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AUGUST 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
FLUID FLOW AND
ROTATING EQUIPMENT
Analyze abnormal operations of an HDSreactor loop with dynamic simulation
PROCESS ENGINEERING
Choose the most appropriate modeling approach for reactors Distillation technology—Then and now
MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
Design operations-and-maintenance-friendly pressure vessels
HEAT TRANSFER
Sampling of heat transfer fluid offsets carbon effects on thermal plant efficiency
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SPECIAL REPORT: FLUID FLOW AND ROTATING EQUIPMENT
25 Analyze abnormal operations of an HDS reactor loop with dynamic simulation O. Garcia, R. Shipman, C. Tong and R. E. Palmer
29 Extend ethylene plant run length with compressor chemical treatment J. M. Hancock and S. Rodrigues
33 Boost capacity of SRUs with mixing devices for oxygen enrichment M. Rajasekhar, V. D. Thakare, G. Srivardhan, V. K. Jayanti,
D. K. R. Nambiar, S. R. Singh and V. Shukla
BONUS REPORT: LNG
39 Cylindrical hull concept improves design for offshore FLNG production L. Odeskaug and S. Mokhatab
PROCESS ENGINEERING AND OPTIMIZATION
45 Choose the most appropriate modeling approach for reactors A. A. Jain and A. Gupta
51 Distillation—Then and now
J. C. Gentry, M. Bhargava and M. J. Binkley
MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
55 Design operations-and-maintenance-friendly pressure vessels—Part 1 G. Murti
PROCESS CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION
59 Utilize genetic programming to develop new point efficiency correlation N. Kasiri, P. Jouybanpour and M. Reza Ehsani
WATER MANAGEMENT
65 Experience with naphtha in sour water emulsions generated in a fractionator overhead accumulator
C. McKnight and B. Rumball
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY
70 Understand the sources of oil pollution in water M. Yang
73 Consider post-design changes to confine a hazardous area S. V. Bapat
HEAT TRANSFER
77 Sample heat transfer fluids to offset carbon effects on thermal plant efficiency C. Wright
GAS PROCESSING SUPPLEMENT
GP-1 Technology and Business Information for the Global Gas Processing Industry Cover Image: MAN Diesel & Turbo North America, headquartered in Houston, Texas, provides the full array of MAN diesel and gas engines, turbomachinery and after-sales service support. Photo courtesy of MAN Diesel & Turbo North America Inc.
DEPARTMENTS
4 Industry Perspectives
10 Business Trends
15 Industry Metrics
17 Global Project Data
81 Innovations 83 Marketplace 84 Advertiser Index 85 Events 86 People COLUMNS 7 Publisher’s Letter
The transition into a new era
9 Editorial Comment
A historical snapshot of a complex global industry
19 Reliability
Monitor electric motor vibration and optimize motor bearing lubricant application
21 Viewpoint
An engineer’s guide to networking
24
38
4 AUGUST 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Industry Perspectives
President/CEO John Royall
CFO Pamela Harvey
Vice President Ron Higgins
Vice President, Production Sheryl Stone
Publication Agreement Number 40034765 Printed in USA Other Gulf Publishing Company titles include: Gas Processing, Petroleum Economist and World Oil.
P. O. Box 2608
Houston, Texas 77252-2608, USA Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301 Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
Petchem Tech Forum highlights
advances in US petrochemicals
In mid-July, Hydrocarbon Processing held its inaugural
Petchem Tech Forum. The forum was a two-day event at which leading technical experts and professionals provided the latest advances in petrochemical technologies and techniques. It in-cluded sessions on topics such as process control and automa-tion, maintenance and reliability, turnarounds/revamps, plant design, water treatment, analytics and risk management.
These are extraordinary times for the petrochemical sector, especially in the US. The US petrochemical industry is in the midst of one of the largest industry expansions to ever occur in North America. Cheap, readily available shale gas has provided chemical producers in the US with low-cost feedstocks, fueling over $135 B in new petrochemical capacity. This investment includes a sharp increase in the construction of ethane cracking and derivatives capacity, ammonia and urea plants, and methanol production. By 2020, the US is forecast to start up nearly 10 MMtpy of new ethylene capacity, including new cracker projects, as well as capacity expansions. Companies such as Chevron Phillips Chemical, Dow, ExxonMobil, Ingleside Ethylene, Formosa Plastics, LyondellBasell and Sasol will be instrumental in adding over 8 MMtpy of new US ethylene capacity by the end of the decade (TABLE 1). This first wave of investment constitutes a total capital expenditure of nearly $20 B. Additional expansion projects are expected to add over 1 MMtpy of additional ethylene capacity by 2018. A second wave of new ethane crackers could add 8 MMtpy by the early 2020s. If built, total capital expenditures could top $50 B.
According to the American Chemistry Council, gross exports of US chemical products will more than double from $60 B in 2014 to over $120 B by 2030. Billions of dollars will be invested in the construction of pipelines, storage terminals and export capacity through the end of the decade. Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database is tracking more
than 100 active petrochemical projects in the US. At present, the US represents approximately 17% of global market share for active petrochemical projects.
For more information and coverage on Hydrocarbon
Processing’s inaugural Petchem Tech Forum,
please visit HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
PUBLISHER Catherine Watkins
EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Lee Nichols
[email protected] EDITORIAL
Executive Editor Adrienne Blume
Managing Editor Mike Rhodes
Technical Editor Bob Andrew
Digital Editor Kyle Kornegay
Reliability/Equipment Editor Heinz P. Bloch Contributing Editor Alissa Leeton Contributing Editor ARC Advisory Group Contributing Editor Anthony Sofronas
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ADVERTISING SALES See Sales Offices, page 84.
CIRCULATION / +1 (713) 520-4440 / [email protected] Manager, Circulation Alice Murrell
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This plan provides full access to all information and data Hydrocarbon Processing has to offer. It includes a print or digital version of the magazine, as well as full access to all posted articles (current and archived), process handbooks, the
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Because Hydrocarbon Processing is edited specifically to be of greatest value to people working in this specialized business, subscriptions are restricted to those engaged in the hydrocarbon processing industry, or service and supply company personnel connected thereto.
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Hydrocarbon Processing (ISSN 0018-8190) is published monthly by Gulf Publishing
Company, 2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020, Houston, Texas 77046. Periodicals post-age paid at Houston, Texas, and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hydrocarbon Processing, P.O. Box 2608, Houston, Texas 77252. Copyright © 2016 by Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted by the copyright owner to libraries and others registered with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) to photocopy any articles herein for the base fee of $3 per copy per page. Payment should be sent directly to the CCC, 21 Congress St., Salem, Mass. 01970. Copying for other than personal or internal reference use without express permission is prohibited. Requests for special permission or bulk orders should be addressed to the Editor. ISSN 0018-8190/01. TABLE 1. New ethane crackers under construction in the US
Company Capacity Startup
Chevron Phillips Chemical 1.5 MMtpy 3Q/4Q 2017
ExxonMobil 1.5 MMtpy 2017
Dow Chemical 1.5 MMtpy 2Q 2017
Sasol 1.5 MMtpy 3Q/4Q 2019
Formosa Plastics 1.5 MMtpy 1Q 2017
Through our work, we define opportunity. As an integrated energy and chemicals
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Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 7
The transition into a new era
Dear Reader,These are unprecedented times in the oil and gas industry. New technologies have produced gluts of both oil and natural gas, which have provided cheap feedstocks for the downstream processing industries. The cyclical nature of the oil and gas business has had vastly different effects on each region. To oil-exporting nations, reduced oil prices equate to low government revenues. In turn, little money is available to fund social, industrial or infrastructure projects. To other nations, low oil and natural gas prices have been a boon to the processing industries. They have seen a boost in the construction of additional downstream processing capacity, as well as cheap fuel prices for consumers, which spur consumption.
As with all cyclical industries, sometimes change is a necessity to ensure the strength and viability of an organization. Change allows a business to build on its strengths and evolve into an even more exceptional enterprise. Hydrocarbon Processing
is undertaking such a transition. As of August 1, I have assumed the role of Publisher for two of Gulf Publishing Company’s exceptional brands, Hydrocarbon Processing and Gas Processing.
Most of my life has been spent in and around the oil and gas industry. I was born in Chicago, but was largely raised in the oil patches of Iran, the UAE and Texas. As a result of my upbringing, I was familiar with drill collars and Christmas trees (assemblies on surface and subsea wells) before I had heard of Barbie dolls. For the past 20 years, I have represented Gulf Publishing Company’s
Hydrocarbon Processing, World Oil and Gas Processing publications in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and
the Middle East/North Africa regions. My contributions included display and digital advertising sales, organizing industry forecast presentations and event participation, and conducting marketing seminars for clients.
During this time, I have found no other publication as highly regarded in the downstream industry as Hydrocarbon Processing. This is
not arrogance or by accident; it is based on audited circulation numbers and years of industry professionals’ testimonials. Hydrocarbon Processing reached this position by applying the highest levels of editorial integrity. It is proof that, although consumer and industry
publications are largely giving up on editorial standards, our industry still values and needs a trusted source of information.
As we look into the future of our industry and publications, technical content is king. This will never change. We will continue to bring our readers the highest-quality technical and operating articles in the industry. It is what we have been doing since 1922, and will continue to do now and into the future. What has, is and will continue to change is how that information is disseminated.
Hydrocarbon Processing wants to engage and listen to the industry to provide editorial and data content in the most useful medium
and format possible. We have already begun this change with the unveiling of the new Hydrocarbon Processing website—but it does
not stop there. Hydrocarbon Processing is exploring ideas such as podcasts, data products and innovative mobile apps.
I want to thank you for your devotion to Hydrocarbon Processing. It is gratifying to hear how our publication, website and
newsletters provide interesting and, more importantly, sound technical content to make your work and our industry a better place. I also want to thank all of the advertisers who support this publication. Please share your comments, ideas and news with us; we highly value your feedback. It is a dynamic time in the downstream industry, and I can guarantee that Hydrocarbon Processing will continue
to be at the forefront of technology, trends and data intelligence.
P. O. Box 2608, Houston, Texas 77252-2608, USA | Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Catherine Watkins
Editorial
Comment
LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
[email protected]Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 9
A historical snapshot of a complex global industry
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
10
Business Trends.Hydrocarbon Processing explores the state of the downstream construction and investment sector. The review includes a detailed trends analysis on new and active construction projects around the world, a market share analysis and an overview of each region’s project activity and future outlook.
24
Special Report. Any problems or failures in the fluid flow systems of an HPI facility will impact the entire plant’s operation and profitability. Significant effort is directed to the proper design, installation, operation and maintenance of fluid-handling facilities. The special report investigates the numerous issues around maximizing plant/process unit uptime and reliability, and eliminating leaks and emissions of process liquids and gases.55
Reliability. Useful ideas are presented to ensure that the design and selection of pressure vessels meet functional safety requirements while providing operation-and-maintenance-friendly service to end users for years to come.65
Water Management.Syncrude Canada’s attempt to modify an overhead accumulator drum to improve naphtha/sour water separation resulted in the formation of naphtha in sour water emulsion. The rapid response to alleviate this problem through the use of a demulsifier is detailed, along with the development of potential mechanical solutions through the application of computational fluid dynamics and cold flow modeling.
As we move into the second half of 2016, we take stock of new project ac-tivity in the global downstream process-ing industry. After all, a detailed trends analysis on new project construction can provide great insight into the strength or weakness of a country’s or region’s econ-omy. FIG. 1 provides a macro-level analysis
on new project construction from 2009 to the present.
Since 2009, new project announce-ments have gradually declined. Besides a spike in 2014, which was a direct effect of the construction boom in the US gas pro-cessing/LNG and petrochemical indus-tries, the overall trend shows new project announcements decreasing over the sam-ple period. However, the drop in project announcements does not mean that the sky is falling. While the overall new proj-ect counts are lower, many nations are wit-nessing a boost in project construction. Factors such as population, economic, and social class growth; new technologies that provide better processing economics; and the move to diversify product portfolios are the primary drivers behind capital-in-tensive downstream infrastructure builds.
The high project numbers in 2009 were attributed to a spike in new refin-ing and petrochemical construction proj-ects in Asia, primarily China. During this time-frame, China was experiencing a refinery building boom. The Middle East was also investing heavily (and continues to do so) in new downstream processing capacity, a deliberate move to diversify product portfolios by increasing partici-pation in the refined and petrochemi-cal products market. Over the past few years, the US has been the leader in new downstream processing capacity, primar-ily through the construction of new gas processing plants, LNG export terminals and petrochemical complexes.
As we look back on nearly a decade of project data, the events that lead to the ups and downs of an industry are quite extraordinary. This is just a snapshot of a complex global industry, and it is intend-ed to provide a brief history of the indus-try’s past and clues as to where it might be headed. For a detailed breakdown and overview of downstream construction activity, please see this month’s Business Trends on pg. 14. 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Africa Asia-Pacific Canada Europe Latin America Middle East US
FIG. 1. New project announcements by region, 2009–2016. Source: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database.
| Business Trends
Capital-intensive investments are being made in every sector of the hydrocarbon processing industry, in every region. The following is an update on the global downstream investment and construction sector. This overview provides a detailed trends analysis on new and active downstream construction projects around the world. This information will help shed some light on the state of the downstream construction sector, as well as provide a detailed overview on each region’s project outlook.
Photo: Fluor completed the lift of a 250-ft, 570-ton C2 splitter in late 2015. The column is part of Chevron Phillips Chemical’s ethane cracker project at its Cedar Bayou complex in Baytown, Texas. Photo courtesy of Fluor.
Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 11
LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Business Trends
The state of the global downstream
construction sector
What is the state of downstream processing capacity? What regions and sectors are seeing growth, and which ones are stag-nant, or possibly shrinking? These simple questions tend to not have simple answers. In short, capital-intensive investments are being made in every sector of the hydrocarbon processing industry, in every region. These investments are ensuring that global demand for petroleum products will be met in the future. The present and future of the downstream processing industry varies immensely by region. The following information will help shed some light on the state of the downstream construc-tion sector, as well as provide a detailed overview on each re-gion’s project outlook.
Along with continued capacity growth in the global refining sector, new technologies are moving the industry toward clean-er, lower-sulfur fuels for transportation. Refiners are investing billions of dollars in new units, upgrades/retrofits and expan-sions to meet new sulfur and emisexpan-sions regulations. These in-vestments include sulfur-reduction programs such as Tier 3 in the US and Canada, National V in China and Bharat Stage 6 in India. Clean-fuels investments promote the reduction of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter in both diesel and gasoline vehicles. Refiners around the world are making necessary investments to produce high-quality fuels that meet Euro 4, Euro 5 and Euro 6 specifications. This will continue to be a major theme through the end of the decade.
Over the past few years, the world has witnessed a surge in new petrochemical capacity announcements, led by the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and US regions. These regions continue to build up petrochemical capacity to satisfy demand, increase product export market share and increase downstream product portfolios. The global petrochemical sector will continue to see growth through the rest of the decade. However, the petro-chemical landscape varies significantly between regions. Many new construction projects remain active, but the outlook for the industry is not as bullish as it was 18 to 24 months ago. This sentiment is reflected in new project announcements over the past few years, which will be discussed later.
The world is watching natural gas become the fastest-grow-ing fossil fuel. Growth on both the supply and demand sides has resulted in the announcement of billions of dollars of capi-tal investment. The increase in natural gas usage has caused a surge in LNG trade over the past few years. However, even with natural gas demand increasing around the world, LNG supply capacity is outpacing demand growth. This is leading to a glut of supplies, which should peak in the early 2020s, according to forecasts. The present LNG glut could jeopardize future LNG
terminal final investment decisions, as LNG developers would be hesitant to invest in heavily capital-intensive terminal con-struction.
The following is an update on the global downstream in-vestment and construction sector. This overview provides a detailed trends analysis on new and active downstream con-struction projects around the world. The following informa-tion was developed using Hydrocarbon Processing’s
Construc-tion Boxscore Database. For detailed informaConstruc-tion on active downstream construction projects, as well as a resource for lead generation, market research, trends analysis and planning, please visit www.constructionboxscore.com.
New projects. According to Hydrocarbon Processing’s
Con-struction Boxscore Database, over 1,000 new projects have been announced since 2014. Nearly half of these projects were announced in 2014, and the trend shows a steady decline in new project announcements since that time. FIG. 1 shows a Box-score Database trend analysis on new project announcements from 2014–2016. Each year runs from July 1 to the end of June. New project announcements have fallen from nearly 490 in 2014, to 320 in 2015, to just over 200 within the past year. This represents a yearly decrease of approximately 35%.
Over the past year, regions such as Africa, Asia and Europe have gained new project market shares (FIG. 2). Although the US’ new project market share has decreased over the past year, the region still maintains the greatest total number of new proj-ect announcements since 2014. The US has announced more
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 2016 2015 2014 US Middle East Latin America Europe Canada Asia-Pacific Africa Ne w do wns tream pr ojec t announc emen ts b y r egion, 20 14– 20 16
FIG. 1. Total new project announcements by region, 2014–2016. Source: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database.
12 AUGUST 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Business Trends
than 280 projects in the past three years. The overwhelming majority of these projects are within the gas processing/LNG and petrochemical industries. In total, nearly 80% of all new US downstream projects have fallen within these two sectors. This activity includes the construction of new cryogenic and gas processing plants, NGL fractionators, hundreds of miles of new pipeline infrastructure and millions of tpy of new LNG export capacity. On the petrochemical front, the US has an-nounced millions of tpy of new capacity growth in ethane cracking and derivative projects, methanol production and ammonia-urea capacity.
The country has also announced a multitude of new refining projects to process lighter crude slates produced from US shale basins, as well as additional secondary units and upgrades to meet new US Tier 3 regulations, which will take effect in 2017.
The Asia-Pacific region is a close second to the US and has announced 260 new projects in the past three years. This rep-resents approximately 26% of the total number of new proj-ects announced globally within that same time frame. Nearly half of all new projects announced in the region are located in China and India (FIG. 3). Just as China has seen unprecedented growth over the past decade, India is emerging as the globe’s new oil demand center. The country’s burgeoning demand is providing huge potential for downstream oil and gas growth.
India’s new project announcements have increased over 140% since 2014. Within the past year, India accounted for 30% of all new projects announced in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Middle East has seen a substantial decrease in new project market share since its wave of new capacity announce-ments a few years ago. Middle Eastern nations rely heavily on oil export revenues. With the decrease in oil prices, the region’s oil exporting nations have taken a substantial hit in govern-ment revenues. This has delayed the implegovern-mentation of certain downstream projects and resulted in multiple project cancel-lations. Regardless, the region still maintains a vast amount of capital-intensive projects. Saudi Arabia continues to be the leader in new project announcements in the region. Like most Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia is making a deliber-ate move to increase its participation in the refined and petro-chemicals product market. In doing so, the country is diversify-ing itself away from its reliance on oil export revenues.
Like the Middle East, Latin American nations rely heav-ily on oil export revenues. The region has seen tremendous petroleum product demand growth over the past decade. To satisfy this demand, Latin America has relied heavily on re-fined project imports, mainly from the US. The region has an-nounced major refining projects to help curb imports, but the drop in crude oil prices has left little money to fund capacity expansions. In the short term, Latin American nations would rather import refined fuels than invest in major expansions or grassroots facilities. This does not mean that the region is void of new project announcements. Some of the bright spots in-clude new refining and petrochemical projects in Mexico and Peru, the growth in Bolivia’s petrochemical sector, as well as additional LNG regasification capacity in Colombia, Puerto Rico, Chile and Jamaica.
In Europe, the majority of new project announcements are located in Eastern Europe, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). These three areas of Europe rep-resent nearly 70% of all new project announcements in the region since 2014. Major ongoing modernization projects in Russia, as well as expansions, upgrades and grassroots refin-ery and petrochemical projects in the CIS, have contributed to this activity.
Canada’s new project market share has hovered around 4% to 5% for the past couple of years. New project announcements have centered on Canada’s desire to monetize excess natural gas supplies. Nearly 75% of recent project announcements in the region were in the gas processing/LNG sector. Histori-cally, Canada has exported almost all of its excess natural gas to the US by pipeline. However, because of the shale gas boom, the US no longer needs to import significant volumes of natu-ral gas from Canada. This has caused a considerable drop-off in Canadian exports to its main customer, with projects showing substantial decreases over the next 20 years. To offset this fi-nancial hit, Canada has announced a multitude of LNG export terminals. The majority of these projects are located on the country’s west coast in British Columbia. An additional half-dozen projects have also been announced on the country’s east coast in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Finally, Africa has seen an incremental increase in new project market share over the past few years. This increase includes new refinery construction in Algeria and Uganda, 4%, 5%, 4% 28%, 32%, 21% 10%, 6%, 6% 3%, 6%, 7% 17%, 11%, 11% 23%, 24%, 34% 15%, 16%, 17%
FIG. 2. Market share analysis of new project announcements, 2014–2016. Source: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database.
Other 4% Vietnam 4% Thailand 4% Taiwan 3% South Korea 5% Singapore 6% Philippines 1% Papua New Guinea 1% Myanmar 1% Malaysia 6% Japan 4% Indonesia 7% India 18% China 30% Bangladesh 1% Australia 5% FIG. 3. Total new project market share in the Asia-Pacific region, 2014– 2016. Source: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database.
Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 13
Business Trends
capacity expansions and grassroots refining and petrochemi-cal facilities in Nigeria and Egypt, and new LNG capacity in countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Active projects. At present, the Boxscore Database is
track-ing more than 2,100 projects around the world (FIG 4). Nearly 80% of total active projects are within the refining and pet-rochemical sectors. The Asia-Pacific region still dominates in total number of active projects in all downstream sectors, led by projects in China and India. These two countries represent over half of all active projects in the region. Combined, Eu-rope and the US represent approximately 30% of total active downstream project market share. This activity includes new petrochemical and LNG capacity in the US, as well as addi-tional refining and petrochemical builds in Eastern Europe, Russia and the CIS. A detailed breakdown of total active proj-ect market share by region is shown on pg. 14.
Approximately 60% of active projects are in the precon-struction stage. A breakdown of active projects by activity level is listed below:
• Engineering—18%
• Front-end engineering design (FEED)—9% • Planning—26%
• Feasibility study—7% • Under construction—40%.
Abandons/holds. Although the Boxscore Database is
track-ing more than 2,100 active projects, market conditions have caused many projects to be moved from active status to de-layed, put on hold or abandoned altogether. According to the
Boxscore Database, over $60 B in capital projects have been placed on hold or abandoned within the past year. These proj-ects include capital-intensive projproj-ects in every region of the globe. Some of the more notable project cancellations and holds include:
• Appalachian Resins ethane cracker (Ohio)—$1.3 B • Ascend Performance Materials Chocolate Bayou
PDH plant (Texas)—$1.2 B
• Atyrau petrochemical complex (Kazakhstan)—$6.3 B • Barrancabermeja refinery modernization and expansion
project (Colombia)—$3.4 B
• BASF methanol-to-propylene plant (Texas)—$1.4 B • Binh Dinh refinery (Vietnam)—$22 B
• Browse FLNG
• CHS Spiritwood fertilizer plant (North Dakota)—$3 B • Douglas Channel LNG (Canada)—$600 MM
• Downeast LNG (Maine)—$2 B
• Marathon Petroleum’s Garyville refinery upgrade (Louisiana)—$2 B
• Moin refinery (Costa Rica)—$1.2 B
• SOCAR OGPC project (Azerbaijan)—$8.5 B • Triton LNG (Canada)
• Valero’s St. Charles methanol project (Louisiana)— $700 MM.
Not all of these projects have been delayed, put on hold or canceled due to low oil prices, although that has been the case with many project cancellations over the past few years. Some of these projects have been shelved due to government sanctions, the inability to secure financing or necessary feedstocks, capital expenditure, re-bids of engineering, procurement and construc-tion quotes, public opposiconstruc-tion and/or poor economics.
215 198 102 71 171 146 72 48 125 101 80 30 14 5 35 13 65 109 94 25 104 66 42 31 75 34 34 28 Asia-Pacific Canada Latin America Refining Petrochemical Gas processing/LNG Other Middle East Europe Africa US
14 AUGUST 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Business Trends
Breakdown of total
active project market
share by region,
July 2016
Source: Hydrocarbon Processing’s Construction Boxscore Database
Other 33% South Africa 8% Nigeria 21% Egypt 24% Angola 7% Algeria 7% Africa Other 4% Vietnam 4% Thailand 2% Taiwan 2% South Korea 4% Singapore 5% Philippines 2% Pakistan 4% Malaysia 5% Japan 2% Indonesia 8% India 21% China 30% Australia 7% Asia-Pacific Other 17% British Columbia 42% Alberta 41% Canada CIS 19% Russia 31% Eastern Europe 17% Western Europe 33% Europe Other 25% Venezuela 7% Peru 13% Mexico 23% Jamaica 7% Bolivia 8% Brazil 17% Latin America Other 8% UAE 10% Turkey 9% Saudi Arabia 20% Oman 10% Kuwait 10% Iraq 17% Iran 16% Middle East PADD 5— West Coast 8% PADD 4— Rocky Mountain 6% PADD 3— Gulf Coast 63% PADD 2—Midwest 15% PADD 1—East Coast 8%
Industry Metrics
MIKE RHODES, MANAGING EDITOR
Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 15 Asia refining margins fell despite strong regional demand. US
gasoline demand continued to rise, and strong export opportunities have strengthened gasoil and fuel oil crack spreads, supporting refinery margins. European gasoline crack spread weakened under oversupply pressure, while the middle and bottom of the barrel recovered amid export opportunities. Pr oduc tion, Bcf d Gas pric es, $/Mcf 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Monthly price (Henry Hub) 12-month price avg. Production M A M F J D N O S A J J M A M F J D N O S A J J M
Production equals US marketed production, wet gas. Source: EIA.2014 2015 2016
Monthly price (Henry Hub) 12-month price avg. Production
US gas production (Bcfd) and prices ($/Mcf)
2016 2015 2014 Oil pric es, $/bbl 20 30 4050 60 70 8090 100110 120 Dubai Fateh W. Texas Inter. Brent Blend M A M F J D N O S A J J M A M F J D N O S A J J M Source: DOE
Selected world oil prices, $/bbl
Global refining margins, 2015–2016*
Margins, US$/bbl 5 WTI, US GulfBrent, Rotterdam Oman, Singapore 0
10 15 20
Mar.-16 April-16 May-16 May-15 June-15 July-15 Aug.-15 Sept.-15 Oct.-15 Nov.-15 Dec.-15 Jan.-16 Feb.-16
Global refining utilization rates, 2015–2016*
60 70 80 90 100
Utilization rates, % USEU 16 JapanSingapore
Mar.-16 April-16 May-16 May-15 June-15 July-15 Aug.-15 Sept.-15 Oct.-15 Nov.-15 Dec.-15 Jan.-16 Feb.-16
US Gulf cracking spread vs. WTI, 2015–2016*
Feb.-16
Cracking spread, US$/bbl
Prem. gasoline Jet/kero Diesel Fuel oil -20-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Mar.-16 April-16 May-16 June-16 May-15 June-15 July-15 Aug.-15 Sept.-15 Oct.-15 Nov.-15 Dec.-15 Jan.-16
Rotterdam cracking spread vs. Brent, 2015–2016*
Prem. gasoline Jet/kero GasoilFuel oil
-20 -10 10 20 40 30
Cracking spread, US$/bbl
0
May-16
May-15 June-15 July-15 Aug.-15 Sept.-15 Oct.-15 Nov.-15 Dec.-15 Jan.-16 Feb.-16 Mar.-16 April-16 June-16
Singapore cracking spread vs. Oman, 2015–2016*
-20 -10 0 10 20 30
Cracking spread, US$/bbl
Prem. gasoline Jet/kero GasoilFuel oil
May-15 June-15 July-15 Aug.-15 Sept.-15 Oct.-15 Nov.-15 Dec.-15 Jan.-16 Feb.-16 Mar.-16 April-16 May-16 June-16
Supply and demand, MMbpd
Stock change and balance, MMbpd
Source: EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, June 2016
82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stock change and balance
World demand World supply
Forecast
2011-Q1 2012-Q1 2013-Q1 2014-Q1 2015-Q1 2016-Q1 2017-Q1
World liquid fuel supply and demand, MMbpd
* Material published permission of the OPEC Secretariat; copyright 2016; all rights reserved; OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, July 2016.
An expanded version of Industry Metrics can be found online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
Brent dated vs. sour grades (Urals and Dubai) spread, 2015–2016*
Light sweet/medium sour crude spread, US$/bbl
Dubai Urals -4 -2 0 2 4 8 6
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Global Project Data
LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 17 New downstream project announcements have continued
to decrease since April. Although the trend in new project announcements is in decline, the downstream processing industry has announced more than 250 projects over the past year. The majority of these projects are located in the Asia-Pacific and US regions. These two regions account for nearly 65% of all new project
announcements since July 2015. In Asia, new project market share is dominated by China and India. This activity includes new capacity builds in the refining and petrochemical sectors, as well as new LNG import terminal construction. In the US, project developers are continuing to boost petrochemical capacity and construction of new LNG export infrastructure.
Boxscore new project announcements, June 2015–present 110 44 31 20 71 25 37 Asia-Pacific Canada Latin America Number of projects by region Middle East Europe Africa US
Detailed and up-to-date information for active construction projects in the refining, gas processing and petrochemical industries across the globe | ConstructionBoxscore.com
Breakdown of active projects by activity level
July-16 June-16 May-16 April-16 Mar.-16 Feb.-16 Jan.-16 Dec.-15 Nov.-15 Oct.-15 Sept.-15 Aug.-15 July-15 June-15 27 20 18 27 18 21 15 13 12 30 22 17 18 26
7%
Feasibility study26%
Planning40%
Under construction9%
FEED18%
EngineeringNumber of projects by region, with total capital expenditure greater than $1 B
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Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 19
Reliability
HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR
Monitor electric motor vibration and optimize
motor bearing lubricant application
Reader feedback is very important to us. From the many questions that make their way to our desks, we can sense the pulse of industry trends, the level of training, professional competence and issues of concern. We usually send off a re-ply and later rework the more interesting correspondence into one of the columns you are reading now.
Keep this in mind as you follow our discourse with a re-liability professional employed by an owner-operator with a number of ammonia and urea plants in locations where blind-ing sandstorms are prone to occur.
Commendations for an admirably tabulated case history. To begin with, this reliability professional—a.k.a.
“the reader”—deserves credit for making important observa-tions on a double-ended electric motor. A high-pressure car-bamate pump and a booster pump were connected to the mo-tor’s shaft ends.
• Each motor bearing housing had one vertical (y) probe and one axial (z) probe. Both are seismic probes that resolve acceleration into velocity. No horizontal (x) probe was utilized.
• The motor tripped on high vibration at one of its bearings. Initially, only one vertical (y) probe reached the trip value, but the second one did not. After 30 seconds, both probes reached the trip value of 7.1 mm/ sec and the motor was shut down, exactly as intended. • All bearings are deep-groove style 6317, indicating an
85-mm bore.
• The failed motor bearings showed bluish discoloration on shafts and bearing inner races, pointing to a lubrication issue. There was no trace of lubricant. • The original design intent was for these bearings to
be lubricated by automatic grease-dispensing devices; however, no such automation was in place. The bearings were last (manually) lubricated in September 2014. No re-greasing was carried out until the bearings failed after about 10 months of operation.
• After rebuilding the motor, the axial (z) probe was repositioned to the horizontal (x) location.
Our reader inquired about API 670 4th Ed. (2000). This industry standard mentions dual-voting logic, which, the reader believes, is adopted by a majority of end users. He noted that the recently released API 670 5th Ed. (2014) rec-ommends single-voting logic for radial vibrations. Based on in-house experience, his company favors either monitoring ra-dial vibration excursions without trip logic or, more recently, two-out-of-two voting logic. The reader sought our advice on
the best voting logic for radial seismic acceleration/vibration monitoring of motors, and asked us to be mindful of ever-present concerns over plant operational availability and ma-chine reliability priorities.
Treat root causes, not symptoms. Our advice was
experi-ence-based. To “protect” this motor with one transducer per bearing housing is probably cost-justified because the plant al-ready has all the associated electronic modules. However, the facility’s objection to using just one transducer was stated in follow-up correspondence, confirming concerns about spuri-ous trips shutting down a highly profitable plant.
Researching the probability of spurious trips in modern installations would be appropriate. The reader’s recollection of failing transducers may have to be updated. Alternatively, if those in authority demanded two seismic transducers and two-out-of-two voting logic, they might plan to install these in vertical (y) and horizontal (x) directions. Implementing two-out-of-two trip voting logic and installing the two probes in readily accessible locations should be considered. Both may be at convenient angles or located at the 12 o’clock and three o’clock positions. The first excursion should sound an alarm
Rotor
Y X Y X
Vib probes Vib probes Y or X Hi Y or X Hi Y or X HiHi Y or X HiHi
Logic cards in BN Logic cards in BN
And And
Drive end Non-drive end
FIG. 1. A squashed orbit with the X-vibration probe shows much less amplitude than the y-probe, so it is possible that during a vibration excursion the y-probe could be in a trip state (HiHi) while the x-probe is indicating normal.
20 AUGUST 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Reliability
if one of the two readings exceeds 7 mm/sec. Automatic trip activation should be linked to both probes measuring an activ-ity exceeding 7 mm/sec.
A special caveat is illustrated in FIG. 1. The example shows a
squashed orbit with the x-vibration probe showing much less amplitude than the z-probe. Therefore, it is possible that dur-ing a vibration excursion the y-probe could be in a trip state (HiHi) while the x-probe is indicating normal. Over the years, we have found that if one end of a rotor is in distress, the other end should show some change from normal. The probe might not be in a HiHi alarm state on the non-distressed end, but it should at least show a Hi alarm on one of its vibration probes (FIG. 1). It is a bit more costly since more cards must be
in-stalled in the monitoring rack, but it is generally worth it.
Generalized vibration guidelines for pumps and electric motors. The reader may be well aware that the
mo-tor at issue here was driving two carbamate pumps. Because carbamate services are quite notorious for being installed in applications with inadequate separation of net positive suc-tion head (NPSHa and NPSHr), it would be of interest to closely monitor pump vibration in this instance. NPSHa is a function of the system and must be calculated, whereas NPSHr is a function of the pump and must be provided by the pump manufacturer.
Vibration velocity on pump bearing housings is measured, and conscientious operators are asked to take these readings once per shift. This compels operators to be in the field where they can use their senses of smell, hearing, vision and touch to determine deviations from normal. Certain types of motor distress are brought on by issues that are rooted in pump de-ficiencies. As shown online in TABLE 1, the allowable vibration
velocity values are a function of pump style and size.
Of course, many potential causes of excessive pump vibra-tion exist,1 and the most prevalent include:
1. Rotor unbalance (new residual impeller/rotor unbalance or unbalance caused by impeller metal removal or wear)
2. Shaft (coupling) misalignment
3. Liquid turbulence due to operation too far below the pump best-efficiency flowrate (BEP)
4. Cavitation due to insufficient NPSH margin 5. Pressure pulsations from impeller vane-casing
tongue (cutwater) interaction in high-discharge energy pumps.
Once a pump has been determined to have a high “total/ all-pass” vibration level, the next step is to identify the cause. A filtered vibration analysis should be obtained, and the first step in such an analysis will be to capture, and then evaluate, the multiples (harmonics) of pump running speed.
Evidence of outdated lubrication technology. This plant
would do well to make reliable bearings and lubrication one of its priority concerns. We recommend they adopt only best-available bearing selection and plant-wide automated lubrica-tion strategies. The plant’s top technical and mid-level managers should appreciate why dry sump oil mist has been successfully used by Best-of-Class (BoC) companies for the past 40 years.
Unless the bearings are lubricated by oil mist, BoCs
disal-low rolling element bearings for electric motors above 500 hp; Siemens allows oil mist in motors up to 3,000 kW (4,692 hp).2
For those insisting on grease, details on automatically or manu-ally applied grease lubrication are important but will differ with the location and orientation of shields (if any) and drain ports. There is considerable reliability impact, depending on the type of grease. Moreover, certain grease application methods some-times result in incorrect fill volume, excessive grease pressure (deflecting shields), rust or dust in bearing element paths, and bearing flat spots (in an installed spare pump set) due to shafts not being rotated, to name just a few. Again, proper greasing procedures and lubrication management are far more impor-tant than placing/mounting/maintaining more monitors on a rolling element-equipped motor bearing housing.
An electric motor with 85-mm bearings is obviously not a small machine. It is maintenance-intensive and may require grease replenishment at least six, and in some cases 16, times per year. If rivet heads pop off in a riveted-cage bearing, the motor sometimes grinds to a halt in mere seconds. We refer the reader to an article describing how BoCs use oil mist on many electric motor bearings (Hydrocarbon Processing, March
1977—fully 39 years ago).
An estimated 26,000 electric motors and 150,000 process pumps are presently using dry sump oil mist lubrication, and some of these have not needed bearing replacements in the past 35 years. Why the reader’s company is not availing itself of oil mist lubrication is very difficult to comprehend and not worth speculating. The one sure thing we know about achiev-ing reliability is that it cannot be obtained with business-as-usual mindsets.
Allow us to zero in on the real problem: The reader is proba-bly only responsible for vibration monitoring tasks. His assign-ment may be limited in scope and he cannot tell higher man-agement that we believe his company is vulnerable in its use of old lubrication technology. Here is how others solved the dilemma: At least two companies accepted our recommenda-tion to send four or five managers to a three-day offsite update session where experts (without allegiance to either vendors or bosses) candidly briefed them on how BoCs become BoCs.
The value of teaching mid-level managers in small groups is far greater than trying to present in-plant seminars to 40 disin-terested lower-rung folks. Their response, time and time again, has been, “I hear you, but that is how we do things around here, and I cannot do anything about it.”
LITERATURE CITED
1 Bloch, H. P., Petrochemical machinery insights, Elsevier Publishing, Oxford, UK, and Waltham, Massachusetts, 2016.
2 Bloch, H. P. and A. Shamim, Oil mist lubrication: Practical applications, Fairmont Publishing Co., Lilburn, Georgia, 1998.
HEINZ P. BLOCH resides in Westminster, Colorado. His professional career commenced in 1962 and included long-term assignments as Exxon Chemical’s regional machinery specialist for the US. He has authored over 650 publications, among them 19 comprehensive books. Mr. Bloch holds BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering. He is an ASME life fellow and maintains registration as a professional engineer in New Jersey and Texas.
Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 21
Viewpoint
GOUTAM SHAHANI, Shure-Line Construction, Kenton,Delaware; and CARL RENTSCHLER, Akron, Pennsylvania
An engineer’s guide to networking
GOUTAM SHAHANI is VP of sales and marketing at Shure-Line Construction and former business development manager at Linde Engineering North America. Mr. Shahani has over 30 years of industry experience and specializes in industrial gases for the energy, refining and chemical industries. He holds BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering, as well as an MBA.
Innumerable articles and training pro-grams have been written on the subject of networking. Among the younger gen-eration, social networking has become a primary means of communicating. So, the question may arise as to why another article on networking is needed. This column’s purpose is to discuss network-ing in the context of engineers worknetwork-ing in the global chemical and refining industry.
Typically, engineers tend to network only when they need something, such as a career change. Alternatively, the au-thors recommend networking as an on-going activity. In today’s volatile business environment with corporate consolida-tion, corporate restructuring, plant clos-ings and project delays, it is critical for engineers at every level to have a broad-based, active network of peers, mentors and coaches. The old adage of, “It is not
what you know, but who you know,” has
never been more true than in this dynam-ic industry atmosphere.
Networking is important for many reasons. It can help engineers stay cur-rent with the latest developments, such as market trends, new technologies and engineering tools, and industry activities. Networking with peers to benchmark and learn new skills helps an engineer expand their horizons beyond their specialized work function. This helps people do their job better and is applicable to every func-tion, including sales, marketing, procure-ment, project manageprocure-ment, process engi-neering and construction management. In some disciplines, there is a greater sup-ply of engineers than demand, and net-working is one way to differentiate one-self in a competitive employment market. In other words, networking greatly helps position a person for the next career move consistent with industry trends.
Creating a viable network. It is
impor-tant to consider both the softer, conceptual issues and the hard mechanistic methods. Conceptual issues must be approached
with a sincere interest and concern to help others. The ability to listen and connect disparate people, facts and figures is very helpful. People do not forget a kind word or a helpful act, even after many years. It is indeed a small world in terms of people in the capital-intensive process industry. Networking must be a two-way street, and is not something that should be turned on and off only when something is needed.
After working in the industry for sev-eral decades and watching it evolve, the authors stress the importance of having a strong foundation, in terms of intent, be-fore launching into the nuts and bolts of developing a network. Some good mech-anistic techniques are:
• Join Linkedin, Toastmasters or other media sites
• Connect with colleagues, ex-employees, college alumni, friends and neighbors • Attend conferences, make
presentations and write articles • Participate in specialized
trade associations and volunteer for committees.
A good network includes people that are involved both internally and exter-nally with an organization or company. A lot of value exists in developing relation-ships within a company. This is especially true in large multinational organizations. By having good contacts within your own and related functions within an organiza-tion, it is possible to learn, exchange infor-mation and collaborate. Inforinfor-mation can flow horizontally and directly between people instead of needing to go up verti-cally through silos. This is faster and more effective for all parties concerned.
Sustaining networking as an SOP.
Maintaining and increasing the network becomes a challenge because everyone is busy. For networking to be effective, it is important to conduct it on a continuous basis. The business world is competitive, and many good performers are losing
CARL RENTSCHLER, P.E., is an engineering consultant specializing in project management, business development, client relationship management and procedure development. He has over 40 years of varied engineering and management experience in the energy and petrochemical industries. He holds a BS degree in civil engineering from Penn State University and a master of engineering degree in civil engineering from Cornell University.
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Viewpoint
23
their jobs. It is important to distinguish yourself among the other good perform-ers. Networking is a way to stay current with technical advances and business trends. This can add valuable input to your company and makes you a potential candidate to other organizations.
Networking should be standard oper-ating procedure for engineers. Each week, time should be set aside to accomplish it, and goals should be set as to the level of networking to be achieved. This is a case where quality overshadows quantity. Fo-cus on making contact with people and organizations aligned with your business and/or technical field. Remember, it is a two-way street, so always be prepared to offer information or assistance to others. Being altruistic is the watchword for ef-fective networking. You will have little success if you are not willing to do your part. When carried out conscientiously, effective networking is a win for you, your colleagues and your company.
One significant hurdle is that many technical people find it challenging to interface and network with others, and therefore do not attempt communica-tions. These challenges include:
• Technical people do not see communications skills as essential. Many engineers
believe communication is something to be endured to get to the technical “meat.”
• Technical people are not expected to be strong communicators.
Often, technical people feel that they are counted on for their knowledge, and they rely on others to
understand if their communication is subpar. This is not a positive approach to promote networking. • Communications are not
considered part of an engineer’s makeup. Some technical people
give up on communications because they feel it is not in their personality, or because they are intimidated by the extroverted and gregarious people around them. It is inaccurate to assume that introverts are poor communicators; in truth, introverts tend to be good listeners and have the capability to be strong communicators, if motivated. Several opportunities exist to find help in developing communication and networking skills. Located in nearly
ev-ery city, Toastmasters organizations offer an opportunity to enhance communica-tion skills through peers. Organizacommunica-tions with the sole purpose of networking tend to be open, supportive and non-threaten-ing. If you feel reticent about the idea of networking, seek out support from col-leagues or an appropriate organization.
A proactive approach. As the global
chemical and refinery industries
be-come increasingly more competitive, professional networking has never been more important. Make network-ing part of your professional life, just as you make a workout part of your daily regimen. It should become a standard operating procedure, as it is a win for all involved and increases your value to your employer. The payoff may not be immediate, but many positives will de-velop over time.
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Hydrocarbon Processing April Fouling Ad.indd 1 3/11/2016 1:47:30 PM
| Special Report
FLUID FLOW AND ROTATING EQUIPMENT
Most HPI facilities are continuous processes; therefore, any problems or failures in the fluid flow systems will impact the entire plant’s operation and the company’s profitability. Considerable effort is directed on the proper design, installation, operation and maintenance of fluid handling systems. Compressors and pumps provide the motive force to convey various process liquids and gases. Equally important are the support equipment systems, such as valves, piping and instrumentation, as part of the infrastructure to manage products and intermediate streams.This month’s special report investigates the numerous issues around maximizing plant/process unit uptime and reliability, and eliminating leaks and emissions of process liquids and gases.
Siemens’ single-shaft centrifugal compressors with horizontally split casings in the STC-SH series can be used for the majority of process applications, including cracked gas, coker gas, process air and refrigerant duties. Photo courtesy of Siemens.
Hydrocarbon Processing | AUGUST 2016 25
Special Report
Fluid Flow and Rotating Equipment
O. GARCIA, R. SHIPMAN, C. TONG and R. E. PALMER, Wood Group Mustang, Houston, Texas
Analyze abnormal operations of an HDS
reactor loop with dynamic simulation
Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) units are used in a petroleum refinery to process a variety of feeds to alter composition via the addition of hydrogen (H2). Process
objectives include reducing the sulfur and nitrogen content for subsequent down-stream processing. Often, existing HDS facilities are modified for higher through-put, feed composition changes and/or in-creased hydrotreating severity. A revamp process study is typically undertaken to identify the changes needed to achieve these new process objectives.
For the evaluation of the HDS reactor loop, two abnormal operating conditions must be considered:
• Heatwave to the reactor effluent equipment and piping caused by the sudden loss of feed
• Settle-out pressure in the reactor loop after the loss of recycle gas flow.
Conventional approaches for evalu-ating the impact on the reactor effluent system of a heatwave can result in over-conservatism in a revamp or new design.
While conventional methods for calculating the settle-out pressure ex-ist, if the revamped settle-out pressure
exceeds the set pressure of the pressure safety valve (PSV) protecting the HDS reactor loop, then there is generally no
Charge pump Feed/effluent exchangers Recycle gas compressor HDS reactor Fuel gas TC LC FC Hydrogen makeup FC Hydrocarbon feed
Recycle gas purge
Product separation Heater Reactor effluent air cooler Separator Legend Reactor feed Reactor effluent Recycle/makeup H2 Wash water FC Sour water LC Wash water FC PC
FIG. 1. Typical HDS reactor loop.
TABLE. 1 Peak temperatures calculated for feed/effluent exchanger shells Exchanger Feed side steady state inlet temp., °F Feed side steady state
outlet temp., °F outlet temp., °FPeak feed side
Effluent side steady state inlet temp., °F
Effluent side steady state
outlet temp., °F Peak effluent side inlet temp., °F
HX Shell 1 448 495 542 550 485 550 HX Shell 2 425 448 524 485 450 538 HX Shell 3 398 425 498 450 426 517 HX Shell 4 365 398 472 426 397 491 HX Shell 5 323 365 448 397 361 465 HX Shell 6 270 323 424 361 315 441 HX Shell 7 203 270 397 315 256 418 HX Shell 8 123 203 350 256 185 389 Air cooler – – – 175 131 325
Fluid Flow and Rotating Equipment
agreed-upon method for calculating the relieving rate. Dynamic simulation is the preferred approach for analyzing these two contingencies.
Key design information is used to develop the dynamic simulation. This includes equipment design details such as tube/shell size, geometry, nozzle loca-tions and elevaloca-tions. Centrifugal pumps and compressors are modeled using the performance curves. CV data is used to model control valves, while volumes are used for piping to model the holdup.
Heatwave caused by loss of feed. In
the HDS unit, a heatwave begins when the liquid feed flow is lost, resulting in a condi-tion where the heat content in the reactor effluent—which normally transfers to the feed in the feed/effluent exchanger—is not removed. As a result, equipment and piping in contact with the reactor effluent will experience higher-than-normal tem-peratures. Evaluating the peak tempera-tures for equipment in the reactor loop with conventional methods may result in very conservative design conditions. A dynamic simulation is used to predict the transient response of the temperatures and pressures for this condition.
A dynamic simulation of a typical HDS reactor loop (FIG. 1) is used to
dem-onstrate the heatwave analysis. The hy-drocarbon liquid feed is pumped by the charge pumps to the reactor loop pres-sure, and the hydrocarbon liquid rate is regulated by flow control. Liquid hydro-carbon is combined with the recycle H2
from the recycle gas compressor. The combined feed stream goes through a series of feed/effluent exchangers, where the reactor feed absorbs heat from the re-actor effluent before being heated to the reactor inlet temperature in the heater.
The reactor feed inlet temperature to the HDS reactor is controlled by adjust-ing the fuel gas flow to the heater burn-ers. The reactor effluent is cooled in the feed/effluent exchangers and then mixed with wash water before entering the re-actor effluent air cooler. The air cooler outlet stream enters the separator, which separates the sour water, liquid hydro-carbon and recycle gas. The liquid hy-drocarbon and sour water are pressured out of the HDS reactor loop. The vapor stream is split, with some gas purged out of the HDS reactor loop to maintain H2
purity in the recycle gas. The remain-ing gas is routed through the recycle gas compressor and mixed with the hydro-carbon liquid feed.
The following example is for a heat-wave resulting from a local power failure where the reactor feed is lost. It is assumed that normal control responses stop the H2
makeup and wash water flows. It is also assumed that fuel gas to the heater is shut off via safety interlock and that there is no heat input to the feed. The recycle gas compressor continues operating and initi-ates the heatwave. The dynamic model is run until peak temperatures on the feed/ effluent exchangers are observed and be-gin to decay. Eight shells are used in series for the feed/effluent exchangers (TABLE 1).
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Relieving rate, lb/hr Pressure, psig Time, min.
Comp. suction Separator Air cooler Effluent side 1 Effluent side 2 HDS reactor Heater Feed side 2 Feed side 1 Comp. discharge Relieving rate
FIG. 2. Settle-out pressures and relieving rates.