revamps

2013

ptq

Supplement to PTQ

cover.indd 1 10/09/2013 11:57

 How Can KBR Answer Your
Refining Challenges?

Owners of refineries continue to confront

many challenges – rising feedstock prices,
shrinking margins, varying global demands
and a changing regulatory landscape that
includes ever-more stringent specifications
on sulfur and carbon footprints. As refinery
owners debottleneck and enhance existing
facilities, they call on KBR to deliver.
To learn how KBR can address your refining
challenges, go to:
refining.KBR.com/PTQ

refining.kbr.com / P TQ

K13009 © 2013 KBR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

kbr.indd 1 08/03/2013 10:45

 ptq revamps
PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ptq

Editor
Chris Cunningham
editor@petroleumtechnology.com
3 Improving the distillation energy network
Production Editor
Rachel Storry
Soun Ho Lee GTC Technology
production@petroleumtechnology.com Kwang Gil Min GS Caltex Corporation
Graphics Editor
Rob Fris
graphics@petroleumtechnology.com 15 Strategies for improved naphtha processing
Mike Armstrong and Martin Brandt
Editorial
tel +44 844 5888 773 Jacobs Consultancy
fax +44 844 5888 667

Business Development Director

Paul Mason
29 Laser surveying a revamp
sales@petroleumtechnology.com Gary Farrow
Advertising Sales AVEVA
Bob Aldridge
sales@petroleumtechnology.com
33 Retrofitting a glycol contactor to prevent carryover
Advertising Sales Office
tel +44 844 5888 771 Anne Phanikumar and Yang Quan
fax +44 844 5888 662
Sulzer Chemtech Switzerland
Publisher
Nic Allen
publisher@petroleumtechnology.com 45 Reactor effluent air cooler safety through design
Circulation Eric Lin and Peter Risse
Jacki Watts Chevron Lummus Global
circulation@petroleumtechnology.com

Crambeth Allen Publishing Ltd

Hopesay, Craven Arms SY7 8HD, UK
49 Wet scrubbing modifications to reduce emissions
tel +44 844 5888 776 Edwin Weaver and Nicholas Confuorto
fax +44 844 5888 667
Belco Technologies Corporation

59 Online cleaning of an integrated distillation unit

Mariusz Hołowacz and Rafał Zaprawa Grupa Lotos
Marcello Ferrara ITW

An overhaul of its control systems led MOL Group to improve energy efficiency and process stability at its gas distillation
plant in Algyõ, Hungary, using advanced process control technology from Emerson Process Management.
Photo: Emerson Process Management

©2013. The entire content of this publication is protected by copyright full details of which are available from the publishers. All rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
The opinions and views expressed by the authors in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher and while every care
has been taken in the preparation of all material included in Petroleum Technology Quarterly the publisher cannot be held responsible for any
statements, opinions or views or for any inaccuracies.

contents.indd 1 10/09/2013 14:12

 “In my line of work, I’m authenticating
evidence every day – and I wouldn’t
have it any other way.”

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and fixed bed residue upgrading. He works closely with refiners around the globe to understand
the details of their particular feedstock and their operations, and then works with the research and
development team to create the very best catalyst solution for the job. He brings together engineers from
each of the unique ebullated beds and helps them to compare the data and learn from each other. Thirty
years and twenty countries later, he’s still fascinated by the challenge of tailoring the perfect combination
of catalysts for each situation, gathering the data to prove it, then presenting the case for a decision.
His long track record of satisfied clients continues to grow every year.

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criterion.indd 1 09/09/2013 17:20

 Improving the distillation energy network

Energy-efficient design applied to the refit of a distillation unit was achieved

through optimisation between the distillation column and heat network system

SOUN HO LEE GTC Technology

KWANG GIL MIN GS Caltex Corporation

E
nergy costs are the largest process conditions. The following location is a section of the distilla-
percentage of a hydrocarbon are common strategies that can be tion column where the composition
plant’s operating expenditures. applied to practical energy of column internal liquid traffic is
This is especially true of the distil- improvement projects. similar to feed stream composition.
lation process, which requires In this case, the composition gradi-
substantial energy consumption. Feed temperature ent between feed stream and
Concerns over recent high costs Feed temperature is a major factor distillation internal fluids is mini-
and economic pressures continually influencing the overall heat balance mised. In actual operation of the
emphasise the need for efficient of a distillation column system. distillation column, feed composi-
distillation design and operation Increments in the feed enthalpy can tions are often changed from the
without a loss of performance. help reduce the required energy original design conditions. In cases
This article illustrates how input from the reboiler at the same of significant deviation, discrepancy
energy-efficient design can be degree of separation. Installing a between column internal liquid
applied in a distillation unit through feed preheater is a very common composition and feed stream
optimisation between the distillation process option to minimise reboiler composition can increase, which
column and heat network system. heat duty. If the feed preheater can results in a non-optimum feed loca-
Through a case study, a successful be integrated with other valuable tion. Therefore, evaluating feed
retrofit of an aromatics distillation process streams (as a heating location is an essential step for
unit is discussed. Detailed retrofit medium), overall energy efficiency successful distillation unit energy
activities, including complex heat of the distillation system can be improvement.
network evaluation, process simula- improved further. However,
tion modelling and energy-friendly, increasing the feed temperature Inter-condensers and inter-reboilers
high-performance distillation equip- does not always improve the over- Adding inter-condensers and/or
ment implementation, are described. all energy efficiency of a distillation inter-reboilers can help improve
unit. Excessive feed temperature overall energy efficiency.
Strategies for improving the increments can cause a significant Pumparound, one of the inter-
distillation energy network amount of flash of heavy key and condenser concepts, has been
As continuous distillation requires non-key components at the distilla- widely applied to numerous petro-
simultaneous heat input and tion column feed zone. In this case, leum multi-product fractionators.
removal (thus requiring significant a higher amount of reflux stream is On the other hand, implementing
energy consumption), complex heat necessary to maintain required an intermediate reboiler can reduce
integration becomes more common overhead distillate purities. This the main reboiler duty. As the
for modern distillation units to augmented reflux ratio thus required temperature of an inter-
improve unit energy efficiency. requires a higher boil-up ratio. mediate reboiler is lower than that
Since a distillation column’s degree Overall energy efficiency is eventu- of the main reboiler, this strategy
of separation and enthalpy balance ally aggravated.1 Therefore, careful may allow heat integration with
influence each other, it is critical to review of the feed temperature and other valuable heat sources that are
evaluate and optimise the distilla- phase is critical to minimise the not as costly or not fully utilised in
tion column and heat exchanger overall energy consumption of the the plant.
networks together in order to distillation unit.
maximise plant economics. Column operating pressure
There are numerous strategies to Feed location Relaxation of the column top oper-
improve the energy efficiency of Improper feed location of a distilla- ating pressure decreases the
distillation processes, with the tion column can also increase the distillation column’s temperature
amount of improvement through reflux/boil-up ratio and energy profile and results in a lower
each strategy varied according to consumption. An ideal feed reboiler duty. It has been observed

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 3

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 The function of the xylene
column is to separate the feed
mixture to xylene components and
heavier C9+ components. This
column has two different feed
sources. The reformate splitter
Reflux ratio

bottom stream and the toluene

column bottom stream (which
belongs to the aromatic extraction
unit) are introduced as the xylene
column bottom feed stream. The
Steep Moderate Flat sensitivity
bottom feed stream is split equally
sensitivity zone sensitivity zone zone
and charged to two different feed
trays. The reformate splitter’s
Theoretical stage bottom stream is treated at the clay
towers to eliminate traced olefin
Figure 1 Typical column efficiency vs reflux ratio curve components before charging to the
xylene column. Meanwhile, the
that numerous commercial distilla- analysis. A typical curve is shown deheptaniser bottom stream (from
tion columns have been operated in Figure 1. This curve visualises the xylene isomerisation unit) is
with lower operating pressures column efficiency sensitivity and charged as the xylene column top
than their original design values. energy-saving gain. The curve can feedstock. This stream is also split
However, this strategy is not appli- be categorised by three district and introduced to three different
cable to columns operated under an zones: steep, moderate and flat feed trays.
atmospheric pressure range. sensitivity.2 The xylene column overhead
Column overhead circuit pressure Column efficiency improvement vapour stream is split into three
drop and condenser temperature is usually very feasible when the parallel streams. Two vapour
approaches both heavily influence reflux ratio falls into the steep streams are utilised as the heat
feasibility. In addition, column sensitivity zone and at ratios source of the extract column
pressure reduction expands vapour considerably in excess of the mini- reboiler and the raffinate column
traffic and pushes the limits of mum reflux ratio. In this scenario, reboiler, respectively. The
existing distillation equipment. even the small addition of stages, condensed xylene column overhead
or an increase in distillation equip- liquid streams are returned to the
Column pressure drop ment efficiency, can enhance overall xylene column receiver. The other
Reducing column pressure drop column separation with significant vapour stream is supplying heat to
can lower reboiler duty at the same energy reductions. the xylene column overhead steam
degree of separation. The amount Improvement gain is diluted in generator, which produces #250
of reboiler duty saving relies on the moderate sensitivity zone. steam. The condensed overhead
operating pressure and enthalpy Further detailed feasibility study is liquid stream is also returned to the
balance. This strategy is generally necessary through economic analy- xylene column receiver. The over-
feasible when the distillation sis. The magnitude of energy head distillate of the xylene column
column is operated under vacuum savings is negligible when reflux is sent to the paraxylene recovery
pressure range. Meanwhile, pres- ratio variation follows flat motion unit.
sure drop improvement does not in the remaining zone. In the xylene column reboiler
often provide noticeable energy circuit, the xylene column bottom
savings in high-pressure range Case study: unit description reboiler inlet stream is first trans-
distillation service. The following is a revamp case ported to the other two distillation
study of a xylene mixture separa- column reboilers as heating medi-
Column efficiency improvement tion unit that demonstrates ums. After providing heat to these
Column efficiency improvement well-thought-out, proven design reboilers, the xylene column bottom
can reduce the reflux/boil-up ratio practices and a selection of the streams are combined and intro-
at a given degree of separation. correct, high-efficiency distillation duced to the furnace-type xylene
This strategy can be delivered by equipment to fulfill the improve- column reboiler.
increasing the number of theoreti- ment in energy efficiency. Figure 2 In the paraxylene recovery unit,
cal stages and/or enhancing the illustrates the xylene mixture sepa- the xylene components from the
efficiency of distillation equipment. ration unit’s configurations under xylene column are separated
The feasibility can be gauged by a discussion. This schematic reveals through the adsorption process.
dedicated sensitivity analysis. that the original distillation units The pre-separated extract stream
Constructing a column efficiency have implemented the full heat from the adsorption process is
curve with a reflux ratio is one of integration network for energy- charged to the extract column in
the core tools for sensitivity efficient operation. order to separate paraxylene from

4 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

gtc rev.indd 2 10/09/2013 10:50

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cbi.indd 1
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8/12/2013 17:18
1:45:07 PM
linde ag.indd
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1:03:48 PM
 the desorbent. At the same time,
the pre-separated raffinate stream
Extract
from the adsorption process is column
charged to the raffinate column to
rectify the raffinate components
Xylene
(metaxylene, orthoxylene and ethyl column
benzene) as a side-cut product.3 A
pasteurising section is arranged at
the top of the raffinate column to
remove moisture from the side-cut Raffinate
product.4 column
Top
Case study: process evaluation for feed
energy efficiency improvement
To achieve an additional gain in
energy efficiency, a dedicated
process evaluation was conducted
for the unit. Column operating Bottom
feed
conditions were first compared to Steam
the original design conditions. This generator
comparison helps comprehend
deviations between the original
design and the actual operational
environment. It was observed that Mixed
the actual product purities of the xylene
xylene column were higher than C9+
the aromatic rundown product
requirements. Relaxing the degree Figure 2 Xylene column heat network configuration
of separation of the xylene column
can reduce the reflux and boil-up
Pre-revamp test run and base simulation: comparison of results
ratio, as well as save fuel consump-
tion for the xylene column furnace
reboiler. However, the xylene Case parameter Pre-revamp test run Simulation results
Extract column
column overhead vapour streams
Column top temperature, °F Base +∆ 0.9°F
are utilised as the raffinate and Column bottom temperature, °F Base +∆ 1.1°F
extract column reboiler heating Reboiler return temperature, °F Base +∆ 0°F
mediums, and contribute steam Reflux ratio (to overhead distillate), volume Base +1.1%
Reflux temperature, °F Base ∆0
production in the current unit
Overhead distillate rate, BPD Base ∆0
energy network. Lower reflux/ Bottom rate, BPD Base ∆0
boil-up ratios in the xylene column p-DEB impurity in overhead distillate, wt ppm Base ∆0
decrease the amount of xylene Xylene impurity in bottom, wt ppm Base ∆0
overhead vapour used as heating
Raffinate column
medium for the extract/raffinate Column top temperature, °F Base +∆ 6.7°F
column and/or steam generation. Side cut draw temperature, °F Base -∆ 4.3°F
Process simulation modelling was Column bottom temperature, °F Base -∆ 0.5°F
Reboiler return temperature, °F Base -∆ 2.9°F
utilised as part of the process eval-
Reflux ratio (to side cut), volume Base -0.58%
uation activities to quantify and Reflux temperature, °F Base ∆0
predict gains in energy efficiency. Overhead distillate rate, BPD Base ∆0
Equilibrium base simulation soft- Bottom rate, BPD Base ∆0
p-DEB impurity in side cut stream, wt ppm Base ∆0
ware was utilised for the modelling.
Xylene impurity in bottom, wt ppm Base ∆0
Base simulation modelling was first
constructed through pertinent unit Xylene column
test run data. Gathered major Column top temperature, °F Base -∆ 0.9°F
Column bottom temperature, °F Base ∆ 0°F
process stream flow rates were
Reboiler return temperature, °F Base -∆ 2.25°F
verified via flow meter orifice Reflux ratio (to overhead distillate), BPD Base + 0.04%
calculations. Regular stream Reflux temperature, °F Base ∆ 0°F
composition analysis reported bulk Overhead distillate rate, BPD Base -0.1%
Bottom rate, BPD Base -5%
compositions for non-key compo-
C9+ impurity in overhead distillate, wt ppm Base ∆0
nents such as non-aromatic and C9+ Xylene impurity in bottom, wt ppm Base ∆0
component groups. Preliminary
simulation modelling showed that Table 1

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 7

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pcs myth.indd 1 8/3/12 09:55:39
 component assumptions for these
component groups varied simula- 2.4

Reflux ratio (reflux/distillate),

2.3 Pre-revamp degree of separation
tion results significantly. To
improve accuracy of simulation, 2.2
2.1
detailed component analysis was Pre-revamp test run
2.0
specially arranged for the test run.

volume
1.9
Detailed component analysis was
1.8
utilised for rigorous simulation Revamp design
1.7
modelling. Key component balance 1.6
closures for the extract and raffinate 1.5
columns were less than 3%. 1.4
Reconstructed feed compositions 1.3
using products were applied for the 1.2
simulation of the extract and raffi- 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
nate columns. For the xylene Theoretical stage number
column, the given overall mass
balance closure was off by 5%. It Figure 3 Extract column sensitivity analysis (revamp design)
was found that measured feed rates
were more reliable than product results were reasonably matched to streams of both of the columns are
rates, and bottom product rate was the test run data. As mentioned preheated by bottom product
less reliable through overall unit earlier, the xylene column bottom streams. Adding independent feed
mass balance investigation. Based rate was not matched. Through preheaters was not feasible due to
on this investigation, simulation various sensitivity analyses, the limited plot and poor economics.
modelling for the xylene column tray efficiencies of the columns The study showed that reducing
focused on matching feed and over- were quantified.5 column pressure drop using the
head distillate rates. Extensive case studies were low-pressure drop nature of trays
A reasonable matching reflux performed for the feasibility of does not deliver reboiler duty
temperature as well as rate is criti- energy efficiency improvement in savings in both of the columns.
cal to quantify reliable column the unit. The case studies focused Case study results for column
internal traffic conditions. It has on energy consumptions in the efficiency improvement showed
been observed that matching reflux extract and raffinate columns. that energy efficiency improvement
temperature is often overlooked in Energy improvements in the other was feasible. The column efficiency
simulation modelling. Reflux rate is two distillation column reboilers in curves were constructed using
usually metered at a flow meter the xylene column reboiler circuit simulated reflux ratio and theoreti-
located on the reflux piping. When also help reduce fuel consumption cal stage values, and base
the external reflux rate is recycled in the xylene column furnace modelling and improved column
back to the column, the internal reboiler, but magnitude was not efficiency points were plotted.
reflux rate will vary, depending on significant. Figures 3 and 4 display these
the external reflux temperature. Since both columns are operated curves. An improved column effi-
Therefore, a poor matching reflux under atmospheric pressure, reduc- ciency point was predicted through
temperature in the simulation will ing column operating pressure is an increased number of trays.
not predict the actual internal not applicable. In addition, feed Simulated tray efficiency values of
column traffic accurately. This can
result in erroneous efficiency
assumptions of the existing column
or provide a misleading, incorrect 2.3
Pre-revamp degree of separation
Reflux ratio (reflux/side cut),

result. 2.2
Instrumentation for measuring
2.1
the pressure drop of the extract and Pre-revamp test run
raffinate columns was not perti- 2.0
volume

nent. Matching pressure drop was

1.9 Revamp design
ignored in simulation modelling;
instead, matching column tempera- 1.8
ture data were focused on. 1.7
Temperature profiles are more
1.6
important to predict distillation
column energy consumptions. 1.5
Table 1 summarises the base model 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
simulation results and compares Theoretical stage number
test run data for the three columns.
This table depicts that base model Figure 4 Raffinate column sensitivity analysis (revamp design)

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 9

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pcs 1.indd 1 8/3/12 09:50:20
 the base model were maintained Test run data comparison
for the improved column efficiency
case study. Extra individual tray
efficiency improvement was not Case parameter Pre-revamp test run Post-revamp test run
Extract column
considered. Original trays were Feed rate, BPD Base +18%
arranged with 600 mm (~24”) regu- Overhead distillate rate, BPD Base +36%
lar tray spacing. The increased Feed temperature, °F Base +∆ 2.3°F
number of trays was predicted Reflux temperature, °F Base +∆ 16.9°F
Column top pressure, psi Base +∆ 1.3 psi
through a reduced tray spacing Reflux ratio (to overhead distillate), volume Base -28%
scenario: 450 mm (~18”) regular p-DEB impurity in overhead distillate, wt ppm Base -∆ 1 ppm
tray spacing. As a higher tray count Xylene impurity in bottom, wt ppm Base +∆ 16 ppm
can increase the column pressure
Raffinate column
drop, increased column pressure Feed rate, BPD Base +14%
drop values were applied for case Side cut product rate, BPD Base +28%
studies of column efficiency Feed temperature, °F Base +∆ 5.6°F
improvement. The charts in Figures Reflux temperature, °F Base +∆ 0.1°F
Column top pressure, psi Base +∆1.4 psi
3 and 4 show that the reflux ratios Reflux ratio (to side cut), volume Base -6%
of the columns were positioned in p-DEB impurity in side cut, wt ppm Base +∆ 23 ppm
the steep sensitivity zone and that Xylene impurity in bottom, wt ppm Base +∆ 4 ppm
enhancing column efficiencies is
Xylene column
beneficial to improve energy Feed rate,1 BPD Base +30%
consumption in both columns. Unit reboiler fuel consumption,2 EFO BPD/BPD Base -22%
Reduced reboiler duties of the Unit reboiler fuel consumption,3 EFO BPD/BPD Base -9%
extract and raffinate columns 250# steam generation, lb/hr Base +26%
contribute to the xylene column Note
furnace reboiler duty saving in the 1. Total feed rate.
2. Equivalent furnace fuel oil consumption rate per feed charge rate.
unit energy network. 3. Simulated fuel consumption saving through the column efficiency improvement.

Column modification
Based on the case study results, the Table 2
extract and raffinate columns were
modified. The number of trays was tray vapour velocity that can down- ratio was not matched to the neigh-
increased in both of the columns. At grade tray efficiency due to bouring three-pass tray pass open
a given column shell height, a insufficient vapour/liquid contact area ratio. In order to improve flow
higher number of trays requires volume. Various performance- ratio balancing, the number of
short tray spacing, causing tray enhancing features of GT-Optim passes for the pasteurisation section
capacity loss. To prevent column trays were added to improve tray trays was changed from three to
capacity reductions, GT-Optim efficiency. Nevertheless, extra indi- two and a new chimney tray was
high-performance trays were imple- vidual tray efficiency improvement installed as per pass change.
mented and replaced the original was not counted for a conservative
sieve trays in both of the columns. approach to revamp design. Applied Case study:
The original xylene column trays tray efficiencies for the revamp post revamp operation review
remained unchanged. The higher- design were the same as the sieve The pre- and post-revamp perfor-
capacity nature of the GT-Optim tray efficiencies obtained through mances are summarised and
tray maintains the desired column simulation modelling of the pre-re- compared in Table 2. As the over-
capacity with shorter tray spacing. vamp test run. all aromatic unit capacity has been
In addition, the efficiency enhance- Original trays for the pasteurisa- expanded, the column charge rates
ment features of these trays can tion section of the raffinate column are also increased. Post-revamp
help to maximise column were designed with a three-pass operation verifies that the reflux
efficiency. Various performance- geometry. A chimney tray was ratios of the extract and raffinate
enhancing features adapted in the positioned between three-pass column are reduced, and these
trays improve the vapour-liquid pasteurisation section trays and reduced reflux ratios eventually
contact mechanism and enhance two-pass rectification section trays. contribute to energy savings in the
tray efficiency. These include It is inherently difficult to achieve a xylene column reboiler furnace.
specialised, shaped downcomers, uniform liquid-to-vapour traffic Measured furnace fuel consump-
liquid inlet momentum breakers, ratio in each section of the three- tion as per the feed rate is
tray inlet vapour/liquid contact pass trays. Moreover, the original substantially improved. Since the
initiation devices and directional pasteurisation section trays and the paraxylene recovery unit adsor-
valves positioned in the tray periph- chimney tray did not equip any bent upgrade also contributes to
ery area. Tray pressure drop was feature for proper flow ratio balanc- savings in furnace fuel consump-
optimised to prevent a “too low” ing. Each chimney pass open area tion, the net energy-saving

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 11

gtc rev.indd 5 10/09/2013 10:50

 pre- and post-revamp cases.
2.4 Slightly relaxed xylene loss and

Reflux ratio (reflux/distillate),

Pre-revamp degree of separation
2.3 improved tray efficiency through
2.2 Post-revamp degree of separation
GT-Optim trays contribute to
2.1 achieving further reflux ratio
Pre-revamp test run
2.0 savings in post-revamp operating
volume

1.9
conditions.
1.8
Revamp design It is found that the raffinate
1.7
column feed structure is changed in
1.6
1.5
Post-revamp test run the post-revamp operating mode.
1.4 Sensitivity analysis through simula-
1.3 tion modelling shows that the
1.2 post-revamp degree of separation
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 line is substantially shifted by the
Theoretical stage number changed feed compositions, and the
pre-revamp degree of separation
Figure 5 Extract column sensitivity analysis (pre- and post-revamp) line is no longer applicable. In
Figure 6, the post-revamp degree of
the separation curve for the raffi-
2.5 nate column is significantly shifted
Pre-revamp degree of separation by the new feed composition.
Reflux ratio (reflux/side cut),

2.4 Pre-revamp test run

Post-revamp degree of separation Although tray efficiencies are
2.3
substantially improved and higher
2.2 theoretical stages are achieved,
2.1 changed feed composition erodes
volume

2.0 Post-revamp test run energy savings. Moreover, pre-

1.9 revamp product purities cannot be
1.8
maintained in post-revamp operat-
ing conditions, therefore purities
1.7
are a little relaxed.
1.6 The post-revamp economic eval-
Revamp design
1.5 uations are updated and compared
30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
to the revamp target evaluations.6
Theoretical stage number The evaluations are based on 3%
inflation, 10% weighted average
Figure 6 Raffinate column sensitivity analysis (pre- and post-revamp) cost of capital, 15-year deprecia-
tion, 1% of the total investment for
contribution of the column modifi- operation simulation modelling and maintenance, 22% tax bracket and
cations was simulated and is compared to the pre-revamp base year 2012 average fuel price.
included in Table 2. modelling curves. Degree of sepa- Profitability indexes are expressed
As product quality specifications ration lines between pre- and with regards to payback period,
are a little relaxed to maximise the post-revamp operations are shown net present value (NPV) and inter-
energy saving and column feed in Figures 5 and 6. The overall nal rate of return (IRR). These
structures are changed, it is neces- values gained from tray efficiency indices are shown in Figures 7-9.
sary to re-evaluate the performance through simulation modelling are The charts show that actual
of the extract and raffinate columns compared in Table 3. revamp profitability is better than
with post-revamp operating condi- In Figure 5, the extract column expected.
tions. The column efficiency curves degree of separation curves have
are constructed using post-revamp similar patterns between the Acknowledgment
The paper is updated from an earlier
presentation given at the AIChE 2013 Spring
Overall tray efficiency comparison
meeting’s Distillation Topical Conference/
Kister Distillation Symposium 2013, 29 April-2
Case section Pre-revamp test run Post-revamp test run May 2013, San Antonio, Texas.
Extract column
Rectification section, % Base +∆ 3
Stripping section, % Base +∆ 3
GT-OPTIM is a mark of GTC Technology.
Raffinate column
Pasteurisation section, % Base +∆ 9
Rectification section, % Base +∆ 7
Stripping section, % Base +∆ 6 References
1 Lee S H, et al, Optimize Design for Distillation
Table 3 Feed, Hydrocarbon Processing, June 2011.

12 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

gtc rev.indd 6 10/09/2013 10:50

 2.0 20 150

1.5

NPV, million US$

Pay-out, years

15 100

IRR, %
1.0

10 50
0.5

0 5 0
Revamp Actual Revamp Actual Revamp Actual
design target post-revamp design target post-revamp design target post-revamp

Figure 7 Profitability index – payback Figure 8 Profitability index – net present Figure 9 Profitability index – internal rate
period value of return

2 Hanson D, et al, High capacity distillation 6 Largeteau D, et al, Challenges and design and troubleshooting for refining and
revamps, PTQ, Autumn 2001. opportunities of 10 ppm sulphur gasoline: part aromatic applications.
3 Meyers R, Handbook of Petroleum Refining 2, PTQ, Q4 2012. Email: Sounho@gtctech.com
Processes, McGraw-Hill Company, 1986.
4 Moczek J S, et al, Control of a distillation Kwang Gil Min is the Senior Process Engineer
column for producing high-purity overheads for GS Caltex Corporation, Yeosu, Korea, and
and bottom streams, I&EC Process Design and specialises in process engineering/operation
Development, 1963. Soun Ho Lee is the Manager of Refining services. He has been assigned various projects
5 Kister H, et al, Sensitivity analysis is key Application for GTC Technology US LLC, Euless, in the aromatic complex including reforming,
to successful DC5 simulation, Hydrocarbon Texas, and specialises in conceptual process aromatic extraction and xylenes separation
Processing, October 1998. design, simulation modelling, energy-saving units. Email: mkk04244@gscaltex.com

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 13

gtc rev.indd 7 10/09/2013 14:46

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linde.indd 1 09/09/2013 17:23

 Strategies for improved naphtha
processing
To take advantage of dilbit from Alberta and light oils from shale formations, refiners
must develop a strategy for processing additional naphthas and light components

MIKE ARMSTRONG and MARTIN BRANDT

Jacobs Consultancy

C
hanges to the crude oil supply affecting fuel production, and in shippers will need to import
coupled with changes in gaso- product demand that will increase increasing amounts of naphtha
line demand and new gasoline pressure on the naphtha train diluents, which will provide US
regulations mean that US refiners • Define a strategy to take advan- refiners a means to send diluent
must re-examine naphtha process- tage of lower-cost crude oils recovered from bitumen together
ing throughout the refinery. Many containing lighter components by with refined naphtha back to the
refiners will have access to opportu- identifying naphtha processing bitumen production sites in Alberta
nity crudes, including light, tight bottlenecks in the refinery via recently commissioned pipe-
oils from shale formations in North • Outline the technologies and lines built for this purpose. We
Dakota, and Texas and Canadian configuration changes that should anticipate that this returned diluent
bitumens that contain lighter dilu- be considered as part of a strategy will become lighter as refiners seek
ents. This article argues that refiners to process opportunity crude oils an outlet for their least valuable
will need to upgrade their naphtha • Propose a methodology to evalu- light products: typically, butanes,
processing trains to better handle ate and rank the various options for pentanes and hexanes. The result
the added light material, comply improving naphtha processing to will be that US refiners must be
with gasoline regulations, and take advantage of low-cost crude prepared to process dilbit contain-
adjust to changes in demand for oils containing light components. ing lighter diluent.
gasoline and distillate.
Refiners in the Midwest have Canadian bitumen and Tight oil
been revamping their facilities over diluent availability Tight oils tend to be high in API
the past 20 years to process To meet pipeline viscosity and gravity. Processing these crude oils
Canadian bitumens and heavy density specifications, bitumen is rather than heavier crude oils may
crude oils. These refiners largely blended with either light naphtha, mean that refineries will need addi-
targeted improved bottoms upgrad- which historically has been a natu- tional naphtha and distillate
ing and gas oil cracking to ral gas condensate, or synthetic processing capabilities.
accommodate heavier crude oils. In crude oil (SCO) from Alberta-based
addition, many upgraded their upgraders. If bitumen is blended External factors affecting
naphtha processing facilities to with diluents, it is called dilbit; if naphtha processing
accommodate the naphtha-based blended with SCO, it is called There are a number of other exter-
diluents used to transport bitumen synbit. Dilbits contain large nal factors that affect naphtha
via pipeline to their refineries. amounts of resid, heavy gas oil and processing capabilities in refineries
These naphtha-based diluents used naphtha with almost no kerosene and drive investment in naphtha
to transport bitumen are becoming or diesel range material. Processing processing. These factors are envi-
lighter. the diluent contained in dilbit and ronmental specifications affecting
More recently, the success of gas processing the light material in fuel quality, vehicle efficiency
field fracturing (or “fracking”) is tight crude oils may stress the standards and increased use of
being replicated in the production naphtha and light ends processing renewable fuels to supply US trans-
of “tight oil” from the hydraulic portions of the refinery compared portation fuels.
fracturing of shale formations. to processing other crude oils.
Crude oils from these formations Growth in bitumen production is Control of hazardous air pollutants
are lighter than traditional crude expected to significantly outstrip from mobile sources (MSAT2)
oils and have API gravities ranging SCO production from Alberta- We have evaluated the impact of
from 40–70°API. based upgraders as well as the MSAT2 regulations for a number
This article seeks to: availability of natural gas conden- of US refiners and helped define
• Describe the trends in crude oil sates used as diluent in shipping their investment strategies for
production, in new regulations bitumen. As a result, bitumen dealing with the required

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 15

jacobs.indd 1 10/09/2013 11:08

 reduction in gasoline benzene. Our nents such as light, straight-run dynamic modelling tools such as
observation is that the options naphtha and alkylate will require Hysys and Pro-II together with yield
selected for benzene removal — closer attention and possibly estimating capabilities that enable
whether extraction, saturation or additional treatment to reduce their the evaluation of changes in naph-
sales of heart-cut naphtha — offer sulphur levels tha processing on catalytic
significant opportunities for • The isopentane value will reforming, light naphtha isomerisa-
process optimisation. For example, decrease further if RVP specifica- tion, fluid catalytic cracking and
small changes in reformer feed tions are reduced, which will hydrotreating. Our approach allows
composition and severity can require refiners to remove high- focus on the details in the context of
create large benefits in terms of vapour-pressure components from the overall refinery and seeks to
pool octane, gasoline yield and gasoline blends. understand trade-offs and opportu-
benzene saturation hydrogen nities at the level of each new or
consumption. Changing demand for gasoline existing process unit and at the
Changes in crude oil composition Changes in new light duty vehicle refinery level.
resulting from changes in diluent efficiency standards are expected to There is a tendency when dealing
composition in dilbit and from dampen demand for gasoline. with naphtha products to focus too
increased processing of light, tight Other federal and state regulations early on the product specifications
crude oil are likely to result in promoting the use of renewable and then establish individual unit
greater naphtha production at the fuels will reduce the demand for targets based on those specifica-
refinery and will require a special- crude-based fuels. Market experi- tions. Our experience has led to a
ised review of the full naphtha ence with the renewable fuel more holistic approach in assessing
chain to achieve the following standards to date has shown the naphtha train. Particularly
goals: greater impact on gasoline than when evaluating lighter feedstocks,
• Ensure benzene removal facilities diesel fuel. The result of the renew- it is important to take a forward
are still adequate to meet gasoline able fuel standard has been an view, starting with the crude unit
specifications increased use of ethanol in gaso- and then moving down the naph-
• Leverage opportunities to line, which has decreased the tha chain. Changes in the crude
improve benzene removal processes demand for refinery gasoline. unit will impact many of the
• Optimise naphtha reformer Increased refining of light, tight requirements and decisions for
performance in line with refinery US crudes and Canadian dilbit downstream processes. We believe
octane, benzene and hydrogen blends may further drive down the the crude unit is where to begin
requirements. demand for refinery naphtha and evaluating the impact of processing
gasoline products in favour of kero- more naphtha that comes in with
Tier 3 gasoline regulations sene and diesel. The ability to shift the crude oil.
The EPA’s Tier 3 gasoline regula- products from naphtha into diesel Figure 1 illustrates our strategy
tions will require reducing gasoline may become increasingly important for evaluating the impact of a
sulphur levels to an average of 10 to refinery profitability in the lighter crude slate on the refinery
ppm. Although it is possible to future. Likewise, the ability to processing capabilities. The first
independently meet the challenges handle and sell large quantities of question is: “Is the crude column
of Tier 3 regulations and take C4–C6 material will increase a refin- adequate for the new feed composi-
advantage of the opportunities ery’s competitiveness by allowing tion?” If no, the preferred new
from processing dilbit and lighter the processing of opportunity crude and/or revamp options should be
crude oils, a combined strategy that oils containing light components. laid out and evaluated, as each
addresses Tier 3 and crude slate option may have a unique impact
changes will reveal synergistic Naphtha train optimisation on the answer to the next major
solutions that minimise total invest- A key step in taking advantage of question: “Is naphtha hydrotreating
ment and increase overall naphtha dilbit and light, tight oils is develop- capacity adequate?” Finally, the
processing and gasoline production ing a robust strategy for processing decisions made about crude unit
flexibility. The design basis for new the additional naphthas that accom- and straight-run (SR) naphtha treat-
and/or revamp scopes of work to pany these crude oils. This means ing will likely affect the saturated
accommodate the lighter diluent in understanding the bottlenecks in the gas plant and will therefore set the
Canadian dilbit and the light tight refinery and developing ways to scope for modifications of this unit.
oils should consider the following relieve them. In evaluating these Prior to evaluating expansion of
points: types of problems for clients and the crude unit or any downstream
• Tier 3 regulations will require helping them develop tailored solu- units, it is important to define a
additional desulphurisation of FCC tions, we use tools such as the base case complete with economic
gasoline, particularly light FCC refinery LP to help identify and assumptions (price set) and
naphtha that has typically value options, as well as tools that projected crude slate. This step will
by-passed FCC naphtha hydrotreat- allow more detailed examination of require some modelling, preferably
ers under current regulations crude oil, naphtha fractionation and both LP and process, to establish
• Lower sulphur blending compo- naphtha processing. We use thermo- how much new opportunity crudes

16 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

jacobs.indd 2 10/09/2013 11:09

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 Primary distillation and Review integration with CDU/NHT
hydrotreating review

No
Yes
Yes Straight-run Is straight-run
Yes Is saturated gas
naphtha splitter naphtha
Are crude units Revamp, plant adequate?
modifications? hydrotreating No
adequate for repurpose or
No adequate?
feed? new treater.
Prefractionation Yes
required?
CDU overhead,
or column or
hydraulic
No
modifications.

Naphtha train
optimisation Is it possible
What impacts do Will cracked stocks Adjust design to
upstream modifications be impacted by minimise pool and
to increase
have on reformer and adjusted pool yields? reforming impacts, and
naphtha sales?
benzene unit yields? coordinate investments.

Considerations
MSAT requirements
Tier-3 specifications
Dieselisation

Figure 1 Strategy for evaluating lighter crude slates

a refinery can handle. This step model that considers crude and overhead systems and options to
may also involve some speculation product prices, margin improve- “preflash” the light material.
as to how dilbit characterisation ment opportunities and unit utility Processing light tight crude oils
will change in the next five years. consumption. Key components of and light diluents will likely
Once a base economic case is this larger economic evaluation are: constrain the crude unit in the
defined, it is possible to review • Ability to quickly determine following ways:
opportunities around relieving product yields, operating costs and • Heat input and recovery: more
constraints to increase light crude capital costs of refinery process light material and fewer intermedi-
oil/dilbit processing. configuration changes ates will reduce recoverable (above
Naphtha train optimisation • Development of detailed pinch) heat and increase the load
follows a review of primary distil- economic models linked to process on atmospheric heaters
lation and naphtha hydrotreating. model outputs • Hydraulics: vaporisation in the
Once the upstream units are • Understanding of market dynam- crude train and increased heater
defined along with the planned ics and experience incorporating pressure drop may limit crude unit
level of chemical (or diluent) naph- risks (both in pricing and project throughput. Likewise, more light
tha sales, we can determine if execution) in the refinery economic material will increase column load-
reforming units, benzene/aromatics model to assist in good ing in the atmospheric column
units or cracked naphtha units decision-making • Overhead condensing: increased
require modification. Likewise, we • Deployment of risk assessment to C5s and lighter material will
can evaluate whether modifications help understand uncertainties increase the vapour pressure in
comply with MSAT2 and Tier 3 around the impact of changes in overhead condensers, thus requir-
gasoline regulations and then crude oil slate, product specifica- ing either more cooling, more
progress to the refinery’s gasoline tions, product demand and off-gas compression or higher
and diesel production targets. Our processing changes. column pressure.
goal with this exercise is to define a
comprehensive set of configuration Crude unit modifications Crude unit heat input limitations:
options in the early stage of project Light crude oils from tight oil prefractionator option
development before delving into formations and light diluent in Adding a crude unit prefractionator
detailed process evaluation. dilbit may present refiners with offers the opportunity to remove C6
The process configuration review unique challenges to the crude unit and lighter material from the crude.
should be part of a larger economic that will require a focus on the The pressure and temperature of a

18 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

jacobs.indd 3 10/09/2013 11:09

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aveva.indd 1 09/09/2013 17:17

 Crude Revamp area
New equipment
New lines
Existing crude lines
Existing product lines
Removed lines

Cooling water

Cooling water
Light
naphtha
Crude distillation
column Heavy
naphtha Intermediate
naphtha

Stripping Vacuum distillation

steam Make-up column
water New
Desalter prefractionator
(Flashed vapour line to
be blinded or removed)
Flash drum
Stripping HVGO
steam

Vacuum
residual

Figure 2 Crude unit revamp with prefractionator

prefractionator column can be • Light straight-run (LSR)/heavy existing piping and downstream
adjusted to allow heat recovery to straight-run (HSR) split may equipment.
the crude unit through overhead require further fractionation.
exchange. The design basis for the prefrac- Hydraulic constraints
Adding a prefractionator is a tionator must consider the Hydraulic constraints associated
logical consideration for units that destination of the overhead product with the processing of a lighter
are limited by heat input (furnace and side product (if there is one). If feedstock typically appear in areas
capacity), although additional heat the overhead product is blended of increased vaporisation:
exchange will be required. A with atmospheric overheads and • Flash drum vapour lines
prefractionator can also relieve re-split, little fractionation will be • High-temperature exchangers not
hydraulic and overhead condensing done in the new column. If the designed for vaporisation
limits, but is typically more costly material is segregated as a C6- LSR • Charge heaters
than addressing these limitations stream for gasoline blending, there • Atmospheric column.
directly. Recovering product naph- may be some requirement to As noted above, a prefractionator
tha at lower temperatures can remove low-octane C7 material. will remove these limitations by
reduce operating cost, albeit with Alternatively, if the material is to be removing the light material
higher capital cost. sold either as ethylene cracker feed upstream of the high-temperature
Prefractionator advantages: or diluent to Canada, a rough-cut vaporisation points. However, if
• Improvement in unit energy product may be sufficient, albeit the hydraulic limit is the only limit,
efficiency with some economic penalty. a prefractionator cost will not be
• Revamp modifications outside of Segregating the prefrac and atmos- justified. The following options will
the turnaround window pheric overhead naphthas reduces need to be reviewed:
• Limited modification to crude the load for the naphtha splitter, but • Increased atmospheric column
and vacuum columns (see Figure 2) creates the need for a new stabiliser. pressure: this change will reduce
• Potential for re-using or modify- Routing of prefractionator products vaporisation in the heater and
ing existing preflash vessels. will likely present several opportu- vapour traffic through the column
Prefractionator disadvantages: nities and challenges that will be • Feed pump upgrade: higher
• Potential for a high capital cost unique for every refinery. Options head pump may remove the
with little capacity increase or yield will need to be evaluated in light of hydraulic constraints. Note that
improvement feed composition, operating goals, this option can be very expensive

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 21

jacobs.indd 4 10/09/2013 11:09

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SPM-UOP-36 Olefins_A5.indd 1 4/8/13 1:48 PM
 if exchanger re-rating is required
• Column upgrades: packing and
high-capacity trays are typically a
lower-cost option to deal with
Crude
increased column traffic, although
extensive column modifications
may extend unit shutdowns
Cooling water
• Preflash reconfiguration: a
preflash vessel acts in a similar
method to a preflash column, Atmospheric
tower
removing the light material that
will create hydraulic limitations at Light straight
New naphtha stripper run naphtha
higher temperatures. Existing to stabiliser
preflash vessels can be modified or
Heavy straight
relocated to increase the tempera- run naphtha to
ture and allow products to enter hydrotreater
the atmospheric distillation column
at a more advantageous location, Figure 3 Crude unit overhead side stripper
thereby relieving hydraulic
constraints. increase the number of mixed phase been defined for the upstream
exchangers in series, because these units. Outlining configuration
Crude unit overhead modifications designs increase the potential for options for primary distillation and
If no prefractionator is present, it is maldistribution and fouling. hydrotreating is dependent upon
likely that the atmospheric column Likewise, adding more exchangers existing equipment within those
overheads and upper trays are in parallel often leads to poor distri- units and the overall processing
operating at loading constraints. bution and subsequent fouling. goals. Comparing alternative
These bottlenecks will need to be configurations requires determina-
relieved to accommodate more Overhead stripper tion of downstream unit yields, net
light material in the feed to the Figure 3 illustrates the addition of product blend volumes and unit
crude column. an overhead stripper to the crude operating costs. To evaluate
unit. By sufficiently stripping the changes in upstream fractionation,
Crude preheat exchange heavy naphtha product, a new over- we recommend a full naphtha train
Crude units not equipped with head stripper can allow a refiner to simulation, as outlined in Figure 4.
crude/atmospheric overhead bypass the existing naphtha splitter An appropriate naphtha chain
exchange will need to consider this and stabiliser because all the simulation model should include
revamp option. Expanding over- benzene precursors will be removed. the following features:
head exchange may make sense for This arrangement improves energy • Component characterisation
units that already have overhead efficiency and HSR C6 content can through C8
exchange. Lighter crude oils will be tightly controlled. As there is no • Naphtha hydrotreating model
increase the amount of low-level rectifying section, LSR may see an including product separator and
heat available in overhead exchang- increase in C7+ material. stripper
ers. Recovering this heat will be • Isomerisation unit including
critical to maintaining unit heat Side draws naphtha stabiliser
performance in the absence of diesel For crude units with an extra diesel • Reforming unit model including
and jet range material. However, a or jet draw, a refiner may choose to kinetic yield predictions and sever-
well-integrated crude unit may have raise the column pressure and pull a ity optimisation
limited sinks available for low-level heavy naphtha side draw. However, • Critical tertiary processing
heat recovery. this change will reduce the top including benzene saturation or
temperature in the crude unit and aromatics extraction
Two-drum system may create salting issues in the top • Refinery gasoline pool blending
Splitting the crude unit overhead of the column. Thus, in addition to model including all key blending
into a two-drum system is typically any equipment changes, adding a components to meet RVP, sulphur,
done for corrosion control purposes sidedraw will likely include adding octane, volatility and distillation
(for instance, hot reflux, vapour/ lining to the column, upgrading tray specifications
liquid distribution). For refiners metallurgy and investment to
with crude unit overhead limita- improve desalter performance. Naphtha hydrotreating unit
tions, a second drum may (NHT) expansion
debottleneck overhead cooling and Naphtha train optimisation The combination of lower-sulphur
avoid significant repiping to add The impact on downstream units gasoline specifications resulting
new exchanger capacity. However, and product blending can be from Tier 3 regulations coupled
refiners should avoid revamps that reviewed once configurations have with processing crude oils with

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 23

jacobs.indd 5 10/09/2013 11:09

 Offgas
Unstabilised naphtha
Saturated gas/LPG

LPG sales
Saturated
gas plant C5’s to
Light
Depentaniser sales
naphtha
iC4’s hydrotreater
C5’s
C6 isomerate Isomerate

Naphtha Mogas
splitter blending
CDU/VDU
Naphtha Reformer Reformate Benzene Saturated
hydrotreater splitter saturation heartcut

Heavy
reformate
Coker
Light catalytic
naphtha
Catalytic naphtha
hydrotreater
naphtha
Heavy catalytic
splitter Catalytic naphtha
naphtha
hydrotreater Alkylate

Figure 4 Naphtha train model key blocks

greater light naphtha content will light naphtha hydrotreater in the designed with an adequate gas
require additional naphtha hydro- processing scheme. plant, crude/naphtha train debot-
treating capacity. The first question tlenecks and revamps have
is whether the new hydrotreating Heat integration typically avoided investment in the
capacity can be taken from existing Modifications to the NHT should saturated gas plant. Often, new
units. Coker naphtha hydrotreaters maximise the temperature of hydrotreaters and flare gas recov-
and FCC naphtha hydrotreaters streams that are processed in down- ery systems will dump gas into an
are often the newest units in a stream units and therefore use waste existing gas plant, further
refinery and may have spare heat where possible. The largest constraining operations, especially
capacity. However, filling cracked heat user in the NHT is typically the during summer months. Losing C3s
naphtha units may reduce straight- product stripper/debutaniser. and C4s to fuel gas, while extremely
run product value and restrict expensive, is generally tolerated to
blending flexibility. Existing naph- Design of the naphtha stripper avoid limiting saturated gas plant
tha hydrotreating units can be In many older units, the naphtha capacity and refinery throughput.
expanded with additional reactor stripper has become a depentaniser Refiners looking to significantly
beds or upgraded catalyst. and dehexaniser. Multiple towers increase C4- material in the crude
Availability of fractionation capa- may be required if upstream naph- slate will have to investigate ways
bility is often the biggest limit on tha splitting is not adequate. to handle the increased load in the
existing unit capacity. saturated gas plant. Figure 5 shows
When expanding naphtha hydro- Naphtha splitter a typical configuration for a new
treater capacity, a comprehensive If light and heavy naphtha hydro- saturated gas plant. Refiners will
design basis should address some treating is done in a single unit, a need to determine whether a new
key considerations. single naphtha splitter can separate gas plant is required or if existing
the stabilised product. equipment, potentially across multi-
Process integration with the ple plants, can be utilised. Among
saturated gas plant Saturated gas plant the key points to investigate are:
The NHT can be heavily integrated In our experience, refinery satu- • Suitable heat source for the stabi-
with the saturated gas plant. An rated gas plants are often neglected liser (preferably integrated with
NHT absorber column is commonly and under-sized for their crude/vacuum unit)
used; the NHT stripper can be current operating requirements. • Adequate compression for multi-
converted to a de-ethaniser. In addi- Furthermore, saturated gas plants ple gas sources
tion, stabilisers, liquefied petroleum are often cobbled together using • Suitable lean oil for the absorber
gas (LPG) splitters and depentanis- small columns and compressors (stabiliser or naphtha splitter
ers in the saturated gas plant may from multiple obsolete plants. bottoms)
all be moved downstream of the While crude trains are typically • Limited products to storage —

24 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

jacobs.indd 6 10/09/2013 11:09

 communicate where the module construction of refineries are being Company promise for in the UK, I value
deriving designed froma
will be installed on the plot Ammoniaplan.gas applied to the construction of sour smaller water stripper that
accumulations of eliminated
unconven-
to sulphur plant
Connections between the modules distributed GTL plants. The GTL the unnecessary
tional gas that would features of the unit
otherwise be
are designed to be similar in config- process involves two operations: the shown in Figure 2.such as shale gas,
left underground,
uration so that construction
Overhead
13 PSIG
is conversion of natural gas to a tight Figuregas,3 shows
coal bed the essentials
methane of and a
190ºF
relatively
naphthastraightforward. Ventech mixture of carbon monoxide (CO) correct strandedsour gas water
(gas fieldsstripperlocateddesign.too
Lean oil
estimates that, Sour
Flare gas water
with modularisation,
90ºF and hydrogen (H2),(debutaniser knownbottoms)as Feed
far from is brought
existing in at ambient
pipeline infra-
(15)
approximately
recovery 70% of a project is syngas, followed by a Fischer- conditions
feed structure). (70-100°F,
A small,Fuel 21-38°C)
gas
modularised from
to treating
complete even before the Tropsch (FT) process to convert the the
discharge
already GTLsour plantwater has the feedflexibility
tank. Totoheat be
modules
Crude are shipped from their syngas into paraffinic hydrocarbons
Cooling water the feed
installed from
Cooling close 90°F
water to (32°C)
the to 250°F
trapped
facility. This greatly decreases field that can be further refined to (120°C)
compressor resource requires
and then about used to16process wt%
discharge
construction time to deliver an produce a wide range of steam flow, locally.
that resource or about 1.3-1.4lb gas
Associated of
operational facility (see Figure 1). (8) hydrocarbon-based products, includ- steam
(gas per gallon
produced along of
with stripper
oil) is
Medium content
These methods also facilitate easy ing clean-burning,
NH water to sulphur-free bottoms,
another which
area is
of close to
opportunity a typical
for
Hydrotreater/ 3
disassembly relocation, if diesel and hydrotreaters
jet fuel. Speciality prod- design strippingGTL steam plants. ratio for
reformer offgas and modularised This gas
necessary, Cooling
at somewater point in (1)the ucts including food-grade waxes, sour water disposed
is typically strippers.LPG ofThe
either E-1byfeed
product tore-
treating/splitter
future. For example, a remotely solvents and lubricants can also be preheater, injection, atrefl ux pump
considerable (P-2) and
expense,
located gas processing facility could produced from Absorber the paraffinic the
back refl
intoux the cooler (E-2) or
reservoir shown by in
the
stripper
be easily taken apart and moved to hydrocarbons. E-1 Figure
wasteful2 areand all eliminated.
environmentally How,
a new natural gas source if an exist- Large, Steam
Diesel
commercial-scale GTL then, doespractice
Stabiliser
damaging one of Toflaring,
know naphtha
thatwhich the
pumparound splitter
ing supply was depleted in its plants, including the Sasol Oryx and design is subject shown in Figure
to increasing 3 will
regulation.
current location. the Shell Pearl plants (both located work? ModularisedBecause GTLit was
plantsbuilt this way
enable this
Applying modularisation
Low NH3 water 250ºFto refin- in Qatar), have been built at enor- (at the
otherwise Amoco
Heavy gas refi
wasted nery gas in Milford
to be
ery construction
to desalters has advantages mous capital cost. The Oryx plant, Haven, converted Wales, UK) in 1970,
into additional
pumparound where
revenue.
with regard to productivity, prod- P-1 designed for production levels of it Inworked the larger justeconomic
as wellpicture, as thea
uct quality and ensuring the safety 34 000 b/d, cost around $1.5 billion conventional modular GTL capability design shown can be the in
of construction
Figure 4 Two-stagepersonnel. the to
Since design
sour water stripper build.
without The
feed Shell Pearl plant, with Figure
preheat key factor 2. that enables the construc-
modules are built in a well-lit, an ultimate design capacity of 140 tion of upstream projects that
increased water in environment,
climate-controlled the sulphur Figure 000 b/d1. ofInGTL otherproducts
words, and a lot120of Two-stage
would otherwise sour water be stripper cancelled
plant
work feed
can and thus
continue more
around condensa-
the
Figure 5 Typical saturated gas configuration clock equipment
b/d of is
natural added
gas to generate
liquids, cost Figure
because 4 shows
of poor a sour
results water strip-
derived
tion in the sulphur
regardless of weather plantconditions,
feed NH3 refl ux when
around no fractionation
$18-19 billion. Conventional is per
fromwith a side draw-off.
economic models. For The exam-
partly
gas
for knock-out
greater
direct drum (and
to productivity
treating and
or easierthus
next required
GTL plant
strategy between
designs
chosen the
for rely feedecono-
on
revamping the stripped
and ple,
unit some sour
shale water
hydraulics, gas
while is
discoveriesextracted
downstream are
water
quality that has
control.
fractionator. to
Sincebe recycled
module back
height overhead
mies of product.
scale to Again,
drive the only
positive from
being tray
hampered
crude unit train and naphtha hydro- requirements determine perfor- 8 and by directed
high to
develop- the
to the sour water
is restricted, safety stripper).
is enhanced, as purpose treaters. of
financial thegoal
returns
The tower
andofare isthe
to strip
viable out hydrotreaters
only
naphtha ment
mancecosts, which
targets. for use the
result
Thus, as make-up
in adequacy
marginal
The
workers design
build
Naphtha splitter shown
at in
limited Figure
heights 2 the
whereNH and
there the
are
splitter 3 is to match H S.
large
2 supplies of water
economics in the
products to of the existing naphtha duesalt to(NH gas 4
HS)
pricesremoval
splitter thatis
was
within common
the fabricationin the
facility. 1960s. low-priced natural gas.
The revamp strategy for the naph- downstream unit requirements. defined by upstream supply and step
are often of low.the Thesereactor
projects effl uent.
can be
However,
tha splitterit is alsodependent
suffers from on the the Correct
However,
Feed stripper
quality design
another
and quantityoptiondefine the Completely
being enhanced
downstream stripped
convertingwater
byrequirements. the gas fromto
same
Modularising GTL drawbacks and In
heat balance 1969, while
developed — working for the now
smaller-sized and the sour water
higher-value stripper
clean fuels bottoms
produced is
needless
The samecomplications
advantages ofas modular seen in vanished
distributedAmoco GTL plantsInternational
— shows Oil sent
in thetoGTL theprocess.
crude desalter. While

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102 www.eptq.com
PTQ Q1 2013 PTQ Q2 2013 101
www.eptq.com

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 25

lieberman.indd 3 08/03/2013 16:02

velocys.indd 2 10/12/12 14:27:56

jacobs.indd 7 10/09/2013 11:09

 There are a number of decisions For reforming units that produce area for most refiners. Any change
regarding the naphtha splitter that reformate for gasoline blending, a within the naphtha chain may
will vary with the design of the key point of optimisation will be to justify review and re-optimisation
crude unit and downstream ensure the right cut points of feeds of upstream splitter operating
processing requirements. Among to the unit. Refineries with more targets.
the key considerations are: than one reforming unit have more
• Should naphtha be split before or degrees of freedom. As a result, Fluid catalytic cracking
after hydrotreating? Hydrotreating feedstock optimisation to multiple naphtha processing
capacity may limit flexibility, reforming units is more complex FCC naphtha processing has
though it is likely that the NHT but can have a significant benefit. become critical to meeting product
unit will need to be expanded due If the available heavy naphtha specifications, particularly blended
to an increase in naphtha produc- exceeds reforming unit capacity, gasoline RVP, octane and sulphur
tion as a result of processing lighter there may be opportunities to content. Further, Tier 3 gasoline
crude oils and dilbit containing remove the C6 and lighter material specifications are likely to require
lighter diluent from the feed to the reforming unit expansion of FCC naphtha hydro-
• What level of benzene precursor to avoid benzene production as treating facilities. Thus any
removal is optimal? Benzene satu- well as remove C10 and heavier investment to increase straight-run
ration units and benzene material from the reforming unit naphtha processing is inexorably
regulations have significantly feed, which may improve catalyst tied to FCC naphtha handling. Any
changed operating strategies life. issues with C5 disposition, RVP
regarding naphtha cut-points Refiners with aromatics produc- control and benzene slip will also
• Is there an advantage to taking a tion facilities, conversely, may have require focus on the FCC naphtha
side cut in the naphtha splitter? a distinct advantage in dealing with performance.
Dehexanising and depentanising the increased naphtha content of There is no single answer on how
can be significantly cheaper in a the lighter crudes. Benzene, toluene to integrate or coordinate projects
single column, although product and xylene (BTX) have always between straight-run naphtha and
quality may suffer FCC naphtha. Among options to
• How best to heat integrate the
naphtha splitter? Straight-run
Optimisation of the consider are:
• Removal of sulphur from light
naphtha splitting is often heat inte- reformate splitter will FCC naphtha
grated with the crude/vacuum • Alkylation of amylenes to
column, although some older units figure prominently increase RVP blending flexibility
have integration with the naphtha • Processing of light straight-run
hydrotreater and/or reformer. To in product blending material in the FCC naphtha hydro-
achieve best-in-class energy perfor- treater (CNH)
mance, the unit should take strategies • Hydrotreating and reforming of
advantage of medium-level waste intermediate cat naphtha (ICN)
heat sources (eg, 150 psi steam or offered a significant margin heart-cut
light diesel pumparound). upgrade over gasoline. As such, the • Scope for increasing FCC naph-
ability to make BTX from the avail- tha desulphurisation
Reforming unit able naphtha may offer a significant • Maximisation of heavy FCC
The drop in US gasoline demand, economic opportunity, particularly naphtha (HCN) to diesel.
together with greater blending of given the lower energy costs result- A successful naphtha train opti-
ethanol, has reduced the need for ing from the drop in US natural gas misation will require a good
high-octane reformate to increase prices. Refiners that have the ability understanding of the contribution
the gasoline pool octane. Likewise, to increase aromatics production of FCC naphthas to the refinery
low-cost natural gas has reduced the may be looking for investment in gasoline pool.
cost of hydrogen from steam meth- this area, provided a market exists
ane reforming. As a result, many to offload the butanes and Conclusions
refiners are reducing the severity of pentanes. Diluent used in shipping bitumen
their catalytic reforming units to Optimisation of the reformate as dilbit from Alberta to US and
maximise C5+ yields and minimise splitter will figure prominently in Canadian refineries is expected to
benzene production, which provides product blending strategies. Once become lighter as a result of market
opportunities to increase catalytic these strategies are clearly defined changes. Light, tight crude oils
reforming unit capacity with mini- (for instance, C5 disposition, RVP or from shale formations are consider-
mal investment in product benzene targets), it may be possible ably lighter than most crude oils
fractionation and unit hydraulics. to derive significant benefit by being processed in US refineries.
There may also be an increased adjusting splitter cutpoints and Refining these crude oils will
bypass of feed around the catalytic level of fractionation. The balance apply stress to many refineries’
reforming unit, provided that pool and optimisation of feedstock to the naphtha and light ends processing
octane can be maintained. benzene saturation unit is a new capabilities. In addition, external

26 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

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 factors such as MSAT2, Tier 3, the product regulatory requirements technology options exist for refiner-
Renewable Fuel Standard and and interaction of naphtha process- ies to consider and evaluate
rising efficiency standards for light- ing units within the refinery, along • A detailed naphtha chain model
duty vehicles will put stress on the with application of appropriate will simplify evaluation of potential
production of transportation fuels technologies to achieve objectives. new unit and/or revamp options.
from US refineries, in particular We offer the following key
gasoline. observations: Mike Armstrong has 25 years of operations
To take advantage of dilbit from • Refineries processing dilbits from and process design experience in the refining
Alberta and light, tight crude oils Alberta will see increased C4–C6 industry, including management of operations
from shale formations, while also range material in the dilbit. activities, technical support, evaluation of
project economics, and refinery configuration
managing regulatory and market • Fracking of shale formations will
studies. Since joining Jacobs Consultancy in
changes, refiners must develop a provide increased opportunities for
2005 as a Senior Consultant, he has served as
robust strategy for processing the refiners to process light, tight crude process lead on several revamp and grassroots
additional naphthas and light oils. feasibility studies. He holds a degree in
components that accompany these • Regulations and market trends chemical engineering from the University of
crude oils. Doing so means under- will likely: Illinois and a Master’s in chemical engineering
standing the bottlenecks and ■ Increase naphtha desulphurisa- from the Colorado School of Mines.
processing limits in the refinery tion requirements Martin Brandt is a Director in Jacobs
and developing ways to relieve ■ Reduce the need for octane from Consultancy’s Chicago office. He has over 23
them. the catalytic reforming unit years of experience, with a focus on providing
We have outlined an approach ■ Reduce gasoline demand from commercial and technical support to domestic
that focuses on processing the addi- crude oil and international clients in refining and
tional naphtha in the context of the ■ Shift the gasoline-to-distillate petrochemical industries. He has served as
Project Manager on multiple refinery revamp
overall refinery, while at the same ratio from refining
studies to increase refinery capacity, process
time evaluating trade-offs and • Changes to refineries will require
advantaged crudes, maximise distillate
opportunities at the level of each investment in primary distillation production, and reduce gasoline benzene and
existing and new process unit. Our units, saturated gas plants, and/or sulphur levels. He holds a BS ChE degree from
process requires an understanding naphtha hydrotreating capacity the Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA
of market trends, feed properties, • Multiple configuration and from the University of Chicago.

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PTQ_revamp_supplement_2013.indd 1 30.08.2013 11:52:40

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 27

jacobs.indd 9 10/09/2013 11:10

 Sulzer Chemtech

Tower Technical Bulletin

Safeguard Packed Column Efficiency with Proper Liquid Distribution

Background
Initial liquid distribution directly affects the efficiency of • Point Measurement: This test is similar to the area
structured and random packing beds. As such, some form measurement test except that flows are measured
of flow test should be conducted to validate distributor from individual distribution points at predetermined
performance prior to column startup. Steady state water flow locations for a micro-scale evaluation.
testing is the most common method of testing distributors. It
can be conducted in the shop or in the field to verify the design, The standard deviation calculated from these samples
manufacture and installation. must be within design standards. Typically, a minimum
of 10% of the total number of individual distribution points
Three Common Types of Liquid Distributor Flow Tests are measured.
• Liquid Range Test with Level Measurement: Water is fed
to the distributor at the maximum and minimum design
operating rates. At each rate, level measurements are
taken at various locations within the distributor, typically
at the end of each trough. Relative standard deviation of
the level measurements must fit within the manufacturer
specifications (normally 5-10% of the calculated flow rates).
The flow patterns within the distributor should appear
uniform, without excessive localized momentum. Sulzer
conducts this mandatory flow test for all distributors.

Distributor Ready for Point Measurement

Conclusions
Flow tests can quickly reveal maldistribution that could adversely
impact column performance. By identifying issues early, simple
adjustments can be directly made to the equipment while on the
test stand, prior to column startup, avoiding costly shutdowns.

Final Note – Installation

No matter how well a distributor is designed and verified during
manufacture, poor installation can substantially compromise
column performance. All distributors must be properly oriented
and leveled within the tolerances shown on the assembly
drawings provided by the equipment manufacturer. Always
verify distributor installation in the field prior to startup.
Distributor on Test Stand for Level Measurement

The Sulzer Refinery Applications Group

Sulzer Chemtech has over 150 years of in-house
• Area Measurement: This test is more common for large operating and design experience in process applications.
diameter and spray header distributors. Identical pans are We understand your process and your economic drivers.
placed at several locations under the distributor to collect Sulzer has the know-how and the technology to design
flows from multiple distribution points over a constant internals with reliable, high performance.
timed collection period. The liquid flow rate is then
calculated for each pan (area). The standard deviation
of the flows to each pan is used to determine the macro- Sulzer Chemtech, USA, Inc.
scale uniformity of liquid distribution across the distributor. 8505 E. North Belt Drive | Humble, TX 77396
These tests are typically conducted at minimum, design, Phone: (281) 604-4100 | Fax: (281) 540-2777
and maximum flow rates. TowerTech.CTUS@sulzer.com
www.sulzer.com

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.indd 1 09/09/2013 17:34

 Laser surveying a revamp

Efficient project workflow in a revamp can be achieved using 3D design

technology that integrates with laser scan and engineering data sources

GARY FARROW
AVEVA

P
lant revamp projects are big
business, but they are also
particularly challenging. The
new installation must arrive on
time and fit right first time, or the
contractor runs the risk of contrac-
tual penalties. Achieving this
demands not only efficient business
processes, but also detailed and
reliable knowledge of the true
condition of the existing facility.
This article describes current
capabilities and best practice in the
use of 3D laser surveying for
de-risking, planning and executing
revamp projects.
In an ideal world, every operat-
ing plant would have a complete
set of detailed and up-to-date engi-
neering drawings or, better, a 3D
CAD model that accurately
describes it. In practice, not even Figure 1 AVEVA Everything3D: Bubble View and 3D model working together to enhance
the most capable of owner-opera- the value of captured laser data
tors would claim to have achieved
this, although a few do get close to 3D laser scanning the tool of choice scanning can raise expectations of
it. Design documentation rarely for surveying an operating plant. its capability that the unwary user,
reflects the true as-built state of a Today, there are a number of or their client, may be disappointed
plant, even at handover. Several high-quality scanner systems and with. It is a tool and, as with many
years later, the divergence can be service providers to draw on. tools, there are right and wrong
significant, as modifications and Equally important, there is also ways to use it.
repairs accumulate without always very sophisticated software for Our team at LFM Software regu-
being properly reflected in drawing exploiting the rich data that laser larly encounters users of laser
updates. When tendering for a scanners generate. scanning who have experienced
revamp project, therefore, any wise Equipment compactness and problems or sub-optimal results.
engineering contractor (EPC) must usability have advanced as rapidly Almost invariably, the causes lie in
assume that no existing design as the now ubiquitous digital not appreciating a few basic princi-
information is trustworthy. camera. Scanners are quick and easy ples. A business paper summarises
Accurate surveying is essential. to set up and use, and can capture a these.1 Our top tips for a successful
Like the CAD tools used in plant hemispherical 3D representation of laser-surveyed revamp project
design, surveying technologies their surroundings to an accuracy of follow.
have come a long way. Tape meas- a few millimetres over distances of
ures and theodolites gave way to tens of metres. However, just as a Plan the project
photogrammetry, which, properly camera can take either a blurry Just like professional photography,
used, enabled a 3D model of an snapshot or a studio portrait, success lies in preparation. When
area to be compiled. However, according to the skill of the user, so planning a laser survey, especially
recent rapid advances have made the apparent simplicity of laser when only a tight time window is

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 29

rev aveva.indd 1 10/09/2013 11:20

 different times using different scan-
ners, there is a risk that these
datasets may not all be compatible
with the design software. At
AVEVA, we have created applica-
tions and interfaces that can handle
all the commonly used scan data
formats, so that multiple individual
surveys can be integrated into a
single model. Users should either
confirm that their own design solu-
tion can achieve this or, if not,
restrict surveying to a known
compatible scanner.
Much has been achieved in
reverse engineering 3D point
clouds into CAD model objects.
Figure 2 AVEVA Laser Modeller displaying intensity window and 3D window while Software can recognise simple
modelling structural elements. The user is being prompted for catalogue-based structural geometric solids such as cylinders
components and create the corresponding 3D
model. However, if the data repre-
available, it is essential to coordi- stitched together accurately on a sent a pipe, which has attributes
nate the survey with other, common coordinate system and and connectivity on a P&ID, there
unrelated plant activities to ensure that areas shadowed in one view is relatively little value in model-
that the work can be performed in are scanned in at least one other ling it as a solid cylinder. Current
the time available. For example, (see Figure 1). While there are some state-of-the-art software can infer
one cannot be expected to survey guiding principles to optimum scan that the data really do represent a
an area if a contractor’s crane is distribution, each situation is pipe, can offer the designer a short-
parked there for an essential main- unique and a pre-survey site list of its possible specifications
tenance task. Where areas to be inspection can be time well spent to from a design catalogue, and then
scanned are normally off-limits, achieve a quality result. reverse engineer an intelligent pipe
their being made accessible may be Laser scanning is safe and non- object in the design system, accu-
time-limited, so one should plan invasive, but one should neverthe- rately co-located with the original
the survey sequence to accommo- less plan to avoid or restrict scan representation (see Figure 2).
date this. A common pitfall is to personnel movements in the area. This can save considerable costly
attempt a more extensive scan than Structural vibration can degrade effort and brings reverse engineer-
time or circumstances permit and ing of large plants into the realm of
be forced to take shortcuts. While currently the practicable and affordable.
Conversely, just as an owner-
operator tries to maximise the work available software Create accurate deliverables
performed during a shutdown, so it The point of laser surveying for
may be worth taking the opportu- can often work revamp projects is to enable new
nity to scan more than just the area fabrication to fit accurately in place
of immediate interest, to anticipate wonders with and an installation sequence to be
future requirements. Forward- planned to achieve this with mini-
looking owner-operators are
sub-optimal scan mum disruption to the plant. In
increasingly commissioning whole- data, there are limits turn, this requires that the laser
plant surveys for this reason. data can be used in a 3D design
system in such a way that a
Plan the scan scan accuracy, while it is not designer can create a new design
While currently available software uncommon to find a scan including that mates accurately with in-situ
can often work wonders with a detailed image of half a person installation and does not clash with
sub-optimal scan data, there are standing in front of some important anything. Not all design solutions
limits. High-quality survey data object, which may require are created equal, either in their
require a well-planned scan re-scanning. ability to work with scan data, or in
sequence. An experienced user will their handling of clashes, or in the
plan the number and positions of Use the right tools quality of their deliverables for
individual scans so as to achieve There is little difficulty in selecting fabrication and installation. Clash
adequate overlaps between succes- scanner hardware; all the leading handling can vary widely; a single
sive “point clouds”. This will suppliers’ systems are excellent. pipe model might clash with
ensure that the point clouds can be However, if scans are performed at perhaps thousands of individual

30 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

rev aveva.indd 2 10/09/2013 11:20

 scan points representing one projects; revamps take place on
as-built pipe. Evidently, that is only plants that may contain hazardous
one clash, but some systems will chemicals, temperatures or
register it as thousands of clashes, pressures. Evidently, these consid-
making it difficult to identify the erations imply the need for AMACS
real clash and to resolve it well-specified, specialist plant
effectively. design software. Compressor suction drums:
Ensuring that an accurately
designed pipe spool actually fits Business process
correctly on site requires accurate The introduction to this article
fabrication. Leading 3D design referred to the need for efficient
solutions such as our PDMS or business processes. That is hardly a
AVEVA Everything3D can not only great insight, but, in the engineer-
generate fully detailed fabrication ing industry, business processes are
drawings automatically, they can inextricably linked with the engi-
also perform manufacturability neering and design technologies
checks at the design stage to help that generate project information.
maximise fabrication quality. It is Best practice is therefore to select I think I’ve got liquid carryover.
also now possible to scan a solutions that can share informa- what can I do about it?
completed fabrication and compare tion efficiently and reliably. An
it against the design model, to efficient revamp project workflow It happens in petrochemical
quickly verify its accuracy and can thus be achieved using 3D plants, refineries, and anywhere
resolve any errors early. design technology that integrates else that the gas approaching
Owner-operators considering both with laser scan data sources a compressor is wet. Traces of
placing revamp projects should and with engineering data sources, aqueous or organic liquid escape
review a contractor’s capabilities in so that engineering and design the inlet knockout drum, often
these areas. The most capable typi- information can be kept synchro- intermittently, and silently damag-
cally achieve less than 1% nised as the project progresses. ing the compressor. Telltale signs
design-related rework costs, even From this, new design can automat- include pitting corrosion, salt
on complex projects. Our vision of ically generate accurate materials deposits, and diluted lubricants.
plant design for lean construction requirements that feed into an Typical 1980’s mist eliminator technology
goes further than this; our goal is to enterprise resource management Cooler
use laser scanning, among other (ERM) system.
tools, to completely eliminate Such engineering, design and Stage 1 Stage 2
rework in construction. This vision information management technolo-
is discussed further in a business gies now exist and are in use on a Knockout
drums
paper.2 wide variety of new-build projects.
Their ability to support efficient Instead of trying to repair
Plan the installation business processes becomes even symptoms, look for the root cause,
Scheduling the revamp installation more important on revamp projects which usually involves the mist
involves similar considerations to with their need for on-time, right- eliminator in the knockout drum.
planning the original survey. EPCs first-time, low-risk installation. Problems may include improper
and owner-operators must collabo- mist eliminator specifications,
rate closely to achieve a overloading, uneven velocity, waxy
well-executed installation. Here, the References
deposits, liquid slugs, foaming,
power of 3D design can add 1 Lighting the Way, www.aveva.com/
incorrect installation, and several
considerable value. publications
2 Plant Design for Lean Construction: other possibilities. New, high-
Reverse engineering objects that capacity, high-efficiency mist
Innovation for a new era in plant design, www.
are to be removed enables the crea- eliminator technologies pay off the
aveva.com/publications
tion of accurate demolition first time you avoid shutdown.
drawings and the determination of
weight and centre of gravity, which
Gary Farrow is Vice President 3D Data Capture Read more on this topic at
informs the correct use of handling
with AVEVA in Cambridge, UK. He works with www.amacs.com
equipment. Model animation
customers in the use of 3D data capture
enables planners to evaluate
technology to increase productivity and to
proposed task sequences and to
advance the performance of AVEVA’s LFM
check that, for example, items can software. A mechanical engineer, he has been
be moved safely in the available involved in 3D laser scanning from its inception
space constraints. Design review is in the late 1990s, initially undertaking projects Phone:+1-713-434-0934 • Fax: +1-713-433-6201
arguably even more important for delivering data and 3D models, including a huge amacs@amacs.com
revamps than for new-build scanning project for Fluor/TCO in Kazakhstan.

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 31

rev aveva.indd 3 10/09/2013 11:20

 Think globally. Act responsibly.
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sabin.indd 1
Sabin-ThinkGlobally-QR.indd 1 07/03/2013 13:44
1/22/13 3:41 PM
 Retrofitting a glycol contactor to
prevent carryover
A revamp of glycol contactor column internals, following CFD studies, resolved
problems with gas production caused by glycol carryover

ANNE PHANIKUMAR and YANG QUAN

Sulzer Chemtech Switzerland

T
he gas production rate on an condensate was sufficient at 18 000
offshore platform was t/d. This gas throughput became
constrained due to a high constrained by glycol carryover
level of glycol carryover from losses. It was decided by the
glycol contactors. The existing customer to revamp the third train
column internals were investigated in early 2012 and leave the other
and it was found that the area of trains to a later date. This would
the mesh pad in the top of the allow confidence and experience to
column was around half of the be gained with minimum exposure
column area. In addition, the gas (a single train rather than all three
outlet location and associated trains). Sulzer was selected to
piping arrangement appeared to revamp the internals of the contac-
create vapour maldistribution. A tor to minimise the TEG losses at
N2
high-capacity Shell Swirltube higher gas rates in the customer’s
separator and Sulzer structured complex.
packing internals were proposed in In the late 1980s, to increase
conjunction with a new gas outlet throughput, the original bubble cap
arrangement and the existing trays in the glycol contactor were
separator support system. CFD upgraded to structured packing
studies were carried out to evaluate Figure 1 Sketch of the existing mesh pad (GEMPAK 3A, which is comparable
the possible vapour distribution, and the gas outlet arrangement to Sulzer Mellapak 350Y). In the
based on which a revamp proposal column top, a mesh pad was
was fine-tuned. New internals were than 4 m3/d to prevent onshore installed to prevent glycol losses. It
manufactured and installed on site upsets. covered about half of the column
in 2012. Recently, the design was During a trial in 2007, dehydration area (see Figure 1). A lean glycol
validated in high-rate trial runs, capacity as well as TEG losses were distributor was installed above the
with significantly lower triethylene evaluated at various flow rates. The structured packing, and in the
glycol (TEG) carryover. gas rate was increased to around bottom there was a chimney tray to
All together, there are three trains 18 000 t/d per train, at which point collect the rich TEG before being
on the platform. The facility dehy- it was found that the glycol losses directed to the glycol regeneration
drates the gas and condensate reached the maximum limit of system (see Figure 2). This was the
separately, and then recombines the 4m3/d (total of three trains). Dew column internal configuration to be
dried products before transporta- points were found to increase and revamped. To avoid having to stress
tion via trunkline(s) to the gas were worse at the higher rates. release the column after revamp,
plant. Subsequently, the gas plant Condensate dehydration was estab- welding to the column wall was not
processes these fluids to produce lished to be adequate. Overall, permitted. The existing separator
LNG, condensate and LPGs. dehydration performance was found support system had to be reused for
In 2006, a customer in the Asia to be acceptable for the first and the various revamp options.
Pacific region decided to proceed second trunklines, where the satura-
with the design of a new bridge- tion specification had basically not Gas-liquid separator in the column’s
linked facility to its plant. The been affected and remained at top section
compression installed on the new around 25% and 19%, respectively, The location and arrangement of the
plant would allow 20 000 t/d of which was less than the integrity gas outlet was relatively unique, as
gas throughput per train. limit of 75% and the operating limit the gas outlet nozzle is located later-
Specification of the glycol content of 65%. Therefore, it was concluded ally below the mesh pad. An
of the export gas plant must be less that the dehydration of both gas and elbow-shaped internal pipe passes

www.eptq.com Ravamps 2013 33

sulzer.indd 1 10/09/2013 12:36

 the trial in 2007 could immediately
be attributed to the small mesh pad
New
New Shell
SulzerSwirltube separator
HC separator area, which was only half of the
TL
packing cross-sectional area. The
New Sulzer mesh pad
arrangement of the existing mesh
N2 M2 pad was perfectly symmetrical, but
New Sulzer
the space between the column head
liquid distributor and mesh pad was very narrow,
Bed 1
causing a poor inflow to the gas
New Sulzer
structured packing outlet piping above the mesh pad
and an uneven vapour distribution
through the mesh pad. This maldis-
tribution also contributed to the
observed excessive entrainment
of TEG.
Existing packing support Any revamp proposal was
limited by two key factors:
Existing chimney tray • The gas outlet could not be
relocated
N1 M1
• Hot work to the column wall was
Existing feed inlet
prohibited.
Therefore, the existing shroud
had to be reused, and it was neces-
sary to install high-capacity
Figure 2 Proposed Sulzer KnitMesh coalescer and Shell Swirltube separator demisting equipment to compen-
sate for the limited area available
through the centre of the mesh pad. structured packing in TEG contac- for a separator.
This pad was supported by a tors is higher than that of a wire There are several types of gas-
shroud welded to the column head. mesh pad. Obviously, the excessive liquid separators on the market, and
Usually, the gas- loading capacity of glycol entrainment observed during they can usually be classified into
three categories: mesh pad, vane
pack and axial cyclone types. The
Performance of various types of gas-liquid separators
selection of different types depends
on required capacity, pressure drop
Mesh pad Vane pack Centrifugal device and efficiency (indicated by cut-off
Capacity (per unit area) 1 1-3 3
size). Table 1 shows a simple
Pressure drop Base Low High
Cut-off size (glycol) Down to 3-5 mm Down to 20-30 mm Down to 10 mm summary of the selection criteria. It
Operating pressure limit - Up to 50 bar in particular - has to be noted that values in the
if hydrocarbon liquids are present table are indicative only. They are
subject to individual separator prod-
Table 1 ucts and operation systems.
With increasing operating pres-
sures, vane packs, even if they are
equipped with a coalescer in the
front, suffer higher efficiency loss
than axial cyclones. The operating
∆P ∆P
pressure of this TEG contactor is
108 bar. Axial cyclones are the best
option for having up to three times
higher capacity than mesh pads per
∆H
unit area. They can compensate for
∆H the limitation caused by the smaller
area available for separation. A
Shell Swirltube separator was used
in the investigation of various
options.
Direct welding to the column
Liquid backup to Liquid cannot drain if wall was forbidden, so it was
counterbalance ∆P ∆P is too high
proposed that the existing shroud
be extended downwards by weld-
Figure 3 Principle of liquid backup in a drain pipe ing additional parts onto it. To

34 Ravamps 2013 www.eptq.com

sulzer.indd 2 10/09/2013 11:44

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 maximise the number of Swirltubes
and to take into account the dimen-
sions of the standardised cyclone A
modules, the outlet piping had to
be shifted from the centre to the
side of the shroud. Internal piping
for the dry gas outlet nozzle
needed to be cut and welded onto
the extended shroud. A schematic
of the proposed new arrangement
is shown in Figure 2. This arrange-
ment posed some uncertainty with
regard to vapour distribution
across the new Swirltube deck due
to sudden changes in the vapour
flow direction of 90 degrees after
passing through the Swirltube
separator and the asymmetry of the
new arrangement in general. The
typical pressure drop of a Swirltube
separator is much higher than for a
mesh pad (30 mbar versus 0.5 bar).
This helps to improve vapour
B
distribution but, because the
concern for maldistribution could
not be eliminated, CFD studies
were conducted to understand and
quantify the risk.
There is another aspect to
consider in the design of the axial 2.0
1.8
cyclones. The liquid drops sepa- 1.6
1.4
rated by the Swirltubes are 1.2
collected in liquid collection cham- 1.0
0.8
bers, from where the liquid is 0.6
0.4
drawn off through a pipe system. 0.2
0.0
The downpipe is subject to liquid Velocity, m/s
backup caused by the pressure
drop through the Swirltube deck. If C
the drainpipe’s vertical height is
not sufficient to accommodate the
liquid backup, the liquid may flow
back onto the deck and cause fail-
ure of the separator.
The customer’s previous experi-
ence showed that there was
significant condensate carryover
from the upstream production
separator to the glycol contactor. It
was therefore expected that
condensate could be entrained
together with TEG into the packing
section and further upwards to the
demisting device itself. Due to the Figure 4a CFD model configuration showing the high-capacity separator (green), the
huge difference in density between mistmat (pink), the liquid distributor (cyan) and the gas exit nozzle (side draw)
TEG and condensate, and the arrangement
limited height between the separa-
tor and TEG distributor, the Figure 4b CFD vapour flow trajectories represented by the velocity magnitude, where
downpipes for the separator should blue represents the low velocity and red represents the velocity peak of the scale
extend to the rich glycol sump to
cope with the condensate backup. Figure 4c CFD vapour flow vector plot represented by the velocity magnitude, where blue
Equation 1 describes how the liquid represents the low velocity and red represents the velocity peak of the scale

www.eptq.com Ravamps 2013 37

sulzer.indd 3 10/09/2013 11:29

 top conditions of the TEG contactor
and asymmetric configuration of
the proposed arrangement caused
A B
concerns over possible maldistribu-
tion of the vapour and uneven
loading of the individual swirltubes
of the deck. CFD studies were
carried out for four operating load
cases. These cases represented
minimum and maximum loadings
corresponding to pre- and post-
2.0
1.8 revamping conditions to verify the
1.6
1.4 risk by looking into the velocity
1.2 profiles across internals and column
1.0 Velocity, m/s
0.8 cross-section at various elevations
0.6
0.4 of the tower.
0.2
0.0 The CFD model configuration is
C D illustrated in Figure 4a. The vapour
flow through the column is
simulated numerically using a
general-purpose commercial fluid
dynamics code.
To model the turbulence behav-
iour of the flow, the standard k-ε
model is used. The pressure drop
over the mistmat is described by
means of the resistance law:

∆p = k H ρ v2/2, (2)

Figures 5a-d CFD vapour flow velocity vector plots: a) above the liquid distributor;
b) below the mistmat; c) across the high-capacity separator ;and d) at the downcomer Where k is dependent on the oper-
entry after the separator ating condition and the type of
mat above the deck serves to catch mistmat.
backup is calculated, where H is these droplets. Unfortunately, the Porous media has replaced the
the backup height of fluid in the available space above the separator mesh pad in the CFD model config-
drainpipe, ρ is the density of the would not be sufficient to fit a uration. The liquid distributor and
fluid, and g is the gravitational secondary KnitMesh for the glycol high-capacity separator are
acceleration constant. Figure 3 contactors, as this involves extend- modelled as accurately as possible
demonstrates the principles of this ing the primary gas outlet, and the to represent the actual pressure
consideration: resultant space between the outlet drop through these devices.
and the vessel head would become Separator drain downpipes and the
ΔP (1) too small. The final proposal liquid distributor feed pipe are not
H fluid =
ρ fluid × g consisted of a coalescer mistmat included in this study, as they are
plus a deck. It is worth noting that not needed to simulate the vapour
A typical arrangement of the the overall glycol entrainment flow inside the vessel. The
Swirltube separator consists of a could be decreased further if using projected horizontal cross-sectional
Sulzer KnitMesh mistmat placed in a secondary KnitMesh in this case. area perpendicular to the vapour
front of and at the back of the A new distributor was proposed flow direction of the liquid distrib-
Swirltube deck. They both serve to eliminate a concern of entrain- utor feed pipe (T-shaped pipe) and
different purposes. The one below ment caused by the distributor separator downpipes with respect
the deck is the coalescer mistmat itself. The revamp also included the to the column cross-sectional area
and serves to coalesce the small installation of a better support grid is less than 2%.
droplets coming from below. To suitable for the expected higher CFD analysis results of the load
help collection and drainage of the loads. case corresponding to 20 000 t/d are
collected droplets by the swirltubes, used to validate the models against
some purge gas guides the liquids CFD verifications the available plant test data for this
into the liquid collection chambers. CFD tools can provide more load case. Figures 4b and 4c demon-
A small amount of liquid droplets detailed insights using the actual strate the CFD vapour flow
might be carried with this purge tower configuration and process trajectories and vector plots repre-
gas. The secondary KnitMesh mist- loading conditions.1 The cramped sented by velocity magnitude,

38 Ravamps 2013 www.eptq.com

sulzer.indd 4 10/09/2013 11:30

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tiger.indd 1 09/09/2013 17:36

 where blue represents the low Change of packing
velocity and red represents the The capacity possible through a
velocity peak of the scale. It can be contactor is determined by the
clearly observed from the vector maximum gas load factor. If this
plot that there are small eddies, gas load factor is exceeded, signifi-
turbulent flows, observed in the exit cant entrainment will occur before
nozzle duct and the top of the the column becomes inoperable.
downcomer due to the sudden Sulzer MellapakPlus 452Y was
change in the vapour flow direction chosen as a replacement for the
by 90 degrees and the cramped top existing packing. This packing
conditions. They do not have a seri- allowed a much higher capacity
ous impact on the separation 2.0 than the originally installed pack-
efficiency of the column, as they are 1.8
1.6
ing, up to a throughput of 25 000
not propagated towards the high-ca- 1.4 t/d. The higher capacity of this
1.2
pacity separator. The vapour 1.0 packing is attributed to the use of
distribution across the tower cross 0.8
0.6 smooth bends within the packing
section at various elevations has also 0.4
0.2
rather than 90-degree directional
been investigated. 0.0 changes at the packing layer inter-
Y-component of velocity, m/s
Figures 5a-d show the CFD face (see Figure 7). By avoiding
vapour flow velocity vector plots directional changes of 90 degrees
above the liquid distributor, below Figure 6 CFD vapour flow vertical velocity by vapour, the liquid hold-up and
the mistmat, across the high- plot across the high-capacity separator subsequent vapour pressure drop
capacity separator and at the down- over the packing are reduced,
comer entry after the separator. As • Pressure drop values across the thereby allowing higher vapour
vapour distribution across the mistmat and the high-capacity throughput for the same pressure
high-capacity separator has a more separator are within the design drop. This effectively increases the
significant impact on the gas-liquid specification maximum gas rate. By replacing
separation efficiency of the tower, • The cramped top conditions of the packing and operating well
statistical analysis was used to the TEG contactor do not detrimen- within its maximum capacity limit,
determine the vapour distribution tally affect high-capacity separator the liquid entrained to the top of
quality. This quality is calculated performance the column should be minimised,
by comparing the vertical velocity • The vapour vertical velocity vari- reducing the liquid load on the
values at points on a regular grid ation across the high-capacity Shell Swirltube separator. The
cut plane across the high-capacity separator was found to be very combination of the new packing
separator. low. Based on Sulzer’s experience and Swirltubes was seen as essen-
Figure 6 shows the CFD vapour with comparable high-capacity tial to minimise glycol losses.
flow vertical velocity plot across separators, the measured values Since the packing bed height was
the high-capacity separator used show a very good vapour distribu- constrained by the existing column
for analysis. tion quality. Due to the even dimensions, checks were performed
Based on this investigation, the vapour distribution across the to confirm that the packing height
following conclusions may be device, the required liquid separa- would be sufficient for the given
drawn on the model configuration: tion can be achieved. dehydration duty. These checks
confirmed that the packing height
required was just within the height
available. Further improvements in
dehydration performance are possi-
ble by focusing on the regeneration
system, primarily TEG purity and,
to a lesser extent, circulation rate.
This is not the subject of this article.
It may be noted that the dehydra-
tion performance of Sulzer
MellapakPlus 452Y packing is
intrinsically better than the one of
the existing Gempak 3A for the
same TEG purity and vapour load.

Bottom arrangement
Sulzer Mellapak Sulzer MellapakPlus At the bottom section, there is an
inlet sparger, immediately above
Figure 7 Progressive change of the corrugation angle at the both ends of the element which a chimney tray is installed.

40 Ravamps 2013 www.eptq.com

sulzer.indd 5 10/09/2013 11:29

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 There is no possibility of revamp- where liquid is aerated by rising Conclusions
ing the bottom arrangement due to vapour. On the other hand, for a A TEG contactor’s capacity was
narrow space and the hot work normal chimney with partial draw- constrained by a conventional mesh
required. Evaluation of these inter- off, the downcomer can be sized pad in the top of the column. A
nals was necessary, as they could with a velocity larger than 0.5 m/s. high-capacity Swirltube separator
be the bottleneck at an increased Whether the existing downpipes was designed to adapt to the exist-
feed rate of 20 000 t/d. have the capacity to handle rich ing supporting system rather than
The general description of this TEG depends on the severity of risk welding to the vessel wall. In
type of chimney tray or vapour aeration. The liquid height built up addition, the packing was replaced
distributor can be found in the on this chimney is estimated at with Sulzer MellapakPlus M452Y
literature.2 However, it is rarely 15 mm, lower than the 70 mm riser and a new lean glycol distributor
seen in industry nowadays due to height, which means no interaction was installed. A subsequent test
the high pressure drop caused. between rising vapour and run demonstrated that these inter-
The chimney tray collects rich descending liquid is expected on nal modifications allowed an
TEG and then discharges it to the this tray. The liquid-handling increase in gas throughput from
vessel sump via downpipes (see capacity of the downpipes should 18 000 t/d to greater than 20 000
Figure 2). Vapour released from be sufficient. t/d, while reducing TEG carryover
the gas inlet sparger rises up to the from 1.3 m3/day to around 0.4 m3/
packing bed, around 500 mm Results of trial runs day. An increase (worsening) in gas
above the inlet, via risers that are The maximum gas throughput dewpoint was observed due to
small in diameter and low achieved was 20 500 t/d through not-yet-optimised TEG regenera-
in height. The chimney tray basi- the modified glycol contactor tion, but the overall performance of
cally serves as a vapour (T300). The key observations from the unit remained within trunkline
distributor. The total open area of the test run were: saturation limits.
the risers is very low, only 8% of • Glycol carryover with Train 3
the column area. was acceptable, approximately GEMPAK is a registered trademark of Koch-
The momentum calculated for the Glitsch.
gas inlet nozzle is 21 600 Pa0.5 at Swirltube is a registered trademark of Shell.
20 000 t/d, which is very high. The
The maximum gas
back pressure of the inlet could be
higher than the pressure drop in
throughput achieved References
the entire packed section, and the was 20 500 t/d 1 Debangsu R, Arora A, Phanikumar A, CFD
study of VDU feed inlet and wash bed, PTQ,
suction effect immediately above
the inlet could lead to severe through the modified Revamps 2009.
2 Kister H Z, Distillation Operation, McGraw-
non-uniform pressure and velocity
profiles, and eventually reverse the glycol contactor Hill, Inc, p79.
3 Suess P, Analysis of gas entries of packed
flow in the packing beds.3 columns for two phase flow, International
The chimney tray can bring in 0.4 m3/day on average, which is Conference and Exhibition on Distillation and
additional pressure drop to the well below the 1.3 m3/day per train Absorption, Birmingham, UK, 7-9 Sept 1992.
bottom section of the vessel, limit 4 Kister H Z, Distillation Design, p291.
smooth the pressure profile inside • Gas dewpoint was -2.6°C, limited
the column, and hence eliminate by TEG regeneration capacity, not
problems linked to the high inlet linked to the packing
momentum. • Overall trunkline saturation, gas
It was found that if all rich TEG and condensate, was at 28%, well Anne Phanikumar is a Subject Matter
drains down via downpipes, below the integrity limit of 75% Specialist, Computational Fluid Dynamics
assuming a 4.6 l/s rich glycol lean and the operating limit of 65%. and Finite Element Technology, with the
TEG flow rate, the liquid velocity is This was achieved with the Mass Transfer Technology business unit of
about 0.18 m/s. For a normal following key glycol regeneration Sulzer Chemtech. He represented Asia Pacific
chordal downcomer of a tray, the system parameters: in various Sulzer global task force teams for
downcomer area should not have a • Lean glycol purity = 99% w/w operational improvements. He holds a Master
liquid velocity higher than 0.13 • Lean glycol circulation rate = 4.4 of Science degree from Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore.
m/s, based on vapour and liquid l/s
Email: Phanikumar.anne@sulzer.com
physical properties in a TEG • Glycol reboiler bottom tempera-
Yang Quan is a Sulzer Technical Expert, Trays
contactor, to avoid downcomer ture = 190°C. and Separators. He represented Asia Pacific
flooding. In our case, this maxi- In addition, the success of the test and China in various Sulzer’s expert teams,
mum velocity must be derated, as runs proves that the chimney tray and now is responsible for global product and
degassing in the tiny downpipes and liquid-handling capacity of the application management. He holds a PhD in
becomes much more difficult.4 It is downpipes are sufficient, which environmental engineering from National
worth noting that the above guide- provides a good reference for University of Singapore.
line is applicable to a normal tray, industry. Email: quan.yang@sulzer.com

42 Ravamps 2013 www.eptq.com

sulzer.indd 6 10/09/2013 11:29

bete.indd 1 26/02/2013 11:17
cat tech.indd 1 10/06/2013 16:35
cat tech1.indd 1 23/2/12 12:04:42
 Reactor effluent air cooler safety
through design
Quality-controlled replacement of carbon steel with Duplex 2205 for revamps
can increase the service life and reliability of the REAC in the high-pressure loop

ERIC LIN and PETER RISSE

Chevron Lummus Global

I
n hydroprocessing units, the reac- Background cases where the resulting NH4HS
tor effluent cooler (REAC) is one In the hydroprocessing industry, was between 3-8 wt%, polysulphide
of the most vital pieces of equip- the REAC is one of the most injection was a very cost-effective
ment, and any hindrance to its important components in the solution for the continued use of
smooth operation immediately high-pressure recycle gas loop. It carbon steel (especially for
impacts the whole high-pressure typically provides the final cooling revamps). However, over time, the
loop. Older REAC designs used solution before separating the persistent plugging/operation
carbon steel, but these required low vapour (recycle gas) from the oil problems, frequency of inspection
concentrations of ammonium bisul- effluent and the sour water. The and the foul smell of the polysul-
phide and/or polysulphide sulphide outlet temperature directly impacts phide liquid greatly diminished its
injection together with frequent and recycle gas molecular weight as use. Increasingly sour feeds
thorough inspections. As feeds in larger hydrocarbon molecules drop demanded more corrosion-resistant
most heavy oil hydroprocessing out of the vapour phase. The same materials such as nickel-based
service have become more laden mechanism also affects the hydro- Alloys 625, 800 and 825. Capable of
with sulphur and nitrogen, the gen partial pressure, which directly handling up to 15 wt% NH4HS,
concentrations of ammonium bisul- impacts reactor catalyst life. The Alloy 825’s corrosion resistance is
phide with economic levels of water importance of this piece of normally matched by an equally
injection have risen to a point where high-pressure equipment cannot be hefty price tag. As the cost of mate-
carbon steel tubes have routinely overstated. However, operating rials continued to rise, a more
been substituted by alloy tubing. under high pressures and low economical alternative with compa-
Duplex 2205 and Alloy 825 are temperatures can bring a host of rable protection against corrosion
used, with the former being very issues into the equation, not the was sought.
popular because it is relatively less least of which includes ammonium Duplex stainless steels are often
expensive. Initially, there were bisulphide (NH4HS) and ammo- successfully used in these systems
several problems associated with nium chloride (NH4Cl) precipitation because they offer advantages from
Duplex 2205, which were a result of (leading to pressure drop build-up), both the ferritic and austenitic
poor fabrication techniques. These corrosion and/or erosion-corrosion. stainless steel families. They are
included a rapid cooling rate asso- Some refiners have also experi- often cost effective due to their
ciated with thick header boxes, enced cracking in REAC welds, higher strength and reduced alloy
which could result in high ferrite leading to fires, and loss of both element content compared to other
and thus poor corrosion resistance; time and money. higher alloys (up to one-third the
welding of thick tubes to tube Tube metallurgy has a huge cost of Alloy 825). However, since
sheets with joint leaks; and lack of impact on a REAC’s life expec- these materials consist of dual-
control of welding, resulting in tancy. Materials currently used in phase microstructure, heat-treating,
high hardness and thus susceptibil- REAC systems include carbon steel, fabrication and welding techniques
ity to sulphide stress cracking. Type 400 series stainless steels, need to be carefully reviewed and
Many of these initial problems Type 300 series stainless steels, monitored to assure that the
seem to have been overcome. duplex stainless steel Alloys 3RE60 balanced microstructure is not
However, problems persist around and 2205, Alloy 800, Alloy 825, compromised. In the past, Duplex
the REAC, primarily because of a Alloy 625 and Alloy C-276. Early 3RE60 was used, but it had inferior
lack of attention to detail and not refiners used carbon steel and this corrosion resistance and toughness
adhering to licensor specifications. was found to be effective with at the welds (it is no longer availa-
In this article, we will illustrate real NH4HS concentrations up to 3 wt%. ble). The most commonly used
REAC problems from recent As sour opportunity crudes became grade today is Duplex 2205.
projects and consider the remedies available, the resulting NH4HS Early implementations of duplex
that were recommended. crept up into the double digits. In REACs failed to show significant

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 45

rev clg.indd 1 10/09/2013 11:34

 reliability improvements, and a few recommended (in the range of welding guidelines for Duplex 2205
units failed by hydrogen embrittle- 313-359 HV10 vs 310 HV10 maxi- above and beyond those specified
ment cracking or sulphide stress mum). As a result, CLG concluded in API TR 938C
cracking (SSC). Advancements in that REAC failure in this case was • Using single-point water injection
steel manufacturing have mini- due to sulphide stress cracking instead of multi-point water
mised microstructural deterioration (SSC). injection.
during fabrication. Weld proce- Another licensee based in the US Symmetrical piping for REAC
dures and practices have been (“Company B”) had a two-stage inlet tubes is critical for reactor
developed to assure balanced hydrocracker and hydrotreater effluent. It is impossible to imple-
ferrite and austenite content, ready for startup. The unit required ment any type of flow control for
thereby improving reliability. API a Duplex 2205 REAC. The design two-phase flow, so the use of
TR 938C provides guidance on pressure of the REAC was ~2400 symmetrical piping will ideally
materials and fabrication practices psig and the NH4HS concentration provide even distribution of gas
to achieve good corrosion resist- was expected to be 8 wt% based on and liquid phases as it enters the
ance in duplex stainless steels. modelling. During initial startup, a air cooler. The danger of uneven
decision was made to skip the phase distribution is that tubes
Case studies high-pressure tightness testing. A favouring vapour will have more
Many of the reported incidents fire erupted from cracks formed in NH4HS deposits, and tubes favour-
involving Duplex 2205 REAC fail- the REAC outlet temperature indi- ing liquid will have more of the
ure have a common thread: cator thermowells in two separate injection water. These deposits will
pressures greater than 1000 psig trains. These cracks were found to eventually plug the tubes and
and a NH4HS concentration of be a result of improper manufactur- increase the rate of corrosion.
6 wt% or greater. The following ing practices (of the failed duplex Consequently, unplugged tubes
two recent case studies highlight will see higher than acceptable
these conditions. velocities, increasing the rate of
A licensee in Asia (“Company
Weld procedures and erosion/corrosion. It is possible for
A”) had a carbon steel REAC
running for a number of years. An
practices have been piping to be symmetrical and still
be unbalanced. Balanced headers
expansion of the unit required a developed to assure require additional splits, but will
REAC metallurgy upgrade to prevent flow that follows the “path
Duplex 2205. The design pressure balanced ferrite and of least resistance”.
of the REAC was ~2400 psig and During basic engineering, CLG
the NH4HS concentration was austenite content, specifies tube velocity limitations
expected to be 5 wt% during the based on the tube metallurgy
modelling phase. A new Duplex thereby improving selected along with NH4HS
2205 REAC was installed and ran concentration:
without issue for about two years,
reliability • For carbon steel tubes and piping
then fire erupted due to REAC fail- with less than 3 wt% NH4HS, 10-20
ure, and nearby equipment and material) and would have been ft/s is allowed, with 15 ft/s
piping were damaged. Cracks were detected during a high-pressure preferred
observed on the weld joints tightness test. By not following • For 2205 duplex stainless steel
between the top plate and tube standard operation practices, the tubes and piping with 3-12 wt%
sheet, as well as the bottom plate unit startup was delayed. NH4HS, 10-30 ft/s is allowed, with
and tube sheet of the floating 25 ft/s preferred
header. Fin tubes were deformed REAC safety through design • For Alloy 825 tubes and piping
and the walkway was nearly unus- Issues that plague the industry’s with up to 15 wt% NH4HS, 10-40
able. An investigation was REACs can be mitigated or elimi- ft/s is allowed, with 35 ft/s
commissioned to find the root nated altogether by considering preferred.
cause of the REAC failure. The “Safety Through Design”. In In all cases, tube velocities falling
investigation discovered that preparing a basic engineering pack- below 10 ft/s become quite hazard-
during the REAC fabrication, age for licensees, CLG highlights ous, as phase separation and
Charpy impact testing was certain areas and design considera- corrosion can result.
conducted at 0ºC instead of -40ºC tions that are considered strong For the industrial use of Duplex
(as specified by CLG). This over- recommendations. These considera- 2205, API TR 938C gives a great
sight led to inadequate toughness tions include: starting point for fabrication and
and low ductility for the welds as • Using balanced, symmetrical welding guidelines. CLG has
well as less than favourable micro- piping crafted a standard specification that
structural phase balance. Hardness • Limiting tube velocities based on addresses certain areas in more
values in the heat-affected zones metallurgy, NH4HS concentration depth, and creates greater account-
(HAZ) and at the weld of failed and H2S partial pressure ability for both the fabricator and
specimens were higher than those • Specifying fabrication and the welder. For example, CLG

46 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

rev clg.indd 2 10/09/2013 11:34

 The newa technology
specifies maximumis profi table the
hardness It global
is in water Europe
requirement whereis met the refi
and
most ner and He
DHPimportant
units. particularly
holds aira degree
coolerthe ability
in chemical
in the
taking into
rating of 310 HV10 account
H 2
from today’s US difference between
versus API’s from the start, well before the efflu- refi nery yield to anticipate
engineering from
high-pressure loop. market Middle needs East inTechnical
differ-
market pricesof even reduction
if the There
middle Dedicated
structure and market demand is University,
ent regions Turkey, and is a certified
as constraints evolve. Energy
requirement 320 HV10. is ent
chlorine trapsplits into their separate Supervisor for industrial plants.
also tighter control of weld headers (the injectionsince
distillate price is lower than the critical, especially point conven-
is typi- PolyFuel
Email: and PolyNaphtha are trademarks of
osman.karan@tupras.com.tr
consumable and filler metals. cally 10 pipe diameters not
gasoline price. Indeed, as a result of tional refi ning tools do have the
upstream of Axens. Asim Ay is CCR/NHT/ISOM Units
Mehmet
shale gas production, Reduction
LPGProcedure flexibility
prices areRecycle to reducebenefit excess
Qualifications for Weld the split).
gas Another ofgasoline
To boostersingle- Eric W Lin
Process is a Principal Process
Superintendent Engineer
with Tüpraş with
Kirikkale
H2 to LPG (C and/or
low. Adding chamber C4) cut point
production andis to
Specifications
reduction (WPS)3 and Procedure injection thatincrease
compressorthe
the recycle Marielle GagnièreGlobal
Chevron
refinery. Lummus
He holds a degree
is Technology
in Bloomfield, Manager
in chemical New
in a PolyFuel unit lowers feedstock amount
Qualification Record (PQR) are also gas compressor Separator of middle
spill backdistillates.
line can for hydroprocessing
Jersey. His responsibilities
engineering from Middle
and include
olefins leading
technologies
East Technical basic
costs and
much morecontributes
stringent. to As increased
the two Moreover,
Reaction
be positionedwithdownstream
European refiof
drum neries
the
downstream designs
engineering FCC, especially
University, Turkey. and oligomerisation
proposals for both
profi tability, while maximising section
facing increasing diffi culty in find- and etherifi
grassroots cation
and revamp technologies,
projects. He in design
has Axens’
case studies illustrate, Duplex 2205 injection point so that it is washed Email: MehmetAsim.Ay@tupras.com.tr
middle failure
distillates Marketing, with
experience Technology
crude/vacuum and distillation,
Technical
REAC canproduction
be attributed in the ing export
to with markets
injection water. for their
This excess
setup Koray Kahraman
Assistance Department.
is CCR/NHT/ISOM
She is an
Units
engineering
refi nery. Catalyst stream gasoline and given the tensions in as well as high-pressure hydrocracking,
Process Chief Engineer with Tüpraş Kirikkale
not respecting the guidelines
Process stream minimises NH 4
Cl and NH 4
HS graduate fromand
hydrotreating the dewaxing
Ecole Nationale Supérieure
units. With more
To reach 15% IRR
specific to duplex material. for PolyFuel middle distillate supply,
formation in the dead-leg piping. PolyFuel refinery. His six years of refinery experience
de Chimie
than 15 de Paris,
years of and holds ainpost-graduate
experience the refining
with includes the process side of hydrocracker and
Oneprices
Figure 3 final
based
design
PFD after
inconsideration
adsorber
2012 in the US
drum is should fulfil a primordial role in engineering degree
industry, holds from BSthe IFP School.
Gulf Coast, the single-
middle ordistillate adjusting the gasoline-distillate hydrogen he production a plants, degree
sulphurin chemical
recovery,
whether to use multi- Summary Annick Puccifrom
engineering is Deputy
Columbia Product Line Manager
University.
NHT, ISOM, CCR and DHP units. He holds a
price can be $96/t lower than gaso-
the Theproduction to better fitpressures
market
point water injection
measurements are taken beforeat the year combination
without a major of high interruption, in the field of light ends hydrotreatment and
degree in chemical engineering from Middle
line. If the middle distillate price demand.
REAC. stream
outlet With the numerous
of this adsorber and and
valves corrosive
indicating that the environments
vibration prob- can a specialist
Peter J Risse isin
East Technical
refining
a Senior
University, Staff olefi ns processing,
Materials
Turkey. Engineer
were equal to the gasoline waterprice In other regions,
for new tendencies particularly for FCC Globaleffluentin Richmond,
upgrading.
involved
the results in area0 ppm HCl, whereas spell
multi-point lem was disaster
correctly REACs
identified. in This
the with Chevron Lummus
Email: koray.kahraman@tupras.com.tr
($1129/t) and the LPG pricemanage-
kept at such as shale oil and shale gas are She holds He
California. a and
bachelor’s
is his group degree in chemical
are responsible for
injection
inlet system,
concentration water averages refining
case shows industry.
that a good licensor Fortunately, and Arnaud Selmen Axens’ Technology Manager
$636/t, the IRR would reach 28%. revolutionising theusing US balanced
market, engineeringselection
materials from Ecole for Nationale
new capital Supérieure
projects,
ment
30 ppm is HCl.difficult. Even with measures such as
refinery relationship is essential for for Naphtha Hydrotreatment and Reforming
des Industries Chimiques de Nancy, France.
symmetrical piping, a multi-point symmetrical providing additional
inlet that light
piping, products
limiting
review of reactor
Technologies. He has fabrication,
worked and mainly aid with
with
solving problems require both Rousseau is afixed
Emilietroubleshooting,
unit Strategic
equipment Marketing
asset
Conclusioninjection system may have tube and velocities
consequently based infl uencing
water
Conclusion technological and on operational
metallurgy bottom-of the-barrel technologies,
Engineer inand
reliability Axens’ Marketing
remaining
specialising
Department.
lifeHepredictions Shein
With the world
some tubesthefavouring market for
more middle
water and market balance and
NH4HS concentration, working prices. Today in heavy crude oil upgrading. has also been
Currently, H2-rich gas compres- experience. holds
the a chemical engineering
hydroprocessing units. Withdegree
more from
than the
30
distillates
than are
others. growing and
Thissmoothly a reduced in the US, as a
can be with suppliers and welders who
scenario without result of the impact involved in the process design of aromatics
sors running Ecole Nationale
years of experience Supérieure
and NHT,in as
des
thewell Ingénieurs
refining industry,en
demand foras gasoline
dangerous, intempera-
certain haveOsman
of shale Kubilay
goodgasKaranon is
quality thethe cost
Hydroprocessing
control of LPG,
with
complexes as reforming
any problem. some The tube compressors Units Process Superintendent with Tüpraş Artsholds
he Chimiques
a BS et Technologiques
degree in chemical
units startup and troubleshooting. He holds
de Toulouse,
engineering
regions, the
tures recently new
fall below process for
the by olefi
NH4thenic PolyFuel
HS Duplex is
2205, already
and theprofiuse table
of for a
single-
were opened Kirikkale refinery. His 25 years of refinery a master’s
from
an engineering
in chemical
the University of Rhode
degree
engineering
fromIsland
the and afrom
ENSGTIMS
gasoline oligomerisation
precipitation temperature. allows the mixed water
Single- feed ofinjection
LPG andcan C5/C cut.
mechanical maintenance group and point
experience includes the operational increase
6 and ImperialinCollege
degree materials in science
Londonfrom
engineering school and a DEA in refinery
and the
a master’s
University in
refi nery
point scheme
water to be adapted to a The fl exibility of the new process
no green oil injection
formationensures was found, that the service
process sideslifeof and reliability
crude, vacuum ofunits,
the energy
of economics
California at and corporate management
Berkeley.
process modelling from IFP School.
maximum distillate mode. offers many advantages to the from IFP School.
although they ran for almost one hydrocracker, hydrogen production plants, CCR Email: Arnaud.SELMEN@axens.net

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OGT-0117 PTQ Half Horizontal Ad.indd 1 11/13/12 10:40 PM

www.eptq.com
www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 21
PTQ Q2 2013 47
www.eptq.com PTQ Q3 2013 33

axens.indd
rev clg.indd 743 08/03/2013 11:49
10/09/2013
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17:58
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 Wet scrubbing modifications to
reduce emissions
Modifications to existing wet scrubbing systems for FCC units can readily be
made to achieve additional reductions in particulates, SO2 or NOx

EDWIN WEAVER and NICHOLAS CONFUORTO

Belco Technologies Corporation

M
any FCC units have wet
scrubbing systems installed
on them to reduce air emis-
sions. A large percentage of these
were designed to address only
particulate and SOx emissions.
Some of them may have been
Droplet separators
designed to achieve older emission
mandates that are higher than the
ones presently being mandated by
regulatory authorities. A modifica-
tion of these systems may be
required to reduce particulate and/ Filtering modules
or SOx emissions and possibly to
also include a reduction in NOx
emissions. This article addresses Absorber vessel
how these reductions can be
achieved, considering the optimisa-
Quench
tion of economics and system
outage time to fit within turna- Absorber vessel Filtering module
round schedules. re-circulation pumps re-circulation pumps
First, a reduction in SOx emis-
sions is discussed. Methods to
lower SOx levels from a current Figure 1 EDV wet scrubbing system
wet scrubbing system are reviewed
along with the amount of emissions simultaneously and efficiently. This units, boilers and heaters. One
reductions that can be achieved. technology is well proven in arrangement of this system is
Next, particulate emissions reduc- providing flexibility to handle shown in Figure 1.
tions are discussed. The added capacity that may result The system treats hot flue
modifications required to reduce from FCC unit expansions or to gas-containing particulates (such as
particulate emissions in an existing increase reduction efficiency as FCC catalyst fines) and SO2, and
wet scrubbing system are detailed. regulatory pressures increase and discharges cleaned gas to the
Finally, the addition of NOx control in providing uninterrupted opera- atmosphere through an integral
to an existing wet scrubbing system tion/performance exceeding that of stack. At the scrubber inlet, FCC
is discussed. Several approaches FCC units. Each refiner’s specific flue gas is quenched and saturated
are presented, along with the reasons for choosing wet scrubbing by multiple water sprays in the
merits and potential issues associ- differ, but these have generally spray tower’s horizontal quench
ated with the different approaches. been related to environmental section. Normally, the flue gas
compliance as well as relative costs, enters the wet scrubber after pass-
A basic wet scrubbing system reliability and flexibility of wet ing through a heat recovery device,
For many years, refiners have scrubbing compared to other emis- such as boiler tubes or a flue gas
chosen to use the EDV wet scrub- sion control options. cooler. However, the system can
bing system to control both The EDV wet scrubbing system is also be designed to accept the full
particulate and SO2 emissions. the state-of-the-art approach for flue gas temperature directly from
With this system, particulate and controlling particulate and SO2 the high-temperature flue gas
sulphur emissions are removed emissions from oil refinery FCC source without any heat reduction

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 49

belco rev.indd 1 10/09/2013 11:42

 Makeup water is added to the
system to replace the water lost to
evaporation in the quench zone and
also the water purged from the
system. Captured pollutants,
including suspended catalyst fines
and dissolved sulphites/sulphates
(NaHSO3, Na2SO3 and Na2SO4 in
cases when sodium-based reagents
Liquid to are used) resulting from the reduc-
spray nozzles
tion in particulate and SOx, are
purged from the spray tower recy-
cle loop to maintain the proper
balance. The treatment of this
Flue gas purge stream is addressed later.
inlet
In order to remove very fine
particulate, flue gas leaving the
spray tower is distributed to a bank
of parallel filtering modules. Within
each module, the flue gas first
accelerates (compresses) and then
decelerates (expands). This action
Liquid for causes the water that is present in
re-circulation
the flue gas as moisture to
Spray tower Belco spray nozzles condense onto the fine particulate
and the acid mist (mostly H2SO4
Figure 2 Spray tower and Belco spray nozzles from condensation of SO3 in the
saturated flue gas), increasing both
in cases where a CO boiler on an itself is an open tower with multi- their size and mass by converting
FCC unit application requires to be ple levels of Belco spray nozzles. them to relatively large droplets.
bypassed. The flue gas from the Since it is an open tower, there is These droplets are then removed
FCC unit can be diverted directly nothing to clog or plug in the event from the flue gas by proprietary F
to the EDV wet scrubbing system of a process upset. In fact, this nozzles located at the exit of the
without any concerns and without design has handled numerous filtering modules. Additional
having to make any adjustments to process upsets and reversals with- condensation occurs on the walls of
the operation. This not only results out any concern. the filtering modules, keeping them
in a more reliable and simpler The scrubbing liquid is controlled continuously clean. Some agglom-
operation, but also allows the plant to a neutral pH with reagent addi- eration also takes place in the
to continuously reduce emissions tion to drive SO2 absorption. filtering modules, further enhanc-
even during bypass and upset Caustic soda (NaOH) is typically ing particulate removal.
conditions. used as the alkaline reagent. As mentioned above, a F nozzle
The EDV wet scrubbing system However, other alkalis such as soda is located at the exit of the filtering
utilises proprietary nozzles to ash and magnesium hydroxide module. This nozzle sprays
produce high-density water curtains have also been utilised with excel- counter-current to the gas flow and
through which the gas must pass. lent results in terms of performance provides the mechanism for the
Each nozzle sprays water droplets and reliability. In non-refinery collection of the fine particulate
that move in a cross-flow pattern applications and in extremely few and mist, which has been enlarged
relative to the flue gas. These cover refinery applications, lime has also by condensation and agglomerated.
the entire gas stream and uniformly been used. However, for FCC unit This device has the advantage
flush the vessel’s surfaces clean. The applications and other refinery of being able to remove fine
spray nozzles are non-clogging and applications where three-to-seven- particulate and acid mist with
are designed to handle highly year continuous operation is an extremely low-pressure drop
concentrated slurries. required, the use of lime as a and no internal components
SO2 absorption and particulate reagent is strongly discouraged. that can wear or cause unscheduled
removal begins at the quench In the EDV wet scrubbing system, shutdowns. It is also relatively
section and continues as the flue multiple levels of spray nozzles insensitive to fluctuations in
gas rises up through the main provide sufficient stages of gas/ gas flow. It is illustrated in
spray tower, where the gas is again liquid contact to reduce both partic- Figure 3.
contacted with high-density water ulate and SO2. An illustration of the Prior to being discharged to the
curtains produced by additional spray tower and the spray nozzles atmosphere through a stack, the
spray nozzles. The spray tower is shown in Figure 2. flue gas enters the system’s droplet

50 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

belco rev.indd 2 10/09/2013 11:42

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amacs.indd 1 09/09/2013 17:14

 separators. These separate and pH, usually around 6.8. Raising the
collect entrained water droplets, pH will lower SO2 emissions and is
allowing the flue gas to exit the a simple adjustment. However,
stack free of such water droplets. there is a limitation, in that pH
For boiler and heater applications, levels above approximately 7.4 can
chevron-type droplet separators result in the formation of
may be used as an alternate carbonates and cause build-ups
because of the relatively low partic- and/or plugging of the liquid
ulate loading and upsets that are piping lines, so caution must be
normally associated with FCC unit exercised in taking this approach.
operations.
For FCC applications, the EDV Adding additional liquid to
system normally uses large tubes gas contact
with fixed spin vanes as droplet Since the scrubber design being
separators (called Cyclolabs). The discussed has a staged approach
gas entering each separator passes for liquid to gas contact, multiple
through a fixed spin vane, where levels of spray nozzles are used to
centrifugal acceleration causes free achieve the desired SO2 perfor-
water droplets to impinge on the mance. It is possible to add
separator’s walls. Collected water additional level(s) of spray nozzles
droplets flush the walls uniformly to increase the liquid to gas contact,
clean and drain to the bottom. Filtering Cyclolab which will lower the SO2 outlet
Collected water is recycled for flue module droplet emissions. Although the addition of
gas cleaning in the filtering modules separator spray nozzles is relatively simple,
or spray tower. This device is also adding them will require an
illustrated in Figure 3. Figure 3 Filtering module for fine increase in the amount of liquid
particulate control and droplet separators being circulated in the wet scrub-
Optimisation of SO2 emissions ber, so the pump capacity and
FCC sulphur emissions are in the other combustion sources such as configuration will have to be evalu-
form of SO2 and SO3 (also referred boilers and heaters, 100% of the ated, along with the changes
to as SOx). These vary significantly, sulphur content in the oil being required to the piping
depending on the feed sulphur used is converted to SOx in the configuration.
content and the FCC unit’s design. flue gas.
In the FCC reactor, 70% to 95% of Although most recent wet scrub- Lowering the scrubber operating
the incoming feed sulphur is trans- bing systems are designed to temperature
ferred to the acid gas and product achieve an SO2 outlet of 25 ppm or The reduction in SO2 in a wet
side in the form of H2S. The less, there are older units designed scrubbing system is dependent on
remaining 5% to 30% of the incom- for higher outlet emission levels. several factors. One of these factors
ing feed sulphur is attached to the Also, as regulatory authorities is the scrubber operating tempera-
coke and is oxidised to SOx, which trend towards mandating lower ture. Generally, the operating
is emitted with the regenerator flue emission levels, there may be a temperature of the wet scrubber
gas. The sulphur distribution is need to increase the SO2 emissions will be the saturation temperature
dependent on the sulphur species reduction capability from an exist- of the flue gas. The saturation
contained in the feed and, in ing wet scrubbing system. temperature primarily depends
particular, the amount of thio- Generally speaking, there are a few upon the inlet temperature to the
phenic sulphur. SO2 can range from approaches that can be considered: wet scrubber. Lowering the flue gas
150 to 3000 parts per million on a inlet temperature to the wet scrub-
dry volume basis (ppmvd), whereas Adjustment of pH ber will lower the saturation
SO3 typically varies from 2% to 10% Most caustic-based wet scrubbing temperature, causing some
of the SO2 content. Of course, for systems operate at a slightly acidic improvement in SO2 removal. There

Approaches to SO2 reduction

Increase pH Increase L/G ratio Lower scrubber inlet temperature Sub-cool system
Relative cost Minimal-only additional caustic Moderate Varies High
SO2 reduction Varies Significant Moderate Significant
Advantages No capital investment Relatively simple Energy recovery Reduction in water consumption
Concerns pH too high Pump and piping modifications Upstream corrosion if Design of cooling device
temperature too low

Table 1

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 www.onislineblind.com
Onis lnc. | One Riverway | Suite 1700 | Houston | Texas 77056 | USA
1 (713) 840 6377 | sales@onislineblind.com | www.onislineblind.com

onis.indd 1 10/06/2013 13:10

 may be a side benefit to this models and other scrubbers). The
approach in that the additional heat addition of filtering modules to the
recovery upstream of the scrubber scrubbing system will remove
should have some positive benefits much of the fine particulate that is
in the overall energy recovery of less than 3 microns in size. This
the FCC system. fine particulate can be a significant
Additional lowering of the scrub- amount. This modification involves
ber’s operating temperature can be installing the filtering modules
achieved by sub-cooling of the flue downstream of the absorber
gas. This is achieved by adding a section, and also installing the
cooling device on the wet scrubber necessary pumps and piping asso-
liquid recirculation loop, which ciated with the filtering modules.
lowers the temperature of the circu-
lating liquid and thus the operating Conversion of filtering modules
temperature of the wet scrubber, from EDV 5000 to EDV 6000
improving performance. An addi- The performance of the filtering
tional benefit of this approach is modules (the device that removes
that sub-cooling recovers some of the fine particulate) can be
the liquid that is used to quench enhanced by adding a liquid spray
the flue gas, reducing system over- at the entrance to the filtering
all water consumption. However, Model 5000 Model 6000 module. This modifies the filtering
the cooling device required will module from a 5000 design to a
operate in a harsh environment Figure 4 Filtering module designs 6000 design. In addition to the
with catalyst fines that circulate in spray nozzles, this change requires
the wet scrubbing liquid, so careful heaters that use heavy oils or pump and piping modifications
consideration of the design of this resides, also contribute to particu- due to doubling the number of
device is necessary to ensure a reli- late emissions, but to a much lower spray nozzles in the filtering
able system operation. degree. The particulates from these modules. A 5000 filtering module
A summary of the possible sources are products of combus- design and a 6000 filtering module
approaches to reducing SO2 emis- tion; they contain heavy metals and design are illustrated in Figure 4.
sions is shown in Table 1. are typically very fine in particle
size. Increase filtering module spray
Optimisation of particulate Older wet scrubbing systems may pressure
emissions have been designed for particulate Another modification that can be
For a FCC unit, particulate (cata- emission rates as high as 1.0 lb made to reduce particulate emis-
lyst) emissions vary, depending on particulate per 1000 lb of coke sions is to increase the flow rate
the number of stages of internal burned. Most regulatory mandates and pressure of the filtering module
and external cyclones. Although are now for an emission rate of no sprays. This is a fairly simple modi-
cyclones are effective in collecting more than 0.5 lb particulate per 1000 fication, but, of the options that
the greater constituent of catalyst lb of coke burned and, in some have been described, will have the
recirculated in the FCC regenerator, cases, even less. Therefore, there least impact in terms of particulate
the attrition of catalyst causes a may be a need to reduce particulate emissions reduction. Each applica-
significant amount of finer catalyst emission levels. This can be accom- tion will need to be carefully
to escape the cyclone system with plished in several possible ways: evaluated by Belco.
relative ease. Typically, emissions A summary of the possible
will range from 200 to 650 Addition of filtering modules to a approaches to reducing particulate
milligrams per normal cubic metre wet scrubbing system emissions is shown in Table 2.
of gas (mg/Nm3). Other combus- Some existing units do not have
tion sources, such as boilers and filtering modules (EDV 1000 Control of NOx emissions with a
wet scrubbing system
Approaches to particulate reduction NOx emissions have also become
an increasing focus for concern.
These emissions contribute signifi-
Add filtering Convert Model Increase liquid
modules 5000 to 6000 spray pressure cantly to a variety of environmental
Relative cost High Moderate Low problems, including ozone forma-
Particulate reduction Significant Moderate Some tion (photochemical smog), acid
Advantages Most significant particulate Relatively simple Extremely simple rain and elevated fine particulate
emissions reduction
Concerns Most scrubbers already Pump and piping Amount of particulate levels. There are many federal, state
have filtering modules modifications that will be reduced and local regulatory drivers
addressing these issues for many
Table 2 different stationary sources. As

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 such, the market for NOx control
systems has been growing steadily
over the past several years.
Since the FCC unit is one of the
largest single sources of emissions,
in terms of tons emitted per year,
it is a primary area of focus for
NOx reduction. Uncontrolled NOx
emissions from the regenerator can
vary greatly and depend on many N2O5 conversion to
variables such as the feed to the HNO3 and scrubbing
FCC unit, regenerator design
(partial or full burn) and the
design of the secondary combus-
NO, NO2 conversion
tion device (CO boiler), if to N2O5
applicable. Uncontrolled NOx
emissions could range from 50 Ozone
ppm to 400 ppm, although most injection
facilities see uncontrolled levels in
the range 75 ppm to 150 ppm.

LoTOx technology for NOx removal

The LoTOx process is a selective,
low-temperature oxidation technol-
ogy that uses ozone to oxidise NOx Removed in scrubber purge
to water-soluble nitric pentoxide
(N2O5), which, inside the wet scrub-
ber, forms nitric acid that is
subsequently scrubbed by the Figure 5 Simplified LoTOx schematic

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John Sheffield Prof. An Zhong Gu Yasushi Sakakibara Anil Joshi Amit Singh Yulong Li Ing Paul Sullivan Toon Suan Wong
Steering Committee Secretary General Deputy General Manager Senior Vice Vice President Executive Director Director of Global President
Chairman China LNG Association LNG Contracts, President – LNG Global Trade National Energy R&D Center LNG and FLNG Gas Association
Consultant & Instructor Gas Resources Department Gujarat State Gail Global (Singapore) for LNGTechnology WorleyParsons Group of Singapore
John M. Campbell & Co. Tokyo Gas Company Ltd Petroleum Limited Pte Ltd Director of Licensing &
Technology Innovation Division
China HuanQiu Contracting &

Distinguished Speakers Confirmed: Engineering Corporation (HQC)

Duncan van Bergen Minister S. Iswaran Abdulla Al-Hussaini Dr. Mitchell Baer Dr. Anthony Barker Rob Gardner Neil McGregor Victorino S. Bala
General Manager Minister in Prime Minister’s Marketing Director Director - Office of Policy General Manager Manager, Chief Executive Officer Secretary In Charge
Global Gas & LNG Office & Second Minister for Qatargas and International Affairs BG Group Economics & Energy Division. Singapore LNG ASEAN Council on
Market Development Home Affairs and Second The United States Corporate Strategic Planning Corporation Petroleum (ASCOPE)
Shell Upstream Minister for Trade and Department of Energy Department
International Industry Exxon Mobil Corporation
Singapore Government

www.gasasiasummit.com/ptq-revamp
A5 Ad Landscape.indd 1 30/08/2013 14:33

www.eptq.com Revamps 2013 55

belco rev.indd 5 10/09/2013 11:42

 medium. Sulphite or sulphurous
Approaches to NOx reduction
acid is an ozone scavenger that
results in a negligible ozone
Modify existing vessel Add vessel upstream Add vessel downstream
Relative cost Least Significant Significant
concentration in the treated flue gas
NOx reduction Excellent Excellent Excellent stream leaving the scrubber. An
Advantages Least cost, no Existing liquid sprays No potential impact on existing illustration of the LoTOx process in
additional plot space used to absorb NOx/N2O5 wet scrubber operation a wet scrubbing system is shown in
Concerns Foundations and vessel Space needed between Need the proper amount
design may not be FCC unit and existing of sulphites in new
Figure 5.
adequate wet scrubber vessel
Chemistry of the LoTOx process
Table 3 The LoTOx process uses ozone to
oxidise NO and NO2 to N2O5,
scrubber nozzles and neutralised nitrogen into the aqueous phase in which is highly soluble. In contact
by the scrubber’s alkali reagent. the scrubber is rapid and irreversi- with the wet scrubbing liquid, N2O5
The process operates optimally ble, allowing nearly complete is easily and quickly absorbed,
below 300°F (150°C); therefore, it removal of NOx. converted to HNO3 and then
does not require heat input to The rapid reaction rate of ozone neutralised to NaNO3. Many reac-
maintain operational efficiency (no with NOx makes ozone highly tions occur, but for the sake of
flue gas reheating) and can enable selective for the treatment of NOx brevity the process can be summa-
maximum heat recovery from hot in the presence of other compounds rised in the following reactions:
flue gases. Ozone is produced in
response to the amount of NOx NO + O3 → NO2 + O2
present in the flue gas generated by
The LoTOx process
2NO2 + O3 → N2O5 + O2
the combustion process and the uses ozone to oxidise
final NOx emissions required. The
N2O5 + H2O → 2 HNO3
low operating temperature allows NO and NO2 to
stable and consistent control
HNO3 + NaOH → NaNO3 + H2O
regardless of variation in flow, load N2O5 which is highly
or NOx content. There are no
adverse effects of acid gases or soluble N2O5 is an extremely soluble gas
particulates on the performance of and reacts with water instantane-
the LoTOx process. Ozone, once such as CO and SOx, resulting in ously. As a result, it is easily
mixed with flue gas, rapidly reacts high ozone utilisation efficiency for removed by the system even before
with insoluble NO and NO2 mole- NOx removal with no reaction with the SO2. N2O5 is estimated to be at
cules to form higher oxides such as CO and SOx at the design retention least 100 times more soluble than
N2O5. These higher oxides of nitro- time. SO2 absorption in the aqueous SO2.
gen are highly soluble and rapidly medium within the scrubber forms
react with moisture present in the sulphite or sulphurous acid, and Application of the LoTOx process to
flue gas stream to form dilute oxy any unreacted or excess ozone in existing wet scrubbers
acids such as nitric acid. The the oxidised flue gas readily The primary challenge in applying
conversion of higher oxides of absorbs into the scrubber’s aqueous the LoTOx process to an existing
wet scrubbing system is finding the
optimal configuration to get the
Scrubber residence time required for the
purge
ozone to react with NOx to form
water-soluble N2O5. Several
approaches have been successfully
Clarifier Settling bins Sump utilised on existing wet scrubbing
systems. The approaches that have
been utilised are described below:

Modify the existing vessel to add

Air blower residence time
In this approach, empty space is
added to the vessel between the
quench area and the area where the
Oxidation Effluent Effluent Effluent spray nozzles are located. This
towers cooler filters discharge provides the proper temperature
zone for the LoTOx reactions to
occur. It also provides for an area
Figure 6 Belco purge treatment unit that is free from excess water drop-

56 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

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 president truly meant what he said and his words were Dmitry Balandin
developers, the process
nitrogen removal. deliversof aFCC
The extent fuel yield
with improved
improve- “adequate
conversion org
cat
lets, which
more inhibit rhetoric,
than political the NOx wereactions.
could see Itanutilises end to the the Summary
Chief Financial Officer
performance over
ments were often amore conventional
function biodiesel
of desired and
operational terms of manag
alumina (ASA)
existing liquid sprays
anti-fossil fuel environment that 2 has to absorb the N O and convert
persistedit Modifications
Gazprom of existing
Neftekhim wet scrubbing
Salavat systems can
5 petroleum-based diesel, including a cetane value of 80
cycle life and available hydrogen for the pretreat units. Depending o
throughout his first term in office. I am hopefulsimplest
to nitric acid. Although seemingly the that in readily be made to achieve additional reductions in
compared with a cetane range of 40-60 in retail diesel.
approach, it is usually limited by the Hydroprocessing catalyst
NOx.systems This iswere bestdeveloped util- ity required, a
to fact that 20-50ft particulates, SO orliving accomplished

W
2013 this administration
(6-15m) of scrubber
will work
height is added,
advance
which may
a true Eni
ising says e that
cobalt
through adifficult
are2the decision
molybdenum
detailedeconomic
evaluation
through
to convert
(CoMo) theand
of the existing system
Venice site
nickel Petrochems
zeolite stacked
“all-of-the-above” energy strategy that recognises the to the production of renewable times. biofuels is a response
require extensive molybdenum (NiMo), depending on these SOobjectives conversions ca
importance of all of foundation
our domesticmodificationsenergy resources and/or
and once the newDespite requirements
this, theRenewable for
marketparticulate, or NOx
China’s Jiutai
to the European Union’s Energy Directive, evenE
2
reinforcement of the scrubber vessel walls. and
have constraints.
been clearly defined. This approach will lead to stacks and
fuel and petrochemical manufacturers in rebuilding for
which oilmandates
and gasthat, production in of its 27 member methanol-to-ole
the In most
today’s clean and
logical fuelbycost-effective
2020, 20%
operations, much investment
modification to compared to a
our nation’s economy. Russia remainsmust stable.
comeThe frommain from
Add
states’
has been
achieve
energy
themadedesired in ULSD
emissions and FCCrenewable
levels. naphthasources, HDS, with and MHC coal into
catalyst
Thethe NOx
US, in reaction
combination zone upstream
with our ally and friend source
greenhouse of this stability is high by 20%. process convert
of the existing wet scrubber few refinersgases now must achieving be reducedenvironmental compliance versus cracking
Canada, has an abundance of natural resources capable oilTheprices,
Venice which
refinery allow
has a OJSC history of establish-
recent ral gas volume
to pr
In bringing
this approach, a vessel via previously designed pretreat units. Additional reactor
to is added upstreamprosperityof and the LoTOx is a trademark of the Linde Group.
of the nation economic “Gazprom
ing its Neftekhim
green Salavat”Asandpart of an energy
credentials. technology ena
results of the global drive towards clean fuels are and the desire
North American energy independence within the nextit
existing wet scrubber. The flue gas is quenched as other major
conservation market Director
programme participants
called Stella Polare, largest miner o
enters the vessel, ozone continued
Edwin Weaver advances
is Technology in catalyst at Belco technology
Technologies thatit have
Corporation.was feeds processe
10 years. This can be isdone injectedby and expanding the reactions
shale to
the achieve
first in positive
Europe margins.
to obtain The
ISO domestic
16001 market
Certification still
for more expensive
occur to convert NOx to water-soluble N O before the provided
He has over 30significant
years’ experience gains in theinfield both HDS and
of air pollution control, HDNand sulphur and n
development on federal lands, stopping the 2 5 attacks on tends to be influenced by the activities of government
flue gas reaches the liquid sprays affordable
in the existing scrub-
its
has energy
performance. management
been the author of numerous
These system.
technology technical gainspapers.
areThe topicsutilised
being include toJiutai
remove willthep
hydraulic fracturing that threaten feedstocks and
theThe the ofregulatory
refinery
control waspretreat
air emissions inauthorities,
selectedthe oilfor in
a pilot
refining particular
the design the
programme
process, andto propylene at it
ber vessel, where the NOx is removed. to drive new FCC designs to very high levels cycle life can b
necessary for all manufacturing, and increasing measures
define
operation government
methods
of various to
typesbe takes
ofextended
air pollutiontotocontrol
reduce
all of domestic
Eni’s
systems industrial
for fuel
a variety Province, Chin
of performance and have provided refiners with the product targets
offshore drilling permits. prices.
plants.
of During
processes, the second in
and developments half of 2011,control
air pollution the government
technologies. UOP will prov
Add NOx reaction zone downstream option of revisiting how best topollution
maximise thesystems.
value He of cracking sectio
Further, by approving the Keystone XL Pipeline, the implemented
HeThealso holds
primary a new
a patent exportof
pertaining
objective toduty
air
the system
project (so-called
control
is to “60-
identify bents, specialit
of the existing wet scrubber existing
holds awhich FCC
BSthat
in civil pretreat units. This has resulted in many reactor and ca
president could send a strong signal to the nation that 66”),
actions
units shifting willengineering
benefitsleadthe
catalyst
from
to upstream
asystem Lehighindustry,
reduction University,
in direct
designs
is and
but a member
is less
orderindi-
in professional to training
ultimate for the
sulphu
In this
he configuration,
is serious about creating the NOx removalof
thousands is domestic
accomplished jobs of the NPRA
advantageous environmental
for companies committee and
within a registered
the downstream
rect
provideconsumption
higher as
levels well
of as
nitrogen energy-saving
removal and measures
aromatic 2014.
given cycle li
in a new vessel placed after
and improving our economy. More importantly, the existing wet scrubber. the engineer in the State of New Jersey.
sector. Thanks to ourof broad market appeal and
through
saturationthe by adoption
using more innovative
high-activity techniques.
NiMo catalysts, The The methano
important crite
A primarywould
president advantageput the toworld
this approach
on noticeisthat thatthetheUSflue is high-quality offerings, Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat
certifying
maximising body
FCCis Vicefor
conversionISO 16001,
President ofcapability. DNV, highlighted developed
existing produ by U
gas properties
charting a futureupstreamto include of energy
the existing scrubberand
independence are Nicholas
is finding
Confuorto Technology, Sales and Marketing,
elements
at If ofthe
distillate
Belco Technologies
export
the maximisation
Venice and inactivities
site’s
Corporation
domestic
isParsippany,
desired,
markets
such asJersey,
Newmany
to USA,
manage-FCC
be from crude
on site refineryoil
unchanged.
security for With some scrubber
the country, with a designs,goal of itultimately
is impor- profitable.
ment initiatives
pretreat units
responsible for thecan and
be revamped
company’s activities aimed
to effectively
global licensing, at reducing
operate in
business development, or natural
HDN capabilit gas
tant to keep the existing
becoming a global energy provider. scrubber inlet conditions to There are challenges that Russian process
energy
sales
a MHC consumption
and marketing
mode. This with
activities.
more He is aanresulting
severe engineering
operation fall in
graduate ofindustry
CO emis-
Columbia
is performed is based
ences on UO
cracking
avoid any impact on the existing
Sadly, without a significant practical and political2 performance for SO companies
2
sions.
University, andoperating
DNV has also in
workednotedforthemoreoil that and
than gas
the
30 years market
Venice
in the designneed
refinery to
and yields with mi
and particulate removal. with higher reactor temperatures and often by modify- to the remainin
course correction, growth This is notapproach
possible achievesfor fuel and that overcome
distinguished
implementation in ofthe nextfor
itself
emission 12 months.
its
control systems.One
“excellent He haskeywritten
challenge
strategic evalua-
numerous is the relative qu
specific requirement. The scrubber liquid from the ing the catalyst system to include a more active cracking reacti
petrochemical manufacturers in the current regulatory the
tionhigh volatility
inarticles in thisof
identifying oil
roles pricesandand crack spreadsfor
responsibilities for the
oil produces,
products can ppso
technical field.
existing scrubber is used
environment. In January 2011, President Obama to provide sulphites in the
management of improvement objectives” and for the market
but theydemand
tend t
NOx reaction vessel to remove
ordered a review of federal regulations to be excess ozone from the
UOP announc
reducing their
flue gas before
eliminated because it exitsthey thehinder
system. A secondary
economic growth advan-
and (Nanjing)
Amorphous Clean
si
job creation. Two years later we are still waiting.SO
tage of this configuration is that some additional A2 first commercia
removal is achieved provide increas
commitment by the inadministration
the new NOx reaction is needed vessel.
to fix that
A summary lowercombines
level of c
what continuesoftothe be possible
a regulatory approaches
nightmare to reducing
for the Petrochemicals/
NOx emissions is shown
refining and petrochemical industry and an in
unnecessary, costly burden for the American public.
Table 3.
VAPOR PRESSURE limited HDN c
project
can be is
and
expec
operate
propylene.
Treatment
For
Captured
example, of scrubber
federal purge
pollutants,
petrochemical manufacturers
regulations require fuel and
including suspended to spend catalyst billionsfines of
PROCESS ANALYZER conversion cap

and dissolved sulphites/sulphates resulting from SOx

dollars to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Designing
<Zgp^nl^f
J
and NOx
even thoughremoval, the are EPA purged has from the spray tower
acknowledged the MINIVAP ON-LINE
reductions would bring little or no from
recycle loop. The liquid that is purged the scrub- [^mm^kk^\r\ebg`h
environmental • VP of Gasoline, Crude Oil and LPG JPNOR Engenh
ber is typically
benefit. These same processed
regulations in a increase
purge treatmentenergy costs, unit
According to Standards construction
:  BMP FZk\co
(PTU). Here, a clarifier removes
result in job loss, and harm the US economic and suspended solids and
• RVP, DVP, TVP and V/L = 20 Plant software
generates
national security. a concentrated slurry that is dewatered in bmpm^\agheh`b^l'
• Highest Precision Complexo
When using Petrd
settling bins. Water, now
AFPM will continue to support sensible and free of suspended solids, over-
• Up to 2 Sample Streams (Comperj),
should at leasta
flows fromenvironmental
beneficial the clarifier and is oxidised
regulation, butinwe a series
believe of
construction
to water comp p
vessels using air and agitation.
that America’s national interest would best be served Oxidation converts • Adjustable Temperature
Range: 20-60°C outside Rio de
tic; and entrai
sulphites
by in the purge
comprehensive andto objective
sulphates,cost-benefit
reducing any chemi-
analyses • Adjustable V/L Ratio The applicat
inorganics migh
of regulations to determine which make sense some
cal oxygen demand (COD) prior to discharge. In and Global. JPNOR
systems, • Automatic Calibration the cutting too
which do amore secondary
harm than filtergood.is used to further reduce
because
total suspended solids, and vast a cooler may of beAmericans
utilised to • Fast and Easy Maintenance potential ofsalts
the
Today, it is clear that the majority based
control the discharge temperature of the purge stream. • Automatic Lubrication nozzles.data
Somes
want to develop our own natural resources and adopted
A typical arrangement of a PTU is shown in Figure 6. found in as too
acidifi
promote manufacturing jobs. Our nation is blessed while Global h
If modifications areofmade to reduce the thatparticulate all of that need
with an abundance energy resources could tasks across m
emissions in the wet scrubbing system, the clarifier Also consider
revitalise job growth and our economy, enhance our and
and effluent filters, and if applicable, icalsinspection.
might ac
national security, ensure awill also need
strong fuel toand be
The integrat
examined to determine if modifications to this part of stabilise the fr
petrochemical manufacturing industry. The decisions designers and
the purge treatment system will be required. If SO limiting their
made by the Obama administration in 2013 will2 progress update
emissions the are future
reduced, the industry
oxidationI portion system and cr
determine of the representofand, the
Construction
PTU will need to be examined to determine its cutting tool, w
more importantly, the entire nation. Phone +43 1 282 16 27-0 | Fax +43 1 280 73 34
ical complex is
adequacy for controlling COD to the desired level.
info.grabner-instruments@ametek.at | www.grabner-instruments.com
possible erosion

www.eptq.com 6 PTQ Q2 2013 PTQ Q1 2013 11

www.eptq.com /IMJJ-+)*+ Revamps 2013 57

case studies copy 7.indd 2

belco rev.indd
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copy.indd 10/09/2013
10/12/12 12:41
13:05:23
Q&A copy 12.indd 2
 Reactor Turnkey Services
HPA offers all reactor turnkey services from
blinds to blinds using state of the art equipment.
We specialize in inert-entry using the latest life
support units. All our catalyst technicians are
trained in vessel rescue, first aid, and CPR.

Hydropac Catalyst Dense Loading

The Hydropac allows the sprinkling of catalyst
in a continually uniform pattern at a rate slow
enough to let each particle settle, but fast
enough for acceptable loading time. The
Hydropac sits just six inches below the trays,
is able to rotate both directions, and can
load around transfer tubes and other internal
obstructions.

Catalyst Unloading Services

Our catalyst unloading services make use of
powerful vacuum units with 26 inches of vacuum.

Vessel Repairs and Retro-Fits

We have our U and R stamp allowing us to do
complete vessel welding, repairs, and inspection.

Hydroprocessing Associates is ISO 9001 and

OHSAS 18001 accredited, and ISNetworld and
PICS compliant.

Hydroprocessing Associates is located in the

U.S.A. and Singapore, and can mobilize to any
country.
Phone: +1 832-794-7942
E-mail: peter@hpa-usa.com

www.hpa.sg www.hpa-usa.com

BDGBK\GURFDUERQZRUOGBLQGG 
hpa.indd 1 23/2/12 12:28:06
 Online cleaning of an integrated
distillation unit
Online cleaning technology was validated during a scheduled turnaround at the
second largest refinery in Poland

Mariusz HoŁowacz and RAFAŁ ZAPRAWA Grupa Lotos

Marcello Ferrara ITW

G
rupa Lotos is a vertically inte- The opportunity to validate was a units. This technology transforms
grated oil company based in scheduled turnaround of the CDU/ sludge and coke-like deposits into a
Gdansk, Poland, and is a VDU. The validation could there- fully reusable product. It has been
producer of high-quality fuels, fore include visual inspection of successfully used for online clean-
motor and industrial lubricants, each piece of equipment. The ing of refinery and petrochemical
bitumen and waxes. Gdansk refin- CDU/VDU is a new, integrated production units. In the case of
ery is the main asset of Grupa Lotos. crude distillation unit/vacuum polymeric fouling, a novel polymer
Located on the Baltic Sea coast, it is distillation unit. This is one of the modification chemistry is used to
a complex oil refinery with an main units built in the 10+ perform online cleaning. Different
annual processing capacity of 10.5 Programme, with a crude oil capac- refinery and petrochemical units
million tonnes (approximately ity of 4.5 million t/y. The unit have been cleaned online in as little
210 000 b/d) and is the second larg- started up in March 2010 and is as 24 hours on an oil-to-oil basis.
est refinery in Poland. Refinery designed for processing heavy
conversion is achieved by two crude with a high content of naph- Advantages of online cleaning
hydrocracking units, one of them thenic acids (opportunity crudes). An array of technologies is currently
being fed by deasphalted vacuum The CDU/VDU mainly consists available for solving problems
residue. Other major process units of four sections: desalination and related to equipment cleaning,
include catalytic hydrotreaters, two stabilisation of crude oil, atmos- including ITW’s patented technol-
catalytic reformers, two hydrogen pheric distillation, vacuum ogy for cleaning heat exchangers
generation units and a solvent-based distillation and naphtha stabiliser. and process equipment in a closed
lubricants plant. Crude oil goes into the desalina- loop. Equipment can be cleaned
Grupa Lotos has completed the tion section, then goes to the online with this technology without
implementation of a refinery pre-flash and crude tower, where it having to extract the heat exchanger
upgrading and modernisation is separated into lighter and heav- bundles. This is particularly benefi-
project known as the “10+ ier fractions. The lighter fraction is cial in severe applications such as
Programme”, within which new routed to the gasoline stabilisation visbreakers and columns with struc-
process units have been built, such section, wherein LPG and fuel gas tured packing internals. Crude
as diesel hydrodesulphurisation, are separated. Heavy and medium distillation units (CDUs) and
mild hydrocracking, ROSE solvent fractions are separated into kero- vacuum units have also been
deasphalting, steam reforming, and sene and diesel fractions: LGO, successfully cleaned online, as well
an atmospheric and vacuum distil- MGO and HGO. Atmospheric resi- as many other refinery units. An
lation unit. As a result of the due is heated in another furnace entire unit can be cleaned in 24
completion of this programme, the and goes to the vacuum distillation hours. The advantages of online
overall crude distillation capacity in column, wherein VGO and LVGO cleaning over hydroblasting include:
the refinery has reached 10.5 are separated. Vacuum gas oils are • Reduced downtime
million t/y (210 000 b/d). processed in a hydrocracking plant • Closed loop operation, without
The company focuses on improv- designed for diesel processing. the need for extracting the bundles
ing its operational excellence and Heavy residues, such as vacuum • Simultaneously cleaning of multi-
carefully evaluates new opportuni- residue and the slop wax fraction, ple units
ties to reduce overall operational are directed to the SDA/ROSE and • No waste generation
costs. In this connection, it wanted bitumen unit. • No emissions.
to validate ITW Online Cleaning ITW is a service company with The ITW cleaning method
technology, in order to take advan- an applied research background, involves the injection of an
tage of its benefits both during the which has developed and patented, oil-based chemical that transforms
run of the units or a scheduled among other things, a technology sludge into a fully reusable prod-
turnaround. for online cleaning production uct, removing any sludge and

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 deposits from metal surfaces. The sational costs, huge production loss
Analytical characteristics of the carrier
washing solution can be reutilised/ costs must also be added, followed
reprocessed because the stabilising by equipment downtime. Even
properties of the chemical avoid the Density @15°C, g/cm3 0.8334 more relevant are the costs associ-
Viscosity @ 15°C, mm2/s 6.204
reaggregation of deposits, eliminat- ated with the decrease in
Viscosity @ 40°C, mm2/s 2.228
ing any potential precipitation CCR, wt% 0.014 performance during the run.
during storage and/or fouling of Sediments, wt% 0.015 Moreover, all these operations can
process equipment. Moreover, the Ash, wt% 0 suffer from different problems,
Ni, ppm <0.05
patented chemicals used in ITW’s such as:
V, ppm <0.05
method are compatible with hydro- Cl, ppm <5 • Time for isolating/inserting the
carbon processing and combustion Acid number, mg KOH/g 0.256 equipment
because they: • Waste generation
• Do not contain any metals Table 1 • Hydrocarbon emissions
• Do not contain any compounds • Bundle damage
based on P, B, S, As, Bi, Si or Pb • Flushing • Difficulties in bundle extraction
• Do not contain any halogen • Isolating equipment from the • Difficulties in unbolting
• Do not contain any compounds process and blinding • Hazard to workers performing
that might be harmful to plant • Removing hydrocarbons mechanical operations
metallurgy • Steaming out for gas removal • Hazard from scaffolding
• Do not contain any carcinogenic • Scaffolding • Hazard from spills of carcino-
compounds • Unbolting genic products
• Do not contain any compounds • Removing heads and distributor • Hazard to people working nearby
that in operating dosages might • Extracting the bundle moving equipment/vehicles
interfere with biological waste • Transporting the bundle from • Hazard from bundle transporta-
treatment processes. plant to washing area tion/cleaning apparatus/cranes.
After online cleaning, the heat • Hydroblasting Due to continuous improvements
exchangers can be immediately put • Transporting the bundle from in process safety and environmen-
back on stream without extracting washing area to plant tal performances, these problems
the bundle. However, if visual • Inserting the bundle are now only acceptable when
inspection is to be performed, a • Inserting new gaskets there really is no other choice.
clean bundle can be extracted. Hard • Installing covers and distributor While hydroblasting/mechanical
coke will be dry if it is present, as • Bolting cleaning were the only reliable
the technology eliminates all coke • Removing blinding technologies available in the
binders, and so is friable and easily • Removing scaffolding market, Gdansk refinery searched
removed. Any coke left will be in • Air removal and purging for an improvement over the
very negligible quantities compared • Performing pressure tests conventional way of doing the job.
to an alternative cleaning solution. • Inserting the apparatus in the ITW proposed an alternative solu-
process. tion to hydroblasting by providing
Current operations All of these operations have their an online cleaning technology.
The standard method used by related costs. The bidding paid
Gdansk Refinery was to drain the costs are to be added to the custom- Job execution
unit and steam out the exchangers er’s organisational costs in terms of: Online cleaning started after the
(and any other equipment) so that • Awarding (bid organisation, eval- unit was initially inventoried with
the exchanger heads could be uation and award) a carrier and the patented MEG
removed. At this point, the • Planning F550F chemistry was injected into
exchanger bundles were extracted, • Co-ordination the loop. The closed circulation
transported to the washing area • Control during execution. loop was arranged as agreed
and hydroblasted. After hydro- To these operational and organi- between Lotos and ITW. The
blasting, the bundles were desalters were not included in the
transported back to the unit and Carrier distillation loop. The carrier had the character-
remounted. For the vacuum and istics shown in Tables 1 and 2, and
atmospheric towers, coke was Figure 1.
IBP, °C 177
removed by mechanical cleaning. 5%, °C 203
The patented cleaning method
Although a “normal” operation 10%, °C 211 essentially consists of the following
for a refinery, the hydroblasting/ 30%, °C 225 steps:
mechanical cleaning of an exchanger 50%, °C 234 • Inventory the unit with the
70%, °C 244
involves at least 20 different opera- 90%, °C 260
carrier
tions, with related hazards. 95%, °C 267 • Inject ITW chemical MEG F550F
Technology for cleaning heat FBP, °C 279 • Circulate for the desired amount
exchangers includes the following of time (with a 24-hour oil-to-oil
procedures: Table 2 basis in mind)

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 Typical washing fluid analysis after
290
online cleaning vs carrier

Parameter Carrier Washing 270

fluid

Boiling point, ºC
Density @ 15°C, g/cm3 0.8334 0.8437 250
Viscosity @ 15°C, mm2/s 6.204 7.734
Viscosity @ 40°C, mm2/s 2.228 2.967 230
CCR, wt% 0.014 1.09
Sediments, wt% 0.015 0.06 210

190
Table 3
170 IBP = Initial boiling point
FBP = Final boiling point
• De-inventory the unit by pump- 150
ing out the washing fluid. IBP 5 10 30 50 70 90 95 FBP
Samples of the washing fluid Distillation, %
were pulled, and the data were
utilised to monitor the progress of
the job and approximate the quan- Figure 1 Carrier distillation characteristics
tity of heavy sludge/solids that
were dissolved and stabilised into
the washing fluids. A sample of the
carrier oil was taken prior to inject-
ing the ITW chemical. Then,
subsequent samples were taken
prior to de-inventory of the unit.
An example of the monitoring
results is shown in Table 3.
ITW uses a proprietary software
to correlate the analytical results for
monitoring operations and calcu-
late the actual amount of deposits
that have been removed from the
system. It is to be noted, that the
original sludge/coke-like material
has been fully converted into a
stable and reprocessable fluid.
Washing fluids have been routed
into a crude tank.
Figure 2 Vacuum tower bed 1
Results
Based on a monitoring programme,
it was calculated that a minimum
of 20 000 kg of deposits were
removed from the CDU/VDU Unit
120. In order to validate the
achieved results, visual inspection
of exchangers and columns was
performed on the cleaned equip-
ment. All of the equipment was
very clean and free of any organic
deposits.
Figures 2-7 show some of the
results in the equipment inspected.
All of the pictures were taken on
opening the equipment, without
any mechanical cleaning being
performed. In some exchangers, a
very minor and negligible inorganic
deposit was left, which would have
no impact on performance when
starting up the unit just after Figure 3 Vacuum tower bottom

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 cleaning. As a result, the refinery
has decided not to schedule
mechanical cleaning during future
turnaround activities or for recover-
ing unit performance.
Ideally, the best way to quantify
the improvement is to immediately
start the unit following cleaning
and to examine heat exchanger
performance (furnace inlet temper-
ature improvement, duty
improvement, pressure drop
improvement and so on). This
would be useful in understanding
the future possibilities of eliminat-
ing mechanical cleaning and
dramatically speeding up the shut-
Figure 4 Vacuum tower feed inlet and bottom trays down process (especially when the
unit is processing opportunity
crudes that are known in the indus-
try to cause fouling problems).
Most of the equipment was not
hydroblasted/mechanically cleaned
after online cleaning. Some bundles
were scheduled to be hydroblasted
anyway, but in general there was no
need to hydroblast them and, if any
minor deposits had been left, these
would have been removed by the
normal flow, as they were negligible
in quantity (1-2 kilograms) and
inconsistent as material.
It should be noted that washing
fluids were routed into a crude
tank and fully reprocessed upon
the unit’s start-up. No problems
have been reported at all in the
CDU/VDU, or in any of the down-
stream units and/or in the finished
Figure 5 Vacuum residue – crude exchanger (upstream atmospheric tower furnace) products specification. This further
confirmed that the washing
fluids are fully reusable and
reprocessable.
The results open up a new oppor-
tunity for Lotos, as online cleaning
can be applied during a plant run,
to recover the unit’s performance
and, in preparation of a turna-
round, to reduce downtime and the
turnaround’s scope of work.

Proactive online cleaning

Grupa Lotos’s validation also
aimed to evaluate the different
options for applying online clean-
ing, including a proactive option.
Proactive application of online
cleaning is a departure from
current operating procedures.
Refinery/petrochemical unit
Figure 6 Crude exchanger (upstream pre-flash tower) runtime is currently dictated by

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 Figure 7 HGO — crude exchanger

market considerations and by the processes might increase in the

downtime required for a mechani- future, and the fouling of units
cal cleaning turnaround. With a might become a more serious
downtime of 15-20 days, it is much
more economical to run the units
concern, potentially impacting a
large number of production days.
Non-intrusive flow
under non-optimised conditions By regular application of online measurement
rather than lose production. This, cleaning, the unit can always be

up to 400°C
however, results in energy losses, operated under clean conditions. In
giveaway and capacity reduction, addition, the vast majority of
which negatively impact unit mechanical work, which takes up a
economics. significant number of days during
 Trouble free operation at
The introduction of online clean- unit shutdowns, can be replaced extreme pipe temperatures
ing, by cleaning the unit in 24 with an online cleaning process that
 No clogging, no abrasion,
hours on an oil-to-oil basis, allows requires no opening of equipment no pressure losses
for the recovery of losses and the or man entry, and can be carried out
 Installation and maintenance
operation of units under improved in as little as 24 hours oil-to-oil. without process interruption
and more reliable conditions.
 Independent of fluid or pressure
Furthermore, turnarounds can be Acknowledgement
avoided or rescheduled with  Hazardous area approved
Special thanks to all the Lotos team for the
reduced downtime. support and valuable assistance provided
In the case of turnaround during the entire time that ITW Online Field-Proven at Refineries
improvement, an additional Cleaning has been applied on site.
reduction in downtime can be  Heavy crude Oil
Mariusz Hołowacz has been Crude Oil
achieved by applying ITW’s  Atmospheric Distillation
Distillation Complex Manager with Grupa
improved degassing/decontamina- Lotos in Gdansk, Poland, since 2008 and, since  Vacuum Distillation
tion technology. 2010, Manager of the new distillation unit 120.  Coker & Visbreaker Feed
Rafał Zaprawa was VDU and propane  Fluidized Catalytic Cracker
Conclusion deasphalting unit Shift Team Manager with
 Bitumen
The results of ITW Online Cleaning Grupa Lotos in Gdansk, Poland, from 2001-
have opened up new possibilities 2008, then Deputy Manager of the crude oil
for Lotos, whereby online cleaning distillation complex.
can be applied during a plant run, Marcello Ferrara is the Chairman of ITW. With refinery.flexim.com
27 years’ experience in the petroleum business,
to recover a unit’s performance and
including oil exploration and production,
improve the level of operational
refining, petrochemicals, transportation,
excellence, and in preparation for a and energy production, he holds a PhD in
turnaround, to reduce downtime industrial chemistry and international patents
and the turnaround’s scope of work. for new processes and additive compositions
These options are increasingly for environmental control and for improving
important, as the amount of oppor- petroleum/petrochemical processes.
tunity crudes the company Email: mferrara@itwtechnologies.com

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 Alphabetical list of advertisers

ABB Automation 35 Hydroprocessing Associates 58

www.abb.com/controlsystems www.hpa-usa.com

AltairStrickland 36 ITW Technologies 25 & 41

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AMACS Process Tower Internals 31 & 51 KBR IFC

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Aveva 20 Koch-Glitsch 17
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Axens OBC Linde 6

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BETE Fog 43 Linde Engineering North America 14
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Cat Tech 44 Onis International 53

www.cat-tech.com www.onis.fr

CB&I 5 Operational Excellence 2013 IBC

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Criterion Catalyst & Technologies 2 Optimised Gas Treating 47

www.criterioncatalysts.com www.ogtrt.com

DuPont Sustainable Solutions 13 Process Consulting Services 8 &10

www.cleantechnologies.dupont.com www.revamps.com

Flexim 63 Sabin Metal Corporation 32

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Foster Wheeler 19 Sulzer Chemtech 28

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Gas Asia Summit 55 Tiger Towers 39

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Grabner Instruments 57 UOP 22

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Hoerbiger Kompressortechnik Holding 27 Zeeco 48

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For more information on these advertisers, go to www.ptqenquiry.com

64 Revamps 2013 www.eptq.com

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