106th NPRA Annual Meeting
Transcription
106th NPRA Annual Meeting
106th NPRA Annual Meeting Conference Daily Published by Hydrocarbon Processing Day Two, Tuesday March 11, 2008 Presentations from two national figures kick-start Monday’s general session The NPRA’s 106th Annual Meeting opened Monday with a general session meeting featuring presentations on important current topics by two national figures—John Stossel of ABC News and Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report. Charles Drevna, NPRA’s president, opened the session with a state-ofthe-association report that praised the industry for its steadfast work. He was followed by James Mahoney, NPRA’s chairman, who noted that the success of the industry could be found at home—in its employees. Mr. Mahoney also announced that the winner of the Distinguish Safety Award is ExxonMobil’s polyolefins plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. John Stossel, co-anchor of “20/20” for ABC News, was introduced through a video report he did for “20/20” on the myths of “record high” gasoline prices. Mr. Stossel introduced his presentation by saying that his brain has changed from when he started out as a reporter. John Stossel, news correspondent and co-anchor of ABC News’ “20/20,” discusses his progression as a consumer reporter during Monday’s general session. He said he came out of college thinking that, like most reporters, “Capitalism is okay. It brings us some good, but by and large it is cruel and unfair. That’s why we need government to protect us. It seemed natural to think that way, and I made a career of bashing business.” The award-winning journalist said that his decision to become a consumer NPRA National Safety Conference May 7–8 The Woodlands, Texas Register at npra.org Inside this issue . . . Breakout sessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Gasoline blend scheduling software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 advocate came when he had a chance to UOP’s customer appreciation dinner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 see regulators at work. MILESTONE controls fouling. . . . 7 “It became obvious that regulations Rigorous simulation in process almost always do more harm than good,” he said. “The reasons are not obvious. control projects. . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The first reason is cost, but the bigger Scenes from the meeting. . . . . . 14 cost is the indirect cost of the time and energy and money that is wasted trying For additional coverage of the annual meeting, visit HPInformer: to work in the system instead of deliverwww.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/ ing product, all the creativity that is lost hpinformer just trying to understand the rules.” He noted the steps it takes to deliver a product appear to be endless with all Quick fact: the rules and regulations that need to be followed. This year’s annual “It takes longer to get permission to meeting has more than build a house than it does to build the 1,600 attendees from house,” he said. 30 different countries. Mr. Stossel said that the more he looked into the problem, the more he realized that Today’s competition worked, solving problems better than regulations. He said that the mirSchedule acle is in all the good that is done through the self-interest of companies competing 7:30 am – 9:15 am See General Session on page 5 Surveying the legislative landscape The senior leadership of NPRA held a tion will have a dramatic long-term impact trade programs, that leads us to buying press conference Sunday evening to discuss on the entire US economy and should credits, which I would describe as being their outlook on current and upcoming therefore be considered very carefully. taxed. The only other option we have is energy issues affecting the petrochemical “We need to understand the eco- to reduce production.” and refining industries. Legislative issues nomic impact of any climate change He then shared a guiding concept of in the US of particular concern included legislation. Given the current technol- the NPRA, which is to “promote a level the Energy Independence playing field for all of America’s and Security Act that was industries, based on principles signed into law by President of a free, open and competitive market.” Bush on Dec. 19, 2007, a Norm Phillips, NPRA viceclimate change bill emerging chairman (LyondellBasell Indusout of a Senate committee tries), reiterated Mr. Mahoney’s and language in a House bill point regarding the underlying pertaining to petrochemical tenets of the NPRA. “The NPRA facility safety. will continue to take principled “We believe the [Energy and unapologetic positions on Independence and Secuissues that are important to our rity Act] puts a significant Mahoney, NPRA chairman (Koch Industries), Norman Phillips, industry and the American conburden on the industry. We James NPRA vice-chairman (LyondellBasell Industries) and Charlie Drevna, do applaud Congress, how- NPRA president, meet with members of the media Sunday evening. sumer,” he said. “The House of Representaever, for removing punitive tax measures and misguided tives recently passed a bill sinprice gouging measures from the bill,” said ogy in the refining industry, we have gling out the oil and gas industry for puniJames Mahoney, NPRA chairman (Koch limited options to change greenhouse tive taxes to pay for extending renewable Industries). gas output,” Mr. Mahoney said. “We can credits,” Mr. Phillips said. “That simply Mr. Mahoney also voiced concern work on efficiency, but that is not going represents a federally mandated transfer about a climate change bill in the Senate, to dramatically change our greenhouse of assets from one industry to another. It and noted that any climate change legisla- gas footprint. When you look at cap and is not consistent with the free-market con- CEO Breakfast Featuring: William R. Klesse, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Valero Energy Corporation 9:30 am – 12:00 pm Technical, Management and Issues Sessions 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Annual Luncheon Featuring: Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm Technical, Management and Issues Sessions 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Closing Event: Experience the USS Midway cepts our economy is based on.” Mr. Phillips was also critical of proposed legislation in the House that he said would undermine efforts to secure and protect chemical facilities by highlighting potential plant vulnerabilities to the public. See Legislation on page 5 106th NPRA Annual Meeting National Petrochemical and Refining Association Tuesday, March 11, 2008 1 o d w w r l d s i e use r e n i f e R pro ce ss i n g techno o o r l g d i e y s to h e a t h i w b s r e r e o il s f r ou v er wat e e d s. Let u om s f ISODE WAX ING ISOCRACKING .2 2 (O0 3 1 77 ISOFINISHING i l e d iety of ar 4 . 0 v 1 a 1) 5 show y o u ho ww w. c l g - c l e an . c w . om group 11/111 base oils high purity zero sulphur ultra-low aromatics Today’s breakout sessions Tuesday March 11, 2008 – 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM Issues Sessions Elizabeth F Developing Carbon Dioxide Crude Evaluation and Profit Improvement Manchester B Operations Strategies Distillation Manchester C Manchester A Elizabeth G Elizabeth H FCC Technology The Journey to Operational FCC Revamp Gasification Technology: Improve Crude Selection Demographics and Economics, CO2 Balance Excellence Generating Profit from By Better Understanding Engineering Resources: and Energy Efficiency of Patrick LeRoy the Bottom of the Barrel Crude Oil Quality Biofuels Production Kevin Smith •J oe Fowler, Texas A&M TOTAL Refining Joachim Wolff Pat Swafford Stephen McGovern AM-08-19 9:30am KBC Advanced Engineering Council Shell Global Solutions Spiral Software PetroTech Consultants Techologies, Inc. 9:30am 9:30am AM-08-45 AM-08-40 9:30am AM-08-42 AM-08-87 9:30am 10:30 am – 12:00 pm NEP Panel: •R ick Leicht, NCRA (moderator) •J eff Bonnette, CITGO •B obby Fischer, TOTAL •T ina Drumheller, FrontierNR •V alero •P at Casey, Sidley Austin LLP •M ike Mayo, Valero Energy 9:30 – 10:30 am Tesoro FCC Regenerator Maximizing Value for Managing High Acid Carbon Dioxide and Managing Marine Upgrade Project, Salt Refinery “Orphan” Crudes Refining – Trends and Logistics: What You Lake City Products Challenges Don’t Know CAN Hurt Craig Winslow You Reza Sadeghbeigi Randy Velarde John Jenkins GE Infra Water Gerry Bemberg RMS Engineering, Inc. 10:00am The Plaza Group Jacobs Consultancy Inc AM-08-68 10:00am TOTAL Petrochemicals AM-08-58 10:00am AM-08-17 AM-08-39 10:00am AM-08-49 10:00am A Bold Move in Cheyenne Yield GHG Emissions hydrocracking catalyst Improvement Project Performance selection resulted in a Recovering Maximum Measurement and record run length and Diesel from Crude Oil Management – The significant boost in Fractionation Process at Missing Ruler hydrocracker margins Frontier Oil’s Cheyenne Bill Trout Refinery Tina Swangphol Solomon Associates Criterion Catalysts & AM-08-38 10:30am Tony Freeman Koch Partners LP Technologies and AM-08-43 11:30am Zeolyst International AM-08-92 10:30am Diesel Recovery Options Carbon & Energy A New Process Approach in Crude Unit Product Management: Innovative to Hydrotreating Coker Upgrade and Capacity Approaches for a Naptha Revamps Responsible Energy Raj Patel Future Andrew Sloley Haldor Topsoe Marc Tice CH2M AM-08-88 11:00am AM-08-44 11:00am Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. AM-08-37 11:00am A New Technology for Tank Farm and Terminal Reducing NOx Emission Automation: Developing from FCC Regenerators a Business Case Ye-Mon Chen Patrick Truesdale Shell Global Solutions Emerson Process (US) Inc. Management AM-08-16 10:30am AM-08-46 10:30am Capturing Value Through The Dawn of a New Age Optimization of FCC in Gasoline Blend Catalyst Technology for Scheduling Processing Opportunity Dean Trierwiler Feedstocks Derived from Haverly Systems, Inc. Canadian Oil Sands AM-08-86 11:00am Joseph McLean BASF Catalysts LLC AM-08-21 11:00am Impact of bitumen derived Stoichiometric Combustion Monitoring and Reducing Rerun and Off-Spec Results of Antifoulant in Product Recovery: New feeds on the FCC a Refinery’s Carbon Control Delayed Coker Furnace Opportunities with Footprint Keith Couch Andy Wheeler Jeff Williams Industry Wide Benefits Diego Polanco UOP LLC Bambeck Systems Inc. Delek Refining Monica Mills 11:30am AM-08-48 KBC Advanced 11:30am AM-08-93 11:30am AM-08-20 INTERSOURCE LLC Technologies, Inc. 10:30am AM-08-41 11:30am AM-08-85 Tuesday March 11, 2008 – 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM Renewable Fuels Elizabeth F Management Elizabeth G Workforce Elizabeth H Reliability Manchester C Hydrogen & Refinery Energy Economics Off-gas Systems Manchester B Manchester A Ethanol – Absorbing the Gasoline or Diesel? Where Have All the How Marathon Petroleum’s Hydrogen Costs and Issues Economics of Refinery Deluge Workers Gone? Reliability Initiative – Gasification vs. SMR Energy Saving Projects Joseph Jacobs Changed MPC In a Changing Market Kevin Waguespack Paul Weissgarber Dale Simbeck KBC Advanced Lance Holmer Douglas White Baker & O’Brien, Inc AT Kearney SFA Pacific, Inc. Technologies, Inc. AM-08-77 2:00pm AM-08-59 2:00pm Marathon Petroleum Co. AM-08-74 2:00pm Emerson Process 2:00pm AM-08-72 Marty Moran Management Meridium Inc AM-08-62 2:00pm AM-08-64 2:00pm Commercialization of Rapid Excel Modeling How will Biofuels The Potential Contribution Managing the Challenges Gray Matter(s) in Human Reliability New Low-cost H2 for the Optimization of Challenge Petroleum of Coal-to-Liquids of Complex Operations Refinery Energy Systems Refining? Technology to the US and Work Force Recovery Process Jim Stephanou and Global Energy Pool Changes. Are You from ExxonMobil and Charles Der Ronald Cascone Bayer Corporation Ready? Bruce Burke Iraj Isaac Rahmim AM-08-67 2:30pm QuestAir Technologies: Praxair, Inc. Rapid-Cycle Pressure Tom Ratajczak AM-08-61 2:30pm Nexant, Inc E-MetaVenture, Inc Swing Adsorption AM-08-78 2:30pm AM-08-56 2:30pm UOP LLC Bal Kaul AM-08-69 2:30pm ExxonMobil Research And Engineering Co. AM-08-73 2:30pm Capital Projects Survey The Challenges and Wireless Retrofits for Economic LPG Recovery Sustaining Refinery Biofuels: New Vance Scott Rewards of Hiring Hourly Enhanced Plant Asset from Stranded Low Energy Improvement Opportunities for CoEmployees Management Pressure Gas Using Solomon’s NCM3 Processing Renewable AT Kearney Methodology Feeds in Refinery AM-08-89 3:00pm Clarence Trowbridge Dave Siegel Kevin Currence Process Equipment Chris Bustamante BP AirSprite Technologies Black & Veatch Brian Watkins AM-08-70 3:00pm AM-08-47 3:00pm AM-08-76 3:00pm Solomon Associates AM-08-60 3:00pm Grace Davison AM-08-80 3:00pm A Fresh Look at Project Enhancing Operator Inspection and Monitoring Refinery Off Gas Treatment Energy Management Converting Pyrolysis Evaluation & Execution Effectiveness with Tools, of Coke Drum for Life and Recovery – System Oils to Renewable Training and Processes Extension and Safety Challenges of Designing Nick Spates Transport Fuels: James Jones ROG Units Processing Challenges David Holden Tej Chadda Turner, Mason & Co. MPC & Opportunities Sheng-Yi Chuang AM-08-57 3:30pm Invensys Process Foster Wheeler USA AM-08-63 3:30pm Jennifer Holmgren Technip USA Systems Corp 3:30pm UOP LLC AM-08-71 3:30pm AM-08-65 3:30pm AM-08-75 AM-08-81 3:30pm Value Engineering in an Evolving Best Practices Renewable Raw Escalating Business Through SimulationMaterials for Fuels Environment based Training and Petrochemicals Production David Nash Dennis Nash Andrea Pinho Chicago Bridge and Iron Control Station AM-08-55 4:00pm Ron Smith Petrobras AM-08-79 4:00pm Chevron Products Co. AM-08-90 4:00pm Problem-Free Sulfur Exponential gains through incremental change Plant Startups with Pre-Activated Tail Gas Jim Brigman Catalysts Ingenero Inc. Mike Schmidt AM-08-94 4:00pm Axens NA, Inc. AM-08-91 4:00pm New gasoline blend scheduling software meets the demands of a changing world D. TRIERWILER, Haverly Systems Inc, Houston, Texas If you are interested in a more in-depth discussion of this subject, Haverly Systems will be presenting “The Dawn of a New Age in Gasoline Blend Scheduling” at 11 AM today in Manchester A. Achieving optimal operations concerning the movement and blending of gasoline has always been challenging, but it is even more so today. It was stated in a talk at last Fall’s Q&A that gasoline is no longer produced as a fuel, but more as a mixture of chemicals. While this statement is somewhat perplexing, it does speak to the dilemma gasoline production has become. The quality of gasoline as a fuel has largely become secondary to its chemical make-up and resulting environmental effects. As refiners have learned, it is Fig. 1. Sample of the H/Gal-XE scheduling system. expensive to clean up gasoline. The least expensive gasoline components are always the dirtiest. Through costly therefore important for gasoline pro- that finished gasoline production be additional processing, many undesir- ducers to daily strike a balance between maximized, while taking maximum able chemicals can be removed from blended gasoline qualities (both envi- advantage of price differentials and these streams, but only with a loss in ronmental and performance), and grade split opportunities, as the costs total production, as well as often a finished gasoline production vol- of producing gasoline blend stocks are reduction in performance1/30/08 quality.6:54:28 It is umes. Optimal operation demands minimized. KBC_CapExAd_08.pdf AM This balance has always been the goal of gasoline producers, but the complexities added to gasoline production in recent years have made reaching it much more difficult. Planners used to rely on operation’s ability to work within their flexibilities to meet plan requirements while dealing with day-to-day operational variances. Operators had more latitude to trim blends when necessary— to position or produce the right stocks required to blend the products needed at the times they were scheduled—to preblend like components with confidence that the resultant mix would still meet blender requirements. But restrictions primarily related to tankage limitations have reduced or eliminated much of the operational flexibility gasoline producers had previously enjoyed. Today’s gasoline blending realities dictate that keeping blending components as segregated as possible increases their value to the overall gasoline pool. Regulations, regional concerns and specialty fuel vehicles have led to greater diversity With a thorough understanding of the key drivers in the business in the quality and number of grades of environment and within the plant, KBC's specialists can provide you finished gasolines produced. Such new with the expert strategic business advice to assist you in making the most efficient use of your investment capital. requirements have severely strained existFrom initial feasibility reviews and configuration/design work to ing gasoline storage facilities. Justifying integration and optimization, KBC can provide you with independent new facilities is proving impossible when Capital Excellence... When It All Falls Into Place C M Y CM MY CY CMY K capital advice at each stage of the project to ensure your investment returns are maximized. KBC is the leading independent global consulting organization with over 300 clients in 50 countries. After nearly three decades of experience in the process industries, we understand the complex issues facing refiners and petrochemical companies. KBC provides a comprehensive range of service offerings, which are custom-designed to reflect your needs while focusing on successful implementation and sustainable competitive advantage. 4 For more information on how KBC can help you achieve capital excellence, contact us at AMERICAS +1 281 293 8200 EMEA +44 (0)1932 242424 ASIA +65 6735 5488 salesinfo@kbcat.com www.kbcat.com the purpose to do so is only to provide additional operational flexibility. The primary purpose of gasoline storage tankage was to provide surge volumes to quickly meet demands or provide ample volume for blend batches. Tanks have now become more like buckets—whose purpose is to be emptied as quickly as possible, and then refilled, possibly with streams of differing qualities. Often now, tanks are entirely bypassed as product is blended and charged directly to a product pipeline or loaded directly onto a vessel for immediate transport. Such efficiencies save significant logistical costs, but make scheduling of volume movements very difficult. So, in order for gasoline producers to achieve optimal operation within an ever more constraining environment, they must turn to advanced computerbased scheduling systems. Spreadsheet balancing is no longer adequate to forecast gasoline blend and transport operations. More than just simple simulation is needed to ensure that gasoline production will indeed be as profitable as possible, given the constraints under which it must be performed. Haverly has developed such an advanced computer-based scheduling system for gasoline blend scheduling, H/Gal-XE. H/Gal-XE provides all the graphical and user interactive features users have come to expect in today’s software tools; plus, it provides producers with the ability to forecast the specific operational events required to result in the most effective and profitable use of gasoline stocks and facilities. H/Gal-XE is an expert system in which most factors concerning gasoline production have been identified and solutions provided to optimize their effect. H/Gal-XE uses a proprietary eventbased technology Haverly calls Progressional LP (PLP). In addition to performing all necessary scheduling simulation calculations, PLP works to maximize profit, minimize delays and optimize equipment usage. ■ Dean Trierwiler is the technical manager at Haverly Systems, Inc. During his 18 years with Haverly, Dean has been involved in the development, application, support and promotion of the company’s planning and scheduling decision software products. Dean spent the first 16 years of his career working in various software development, planning and engineering capacities with Citgo, Chevron and Unocal. Plan to attend the 2008 NPRA Reliability and Maintenance Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio, May 20 –23 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 National Petrochemical and Refining Association 106th NPRA Annual Meeting UOP’s customer appreciation dinner was well attended High TAN Crudes? On Sunday, UOP hosted its annual customer appreciation dinner at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The attendees enjoyed sushi and refreshments among the fossils and exhibits. Over 170 refining industry friends and colleagues from around the world celebrated the growth, partnerships and innovation that have brought success to the petrochemical and refining industries during the past year. Carlos Cabrera, president and CEO of UOP, briefly addressed the group, focusing on some issues facing the industry in 2008. His comments touched upon climate change initiatives, crudes becoming increasingly sour and heavy and integrating biofuels into the supply chain. Music was provided by a string quartet. with each other. He told the group that if you want to win in business, you have to give good products to your customers. “If you are making a better product, then you are making America wealthier.” Stuart Rothenberg was the final speaker of the general session. As the editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, he is considered by many as the go to authority on elections of all stripes. Mr. Rothenberg stated his intent to talk about politics, a subject he deemed really scary. He described himself as a person on the lower end of the political chain. “I’m the handicapper,” he said. “My job is to tell you who is going to win, who is going to lose and what you should be watching for over the next six to eight months.” Legislation continued from page 1 He summed up what he thought the industry should be working on by saying, “We need to do a better job of informing the public and policymakers about our industry, about how it benefits the American economy and creates good paying jobs. We need to point out how our employees safely and reliably meet the needs of consumers.” Charlie Drevna, NPRA president, succinctly synthesized Mr. Mahoney’s and Mr. Phillips’ points by saying, “We hope Congress would use the Hippocratic Oath He said that the mood of the country is sour, and that people want change. “Typically, when people want that it means taking on an establishment figure,” he observed. Mr. Rothenberg commented that John McCain’s brand is good, according to the polls. He also said Barack Obama’s brand is good and that Hillary Clinton’s brand is currently even. “The desire for change in the country is so strong, particularly in the Democrat party, that Obama’s message for change may well have trumped that old line establishment trend,” he said. As for his predictions, he forecast that the Democrat nomination could go to the floor of the convention. He also said that the Democrats will pick up additional seats in the Senate and House, which is “another reason the presidential election is important.” ■ of first do no harm,” in their approach to legislating. Several other topics discussed included accountability for tailpipe emissions and the impact of fuel regulations. Mr. Mahoney stated the belief that the refining industry should not be held accountable for tailpipe emissions, because the industry does not control the miles per gallon of automobiles sold nor control how many miles consumers choose to drive. On the fuel regulations front, it was pointed out that the recently mandated production of ultra-low-sulfur diesel results in an increase in greenhouse gas output. ■ Be Prepared For more information, visit our website www.bakerhughes.com. © 2007 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All rights reserved. SMARTGUARD is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated. PET-07- 13464 General Session continued from page 1 Teaming up with Baker Petrolite takes system protection to new heights. SMARTGUARD Naphthenic Acid Corrosion Control delivers safety-focused processing protocols and advanced corrosion control techniques. The Baker Petrolite team helps you: Reduce feedstock costs Increase feedstock flexibility Maintain equipment reliability Avoid costly corrosion failures Processing higher TAN crude blends successfully takes a team effort. Match our specialized technology, expertise and responsive service with your next opportunity. Contact www.bakerpetrolite.com today. B e s t - i n - C l a s s renewables, refined Ecofining™ from UOP and Eni integrates seamlessly with your operations to produce high-quality green diesel. Together with Eni, UOP has developed a feedstock-flexible hydroprocessing technology that converts a wide range of vegetable oils and other biologically-derived feedstocks into green diesel fuel. With cetane values in the 70 to 90 range and excellent cold flow properties, green diesel fuel produced by our Ecofining process is superior to both petrodiesel and biodiesel and an excellent blending component. Ecofining blends right into your existing refinery infrastructure for a profitable processing option. UOP continues to refine technology, providing real renewable solutions for today and tomorrow. For more information about UOP Renewable Energy & Chemicals and Ecofining™, visit www.uop.com/ecofining ©2007 UOP. All Rights Reserved. 13464.High TAN ads.ARTC.qxp:Layout 1 Control delayed coker heater tube fouling High rates of fouling in delayed coker heater tubes can reduce unit throughput, decrease conversion and also limit the refiner’s flexibility in selection of crude oils processed. Baker Petrolite conducted a long-term research program to understand the effects of feedstock composition on heater fouling tendencies, and to develop chemical additives to control the fouling mechanisms observed due to various feed- 1/30/08 8:23 AM Page 2 High Metals Crudes? streams did not necessarily correlate well to the actual fouling rates experienced in coker furnaces. Consequently, Baker Petrolite developed the Coking Stability Index (CSI) to measure furnace feedstock stability.2 The CSI is a comparative test that is a better predictor of coker furnace fouling tendency charging a given feedstock, as measured by furnace run length. This is illustrated in Table 1. TABLE 1. Run length vs. CSI, asphaltene/resin and saturates/aromatics ratios in selected coker feedstocks Furnace run CSI length Asphaltene/resin ratio Saturate/aromatic ratio Canadian 2.4 Months 99.5 0.348 2.63 Midwest 5.0 months 137.1 0.325 3.85 West Coast 9.0 Months 192.0 0.458 2.94 stock characteristics. This work has led to new fouling control chemical selection and treatment strategies for high-severity applications such as delayed coker heaters. MILESTONE* Heater Fouling Control Technology can improve refinery profitability by significantly reducing heater fouling rates. Causes of delayed coker heating tube fouling. Heater tube coke forma- The Baker Petrolite CSI test is used to measure the stability of asphaltenes in furnace feeds by determining the asphaltene flocculation point using a solvent titration method. The CSI system uses a near infrared (NIR) laser solids detection method to determine the onset of asphaltene flocculation. The apex of the curve corresponds to the point of asphaltene precipitation and provides a relative measure of the stability of the feedstock. The higher the CSI, the more stable the coker feed. The CSI method is also used to evaluate the relative stability of furnace feeds that will be subjected to high temperatures. Example CSI profiles for various feedstock types are shown in Fig. 1. In addition to determining a feedstock’s asphaltene stability, other analytical testing is performed on feedstock and deposit samples to provide additional insight into possible inorganic fouling mechanisms. All of these feedstock properties are benchmarked vs. an extensive database of characterization information developed for a wide range of unit feedstocks. This benchmarking helps predict how severe the fouling in the process heater could be, based on the behavior of similar feedstocks processed in other units. tion is caused by a combination of high oil film temperatures and high oil residence times, plus the inherent instability of the hydrocarbon stream being processed.1 Oil film temperatures are a function of tube wall temperatures and fluid velocities; residence time is determined by heater design and current throughput, plus any use of velocity steam or condensate in the heater tubes. The fouling potential for a given coker feedstock depends on the amount of inorganic contaminants, the type and amount of metals that make up the inorganic contaminants, plus the stability of the asphaltenes and resins in the hydrocarbon stream. In general, the higher the levels of inorganic contaminants, the higher the concentration of asphaltenes and the greater the instability of those asphaltenes, the higher the fouling potential of a specific feedstock will be. MILESTONE additive selection procedures. These proprietary coker Feedstock evaluation tools. feedstock characterization methods and Developing the laboratory evaluation benchmarking processes are also used to tools necessary to understand feed stream develop custom chemical treatment profouling tendencies and to allow the selec- grams for specific unit feedstock types. tion of suitable additive functionalities The efficacy of the selected additive proand dosages is a key to achieving optimal gram is then confirmed with additional MILESTONE fouling control program CSI testing (Fig. 2). performance. Positive performance of the recomBaker Petrolite evaluated the suitability mended chemical treatment program of conventional industry feedstock char- (shifting the stability index to a more staacterization methods for predicting heater ble reading) translates very well to positive tube fouling rates. One finding was that program performance in a high temperastandard feedstock asphaltene/resin and ture furnace experiencing fouling due to saturates/aromatic ratios on coker charge asphaltene destabilization. See Heater tubes on page 8 Be Prepared To help keep your processes running smoothly, Baker Petrolite delivers specialized skills and experience. EXCALIBUR Contaminant Removal Technologies combine industry-leading additives and expert applications. For more information, visit our website www.bakerhughes.com. © 2007 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All rights reserved. EXCALIBUR is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated. PET-07- 13464 Coker feed type The Baker Petrolite team helps you: Increase feedstock flexibility Improve desalter and waste water treatment operations Reduce FCC catalyst deactivation Produce on-spec coke and heavy fuel oils Meet effluent water quality targets Processing high metals crudes successfully takes a team effort. Match our specialized technology, expertise and responsive service with your next opportunity. Contact www.bakerpetrolite.com today. B e s t - i n - C l a s s Heater tubes continued from page 7 Pilot plant studies confirm MILESTONE program effectiveness. Baker Petrolite is an active par- ticipant in an ongoing delayed coker Joint Industry Research Project with a number of petroleum refining and process licensing companies at the University of Tulsa. This JIP has investigated several facets of delayed coker operation, using the US Department of Energy pilot scale delayed coker unit, including the study of hightemperature fouling. Test runs conducted by the JIP using MILESTONE additive Case history 2. High rates of fouling in another North American delayed coker heater resulted in rapid increases in tube skin temperatures and a need to de-coke the heater every 90 days. The heater was de-coked primarily by sequentially pigging each tube pass plus occasional steam/ air de-coking. Significant throughput reductions took place each time the heater went through a de-coke cycle. While the heater was online, it was being operated at its skin temperature limits, and feed rates were being reduced as fouling continued resulting in ever decreasing throughput. These issues were not only impacting delayed coker operations and flexibility, CSI coker stability index furnace feed stability 1,200 West Coast refiner Midwest refiner furnace feed Canadian refiner furnace feed 1,000 Intensity 800 600 400 200 0 50 0 100 150 CSI 200 250 300 Fig. 1. Example CSI Profiles for various coker feedstocks. National Petrochemical and Refiners Association 1,200 106th NPRA Annual Meeting 1,000 Publisher Mark Peters mark.peters@gulfpub.com Editor Billy Thinnes Managing Editor Wendy Weirauch Contributing Editor George Ives Design and Layout Beth Cunningham NPRA contacts Bill Holbrook Steve Higley Hydrocarbon Processing 2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020 Houston, TX 77252-77046 www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com ADVERTISERS: Baker Petrolite.............. 5, 7, 9 Chevron Lummus Global.... 2 Criterion.............................. 16 Foster Wheeler................... 13 Haverly.................................. 8 8 HMT.................................... 12 Intercat................................ 11 KBC....................................... 4 NPRA................................... 15 Saudi Aramco.................... 10 UOP....................................... 6 Blank MILESTONE program 800 Intensity Conference News Published as three daily editions, March 9/10, 11 and 12 by Hydrocarbon Processing. If you wish to advertise on the third day in this newspaper, or to submit a press release, please contact the publisher via email (mark.peters@gulfpub.com) or by phone (832-656-5341). CSI coker stability index test Canadian coker feed 600 400 200 0 0 20 40 60 80 CSI 100 120 140 160 180 Fig. 2. Effects of MILESTONE additives on coker feedstock asphaltene stability. treatment strategies confirmed that the treatment approaches developed by Baker Petrolite in the laboratory significantly reduced pilot coker heater fouling rates for the feedstocks tested. Commercial evaluations of MILESTONE. A field test of this new approach to controlling heater tube fouling with chemical additives was conducted at a North American refinery in 2005.3 This field test proved that the chemical treatment strategies developed in the laboratory and shown to be effective in both bench scale and pilot plant testing could significantly reduce fouling rates in a commercial delayed coker heater, and is now an ongoing application. Since that time, this technology has been used successfully in several additional North American refineries. they were also having a negative effect on overall refinery operations. Attempts by the plant to control the rates of fouling, such as limiting changes in crude slate, were only partly effective. Fig. 3 shows a typical heater run during this time of rapid fouling. A MILESTONE Heater Fouling Control evaluation was performed to identify the major fouling mechanisms. A thorough review of unit operations and crude oil feeds was conducted by a team of refinery and Baker Petrolite personnel. Coker feedstocks were analyzed in Baker Petrolite’s laboratory, including use of the proprietary CSI test. Results of these efforts revealed the main cause of fouling was inorganic materials from high metals content feeds. The CSI test results indicated acceptable asphaltene stability, which was Tuesday, March 11, 2008 National Petrochemical and Refining Association 106th NPRA Annual Meeting further confirmed by feed characterization. The operations review suggested that newly cleaned tube metal surfaces from the regular pigging cycles may have been accelerating tube coking rates. Based on the investigation results and previous Baker Petrolite experience in high-temperature heater fouling control, a MILESTONE additive program was recommended to inhibit the catalytic fouling effects seen in the furnace tubes, and to control agglomeration and particle growth of both organic and inorganic materials in the bulk oil. Based on Baker Petrolite recommendations, the MILESTONE additive program was allowed continuous high throughput rates at the crude unit. The financial return to the refinery has been well over ten to one relative to the MILESTONE program costs. Conclusion. Continued high worldwide demand for gasoline and diesel, plus weakness in heavy fuel oil demand and pricing, has created significant improvements in refinery delayed coker operating margins in recent years. Refiners need to maximize delayed coker throughputs to take greatest economic advantage of these higher unit margins. MILESTONE Heater Fouling Con- Untreated run 1,300 Skin temperature, °F 260 1,100 1,000 220 900 180 800 Tube skin temperature Flow 0 20 40 60 80 Days online 100 120 Throughput, b/hr/pass 300 1,200 700 Opportunity Crudes? 140 140 Fig. 3. Throughput and heater skin temperature from an untreated run. Treated run Tube skin temperature Flow Skin temperature, °F 1,200 300 260 1,100 1,000 220 900 180 800 700 Throughput, b/hr/pass 1,300 Be Prepared 0 20 40 60 80 Days online 100 120 When processing opportunity crudes increases your overhead corrosion risk, Baker Petrolite brings proven technology and experience to help you reach the top safely. The Baker Petrolite team works with you, using TOPGUARD Overhead Corrosion Control to: 140 140 Fig. 4. Throughput and heater skin temperature with the MILESTONE Program. trol Technology can be a valuable tool for helping refiners meet their delayed coker throughput targets in situations where heater tube fouling is limiting unit throughput. ■ LITERATURE CITED arletta, T., “Conditions Influencing Coke B Formation,” Petroleum Technology Quarterly, 2004 Revamps and Operations Issue, pp. 21 - 25. 2 Falkler, T. J. and J.L. Stark,, “Index Correlates Asphaltene Stability to Coker Furnace Fouling Potential,” Oil & Gas Journal, Sept. 13, 2004, pp. 34–36. 3 Stark, J., Falkler, T. and J. Dennie, “New Technology for High Temperature Furnace Fouling Control,” NPRA Annual Meeting paper AM-07-61, San Antonio, Texas, March 20, 2007. 1 * MILESTONE is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated. Increase feedstock flexibility For more information, visit our website www.bakerhughes.com. © 2007 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All rights reserved. EXCALIBUR is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated. PET-07- 13464 implemented immediately after one of the regular de-coking cycles. Upon startup, the tube skin temperature equilibrated and remained steady as the throughput was gradually increased to the target rate. As time progressed, the refinery was able to continue to increase the feed rate through the delayed coker unit, resulting in an overall increase in throughput of about 20%. This initial treated run is shown in Fig. 4. This change in delayed coker operations also increased refinery throughput and flexibility, including the ability to run a wider range of crude oils at the crude unit. Overall plant operations were significantly improved as a result of the MILESTONE program, by overcoming the throughput restriction at the delayed coker, which in turn Manage increased overhead corrosion potential Define the optimum operating envelope for any feedstock Quickly respond to changing unit conditions Ensure integrity and safety of your operations Processing opportunity crudes successfully takes a team effort. Match our specialized technology, expertise and responsive service with your next opportunity. Contact www.bakerpetrolite.com today. B e s t - i n - C l a s s Utilizing rigorous simulation in advanced process control projects—Part I J. Ferrer, AspenTech, Burlington, Massachusetts One of the few books1 that describes commercial model predictive control (MPC) technologies dedicates a section to dynamic flowsheet simulation: “For more than 20 years, students in process design courses and engineers involved in process design have had as a major tool steady-state simulation programs such as FLOWTRAN™, ASPEN™, PROCESS™, HYSIM™, etc. This has removed the drudgery of routine simulation calculations and allowed process designers to test potential design through flowsheet simulation. Unfortunately, until recently, there was nothing comparable available for dynamic flowsheet simulation. Individual companies have built ad hoc dynamic flowsheet simulators that have been applied to specific processes to great benefit, but nothing very general was commercially available. More recently, several new packages for dynamic flowsheet simulation have become available. “Such dynamic simulation packages are essential tools for configuring control schemes that span several units in 10 Pre-test Check operating objectives and constraints Check regulatory control (Dyn) Identify new instrumentation (SS) Inferential feasibility check (SS) Estimate potential benefits (SS) Develop initial controller design Plant tests Detailed design Develop initial plant model for SmartStep (Dyn) Develop the plant model (Dyn) Finalize controller design Initial tuning and rigorous simulation of a DMCplus controller (Dyn) Develop inferential measurements Commission Test operation of the DMCplus controller (Dyn) Train plant operators and engineers (Dyn) Fig. 1. All APC project phases can benefit from steady-state (SS) or dynamic (Dyn) simulation. a flowsheet, for studying propagation of upsets and disturbances through a process, for testing control strategies for transition between product grades in a multiproduct plant, and for designing crisis control schemes for handling alarm situations. Clearly, dynamic flowsheet simulation will play an important role in the design of future control systems.” The fact is that the this book was written in 1994, so the proposition to use rigorous simulation as a tool for process control is not new and the benefits have been clearly identified and documented.2,3,4 But in today’s practice, only a small fraction of process control engineers are common users of rigorous simulation. Myths and barriers. Steady-state and dynamic simulations can be used in advanced process control (APC) projects, but while steady-state simulation is widely known and adopted by almost all operating and engineering companies, dynamic simulation is still often seen as a difficult and time-consuming discipline.5 Process engineers are the traditional users of rigorous simulation, primarily steady-state, since their objective is to design plants at nominal conditions. On the other hand, control engineers are focused on maintaining these nominal conditions in a stable and operable state. They should be the true users of rigorous dynamic simulation, but due to several myths, they still are not making wide use of dynamic models for their daily work. Let’s analyze these myths: 1. Lack of mature products. Commercial dynamic simulators were released more than 10 years ago. From the product perspective, dynamic simulation is a mature and well-proven technology. 2. Requires expert skills. Some dynamic simulators are highly intuitive and interactive, requiring little training. See AspenTech on page 13 Tuesday, March 11, 2008 National Petrochemical and Refining Association 106th NPRA Annual Meeting INTERCAT's patented Fresh Catalyst Addition Systems afford unprecedented reliability and accuracy of FCC catalyst additions, enabling refiners to increase their profitability through more controlled unit operation. The patented computerized IMS (INTERCAT Management System) controllers have enabled refineries to increase their profitability by increasing throughput, improving yields, and simultaneously reducing overall fresh catalyst additions. This is accomplished by providing near continuous catalyst additions throughout the day and maintaining daily catalyst addition rates within 1% of targeted values. As a result, refiners are able to maintain consistent FCC MAT activity and optimal unit conversion, eliminating spikes of high fresh catalyst additions and lulls of no or minimal additions. Capture Your Fugitive Emissions Providing Emission Reduction Solutions to the Global AST Market for 30 Years. Contact your local HMT representative to discuss the full suite of products and services that will satisfy your AST needs. HMT INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS: s 4ANK0RODUCTS s 4ANK2EPAIR-AINTENANCE s .EW4ANK#ONSTRUCTION s 4ANK)NSPECTION3ERVICES s 4ANK#ALIBRATION3ERVICES s 0AINTING#OATING,INING s $ESIGN%NGINEERING s 4URNKEY4ANK-AINTENANCE0ROGRAM s &ABRICATION3ERVICES HMT Inc. 24 Waterway, Suite 400 The Woodlands, TX 77380 USA Phone: +1.281.681.7000 www.hmttank.com Aspentech continued from page 10 of dynamic simulation,” Proceedings of 8 Butler, D.L., et al., “Virtual Plants for the Chemical Engineering Chemputers II Hands-on Advanced Process Control,” ISA Conference, March 1994. Conference, Houston, Texas. September 3 Stanley, P., “Dynamic simulation for insight,” 2001. 9 Chemical Processing, December 1999. Trivella, F. and G. Marchetti, “Integration 4 James, G. and J. Reeves, “Dynamic simulafor innovation,” Hydrocarbon Engineering, Use in APC projects. Deep process tion across project and facility lifecycles,” 6th November 2004. understanding is the first step in APC World Congress of Chemical Engineering, 10 Mantelli,, V., et al., “Integration of Dynamic Simulation and APC: a CDU/VDU case projects and rigorous models can help.8 5 Melbourne, Australia, September 2001. Svrcek, W.Y., D.P. Mahoney and B.R. Young, study,” ERTC Conference, Budapest, Hungary, Better integration of the simulation tools A Real-Time Approach to Process Control, 2000, May 2005. with the advanced controllers facilitates John Wiley & Sons, pp 8-12. 6 González, R. and J.M. Ferrer, “Analyzing the JoseMaria Ferrer is an advanced control and the use.9,10 value of first-principles dynamic simulation,” simulation consultant for AspenTech. He can be LITERATURE CITED Hydrocarbon Processing, September 2006. reached at josemariaferrer@aspentech.com. 1 Ogunnaike, B. and W.H. Ray, Process 7 Edgar, T.F., et al., “Renovating the Dynamics, Modeling and Control, Oxford Undergraduate Process Control Course,” University Press, 1994, pp 1089. Computers and Chemical Engineering. Pick up tomorrow’s conference daily 2 Mahoney, D.P. and B. D. Tyréus, “Applications Elsevier. July 2006. for the final part of this article. NPRA_rev1:Layout 1 28/02/2008 15:28 Page 1 els should be shared between process and control engineers. Both will benefit from their use. They do not require deep knowledge of thermodynamic and numerical methods or computer programming skills. 3. Not oriented for control. Some dynamic simulators include in the standard object palette a complete set of control oriented objects to reproduce almost all basic and advanced control structures, including MPC commercial controllers. 4. Excessive time for modeling. An article from 2006 analyzes modeling efforts from the user perspective. Although the modeling time depends on the process to model, it has been reduced considerably. 5. Requires big computers. They are designed to run on standard PCs or a network of PCs. All the above myths are related to the software and hardware used in the simulation, but there are other educational and ownership barriers that are even more important when a control engineer is asked to use rigorous simulation: 1. Educational barriers. An increasing number of chemical engineering universities incorporate the use of rigorous simulation packages in the academic program, and a subset of those also cover rigorous dynamic simulation. The trend is to include more rigorous simulation content along with existing disciplines such as: mass and energy balances, thermodynamics, unit operations and process control.7 Dynamic models can be used in the control course to improve understanding of a given process, give students experience in running complex units in real-time, change control configurations and introduce perturbations to the process, thus providing more “real world” experience to the students. But most current control engineers in the process industry have not received education on rigorous dynamic simulation at university, so they still believe most of the myths described above. 2. Simulation ownership barrier. Since the first commercial simulation packages ran only in steady-state mode, they were primarily adopted by process engineers. As a result, process engineers became established as the owners and expert users of the simulation packages. When commercial dynamic simulation packages appeared, they were delivered and targeted to the same process engineers, but these engineers found only limited value for their typical process design work, and dynamic simulation was only used for certain dynamic compressors studies or depressuring studies. The historical perception of process engineers as simulation owners (steadystate and dynamic) continues to exclude control engineers from simulation usage. Control engineers can realize the same value from simulations tools as process engineers do for their daily work. Building and maintenance of simulation mod- Engineering • Procurement • Construction Your turn�key solution from concept to commissioning Foster Wheeler’s rapidly expanding team in Houston offers you a responsive and flexible service: from studies and FEEDs to full EPC execution, for revamps and expansions, environmental projects, clean fuels, bottom�of�the�barrel upgrading and petrochemicals integration. ... your refinery investment is in safe hands with Foster Wheeler ... Foster Wheeler USA Corp. 2020 Dairy Ashford, Houston, Texas 77077 Tel: +1 281 597 3010 www.fwc.com refining@fwc.com 106th NPRA Annual Meeting National Petrochemical and Refining Association Tuesday, March 11, 2008 13 Scenes from the NPRA 2008 Annual Meeting . . . To see more, visit www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/hpinformer The team from Onyx Engineering makes a splash at the welcome reception. With attendance expected to exceed 1,600, registration started early Sunday morning. Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, discusses the current political scene for the general session. Greg Raley, Pat Monsour and Jody Monsour of Motiva Enterprises LLC are enjoying their time in San Diego. As the sunset colors the clouds, John and Bonnie Leerkes, SGS Petroleum Service, warm up by the fire with Mini Boparai, SNCLavalin. Takao Yoshida, Toyo Engineering Corp., and Chandra Khulbe, National Centre for Upgrading Technology (Canada), find the NPRA Annual Meeting invaluable for networking and the exchange of ideas. James Turner, Flour Corp., Iraj Issac Rahmim, E-Meta Venture, Inc., and Steve McGovern, PetroTech Consultants, chat on the pool deck at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. 14 The opening reception was held poolside, accompanied by San Diego’s usual gorgeous weather. Mary Bellinger, Sinclair Oil Corp., and Diane Delgado, Criterion Catalysts, enjoy the ocean breeze at the end of a lovely day. At Monday’s Government Relations breakfast, Michael Miller, director of environment for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), provided substantive food for thought about challenges the electric power industry is facing in regard to climate change. Twilight descends upon the welcome reception. Tuesday, March 11, 2008 National Petrochemical and Refining Association 106th NPRA Annual Meeting Rock-Solid VALUES. Safety. Reliability. Responsibility. American refiners and petrochemical manufacturers supply a broad variety of products that enhance individuals’ quality of life—as well as strengthen our economy and national security. NPRA members’ employees work hard every day to maintain safe, reliable and affordable supplies of fuels and materials for American consumers. Our members also reinvest billions of dollars every year to maintain and upgrade facilities for cleaner, more efficient operations. Today’s refining and petrochemical businesses. 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