hydrocarbon processing april 2013

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HydrocarbonProcessing.com | APRIL 2013

PETROCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENTSShale gas provides a

renaissance for North American petrochemical producers

and downstream chemicals

HPI FOCUSWhen does it make sense

to build a new unit instead of revamping an existing facility?

REFINING DEVELOPMENTSUpgrading heavy crudes

creates new hurdles to be solved with catalysts

and better processing methods

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APRIL 2013|Volume 92 Number 4HydrocarbonProcessing.com

Cover Image: In 2006, Technip began construction of the Map Ta Phut Olefins facility located in Thailand. The facility uses seven of Technips proprietary GK6 naphtha-cracking furnaces and one SMK furnace for ethane cracking. The olefins facility was successfully started up in March 2010.The GK6 units are the largest in operation, with an ethylene capacity of 175,000 tpy per furnace.

SPECIAL REPORT: PETROCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENTS 33 Shale energy resources driving resurgence for ethylene industry M. Eramo

37 North American olefin producers riding the shale gas wave R. Klavers and M. J. Tallman

43 Use model-based temperature control for fixed-bed reactors D. Weatherford and J. Ford

47 High-pressure polyethylene: Reemergence as a specialty chemical or not? L. Farrell and J. Virosco

HPI FOCUS: NEW VS. REVAMP 51 New vs. debottlenecking projects for the hydrocarbon processing industry

BONUS REPORT: REFINING DEVELOPMENTS 55 Evaluate challenges in meeting clean-fuel specifications with heavier crude S. Al-Zahrani, S. Roy, and E. Bright

61 Improve coker efficiency with reliable valve automation B. Deters and R. Wolkart

65 Optimize value from FCC bottoms J. Paraskos and V. Scalco

GAS PROCESSING DEVELOPMENTS 73 Take a quicker approach to staggered blowdown M. Sufyan Khan

TURBOMACHINERY DEVELOPMENTS 77 Select the right shaft-riding brushes for turbomachinery T. Sohre and H. P. Bloch

GLOBAL TURNAROUND AND MAINTENANCESUPPLEMENT T-85 Overcome barriers to proper planning and scheduling J. Wanichko

SAFETY/LOSS PREVENTION 99 Conceptually, accidents are a fallacy M. Sawyer

DEPARTMENTS

4 Industry Perspectives 6 Brief 9 Impact 15 Innovations 102 Marketplace 105 Advertiser index

COLUMNS

23 Reliability Fact-checking list from recent reliability conferences

25 Integration Strategies Industrial considerations for BYOD

27 Boxscore Construction Analysis Ethylene in evolution: 50 years of changing markets and economics

106 Water Management Update: Online measurement of oxidizing biocides

32

6 54

4APRIL 2013|HydrocarbonProcessing.com

P. O. Box 2608Houston, Texas 77252-2608, USAPhone: +1 (713) 529-4301Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433Editorial@HydrocarbonProcessing.comwww.HydrocarbonProcessing.com

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Are Arctic projects safe?

Do global energy companies have sufficient safety protocols in place to deal with the challenges of Arctic projects? The answer, according to hundreds of votes cast in a recent Hydrocarbon Processing industry poll, is an old clich: it depends.

Nearly half (48%) of readers surveyed believe practices vary enough throughout the industry that a single standard has not been adopted, making it dependent on the company in question. Another 28% said they believed the industry does have sufficient safety protocols, while 25% said it does not.

The topic became newsworthy after recent incidents involving Shell. That company, for its part, is postponing its planned summer drilling in the Arctic Ocean after a troubled 2012 drilling season marred by bad weather, mechanical failures and regulatory challenges. Shell had been widely expected to push back its contentious, multi-billion-dollar Arctic program after it announced that its rigs needed to be repaired and analysts said replacements would be hard to find.

Weve made progress in Alaska, but this is a long-term program that we are pursuing in a safe and measured way, said Shell president Marvin Odum.

The Kulluk, a drilling ship owned by Shell and operated by Noble Corp., ran aground on an uninhabited island about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage on Jan. 1 after ships towing it to Seattle for the winter lost control of the rig during a storm (FIG. 1). It suffered damage to the hull and electrical systems. The Noble Discoverer drill ship, which Shell was leasing, had an engine fire in December when it was on its way to Seward, Alaska, prompting a US Coast Guard inspection.

Investors and government officials are closely watching Shells Arctic plans. The company has spent nearly $5 billion on permits, personnel and equipment over the past six years to assure regulators and native Alaskans that the first drilling in the Arctic Ocean would be safe and environmentally benign.

Additional reporting by Dow Jones Newswires

FIG. 1. Shell Kulluk drilling rig in the Arctic.

Key industry officials answer a poll question from HydrocarbonProcessing.com

ITS S

AFE

)/(;,7$//,&6$)(,6025(7+$1$352*5$0,76$:$

| Brief

LyondellBasell plans to expandNorth American ethylene capacityLyondellBasell will raise its ethylene capacity in North America by 18% in coming years through several debottlenecking projects. Locations where ethylene capacity will be expanded include crackers in Corpus Christi, La Porte and Channelview, Texas, according to the company. The projects are scheduled to be finished in 2014 and 2015.

Jim Gallogly, CEO of LyondellBasell, made these remarks at the companys annual investor day in New York. He said the company aims to finish its projects two to three years earlier than industry competitors building new plants, all at a lower cost.

Mr. Gallogly said he expects ethane to stay price-advantaged in the US for at least the next five years. He noted that natural gas producers are still incentivized to produce wet gas and, as a result, LyondellBasell plans to raise its ability to crack natural gas liquids (NGLs) from 85% to 90%.

LyondellBasell also said it was in the early stages of evaluating a 1 million lb/year polyethylene plant in North America by 2016.

Hydrocarbon Processing|APRIL 20137

BILLY THINNES, TECHNICAL EDITOR / [email protected]

Brief

Enterprise Products plans to develop a new 270-mile pipeline header system that will deliver ethane to petrochemical plants in the US Gulf Coast region. The Aegis pipeline will originate at Enterprises liquids storage complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and have the capacity to transport purity ethane to multiple petrochemical facilities in Texas and Louisiana. The final design, including capacity and delivery points, will be determined at the conclusion of the projects open commitment period. Aegis is expected to begin commercial operations in 2014.

Lanxess plans to temporarily shut down its butyl rubber plant in Belgium and its ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) production in Texas.

Soft underlying demand in the second half of 2012 has continued into 2013 across most businesses, against the usual seasonal trend, the company said in an unscheduled earnings update. In order to counter the current soft demand, the com-pany is applying its proven flexible asset management strategy.

Lanxess said it expects demand to pick up during the year and is strategically well positioned to benefit from the ex-pected recovery in the global economic development.

Russias OAO Lukoil has agreed to sell its refinery in Odessa, Ukraine, to Vetek Group. The refinery has a capacity of 3.9 million tpy and has been idle since the end of 2010. The decision to sell is part of a plan by Lukoil to restructure its international refining assets, the company said. The deal is expected to be closed before June 1, after both sides fulfill a variety of conditions.

The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) issued a statement following the withdrawal of its petition for waiver of the 2012 Cellulosic Biofuel Volumetric Requirements:

We appreciate the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) prompt action to rescind the 2012 cellulosic renewable volume obligation (RVO) following a US Court of Appeals decision to vacate the 2012 cellulosic RVO. As a result of the EPAs response, AFPM has withdrawn its waiver petition, since our members are no longer required to purchase credits for fuel that doesnt exist. We believe that the EPA should re-consider proposed 2013 volumes, which suffer from the same shortcomings, and finalize a 2013 cellulosic biofuel RVO that reflects the Courts directive to aim for accuracy.

While EPAs decision on the 2012 cellulosic RVO is the right one, it doesnt alleviate the waste of resources and time spent correcting just this one example of an impracticable re-newable fuel standard (RFS). A more immediate problem with the RFS is the fast-approaching blendwall, where the EPA is mandating the consumption of ethanol in quantities that ex-

ceed the technological limitations of certain engines and refu-eling equipment. The result is a dramatic increase in the mar-ket price of ethanol renewable identification numbers (RINs), which has risen nearly 1,000% since early January. AFPM en-courages the EPA to reevaluate the amount of ethanol that will be used to meet thresholds set as part of the RFS.

Technip will form a jointly-owned company with State Corp. Russian Technologies (Rostec) to provide engineering, design and turnkey construction for oil refinery, petrochemical and gas chemical production projects in Russia. The joint venture agreement, aimed at improving the construction and renovation of refining and petrochemical units in Russia, was signed with Rostec subsidiary Rustechexport. The deal includes facilities required for offshore oilfield operations. The two companies are also aiming to establish a joint venture to manufacture flexible pipelines and umbilicals in Russia. These would be used in the Russian Arctic and Black Sea for use in water depths up to 3,000 meters. The agreements were signed during an official meeting between French President Franois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

An international court has awarded Dow Chemical $318 million as a resolution to its dispute with Petrochemical Industries Company of Kuwait (PIC) related to the K-Dow transaction. This is in addition to the partial award of $2.16 billion announced last May.

Payment of these damages of nearly $2.5 billion will allow Dow to accelerate its priority uses for cash by further strength-ening our balance sheet, said Andrew Liveris, Dows chair-man and chief executive officer. Dow and Kuwait share a long history and strong partnership, and this award ruling brings suitable closure to the arbitration process. The Dow team ful-ly expects, and we are resolved to ensure, that PIC honors its contractual commitments in a timely manner.

A survey published by OilCareers.com and partner Air Energi declares that oil-related salaries will increase in the future. The increase is attributed to heightened safety concerns, economic instability and strong oil prices, along with the ongoing skills shortage. While economic instability currently ranks as the highest concern for those surveyed, the shortage of skilled labor in the industry is a major consideration with far-reaching consequences for safety and security within the industry. Increasingly high levels of activity currently underway have contributed to a strong candidates market, the authors said, though rates remain stable and the trend toward permanent hires versus contractors observed in 2012 continues. The authors said they surveyed more than 170,000 oil and gas professionals worldwide.

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Impact

BILLY THINNES, TECHNICAL EDITOR / [email protected]

Asia-Pacific natural gas market transformation

Amid the Asia-Pacific regions grow-ing reliance on imports, a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) identifies obstacles and opportunities for establishing a gas market that reflects sup-ply/demand fundamentals. Asia-Pacific is expected to become the worlds second-largest gas market by 2015. And yet this market is dominated by long-term con-tracts in which the price of gas is linked, or indexed, to that of oil. In recent years, this has helped keep Asian gas prices much higher than those in other parts of the world (FIG. 1), leading to serious questions about the sustainability of the system and its effects on Asian competitiveness.

Natural gas has the potential for im-proving energy security and yielding economic and environmental benefits in Asian-Pacific countries, said IEA Execu-tive Director Maria van der Hoeven. Asia is already home to the worlds fastest-growing gas market. But expanding the role of gas in Asia will depend on regional market conditions that allow the fuel to compete autonomously in local energy markets that are themselves connected to global energy markets. The future role of gas in Asia will depend considerably on

how the pricing of natural gas is tied to the fundamentals of supply and demand in the region.

Asia-Pacific supply/demand balance. Since 1990, the natural gas market in the Asia-Pacific region has undergone re-markable growth, to about 560 Bcm in 2010. Natural gas consumption has grown by more than 350% since 1990, represent-ing an average year-on-year increase of 6% over two decades. Japanese consumption represented the mainstay of Asian natural gas demand, especially in liquefied natu-ral gas (LNG), until 2010, when China surpassed Japan as the largest natural gas market in Asia.

Since 1998, total natural gas produc-tion in Asia-Pacific has lagged behind re-gional consumption. A few countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, were net ex-porters providing LNG for import-depen-dent countries such as Korea and Japan. In 2010, natural gas production in the region fell around 93 Bcm short of consumption, a shortfall that is expected to increase to about 200 Bcm in 2017, despite a consid-erable increase in regional production.

Dependence on natural gas imports from outside the Asia-Pacific region in-creased by 12% annually throughout 20002010. It is expected that this import

dependency will grow by 5% annually over the period 20112017 (FIG. 2). The relatively moderate increase reflects in-creasing gas production projected for Chi-na and Australia. Overall demand in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to follow global demand trends, growing at around 3% per annum to reach 875 Bcm in 2017.

Key findings. Long-term contracts can play a beneficial role in providing invest-ment security, but their current pricing does not accurately reflect gas market fun-damentals or the competitiveness of gas relative to other fuels. Moreover, without a competitive spot market for natural gas, there is little incentive and little scope to change current commercial practices. This leaves both consumers and producers with insufficient room to explore different options, and limits the degree to which natural gas can serve as a flexible source of energy for both growing and mature econ-omies. Among the reports key findings and recommendations are the following:

Current market structures discour-age gas consumption and impact Asian competitiveness vis--vis more flexible markets in the US and even Europe

OECD experience suggests that the single biggest obstacle for an effective gas market is a lack of infrastructure access

US (Henry Hub)Europe (German import) Japan (LNG import)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012

$201

2/MM

Btu

FIG. 1. Relatively high gas prices lead to a competitive burden on Asian economies.

0

10

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

Bcm

Gas consumption, Asia-PacicGas production, Asia-PacicIEA 2012 forecastIEA 2012 forecast

FIG. 2. Asia-Pacific demand and production, 1990-2017.

Impact

10

The role of governments must change: Instead of focusing on price regulation along the value chain, gov-ernments must maintain and supervise competitive market conditions

Credible state commitment to re-gional gas market competition can instill confidence, encourage new market partic-ipants, and promote the use of transpar-ent hubs to balance producer portfolios

Transport and commercial activi-

ties should be separated and prices de-regulated at the wholesale level

Singapore holds the best initial prospects for gas hub development, with Japan, Korea and China as likely compet-itors in the future.

The prospects are there, but even the prime candidates will need to do more, said Ms. Van der Hoeven. Chinas fast-growing domestic gas network is still underdeveloped, and the entire produc-

tion chain remains heavily regulated. Singapores small domestic market means that, to grow as a hub, it must rely on re-exports, which are hindered by regula-tion. Last but not least, Japan has a great potential to act as a hub, but it will have to take some important steps.

Promising forecast for the US re-refining industry

With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 23% over the next five years, the future of the US re-refined basestocks market looks prom-ising, according to a recent study by Kline & Co. Given that all announcements per-taining to expansions and new capacities go as planned, it is anticipated that the re-refining industry will see a robust growth to an estimated 1,390 kilotons by 2016, suggesting a golden decade for many in the industry. However, this is contingent upon the successful and timely ramp-up of operational facilities.

Key drivers fueling this growth include enhanced technology and infrastructure, legislative imperatives and rising crude oil prices. The improving quality and viabil-ity of re-refined base oils, coupled with increased and more consistent collection rates due to stronger regulations enforce-ment, are helping the industry assert its largely untapped potential.

An emerging trend observed in the US re-refining industry consists of an influx of foreign re-refiners who, having identified the expanding opportunities within North America, are consequently establishing plants in the country. These include leading re-refiners from Western Europe and India.

Despite the encouraging potential, the report also identifies impediments con-cerning the otherwise strong re-refining business. These primarily include access to used oil and consumer acceptance of re-refined lubricants. To better ensure used oil access and supply, re-refiners are forming alliances or acquiring collectors and subsequently also reinforcing the general consolidation trend within the industry. The acceptance of re-refined lubricants is likely to be an incremental phenomenon assisted by more brands (especially major oil brands) entering this market, a more omnipresent avail-ability and a greater emphasis upon in-trinsic value with little or no compromise.

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Impact

12

Driven by China, global methanol demand rises 23% in two years

According to a new IHS Chemical global market study, global methanol de-mand increased 23% during the two-year period of 2010 to 2012, primarily driven by Chinese demand.

Annual demand for the product is expected to increase by more than 8%,

from 61 MM metric tons in 2012, to an unprecedented level of 137 MM metric tons in 2022. These rapid demand in-creases are significant, particularly when the numbers are compared to the eco-nomic downturn of 2008 to 2009, when annual global methanol demand slowed to just 4% and 2%, respectively.

Methanol is a key option for mone-tizing gas or coal, said Mike Nash, global director of Syngas Chemicals at IHS.

An abundant supply of low-cost North American shale gas resources is driving methanol capacity additions in the US. The shale gas revolution is a major game-changer; mothballed methanol units have started back up, and one Methanex unit has been relocated from Chile to Louisiana with considerations of mov-ing another unit. Coal supplies in China are also driving projects there, as well, particularly as it relates to using cheap methanol supplies derived from coal to produce olefins.

Geographically, China remains the growth center for methanol demand, with an average annual growth of slight-ly more than 12%, while the rest of the world is growing at just below 3%. China methanol consumption will triple from 31 MM metric tons in 2012 to 97 MM metric tons in 2022.

Traditional uses for methanol include derivatives such as formaldehyde, ace-tic acid and methyl methacrylate. With China at the epicenter of global growth, fuels applications are one of the primary demand drivers. Methanol demand in the gasoline pool is expected to increase from nearly 5 MM metric tons in 2012 to just over 11 MM metric tons in 2022, representing a penetration of nearly 12%. At blend ratios of 15% and slightly increased gasoline consumption trends, methanol consumption could rise to 15 MM metric tons.

China has become by far the larg-est methanol producing country in the world, representing 54% of world ca-pacity and 43% of world methanol pro-duction in 2012. The global methanol industry is now reaching the end of a significant wave of capacity expansions. Since 2007, capacity has been added at the rate of 14.3%/yr, in an industry where demand had been growing at around 8.6%/yr.

However, Chinese capacity utilization is only around 50%, since China adjusts operating rates accordingly to balance world supply and demand. China is near-ing the end of a major capacity expansion wave, with only an additional 7.5 MM metric tons of new capacity for the mer-chant market expected to come onstream through 2022. This leaves well over 40 MM metric tons of new China metha-nol capacity integrated to methanol-to-olefins/methanol-to-propylene coming online during the forecast period.

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Innovations

ADRIENNE BLUME, PROCESS [email protected]

Flowmeter uses Coriolis force in measurement

The Sitrans FC430 flowmeter from Siemens AG is capable of measuring liq-uids and gases using the Coriolis princi-ple. Flows can be measured with a preci-sion of 0.1%, and different sensor sizes are available to address various applications.

The technical solution of state-of-the-art flow devices based on the Coriolis force uses two vibrating tubes. The tubes are forced to vibrate using a magnetic driver, which is controlled by an electronic driver circuit and the appropriate software. Two electromagnetic transducers measure the velocity of the tube deflection between in-put and output. The driver and the trans-ducers are part of a closed-loop control system that continuously causes the tubes to vibrate at their resonant frequency. The resonant frequency depends on the con-struction of the tubes and on the density of the fluid. The tube temperature is mea-sured to compensate for changes in the material stiffness of the tubes.

The phase of the two velocity signals is proportional to the mass flow of the fluid, and the frequency of the velocity signal is equal to the density of the fluid. Volume flow is calculated based on the mass flow and density. The measurement calcula-tions (software) are processed using a modern digital signal processor (DSP).

The Sitrans FC430 software is modu-lar, with small blocks that provide struc-tured and well-defined functions. This makes it easier to supervise and monitor the correctness of each of the smaller units. The various blocks are protected by advanced safety integrity measures to detect dangerous errors. For example, the result of a calculation in the algorithm is evaluated using well-defined and tested plausibility checks to ensure that the re-sult is the expected one. Additional diag-nostic software secures each block so that the software runs correctly and reliably.

The Sitrans FC430 flowmeter complies with safety standard IEC 61508. It can be used in safety circuits up to Safety Integri-

ty Level 2 (SIL 2) in a single-channel con-figuration and up to SIL 3 in a redundant configuration. No additional measures are required from the application side.


Oil evaporator system ideal for shale oil analysis

JM Sciences AQUACOUNTER AQL-22320 automated oil evapora-tor system (FIG. 1) is an automated Karl Fischer titrator system consisting of the AQ-2200 (coulometric titrator) and the EV-2000L (oil evaporator) units. This ti-tration system has been designed for ana-lyzing moisture in difficult samples such as shale oil, grease, heavy lubricants and other materials.

Using an azeotropic distillation sol-vent, like toluene or xylene, moisture can be evaporated at a lower temperature, sav-ing on expensive Karl Fischer reagents and lowering maintenance costs, since the titration cell remains clean and free of contaminants. This automated system al-lows the analyst to load the samples into glass vials and then place the vials on the sample tray of the system. The operator only needs to push the start button once to begin the analyses.

The sample changer holds up to 20 vials and can process large numbers of samples. It is equipped with the auto-matic Karl Fischer reagent exchanging function, reducing the cost of Karl Fisch-er reagent and waste disposal. Wide tem-perature settings cover the full range of azeotropic points.


Compressor technology will enhance CCS project

MAN Diesel & Turbo is providing compressor technology for Shell Cana-das Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project, located in Alberta, Can-ada. Quest will be the worlds first com-mercial-scale CCS project to tackle car-bon emissions at an oil sands operation.

Quest will capture more than 1 million metric tons per year of CO2 from Shells

Scotford Refinery upgrader near Edmon-ton, Alberta, and permanently store the gas deep underground at an injection site north of the facility. Quest will begin in-jecting CO2 underground in 2015. Shell ordered an integrally geared centrifugal compressor from MAN Diesel & Turbo for delivery in 2013.

MAN Diesel & Turbo Berlin will con-struct and hand over the RG90-8 frame size for the first time. Four pinions are en-gaged with a different gear ratio, leading to diverse rotating speeds. Each pinion mounts two impellers in a back-to-back arrangement. The CO2 is compressed in eight stages to a discharge pressure of 130 bar. This integrally geared centrifu-gal compressor handles 80,000 cubic meters of CO2 per hour. It will be con-structed of familiar components that have proved reliable in different frame sizes over many years.

The discharge pressure of 130 bar is sufficient to send the compressed CO2 about 60 kilometers (km) via an under-ground pipeline to a wellhead, and to in-ject the dense-phase CO2 2.3 km below the surface into a saline rock formation for permanent storage (FIG. 2).


Alarm/bypass solution enables real-time risk management

Invensys Operations Management has enhanced its Triconex critical con-trol and safety offerings for industrial op-erations. The new Triconex Safety View

FIG. 1. The AQUACOUNTER AQL-22320 automated oil evaporator system analyzes moisture in difficult samples, such as shale oil.

C O M P R E S S O R S Q T U R B I N E S Q G L O B A L S E R V I C E

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Q Customers: Global oil and gas producers.

Q Challenge: Changing compression requirements as elds mature and production peaks.

Q Result: Flexible, reliable compressor designs for extended, cost-efcient operations.

They turned to Elliottfor reliable compression solutions.

From Aberdeen to Rio de Janeiro, Calgary to Jakarta, Elliott compressors, turbines, and expanders deliver the reliable, efcient performance that producers and processors require. And every piece of Elliott equipment is backed by our unmatched global service network. Customers throughout the world turn to Elliott for critical turbomachinery and service because our resources are global and our execution is local. Who will you turn to?

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Innovations

solution is the worlds first software for alarm and bypass management certified by TV Rheinland to IEC61508 Sys-tematic Capability 3 for use in applica-tions up to Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL 3). Additionally, the companys Triconex Trident and Tricon general-purpose safe-ty instrumented systems (SISs) now sup-port OPC Unified Architecture (UA) for greater communications connectivity.

Triconex draws attention to changes in process conditions that require imme-diate attention, giving operators, mainte-nance engineers and shift personnel bet-ter visibility into the process so they can take actions that reduce risk, optimize the total cost of ownership and increase over-all asset performance. It is built on the companys ArchestrA System Platform and Wonderware InTouch HMI software, which have been adapted specifically for use in safety applications.

Invensys has also embedded OPC UA communications with its industry-leading Triconex, Trident and Tricon general-pur-pose SISs. OPC UA maximizes interoper-ability between systems and streamlines connectivity through open-platform ar-chitecture and future-proof design. The new communications interface module contains an embedded OPC UA server that supports up to 10 concurrent clients, delivering high-performance and secure, reliable communication of real -time data, alarms and historical events.

OPC UA provides a single commu-nications solution from the device level to the enterprise level, maintaining plat-form independence without sacrificing performance. It provides better interop-erability (complete with certification), reliability by design, access via firewalls

FIG. 2. Flow diagram of the Quest CCS process. Image courtesy of Shell Canada Ltd.

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Head Of ce: Five Sentry Parkway East, Suite 300, Blue Bell, PA 19422 USA 610-834-0300Texas: 3700 West Sam Houston Pkwy. South, Suite 425, Houston, TX 77042 USA 281-717-9090

[email protected]

For over 60 years, weve been there for our re ning and petrochemical customers. Linde Engineering North America Inc. offers single source responsibility for technology, engineering, procurement and construction.

Selas Fluid re nery and petrochemical red heaters Oxidation/incineration technologies Engineered revamps and rebuilds Hydrogen and synthesis gas plants Air separation plants

A new name, a long history.

Selas Fluid Processing is now Linde Engineering North America Inc.

Were local. Were global.And were proud to be both.


Innovations

and across the internet, and reduced con-figuration time with built-in information and security models.


Laser-scan point cloud simplifies pipeline construction

Intergraph has released CloudWorx for SmartPlant Isometrics 2012 R1, an add-on to its SmartPlant Isometrics solu-tion that allows users to quickly create ac-curate, as-built piping isometrics directly from a laser-scan point cloud.

CloudWorx for SmartPlant Isometrics 2012 R1 leverages Leica Geosystems in-dustry-leading Cyclone software technolo-gy to efficiently display the laser-scan point cloud and navigate through it in a window with measured piping data overlaid graphi-cally, a revolutionary method of creating as-built piping asset documentation.

CloudWorx for SmartPlant Isomet-rics supports the rapid creation of piping isometric documents, using Intergraph ISOGEN. The easily understood sketch-ing functionality and automated drawing creation means computer-assisted design (CAD) and 3D skills are not required, but it also allows experienced piping de-signers to be highly productive in creat-ing as-built piping data.

The software is complementary to 3D model-based solutions based on Smart 3D, Plant Design System or CADWorx, since the same ISOGEN software is used to produce the deliverable. Results are consistent, and underlying data can be used to create documentation for inspec-tion of piping systems, including the au-tomated, rule-based placement of inspec-tion location points.

When used in conjunction with SmartPlant Enterprise for owner/opera-tors (SPO), the comprehensive, as-built documentation can be managed to en-sure the integrity of the piping asset. SPO adds change-management and audit ca-pabilities when the piping documents are published to the plant engineering data store and maintained through time.

With the new SPO TruView integra-tion capability, CloudWorx for Smart-Plant Isometrics can use the same point-cloud data to create piping documentation as needed for operating and maintaining a facility, or to document the as-built asset in line with industry regulations.


Pulse input flowmeter ideal for hazardous locations

Precision Digitals PD6830 ProtEx-RTP Pulse Input Rate/Totalizer flowme-ter (FIG. 3) has a rugged, explosion-proof, NEMA 4X enclosure and is designed for quick and easy display of local or remote flow information in hazardous areas or in the harshest safe area applications. The SafeTouch through-glass buttons allow operation without removing the cover.

Flowmeter K-factor units are auto-matically converted to the desired display units; this means that no conversion fac-tors are needed. The pulse input accepts a wide range of flow transmitter signals, including millivolt input from a magnetic flowmeter, as well as high-frequency sig-nals. The PD6830 flowmeter includes backlighting and two open-collector out-puts as standard.

The PD6830 flowmeter features an upper display that is 0.7 inches high and shows five digits of flowrate or total. The lower display is 0.4 inches high and shows a combination of flowrate, total, grand to-tal or a tag with seven alphanumeric char-acters. The meter is easy to read from a distance, under various lighting condi-tions and from wide viewing angles.

Unit conversions are automatically performed by the PD6830 flowmeter. This means that no math or conversion factors are needed. The meter is capable of data logging up to 1,024 records in real time. Each record contains the date, time, rate, total, grand total and log number.

The flowmeter is designed to handle a wide variety of high-speed inputs and outputs. Inputs can be discerned with pulse widths as small as 5 microseconds.

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Innovations

20

Two open-collector outputs are individu-ally programmable for rate, total or grand total alarms; rate, total or grand total pulse outputs; retransmission of pulse inputs; quadrature paired output; or con-stant timed pulse output. Operating tem-peratures range from 40C to 75C.


Portfolio update improves rod, valve monitoring

The Smart Machinery Health portfo-lio from Emerson Process Management now provides an integrated protection and prediction solution for critical recip-rocating compressors. Common com-pressor issues can be predicted before they cause a process upset, greatly reduc-ing lost production and repair costs.

Reciprocating compressors are of-ten maintenance-intensive machines at a production facility and are critical to production uptime. With Emersons inte-grated approach for reciprocating assets, rotating and reciprocating machines can now be monitored through one mainte-nance management system.

Emersons reciprocating compressor solution includes standard protection functionality as specified in American Petroleum Institute (API) 670 and API 618, and it adds powerful predictive monitoring to identify a users most troublesome issues: valves, pressure packing, rider bands and rod faults.

Emersons CSI 6500 Machinery Health Monitor with PeakVue technology moni-tors ultrasonic emissions to determine valve health, which is reported as the No. 1 maintenance issue by users. Transient monitoring of rod position identifies ab-normal or excessive changes in rod posi-tion before they impact pressure packing; it also monitors vertical rod position to track rider band wear. Advanced asset-management capabilities enable users to view rod position via 2D plots, illustrat-ing piston rod dynamic motion that can be viewed live, paused and replayed.

Emersons integrated solution also de-livers compressor frame vibration shut-down protection as specified by API 618, and piston rod monitoring as specified by API 670. AMS Suite provides additional

performance and machine condition in-formation through monitoring parame-ters such as adiabatic efficiency, volumet-ric flow, rod tension and rod compression. Combining shutdown protection with predictive diagnostics delivers the infor-mation that users need to protect their equipment health while avoiding produc-tion downtime.


SiGNa Chemistry acquires Jadoo Power H2 assets

SiGNa Chemistry Inc. has acquired the hydrogen (H2) storage and fuel-cartridge assets of Jadoo Power Systems. The purchase includes all of Jadoo Pow-ers portable H2 products, including the companys well-known N-Stor cartridge, as well as associated H2 storage materials and patents, and supporting laboratory and analysis assets.

Since its founding in 2005, SiGNa has commercialized a range of sustainable chemistry products that are based on the companys core competency in trans-forming reactive alkali metals, which his-torically have been dangerous to use and store, into safe, free-flowing powders. The resulting stabilized materials enable improvements in safety, efficiency, cost and environmental sustainability across a number of chemical processes in power generation, pharmaceuticals, petrochem-icals, enhanced oil recovery and other widely used products.

SiGNa works with a number of fuel cell integrators and OEMs to develop cus-tomized H2-delivery cartridges. SiGNas H2 cartridges enable energy-dense, light-weight and wearable power systems and can be designed for any proton-exchange membrane fuel cell system. In partnership with Swedish-based myFC, SiGNa was responsible for the release of the worlds first fuel cell product certified by the In-ternational Electrotechnical Commission.

SiGNa anticipates several new prod-uct releases in 2013 and continues to seek new development partners interest-ed in commercializing fuel cell-powered products for portable military power, emergency and disaster relief, backup and standby power, outdoor power and consumer electronics.


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Todays petrochemical industry provides the building blocks for a wide range of materials. As the global leader in catalysis, BASF provides a strong foundation of product and process innovations across the petrochemical value chain. The result is a broad petrochemical catalyst and adsorbent portfolio backed by dedicated customer and technical service and enabled through the strength of BASF The Chemical Company. At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future.

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Reliability HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR [email protected]

Fact-checking list from recent reliability conferences

Whenever HP editors attend technical conferences, their pri-mary goals include observing industry practices, finding facts and spotting trends.

Fact or fiction. Unfortunately, presenters sometimes relate mere anecdotes of questionable veracity. So, technical colum-nists must come to grips with snippets of information. Should the reporters relate the snippets as amusing anecdotes, or should they withhold the snippets because they add no value? Most professionals use reasonable judgment and try not to allow er-roneous information to go unchallenged.

Here are a few recollections, claims, counterclaims and is-sues amassed from several 2012 reliability conferences attended by HP editors:

1. In best-of-class (BOC) plants, use of nonpolluting closed oil-mist systems is increasing. These systems include electric motor drivers and all standby equipment at BOC plants. Find-ing: Fact.

2. Oil mist can cause motor insulation to degrade. Finding: True for motors made in the 1940s and early 1950s. Not true for motors with epoxy insulation, typically made from 1965 to the present.

3. Pump vendors always use the best available lube applica-tion; therefore, oil rings and constant level lubricators should not be questioned. Finding: Not 100% factual.

4. Some reciprocating compressor purchasers insist on metal-disc pack couplings. Finding: Some do, but they do so at their own risk. Mandating metal-disc couplings rarely serves the purchasers best interests. Elastomeric elements are usually (al-though not always) safer and more reliable in these machines.

5. Some coupling manufacturers know little about coupling stiffness under actual operating conditions. Finding: True, un-fortunately. Repeat failures have resulted.

6. Large electric motors are again being built in the US by at least one competent legacy manufacturer. Finding: True, and this is a pleasant development.

7. Plants that spend more money on maintenance are typi-cally those that dont invest reasonable funds or resources on reliability improvements. Finding: True. The issue was neatly summarized by Alan Poling of Solomon Associates at the 2012 ARAMCO Global Reliability Forum, held in Houston, Texas; see TABLE 1.

8. Plants that have replaced traditional repair-thinking and now use reliability-thinking invest 5% of the actual equipment cost in up-front machinery quality assessment (MQA). Find-ing: True. Effective MQA has been successfully practiced since the early 1960s.

9. New formulations of polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) have joined proprietary formulations of polyimide resins as an

advantageous pump-wear part material. Finding: True, but be mindful of possible increases in axial load on the pumps thrust bearing that can result from close-clearance PEEK wear rings.

10. The Southwest Research Institute has refined and vali-dated methods to better predict turbomachinery vibration. Ro-tor behavior modeling, often expressed as the log decrement in critical damping values, is now more accurate. Finding: True.

11. There is a narrowing of the gap in reliability perfor-mance and profitability of top-quartile companies (upper 25%) as compared to fourth-quartile (lower 25%) companies. Find-ing: Not true. Regrettably, the gap is widening.

12. As more maintenance money is spent, pump MTBF in-creases. Finding: The opposite is true, as shown in FIG. 1.

HEINZ P. BLOCH resides in Westminster, Colorado. His professional career began in 1962 and included long-term assignments as Exxon Chemicals regional machinery specialist for the US. He has authored over 520 publications, among them 18 comprehensive books on practical machinery management, failure analysis, failure avoidance, compressors, steam turbines, pumps, oil-mist lubrication and practical lubrication for industry. Mr. Bloch holds BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering. He is an ASME Life Fellow and maintains registration as a Professional Engineer in New Jersey and Texas.

41 2 3 4 5 6

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FIG. 1. As MTBF decreases, maintenance costs increase at this location.

TABLE 1. The relationship between reliability and maintenance

Reliability and maintenance are inextricably linked

One cannot cost-cut ones path to improved reliability

Maintenance costs are driven by reliability or the lack thereof

Best performers achieve high reliability at low costs

Poor performers have high costs with low reliability

Each 1% increase in mechanical availability can translate into a 10% reduction in maintenance costs

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Integration Strategies

HARRY FORBES, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR [email protected]

Industrial considerations for BYOD

With the bring your own device (BYOD) trend begin-ning to take hold in the process industries, plant managers and IT groups are taking more interest. Not only do they have le-gitimate security concerns, but, in refineries and petrochemical plants, field devices must be certified to operate in hazardous lo-cationsa requirement that excludes most consumer devices.

Mobile computing. Mobility is the core value proposition of the BYOD trend. Mobile computing is rapidly becoming the normal use-case for enterprise IT, rather than the exception. In processing facilities, most workers already own their personal mobile devices, which they often prefer to use. And in every industry, workers have distain over mandates forcing them to carry multiple devices.

Ubiquitous wireless Internet access enables BYOD systems. Carrier cellular coverage saturated the strategic areas in de-veloped economies many years ago. However, in recent years, carriers have rolled out higher-capacity 4G networks capable of much greater data rates to support the growing numbers of smartphones served by their networks. These service levels compare well with what was provided by wire-line enterprise networks only recently.

The huge volume of the consumer market has also revolu-tionized the price/performance of smart devices, especially smartphones. At the same time, there has been a convergence of the networks and platforms. Most smartphones support LTE carrier networks, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth local network-ing along with GPS. There has been a huge convergence in terms of operating platforms toward Android and iOS, with the former champions BlackBerry and Symbian both losing market share, and Windows volumes remaining almost invis-ible. For industrial service, smartphones, tablets and other mobility devices require enhanced ruggedness, hazardous-location certification, and, in some cases, dedicated higher-performing interfaces for barcode scanning or other job-spe-cific capabilities.

Management is now the biggest challenge. While ubiquitous connectivity and technological convergence have enabled the BYOD trend, it has been constrained by the lim-ited capability of enterprises to manage the more complex demands represented by mobile consumer devices operating within the enterprise. Like all management, network manage-ment involves the allocation of resources according to policies and rules to achieve enterprise objectives. Effective network management balances a number of objectives. One of these is to improve cost behavior. Enterprise total cost of ownership (TCO) will scale well when network management reduces the labor intensiveness of network operation as the network

grows. But TCO is only one of the attributes of BYOD requir-ing management attention. Other major factors are:

Policy. Organizations need to make policy decisions at the outset of BYOD. These decisions include a set of supported devices and platformsBYOD does not mean the same thing as bring any device. Likewise, a set of carriers must be selected and rules developed for network selection when multiple net-works are available. A set of applications must be supported. Finally, the policies for cost sharing between employees and the enterprise need to be developed, with a view to keeping the rules simple and understandable, yet comprehensive.

Device management. Dozens of companies offer solutions for mobile device management. This includes provisioning, configuring and updating devices, and deactivating devices as they are retired, as well as protecting/destroying (zapping) the content on devices that are lost or stolen. Some level of security and protection from malware is involved. Billing and network policies need to be implemented. These solutions can come from either the carrier or from a third-party enterprise solution.

Mobile application management. Effective mobile ap-plication management is critical because the apps come from multiple sources. Besides managing the set of supported appli-cations, distribution of apps must be managed via the major online stores or other means.

Mobile identity management. For BYOD, identity man-agement requires more rigorous authentication, authorization and accounting. Enterprises need an architecture for distribut-ed systems that enables control over user access to services and resources. Multi-factor user authentication is just the first step.

Mobile information management. The coexistence of en-terprise and personal data on the same device is drawing atten-tion to the concept of managing device data through various means such as tracking, sand-boxing, encryption and automat-ed data time-outs.

Mobile expense management. This consideration is non-technical, but nevertheless a pain point for real-world imple-mentations. Enterprises can hardly expect service providers to manage their costs optimally. They have to implement their own policies based on both cost and technical considerations.

HARRY FORBES is a senior analyst at ARC Advisory Group. His research focuses on the impact of industrial networking and wireless technologies on todays manufacturing. He also covers smart grid and electric power vertical industries. His research topics include the smart-grid, smart-metering and smart-energy technologies. Mr. Forbes is a graduate of Tufts University with a BS in electrical engineering and has an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

platinum standard

For more information about UOP olens solutions, visit www.uop.com/olens. 2013 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

UOPs propylene production technologies outshine the rest

Low cost feedstocks, high yield products. Theres no better combination for generating petrochemical prots. As an industry leader in petrochemical process technology for more than 70 years, UOP continues to deliver proven, exible solutions with high-yield returns. UOP advanced Methanol-to-Olens (MTO) and Oleex processes provide a higher return on investment, smaller environmental footprint and innovation that is second to none. For advanced MTO, you can use alternative feedstocks such as coal, natural gas and more, and you can produce the high-value olen of your choice, including propylene and ethylene. Recyclable, platinum-based Oleex catalysts offer the best performance for environmentally friendly on-purpose propylene production. From low-energy solutions to eco-friendly innovations, UOP sets a standard that shines.


Boxscore Construction Analysis

LEE NICHOLS, DIRECTOR, DATA DIVISION [email protected]

Ethylene in evolution: 50 years of changing markets and economics

Ethylene is the key building block for the petrochemical industry. This olefin supports 70% of petrochemical industry production and is used to manufacture a wide variety of products for industrial and consumer markets. Adhesives, chemicals, coatings, packaging, construction materi-als, textiles, rubber and plastics are based on this organic olefin.

The strength of the petrochemical mar-ket is directly related to the supply and de-mand for ethylene. Ethylene consumption is consumer product-driven. This funda-mental economic concept has dictated the cyclical nature of the ethylene market. When supply exceeds demand, petro-chemical profits decline, producers curtail construction plans and capital spending, inefficient plants are permanently shut down or mothballed, and global capacity declines. When demand outpaces supply, companies competitively build and ex-pand production capacity.

Supply and demand. Ethylene wit-nessed double-digit growth rates in the 1960s and 1970s. Supply increased steadily throughout the 1970s, outpacing demand, which declined during the re-cession of the early 1980s. Demand then increased during the mid-1980s, holding steady at a growth rate of 3%4% for the remainder of the decade. Global ethylene capacity increased from 46 million tons per year (46 MMtpy) in 1979 to 54 MMt-py in 1990.

By the mid-1990s, over 50% of new ethylene capacity was located in the Asia-Pacific region. The US and Western Eu-rope saw improved profits due to high product demand, low feedstock costs and capacity reductions. Some petrochemical producers closed older, inefficient plants, and other operators debottlenecked and upgraded plants with new technologies to reduce operating and maintenance costs, increase capacity, reduce wastes and emis-

sions, and improve reliability and safety. Most plants constructed during this time had a capacity of 400 thousand tons per year (400 Mtpy) to 900 Mtpy and a cost of $400 million (MM) to $800 MM. Global ethylene capacity increased to 92 MMtpy by the end of the decade.

The new millennium saw the continu-ation of the cyclical wave of demand chas-ing supply. Advancements in construction materials and technologies enabled the design and construction of larger ethyl-ene facilities. Global ethylene capacity exceeded 140 MMtpy by the end of 2010, with the main wave of construction occur-ring in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. The Middle East benefitted from low-cost natural gas feedstock that helped facilitate expansions to support global trade aimed at the European and Asian markets. Chinas petrochemical industry

experienced incredible growth by produc-ing raw materials for the overall manu-facturing base, with the goal of exporting petrochemical-based goods.

Presently, demand is outpacing sup-ply, and new project announcements have dominated the petrochemical land-scape. Global ethylene capacity is expect-ed to rise 17% through 2016, reaching over 170 MMtpy. Ethylene plant capaci-ties now exceed 1 MMtpy at a cost of over $1 billion (B).

The majority of new capacity will be located in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. In China alone, domestic ethylene demand will spur a 50% rise in output by 2015, to 25 MMtpy. Mean-while, over the past five years, Middle Eastern ethylene capacity has doubled to over 26 MMtpy. Much of the new con-struction has taken place in Saudi Arabia,

FIG. 1. Lindes first all-inclusive ethylene plant built for Veba Chemie in Scholven, Germany.


28

which accounted for 65% of new ethylene capacity in the Middle East. Cheap ethane feedstocks and proximity to export mar-kets in Asia and Europe have provided the Middle East with an advantage over Asian-Pacific facilities, which are naphtha-based. This scenario could change over the near term, however, as cheap ethane feedstocks become available in other regions.

An increase in olefins demand and the availability of cheap ethane are transform-

ing the petrochemical landscape of the US. Project additions, debottlenecks, expan-sions and restarts could add almost 30%, or 10 MMtpy, of new domestic ethylene capacity by 2017. This would increase US ethylene capacity to over 30 MMtpy. Additional ethylene capacity could reach even higher levels should additional proj-ects be greenlighted. If so, the US could ri-val the Middle East in new project activity over the next decade.

Licensors. Ethylene producers face chal-lenges in processing, energy efficiency and feedstock availability. Although the process of cracking ethylene is fairly similar among licensors, their stories are unique and varied.

CB&I Lummus was created in No-vember 2007 when CB&I acquired Lum-mus Global from ABB for $250 MM. At that time, Lummus had licensed 40% of all global ethylene and olefins technol-ogy projects over the past decade. In the mid-1950s, Lummus was acquired by Combustion Engineering (C-E) to create C-E Lummus.

In 1990, C-E became a wholly owned subsidiary of ABB, which merged with Al-stom Power in 1999, forming ABB-Alstom Power. During that time, CB&I was ac-quired by Praxair. Praxair kept the Liquid Carbonic business and sold CB&I to an investor group, which spun off CB&I in a public offering as a Dutch-incorporated company called CB&I NV. The parent company was organized into two operating subsidiaries: CB&I, consisting of the com-panys North American operations, and CB&I BV, consisting of non-US operations. For the next two decades, CB&I would ac-quire many new business units, including Lummus from ABB in 2007 and The Shaw Group in February 2013 for $3 B.

KBR was created when M. W. Kel-logg, constructor of Europes first crude oil-based liquid ethylene cracking facility, merged with Brown and Root under the direction of parent company Halliburton. Halliburton acquired Brown and Root in 1962. In the 1980s, Dresser purchased M.W. Kellogg. A decade later, Hallibur-ton acquired Dresser and formed the large subsidiary company Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR). KBR eventually broke away from Halliburton in 2007.

To date, KBR has designed more than 20 new ethylene plants with a combined capacity of over 13 MMtpy.

Lindes origins began in 1870 after founder Carl von Linde published his ideas on improved refrigeration units in the Polytechnic Associations Bavarian In-dustry and Trade Journal.

Linde constructed the first plant to re-cover ethylene by low-temperature rectifi-cation in 1931. The company built its first all-inclusive ethylene plant in 1965 for Veba Chemie (FIG. 1). Additional plants were constructed in Europe and on other continents. Lindes ethylene technology


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Look what goes into a Metso valve. It starts with a long track record of delivering engineered performance and legendary reliability with premier products such as Neles, Jamesbury and Mapag. But the numbers really paint the picture. In almost 90 years, Metso has delivered globally millions of valves, control valves and on-off valves. We have also become one of the leading suppliers of smart positioners. All backed by fi eld service expertise from over 55 automation service hubs and over 30 valve service centers around the world. We see it this way: keeping oil and gas producers working safely and reliably protects investments, people and the planet.

Discover more at www.metso.com/oilandgas/fl owcontrol/FMFTt+BNFTCVSZt.BQBH

There is more to Metso than meets the eye.



30

has since produced over 20 MMt of eth-ylene at more than 50 plants worldwide.

Technip has become one of the worlds leading engineering groups through acqui-sitions of companies with strong technical expertise. In 1999, Technip acquired KTI to obtain its ethylene and steam reform-ing/hydrogen technology. In 2000, Tech-nip merged with Coflexip.

In 2012, Technip acquired Stone & Webster Process Technology Group from

The Shaw Group. In 2000, The Shaw Group acquired Stone & Webster at auc-tion for $150 MM after Stone & Webster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Technip purchased most of The Shaw Groups energy and chemical business, including Stone & Webster. This transaction cre-ated the new business unit Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology.

Technips merger with Coflexip and its acquisitions of KTI and Stone & Web-

ster deliver ethylene technologies such as SPYRO furnace design and optimization software, SMK and USC coil technology for gas cracking, GK6, USC coil technol-ogy for liquid cracking, SFT technology and the T-PAR Process.

UOP was founded by Jesse Dubbs in 1914. The company was originally named National Hydrocarbon Co., but it was changed in 1914 to Universal Oil Products (UOP). In 1988, UOP became part of Union Carbide and Allied Sig-nals joint venture. Honeywell purchased UOP from Union Carbide and Allied Sig-nal in 2005.

UOPs gas cracking ethylene technol-ogy utilizes the Advanced Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) Process, which combines UOP/Hydros MTO Process with Total Petrochemicals/UOPs olefin-cracking process. For naphtha crackers, UOP uti-lizes the MaxEne process. This applica-tion is the latest development in the UOP Sorbex process for adsorptive separation.

The cost, size and scope of ethylene plants have risen dramatically over the past 50 years. However, the acquisitions of ethylene licenses by other companies have compressed the playing field. As global eth-ylene capacity increases over the next few years, the licensors that can increase ener-gy efficiency, reduce wastes and emissions, and provide the highest cost-efficiency to their customers will dominate future licensing and construction activities.


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

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LEE NICHOLS is director of Gulf Publishing Companys Data Division. He has five years of experience in the downstream industry and is responsible for market research and trends analysis for the global downstream construction sector.

An expanded version can be found online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.

Sulzer Chemtech

Legal Notice: The information contained in this publication is believed to be accurate and reliable, but is not to be construed as implying any warranty or guarantee of performance. Sulzer Chemtech waives any liability and indemnity for effects resulting from its application.

Sulzer Chemtech, USA, Inc. 8505 E. North Belt Drive | Humble, TX 77396 Phone: (281) 604-4100 | Fax: (281) 540-2777 [email protected] www.sulzer.com

Tower Technical Bulletin Tray designs for extreme fouling applications

The Sulzer Renery Applications GroupSulzer Chemtech has over 50 years of operating and

design experience in renery applications. Sulzer has the

know-how and the technology to provide reliable, high

performance designs in severely fouling applications.

Background Today reners experience a lot of problems with processing of opportunity or heavy crudes. Such crudes have vey high sulfur content and require the addition of amine scavengers before desalting. These amines decompose in the heater and create ammonium chlorides in the presence of water in the top of the crude tower. Dissolved salts start to precipitate and crystallize when solution becomes saturated and water is vaporized. Such fouling starts to grow below and above trays and is hard to remove because deposits are rmly attached to the surface. Eventually, tray orices become blocked and pressure drop increases drastically, creating a situation where the column needs to be shut down to have the trays replaced or cleaned. Other traditionally fouling services such as sour water strippers and FCC and Coker fractionators face these challenges as well.

Historically, standard raised orice devices such as Sulzer V-GridTM valves have proven to be resistant to scale and fouling. However, in such aggressively fouling environments, special designs need to be considered.

Anti-fouling VG AFTM TraysIndustrial practice shows that trays with large, elevated orices operate substantially longer in fouling services. The large orices take longer to foul and the raised design keeps the opening away from the heavier sediment near the tray deck. In these difcult applications, Sulzer typically uses large xed valves such as SVG or LVG valves in combination with push valves and a stepped outlet weir. The push valves keep the liquid and solids moving uniformly across the tray deck and the stepped outlet weir keeps the solids from accumulating at the end of the tray deck. This design can often increase column run lengths by a factor of 2-3 as compared to conventional designs.

SVG-HTM Valves: Solutions for Extreme ConditionsWhile the above solution is ideal for fouling from sediment, it does not completely address the issues of severe particle deposition. In these applications, fouling materials deposit and grow on all surfaces including the underside of the trays and around the edges of the deck orice. This fouling material then gradually closes the orice opening from around the perimeter. Run lengths for small valves in these cases are not long. Such applications require very large openings with large side valve open area. Sulzer has developed special high lift SVG-H valves for these services. These valves have the proven trapezoidal V-Grid shape with very large openings to resist fouling from particle deposition. The lift of these valves may be larger then 0.7 (17 mm) and can be adjusted depending on the fouling severity.

When used in combination with VG AF anti-fouling tray features, the SVG-H valve can delay deposition fouling substantially. A general rule of thumb would be that run length should increase proportional to the valve lift. In many cases, that results in a 50-100% increase in run length over previous best available fouling resistant tray technology.

Tray Deck with SVG-HTM and Push Valves

Sulzer VG AF Tray Features


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| Special Report

PETROCHEMICAL DEVELOPMENTS The outlook for the global petrochemical industry is tied to the accessibility of low-cost feedstocks, especially natural gas. The ethane-based petrochemical industry is thriving and supported by abundant, lower-cost shale gas. Investment in more energy-efficient technologies is driving new project and revamp activity for petrochemical facilities worldwide.

Night view of Braskems polypropylene facility at La Porte, Texas. Photo courtesy of Braskem America.


Special Report Petrochemical Developments M. ERAMO, IHS Chemical, Houston, Texas

Shale energy resources driving resurgence for ethylene industry

The abundant supply of North Ameri-can shale energy resources is proving to be not only a boon for exploration and production (E&P) companies and en-ergy consumers, but it is also changing the profitability landscape for the conti-nents ethylene producers. According to a recently published report, these shale energy resources are driving chemical industry job growth, low-cost ethylene production, significant profitability, and a competitive resurgence for the conti-nents producers of ethylene, one of the most essential building-block chemicals in the petrochemical industry.1

Renaissance for North American producers. In the US, due to the fore-casted low-cost feedstock scenario pro-viding for globally competitive econom-ics, nearly 11 million metric tons (MM mt tons) of new ethylene capacity has been announced for North America, which is a significant amount of new ca-pacity given the lack of any investment ac-tivity for more than a decade. This news is a welcome development for ethylene producers in the region, who were, until recently, executing plans that included capacity closures and asset consolidation.

Not only does this increased capacity mean more low-cost production to both domestic and export markets, but it also means that new, long-term, highly skilled and well-paying jobs will be added in the US, including operators, engineers and maintenance personnel. According to industry research, for every one of these chemical jobs added, three others are created elsewhere, so the job market im-pact is considerable. Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia are several of the US states likely to see petrochemical job growth, thanks to shale energy resource availability.

Reverse trend. The US ethylene in-dustry is experiencing a complete turn-around. Five years ago, the industry was trying to determine who was going to shut down capacity. Now the US ethyl-ene industry is running at near-maximum capacity utilization and is seeking to add significant increments of new production.

As a result of increasing the availabil-ity of low-cost feedstocks, there is a tre-mendous amount of capital investment underway, including new infrastructure needed for feedstock supply, ethylene and ethylene-derivative capacity, and new lo-gistics investments to support higher lev-els of ethylene-derivative exports. Pres-ent forecasts are calling for the first wave of new investment to start up as early as 2016. Whats exciting for the long-term health of the industry is that many of these investments are not just being made by US-based producers, but also from producers based in other regions, includ-ing the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Bellwether effect. Why are these de-velopments in ethylene capacity addi-tions and production so important? Quite simply, it is because ethylene is the bell weather product for assessing the health of the petrochemical industry. Consid-ered the workhorse of the petrochemical industry, the ethylene market is by far the largest market of the basic petrochemical building blocks, including olefins, aro-matics, chlor-alkali and syngas chemicals.

Polyethylenewhich is the largest ethylene-derivative market, consuming nearly 60% of all ethylene producedis used primarily in a wide variety of nondurable goods applications such as packaging materials. Ethylene oxide (used in antifreeze, polyester fibers and detergents), ethylene dichloride [used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) films, coatings

and pipes], and ethylbenzene/styrene (which is used in polystyrene packaging and ABS resins) are also important eth-ylene consumers. The ethylene steam-cracker typically represents the heart of a petrochemical complex.

The ethylene industry tends to be a very cyclical industry in terms of profit-ability. However, in the US, low regional ethane prices are supporting high eth-ylene margins and are creating a very profitable environment for producers, despite a global oversupply situation. Ac-cording to new research, ample supplies of natural gas liquids from shale develop-ment are keeping ethane prices low rela-tive to other steam-cracker feedstocks.1 As a result, US ethane-based producers experienced excessively strong profits in 2012, which contrasted with naphtha-based producers in the US and in other parts of the world.

These US capacity additions will bring much more supply than the do-mestic market demands, so there will be significant quantities of higher-value ethylene derivatives exported to Asia, where demand is greatest. This supply resurgence is causing a substantial shift in ethylene-derivative trade patterns, to the benefit of North American producers.

Global market. The global demand for ethylene reflects a mixed demand growth environmentrapid expansion in developing regions and slower growth in developed regions. After contracting considerably in 2008, world ethylene demand is forecast to be approximately 135 MM mt tons in 2013, which is higher than the previous demand peak of nearly 130 MM mt tons in 2012. In the next five years, global ethylene demand is forecast to grow at more than 4%/yr, reaching nearly 160 MM mt tons by 2017.1

Petrochemical Developments

34

Asian market. Demand in Asia, particu-larly China, continues to grow since Chi-nas chemical industry remains unable to meet the rapidly growing domestic con-sumption requirements. Sharp increases in consumption, stemming from Chinas rapid industrialization, have spurred the development of numerous new domestic ethylene and derivative complexes that are either under construction or planned for the next five years, including several coal-

based facilities. The emergence of coal as a potential olefins feedstock in Northeast Asia, however, warrants close monitoring.

As a result of high oil prices in the past several years, there has been tremendous domestic interest to further develop and utilize the abundant coal resources in China. Although the investment involved is often massive, the operating costs of the coal-to-olefins units will be very low, and the units will be competitive

compared to domestic naphtha-based steam-cracker complexes, as well as most imports of olefin derivatives. Assuming that Chinas strong economic growth can be sustained, this nation will continue to be a major target for petrochemical and derivative exports originating from the Middle East, other parts of Asia and North America.

The net-equivalent imports of ethyl-ene and ethylene deriv

hydrocarbon processing april 2013

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