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RENTECH breaks new trails in the

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There’s no “on the shelf” inventory at RENTECH because we design and build each and every boiler to operate at peak efﬁciency in its own unique conditions. As an industry leader, RENTECH provides solutions to your most demanding speciﬁcations for safe, reliable boilers. From design and manufacture to installation and service, we are breaking new trails.

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www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com OCTOBER 2011

HPIMPACT

SPECIALREPORT

TECHNOLOGY

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING

OCTOBER 2011

PROCESS CONTROL AND INFORMA

TION SYSTEMS

INTERNA

TIONAL

PROCESS CONTROL AND

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Automation systems

improve process

control and increase

profits

Refinery safety

in Europe

Libya at a glance

Full review on flowmeter

systems sizing

Design for heavy oil

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www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com

OCTOBER 2011 • VOL. 90 NO. 10

SPECIAL REPORT: PROCESS CONTROL AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

39

Intelligent severity optimization project pays off in two months

Major olefin producer uses new process control to fine-tune energy consumption

H. Wang, Z. Wang, W. Du, D. Wang, F. Qian and Z. Tang

45

Fine-tune diesel hydrotreating operations

This refinery used a simulator to train operators effectively

A. T. AlDaiel, M. M. AlMulla, M. A. AlNajrani, K. Chaitanya, A. Deshpande and V. Harismiadis

51

Process gas chromatography:

Avoid the iceberg of hidden expenses

Total cost of ownership can quickly add up for field analytical equipment

M. Gaura, Emerson Process Management, Houston, Texas

57

Find benefits in automating boiler systems

Dynamic models unravel potential problems in high-pressure steam production and consumption

A. Bourji, D. Ballow and M. Choroszy

65

Consider model-based inferential properties for reformers

A European refiner opts to apply embedded multivariable predictive controllers as part of an advanced process control system

S. Birdi, A. Autuori, S. Lodolo and C. Beautyman

Cover Operators in a

state-of-the-art control room use Emerson’s DeltaV operator interface to monitor and control a refinery process. The interface uses a standard PC mouse and keyboard and Microsoft Windows display graphics. The system architecture is designed to be scalable, economical for small unit operations and capable of handling refinery wide applications.

HPIMPACT

17 European refiners’ safety performance in 2010 19 Libya at a glance 21 EU Parliament seeks stricter greenhouse gas rules

COLUMNS

9 HPIN RELIABILITY Suction specific speed choices have consequences 11 HPIN EUROPE Europe warily prepares to enter a newly globalized age of biofuels 15 HPINTEGRATION STRATEGIES Automation-related lessons learned from March 11 disasters in Japan 90 HPIN CONTROL Reshaping process control: A corporate prerogative DEPARTMENTS

7 HPIN BRIEF • 23 HPIN INNOVATIONS • 29 HPIN CONSTRUCTION 36 HPI CONSTRUCTION BOXSCORE UPDATE

86 HPI MARKETPLACE • 89 ADVERTISER INDEX

REFINING DEVELOPMENTS

71

Refinery configurations: Designs for heavy oil

Conceptualization and economic evaluations considered all possible scenarios to process clean gasoline and diesel from domestic feedstock

S. Kumar, S. M. Nanoti, Y. K. Sharma and M. O. Garg

INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT

77

Improve material balance by using proper flowmeter corrections

Here are guidelines to increase accuracy for flow measurements

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HPIN BRIEF

BILLY THINNES, TECHNICAL EDITOR

[email protected]

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING OCTOBER 2011

I

7

The real-time process optimization and training (RPO) market is expect-ed to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 9% a year over the next five years, according to a new study from ARC Advisory Group. The market was slightly more than $1 billion in 2008, but dropped during the global recession to slightly over $950 million in 2010, the study says. The market is expected to reach more than $1.5 billion in 2015. The RPO market has rebounded from the lows of 2009, and is expected to return to pre-2008 growth as the global process industries’ need for safer, more effi-cient operations continues.

“The global economy has still not returned to its pre-2008 optimism,” said Dick Hill, a co-author of the study. “The economic slowdown adversely affected growth but the market will rebound as many of the issues fac-ing manufacturers, like reducfac-ing costs, still require solutions such as those offered by RPO suppliers.”

The RPO market consists of three unique types of applications: advanced process control, online opti-mization, and training simulation and control validation software. Advanced process control includes model-based software to direct and control process operations. Online optimization con-tinually monitors the state of the pro-cess and through a reference model predicts an optimum operation path. Meanwhile, training simulation and control system validation are real-time dynamic simulators designed to train process operators and verify control system functionality.

The recession that began in 2008 affected all corners of the globe and is still the single biggest influencing factor on growth of the RPO market. Much of the industrial world was forced to curtail capital project expen-ditures and RPO investments in the short-term.

However, cautious optimism is now returning. Global growth in the industry is being driven by developing regions of the world. HP

Sunoco plans to exit the refining business and has begun a process

to sell its refineries located in Philadelphia and Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. Sunoco also announced that it is conducting a company-wide comprehensive strategic review. Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has been retained to assist in the review process. Sunoco will pur-sue all options to sell its refineries, but if a suitable transaction cannot be implemented, the company intends to idle the main processing units at the facilities in July 2012.

“We have made progress in increasing the efficiency of our refineries over the last several years, but, given the unacceptable financial performance of these assets, it is clear that it is in the best interests of shareholders to exit this business and focus on our profitable retail and logistics businesses which have higher returns, growth potential and provide steady, ratable cash flow,” said Lynn L. Elsenhans, Sunoco’s chairman.

Together with the separation of SunCoke Energy and the sale of the chemicals busi-ness, Sunoco’s decision to exit refining marks a fundamental shift away from manufac-turing that will reposition the company.

BASF has formed a new startup business with Alberta, Canada-based

manufacturing technology firm Quantiam Technologies, seeking to commercialize advanced catalytic surface coatings for steam-cracker furnace tubes. The business is named BASF Qtech. Quantiam had previously developed the coatings for use in the global petrochemical industry. Manufacturing, R&D and technical services support for the new business entity will be provided by the Quantiam team in Edmonton, while marketing and sales support will be led by BASF’s catalysts division, headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey. The catalytic surface coatings developed by Quantiam are applied on the internal surfaces of steam-cracker furnace tubes and coils, enabling the catalytically-assisted manufacture of olefins. The coatings are designed to improve operational profit-ability of petrochemical furnaces by reducing carbon formation, increasing online pro-duction time and cutting maintenance times, energy expenditures and CO2 emissions. Shell has agreed to sell its interests in natural gas transport

infrastructure joint venture Gassled to Infragas Norge for about $730 million, based on current exchange rates. Gassled is Norway’s integrated gas transportation system and processing facility which transports most of the gas production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to consumers on the European continent and in the United Kingdom. The agreement with Infragas Norge AS relates to Shell’s 5.0% interest in Gassled JV and associated interests of 3.3% in the Dunkerque terminal and 2.5% in the Zeepipe terminal. Gassled is a joint venture established in 2003. It provides trans-portation services on an open access basis to producers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The parties’ intention is to close in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Murphy Oil has agreed to sell its 125,000-bpd refinery and related

assets in Meraux, Louisiana, to Valero for $325 million in cash plus the value of its hydrocarbon inventory, putting the overall sale value near $625 million. The hydrocar-bon inventory will be valued based on market prices at closing. Currently, that invento-ry is valued at around $300 million. The sale is subject to customainvento-ry regulatoinvento-ry approv-als and conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011. Following the sale, Murphy plans to focus on completing the sale of its assets in the UK.

BP has completed its acquisition of a 30% stake in 21 oil and gas

production sharing contracts (PSCs) that Reliance Industries operates in India. This significant step will commence the planned alliance which will operate across the gas value chain in India, from exploration and production to distribution and marketing, the companies said. This should accelerate the creation of infrastructure for receiving, transporting and marketing natural gas in India. BP will pay Reliance an aggregate consideration of $7.2 billion. HP

■

Process

optimization to

grow 9%

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HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR

HPI

N RELIABILITY

I

9

A refinery engineer was in a quandary over requests from a project group. High volume/pressure/temperature pumps in hydrocarbon service were involved and the refinery’s standards had, in 2007, been changed so as to avoid purchasing pumps that might not operate well in the lower flow region. The engi-neer asked if it was really practical to insist on accepting only pumps with an Nsss (meaning “suction specific speed”) below

9,000, although decades ago his company had allowed pumps with Nsss values up to 12,000. But first, a greatly simplified

introduction to Nsss and its importance.

Note: The pump suction specific speed (Nss or Nsss) differs

from the pump specific speed parameter, Ns. Suction specific

speed is calculated by the straightforward mathematical expression: (1)

Nss =

(r/min)[(gal/min)/eye]12

(NPSH_r)34

In Eq. 1, both the flowrate and net positive suction head required (NPSHr) pertain to conditions observed at 100% of

design flow—at the best efficiency point (BEP)—on the maxi-mum available impeller diameter for that particular pump.

The higher the design suction specific speed or Nsss, the

closer the point for troublesome internal flow recirculation to BEP. Similarly, the closer the internal recirculation capac-ity is to BEP, the higher the hydraulic efficiency. Pump sys-tem designers are sys-tempted to aim for highest possible effi-ciency—thus, high suction specific speed. However, such designs might result in systems with restricted pump operat-ing range. If operated inside the restricted (high recirculation) range, then disappointing reliability and frequent failures will be experienced.

Although more precise calculations are available, trend curves for probable NPSHr for minimum recirculation and zero

cavitation-erosion in water (Fig. 1) are sufficiently accurate to warrant our attention.1_{The NPSH}

r needed for zero damage to

impellers and other pump components may be many times that published in the manufacturer’s literature. The manufacturer’s NPSHr plot (lowermost curve in Fig. 1) is based on observing

a 3% drop in discharge head or pressure; at Q=100%, we note NPSHr = 100% of the manufacturer’s claims. Unfortunately,

whenever this 3% fluctuation occurs, some damage may already be in progress. Assume the true NPSHr is as shown in Fig. 1 and

aim to provide a net positive suction head available (NPSHa)

in excess of this true NPSHr.1

Irving Taylor compiled his general observations and alerted pump specialists to this fact.1_{Taylor cautioned against}

con-sidering his curves as totally accurate and mentioned that the demarcation line between low- and high-suction specific speeds was somewhere between 8,000 and 12,000. Many data points were taken after 1980 and point to 8,500 or 9,000 as

numbers for concern. If pumps with Nss numbers higher than

9,000 are being operated at flows much higher or lower than the BEP, then their life expectancy or repair-free operating time will be reduced.

In the decades after Taylor’s presentation, controlled testing was done in many industrialized countries. The various findings have been reduced to relatively accurate calculations that were later published by the Hydraulic Institute.2_{Relevant summaries}

can also be found in Ref. 3. Calculations based on Refs. 2 and 3 determine minimum allowable flow as a percentage of BEP.

Note: Again, recirculation differs from cavitation—a term

that describes vapor bubbles that collapse. Cavitation damage is often caused by low NPSHa. Such cavitation-related damage

starts on the low-pressure side and proceeds to the high-pressure side. An impeller requires a certain NPSH; this NPSHr is simply

the pressure needed at the impeller inlet (or eye) for relatively vapor-free flow.

Suction specific speed choices have consequences

0

0 20 40 60

Q, %

Trend of probable NPSHr for zero cavitation-erosion

Various pumps (high head) = 650 ft (~200 m), ﬁrst stage

High head high suct. speciﬁc speed High head low SSS

Low-moderate head high SSS Low-moderate head low SSS NPSHr for 3% head drop

H , % NPSH r , % 80 100 120 25 50 75 100 0 100 200 300 400 H-Q

Pump manufacturers usually plot only the NPSHr trend

associated with the lower most curve. At that time, a head drop or pressure fluctuation of 3% exists and cavitation damage is often experienced.

FIG. 1

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TIM LLOYD WRIGHT, EUROPEAN EDITOR

HPI

N EUROPE

I

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Biofuels are growing up in Europe. From an exotic outlet for European Union (EU) agricultural product in the 1990s, to a boutique fuel for the green consumer in the 2000s, now today’s industry has filled out and bulked up. In 2011, biofuels are a globally traded business; this industry has transformed some of its pioneering suppliers into household names. But many more European startups lie bloodied by the wayside or limping along the sidewalk.

Manufacturers, suppliers, consumers, some non-govern-mental organizations (NGOs) and even pure-play fossil fuels suppliers have had their share of growing pains during the rapid rise of the market. Many biodiesel and bioethanol manufactur-ers in Europe have exited the industry or have gone bankrupt.

Growing pains. Now, the European industry stands at a milestone, warily eyeing billion-dollar investments in equatorial regions, while nursing the bruises of a less competitive domestic industry. “The industry suffers from over-investment,” says Andrew Owens, chairman and co-founder of the UK’s Green-ergy, a prime example of a biofuels distributor that has suc-ceeded in the “green” industry. “During the mid-2000s, credit was easy and too much was built,” he says. “The industry still has a hangover from that time.”

Dieter Bockey, spokesperson for the Union for the Promo-tion of Oilseeds and Protein Plants in Germany, identifies credit conditions as part of the cause of the rapid growth of the indus-try. “In 2006, everyone could finance a plant,” he says. “But now in Germany, several hundred thousand tons of production have been idle for several years now.”

Legislation. Another pillar of the industry’s growth is that phenomenon without which Greenergy might never have made its astonishing journey from being the “new kid” in the 1990s, to its position today as the UK’s third largest private company, the tax incentive. When the consulting group Arthur D. Little reported, in the early stages of the development of the 1997 Fuel Quality Directive, that when Sweden had used taxation policy to steer its refiners into profitable, clean fuels production, the detaxation of greener products was taken up with relish across large parts of Europe. Article 16 of the European Energy Taxation Directive allowed governments to exempt fuels, and the stimulus this provided led many to conclude that there were sound reasons to turn more of Europe’s agricultural product into biofuels. That phase, which effectively afforded manufacturers a 10-year trade wind, is now drawing to a close. “The rules are clear, and the general policy is to move from promoting biofuels with detaxa-tion to mandating their use with quotas,” says Bockey.

Two pieces of European rule-making are responsible for this. The Renewable Energy Directive is a major policy initiative

currently being transposed into national laws in the member states. In the UK, where it should enter fully into law by year end, it calls for 15% of UK energy all energy, but specifically 10% of transport fuels, to be supplied from renewable sources by 2020. Compared to initial ambitions for 20% biofuels in 2020, this goal has effectively been halved, and some of the more ambitious biofuels champions have seen slower growth as they realign their trajectory to a 10% share of the renewable energy in the transport sector. The target includes second-generation biofuels that can be double counted in the quota sys-tem because they are derived from used oils, waste or residues. Conventional biofuel producers perceive this next generation of sources as further reducing the demand for rapeseed and soy oils and sugar-derived ethanol.

Alongside the renewables directive are the greenhouse gas (GHG) provisions of the Fuel Quality Directive. These require fuel suppliers to reduce the lifecycle GHG lifecycle emissions of products that they supply by 6% by 2020. In July 2011, the European biofuels information initiative, EurObserv’ER, reported that biofuels sales grew by 1.7 mil-lion tons/yr (1.7 MMtpy) to 13.9 MMtpy between 2009 and 2010. Of this total, 10.7 MMtpy is biodiesel and 2.9 MMtpy is bioethanol.

Biodiesel. The European standard for biodiesel, EN590, lim-its the blending of biodiesel to 7 vol%. Against a total market for 209 MMtpy within the EU, that suggests a potential market of 14 MMtpy. The Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Pro-teinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP) reports the stark fact that European production capacity, at 22.4 MMtpy, exceeds that by almost 10 MMtpy. The association is calling for B100 or B30 blends to be made available for sale as a way to boost the European industry, something that would also help fuel suppliers to hit their own quotas.

Ethanol. In the ethanol market, a failure to meet even the existing quotas, means that, this year, oil companies in Europe will likely pay hundreds of millions of Euros in fines for failing to blend sufficient biofuels into their products.

As I reported in May, a bungled introduction of E10 gaso-line into the large German gasogaso-line market means that the large players will be paying the German government some €620 for every 1,000 l when they are below their quota commitment. Likewise, there are growing pains for German consumers due to a lack of persuasive information on the suitability of high-ethanol blends. Result: Many German drivers have persistently

avoided the blended fuels. But for German oil companies to meet their quotas, they really need to attain 80%–90% of the total marketshare as E10.

Europe warily prepares to enter

a newly globalized age of biofuels

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HPI

N EUROPE

12

Other problems. Aside from the bottom line hit that the German companies face this year, there have also been reputa-tional issues to contend with. Consider Neste, the export-ori-ented Finnish refinery. This refiner focused on reacting nimbly to the need for on-spec bioblending components, as it once did to US West Coast reformulated gasoline demand. But its attempts to control its supply chain through involvement with Indonesian palm oil producers have left it exposed to constant criticism from environmentalists.

Despite its technical and commercial leadership in hydroge-nated vegetable oil production, and its rapidly growing boiler-plate capacity in Europe and Singapore, it is dogged by claims that its oils resources are destructive to rainforest.

Greenpeace members wearing orangutan suits who leafleted on the steps of the Rotterdam World Biofuels Markets confer-ence this year may be tolerable for a fuels manufacturer at an industry conference. But how easy it is for some of Europe’s major consumer brands, including the airlines involved in the fledgling biojet fuel market, to deal with environmentalist criticism of what they see as their green initiatives remains to be seen.

Article 17 of the Renewable Energy Directive requires the whole supply chain of compliant fuels to be certified. Unsus-tainable biofuels will simply not generate the tradable certifi-cates that must be surrendered to avoid fines under the scheme. Fuels that do not offer a 35% GHG gas saving compared to gasoline or diesel will not count in the early phase of the legis-lation. In 2017, this threshold will rise to 50% and, in 2018, to 60% for new plants that come onstream after Jan. 1, 2017.

Faced with the difficulty of sourcing biofuels that meet sustainability requirements, it’s understandable that large oil companies should seek relationships with Brazilian companies. Sugarcane ethanol from Brazil has lifecycle GHG emissions that are hard to beat in an energy-dense liquid.

This year Shell announced a joint venture with Cosan, the world’s largest manufacturer, which the companies value at some $12 billion. Cosan represents the best entry to sustainable biofu-els in the market—the best entry of scale,” Mark Williams, Shell’s director of downstream operations, told the Financial Times,

adding, “we will take the lowest-carbon, least-impact form of ethanol and leverage that into a worldwide opportunity.”

It’s understandably difficult for some European manufactur-ers to accept that their markets, stimulated by the European tax-payer, will be supplied from outside of the EU. Get over it, says Owens. “Trade bodies are looking to be protectionist and close the door and I think that’s absolutely the wrong way to. European producers need simply to ask, ‘who are my custom-ers, what’s my customcustom-ers, and how do I meet my customers’ needs,” he says.

Globalization. But as Shell spends its billions in the tropics and Owens feeds UK cars on US cooking oil and Brazilian etha-nol, the apparent winners in the European biofuels market will need to contend with a political risk that could yet upset their plans. Globalization is not a philosophy that has emerged com-pletely unscathed from the restructuring of European economies post-2008 crash. “German and European politicians are no lon-ger accessible like they once were to the biofuels industry. They don’t reply to letters,” says Bockey. “Their answer to requests to support the European biofuels market with tax exemptions is to ask why they should spend European money to line the pockets of manufacturers in the US or South America.”

European politicians don’t necessarily have to put up further tariffs to deter biofuel imports. There are less dense biofuels, uneconomic to transport across the planet, than that are pro-duced on small farms and at local council facilities from Sweden in the North to Naples in the south.

Other options. Biogas—methane derived from biomass, human, animal and household waste—has lifecycle GHG cre-dentials that Brazilian biofuels can only dream of. Stimulating the market leads to investments in the local neighborhood, not the Atlantic Basin. Vehicles are becoming more efficient, and the product is interchangeable with natural gas. Already, European politicians have seen to it that there are some 7,000 sites in Germany manufacturing biomethane, and the Swedish market grew 40% last year. “It’s becoming more important for German agriculture than liquid biofuels,” says Bockey. That may overstate the importance of a market that is largely restricted to a strip of Europe from Sweden, through Germany and the Alps, to Italy in the south.

But manufacturers will be wise to remember that policy mak-ers created the biofuels markets, and their influence, alongside the power of the free market, will continue to shape it. HP The author is HP’s European Editor and is also a specialist in European distillate markets. He has been active as a reporter and conference chair in the European downstream industry since 1997, before which he was a feature writer and reporter for the UK broadsheet press and BBC radio. Mr. Wright lives in Sweden and is the founder of a local climate and sustainability initiative.

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HPI

NTEGRATION STRATEGIES

I

15

SHIN KAI, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

On July 22, four months after the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami struck the Pacific Coast side of eastern Japan, Japanese engineers from various process and other industries gathered in Tokyo to participate in a series of panel discussions entitled, “What automation should learn from the 3/11 disas-ters.” The panels, held as a session at ARC Advisory Group’s 2011 Japan Forum in Tokyo, were jointly organized by ARC and the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers (SICE). The goal of the participating engineers was to review their own notions of safety and control systems in an objective manner. Not surprisingly, much of the discussion focused on the inad-equacies of the process control and protective systems installed at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. However, in most cases, the same lessons learned can also be applied to critical opera-tions in hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) plants.

‘Reinvent ourselves from scratch.’ Among the 200 attendees at the ARC Tokyo Forum were end-user engineers, integrators and contractors, automation suppliers, consultants and researchers. Many of the plant-level engineers would not have been able to attend if ARC had held the event one month earlier.

Akira Nagashima, co-chairman of the SICE 50th anniversary project steering committee and moderator of the panel, opened the discussion by summarizing its purpose: “I think there is a serious task we engineers must address before we think about how to rebuild Japan. Yes, the triggering event of this crisis was a 9.0-scale super earthquake; but we must admit that we engineers had underestimated the power of Mother Nature, and thereby allowed a runaway chain reaction of accidents. The vulnerability of the artifacts and technologies we ourselves introduced made this crisis worse ... All engineers, whether involved in addressing this crisis or not, must stop and rethink what we have taken for granted. I believe this is a rare oppor-tunity to review our own mindset and behaviors and reinvent ourselves from scratch.”

Protective control meets human beings. The first panelist, Toshiaki Itoh, formerly of Mitsubishi Chemical and current SICE Fellow, took the approach of discussing the entire plant system operations. He analyzed the causes of the troubles in the Fukushima nuclear power plant from the viewpoint of instrument control engineering. Then, he pointed to irregu-larities of the accident by showing that fundamental protective control could not be enabled by ordinary steps or procedures. Because the tsunami washed out auxiliary power supply units and cooling systems abruptly, the risk level had not increased sequentially in Fukushima. “By its nature, current protective control is not enough to cope with such unpredictable events,” he said.

From homogeneous to heterogeneous. Presenting the control system suppliers’ viewpoint, the second panelist, Chiaki Itoh, Yokogawa Electric, started his presentation with the prem-ise that “science, or technology, is not almighty.” He explained the evolution of control systems since the introduction of digital controllers in the late 1970s. The need to allocate computing resources flexibly and avoid the risk of system downtime spurred the growth of system decentralization in the early 1980s. At the same time, the need for nonstop control system operations led to the profusion of redundant systems through the ’80s. System suppliers have continued to develop redundancy architectures, from duplex systems with redundant communications to the highly advanced controller architectures in which redundant CPU modules monitor each other continuously.

In addition, the industry nurtured a hierarchical safety sys-tem that stops plant operation in an orderly manner to minimize damage in an emergency. The safety system operates indepen-dent of the control system, which is designed to operate a plant in a stable manner.

But, according to Mr. Itoh, the limitations of both current redundant architectures and safety systems have been revealed. “We all saw the limitations of redundant architecture in an open system, in the troubles at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. We also faced the limitations of safety systems, because stopping the system is complicated and not safe, as was shown in the case of the nuclear plant.”

Itoh turned his remarks toward the common engineering of redundancy. “We must note that most redundancy technologies, including the ones used in heavy process industries, are more or less the same in nature.” He continued, “A typical plant control system is installed in an enclosure that has redundant power sup-plies sitting side by side. The prevalence of this design approach indicates that the safety mechanisms we have in mind will be effective only to the extent that they prevent accidents caused by the potential failure of the engineered product themselves.” He suggested that, “We now need to pursue a structural switch in redundant architecture, from homogeneous to heterogeneous, and need to add diversified technologies such as wireless com-munication systems and various kinds of sensors to measure open systems.”

These panel discussions were the first of their kind following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Attendees agreed that, while natural disasters cannot be avoided, it would be a shame if we can’t learn and gain important insights from them. HP The author, Director of Research at ARC Advisory Group Japan, has over 25 years of experience writing about and covering the industry for leading publications in Japan including Control Engineering, Asia Electronics Industry and others. He was based in New York during most of 1990s covering the electronics industry for Dempa Publications. Mr. Kai has BA and MA degrees from Sophia University, Tokyo.

Automation-related lessons learned from

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HPI

MPACT

BILLY THINNES, TECHNICAL EDITOR

I

17

European refiners’ safety

performance in 2010

European oil company association CONCAWE started compiling statistical data on safety performance for the Euro-pean downstream oil industry 17 years ago. The group recently released its safety report for 2010, featuring data from 34 CONCAWE member companies. These companies when combined account for approximately 93% of the refining capac-ity of the EU-27 countries, plus Norway, Switzerland and Croatia.

The results are reported mainly in the form of key performance indicators that have been adopted by the majority of oil companies operating in Europe, as well as by other industry sectors.

Accident frequencies in the European downstream oil industry are generally at low levels and the 2010 performance con-tinues this trend. Standing at 1.9, the lost work incident frequency (LWIF) indicator for 2010 is less than 2.0, as has been the case since 2007 (this figure is calculated from the number of lost workday injuries (LWIs) divided by the number of hours worked expressed in millions).

For the second consecutive year, CON-CAWE members were asked to provide process safety performance indicator (PSPI) data which describe the number of process safety events (PSEs) expressed as unintended loss of primary contain-ment (LOPC). Twenty-four companies provided data in 2010 which represented a significant increase from the 18 com-panies that responded in 2009. From these responses, a process safety event rate (PSER) indicator of 2.3 for all PSEs was recorded. This is a notable reduction versus the 4.1 recorded in 2009, caused mainly by a significant increase in the working hours of those companies report-ing PSE data.

Focus on fatalities. A total of 14 fatali-ties were reported for 2010 that were the consequence of 14 independent incidents. Following a steady downward trend dur-ing the 1990s, fatality numbers started to increase in 2000. Fatalities reached an alarming peak of 22 in 2003 before

sub-stantially trending downward from 2004– 2006. Fatalities were recorded at 11 in 2008 and in 2009.

This year manufacturing contractors appeared to be the most vulnerable work group, experiencing 13 fatalities. Clearly, this is of concern and all companies should ensure that the contractor work-force is fully integrated into the compa-nies’ safety monitoring systems. The fatal accident rate (FAR) of 2.68 continues to be at a level similar to that observed in the late 1990s.

The report notes that road traffic acci-dents clearly decreased compared to earlier years with the rate reaching a plateau from 1999. There was a small reduction in the road accident rate (RAR) in 2010. These accidents essentially occur in the market-ing activity where the bulk of the drivmarket-ing takes place.

One point of particular interest is the “safety triangle,” which is the relationship between the total number of recordable incidents or the number of LWIs and the number of fatalities. This diagram is illus-trative but not to scale, as shown in Fig. 1. Also shown is a graph of LWI and all recordable incidents (AI) per fatality.

Fig. 1 illustrates the declining num-ber of fatalities until 1999 whereas the total number of incidents remained fairly constant. The period from 2000–2003 saw a steady increase in fatalities while both AI and LWI were still on a decreas-ing trend, resultdecreas-ing in a decrease of the ratios. The lower number of fatalities from 2004–2009 reversed the trend resulting in relatively steady ratios with a small positive spike in 2006 when there were only seven

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 LWI per fatality AI per fatality Fatalities LWI AI 979 2609 14 2010

The European refining industry’s safety triangle, which is the relationship between the total number of recordable incidents or the number of lost workday injuries (LWIs) and the number of fatalities. Also shown is a graph of LWI and all recordable incidents (AI) per fatality from 1992–2010.

FIG. 1 0 1 2 3 4 Road accident Fall Construction/ maintenance Burn/electrical Conﬁned space Other Manufacturing Marketing Causes of fatalities in 2010. FIG. 2 Road accidents Maintenance/ construction Burn/ﬁre/ explosion Others 60% 40% 20% 0% Third party action 1998–2010 2006–2010

Causes of fatalities from 2006–2010 and from 1998–2010. FIG. 3

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HPI

MPACT

19

fatalities. Despite an increase in fatalities in 2010 the ratios were only slightly reduced. These observations led to the conclusion that the overall improvement in the level of lower severity safety indicators is not neces-sarily leading to the prevention of the more severe incidents that result in fatalities.

Fig. 2 details the causes of the 14 fatali-ties recorded in 2010 and Fig. 3 shows the percentage of the main causes over the last five years and for all years since this infor-mation was first collected in 1998.

The FAR (2.68 per 100 million hours worked) and the total number of fatalities (14) in 2010 were somewhat higher than in 2009, which is of concern. Thirteen of the 14 fatalities were associated with con-tractors: five (~36%) were caused by burn or electrical incidents, three (~21%) were a result of confined space entry incidents, two (14%) were caused by road accidents, two (~14%) resulted from construction and maintenance, one (~7%) resulted from a fall from height, and one (~7%) was classified as “other.”

For the last five-year period, construc-tion/maintenance/operations activities and road accidents remain the principal causes of fatalities.

Libya at a glance

Wood Mackenzie recently undertook an analysis of Libya, attempting to discern how long it could take for a recovery of oil and gas production. One of the key issues in this respect is how quickly the National Transitional Council (NTC) can stabilize the security situation across the country. Regardless, it is too early to expect a material recovery in Libya’s oil and gas production.

“Once a resolution is reached, we believe it will take around 36 months for oil production to recover to the pre-conflict level of 1.6 million bpd,” said Ross Cassidy, a research analyst for Wood Mackenzie. “It may be possible, however, for up to 600,000 bpd to be restored within three months assuming a swift end to hostilities, and an early focus by the NTC and inter-national community on stability and infra-structure repair.”

Wood Mackenzie’s global gas research shows that gas production could take less time to recover. Eight billion cubic meters of gas per year is contracted from Libya to Italy, with Eni as the primary off-taker sell-ing to customers in Italy. The Greenstream gas pipeline routes gas from Eni-operated fields in Libya to Italy.

“The Italian market is presently over-supplied with gas and Eni has had to delay off-take obligations from other suppliers because insufficient market is available,” said Massimo Di-Odoardo, a European gas analyst for Wood Mackenzie. “During the Greenstream outage, Eni increased off-take of Russian pipe gas supplies therefore, resumption of Greenstream will add gas to an already oversupplied Italian market with implications for downside price risk

and reduced flows of pipe gas from other suppliers, notably Russia. It could take as little as three months to restart Green-stream supply and reach pre-crisis produc-tion levels, however, the time to resume supply will depend on local security and the state of infrastructure.”

Wood Mackenzie estimates that it will take around 36 months for Libya to recover its full production capacity, from when-ever the current crisis reaches a resolution.

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HPI

MPACT

21

This depends on the scale of damage to oil infrastructure being limited, swift removal of international sanctions and the timely return of international oil companies and foreign workers. The Libya state-owned NOC and the international industry will have to work in partnership to repair facili-ties, restart production and ramp-up to pre-crisis rates. Production recovery is likely to vary by basin. It will take longer in the mature and complex Sirte Basin, in eastern Libya, which is the foundation of Libyan production, than in the more modern and less complex fields of the Murzuk and Pela-gian Shelf basins, of western Libya.

Substantial oil volumes could be back in the market by late 2012, if a resolution is achieved by the end of 2011. But the recovery period will extend if production remains shut-in for longer, as infrastructure continues to deteriorate. There is unlikely to be any increase in production or restart of exports, while Libya’s oil infrastructure is open to sabotage by either side.

In the longer-term, the production outlook will be largely dependent on the nature of the outcome to the conflict and its political fallout. Libya has the poten-tial to produce up to 3 million bpd of oil and become a major gas exporter through partnering with the international industry, which will bring finance, skills and tech-nology to existing fields. But, for now, this brighter future remains on hold until mili-tary operations are concluded.

EU Parliament seeks

stricter greenhouse

gas rules

The European Parliament is calling for fast action to reduce non-CO2

cli-mate forcers including black carbon soot, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane and ground-level ozone. The Parliament’s call for action came in a resolution passed this week by an overwhelming majority (578 to 51 with 22 abstentions).

The resolution calls for a comprehensive climate policy and “stresses that in addition to considering CO2 emission reductions, it

should place emphasis on strategies that can produce the fastest climate response,” spe-cifically strategies to cut black carbon soot, HFCs, methane and ground-level ozone.

Because these climate forcers are short-lived, reducing them produces a fast cli-mate response, the Parliament said.

This is in contrast to long-lived CO2,

where a significant portion remains in the

atmosphere for thousands of years. Even cutting CO2 emissions to zero today will

not produce cooling for a thousand years, officials said.

“Cutting just two of the short-lived climate forcers (black carbon soot and ground-level ozone) can cut the rate of global warming in half and by two-thirds in the Arctic for the next 30 to 60 years, assuming we also make progress on CO2,”

said Durwood Zaelke, president of the

Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.

Emissions of black carbon and other short-lived climate forcers can be reduced quickly using existing technologies and existing laws, according to a recent assess-ment by the UN Environassess-ment Program and World Meteorological Organization. The EU resolution follows the first-ever ministe-rial meeting on short-lived climate forcers held September 12 in Mexico City. HP

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HPINNOVATIONS

I

23

SELECTED BY HYDROCARBON PROCESSING EDITORS

Mercaptan oxidation in aqueous waste

Tert butyl mercaptan (TBM) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) are oxidized to destruction in an aqueous-waste solution containing methanol (MeOH), mono-ethylene glycol (MEG), ammonia and hydrocarbon sources using advanced oxi-dation process (ozone, hydrogen peroxide and uV). The aqueous solution in the trial mimics the expected waste stream from a gas-transport pipeline.

Background to the problem. PSE Kinsale Energy required a process to dispose of an aqueous waste stream in a gas-storage project. Injection gas consti-tutes odorized natural gas containing 4.7 ppmv and 1.3 ppmv of TBM and DMS respectively. This is injected into an off-shore reservoir during summer for winter withdrawal. Withdrawn gas is expected to be water saturated, and hydrate inhibi-tors, MEG and MeOH, are injected. The aqueous waste generated from the onshore separator contains MEG/MeOH, TBM/ DMS and trace amounts of native petro-leum species (alkanes, cyclics, phenol, etc.).

Initial treatment options. Due to the uncertainty of produced water flowrates (from 10 m3_{/d to 100 m}3_{/d) and}

the relatively low absolute value of flows, disposal is best achieved by third-party offsite disposal. Third-party water-treat-ment plants cannot accept a waste with mercaptan (thiol).

Pilot-trial results. Phase 1 of trials by PSE Kinsale Energy was to establish back-ground rates of MEG/MeOH destruction. If the process achieved significant MEG/ MeOH destruction, disposal could be implemented within the site and transport infrastructure could be avoided. Batches ran up to two hours. Achieved destruction for samples of different chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations, respec-tively 98 mg/l and 35 mg/l, were 45% and 12%. This did not yield a viable disposal process and was unexpected.

Phase 2 dosed mercaptan and petroleum species into MEG/MeOH solutions. The trials were located in a remote area due to

odor potency. Vials were opened under a liquid surface to prevent gas escape, and equipment was rinsed with hypochlorite to destroy mercaptan odor. The trial equip-ment was placed under a fume-hood with an extract fan fitted with a KOH/KI-impregnated activated-carbon filter.

In tests, mercaptan odor was not evident after 30 minutes. Subsequent trials with varying solution strengths confirmed this. Increasing the background COD from 700 mg/l to 2,400 mg/l equivalent did not sig-nificantly affect the mercaptan destruction rate as detected by the trial operators, as shown in Fig 1.

Attempts to identify a rate of reaction were not possible; the reaction was quicker than one simple residence time (50 liters circulated at 1m3_/h).

In Phase 3, two batches of a fully simu-lated waste with petroleum species were processed for 120 minutes. The analysis to confirm odor destruction was three-fold:

• Liquid samples were taken at time intervals and analyzed for mercaptan.

• After 120 minutes, the batch was transferred to a barrel for headspace analysis using graphite adsorption tubes.

• Liquid samples were taken at time intervals and subsequently sampled by an odor panel. Mercaptan destruction was confirmed within 60 minutes.

Conclusion. The advanced oxidation process using ozone/uV rapidly and selec-tively destroyed mercaptan in an aque-ous waste containing MeOH, MEG and petroleum species. Competitive behavior was negligible despite the higher concentra-tions of the potentially competing species. Despite the inference in published research, the oxidation process was not capable of destroying MeOH or MEG in a time suit-able for process implementation.

Wastewater treatment exceeds standards

The result of a four-year development effort, GE’s next-generation membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater-treatment technology, LEAPmbr, is claimed to offer the lowest life-cycle costs available from any MBR technology, while also being

cost-competitive with conventional treatment. These cost savings, along with operational simplicity and a compact footprint, derive from innovations to the popular GE Zee-Weed 500 MBR product line. Cost and efficiency savings include:

• A minimum 30% reduction in energy costs

• A 15% improvement in productivity (greater water-treatment capacity)

• A 50% reduction in membrane aera-tion equipment and controls, leading to a simpler design with lower construction, installation and maintenance costs

• A 20% reduction in physical footprint, leading to further reduced construction and installation costs, as well as lower ongoing consumption of cleaning chemicals.

MBR technology consists of a sus-pended-growth biological reactor inte-grated with GE’s high-performance, rug-ged ZeeWeed hollow-fiber ultra-filtration membranes. ZeeWeed membranes are immersed in a membrane tank, in direct contact with the water to be treated, which is known as mixed liquor. Through a permeate pump, a vacuum is applied to a header connected to the membranes. The vacuum draws the water through the ZeeWeed membranes, filtering out solids,

As HP editors, we hear about new products, patents, software, processes, services, etc., that are true industry innovations—a cut above the typical product offerings. This section enables us to highlight these significant

developments. For more information from these companies, please go to our website at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/rs and select the reader service number.

TBM DMS COD 0.0 0 400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000 2,400 2,800 0 10 20 30 Time, min40 50 60 1.0 2.0 3.0 Odor ant conc ., mg/l COD , mg/l 4.0 5.0 6.0

Mercaptan destruction rate. FIG. 1

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HPINNOVATIONS

25

along with bacteria and viruses. The filtered water, or permeate, can then be further treated, reused or discharged as needed.

Alliance brings together production technology

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, has formed a licensing alliance with ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Co. (EMRE) to offer integrated solutions for producing lubricant oils and high-quality fuels. The agreement between Honeywell UOP and EMRE will reportedly provide a one-stop solution for refiners to maximize lubricant oil and diesel fuel production levels. The alliance harmonizes EMRE technology, used to produce lube base oils for use in motor oil, with UOP hydropro-cessing solutions that produce the high-quality feedstocks needed for lubricant production.

Users will also have access to integrated process design solutions for EMRE fuel-dewaxing technologies and UOP hydro-processing solutions to produce high-cetane, ultra-clean diesel for cold climates in a single engineering package. “By bring-ing together these two well-established portfolios, we are maximizing solutions for our customers to produce more and better products from each barrel of crude,” said Pete Piotrowski, vice president and general manager of Process Technology and Equip-ment for Honeywell’s UOP.

Redesigned analyzer for H2S in crude oil

The OMA-300 hydrogen sulfide (H2S)

analyzer crude oil edition from Applied Analytics, Inc. (AAI) is a specialized con-figuration of the OMA-300 H2S system.

Equipped with a headspace sample-con-ditioning system, it monitors an opaque liquid process. When a sample is too dark or dirty to transmit a light signal, the head-space system is said to produce a

represen-tative vapor-phase sample that can be easily monitored via ultraviolet-visible absor-bance spectroscopy and correlated to the chemical composition of the liquid process.

“AAI has always offered a highly effec-tive solution for measuring H2S in opaque

liquids, but the current demand for crude analysis has given us cause to rethink our offering,” said Dan Murphy, senior mechanical engineer. “The process resulted in modifications to the crude oil edition

Applied Analytics’ headspace system.

FIG. 2

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HPINNOVATIONS

26

of the OMA-300 H2S. The refined design

puts everything in one enclosure and adds the capability to monitor multiple crude streams at once using multiple headspace columns running in parallel.”

Renewable fuel options for condensing hydronic boiler

Fulton’s Vantage boiler, which has been available since 2003 as an

ultra-high-effi-ciency condensing hydronic boiler, is said to be drawing attention for its ability to use B100 biodiesel and ultra-low-sulfur (under 15 ppm) heating oils for full con-densing operation. “As a result of com-prehensive testing at the independent Brookhaven National Laboratory, it has been proven that the Vantage can meet or exceed the thermal efficiencies attainable with natural gas,” said Erin Sperry, Fulton’s commercial heating product manager.

The biodiesels used in the Brookhaven testing facility included biodiesels pro-duced from both soybeans and recycled tallow. According to findings, ignition on B100 biodiesel, even from a cold start, was identical to traditional No. 2 heating oil. Testing also discovered that carbon-monoxide emissions and smoke-number readings were essentially maintained at zero during steady-state operation and at a normal excess-air level of 25%. Fol-lowing test runs, burner head inspections found no significant coke deposits and measurable reductions for NOx, SO2 and

soot were observed. Predicted corrosion rates were in the acceptable range for the application. Boiler-jacket loss—moni-tored using the standards of the Ameri-can Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 103—was found to be 0.2% of steady-state input, a very low value.

At Brookhaven, boiler efficiency was measured using both an indirect flue-loss method and a direct input/output method. As typically observed with hydronic boilers, efficiency and conden-sate collection rate are impacted by the return-water temperature. At high fire with a return-water temperature of 122°F, efficiency was found to be 88%. At low fire with a return-water temperature of 90°F, efficiency was 93%. Under BTS-2000 test conditions of 80°F, return-water temperature and 180°F supply-water temperature, the rated efficiency was 98% at high fire.

Fulton’s Vantage boiler. FIG. 3

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