to download a full-featured demo that is limited only by a 15-day trial period. Low-cost upgrades from previous versions of Slicer Dicer are also avail-able from the SlicerDicer.com web site.


DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING


FROM






IndiaC-1, First Floor, Tower-B“Indraprasth Complex”Near Inox Multiplex, Race Course (North)Vadodara 390007, Gujarat, IndiaPhone: +91 (982) [email protected] Desai, International Coordinator


Products:HTRI Xchanger Suite—Integrated graphical user environment for the design, rating, and simulation of heat transfer equipment.Xace—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of air-cooled heat exchangers, heat recovery units, and air preheaters.Xfh—Simulates the behavior of fi red heaters. Calculates the radiant section of cylindrical and box heaters and the convection section of fi red heaters. It also designs process heater tubes and performs combustion calculations.Xhpe—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of hairpin heat exchangers.Xist—Designs, rates, and simulates single- and two-phase shell-and-tube heat exchangers, in-cluding kettle and thermosiphon reboilers, fall-ing fi lm evaporators, and refl ux condensers.Xjpe—Designs, rates, and simulates jacketed-pipe (double-pipe) heat exchangers.Xphe—Designs, rates, and simulates plate-and-frame heat exchangers. A fully incremental pro-gram, each plate channel is calculated individu-ally using local physical properties and process conditions.

Xspe—Rates and simulates single-phase spiral plate heat exchangers.Xtlo—Graphical standalone rigorous tube lay-out software; also integrated with Xist.Xvib—Performs fl ow-induced vibration analy-sis of a single tube in a heat exchanger bundle. It uses a rigorous structural analysis approach to calculate the tube natural frequencies for vari-ous modes and off ers fl exibility in the geom-etries it can handle.Xchanger Suite Educational—Customized ver-sion of Xchanger Suite with the capability to design, rate, and simulate shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-coolers, economizers, and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. Available to educa-tional institutions only.R-trend—Calculates and trends fouling resis-tances for shell-and-tube heat exchangers in sin-gle-phase service. Uses Microsoft Excel as work-ing environment with optional link to Xist.


EXPLORATION







FIELD DATA CAPTURE

Merrick Systems, Inc.4801 Woodway, Suite 200EHouston, TX 77056Toll Free: 800-842-8389 Phone: 713-579-3400 Fax: 713-579-3499E-mail: [email protected] Kidwai, V.P. Sales, [email protected]

Company Bio:Merrick Systems provides the industry’s most robust software and hardware solutions address-ing production operations, engineering and asset tracking. Recognized for its industry ex-pertise and innovative technologies, Merrick is committed to delivering best of breed solutions to improve production operations, helping companies extend oil and gas producing asset life, lower lifting costs, increase production and optimize operations. Merrick’s integrated ap-plications, installed or hosted, include real-time surveillance and optimization; fi eld operations management; fi eld data capture; hydrocarbon production accounting; mobile computing for fi eld and drilling operations and ruggedized RFID for drilling and asset management.

Products:eVIN—Used in 20% of all oil & gas wells in the US and multiple global locations, eVIN en-ables data capture from oil and gas fi elds using handhelds and PCs. Designed to meet fi eld op-eration needs anywhere in the world, including the unique complexities of diffi cult environ-

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING, CONT.


ments and products such as coal bed methane, water fl oods and CO2, eVIN handls mixed units of measure and multiple languages.

Field operators use eVIN to easily enter data from the fi eld with automated fi eld calculations of diff erent gas metering devices and oil tick-ets. eVIN provides error validation and reliable transfer of the data to the company’s central offi ces 24/7 where production supervisors, ac-counting personnel and engineers can access it in near real time. It also allows SCADA and other automated readings and information to be transmitted to fi eld personnel for review and action. eVIN’s confi gurability enables captur-ing any desired data, allowing it to be used for asset tracking, environmental and safety com-pliance and much more.

Designed for use in remote locations, eVIN can be deployed in areas of low bandwidth and manages interruptions in connectivity without disruption to the data capture process. Easy to deploy, eVIN can manage updates via a simple set-up, a single point of deployment and stan-dard TCP/IP protocol. Th e software can be used on multiple devices including desktop, Pocket PC or TabletPC.

RFID Diamond Tags—Industrial, rugged, patented Radio Frequency Identifi cation (RFID) tags that survive extreme environmen-tal conditions including high impact, vibration, corrosion, sustained temperatures up to 200°C (400°F) and pressures up to 2070 bar (30,000 psi) and are readable through thick layers of drilling mud, for tracking surface, subsurface and subsea drilling and industrial assets. Th e tag suite includes various durable and rugged tags and mounting methods for diff erent com-ponents including drill pipe, HWDP, subs, drill collars, bits, risers, fl ow iron, casing, production tubing, safety equipment and more. Th e tags allow to uniquely identify, trace and document high-value assets for location, measurements, maintenance, use, inspection history and certi-fi cations. Th e RFID Diamond Tags are part of Merrick’s Asset Tracking system which includes the DynaCap software, rugged mobile or fi xed readers and additional Automatic Identifi ca-tion and Data Capture (AIDC) technologies and consulting services to provide a complete solution for all asset tracking needs even under the harsh conditions of drilling, subsea and in-dustrial operations.

DynaCap Asset Tracking Software—Confi gu-rable asset tracking system manages operational assets for increased effi ciency, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. DynaCap captures any type of data that may be needed, includ-ing asset location, dimension, manufacturer specifi cations, maintenance and inspections. Th e System can serve as an enterprise system or can interface with in-house or leading 3rd party ERP/EAM systems such as Maximo, SAP and others. Providing access in near-real time to vital asset information across the organization,

DynaCap allows companies to make informed decisions on asset use and re-use, manage as-sets effi ciently, reduce inventory, downtime and operational cost and reduce the risk of cata-strophic failure, improving the safety of both operations and people.


OPERATIONS


Company Bio:Merrick Systems provides the industry’s most robust software and hardware solutions ad-dressing production operations, engineering and asset tracking. Recognized for its indus-try expertise and innovative technologies, Merrick is committed to delivering best of breed solutions to improve production op-erations, helping companies extend oil and gas producing asset life, lower lifting costs, increase production and optimize operations. Merrick’s integrated applications, installed or hosted, include real-time surveillance and optimization; fi eld operations management; fi eld data capture; hydrocarbon production accounting; mobile computing for fi eld and drilling operations and ruggedized RFID for drilling and asset management.

Products:Merrick’s suite of products provides a complete production and drilling management solution. From the fi eld to the back offi ce, all of your data is integrated into a single system: • eVIN—Mobile and PC-based fi eld data capture system designed for simple, fast and ef-fi cient entry of daily readings with fi eld valida-tion and AGA calculations built in. • ProCount—Comprehensive hydrocar-bon accounting solution to manage simple and complex daily and monthly production allo-cations, including full component allocations with over 100 standard reports included. • Carte—Web based production monitor-ing and reporting tool for viewing, graphing, analyzing and exporting daily and monthly oil & gas production trends. Catch potential pro-duction areas before they become problems. • PetroRegs—Complete regulatory com-pliance modules for state and MMS reporting.

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Industrial IT for the Digital Oil Field

We Understand

4801 Woodway Suite 200E

Houston, TX 77056+1.713.579.3400

800.842.8389

www.MerrickSystems.com




• RIO—Petro technical data store for ex-ploitation, exploration, property evaluation, reservoir analysis, and fi eld operations. Used to manage and analyze production, reservoir, geo-logical, and petrophysical data, allowing mul-tiple applications to utilize and benefi t from the same data. • RFID-Based Asset Tracking System for tracking down-hole, subsea and surface equipment onshore and off shore. Th e system includes a portfolio of fi t-for-purpose rugged RFID Diamond tags, DynaCap software for drill-site and corporate-wide asset tracking, rugged readers and consulting services.


PROCESS CONTROL AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS






Company Bio:Yokogawa Corporation of America is the North American unit of US $4 billion Yokogawa Elec-tric Corporation, a global leader in the manu-facture and supply of instrumentation, process control, and automation solutions. Headquar-tered in Newnan, GA., Yokogawa Corporation of America serves a diverse customer base with market-leading products including analyzers,

fl ow meters, transmitters, controllers, record-ers, data acquisition products, meters, instru-ments, safety instrumented systems, distrib-uted control systems and more.

Products:FAST/TOOLSTM (Advance Process Control Management software) is a powerful, state-of-the-art, fl exible, distributed Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. It is a client/server based open archi-tecture that provides support for standards such as XML, HTML, Java, ODBC and OPC ensures uniform and standard inter-faces to other packages and applications.. It has been developed and evolved over a period of three decades to span a wide range of op-erating platforms such that it off ers stability and scalability during the lifetime of the pro-cess. It has a proven track-record, guaranteed ‘best-of-class’ availability, data integrity, high levels of performance and on-line confi gura-tion capabilities. FAST/TOOLS is scalable from less than a hundred to more than a million I/O points, and supports multiple architectures from single node solutions to multi-node client/server systems and is used in many application areas, such as:

Oil & Gas exploration, production and dis-• tribution supervisionPipeline Management• Ship monitoring and control• Production control supervision• Utilities like water, waste-water treatment, gas • and electricity distribution and managementEmbedded applications in advanced produc-• tion equipment.

STARDOMTM, network based control system, is coupled with FAST/TOOLS to provide the remote terminal units (RTU). STARDOM consists of a family of highly functional auton-omous controller RTUs and application port-folios. It features small, scalable architecture which is capable of being highly distributed, both within a facility and also geographically. STARDOM family of controllers include a Field control node (FCN)– a modular control-ler with a wide range of I/O modules and two expansion units suitable for mid-size applica-tions, a Field Control Junction – an all-in-one compact controller with built-in I/O suitable for direct installation on equipment or utilities and a FCN-RTU suitable for low power ap-plications. STARDOM enables operation and monitoring of the process anywhere, anytime using commercial off -the-shelf (COTS) com-ponents. STARDOM autonomous controllers are FOUNDATION fi eldbus certifi ed and can be adapted to any infrastructure to integrate all process information. STARDOM autono-mous controllers have great remote manage-ment and stand-alone capability, and reduce running costs by making fl exible use of e-mail, the Web, and SCADA technology.


PROCESS ENGINEERING AND SIMULATION

Heat Transfer Research, Inc.

Worldwide150 Venture DriveCollege Station, TX 77845 USAPhone: 979-690-5050Fax: 979-690-3250E-mail: [email protected] D. Beyer, President and CEOFernando J. Aguirre, VP, Sales and Business Development





Products:HTRI Xchanger Suite—Integrated graphi-cal user environment for the design, rating, and simulation of heat transfer equipment.Xace—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-

OPERATIONS, CONT.

SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C EFA L L 2010 29


formance of air-cooled heat exchangers, heat recovery units, and air preheaters.Xfh—Simulates the behavior of fi red heaters. Calculates the radiant section of cylindrical and box heaters and the convection section of fi red heaters. It also designs process heater tubes and performs combustion calculations.Xhpe—Designs, rates, and simulates the per-formance of hairpin heat exchangers.Xist—Designs, rates, and simulates single- and two-phase shell-and-tube heat exchangers, in-cluding kettle and thermosiphon reboilers, fall-ing fi lm evaporators, and refl ux condensers.Xjpe—Designs, rates, and simulates jacketed-pipe (double-pipe) heat exchangers.Xphe—Designs, rates, and simulates plate-and-frame heat exchangers. A fully incremental program, each plate channel is calculated individually using local physical properties and process conditions.Xspe—Rates and simulates single-phase spiral plate heat exchangers.Xtlo—Graphical standalone rigorous tube lay-out software; also integrated with Xist.Xvib—Performs fl ow-induced vibration analy-sis of a single tube in a heat exchanger bundle. It uses a rigorous structural analysis approach to calculate the tube natural frequencies for vari-ous modes and off ers fl exibility in the geom-etries it can handle.Xchanger Suite Educational—Customized ver-sion of Xchanger Suite with the capability to design, rate, and simulate shell-and-tube heat exchangers, air-coolers, economizers, and plate-and-frame heat exchangers. Available to educa-tional institutions only.R-trend—Calculates and trends fouling resis-tances for shell-and-tube heat exchangers in sin-gle-phase service. Uses Microsoft Excel as work-ing environment with optional link to Xist.


PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING


Company Bio:Merrick Systems provides the industry’s most robust software and hardware solutions ad-dressing production operations, engineering and asset tracking. Recognized for its industry expertise and innovative technologies, Mer-

rick is committed to delivering best of breed solutions to improve production operations, helping companies extend oil and gas produc-ing asset life, lower lifting costs, increase pro-duction and optimize operations. Merrick’s integrated applications, installed or hosted, include real-time surveillance and optimiza-tion; fi eld operations management; fi eld data capture; hydrocarbon production accounting; mobile computing for fi eld and drilling opera-tions and ruggedized RFID for drilling and as-set management.

Products: ProCount—ProCount is a comprehensive hy-drocarbon accounting solution for daily and monthly volumetric allocations, management and partner reporting. Used onshore, off shore, domestically and globally, ProCount helps meet allocation needs in both operated and non-operated properties and handles simple to complex allocations by mass, energy and volume, with plant and pipeline, meter, tank and fuel wellhead allocations. ProCount has a proven track record working in unconven-tional oil and gas operations in shale plays. Th e software is available both installed or as a hosted solution.

Providing daily and monthly volume reconcil-iations that are used to minimize month-end operational surprises and operational discrep-ancies, ProCount also supports allocations for production sharing agreements and other contractual needs. Handling multiple units of measure, ProCount has built-in integration with several standard ERP accounting and fi -nancial systems as well as third-party engineer-ing and economic analysis software packages. With over a hundred standard reports and ad-hoc reporting capabilities, ProCount is highly scalable, confi gurable and built to integrate well with other software packages. In addi-tion, It has a built-in auditability and trace-ability which are required for fi nancial regula-tory compliance.

ProCount features include: • Simple drag and drop tool that allows us-ers to create simple to complex multi-tiered connections for allocation networks • Quick setup of daily and monthly allo-cations using templates for multiple objects (meters, tanks, equipment and completions) • Allocate by volume, energy based – BTU and analysis, including component allocation of plant products and liquids/NGL • User defi ned error checking and valida-tion, custom formulas for allocation require-ments and user confi gurable data fi elds and screens • Handles requirements for mixed units of measurement (Imperial and Metric) within one data store • Scalable to handle daily allocations for 20,000+ wells (with related equipment in a network)

• Integrates with revenue/fi nancial systems like Artesia, Excalibur, SAP as well as Aries for Petroleum Economics • Regulatory fi ling of production for all key states and MMS either in electronic format or printed • 100+ reports included for daily opera-tions, daily and monthly accounting/alloca-tions and management/partner reporting. • Available installed or hosted as a service from Merrick

Carte—Carte is a web-based production management dashboard and monthly oil & gas production reporting system that allows access to information by a single well, fi eld or entire asset, viewed graphically or in tabular form. Carte reads data from Merrick’s Pro-Count software or other standard third-party production databases and provides KPI and variance reports. It allows operations staff and executives to easily access production data at varying levels, including corporate division and asset summaries, or drill down to comple-tion levels. As a web –based solution it off ers simple deployment from a central location to fi eld and offi ce personnel at multiple loca-tions. It can also be used to share information with partners.

Carte features include: • View allocated production data to spot early trends and potential problem areas • Drill down to the completion level and ac-cess critical information for decision making • Activate Excel from within Carte to gen-erate user spreadsheets • Annotate with ‘sticky notes’ on well pro-duction graphs • Print one or all production graphs with a single mouse click • Graph the forecasted economic model versus actual production on a daily basis

PetroRegs—From production form fi lings with state and federal agencies to gas allowable computations and well test calculations, these modules help ensure regulatory compliance.

Regulatory features include: • Flexible fi ling options with hard copy re-ports, electronic fi ling and PDF format • Automatic handling of prior period ad-justments (PPA) • Each module generates state-approved digital fi lings • Generate error reports for identifying po-tential problems before fi ling with the state


30


REGULATORY COMPLIANCE



Products:Signal™ FFS software performs Fitness-for-Ser-vice and fracture mechanics analyses on fi xed and rotating equipment. It implements the API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 standard and performs crack assessments in accordance with

the BS 7910 procedure. Users can perform Lev-el 1 and 2 assessments on many fl aw and equip-ment types. An advanced fracture mechanics module allows users to also perform limited Level 3 assessments.



LifeQuest™ Pipeline software delivers inspection and Fitness-for-Service assessment results through a powerful data viewer. Analysis and assessment capabilities include standard calculation methods B31G, B31G Modifi ed and API 579.

RMS™ software facilitates the implementation of risk-based assessment programs in a wide range of industries. It addresses the needs of pressure sys-tems not met by existing reliability management programs and eliminates the high data and man-power demands of fully quantitative systems.


WELL LOG DATA ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT

geoLOGIC systems ltd.900, 703 6 Avenue SWCalgary, ABCanada T2P 0T9Phone: 403 262-1992 Fax: 403-262-1987E-mail: [email protected] Hood, VP Business Development & Sales




petroCUBETM is an innovative suite of products that provide unbiased, consistent statistical in-sights that can help you make more profi table decisions about petroleum plays. From reserve and production data through to full-cycle eco-nomics, petroCUBE gives you immediate ac-cess to a full spectrum of current geostatistical, technical and fi nancial information and compre-hensive analytical tools. petroCUBE instantly delivers the data engineers and geologists need to accurately assess risk and justify exploration and development proposals before wells are drilled.


Asset Longevity Plant & Pipeline Performance

We provide highly accurate, technology-enabled inspection and assessment solutions that help companies in the process, pipeline and power industries increase profitability, reduce operational and safety risks and improve operational planning.

Quest Integrity Group is built on a foundation of leading edge science and technology that has innovated and shaped industries for nearly forty years. As a private business with a global presence, we are responsive to your needs and focused on empowering your operating and maintenance decisions.

(281) 557-2255(253) 893-7070

[email protected]


BUSINESS MANAGEMENTBudgeting, Capital Allocation and Planning

3esi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Schlumberger Information Solutions

Business IntegrationBaker and O’BrienEnsyte Energy SoftwareIBM Solutionsm:pro IT Consult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Enterprise Operations ManagementOildex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

OSIsoft P2 Energy Solutions

Land and LeasinggeoLOGIC systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Plant Lifecycle and Performance MonitoringABB Emerson Process Managementm:pro IT Consult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Quest Integrity Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Production Yield/AccountingBolo Systems CGI Solutions and TechnologiesData Scavenger

Regulatory ComplianceCodeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Risk ManagementEquity Engineering Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

DecisioneeringDyadem

DOWNSTREAM

Alarm ManagementPAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Yokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Asset ManagementAspen Technology Asset Performance Networks

How to use this index:

1. Learn more about the display advertisers by visiting the pages provided in the fi rst column under “Display Advertisers.” For more information, go to www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS and follow the instructions.

2. The companies shown in bold-faced type have product listings on the page numbers provided.

DISPLAY ADVERTISERS

Chemstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19www.info.hotims.com/33224-410

Codeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11www.info.hotims.com/33224-406

Equity Engineering Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21www.info.hotims.com/33224-407

geoLOGIC systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25www.info.hotims.com/33224-404

Haverly Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15www.info.hotims.com/33224-415

Heat Transfer Research Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2www.info.hotims.com/33224-411

M3 Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17www.info.hotims.com/33224-416

Merrick Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27www.info.hotims.com/33224-418

m:pro IT Consult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13www.info.hotims.com/33224-402

PAS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9www.info.hotims.com/33224-408

Quest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30www.info.hotims.com/33224-405

Yokogawa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32www.info.hotims.com/33224-409

Software Reference IndexUPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE REFERENCE

Your company can be listed under a single category in this index at no charge. For information, please contact Laura Kane at 1-713-520-4449 or [email protected]

Equity Engineering Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lloyd’s RegisterExpertuneICONICSIntergraphKBC Advanced TechnologiesQuest Integrity Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Yokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Collaboration and Knowledge CaptureYokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Confi guration ManagementPAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Design, Construction and EngineeringAVEVA Chemstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Codeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

KRC Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Peng Engineering

Dynamic Simulation and OptimizationChemstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

InvensysKinesix Software RSI Simcon

Economic EvaluationSpiral Software

Energy ManagementHeat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Enterprise Portal Systemsm:pro IT Consult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Fluid Flow AnalysisABZCPFD-SoftwareEngineered Software

Online Monitoring and OptimizationChemstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Flexware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Planning, Scheduling and BlendingAMI Consultants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Haverly Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

m:pro IT Consult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

M3 Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Plant Lifecycle and Performance MonitoringDassault SystemesinnotecQuest Integrity Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Ventyx

Predictive Maintenance and RepairCodeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Equity Engineering Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

MetegritySiemens Energy and Automation

Process Control and Information SystemsYokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Process Engineering and SimulationAnsysBryan Research and EngineeringChemstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Codeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Farris Engineering ServicesHeat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Total Systems Resources

Production/Yield AccountingSoteica

Refi ning, Petrochemical and Gas ProcessingEquity Engineering Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

M3 Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

SIS/Safety Systemsexida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Yokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Training

Equity Engineering Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

UPSTREAMAlarm Management

Yokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Asset ManagementIHS Energy Group Landmark (Halliburton)Merrick Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Yokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Data ManagementDecision Dynamics TechnologyEnertia Software geoLOGIC systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Open SpiritParadigm

Data VisualizationgeoLOGIC systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Slicer/Dicer (PIXOTEC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Design, Construction and EngineeringBlueCielo ECM SolutionsCOADE Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Drilling EngineeringKnowledge SystemsPegasus Vertex

ExplorationDigital FormationgeoLOGIC systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Knowledge Systems

Field Data CaptureMerrick Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

OperationsMerrick Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Process Control and Information SystemsYokogawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Process Engineering and SimulationHeat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

SoftbitsSun Microsystems

Production AccountingMerrick Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Production EngineeringWell Flow Dynamics

Production OptimizationFekete AssociatesJoshi TechnologiesOVS Group, Inc.Pavilion Technologies

Regulatory ComplianceQuest Integrity Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Reserves ManagementGeomechanics InternationalPetro-Soft SystemsRoxarSitelark

Reservoir ModelingCMGGeomodeling

Seismic Data Interpretation and AnalysisEarth DecisionFugro-JasonI/O

Seismic ProcessingCGGVeritasTGS

Well Log Data Access and ManagementgeoLOGIC systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

32 SO F T WA R E RE F E R E N C E FA L L 20103232323232323233232332332323232323233223232223233323222 SO FSO FSO FSO FSO FSO FOSOO FSO FSOO FSO FSO FO FSO FSO FO FSO FO FSO FSOOSO FS FSSSO FSSO FSSO F T WAT WT WAT WAT WAT WAT WAT WAT WAWT WWWAWAWWAAT WAWAWAWAAAT WAWAT WAWWWT WWAAAWAAWWW R ER E R ERRR ER ER ER ER ER ERR ERR EER ER ER EE RE FRE FRE FRE FE FRE FRE FRE FRE FRE FRERE FRE FRERE FRE FRE FRE FRE FRERE FRE FRE FRE FE FRERE FRE FRRRRERREER E R EE R EE RE R EE R EE R EE R ERRRE R EE R EEE REE RRE RR EE RE R ERR N C ENN C EN C ENN C EN C EEN C EC EC EEC EC EN C ECN C EN C EN C EC EC EN CN C EC EE FA L L 2010


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