CHEMICAL

Hydrogen Unit Uses FIELDVUE™ Diagnostics to Increase Uptime and Optimize Critical Loops

RESULTS

•AvoidedpullingacriticalNPS36tail-gasvalveandreducedunitdowntimetohours,notdays

•Restartedahydrogenunittwodaysaheadofschedule

•Improvedthereliabilityof30criticalcontrolvalvesandreducedtheunit’semissionlossesby1%

•Extendedtimebetweenmaintenanceoutagestotwoyears,insteadofone

APPLICATIONCriticalcontrolvalvesinahigh-purityhydrogenunit

CUSTOMERHydrogenunitinTexas,USA

CHALLENGEAhydrogenunit,operatingsince2003,wasexperiencingunplannedshutdownsofsomecriticalloops.TheplantanditslargeSteamMethaneReformer(SMR)providehigh-purityhydrogenandsteamtorefineriesalongtheGulfCoast.Theyneedtomaintainthissupply.

Spurioustripsorshutdownsarealwaysaproblem,withmanagementwantingaquickfix.Theworstissueforthemaintenanceteam,however,wasthelackofinformationavailabletoidentifytherootcause.Withoutdata-drivenresults,theycouldnoteasilyidentifywhichdeviceswerefailingorwhatperformanceproblemswereoccurring.Thus,theywerereactingtofailuresratherthanplanningaheadtomeetmaintenanceneeds.

ThefacilityappointedanInstrument&Controlsengineertoimprovetheunit’sreliability.Hehadtwospecificgoals:improveuptimeandfacilitaterepairswithoutalossofsupplytorefinerycustomers.ManycriticalFisher™andnon-FishervalvesalreadyhadFIELDVUE™digitalvalvecontrollerslinkedtoaDeltaV™controlsystemwithValveLink™softwareandFOUNDATION™fieldbuscommunications.Themaintenanceteam,however,wasnotfullyutilizingthesetools.Emersonpersonnelvisitedthesitetodemonstratediagnosticcapabilitiesandtorecommendwaystoenhancepredictivemaintenanceinthehydrogenunit.

“Using diagnostic tools such as FIELDVUE DVC6200f-PD instruments, we are able to see the mechanical aspects of control valve performance and plan maintenance. Access to better data makes our job easier and improves valve and unit reliability. We plan to expand our use of Emerson diagnostics technology at our other hydrogen units in North America.”Instrument & Controls Reliability EngineerHydrogenUnitinTexas,USA

D352338X012/Jul18

D352338X012/Jul18

CHEMICAL

SOLUTIONDuringasitevisit,Emersonsalesandserviceexpertshelpedhydrogenunitpersonnelunderstandtheircontrolissues.Theteambeganbygeneratingsignaturecurvesonvalvesincriticalloopsandmonitoringtheirperformanceduringprocessoperations.Bycomparingactualperformancetotheapplicationspecifications,theydiscoveredthatmodeledprocessconditionsdidnotmatchthefieldconditions.Valveswerebeingblamedforpoorcontrol,buttheywerenotoftenatfault.

Pullingoneofthecriticalvalves—anNPS36butterflyintailgasservice—forrepairswouldhaverequiredshuttingdowntheunit.Thecrewwouldneedacrane,6to8hoursofsetuptime,and3or4peopletomoveandrepairit.Thecostwouldincludeanexpeditingfee.

Instead,thevalve’sFIELDVUEDVC6200finstrumentwithPerformanceDiagnosticsidentifiedtherealcauseoftheproblem.Runningvalvescansduringanoutage,theteamdiscoveredthattheNPS36butterflyvalvehadaworn-out,non-Fisheractuator.Themaintenanceteamplannedamini-shutdownandswappedouttheactuatorinhalfaday.

WhenusedincombinationwithValveLinksoftware,FIELDVUEinstrumentsenablecustom-tuningofcriticalloops.Theycanbeautomatedtorunspecifictestsoncontrolvalvesatuser-specifiedintervals,withoutinterruptingtheprocess.Withthedetaileddatatheyprovide,operatorscanoptimizeloopperformance,notjustvalveperformance.

Sincethereliabilityprogrambegan,thiscustomerhasstandardizedonFIELDVUE-PDinstrumentsforallcriticalvalves.TheyareusingtheDVC6200familyofinstrumentswithbothHARTandFOUNDATIONfieldbuscommunications.ThereliabilityprogramwithFIELDVUEdiagnosticstechnologyisbeingexpandedtotwodozenotherhydrogenunitsacrossNorthAmerica.

RESOURCESBrochure: FIELDVUE DVC6200 Instrumentshttp://www.emerson.com/documents/automation/brochure-fisher-fieldvue-dvc6200-series-digital-valve-controller-en-125178.pdf

Emerson Automation SolutionsMarshalltown, Iowa 50158 USASorocaba, 18087 BrazilCernay, 68700 FranceDubai, United Arab EmiratesSingapore 128461 Singapore

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Performance Diagnostic tests available within the PD suite of any FIELDVUE instrument provide a snap shot of multiple valve-performance parameters such as travel, friction, or air supply. With PD, operators receive an early warning of any control or maintenance issues.