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 MAY 2011

HPIMPACT SPECIALREPORT TECHNOLOGY

HPI recovery underway MAINTENANCE AND Design exchangers

Biodegradable RELIABILITY for dirty service
polymers Advanced materials Improve design of
CAFE could boost US and programs protect closed-drain drums
auto profits critical assets

www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
O U R E N G I N E E R I N G AT R E N T E C H C R E AT E S

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 MAY 2011 VOL. 90 NO. 5
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com

SPECIAL REPORT: MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

41 Consider new developments in antifouling coatings

for rotating equipment
Cover Tray-Tec, Inc. craftsmen
installing a random packing hold-
down grid in a 46 diameter Vacuum
Innovative materials and applications protect critical centrifugal compressors tower for a major refining company
and steam turbines from erosion and corrosion in the Texas City area. Also in this
P. Dowson Vacuum tower Tray-Tec installed new
internals, including 13,000 cuft of
45 Deferred maintenance causes upsurge in pump failures
Not addressing the root cause of a failure puts resources and employees at risk
H. P. Bloch
random packing, grid packing and
performed variousvessel repairs,
including weld metal build-up in
thinned areas and replaced the
49 Avoid costly engineering faults, missteps and miscalculations
Experience does count, especially in achieving success in capital and revamp projects
K. Sanghavi
bottom boot section. During this
turnaround Tray-Tec also performed
repairs and maintenance on

55 Nickel recycle: Extending service life for reformer tubes

Case studies investigate methods to conserve high-nickel tubes for fertilizer facilities
S. B. Kunte
numerous towers, reactors and drums
including a 21 diameter Atmospheric
tower. Tray-Tec, Inc. is based in
Humble, Texas, and performs vessel

61 Consider new materials for ethylene furnace applications

An innovative metallurgy solves maintenance issues
G. Verdier and F. Carpentier
mechanical services for the refining,
chemical, and gas industries across
the United States. Photo courtesy of
Tray-Tec, Inc.

65 Testing and repair options for critical dry-gas seal: Updates

Do your research when sending compressor seals out for renovations
C. Carmody

71 How to justify root-cause failure analysis for pumps

New method uses annualized risk to determine RCFA analysis levels
R. X. Perez
HPIMPACT
75 Spiral heat exchanger in desalter service solves fouling issues
Technology offers problem-free operation along with considerable maintenance savings
C. Wajciechowski
17 HPI recovery
underway despite
uncertainty
79 Optimize reordering of critical raw materials and parts
New models evaluate the total costs in receiving and storing materials for a refinery
A. Goti, N. Zabaleta, A. Garcia, M. Ortega and J. Uradnicek
17 Small-scale chemistry
could improve
biodegradable
polymers
HEAT TRANSFER 19 US auto industry
could boost profits
83 Update on designing for high-fouling liquids
A critical analysis of shell and tube exchanger systems looks at
clean and dirty service performance
with higher mileage
standards
J. M. Nesta and C. A. Coutinho
GAS PROCESSING

87 Is your antifoam compatible with the amine system?

Several options help minimize operation costs and mitigate unscheduled shutdowns
A. Atash Jameh, A. Z. Gharaghoosh, S. Mokhatab and A. G. Shazadeh
COLUMNS
SULFUR 2011SUPPLEMENT
9 HPIN RELIABILITY
95 Sulfur 2011
Innovation will play a key role in managing sulfur compounds Consider water
washing for steam
LOSS PREVENTION turbines

107 Review unit-wide impacts on closed-drain drums

API 521 standard helps decipher the correct operating pressure for this system
R. Mukhopadhyay, Consultant, Bangkok, Thailand
11 HPIN EUROPE
Biofuels audience
warms to advocate
PROCESS DESIGN for third industrial
revolution
113 Design an efficient exchanger network
Advanced heat integration and pinch technology reduces energy consumption
13 HPIN ASSOCIATIONS
F. Rikhtehgar The era of the
ENGINEERING CASE HISTORIES integrated oil
company has passed
117 Case 62: Useful shaft stress equations to remember
Committing several equations to memory can be useful
T. Sofronas
122 HPIN WATER
MANAGEMENT
Legionellato test or
DEPARTMENTS not to test?
7 HPIN BRIEF 25 HPINNOVATIONS 31 HPIN CONSTRUCTION
38 HPI CONSTRUCTION BOXSCORE UPDATE
118 HPI MARKETPLACE 121 ADVERTISER INDEX

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 HPIN BRIEF
BILLY THINNES, TECHNICAL EDITOR

BT@HydrocarbonProcessing.com

Dow Global Technologies (DGT) has announced the invention and BASF foam
development of a new, high-molecular-weight brominated polymeric flame retardant
(PFR). The PFR is expected to be the next-generation industry-standard flame retar- insulating LNG
dant for use in both extruded polystyrene (XPS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam-
insulation applications globally. The development of the new PFR is the result of Dows
pipes in Korea
continuing search for more sustainable products and, in this case, for a flame retardant
BASFs specialty foam Basotect is
that can replace hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD).
now, for the first time, being used to
DGT also announced its first license agreement with Chemtura Corp. This first insulate pipes in a liquefied natural gas
license agreement makes it possible for Great Lakes Solutions, a Chemtura business, to (LNG) tank terminal in Gwangyang,
produce and sell the newly developed PFR for use in XPS and EPS foam. Korea. The pipe cover with Basotect
provides energy-efficient thermal
A poll released in April shows that 90% of Americans believe the insulation, easy handling and flame
nations petroleum refineries and petrochemical manufacturing plants are among retardancy. LNG is natural gas that
Americas most important or important industries. NPRA, the National Petrochemical is temporarily liquefied at very low
temperatures, in order to transport
& Refiners Association, announced results of the poll conducted by Opinion Research.
or store it more easily. As the tem-
A total of 44% of Americans believe the refining and petrochemical sectors are perature of LNG must be kept below
among the countrys most important industries, while 46% consider the sector among 162C, efficient insulation for the
the countrys important industries, the poll found. Only 5% of those surveyed said the pipes is necessary.
refining and petrochemical sectors were not among the countrys important industries According to SKI Insulation, the sys-
and the remaining 5% said they did not know. tem supplier of the removable insula-
tion cover, the pipe cover made from
The board of directors of the Export-Import Bank of the US has Basotect is more energy-efficient as
it is 20% thinner than conventional
voted to grant preliminary approval for a $2.84 billion direct loan/loan guarantee to
foam insulation.
Colombias Refinera de Cartagena S.A. (Reficar). The financing, when finally approved, Basotect shows a high degree of
will support the purchases of equipment and services from over 150 large and small US stability at low temperatures. In labo-
engineering/design, equipment supply, contracting and process license firms, including ratory tests even at temperatures of
Chicago Bridge & Iron, Foster Wheeler, ExxonMobil and UOP. This is part of a $5.18 around 200C the material retains its
billion refinery and upgrade project in Cartagena, Colombia, supplying petroleum prod- properties. The high degree of elastic-
ucts to the domestic and export markets. ity and the thermal insulation capac-
ity of the foam remain unaffected, in
contrast to conventional foam insu-
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require electronic lation, which becomes brittle when
submissions for new chemical notices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). exposed to such extreme cold, said
Beginning last month, companies can no longer submit their new chemical notices and Dr. Peter Wolf, head of Global Business
support documents on paper for the EPAs review. Management Basotect at BASF.
On April 6, 2010, the EPA issued a final rule that put in place a two-year phaseout SKI Insulation discovered that the
of paper and optical-disc reporting for new chemical notices to the agency. The rule system material with the lightweight
included a one-year phaseout of paper reporting and a two-year phaseout of optical-disc and flexible BASF foam can be eas-
reporting. Under TSCA, companies are required to submit new chemical notices, includ- ily removed for regular inspection
of pipe integrity and later reused,
ing pre-manufacture notices (PMNs), to the EPA at least 90 days (in the case of PMNs)
unlike rigid conventional foams that
prior to the manufacture or import of the chemical. The EPA reviews the notice and can are hard to replace. This translates
set conditions to be placed on the use of a new chemical before it enters into commerce. into reduced maintenance costs.
Additionally, Basotect is a highly
Marking the one year anniversary of the tragic accident at the flame-retardant material, another key
Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington, the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) consideration for SKI Insulation, as
released a video safety message in which Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso urged refin- natural gas burns easily.
ery companies to make the investments necessary to ensure safe operations. Basotect is an open-cell foam and it
has a unique range of properties. The
The video highlighted the CSBs ongoing investigation into the April 2, 2010, acci-
base material makes it flame-retar-
dent that killed seven workers. At the time of the incident, a heat exchanger was being dant; it can be used at up to 240C
brought online when the nearly 40-year-old piece of equipment catastrophically failed, while retaining its properties over a
spewing highly flammable hydrogen and naphtha that ignited and exploded. wide temperature range. Because of
Tesoro disputes the findings of the CSB. Company spokesperson Mike Marcy said its open-cell foam structure, it is light
in a statement that, We disagree with the chairmans characterization of Tesoros opera- (9 g/l), sound-absorbing, flexible even
tions at Anacortes. The heat exchanger was maintained and inspected in accordance at low temperatures and thermally
with regulations and industry standards. We continue to cooperate with the CSB. HP insulating. HP

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I7
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HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR
HB@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Consider water washing for steam turbines
Occasions may arise when deposits form on the internal parts
of steam turbines. The accumulation of these deposits may be
indicated by a gradual increase in stage pressures over time with
no evidence of vibration, rubbing or other distress. Such depos-
its have a marked detrimental effect on turbine efficiency and
capacity. When deposits cause extensive plugging, thrust-bearing
failure, wheel rubbing and other serious problems can result.
Deposit types. Deposits are classified as water insoluble and
water soluble. The characteristics of these deposits should be
determined by analyzing samples, and corrective measures should
be taken to eliminate such deposits during future operation.
When it has been determined that deposits have formed on the
internal parts of the turbine, three methods may be applied to
remove the deposits:
1. Turbine shutdown, casing opened and deposits removed
manually
2. Turbine shutdown and allowed to cool; the deposits crack
off due to temperature changes
3. Online water washing (while running), essentially removing
water-soluble deposits.
Plant operating conditions will dictate which method is best
in restoring the turbine to optimum performance. In a generator-
drive service, shutting down the unit or water washing at low
speed and reduced load may create minimum plant upset.
Water washing. Turbine washing at full speed (onstream
cleaning) can be and has been successfully used on many mechan-
ical-drive steam turbines. Considerable hazards are possible with
water-washing methods, and full-speed washing is more hazardous
than washing at reduced speed. But this can be accomplished,
provided great care and judgment are exercised. While we know
of no steam turbine manufacturer who would guarantee the safety
of turbines for any washing cycle, capable manufacturers recog-
nize that deposits do occur. They will, therefore, help operators
as much as possible in dealing with such problems until effective
prevention is established.
Saturated steam washing by water injection is the conven-
tional and well-tried method of removing water-soluble deposits
from turbines. The amount and rate of superheat to be removed
and the steam flow required for operation determine the water-
injection rate. Injecting large quantities of liquid (such as may be
required on process drivers) creates potential problems.
The nature of a typical impulse turbine lends itself to full-
speed water washing. Axial clearances between first-stage buckets
and nozzles and between moving buckets and diaphragms will
range from 0.050 in. to 0.090 in. The typical NiResist labyrinth
packing radial clearance when the unit is cold will be approxi-
mately 0.007 in. The labyrinth will seal on the shaft only; the
moving blades will not require seals. With impulse turbines, these
HPIN RELIABILITY
Boiler stop T&T Recording
valve valve thermometer
Governor
valves
Boiler
Turbine
Driven
machine
Water-steam Exhaust
mixer steam to
Feedwater drain
Turbine speed held at
approximate 500 rpm
by adjusting steam and
water ow with these
valves
FIG. 1 Flow diagram of low-speed water-wash system.
liberal clearances help minimize hazards associated with water
washing. Nevertheless, numerous reaction turbines have also been
successfully water washed.
Water injection is accomplished by a piping arrangement
for atomization and injecting water into the steam supply , thus
ensuring a gradual and uniform reduction in temperature of the
turbine-inlet steam until it reaches 10F to 15F superheat. It is
probably a safe rule that the temperature should not be reduced
faster than 25F in 15 minutes or 100F/h. Fig. 1 shows suggested
piping arrangements for admission of water and steam, and a
simple assembly of fabricated pipes to form a desuperheater can
be found in the text reference.
Failure of water injection pumps presents a great hazard, espe-
cially at maximum injection rates. To guard against pump failure,
untreated boiler feedwater is used since these pumps are usually
the most reliable. If plant operating conditions allow, the vacuum
on a condensing turbine should be reduced to 5 mmHg to 10
mmHg. For non-condensing turbines, the exhaust pressure should
be reduced to atmospheric pressure. Note: On any non-condens-
ing unit requiring full-speed washing, the manufacturer should be
consulted about minimum allowable exhaust pressures. Extraction
turbines should be operated with the extraction line shutoff.
A steam gauge and thermometer should be installed between
the trip-throttle valve and governor-controlled valves. The ther-
mometer should be a recording type and be very responsive to
small changes in temperature. Low-speed wash (see Fig. 1) repre-
sents a well-understood method for deposit removal. HP
The author is Hydrocarbon Processings Reliability/Equipment Editor. A prac-
ticing consulting engineer with close to 50 years of applicable experience, he
advises process plants worldwide on failure analysis, reliability improvement and
maintenance cost-avoidance topics. This excerpt is taken from Bloch, H. P. and Dr.
M. P. Singh, Steam Turbines: Design, Applications and Re-Rating, 2nd Ed., 2009,
McGraw-Hill, New York. The original material was contributed by Dresser-Rand Co.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I9
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TIM LLOYD WRIGHT, EUROPEAN EDITOR
tim.wright@gulfpub.com
Biofuels audience warms to advocate
for third industrial revolution
Here is a thesis on energy thats being expounded at the heart
of European policy-making these days: Thirty years after peak
oil per capita and at the apex of peak globalization, the machines
and infrastructure of the oil age are on life support. Oil prices will
not edge over $150/bbl without turning off the engine of global
growth, as they did in 2008. But, there is an alternativea third
industrial revolution.
So says the US author and polemicist, Jeremy Rifkin, who is
something of a controversial figure back home in the US. Hes
been outspoken long, and loudly, enough to have his detractors.
I might hesitate to give space to him in this editorial here if his
ideas werent influential in reshaping European policy making.
A new herald. Rifkin, the president of a Washington, DC,
think tank, and a fellow and lecturer at the Wharton School
of the University of Pennsylvania, spoke at the World Biofuels
Markets conference in Rotterdam. He is a natural choice for
this event.
Rifkin professes optimism grounded in pessimism, one might
say. According to Rifkin, oil has peaked; the atmosphere is in
big trouble; and nuclear is finished. No surprise then that a
speech with those premises would pep up the European biofuels
industry. For added impact, the delivery is that of a big-screen
prosecutor pressing home his case in a courtroom drama.
But starched collars and deftly handled statistics aside,
Rifkins talk of an energy revolution has been influential.
Indeed, a version officially adopted by the European Parliament
has been formative in policies that are even now powering the
biofuels industry, and a raft of other sustainability initiatives
across Europe.
It is striking that, at this well-attended event, there were more
engineers, operators and vendors than attend Europes largest
oil refining conference. And they pay slightly more to do so as
well. After the plenary, during coffee, members of this industry
actually seem pepped up. Two years ago, the biofuels industry
was being blamed for food riots in Mexico and was seeing credit
evaporate during the financial rash. A year ago, biodiesel plants
were by some accounts being driven out of business by US
splash and dash exports of 99% biodiesel blends.
But the big reason that theyre in a more buoyant and confer-
ence-going mood this year is because European policy-making
on renewables is really taking hold! When a recent initiative to
introduce a 10% blend of bio-ethanol into gasoline was bungled
in Germany this winter, it wasnt just a blow to ethanol pro-
ducers. The oil companies distributing transportation fuels in
Germany could face two or three hundred million euros in fines
if theyre found short of their blending obligations by the year
end. They can be fined 62 eurocents for each mandated liter that
goes unburned (US $3.33/US gal) in German vehicles this year.
HPIN EUROPE
Crisis in the making. Rifkin begins his keynote speech by
outlining two crises. The first problem is peak oil per capita.
Were in an end game, he tells delegates, because our energy
reserves have not been measured against the benchmark of mas-
sive population growth.
When China and India made a bid at a 8%10% growth
rate, he says, raking one third of the human race into the
game in 10 years, the aggregate output and demand against
reserves pushed the price up and the global economy collapsed
at $150/bbl. Our first major problem, he claims, is that our
oil-driven engine of economic growth wont work at prices
above that threshold.
The second problem is what he calls the entropy bill for the
first two industrial revolutions: This is not a metaphorits
spent energy. Weve exhumed too much carbon and were not
getting enough sunlight off the planet. So weve hit peak glo-
balization with $147/bbl, and were now paying an entropy bill
for 200 years of the industrial revolution and were also facing a
mass extinction event because of global warming in this century,
so what do we do?
Policy. Rifkin is credited with helping to form the European
energy strategy that he goes on to describe. One point is that
renewable energy will provide a third of European electricity
production (20% of energy) by 2020. Approximately 191 million
buildings will be partially repurposed to generate power, and a
supergrid technology learned from distributive computing will
provide a nervous system to the new infrastructure. It will, in
time, displace what he calls elite, centralized technologies like oil,
gas and nuclear. He names 8 billion of investment into energy
storage, largely using hydrogen, to provide base-load generation,
when the wind isnt blowing and the sun isnt shining.
Preparing for change. And as a young generation turns to
distributed and collaborative ways of solving energy problems,
Rifkin draws parallels between the fossil fuel industry and other
20th century ones, which will need to adapt or end. The music
companies just didnt understand file sharing, he says. When
millions of kids started file sharing music, they laughed. They
tried to legislate against it; then they went out of business, within
five years. Encyclopedia Britannica didnt understand Wikipedia,
now Wikipedia rules. HP
The author is HPs European Editor and is also a specialist in European distillate
markets. He has been active as a reporter and conference chair in the European
downstream industry since 1997, before which he was a feature writer and
reporter for the UK broadsheet press and BBC radio. Mr. Wright lives in Sweden
and is the founder of a local climate and sustainability initiative.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 11
Select 54 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

BILLY THINNES, TECHNICAL EDITOR
BT@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
The era of the integrated oil company has passed
The National Petrochemical and
Refiners Association (NPRA) gathered in
San Antonio, Texas, for its 109th annual
meeting in March. Key points of conver-
sation included the ongoing battle with
the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) over greenhouse gas emissions
(GHGs), possible discriminatory tax treat-
ment toward downstream oil companies
from the US federal government and the
status of energy policy in the US. Keynote
speakers included former US Senator Alan
Simpson (R-WY), journalist Robert Bryce,
PBF Energy Chairman Tom OMalley and
television personalities Joe Scarborough
and Mika Brzezinski.
US energy policy. The US current
energy policy, or lack thereof, has been a
hot topic of conversation in Washington
among both industry types and environ-
mentalists. Bill Klesse, of Valero, who is
serving as the NPRAs board chairman, and
NPRA President Charlie Drevna spoke
about this and other subjects in a press
conference with reporters at the meeting.
We have an energy policy that is no
policy at all, Mr. Drevna said. The
government manages from crisis to crisis
rather than having a crisis management
program. For instance, a town or city
doesnt wait until there is a fire to orga-
nize the fire department. We shouldnt
wait until the next crisis to develop a real
energy program.
While Mr. Drevna is keen for the US
to develop and implement a rational and
fair energy policy based on sound science
and pragmatic perspectives, he does not
see that happening anytime soon.
Long term, I dont see any grand
energy policy coming out of this Con-
gress, at least during the first session, Mr.
Drevna said. We do need an energy pol-
icy that makes sense but it is going to be
very difficult to get anything through this
Congress. Not because we have a Repub-
lican House and a Democratic Senate, but
because the deficit debate is going on and
resolving that is front and center.
HPIN ASSOCIATIONS
EPA and GHGs. The NPRA supports
the Upton-Inhofe legislation which says
the EPA does not have the authority to
regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under
the Clean Air Act. Another bill that is in
Congress, penned by Senator Rockefeller
(D-WV) would delay implementation
of EPAs GHG regulation for two years.
While Mr. Drevna thinks two years is
better than immediately, he wonders
what happens two years from now? He
thinks the GHG and climate change
debate wont change much two years
from now and that using the Rockefeller
bill is more like a stay of execution than
an actual solution.
The future. Mr. Klesse looked to the
future, taking the position that the world
is going to use more energy as the standard
of living in places like India and China
continues to go up. He further acknowl-
edged that, while the Macondo well explo-
sion in the Gulf of Mexico was a tragedy, it
should be remembered that the oil indus-
try had drilled 14,000 wells before that
without incident.
This line of thought led Mr. Klesse to
comment that President Obama visited
Brazil, a place where deepwater drilling is
occurring and more deepwater wells will
The NPRAs 109th annual meeting took place in San Antonio, Texas.
be drilled the future. He wonders why
Brazil is drilling deep wells now but the
US has stopped drilling completely.
Mr. Klesse also expressed concern
about the EPAs regulation of GHGs under
the Clean Air Act. The way it appears the
agency would go about such regulation
would mean that in order for Valero to
expand a refinery, it would take 1824
months just to get a permit. He thinks that
would have a crippling effect on the US
economy, on output of refined products
domestically and most importantly, on
energy prices for the US consumer.
Strategic petroleum reserve.
With the price of oil on the rise recently,
some politicians and pundits have called
Tom OMalley meets with reporters after his
speech at the industry leadership breakfast.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 13
HPIN ASSOCIATIONS
for tapping into the US strategic petro-
leum reserve (SPR). The NPRAs posi-
tion has always been that it should only
be tapped into when there is a supply
shortage, which is not the case today.
Using the SPR as a price control mecha-
nism is not good public policy and it
is something the NPRA does not sup-
port. Mr. Drevna pointed out that even
President Obama is against tapping into
the SPR.
Over capacity. On the subject of the
long term need to reduce overall refin-
ing capacity in the US and the world, Mr.
Klesse offered a distinctive perspective.
I believe there is still excess refin-
ing capacity in Japan [despite the recent
disaster], North America and Western
Europe, he said. You can tell by looking
at operating rates. In the world, refining
capacity is going to continue to be built
and oil demand is going to continue to
increase. In 2020, this is going to be a
95100 million bpd business.
As an aside to Mr. Klesses remarks, it
should be noted that EIA reported that
72.2 million bpd was produced in 2009.
On the subject of refining margins and
refinery closures, Mr. Klesse noted that
Valero had shuttered a refinery recently
and sold it to another company. He
pointed out that refineries have been shut
down in the US, Canada and Europe.
When you look at the distribution
in these markets, you see refineries that
over time cannot compete in this envi-
ronment, he said. Rationalization will
continue to occur. However, with a cold
winter and refinery upsets in many mar-
kets, margins have been better in regional
markets. But not all refineries are benefit-
ting in this environment.
Integrated oil companies. During
an industry breakfast at the event, PBF
Energy Chairman Tom OMalley shared
his belief that the era of the integrated oil
company has passed.
Mr. OMalley first entered the indus-
try in 1984 when he purchased Hill
Petroleum for $3 million. He noted
that, in 1984, the refining industry was
dominated by integrated companies both
upstream and downstream. For instance,
in 1984, integrated companies controlled
about 84% of the refining capacity. What
is shocking about how much the industry
has changed is that, by the end of 2010,
14
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
integrated companies controlled only
41% of capacity.
This is an incredible drop, Mr.
OMalley said. But it is clear the era of
integration has passed. Integration was
developed when you couldnt sell all your
crude. It came out of an era pre-1973
when crude was $2 a barrel and oil com-
panies needed to find a home for their
production.
Mr. OMalley expects the trend of
integrated companies exiting the refining
business to continue.
To some extent, refining has been
a lousy business, Mr. OMalley said.
This trend will continue and we will
be below 25% integrated companies
soon, as merchant refining will gravitate
to non-integrated companies. This shift
in manufacturing is just specialization;
weve seen it in every other industry, so
why not ours?
Retail business. Mr. OMalley said
that integrated companies are also leaving
the retail business. Is refining and mar-
keting within one company a good busi-
ness strategy? When he was at Tosco, the
company acquired Circle K and ran about
2,500 retail sites and 2,500 branded sites.
The business at Circle K wasnt
about selling gasoline, it was about con-
venience, he said. The best stores were
not operated by oil companies but rather
by retailers. The retailers saw gasoline as
a necessary part of business, but not their
reason for existence.
The central message is that specializa-
tion is the way to go. Mr. OMalley advises
that if a company is in refining it should
not go into retail and vice versa.
Weve morphed over the past few
years from an integrated model to the dis-
integrated model, he said. Specialization
is the buy word for the future.
Rate of return. Investment banks have
tried to calculate rate of return on the HPI
for many years, Mr. OMalley said. His
research has revealed that the common
rate is 2% per year over the last 20 years,
which is not a reasonable investment.
Underscoring the difficulty of being
a refiner in this era of razor thin mar-
gins, Mr. OMalley said, If you buy at
the right price and manage your business
correctly, you can make money on some,
but not all, of the assets in the market-
place. For instance, the Northeast system
[two refineries] we bought from Valero
is a heavy system and we believe that the
heavy/sour barrel discount is going to
work out for us. The synergies between
these two plants should allow us to work
very well.
Whats going to happen? Accord-
ing to Mr. OMalley, the best summary
from an analytical point of view was a
study by Turner Mason released at the
beginning of 2011. In the next 15 years,
the study said the world is going to con-
sume another 20 million bpd of oil prod-
ucts. It further clarified that Europe and
the US are not a part of the growth fac-
tor. There will be a tightening of capacity
between now and 2020. It should also
be noted that these projections were pre-
Japan earthquake/tsunami, which will
certainly enhance oil product consump-
tion worldwide.
Petrochemical Conference. The
week following its annual meeting, the
NPRA hosted another conference in San
Antonio. The International Petrochemical
Conference (IPC) was attended by nearly
2,800 people working in the petrochemi-
cal sector from over 45 nations.
In the United States, prospects for
growth and development are strength-
ened by the potential additional supply
of tremendous natural resources right in
our own back yard, Mr. Drevna said in a
statement from the IPC. The natural gas
reserves of the Marcellus Shale formation
in the northeastern US, the Texas Eagle
Ford reserves and the Rocky Mountain
formations could sustain and grow not
just the petrochemical industry, but man-
ufacturing in general and the American
economy as a wholeif theyre developed
properly.
NPRA Petrochemical Committee
Chairman Jeff Ramsey, who is senior
vice president for refining and chemicals
marketing at Flint Hills Resources, also
spoke at the opening session. Honn Tudor,
senior manager commercial at Total Petro-
chemicals, presided over the conference.
Outside speakers at the IPC included:
Brian Habacivch, senior vice president of
Fellon-McCord, an energy consulting and
management company; and Fox Business
anchor John Stossel. The IPC featured dis-
cussions of key governmental, economic
and environmental issues affecting petro-
chemical manufacturing. HP
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BT@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
HPI recovery underway
despite uncertainty
Purvin & Gertz recently released its
global petroleum market outlook for 2011.
The study provides an analysis of global
and regional markets for crude oil and
refined products within a framework of
world energy demand and economic activ-
ity through 2030. The conclusion of the
report is that a global economic recovery is
well underway, but there are new areas of
uncertainty to consider. Political turmoil
in the Middle East and North Africa has
appeared in the first few months of 2011
and has caused some oil supply disruptions.
A massive earthquake and tsunami devas-
tated northeastern Japan, inflicting painful
loss of life and serious damage to nuclear
power capacity and other energy infrastruc-
ture such as refineries and LNG receiving
terminals. These negative factors are coun-
terbalanced somewhat by the return of
economic growth in many of the worlds
economies and by accelerating crude oil
supply in countries outside of OPEC.
Key conclusions of this years analysis
include:
Refined product demand increased by
2 million bpd in 2010 as most economies
emerged from the 2009 recession. Demand
growth was strongest in Asia, the Middle
East and parts of Latin America. The
companys long-term forecast for refined
product-demand growth has been updated
to reflect the impact of higher long-term
crude oil prices and more stringent con-
servation efforts. The challenge to supply
energy to a growing global population of
expanding financial means is huge.
Product demand in non-OECD
countries will grow rapidly from the cur-
rent level of 37.3 million bpd in 2010 to
59.6 million bpd in 2030. Of the expected
22.3 million-bpd increase, China alone
is expected to account for 43% of this
increase. The combination of Brazil, India,
Russia and the broader Middle East will
account for almost 30% of the increase.
Diesel fuel will increase its share of
total demand as demand for other fuels
grows at a slower pace. Gasolines share of
demand has been relatively stable for the
last 20 years, but is expected to drop in the
OECD countries as higher vehicle efficiency
standards propagate through the fleet. How-
ever, gasoline demand will still continue to
grow in many developing countries.
Residual fuel oils share of demand
will decline over the next 10 years as com-
petition with natural gas intensifies in some
regions and bunker fuel specifications favor
a shift to marine diesel by 2015.
Despite the large refined product
demand increase seen in 2010, a significant
oversupply situation currently exists. The
requirement to blend increasing volumes of
ethanol and biodiesel into products is fur-
ther adding to the product oversupply situ-
ation in the Atlantic Basin. A few weaker
refineries have already shut down and more
closures are expected. However, the survi-
vors in some markets will have to operate
at significantly lower rates until after 2015
unless further capacity rationalization cor-
rects the capacity imbalance.
Light/heavy price differentials and
returns on capital investment declined
rapidly in early 2009 as the global econ-
omy slowed. A modest recovery in conver-
sion returns was experienced in 2010, but
conversion returns are expected to weaken
because new capacity will continue to come
online in the next few years.
Worldwide refinery investments to
2020 are expected to cost approximately
$275 billion which represents 18% of 2010
replacement costs. Additional investments
in the range of $145 billion are expected
through 2030.
Small-scale chemistry
could improve
biodegradable polymers
Using a small block of aluminum with
a tiny groove carved in it (Fig. 1), a team
of researchers from the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) and
the Polytechnic Institute of New York Uni-
versity is developing an improved green
chemistry method for making biodegrad-
able polymers. Their recently published
work is a prime example of the value of
microfluidics, a technology more com-
monly associated with inkjet printers and
medical diagnostics, to process modeling
and development for industrial chemistry.
HPIMPACT
We basically developed a microreactor
that lets us monitor continuous polymer-
ization using enzymes, explained Kathryn
Beers, a NIST materials scientist. These
enzymes are an alternate green technol-
ogy for making these types of polymers.
We looked at a polyester, but the processes
arent really industrially competitive yet.
Data from the microreactor, a sort of
zig-zag channel about a millimeter deep
crammed with hundreds of tiny beads,
shows how the process could be made
much more efficient. The team believes it
to be the first example of the observation
of polymerization with a solid-supported
enzyme in a microreactor.
The group studied the synthesis of PCL,
a biodegradable polyester used in appli-
cations ranging from medical devices to
disposable tableware. PCL, Ms. Beers said,
is most commonly synthesized using an
organic tin-based catalyst to stitch the base
chemical rings together into the long poly-
mer chains. The catalyst is highly toxic,
however, and has to be disposed of.
Modern biochemistry has found a
more environmentally friendly substitute
in an enzyme produced by the yeast strain
Candida antartica, Ms. Beers said, but
standard batch processesin which the
raw material is dumped into a vat, along
with tiny beads that carry the enzyme, and
stirredis too inefficient to be commer-
cially competitive. It also has problems
with enzyme residue contaminating and
degrading the product.
By contrast, Ms. Beers said, the micro-
reactor is a continuous flow process. The
feedstock chemical flows through the nar-
row channel, around the enzyme-coated
beads, and polymerized out the other end.
The arrangement allows precise control
FIG. 1 Typical NIST microreactor plate
for studying enzyme-catalyzed
polymerization. Photo courtesy of
Kundu, NIST.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 17
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 HPIMPACT
of temperature and reaction time, so that shown that continuous flow really benefits While this study focused on a specific
detailed data on the chemical kinetics of these reactors. Not only does it dramati- type of enzyme-assisted polymer reac-
the process can be recorded to develop an cally accelerate the rate of reaction, but it tions, the authors observe, it is evident
accurate model to scale the process. improves your ability to recover the enzyme that similar microreactor-based platforms
The small-scale flow reactor allows and reduce contamination of the product. can readily be extended to other systems;
us to monitor polymerization and look at A forthcoming follow-up paper will for example, high-throughput screening of
the performance recyclability and recovery present a full kinetic model of the reaction new enzymes and to processes where con-
of these enzymes, Ms. Beers said. With that could serve as the basis for designing tinuous flow mode is preferred.
this process-engineering approach, weve an industrial scale process.
US auto industry could
7
boost profits with higher
mileage standards
Marginal cost per $/gallon saved

5
As the US ramps up vehicle fuel effi-
ciency standards, new reports from Citi
4 Investment Research, Ceres and longtime
independent industry experts conclude that
3 US automakers will be more profitable at a
2 fleet-wide 42 miles per gallon (mpg) average
2020 CAFE target at 6% in 2020 (the strictest standard now proposed
annual reduction in
1 greenhouse gas emissions. for that year and one seen as eminently
0
achievable) and that by 2015 more than
25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 one in 20 cars sold in the US will be hybrid,
CAFE fuel economy, mpg plug-in or full electric vehicles (EVs).
Source: Meszler Engineering Services The two new reports were produced
by Citi and Ceres Investor Network on
FIG. 2 Marginal fuel economy cost in 2020 by CAFE level.
Climate Risk in conjunction with the
University of Michigan Transportation

Select 152 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 19
HPIMPACT
Research Institute, Baum and Associates
and Meszler Engineering Services.
Fuel economy. The fuel economy
analysis evaluates the potential impact
that changes to the US Corporate Aver-
age Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions standards may have
on the auto industry in 2020. Federal
and California state agencies tasked with
developing these standards are expected to
send their recommendations to the White
House as early as this month.
Stronger mileage and GHG standards
will boost variable profits and sales in 2020
for the auto industry worldwide, with the
Detroit 3 (General Motors, Ford and Chrys-
ler) seeing the biggest financial benefits. The
Detroit 3s variable profit gains would gar-
ner more than half of all increased profits.
The US electric vehicle industry is
already robust and viable, and will grow
further under strong standards and other
government policies that will boost demand
for electric and plug-in electric cars.
The 42-mpg standard by 2020 is con-
sistent with a 6% annual mileage improve-
ment, starting in 2017, that would boost
fleet mileage to 62 mpg by 2025 (Fig. 2).
In addition to increasing profits, these goals
are eminently achievable technologically
and cost-effective.
Our research indicates that increas-
ing industry average fuel economy to 42
miles per gallon by 2020 could raise indus-
try variable profit by $9.1 billion, or 8%,
said Walter McManus, an economist at
the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute and director of the Auto-
motive Analysis Group.

Savings. Dan Meszler of Meszler Engi-

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20
neering Services provided estimates of
vehicle technology costs and fuel economy
impacts for the CAFE study.
Technology exists to address a number
of continuing inefficiencies associated with
internal combustion engines, Mr. Meszler
said. Between now and 2020, much of
this technology is expected to mature, so
that a 2020 CAFE requirement of 42 mpg
should produce consumer savings starting
at gas prices of $2 per gallon. Since cur-
rent and expected future gasoline prices far
exceed that price, these technology-driven
fuel savings are extremely cost effective and
indicate that a 42-mpg CAFE program will
not only reduce petroleum imports, but
save consumers money.
In May 2010, President Obama directed
the US Environmental Protection Agency
and the National Highway Transporta-
tion Safety Administration to work with
California to develop the next phase of
the nationwide CAFE mileage standards
and GHG emissions limits for model years
20172025. The agencies are consider-
ing a range of standards representing an
annual decrease in carbon-dioxide (CO2)
emissions of 3%6%, which translates to a
range of 47 mpg to 62 mpg in 2025. The
agencies recommendation appear headed
for the White House sometime this month.
Tougher fuel economy standards will
have positive implications for sales units
and variable profits for the auto industry
in general, especially US automakers. The
report assumes an industry-wide standard
in 2020 of 42 mpg (a 6% improvement
per year). Under this scenario, the Detroit
3 could see variable profits jumping 8%
globally in 2020 globally. HP
Global
Industry
Global
Issues
Global Leaders

The Place,
The Time...
IRPCASIA: The Conference
Refining and
On 1921 July 2011 Hydrocarbon Processing will host the 2nd Annual International Refining &
Petrochemical ConferenceAsia. Strategically located in the heart of Southeast Asias refining and petrochemical
industry, and with easy access from all major refining and petrochemical centers, Singapore is home to IRPC for 2011.
IRPCAsia will bring together many of the worlds leading experts in refining and petrochemical technologies. Like
Hydrocarbon Processing, the two-day, two-track conference and exhibition will focus on presenting leading-edge
technology, best practices and solutions for the global hydrocarbon processing industry.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM (Subject to change)

WEDNESDAY, 20 JULY 2011
8:15 8:30 OPENING REMARKS: John Royall, President & CEO, Gulf Publishing Company
8:30 9:30 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION (TO BE ANNOUNCED)
9:30 10:00 REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:00 11:30
SESSION 2: REFINING PROCESS /
SESSION 1: SAFETY AND PLANT INTEGRITY
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
ExxonMobil Transient Hazop Operations Process (TOH) Advanced Trends in Meeting Refinery Hydrogen NeedsAsian
ExxonMobil focusTechnip

Critical Proactive Considerations for Enhanced Safety of the Innovative Energy Efficient Way to Debottleneck Vacuum
Next Generation of Refineries and Gas Processing Complexes Units with Improved VGO YieldIndian Oil Corporation
Fluor Corporation
LCO processing solutions / Bottom of the Barrel Conversion
Flare Structure Revamp: A Case History StrategiesAxens
Reliance Industries Limited

11:30 13:00 LUNCH, KEYNOTE: REFINERYPETROCHEMICAL INTEGRATIONJacobs Consultancy

13:00 14:30
SESSION 3: PETROCHEMICAL PROCESSES /
SESSION 4: INFORMATION & ASSET MANAGEMENT
PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENTS
Diversification of Feedstock Options for Petrochemicals: Process and Mechanical Design Optimization of Heat
Future Road Map Exchangers using a CFD Technique: Two Reference Cases
Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences Walter Tosto Spa

Design of Divided Wall Distillation Column Key Drivers and Trends for Retrofit of High Temperature
Engineers India Limited Reaction Furnaces and Fired HeatersKTI Corporation

Solutions for Purification of Refinery Sourced C3s Utilizing Advanced Simulation Software for Revamping Steam
Utilized as Feedstock to Petrochemical Processes Reformers for Hydrogen Production
UOP, LLC, A Honeywell Company Chem Development, Inc. / PFR Engineering System, Inc.

14:30 15:00 REFRESHMENT BREAK

15:00 16:30

SESSION 5: MARKET TRENDS

Renewable HydrocarbonsIndian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun

Refining Outlook: Capacity Expansion and RationalizationMuse Stancil (Asia)

Challenges and Opportunities in the Growing Asia Pacific Oils MarketWood MacKenzie

16:30 TECHNICAL CONFERENCE DAY ONE RECEPTION

for the Global
Petrochemical Industry
Learn About New Technology and Proven Solutions; Meet Global Experts
Networking functions will facilitate exchange of ideas, and an environment for meeting peers from around the globe.
Lunches, receptions and coffee breaks will take place at the exhibition. IRPC is a high-level technical and operations
focused conference. The structure of the event makes for a productive and enjoyable two days with peers from around
the world.

THURSDAY, 21 JULY 2011

8:30 8:45 WELCOMING REMARKS: Stephany Romanow, Editor, Hydrocarbon Processing
8:45 9:45

SESSION 6: REFINING / PETROCHEMICAL INTEGRATION

Refining / Petrochemical IntegrationA New ParadigmGTC Technology

Refining / Petrochemical IntegrationPanipat Complex of M/s Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.Indian Oil Corporation Limited

9:45 10:15 REFRESHMENT BREAK

10:15 11:45
SESSION 8: CATALYST TECHNOLOGY:
SESSION 7: ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
REFINING / PETROCHEMICAL
Impact of Carbon Capture on Oil Sands Development Projects Jatropha Oil Hydroconversion Kinetics Over Co-Mo / Al2O3
Worley Parsons, Canada CatalystIndian Institute of Petroleum

Comprehensive Energy Optimization in Low Budget Era Exceed your Hydrocracker Potential using the latest generation
Neste Jacobs Oy Max Diesel Flexible CatalystsShell Global Solutions

Adding a third eye towards energy efficiency in Process Advances in Rare Earth Free Catalysts Provide Cost Savings
IndustriesYokogawa Electric International Pte Ltd for RefinersGrace Davison Refining Technologies

11:45 12:45 LUNCH

12:45 13:45
SESSION 9: ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Improving equipment efficiencies in operating plants
Chevron & Rotating Machinery Consultant
Achieving Competitive Advantage from Refinery-Wide Business
Performance Optimization / Optimizing Refinery Hydrogen Supply,
Distribution, Consumption in Real TimeInvensys
SESSION 10: CATALYST TECHNOLOGY:
REFINING / PETROCHEMICAL
A Case Study in FCC Gasoline Sulfur Reduction for Enhanced
Operating Flexibility and a Cleaner Environment
CNOOC, Huizhou Refinery
Economic conversion of Natural OilsGrace Davidson

13:45 14:15 REFRESHMENT BREAK

14:15 15:15
SESSION 12: REFINING / PETROCHEMICAL
SESSION 11: INFORMATION & ASSET MANAGEMENT
INTEGRATION
Sweating the Plant Assets Refining and Petrochemical Integration Opportunities and
Jubail United Petrochemical Company, KSA ChallengesKBR

Intelligent severity optimization pays off in two months Refining and Petrochemical IntegrationAxens
Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical Co. Limited

15:15 16:15 CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER (TO BE ANNOUNCED)

2011 IRPC ADVISORY BOARD:
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Hydrocarbon Processing
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SELECTED BY HYDROCARBON PROCESSING EDITORS
editorial@gulfpub.com
EYESIM Virtual Reality now
available on iPhone and iPad
Following the successful launch of the
innovative Virtual Reality training system
EYESIM, Invensys Operations Manage-
ment, a global provider of technology sys-
tems, software solutions and consulting
services to the process and manufacturing
industries, takes the next step in further
developing this technology. The launch of
the iPhone and iPad apps adds true mobil-
ity to the EYESIM system, allowing in
the field access to first-principle simula-
tion and augmented reality. The iPhone
and iPad apps were demonstrated publicly
for the first time in Europe at the Gastech
Conference and Exhibition in Amsterdam
this past March.
EYESIM Immersive Virtual Reality is
a comprehensive solution linking control
room operators to field operators, main-
tenance operators and other critical team
members in their process by means of a
high-fidelity process simulation coupled
with a virtual walkthrough plant envi-
ronment. EYESIM provides a complete
plant crew training system, capturing best
practices, rarely used procedures and other
operations, and makes them systems of
record for continuous use and refinement.
The introduction of mobile EYESIM
extends the usability of the system to
iPhone or iPad users, allowing these mobile
users to virtually be trained on systems,
operational procedures and plant environ-
ments. The apps are particularly suited to
the gas exploration and production indus-
try, where remote and unsafe locations are
increasingly the norm.
EYESIM addresses the real-life chal-
lenges that face operators and maintenance
staff daily, and it is of particular value in
the area of safety. EYESIM can be used to
rehearse safety procedures with standard-
ized, documented processes; for operator
initiation training; updating health and
ensure appropriate responses occur to
infrequent but safety-critical events; and
gaining consistency across operations cor-
porate-wide.
EYESIM captures the inherent value in
customers workers knowledge base, inte-
grating into a comprehensive training pro-
gram that grows with their needs. Adopting
this model to mobile devices allows unte-
thered access to procedures, processes and
operational statement of works without
having to be sitting at a terminal.
Mobile EYESIM is used for classroom
training simulating plant experiences. By
using mobile EYESIM, instructors and
supervisors can monitor dynamically,
and in real time, a trainees position and
behavior in the virtual plant environment
through a client application running on
an iPhone or iPad. All touch facilities
are available for a complete user experi-
ence. Mobile EYESIM allows workers to
more fully experience real-life situations
through an iPad or iPhone interface, on the
plant floor, away from the classroom.
EYESIM Virtual Reality Training enables
engineers and operators to navigate the
plant in a highly realistic and safe train-
ing environment on their iPhone or iPad
screens. This application provides a combi-
nation of virtual-reality technologies with
high-fidelity process and control simulation,
computer-based maintenance and docu-
mentation management. Maurizio Rovaglio,
head of Innovation and Emerging Technolo-
gies at Invensys Operations Management,
describes the iPhone and iPad applica-
tion as a mobile station that can be used
in conjunction with the main application,
enabling younger operators and engineers
to connect to the server and enjoy the same
training experience as on the main system.
Instructors and supervisors can monitor,
in real time the positions and behaviors
of trainees within the plant environment
through a client application running on
an iPhone or iPad being connected to an
EYESIM iPhone or iPad server. Instructors
and supervisors can interact with virtual
reality gas plant operations by opening or
closing valves, changing weather conditions
or introducing malfunctions, by using the
touch-screen commands.
Mr. Rovaglio says that, it is designed
to provide complete plant crew training
to improve skills that are safety-critical by
enabling operators to perform tasks in a
simulated environment, allowing them
to react quickly and correctly, facilitating
reactions in high-stress conditions, and
instilling standards for team training and
communications. He went on to explain,
HPINNOVATIONS
it can be used to train operators on new
systems, as well as train new or younger
operators and engineers in a real-time,
immersive environment, helping proces-
sors and manufacturers retain and replen-
ish the specialized knowledge they need to
improve their operations.
John Gilmore, director of Global Indus-
try Solutions Upstream Oil and Gas at
Invensys Operations Management says, It
is extremely costly to put a person into the
plant for the purpose of training principally
because of the plant size or location. If we
could do 8090% of this training in a vir-
tual environment, we can significantly cut
down on cost and risk, avoiding the risk of
injury and making mistakes, such as spills
and the like due to inexperience. He also
highlighted the significance of such train-
ing in hazardous or extreme environments.
The risk to an untrained or a partially
trained person in environments such as the
Arctic or a sour gas plant, where conditions
are extreme due to high pressures and tem-
peratures, can be great; EYESIM provides
an ideal solution in these cases.
Select 1 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
XOS installs 1,000th analyzer
XOS announced the installation of its
1,000th SINDIE 7039 sulfur analyzer. This
analyzer was installed at the Yanshan refin-
ery of the China Petroleum and Chemical
Corp. (the Sinopec Corp.). With this mile-
stone, SINDIE analyzers have been sold
to hundreds of customers in 33 countries
and throughout the US. This announce-
ment builds on XOSs steady growth in the
energy sector.
From the time that we launched pro-
duction of the first-generation SINDIE
As HP editors, we hear about
new products, patents, software,
processes, services, etc., that are true
industry innovationsa cut above
the typical product offerings. This
section enables us to highlight these
significant developments. For more
information from these companies,
please go to our website at
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/rs
and select the reader service number.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 25
HPINNOVATIONS
analyzer to the shipment of this 1,000th
unit, the SINDIE product line has earned
a reputation as an indispensable analyti-
cal instrument for todays energy compa-
nies, said Berry Beumer, vice president
of sales and marketing at XOS. This lat-
est milestone affirms XOSs commitment
to leading-edge technology solutions that
address analytical challenges that support
the success and productivity of the global
energy sector. SINDIE analyzers help
XOSs customers accurately monitor sulfur
content within such diverse fuels as crude,
biofuels, gasoline and ultra-low-sulfur die-
sel (ULSD).
SINDIE offers a measurement tech-
nique based on monochromatic wavelength
dispersive X-ray fluorescence (MWDXRF).
The practical application of this technology
in the SINDIE product line enables energy
and transportation companies to meet
clean-air mandates enforced by global reg-
ulators. In turn, this reduces sulfur-oxide
exhaust emissions that are responsible for
producing acid rain and causing adverse
health and environmental conditions.
Sinopec received recognition of this
milestone at its refinery in Yanshan,
HOERBIGER valves are
the Engineer's best friend.
Over 100 years of engineering
know-how and expertise have led to
our latest innovation: the CP valve.
Select 154 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
26 www.hoerbiger.com
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
China. Sinopec executives responded to
the milestone by issuing the following
statement: We are very proud of becom-
ing the 1,000th user of the monochro-
matic wavelength x-ray fluorescence sulfur
analyzer made by XOS. The analyzer has
demonstrated significant performance
advantages over other commonly used
methods, such as coulometry, UV fluo-
rescence, and conventional x-ray fluo-
rescence. These advantages include high
detection precision, high analysis speed,
ease-of-use, high stability, and low main-
tenance. The analyzer has received wide
acclaim from operators and technical staff
during the course of operation. In par-
ticular, the refinery division of Sinopec
Yanhua Co. recently received high-octane
fuel components, that required high-anal-
ysis precision and speed. The XOS sulfur
analyzer demonstrated excellent perfor-
mance during the analysis process, and it
made a heroic contribution in successfully
completing the factory quality assurance
analysis. Please let us thank XOS and its
distributor in China, Phase Analytical
Solutions, for providing us with an ana-
lyzer of outstanding performance.
In a related development, Phase Ana-
lytical Solutions was given XOSs Asia Dis-
tributor of the Year Award in recognition of
Phases outstanding customer and technical
support in the China market.
Other features of XOSs SINDIE prod-
uct line that make this milestone significant
include:
It serves diverse market segments
such as petroleum production, refining,
and distribution; petrochemicals; biofu-
els; enforcement; independent testing; and
power generation.
End-users include refinery labs,
pipeline and marine terminal operators,
enforcement authorities, and third-party
test labs.
XOS spearheaded the ASTM D-7039
standard development covering the
SINDIE measurement method, and the
company maintains the task group chair
for measuring sulfur in fuels.
Regulators worldwide recognized
D-7039 for the purpose of certifying sul-
fur in fuels.
A portable version of the SINDIE
benchtop analyzerSINDIE On-The-Go
(OTG)received Instrument Business

Outlooks 2009 Industrial Design Award
for portable instruments.
Select 2 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
R&D contract provides
protection against excavations
Magal Security Systems, Ltd., received
a contract from a research organization,
associated with a large US gas utility, to
enhance the capabilities of its PipeGuard
systema sophisticated system (Fig. 1),
developed by Magal, that warns and pro-
tects against excavations.
The research organization has evalu-
ated various technologies for mitigating
and proactively alerting personnel when
excavations are occurring in the vicinity
of buried gas pipes, to enable effective and
early response for prevention of potentially
hazardous and catastrophic events. The rig-
orous testing included the ability to distin-
guish between various types of excavation
equipment in the proximity of pipelines,
particularly in noisy environments such as
busy highways.
The PipeGuard system has so far shown
to be the most promising technology; with
the contracted improvements it should pro-
HPINNOVATIONS
vide a cost-effective solution for the pro- technology, PipeGuard offers a unique
active monitoring of pipelines to prevent solution for the protection of pipelines,
third-party damage. communication lines, prisons and even
Hagai Katz, senior vice president of bank vaults, from terrorism, theft and
marketing and business development, inadvertent third party-damage. Multiple
Magal S3, commented: Historically, this PipeGuard sensor units are typically inter-
system was designed to protect long-dis- connected through a wireless or cellular
tance pipelines against terrorist and crimi- mesh network and alarms are displayed on
nal activity. Contractors all over the world a geospatial map.
are inadvertently digging or drilling into Select 3 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
gas pipes, disrupting service, risking lives
and also cause environmental catastrophes.
Our distributed-system layout cov-
ers dispersed risk areas and is the perfect
solution for this challenge. This financed
development agreement is an excellent
opportunity to develop the product for
this important application and make it
the preferred choice. This is an impor-
tant step in our corporate strategy to sup-
ply sophisticated sensors and solutions
beyond our traditional security market; in
this case, it is to preserve outdoor safety
and green ecology.
PipeGuard is a sophisticated, patent-
pending sub-surface intrusion detection
system for underground asset protec- FIG. 1 Magal S3 Pipe Guard system.
tion. Based on state-of-the-art geophone
The new CP valve for small pocket, high speed compression.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 27
HPINNOVATIONS
Flowmeter offers small
foot print and reduced
installation costs
Process engineers responsible for crude
oil production from wells that employ
gas lift systems to increase oil production
will find that the rugged, highly accurate
V-Cone flowmeter (Fig. 2) from McCrom-
eter features a wide turndown, a small
footprint and virtually no maintenance,
reducing total installed costs and operating
life cycle costs while improving crude oil
production efficiency.
Gas lift systems employed for enhanced
oil recovery (EOR) increase crude oil pro-
duction by injecting gas into the well bore
casing, reducing the oil density being pro-
duced. The injected gas mixes with the oil
in the casing and the low reservoir pressure
in the formation is then sufficient to allow
production without the need for pumps.
Some oil wells produce natural gas that
is separated from the oil stream once it
reaches the surface. The well operator then
re-injects a portion of this byproduct gas,
thus maximizing production from the well.
Carbon dioxide, nitrogen or engineered
chemical solutions can also be employed
in gas-lift wells.
McCrometers V-Cone flowmeters fea-
ture accuracy of 0.5% of rate and repeat-
ability of 0.1%, ensuring accurate mea-
surement and control of the injected media.
With its no-moving parts design, the
V-Cone flowmeter is proven to remain
accurate in installations for 25 years or
more in the toughest of applications, all but
eliminating the need to shut down produc-
tion for calibrations, inspections, or regular
replacement of the primary element, saving
not only through production up-time, but
also in parts and labor.
FIG. 2 Gas-lift well.
28
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
McCrometers differential-pressure
V-Cone flowmeter provides built-in flow
conditioning, which nearly eliminates the
upstream and downstream straight pipe
runs required by other flowmeter tech-
nologies, reducing typical straight pipe
run by 70% or more requiring only 03
straight pipe diameters upstream and 01
downstream for precise operation.
Engineers in the oil/gas industry rely
on the versatility of McCrometers V-Cone
flowmeter available in line sizes from 0.5
in. to greater than 120 in. in materials and
flanges compatible with any application.
The flowmeter operates over a wide flow
range of 10:1, which typically covers the
entire flow range required for injection in
gas-lift applications.
Select 4 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
CO2 removal technology
reduces compression cost
The Japanese companies JGC Corpora-
tion and INPEX Corporation, jointly with
BASF SE, have successfully completed
tests of a new technology for the removal
of carbon dioxide (CO2) from natural gas
under high pressure. The performance of
this new gas treatment technology enables
a reduction of 25% to 35% in the cost of
CO2 recovery and compression.
The so-called High Pressure Acid-
gas Capture Technology (HiPACT) was
developed by JGC and BASF. The tests
of the technology commenced in August
2010, at INPEXs Koshijihara natural
gas plant in Nagaoka, Japan. We greatly
appreciate the involvement of INPEX,
allowing us to test the new technology in
a commercial natural gas plant. Target-
ing demand in the market, we successfully
demonstrated an excellent energy saving
performance, said Mr. Yasuda, execu-
tive officer and senior general manager of
the research and development Division
at JGC.
INPEX strives to reduce energy con-
sumption as much as possible. This new
technology offers a great opportunity
to improve energy conservation. It also
reduces our carbon footprint and helps
curb greenhouse gas emissions, added
Mr. Yamamoto, executive officer and
vice president of the technical division.
This test was a critical milestone in the
commercialization of a new technology
for which the market has been looking for
some time, said Dr. Northemann, head
of the Gas Treatment Solutions business
unit within BASFs Intermediates division.
Saving energy in the removal of CO2.
Natural gas, an increasingly important
source of energy, often contains CO2 when
it is extracted from the well. Most of this
CO2 is usually removed directly at the nat-
ural-gas source. The removal is achieved by
means of an amine-based solvent devel-
oped by BASF. The solvent temporarily
absorbs the CO2 from the high-pressure
natural gas-stream. The solvent is then
regenerated at low pressure and fed back to
the process, but this regeneration requires
energy. Traditionally the CO2 released in
the regeneration process has been emitted
to the environment.
Alternatively, the CO2 can be injected
underground for storage after separation
from the natural gas. To do that the CO2
must first be compressed above its high
pressure. This has, to date, required an
additional high energy input, which the
new process can reduce significantly. The
process uses a solvent that is not affected
by high pressure levels and elevated
temperatures during regeneration, so it
remains stable and intact during the cap-
ture process. Thus, the new technology
can be operated at a higher pressure. This
reduces the cost of compressing the CO2
for underground re-injection. Moreover,
the solvent, which has an excellent CO2
absorption capability compared to the
existing solvents, enables reduction of the
solvent regeneration energy.
Select 5 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
New alliance in process
analyzer industry
Metrohm, trusted for laboratory anal-
ysis systems, and Applikon, revered for
accurate and dependable process analyz-
ers, have joined forces to bring the best
of both brands to the process analytical
industry.
This Metrohm-Applikon alliance unites
process technology with the precision of
laboratory instrumentation to offer rugged
systems that meet the demands of modern
process plants. At-line and online analyz-
ers feature automated sample preparation
and continuous monitoring technology
which are integrated seamlessly into any
process setup. In addition, each analyzer
is customized to meet the exact needs of
its environment. Metrohm-Applikon also
complement each others support offering,
and their alliance now brings full appli-
cation and product support to both the
laboratory and process floor.
Select 6 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
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Select 69 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 EBARA CORPORATION

Select 52 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

HELEN MECHE, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
HM@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
North America
Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., LP,
is advancing a feasibility study to construct
a world-scale ethane cracker and ethylene
derivatives at one of its existing facilities in
the US Gulf Coast region. The new facil-
ity would use the advantaged feed sources
expected from development of shale-gas
reserves. According to Tim Taylor, COO for
Chevron Phillips Chemical, the company
is finalizing its evaluation of potential sites
and advancing discussions with engineer-
ing, procurement and construction contrac-
tors. The feasibility study is expected to be
complete by the end of 2011.
Valero Energy Corp. plans to expand
crude-unit capacity at its McKee, Texas,
refinery by 25,000 bpd. The refinery will
process West Texas Intermediate crude oil
from Midland, Texas, to feed the increased
charge rate. The expansion project, which
will take place over the next three years, will
increase the amount of crude oil available
to be processed at the McKee refinery to
195,000 bpd.
The expansion plans follow the previ-
ously announced Panhandle crude-gath-
ering system expansion project, which is
nearing completion. That project involves
looping an existing pipeline from Valeros
storage facility in Perryton, Texas, as well as
building additional pump stations and stor-
age facilities to bring more locally produced
crude to the McKee refinery.
Merichem Co. has entered into a licens-
ing and equipment-supply agreement with a
leading midstream energy-services provider
to install a LO-CAT hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
treatment system at its shale gas-treating
facility in Louisiana. The 6.93-metric-tpd
LO-CAT unit, provided through the Meri-
chem Gas Technologies business unit, will
be integrated into the overall processing
facility, with a proposed startup date dur-
ing the fourth quarter of 2011.
The LO-CAT unit will be treating 34.6
million scfd of amine acid gas with an H2S
removal efficiency of 99.9%, far exceed-
ing current environmental standards. This
will be the second LO-CAT system to be
installed in the Haynesville Shale play for
this client, and the third LO-CAT unit to be
HPIN CONSTRUCTION
installed in the Haynesville play. LO-CAT is
becoming recognized as the sulfur recovery
system of choice for the shale gas industry.
CB&I has been awarded a contract by
Imperial Oil Resources for engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) work
on the Kearl oil sands project in Alberta,
Canada. The value of CB&Is work scope
is in excess of $900 million. This includes
$500 million of incremental work releases
booked prior to 2011. CB&I will be
responsible for the EPC execution of the
bitumen extraction plant and tank farms, as
well as the design, supply and construction
of additional storage vessels. Completion is
expected in the third quarter of 2012.
South America
Braskem-Idesa, the joint venture
between Braskem and Idesa, has taken
another important step in developing its
Ethylene XXI project in Mexico. The JV
has chosen Technip as the technology
provider for its 1,050-kiloton/yr ethylene
cracker based on ethane. This is part of the
petrochemical complex to be built in Coat-
zacoalcos/Nanchital region, in the Mexican
state of Veracruz, and it is planned to be
ready for startup by the end of 2014. The
complex will also include one low-density
polyethylene plant and two high-density
polyethylene plants.
Braskem-Idesa has also selected Technip
as contractor for the front-end engineering
design (FEED) of the cracker and high-den-
sity polyethylene plants. Technips operating
centers in Rome, Italy, and in Claremont,
California, will execute the ethylene plants
FEED activities, while the activities related
to the FEED for the high-density polyeth-
ylene units will be executed by Technips
office in Lyon, France. The overall FEED
activities are scheduled to be completed at
the end of 2011.
Petrleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA)
and Haldor Topse have signed a contract
for the Centro de Refinacin Paraguan proj-
ect. The contract includes an 85,000-bpsd
hydrotreating unit. This will reportedly be
the biggest ever designed by Haldor Topse,
and the capacity will correspond to about
half of Denmarks daily consumption of oil.
Due to the hydrotreaters large capacity,
the project will include two trains with four
hydrotreating reactors in total. They will
produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel containing
less than 10 wt ppm of sulfur.
The diesel hydrotreater is part of an opti-
mization project in PDVSAs largest refin-
ing complex in Paraguana, Falcon State.
Haldor Topse will supply an engineering
design package for the hydrotreaters. The
scope of supply includes design of the reac-
tors, basic engineering and catalysts, and
detailed design of the proprietary reactor
internals. Erection of the unit is expected to
commence in 2014, and PDVSA expects to
begin production by the end of 2015.
Europe
Uhde has begun construction of what
is said to be its first-ever skid-mounted
chlor-alkali electrolysis plant in Leuna,
Germany. Leuna-Harze GmbH, one of
Europes leading producers of epoxy resin,
awarded Uhde the contract to build a turn-
key membrane electrolysis plant with a pro-
duction capacity of 15,000 tpy of chlorine.
Commissioning is planned for mid-2012.
Uhdes scope of services includes the
process licence, design and engineering,
procurement, construction work and com-
missioning support. This, reportedly the
worlds first skid-mounted chlor-alkali
electrolysis plant, is to be successfully
implemented for the first time in Ger-
Trend analysis forecasting
Hydrocarbon Processing maintains an
extensive database of historical HPI proj-
ect information. The Boxscore Database is a
35-year compilation of projects by type, oper-
ating company, licensor, engineering/construc-
tor, location, etc. Many companies use the his-
torical data for trending or sales forecasting.
The historical information is available in
comma-delimited or Excel and can be custom
sorted to suit your needs. The cost depends on
the size and complexity of the sort requested.
You can focus on a narrow request, such as
the history of a particular type of project, or
you can obtain the entire 35-year Boxscore
database or portions thereof. Simply send
a clear description of the data needed and
receive a prompt cost quotation.
Contact: Drew Combs
P.O. Box 2608, Houston, Texas, 77252-2608
713-520-4409 Drew.Combs@GulfPub.com
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 31
HPIN CONSTRUCTION
Neste Oil celebrates the grand opening of its ISCC-certified
renewable diesel plant in Singapore
Neste Oil with Singapores Deputy Prime Minister and Min-
ister for Defence, Mr. Teo Chee Hean; Finnish Minister for
Ownership Steering, Mr. Jyri Hkmies; and some 200 guests
celebrated the grand opening of its renewable diesel plant in
Singapore on March 8, 2011 (Fig. 1). The startup of the Sin-
gapore plant took place in November 2010, and production at
the worlds largest renewable diesel plant has run smoothly ever
since. Neste Oils Singapore plant was completed on schedule
and on budget, and marks a major step forward in Neste Oils
cleaner traffic strategy. The plant produces premium-quality
NExBTL renewable diesel, which is the most advanced and
cleanest diesel fuel on the market today.
FIG. 1 Opening ceremony in which (from left) Managing
Director of Neste Oil Singapore Pte Ltd., Mr. Petri
Jokinen; Finnish Minister for Ownership Steering, Mr.
Jyri Hkmies; Singapores Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Defence, Mr. Teo Chee Hean; as well as Neste
Oils President and CEO Mr. Matti Lievonen cut the ribbon
together.
32
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Only two years ago, we were here to lay the cornerstone of
our renewable diesel plan. The rather empty piece of land has
since been turned into the worlds biggest renewable diesel plant.
As a location, Singapore has fulfilled all our expectations. It is
the worlds third-largest center of oil refining, and occupies a
central location in terms of product and feedstock flows, as well
as logistics. Talent pool in Singapore is absolutely first-class.
The government of Singapore has played an important role in
promoting Neste Oils investment, and the Singapore Economic
Development Board has assisted Neste Oil at every stage of the
project, said Matti Lievonen, president and CEO of Neste Oil.
The plant has a capacity of 800,000 metric tpy, and cost
around 550 million to build. It uses a variety of renewable
feedstocks to produce NExBTL, including palm oil and side-
stream products of palm-oil production from Indonesia and
Malaysia, as well as waste animal fat from Australia and New
Zealand. The plant employs approximately 120 people, the
majority of which are from Singapore and the nearby coun-
tries. The construction project has required close to 14 million
man-hours of work from employees and contractors from 13
countries. At peak times, the number of workers at the con-
struction site reached almost 5,000. Before any work aboveg-
round started, over 300 km of piles were put into the ground
to prepare the site for heavy structures. Later on, more than 90
km of pipe work was installed. Furthermore, as calculated from
the start of the project, the total recordable injury frequency per
million hours worked was less than one, clearly below the global
safety averages of the industry.
Neste Oil has a similar-sized facility under construction in
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, which is due to be commissioned
in mid-2011. The company already operates two renewable
diesel plants that came onstream at Porvoo in Finland in 2007

and 2009 with a combined capacity of 380,000 metric tpy. After
the startup of Rotterdam plant, the production capacity of Neste
Oils renewable diesel plants totals approximately 2 million
metric tons annually. The main markets for NExBTL diesel are
Europe and North America.
Singapore refinery to receive ISCC certification.
At the end of January 2011, Neste Oils Singapore refinery was
International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC)
certified. More specifically, the certificate confirms that NEx-
BTL renewable diesel produced at the Singapore refinery from
certified raw materials, such as from ISCC certified palm oil,
meets the strict sustainability criteria based on the EUs renew-
able energy directive (RED) and is suitable for meeting bio-
content mandates on the German market. The ISCC system,
specific to the German market, is approved by the German
Federal Office of Agriculture and Food (BLE). Neste Oils
Porvoo refinery in Finland has already been ISCC certified in
November 2010.
Although the ISCC certification is specific to the German
market, it reinforces Neste Oils sustainability commitment
and offers third-party verification for the sustainability of
our production chain and our NExBTL renewable diesel,
Lievonen added.
Singapore plantthe worlds largest and most
advanced renewable diesel facility
Neste Oils Singapore renewable diesel plant facility marks a
major step forward for the companys clean-traffic-fuel strategy.
Renewable fuels business is an important part of Neste Oils
strategy; with the startup of the Singapore plant, Neste Oil is
regarded as the worlds leading producer of renewable diesel.
With its premium-quality product and increasing production
capacity, Neste Oil, as an industry pioneer, aims at meeting
the worlds growing energy needs and demand for cleaner,
bio-based fuels.
HPIN CONSTRUCTION
Highlights of the Singapore NExBTL project
Worlds largest renewable diesel plant; Neste Oils third
NExBTL renewable diesel plant
Based on Neste Oils own proprietary NExBTL technology
Located in an industrial area of Tuas, in the south-western
part of Singapore, approximately 40 km from the city center
Annual production capacity of 800,000 metric tons (or 1
billion liters) of NExBTL renewable diesel. This annual volume
is enough for 10 million cars to run continuously with a 10%
NExBTL blend.
Operational since November 2010; completed on budget
and on schedule at a cost of approximately 550 million
Employs approximately 120 persons; approximately 90%
of employees are from Singapore or neighboring countries.
All feedstock used at the plant are fully sustainable and
traceable: palm oil, stearin and palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)
from Southeast Asia, as well as animal fat from Australia and
New Zealand
The main markets for NExBTL diesel are Europe and
North America, later possibly also Asia.
Singapore refinery received ISCC certification on Jan. 20,
2011. The certificate confirms that NExBTL diesel produced
from certified raw materials is suitable for use in meeting man-
dated bio-content on the German market. The ISCC system, spe-
cific to the German market, is the first standard for sustainability
based on the EUs new renewable energy directive (RED). It is
approved by the German Federal Office of Agriculture and Food
(BLE). Also, Neste Oils Porvoo refinery has been ISCC certified.
Led by Managing Director Petri Jokinen. In addition to
the NExBTL plant, Neste Oil also has a commercial office in
central Singapore.
Neste Oil has a similar-sized facility under construction
in Rotterdam, which is due to be commissioned in mid-2011.
The company already operates two renewable diesel plants that
came onstream at Porvoo, Finland, in 2007 and 2009, with a
combined capacity of 380,000 metric tpy. HP
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 33
HPIN CONSTRUCTION
many. The concept was developed by
AkzoNobel, UHDENORA and Uhde.
CB&I has been selected by Yamal LNG
LLC to provide front-end engineering and
design (FEED) services for the Yamal LNG
project. The work is scheduled for comple-
tion in the first quarter of 2012. The Yamal
LNG project consists of the production,
treatment, transportation, liquefaction
and shipping of natural gas and natural
gas liquids (NGL) from the South Tambey
field on the Yamal Peninsula in Northern
Siberia, Russia.
CB&Is project scope includes FEED
development for the 16.5 million-tpy LNG
liquefaction plant, including LNG storage
and loading facilities. CB&Is FEED execu-
tion plan is based on engaging its interna-
tional partnersChiyoda and Saipem,
as well as collaboration with the Russian
Design Institute, NIPIgazpererabotka, to
address local design and authority approval
requirements. The FEED will provide a
firm basis for the detailed engineering,
procurement and construction phase, as
well as project schedule and cost estimates
to enable Yamal LNG to secure the final
investment decision. The value of the con-
tract was not disclosed.
Foster Wheeler AGs Global Engi-
neering and Construction Group has
been awarded a contract by JSC Novo-
Ufimsky Refinery, a subsidiary of Russian
oil company Bashneft, for the engineer-
ing and material supply of a new Terrace
Wall steam reformer heater and air pre-
heating system for the Ufa refinery in the
Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. The
steam reformer will be part of the 420-tpd
hydrogen production unit being built by
the JSC Novo-Ufimsky refinery and will
reportedly be one of the largest steam Ter-
race Wall reformers for hydrogen ever built
by Foster Wheeler.
The plant is based on Foster Wheelers
hydrogen technology and process-design
package. Foster Wheelers scope of work is
scheduled to be completed in mid-2012.
The balance of the hydrogen plant engi-
neering and construction will be under-
taken directly by the client.

Middle East
Neste Oil and Abu Dhabi National
Oil Co. (ADNOC) have a partnership
concerning very high-viscosity index
(VHVI) base oils. Along with the coop-
eration, 600,000 metric tpy of NEXBASE
base oil is expected to be brought onto the
market at the end of 2013. Takreer, a sub-
sidiary of ADNOC, will supply the feed-
stock, as well as operate and maintain the
plant, while Neste Oil will be responsible
for the sales and marketing of the base oil
on behalf of ADNOC. There will be no
This bench top analyzer tops all others in its price range for investment costs for Neste Oil related to
features and performance. Its equipped with an intuitive user this activity.
interface, full-color touch screen and on-board Windows XP The plant is based on ExxonMobil
computer. Ethernet electronics that permit remote access for Research and Engineerings hydroisomer-
calibration, diagnostics or service support. Plus, the Phoenix II ization technology and Neste Jacobs distil-
has a large sample compartment that accommodates spinners lation technology. It will have a capacity of
and special holders yet requires little or no sample preparation. 500,000 metric tpy of Group III base oil
It all adds up to the lowest cost of ownership, backed by to be used in blending top-tier lubricants,
AMETEKs reputation for reliability and world class customer as well as 100,000 metric tons of Group
support. Visit: ametekpi.com II base oil. Commercial production is
expected to start at the end of 2013.

KBR has been awarded a contract by

Saudi Aramco Lubricating Oil Refining
Co. (Luberef ) to implement KBRs propri-
Select 155 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
34
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improve the quality of our products and services and the
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Within the wide range of Costacurta products you will
also find some, described below, that are used specifically
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Select 84 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
HPIN CONSTRUCTION
etary solvent deasphalting (SDA) technol-
ogy, ROSE, for Luberef s Yanbu Refinery
Expansion Project in Saudi Arabia. Under
the contract, KBR will provide technology
licensing and basic engineering services to
revamp and almost double the capacity of
Luberef s existing propane-deasphalting
(PDA) unit. The existing PDA unit, which
is based on conventional SDA technology,
will be converted to KBRs ROSE tech-
nology. In addition to increasing produc-
tion volumes, the PDA revamp will allow
Luberef to increase brightstock and by-
product production.
A subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AGs
Global Engineering and Construction
Group, along with the subsidiarys consor-
tium partners comprising A. Al-Saihati, A.
Fattani and O. Al-Othman Consulting
Engineering Co. (SOFCON) and Saudi
Consolidated Engineering Co.Khatib
& Alami (SCEC K&A) have signed a con-
tract with Saudi Aramco for the provision
of services associated with Saudi Aramcos
GES+ initiative for a duration of five years,
with options available for extensions.
Under contract terms, Foster Wheeler
and its consortium partners will perform
engineering and project-management ser-
vices including pre-front-end engineering
design (pre-FEED), FEED, detailed design
and procurement services for onshore/off-
shore oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals
and associated infrastructure projects in
Saudi Arabia. The work will be executed
from the consortiums offices located in
the city of Al-Khobar in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has
received an award from the Jubail Chemi-
cal Industrial Co., Ltd. (JANA) to pro-
vide technical and project-management
services for its existing epichlorohydrin
plant expansion and a new epichlorohy-
drin plant at the Jubail, Saudi Arabia, site.
JANA is a wholly owned subsidiary of
NAMA Chemicals.
Under the agreement, Jacobs is provid-
ing technical and project-management ser-
vices for both inside battery limits (ISBL)
and outside battery limits (OSBL). The
ISBL services involve debottlenecking of
their existing epichlorohydrin plant to
increase capacity, and the OSBL services
cover all utilities and the tankage area.
Jacobs scope also includes cost-estimate
preparation and project-management
support for JANAs new epichlorohydrin
36
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
plant, to be built at the same site in Jubail.
This expansion is intended to increase the
Jubail sites epoxy resins production capac-
ity to 240 kiloton/yr.
Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Shell have
announced the first flow of dedicated
offshore gas into the Pearl gas-to-liquids
(GTL) plant located in Ras Laffan Indus-
trial City in the State of Qatar. Shell, the
operator of the Pearl GTL plant, developed
under a production and sharing agreement
with QP, has opened natural gas wells off-
shore, allowing the first sour gas to flow
through a subsea pipeline into the giant
GTL plant onshore. Sections of the Pearl
GTL plant will be started up progressively
over the coming months.
Once fully operational, Pearl will
produce 1.6 Bcfd of gas from the North
Field, which will be processed to gener-
ate 120,000 bpd of condensate and natu-
ral gas liquids and 140,000 bpd of GTL
products.
Egypt Japan Petrochemical Corp.
S.A.E. (EJPC) and Davy Process Tech-
nology Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Johnson Matthey Plc (JM), have signed
a methanol operating license agreement.
EJPC is developing a world-scale com-
bined methanol and ammonia project
comprising a 6,000-metric-tpd methanol
plant that will use Davys technology, and
a 2,000-metric-tpd ammonia plant (the
Project).
The methanol plant, which will use
steam reforming of natural gas in conjunc-
tion with the advanced methanol synthesis
process developed and licensed by Davy
and JM, will reportedly be the largest
methanol plant in the world. The hydro-
gen-rich purge gas from the methanol loop
will be used in the integrated ammonia
plant. This project is a key component in
the development of Carbon Holdings
petrochemicals business, with construction
scheduled to commence in 2012.
Alfa Laval has received an order
for delivery of Alfa Laval Packinox heat
exchangers to a refinery in Saudi Arabia.
The order value is about SEK 75 million
and delivery is scheduled for 2012. The
Packinox heat exchangers will be used in
a catalytic reforming unit for producing
gasoline. Last year, half of Alfa Lavals big
orders came from refineries and the vast
majority of these included Alfa Laval Pack-
inox heat exchangers.
Asia-Pacific
Fluor Offshore Solutions, a unit of
Fluor Corp., has been awarded a front-end
engineering and design (FEED) contract by
Woodside for the Browse liquefied natural
gas (LNG) development. The Browse fields
are located in the Browse Basin about 425
km north of Broome off the western coast
of Australia. Fluor will be responsible for
the offshore central gas-processing facil-
itys FEED services including the steel
jackets, a compression platform and a utili-
ties accommodation platform. Fluor has
teamed with McDermott International,
Inc., to design the steel jackets and float-
over installation.
Fluor will staff the FEED with more
than 150 offshore experts from its Perth,
Houston and Manila offices, and the FEED
is expected to be completed in late 2011.
The Browse joint venture is scheduled to
take a final investment in mid-2012.
INVISTA plans to construct a manu-
facturing facility at the Shanghai Chemi-
cal Industry Park in China to meet the
regions demand for nylon 6,6 intermedi-
ates and polymer. The company is engaged
in project engineering, which will include
an environmental impact assessment to be
completed by the end of 2011.
INVISTA expects to begin plant con-
struction in 2012 and commence produc-
tion in phases beginning in 2014. When
the new plant is complete, it will report-
edly be the most energy-efficient and tech-
nologically advanced nylon intermediates
plant in the world. Using INVISTAs lat-
est advances in its proprietary butadiene-
based technology, the state-of-the-art
plant will produce hexamethylene diamine
(HMD) and adiponitrile (ADN), along
with various specialty chemicals and nylon
6,6 polymer.
Bayer MaterialScience has inaugu-
rated a manufacturing facility for poly-
isocyanates at Ankleshwar, in the state of
Gujarat, India. With the investment of
approximately 20 million, the company
wants to expand its business in India and to
participate in the strong growth of this local
market for coatings and adhesives.
The plant will produce Desmodur N
grades based on aliphatic hexamethylene
diisocyanate (HDI). The initial capacity
amounts to 15,000 tpy. It will be increased
in stages in the coming years in accordance
with the predicted growth for polyurethane
coatings and adhesives.

KBR has been awarded a contract
by Inner Mongolia Connell Chemical
Industry Co., Ltd. (Connell) to provide
licensing, basic engineering and related
training and field services for its grassroots
aniline plant in TongLiao, Inner Mongolia
Province, China.
The aniline technology is offered by
KBR through a licensing alliance with
DuPont. KBR will license the leading pro-
cess for Connells 360,000-metric-tpy ani-
line plant. This follows an award of the ani-
line technology to KBR earlier in 2010 by
Connell for its 150,000-metric-tpy plant in
Jilin City, China.
HPIN CONSTRUCTION
Basic engineering of the unit, which
will include the UOP Pacol, UOP DeFine
and UOP Detergent Alkylation processes,
is underway, and the project is expected
to come onstream in the second quarter
of 2012.
Foster Wheeler AGs Global Engineer-
ing and Construction Group has received
a contract from Huntsman (Europe)
BVBA to undertake the front-end engi-
neering design (FEED) for the expansion of
Huntsmans Isocyanates facility at Caojing,
in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China.
Foster Wheelers scope will include front-
end engineering, technology licensor man-
agement and development of the project
schedule and cost estimates. The projects
FEED phase is scheduled for completion in
the third quarter of 2011, with the overall
project scheduled for mechanical comple-
tion by the fourth quarter of 2013. HP

BASF and PETRONAS will com-

mence a feasibility study for a new plant
for superabsorbent polymers. The compa-
nies are also looking into the expansion of
the existing production capacities of their
joint venture BASF PETRONAS Chemi-
cals Sdn Bhd.
The new investment will be part of
BASF PETRONAS Chemicals Sdn Bhd,
founded by BASF and PETRONAS in
1997. The company operates an integrated
complex situated at the Gebeng Industrial
Zone, Pahang. The companys share of
capital is 60% held by BASF and 40% by
PETRONAS with a total investment of
about RM3.4 billion for production facili-
ties for acrylic monomers, oxo products
and butanediol.

Siemens Energy has received an order

for the supply of up to 10 compressor
trains to Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG)
in Queensland, Australia. APLNG is a
joint venture between Origin Energy
and ConocoPhillips. The APLNG proj-
ect will involve developing coal-seam gas
fields in south-central Queensland over
a 30-year period and includes construc-
tion of upstream gas-gathering and pro-
cessing facilities, together with a 450-km
main transmission pipeline from the gas
fields to the liquefied natural gas (LNG)
facility being built on Curtis Island near
Gladstone.

The technology of UOP LLC, a Hon-

eywell company, has been selected by
Great Orient Chemical for a new pet-
rochemicals complex in China that will
produce key ingredient for biodegradable
household laundry detergents. Great Ori-
ent Chemical expects the new complex to
produce up to 100,000 metric tpy of linear
alkylbenzene (LAB).
Select 156 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
37
 HPI CONSTRUCTION BOXSCORE UPDATE
Company City Plant Site Project Capacity Unit Cost Status Yr Cmpl Licensor Engineering Constructor
AFRICA
Algeria Sonatrach Tiaret Tiaret Refinery 300 bpd 6000 F 2014 Technip|CB&I|Saipem|Chiyoda|Sinopec
Egypt Egyptian Methanex Damietta Damietta Methanol 6000 m-tpd P 2012 Davy Process|JM Techint Techint
Morocco SAMIR Mohammedia Mohammedia Treater, Kerosine 600 t/a E 2012 UOP Tecnicas Reunidas Tecnicas Reunidas
Tunisia Qatar Petroleum Skhira Skhira Refinery 150 bbl 6300 A
ASIA/PACIFIC
China Chang Zhou Cheml Co Chongqing Chongqing MDI 400Mm-tpy 1212 P 2014 BASF
China UPC Technology Corp Liaoyang Liaoyang Butanediol TO 40Mtpy 30 P 2013
China Risun Chemical Co Tangshan Tangshan Epichlorohydrin 100000m-tpy E 2012 Conser Hualu Hualu
China UPC Technology Corp Zhuhai Zhuhai Malic Acid BY 30Mtpy 15 U 2011
India Nagarjuna Oil Corp Ltd Cuddalore Cuddalore Sulfur Recovery Unit RE 60t/a U 2012 Lurgi
India Mangalore Rfg & Petrochemicals Mangalore Mangalore Treater, Tail Gas (1) 185t/a U 2012 Siirtec Nigi Siirtec Nigi
Indonesia Lotte Daesan Petrochemical Banten Baten Petrochemical Complex None 5000 S 2017
Malaysia BASF Petronas Chemicals Kuantan Kuantan Polymers None S
South Korea Samsung Eng Yeosu Yeosu BTX EX 10 MMtpy 90 E 2013
Taiwan CPC Corp Talin Talin Cracker, FCC-Resid 80 Mbpsd 1219 U 2012 Shaw S&W CTCI CTCI
EUROPE
Finland Neste Oil Naantali Naantali Maintenance Turnaround None P 2012
Greece Hellenic Petroleum SA Elefsina Elefsina Hydrocracker, LP 14 bpsd U 2011 KTI Tecnicas Reunidas
Kazakhstan AGIP KCO Kashagan Kashagan Field Sulfur Recovery (1) 3800 m-tpd U 2012 WorleyParsons Petrofac|Siirtec Nigi|Black & Veatch
Netherlands Neste Oil Rotterdam Rotterdam Renewable Diesel 800 kty 945 U 2011 Neste Oil Technip Technip
Russian Federation Yamal LNG LLC Yamal Yamal LNG Storage None F 2012 CB&I
Spain Petronor Muskiz Muskiz Sulfur (2) 110 m-tpd 1081 U 2011 Centry Sener
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina Repsol YPF La Plata La Plata Desalter, Crude RE 5840 MMm2/y U 2011 Petreco
Mexico Pemex Minatitlan Minatitlan Sulfur Recovery (4) EX 150 tpd U 2011 Lurgi Tecnicas Reunidas Constr N. Odebrecht|Rio San Juan
Venezuela PDVSA Paraguana Paraguana Hydrotreater, Diesel 85 bpd P 2015 Haldor Topse
MIDDLE EAST
Bahrain Neste Oil Sitra Sitra VHVI (Very High Viscosity Index) 400 kty 430 U 2011
Iraq SCOP Baghdad Baghdad Crude oil pumping station RE 2.5 Mtpy E 2012 APS Eng Co Roma
Qatar Qatar Petroleum Mesaieed Al Shaheen Scrubber None H 2012 Belco
Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco\ConocoPhillips Yanbu Yanbu Refinery 400 Mbpd 1300 E 2014 KBR Aramco Services Co|KBR
UAE Borouge III Ruwais Ruwais Polyethylene, LD 350 Mtpy 722 E 2013 Tecnimont Samsung Eng
UNITED STATES
California Alon/Fina Oil & Chemical Bakersfield Kern Refinery Refinery RE None F FW
Colorado Red Cedar Gathering Durango Durango Amine Unit 120 MMscfd 18 U 2011 Thomas Russell Co.
Mississippi Chevron Chemical Co Pascagoula Pascagoula Desalter, Crude RE 50 Mbpd E 2012 Petreco |Cameron Bechtel Cameron
New Mexico Western Refining Gallup Gallup Scrubber 11 Mbpd A Belco Belco
North Dakota Tesoro Corp Mandan Mandan Refinery EX 78 bpd 35 U 2012
Ohio Sunoco Inc Toledo Toledo Refinery 170 bpd 400 C 2011
Oklahoma Holly Corp Tulsa Tulsa Benzene Reduction 25 Mbpd E 2011 GTC, Inc KP Engineering, LP KP Engineering, LP
Texas Samsung Eng Houston Houston Chlorine 250 MMtpy 816 E 2013
West Virginia MarkWest Hydrocarbon PL Logansport Logansport Cryogenic Gas Plant 120 MMscfd 16 U 2011 Thomas Russell Co. Thomas Russell Co.

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Select 157 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

38
I MAY 2011 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
Select 98 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 Efuent Wa
Water Quality

Before After

solve processing
problems with
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Select 67 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

Consider new developments in
antifouling coatings for rotating equipment
Innovative materials and applications protect critical centrifugal
compressors and steam turbines from erosion and corrosion
Phillip Dowson is the general manager,
materials engineering, for Elliott Group in
Jeannette, Pennsylvania. He has 40 years of
experience in the turbomachinery industry.
Mr. Dowson is responsible for the metallur-
gical and welding engineering for the vari-
ous Elliott rotating equipment lines. He is the
author/coauthor of a number of technical
articles, related to topics such as abradable
seals, high temperature corrosion, fracture mechanics, and welding/
brazing of impellers. Mr. Dowson graduated from Newcastle Polytech-
nic, now Northumbria University, with a degree in metallurgy and did
his postgraduate work (MS degree) in welding engineering. He is a
member of ASM, NACE, ASTM and TWI.
Over the past fifteen years, a great deal of progress has been
made with respect to materials science and related processes applied
to various components of centrifugal compressors and industrial
steam turbines. Due to the very competitive market, material
selection has moved beyond simply finding the material with the
most ideal properties. Material cost and delivery has become one
of the most important factors in the overall cost of the component.
Most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are con-
tinuously reviewing new ways, whether by material or process
changes, to reduce cost or delivery to remain competitive. Also, as
energy costs increase, the importance of process and equipment
efficiency increases. To be more competitive, OEMs are looking
for new ways to enhance the components to perform more effi-
ciently. At the same time, process environments are increasing in
severity, leading to the need for more specialized materials. Since
specialized materials can be more costly and generally have long
lead times, other materials such as coatings that are resistant to
aggressive environments, are being developed. In some cases,
coatings can even enhance equipment performance.
Coating technology. Coatings can be applied to rotating
and stationary components of centrifugal compressors and steam
turbines to enhance performance in several areas, including:
Increase resistance to corrosive environments
Minimize the rate of solid particle erosion
Minimize the rate of liquid droplet erosion
Improve the foulant releaseability of the component
Prevent/minimize fretting between two components.
A number of improved coatings and application processes for
enhancing the performance of turbomachinery components in
aggressive environments have been developed. One of the major
developments has been the application of an anti-foulant type
coating, in which amorphous nickel (Ni) is applied to complete
assembled centrifugal compressor and steam turbine rotors. These
HPI VIEWPOINT
coatings have superior anti-foulant characteristics for resistance in
aggressive environments. Also, multi-componentpolytetrafluo-
roethylene [PTFE (also referred to as teflon)]sprayed coatings
have been designed for foulant and corrosion resistance.
Fouling issue. Fouling is a common problem in compressors
and, to some extent, steam turbines. Fouling refers to the buildup
of solids, usually polymeric materials, on the internal aerody-
namic surfaces of the machine. While it does not usually lead to
a catastrophic failure, it does gradually reduce the efficiency of
the machine by increasing the mass of the rotor, thus altering the
aerodynamics and blocking flow paths. If left unchecked, fouling
can block the flow path to the extent that production is stopped
or it can cause imbalances that can damage the machine.
Depending on the service, fouling substances may come from
outside of the machine or can be generated internally. Exter-
nal foulants may come from airborne salt, submicron dirt, and
organic or inorganic pollutants in the process gas. A well-main-
tained filtration system usually minimizes this external fouling.
In petrochemical compressors, the situation is much more com-
plicated, as the foulants can be generated internally. For example,
in ethylene cracked-gas compression, fouling results from the
polymerization reactions intrinsic to the compression process.
Fouling imposes significant costs on petrochemical production.
Solutions on fouling. To resist fouling, the material or coat-
ing must have excellent release properties. Materials with a com-
bination of a low coefficient of friction and chemical inertness are
usually used in aggressive environments. A common and widely
known coating material for centrifugal compressors is PTFE
100
80
Foulant remaining, %
Bare steel
60 Proprietary
Cr-TiN
40
20
0
0 250 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000
Scrub cycles
FIG. 1 Comparison of foulant release performance of bare steel
against proprietary coating and Cr-TiN coated samples.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 41
HPI VIEWPOINT
FIG. 2 Centrifugal compressor rotor coated with a PTFE-type
coating.
25
Cr-TiN
20 Bare AISI 403 SS
Proprietary
Mass loss, mg
15
10
5 is desirable to prevent further deposit buildup and to remove the
0 Water washing of steam turbines (Watson, et al., 1995) can be
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Scrub cycles
FIG. 3 Comparison of bare AISI 403 stainless steel against
proprietary and Cr-TiN coated samples after 10 hours of
modified ASTM G32 testing.
(Teflon). PTFE coatings are multi-component, sprayed coatings
designed for fouling and corrosion resistance. A dramatic decrease
in time required to release an applied foulant on samples coated
with two PTFE type coatings vs. bare steel samples was observed
and shown in Fig. 1.1 Fig. 2 shows an example of a compressor
rotor with PTFE coated impellers.
Unfortunately, PTFE coatings can be removed by erosive liquids
(i.e., water washing) or solids. Electroless nickel (EN) has also been
shown by Dowson (2007) to exhibit excellent release properties,
while remaining adherent in erosive conditions. In fact, the release
properties are as good as or better than results from PTFE. EN is
applied by submerging the component into a Ni and phosphorus
(P) containing solution where an autocatalytic process plates the
part with a well bonded, amorphous Ni-P alloy. The P in the alloy
is believed to be responsible for the release properties, while the
amorphous nature of the coating aids in corrosion resistance.
Corrosion issues. Fouling and corrosion can also be a prob-
lem in steam turbines, not only causing material damage but also
reducing turbine efficiency over time. Industrial turbines, whether
condensing or noncondensing, can encounter problems with
deposit buildup on the turbine airfoils. In a turbine, hydroscopic
salts, such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), can absorb moisture
when superheated steam becomes saturated and condenses in
the latter stages of the turbine/Wilson line. Wet NaOH has a
tendency to adhere to turbine metal surfaces and can entrap other
impurities such as silica, metal oxides and phosphates. Once these
42
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
80
Uncoated
75 Coated
70
Stress, ksi
65
60
55
50
1e5 1e6 1e7 1e8 1e9
Cycles to failure
FIG. 4 Results of R. R. Moore fatigue testing.
deposits have formed, they can be difficult to remove. Buildup of
these deposits may be a root cause for a decrease in efficiency and
possibly an increase in vibration. A smooth clean steam path will
not collect deposits so easily as a dirty, previously contaminated
surface. Consequently, a previously contaminated turbine will
accumulate deposits more rapidly than a clean one. Therefore, it
problems associated with deposits by cleaning the turbine.
an effective way to remove deposits. The effectiveness of water-
removal procedures mainly depends on the adherence of the
deposits to the substrate.
A second route is to coat the surface with a material that has
superior antifouling or anti-stick/corrosion characteristics. This,
in turn, is beneficial to the turbine blades by reducing the ten-
dency for contaminants to stick to the blades and increasing the
effectiveness of the water washing. Titanium nitride coatings with
a chromium undercoat (Cr-TiN) have also been used by steam
turbine OEMs to coat turbine blades.
Cr-TiN coatings provide corrosion protection and can be used
on all stages of a steam turbine rotor. However, Cr-TiN coatings
provide limited anti-foulant benefits. A recently developed, pro-
prietary corrosion resistant, anti-foulant coating designed for the
later stages of the turbine rotor where the deposit buildup is most
severe, provides significant improvement in foulant releaseability,
as well as excellent corrosion and erosion protectionpasses over
1,000 hours of ASTM B117 corrosion testing under a 5% salt
solution, (Fig. 3) while having little effect on the fatigue proper-
ties of the blades (Fig.4). HP
LITERATURE CITED
1 Wang, W., P. Dowson and A. Baha, Development of antifouling and
corrosion resistant coatings for petrochemical compressors, Proceedings of
the 32 Turbomachinery Symposium, Turbomachinery Laboratory, Texas
A&M University, College Station, Texas, pp. 9197, 2003.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Guinee, M. J. and E. W. Lamza, Cost-effective methods to maintain gas
production by the reduction of fouling in centrifugal compressors,
SPE30400, pp. 341350, 1995.
Meher-Homji, C. B., A. B. Focke and M. B. Wooldridge, Fouling of axial
flow compressorscauses, effects, detection, and control, Proceedings of the
18th Turbomachinery Symposium, Turbomachinery Laboratory, Texas
A&M University, College Station, Texas, pp. 5576, 1989.
Select 94 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 KNOW-HOW DELIVERED
We put tested rening technologies
and processes to work in your
world. From hydroprocessing to
uid catalytic cracking and
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proven know-how. So you can improve productivity and
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REFINING

2011 KBR
All Rights Reserved
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 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

Deferred maintenance causes

upsurge in pump failures
Not addressing the root cause of a failure
puts resources and employees at risk
H. P. Bloch, HP Staff

I
f your facility has recently seen an upsurge in bearing fail-
ures on boiler feedwater (BFW) pumps in the 200 kW2,000
kW range, it will not be the only one with this costly experi-
ence. Failure causes are elusive, which is why plants have so many
unresolved repeat failures. As we take note of them, we realize
that these frequent failures are very often related to economic
downturns. During economic downturns, maintenance outlays
and, of course, training funds are among the first to be curtailed.
Maintenance managers then decide to authorize only those repairs
that they deem absolutely necessary. In effect, these decisions
often encourage treating the symptoms and discourage looking
for the true root causes of failures. Ultimately, higher maintenance
expenditures and more outage events are incurred. This article
explains how the underlying causes of these and other process
pump failures must be addressed and avoided.
Why bearings go first. Interestingly, and of late, fewer
bearings seem to be reaching their design life. Also, and in spite
of using better lubricants and installing bearing protector seals,
pump bearings tend to be the parts that fail first. Seeking to
avert bearing distress, many facilities place greater emphasis on
vibration monitoring programs, and these pursuits allow their
owner-operators to initiate pump shutdown a short time before
disaster would strike. Having shut down just in time, people then
congratulate themselves for accomplishing what management has
decreed, i.e., repairs were deferred until absolutely necessary and
only the glaringly defective parts are getting replaced.
Deferring a full repair does not address the real root cause,
and repeat failures put both physical and human resources at
approaching shutoff. The resulting pressure rise from operating
point to shutoff is then either insufficient or non-existent (Fig. 1).
As one or more pumps are operating too close to shutoff, shafts
deflect and bearings are overloaded. The oil film that must sepa-
rate bearing rolling elements from stationary elements becomes
both too thin and too hota vicious cycle. High load, a thin oil
film and high metal temperature combine and bearings fail pre-
maturely. Depending on bearing cage type, these failures range
from gradual and detectable to sudden, difficult-to-detect-in-
advance, and plain catastrophic.
Deferring repairs or limiting repairs only to the parts that are
labeled broken (i.e., the bearings) overlooks the fact that impeller
erosion and loss of internal clearances will have occurred as well.
Fear of failure often goads operating departments into parallel
operation of more pumps than necessary. Running fewer pumps
in parallel would result in each pump operating closer to its best
efficiency point (BEP).
In contrast, operating too many pumps often causes one or
more of them to operate in the prohibited low-flow range, espe-
cially if their respective H/Q curves are not identical. Internal
recirculation and progressive wear increase the difficulty of suc-
40
100
NPSH 20 90
BEP
800 EFF. 0 80
Head vs Flow
750 70
Total head, feet

risk. While the failed part is the weakest link in the component 700 60
Efciency, %

chain and needs to be replaced, something else is pushing the 650 50

weakest link toward premature failure. It should also be real-
ized that repeat failures are the precursor to far more serious 600 40
events. More failed pumps per time period thus reduces the 550
1,750
mean-times-between repairs (MTBR). This is most noteworthy Flow at BEP
because statistics that indicate a serious fire occurs for every 500
Horsepower
1,000 pump failures.1

Operating unsuitable pumps in parallel. Worried 0 400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000 2,400
about unexpected pump outages, some facilities decide to oper- Shutoff Gallons per minute
ate two or more BFW pumps in parallel. However, for reasons
of gaining power efficiency, the performance curves for many of FIG. 1 Typical flat pump performance curve with undesirable
these pumps were originally designed to be relatively flat at flows low-flow characteristics.

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 45
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
cessfully operating pumps in parallel. Mechanical parts distress
and seemingly small deviations from the least-risk geometry of
best available designs now converge, and the BFW pump will
become involved in a string of seemingly random failures.
Pump operators and reliability professionals need to stand back
and understand every one of the various risk factors. Pump own-
ers must accept that, as several risk factors are added, one single
additional and in itself seemingly small deviation could bring
down the entire plant. Therefore, it should be a priority to exam-
ine all probable causes and factors that have recently combined or
contributed to costly repeat failures of BFW pumps at a number
of facilities in the US.
Simply put, operating in the low-flow range forces BFW
pumps to run in the flat portion of the head vs. flow (H/Q)
curve. By the time pressure sensors signal a small pressure differ-
ence in the flat portion of the curve (Fig. 1) and control action
is initiated, large differences in throughput will have occurred.
Flow control and load sharing are difficult in the flat portion
of a pump-performance curve and long-term satisfactory pump
operation is simply not possible in the forbidden low-flow range.
Rebuilding and upgrading are urgently needed. One
of several important points of this discussion is that an inflexible
edict to fix only what is broken is likely to lead to repeat fail-
ures. Internal wear and operation at low flow cause cavitation. The
impeller geometries and wear-ring leakage flow in regions subjected
to a given pressure will vary with progressive wear. Prevailing pres-
sures multiplied by effective impeller areas will, of course, generate
a thrust force. An increase in this thrust force can greatly contribute
to bearing failures since bearing life varies inversely and exponen-
tially with load. Moreover, on BFW pumps with sleeve bearings and
associated shaft-driven worm-gear lube supply pumps, excessive
thrust often leads to worm wheel damage and loss of lubrication.
As mentioned previously, bearing distress is generally a symp-
tom and rarely the root cause of pump problems. The root cause
of the BFW failure incidents described here is the decision, made
by a person, to operate unsuitable pumps in parallel. The best
possible remedial action is to rebuild and upgrade all BFW pumps
and to then use controlsautomated or manual and operator-
training relatedthat ensure pump operation in the steep region,
or close to BEP. Such rebuilding affords an opportunity to upgrade
older BFW pumps by using a high-performance polymer as the
FIG. 2 Comparing a new slinger ring (left) with an abraded
version (right).
46
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
wear ring and throat-bushing material. Rebuilding all pumps to
original equipment manufacturers (OEM) specifications can be
entrusted to either the OEM or a competent pump rebuilder.
As is so often the case, there are pump rebuilders whose entire
focus is on keeping cost low. These parties are often unable to
provide the engineered solutions needed for best efficiency and
longest equipment life. Performing both an up-to-date compe-
tency and experience check, together with a thorough life-cycle
cost analysis, will steer the owner-operator to a rebuilder who
can prove a solid combination of planning and work execution
expertise. The rebuilder of choice must perform and report to
the owner-operator a large number of critical measurements. Also,
the rebuilder must have a proven track record, and the owner-
operator of the BFW must spend the time and effort necessary
to establish the list of deliverables, the adequacy of the rebuilders
detailed procedures, and whether or not the rebuilder has just lost
four of its five most qualified workers.
Lubrication compromises must be addressed. Many
process pumps are supplied with slinger rings supplying oil to
the bearings. To perform well, these oil rings (slinger rings) must
be concentric within 0.002 in. (0.05 mm) and have a bore finish
reasonably close to 32 RMS.2 Oil rings will not survive long if the
shaft system is not truly horizontal, or if the depth of immersion
in the oil is either too much or too little. While an ISO grade 32
lubricant is required on pumps equipped with sleeve bearings,
mineral oils with this viscosity grade are seldom satisfactory for
BFW pumps with rolling element bearings. In theory, rolling ele-
ment bearings will benefit from ISO grade 68 mineral oils. This
thicker ISO grade is required for rolling element bearings and
major bearing suppliers recommend ISO grade 68 mineral oils
up to 176F.3 Yet, using the thicker ISO grade 68 mineral oil will
slow down the oil slinger rings and will, furthermore, risk depriv-
ing sleeve bearings of the oil wedge on which the shaft must ride.
Special issues and potential problems will arise if, in any pump,
both sleeve type and rolling element bearings share the same bear-
ing housing. In essence, viscosity is of greatest importance, and each
bearing type fails if there is prolonged metal-to-metal contact. To
prevent this contact, the oil film has to be thicker than the asperities
(the surface roughness) in the bearing and journal surfaces. The oil
film must also be thicker than an occasional dirt particle traveling in
the oil. Most importantly, the oil needs to be properly applied and
must form a suitable film on the surfaces where such a film is most
needed. To make a long story short, a lubricant with all required
performance attributes, including film strength and film thickness,
must, at the same time, allow slinger rings to function properly.
Only well-proven synthetic ISO grade 32 lubricants will satisfy
all of these requirements. A preferred supplier usually formulates
such lubricants from a PAO/dibasic ester synthetic base oil to
which an ionic bonding agent has been added. The oil will have
to be viscosity grade 32 and the particular synthetic ISO grade 32
formulation must give users the protection and film thickness/film
strength properties of ISO grade 68 mineral oils. While these prop-
erties may not be needed elsewhere in ones facility, they will make
lots of technical sense in many BFW pumps that have recently and
unexpectedly proven so vulnerable and repair-intensive.
While troubleshooting lubrication issues on existing pumps,
one will often find sludge in pump-bearing housings. It should
be realized that water acts as a catalyst that promotes sludge for-
mation. Sludge is often the result of water and atmospheric dirt,
in addition to oil ring (slinger ring) debris. Exposure to airborne
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
particulates is unavoidable in some environments, and water
intrusion is possible in other environments. Another possible
source of water is from cracked water jackets. There is some irony
in that observation, sinceon rolling element bearingscooling
water may not be needed in the first place.
Also, the troubleshooter should become familiar with the inad-
visability of mixing two virtually identical oils from different
suppliers. There is ample evidence that, to keep costs low, some
oil suppliers skimp on the amount and/or quality of additives. The
lowest-cost-supplier games played by a supplier are often encour-
aged by users. It stands to reason that engaging in these ill-advised
procurement practices will lead to not attracting, grooming and/
or retaining top talent. If the user plays along with the low-price
strategy, suppliers are encouraged to provide a commodity prod-
uct and commodity lubrication products may not serve those
of us who go beyond paying lip service to the term reliability.
Systematic component upgrades recommended.
During a recent plant visit to a facility in the Southern US, an
oil-slinger ring that had been removed from a BFW after one
more pump failure was measured. Instead of staying within the
allowable eccentricity of 0.002 in., this ring was about 0.06 in.
eccentric30 times the allowable value. The ring was abraded on
one side; it also showed very serious discolorationsimilar to Fig.
2 (taken from Ref. 4). If one must use slinger rings, they should
never be the cheap ones. Good ones will have gone through an
annealing step before finish-machining. Again, be certain to sub-
ject slinger rings to rigorous specifications and quality control.
On pumps furnished with rolling element bearings, the pur-
chaser may be able to avoid slinger rings by insisting on bearing
housings configured to accept solid flinger discs. If nothing else,
specifying a lube application method other than slinger rings will
start a discourse with the pump manufacturer. It should also be
realized that slinger rings can become dislodged as the equipment
is transported from a factory or shop to an installation site. These
slinger rings are later found caught between the shaft and ring
locator pin or some other housing component.
The point of the story is that truly reliability-focused pur-
chasers have highly justified concerns with certain traditional
and all too often failure-prone means of lube delivery. Pump
manufacturers must be shown the vulnerabilities of certain pump
HIGH PRESSURE PUMPING SOLUTIONS
woodgroupsurfacepumps.com
Select 158 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
SPECIALREPORT
designs. Pump users must use rigorous checklists that lead to bet-
ter installation procedures, verification of adequacy before startup,
and adequacy while running and while doing root cause failure
analysis. Thousands of repeat failures occur in industry every day.
They are irrefutable testimony to the fact that things are far from
acceptable and that striving for improvement is a shared obliga-
tion that cannot be disregarded by any of the parties.
Systematic upgrading is practiced by best-of-class companies on
every pump that enters their repair shops. The causes of black oil
are then traced to one of only two causes: overheated oil or contam-
inated oil. The source or sources of either of these root causes is not
difficult to find and upgrade as well as failure avoidance measures
are outlined in many relevant texts.1 Retrofitting process pumps
with only the very best constant level lubricators is part of these
efforts. Reliability-driven facilities would use pressure-balanced
models that typically cost $30$50 more than the traditional non-
balanced models one still finds on the majority of process pumps.1,4
In essence, the intrinsic value of systematically upgrading
important utility and process pumps can be envisioned by some-
what arbitrarily assuming that each deviation from best practice
reduces pump mean-time-between-failures (MTBF) by approxi-
mately 10%. Once five seemingly minor deviations combine,
pump MTBF will be cut in half. If the negative impact of oper-
ating pumps in the flat region of the performance curve is fac-
tored in, as well, one has all the data needed to explain the very
significant differences in pump reliability among different pump
owner-operators. HP
LITERATURE CITED
1 Bloch, H. P., and A. Budris, Pump Users Handbook: Life Extension, 3rd
Edition, Fairmont Press, Lilburn, Georgia, 2010.
2 Wilcock and Booser, Bearing Design and Application, McGraw-Hill,
New York, New York, 1957.
3 Bearings in Centrifugal Pumps, SKF Publication 100955, pp. 20; also Ref. 1
4 Bloch, H. P., Practical Lubrication for Industrial Facilities, 2nd Edition,
Fairmont Press, Lilburn, Georgia, 2009.
Heinz P. Bloch is Hydrocarbon Processings Reliability/Equip-
ment Editor. A practicing consulting engineer with close to 50 years
of applicable experience, he advises process plants worldwide on
failure analysis, reliability improvement and maintenance cost-
avoidance topics.
 2009 Swagelok Company
In addition to tube ttings,
we also make valves,
regulators, lters,
and happier customers.
Select 63 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
Contrary to what you may think, were much more than a tube tting company.
And we have our obsession with Customer Focus to thank for that. Yes, were
known throughout the world for our tube ttings. And yes, weve been at it for over
60 years. But when companies are looking harder than ever for greater value, its
our broad range of products, including orbital welders, modular systems, and a
complete line of hose, that helps us offer more than you expect. See for yourself
at swagelok.com/moreproducts.
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

Avoid costly engineering faults,

missteps and miscalculations
Experience does count, especially in achieving
success in capital and revamp projects
K. SANGHAVI, Alon USA, Big Spring, Texas

I
n the past two decades, technical manpower and average experi- hydrogen heater provides primary preheat for the feed to reactor
ence levels within the oil industry and its affiliated engineering, No. 2. The reactors, the heart of a hydrotreater operation, can
contractors and technology companies declined as the need directly impact plant profitability through any compromised
for lower operating costs drove most decisions. Senior experi- design or reliability. A semi-regenerative reformer is the refinerys
enced staff members took early retirement or were displaced with sole hydrogen source.
younger professionals. Supported by new state-of-the-art techno-
logical tools, but lacking adequate training and mentoring, these New thinking for design. In this project, new thinking
younger workers are expected to deliver more and faster. At times, changed old, established reactor design practices for increased
designers and engineers are working under rush deadlines and lean operational flexibility and economic advantage. A common indus-
supervision, which can lead to frequent accidental engineering try practice is to design the units reactor and heat transfer equip-
missteps, faults and miscalculations. This article illuminates the ment, including the heater(s), based on:
current industry situation and the need for proper training and a) Both reactors being at the start-of-run (SOR) and/or both
mentoring, and a broader and deeper experience base. Several reactors being at the end-of-run (EOR), in tandem, based on a
examples illustrate poor design and engineering encountered four-year run length and
during a recent refinery project. b) Average hydrogen purity, a value of 80.2% for BSR.
But, for enhanced operational flexibility, the RPC asked that
Case history. The following examples illuminate the present other scenarios be taken into the design of the equipment to
condition with the energy industry. These incidents were encoun- cover a) staggered reactor operation, with reactor No. 1 being
tered during outside engineering work on
just a single project at Alons Big Spring
Refinery (BSR). Fortunately for BSR, Product
the refinerys core project team of three
membersa project/mechanical engineer,
PC Splitter
a refinery process consultant (RPC) and Feed Heat Liquid phase
a process control/electrical engineerall exchange up ow
reactor No. 1
supervising this project are experienced
and versatile enough to quickly catch and
correct all the problems. The RPC also
interjected new thinking, and the refinerys Makeup H2
team was able to achieve a very successful
project outcome. Hydrogen
Compressor
Amine
Fig. 1 shows an overview of the recent heater contactor
hydrotreater project at BSR. The unit Hot
hydrogen
feedrate was being increased by more than Purge Offgas
25%, while product specifications were
stringently tighter. The new equipment Vapor phase
Heat Efuent Production
down ow Stripper
included a liquid-phase upflow reactor No. exchange cooler separator
reactor No. 2
1, a splitter, stripper product pumps and Pumps Reboiler
associated new heat exchange train and pip- New Revamp
ing. Additionally, the existing vapor-phase equipment equipment Product
downflow reactor, compressor, hydrogen
heater, stripper reboiler, and airfin cool- FIG. 1 Project overview for new hydrotreater at BSR.
ers and piping were being revamped. The

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 49
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

prematurely at SOR while reactor No. 2 continues to run its and iron sulfide that can cause increased reactor pressure drop
course and vice versa, and b) the expected 74%88.6% range for and thereby shorten the run length. The RPC and the refinery
hydrogen purity. technical service engineer requested use of wedges and pins,
The revised basis increased the sizes of a reactor and heat instead of traditional nuts and bolts, to facilitate handling of the
exchange equipment, as well as the sizes of the hydrogen heater reactor internals and reduce reactor downtime.
and reactor effluent air fin condenser, as listed in Table 1. The post-startup audit has revealed that this unit will not
Also, the RPC further enhanced operational reliability by constrain refinery operations, and it will be in a position to pro-
insisting that a layer of macroporous trap/media layer be added vide the refinery economic advantage and leverage. Also, an out-
above the planned catalyst grading system to capture particulates side review has revealed that this unit has the best performance
amongst other similar functional units in the industry.
TABLE 1. Unit equipment size with various operating
scenarios Experience and practical knowledge results in savings.
Base case Alternative cases Using practical knowledge, the BSR team found opportunities to
Purity case average Low High reduce and increase plant reliability:
Makeup H2 purity, % 80.2 74.0 88.6 Tower trays. After initial work and consultation with tray
vendors, the detailed engineering contractor (EC) recommended:
Recycle gas, MW 8.4 10.56 3.07
20 new trays for an existing amine contactor when the RPC
Reciprocating compressor, acfm 1,320 1,320
had expected only minor tray changes
H2 flow, lb/hr 17,758 22,257 6,678 30 new trays for the stripper when the RPC had expected
Reactor No. 2 volume, ft3 1,173 1,675 no change at all.
Reactor No. 1 steam preheater, ft2 260 603 So, the RPC worked directly with the tray vendors with correct
Reactor No. 2 air cooler, MMBtu/hr 22 42.3 information and, as a result, it helped eliminate the need for new
H2 heater, MMBtu/hr 10.7 13.34
trays in both towers and determined that the amine contactor
required only a change-out of bolted outlet weirs. This resulted
in considerable cost savings and less mechanical work during
downtime.
Misdirected fractionation tower feed distributor. Due to
increased loads, the stripper tower feed distributor hole area
needed to be increased from 18 in.2 to 30 in.2. The tower has
single pass trays, and the discharge from the existing feed distribu-
Tray
45 45 45 erosion tor impinges on a downcomers sacrificial wear plate. The EC
Wear plate designer decided to retain the existing six slots as is and install
Feed tray a second row of slots on the opposite end of the distributor, as
shown in Fig. 2.
With such an arrangement, depending on the new slots angle,
the feed stream from the newer slots could impinge on the tray
deck below, discharge into the downcomer or impinge on the
tower shell. All these scenarios are unacceptable. This design
Existing EC Plan
would have led to poor operations and product loss. Typically,
FIG. 2 Before and after designs on the fractionation tower feed sacrificial wear plates and feed diffuser plates are typically installed
distributor. to break stream momentum. The RPC simply requested that the
width of the existing slots be increased from
0.75 in. to 1.25 in., to provide the required
Horiz. ells 2-45
additional area; the feed would continue to
18-in. x
16-in. impinge on existing downcomer wear plate.
18-in. x 15-in. 14 ft 18-in. x Control valve. An inexperienced pro-
T-001

T-001

14-in.
18-in.
cess engineer would size control valves
17 ft
18-in. 18-in. 18-in. x just for a single case of design rate. In real-
45 14-in. ity, truly seasoned engineers know that a
18-in. Reb Reb
oile H oile 18-in. x detailed study based on hydraulic mod-
r
18-in.

r
22 ft

E-0 18-in. 14-in. els of the piping circuits and associated

12-in. 21 <45 Min.
12-in. 12-in. P E-0 pump or compressor curves is required to
21
establish control-valve conditions, at not
18-in. 12-in. only the design rate, but also at a maxi-
12-in. 12-in.
mum flow, say at 110% design rate and at
a minimum flow say, at 40% design rate.
Total ttings = 14 Total ttings = 10 Then the control valve would have differ-
Total length = 127 ft Total length = 78 ft
ent pressure drops at these three flows, as
Before After
opposed to original data sheets prepared
FIG. 3 Before and after view of design of the reboilers circulation unit. by the EC, which showed constant pres-
sure drops.

50
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 Advertisement
Tower Technical Bulletin
4 Simple Ways to Convert Turnarounds Into Protable Tower Upgrade Opportunities
Background
With planned outages commonly occurring at intervals of 2-5
years, a renery turnaround is a prime opportunity to replace
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nology. Planning for an outage with a replacement-in-kind
strategy will address lost performance from renery equipment
due to normal wear and tear. However, most column internals
can be upgraded for higher capacity, more exibility, or greater
efciency at close to the same cost as an in-kind equipment
replacement.
#1 Upgrade Performance of Existing Packing or Trays
Adding column capacity to debottleneck existing operations or
to create room for future capacity creep can often be accom-
plished with a simple modication to the existing design. High
performance tray decks, like Sulzer MVGTM trays, can achieve
up to a 15% capacity increase in entrainment-limited applica-
tions. MVG trays can t within existing column weld-ins and
ring supports for a similar cost to replacement-in-kind move-
able valve trays. If increased liquid handling is required, the
use of Z-bars can adapt the existing weld-ins for larger down-
comers without the need for costly welding to the vessel wall.
Similarly, standard structured packing can easily be replaced
with high performance packings such as MellapakPlusTM and
MellagridTM, providing capacity increases of up to 40% at a cost
that is comparable to the existing equipment without requiring
other column modications.
#2 Optimize Stripping Tray Open Area
Column bottom, side column, or Hydrotreater Product stripping
trays are often of a single design in order to simplify equipment
layout and production. In operation, however, the bottom tray
has a far lower vapor rate than the top tray due to the stripping
effect. Since the design will have to accommodate the highest
loads, the bottom trays performance will likely suffer due to
weeping. Because of this, stripping trays can often have an
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efciency of 25% or less. By making a simple change to the
design reducing the open area on the lower trays appropriate
to the predicted vapor rate, the rener can see a large impact
on stripping efciency or can take advantage of the improved
stripping by reducing energy / steam usage.
#3 Upgrade Separator Internals
Separators, accumulators, receivers, and knockouts are often
the forgotten vessels that can consume downstream capac-
ity when operating with poor performance. Since entrainment
generation is typically exponential, a small shortfall in separator
capacity can result in a very large increase in liquid losses. Up-
grading an existing standard mesh or demister pad with a high-
er capacity Sulzer KnitMesh Mist Eliminator or Mellachevron
can reduce carryover of liquid or free water to downstream pro-
cesses from existing separators that are forced to operate with
a higher supercial velocity.
#4 Improve Tray Fouling Resistance
Adding anti-fouling features to a replacement tray can be a sim-
ple x to increase run length between cleanings or turnarounds
in heavy fouling services. Adjusting downcomer design and
incorporating push valves on the active decks can improve the
washing effect of the tray liquid trafc to prevent fouling build-
up. These features can typically be incorporated into the trays
without the need to weld on the column wall.
Other Considerations
Making tower and vessel upgrades rather than in-kind replace-
ments takes some extra planning and strategy but the payout is
often extremely high. You have to start early so you have time
to evaluate, not only the tower internals in question, but also the
feeds, draws, nozzles, and auxiliary equipment as well. Sulzers
process applications team can help evaluate all your possible
options.
The Sulzer Chemtech Applications Group
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Phone: (281) 604-4100 | Fax: (281) 540-2777
TowerTech.CTUS@sulzer.com
www.sulzerchemtech.com
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

Multiple improper pipe routings.

8-in. Product Product Pipes are the arteries in a process unit and
pumps 8-in.
pumps must be properly designed for trouble-free
8-in. 8-in. operation. Process piping that can expe-
rience slug flow and/or have pockets and
10-in. 10-in. traps are in a class of critical piping that

Stripper

Stripper
2.5 ft. Existing 8-in.
can cause serious operational and reliability
Existing 8-in. 1.6 ft.
(pocket) problems and must be properly designed.

10-in.
10-in. Slug flow creates unstable operation and/
8-in. 10-in. x 8-in. or destructively damaged fittings and vessel
10-in. x 8-in. inlets and walls from a hammering effect.
8-in. x 6-in. 8-in. 8-in. x 6-in. Slug-flow potential can be managed by:
Reboiler
8-in. x 6-in.
Reboiler 8-in. x 6-in.
1) Using a pipe with a smaller diameter,
pumps pumps if possible
New 8-in., L = 60 ft. New 8-in., L = 53 ft.
Before After
2) Providing dual risers that can be
turned off or on, depending on the flowrates
FIG. 4 Before and after view new product pump layout. 3) Installing an impingement tee at the
end of the risers, where possible.
In low-pressure drop piping, pockets can
1) cause flow restrictions and thus loss of capacity, especially in
pump suction piping, and 2) induce slug flow in two phase flow
12 in. Splitter 12 ft pipe ~ 9 ft
8 ft pipe ~ 483 ft piping. Streamlined piping with shorter pipe runs and fewer fit-
12 in.
45 tings, and piping that has strictly downturns past the first starting
El HCR 3 ft
197 ft 8-in. point riser can reduce operational risk substantially.
15 ft Traps
12 ft x 8 ft 8 ft Two phase Examples from three key piping categories are quoted here
16-ft

to illustrate the critical importance of piping and equipment

2-ft

3 ft ow El
4 ft 3 ft 188 ft reviews to guard against problems from slug flows and pockets
14-ft

No. of 8-in.
ttings = 7 3 ft that can affect plant reliability. In each case, initial CAD drawings
8 ft x 6 ft El incorporated improper piping routings and/or convoluted heart
Reactor
8 ft x 6 ft 113 ft
No. 1 stopping designs.
Splitter feed linebefore Overly complex reboiler circulation. Initially, a very convo-
12-in. luted arrangement was proposed as shown in Fig.3-Before view.
12-in. Splitter 12 ft pipe ~ 11 ft This arrangement would have resulted in a very poor reboiler
1 ft El 8 ft pipe ~ 431 ft operation, potentially leading to upsets and downtime for repairs.
El 122 ft
197 ft
The RPC improved reliability of operation by streamlining pip-
3 ft No traps
ing layout, minimizing slug flow potential and, at the same time,
8-in.
94 ft

12 ft x
8 ft
El
reduced large bore piping length from 127 ft. to 76 ft. and fittings
28 ft

8-in. Two phase 45 vert.

3 ft ow 188 ft from 14 to 10 as shown in Fig. 3-After view.
No. of
Restriction in pump suction piping. The project required
13 ft

ttings = 2 3 ft
El
El 125 ft
103 ft
Splitter feed lineafter
FIG. 5 Before and after design of tower feed piping.
Accordingly, the RPC reworked all control-valve data sheets
using proper hydraulic models and found that, out of the 39
control valves that were sized, approximately 16 were undersized
(of which six were grossly undersized) and 10 were oversized (of
which two were grossly oversized). Such improper sizing would
have led to control problems and/or would have reduced unit
capacity. In the past, the RPC has also seen that an improperly
specified control valve can experience severe valve-body erosion,
especially for those control valves experiencing cavitation, result-
ing in unplanned plant downtimes.
8-in.
the addition of two new stripper-product pumps next to the
Reactor
existing reboiler circulation pumps with the extension of the
No. 1 existing reboiler pump suction header. New piping is shown
with solid lines and existing piping is shown with dashed lines
in Fig. 4.
Initially, the proposed arrangement simply violated the good
engineering practice by introducing a vapor pocket in the new
suction line shown in the before view. The after view illus-
trates the design subsequently drawn up by the RPC to improve
operational reliability while reducing the new piping length from
60 ft to 53 ft.
Problematic tower feed piping. Fig. 5 shows the initial
arrangement proposed by EC and also the final arrangement rec-
ommended by the RPC for improved reliability for a two-phase
flow service and also lower costs. These benefits were achieved
through streamlining piping with fewer fittings downstream of
a pressure control valve, eliminating liquid traps and reducing
total pipe length from 472 ft to 442 ft.

Technological tools. Computer aided designs (CADs) are Flexible view on the design issue. Flexible eyes for both
most effective only if backed with proper training and field the big picture and smaller details help identify missteps and
experience. opportunities for greater reliability. Missteps to watch for are:

52
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
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SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

Incorrect condensate handling, routing and placement.

4 in. 175 lb
steam 200 ft The initial proposal, as shown in Fig. 6-before view, demonstrates
E-0 multiple engineering missteps:
21 4 in 1) Incorrect design of condensate pots and inlet piping
. co
4 in nde 2) Poor layout of critical condensate piping downstream of
Demister . co nse
nde r2 the pot level control valves, as this piping can be subject to slug
nse 00
r2 ft
Vortex 00
ft
flow and
Brkr. 3) Wrong placement of the final condensate flash drum, D-02.
19 Demister Condensate pots require bottom inlets and do not require
E-0
demister pads or anti-vortex baffles.
D-021 If the pot design and piping installations had been built per
Vortex D-018 initial proposal, it would have affected unit throughput and reli-
Before Brkr. 8-in. ability. The arrangement then proposed by the RPC is shown
in Fig. 6-after view. The RPC also captured the opportunity to
place the final flash drum in the corner of the pipe rack leaving
4-in.

8-in.
4-in.
condenser the units and thus saved BSR the cost of a total of 400 ft on
4-in. Demister insulated-traced pipes.
D-021
Wrap-up. Fortunately, the early faulty designs introduced in
8-in.
D-020

2-in. this project by some inexperienced outside engineers were cor-

3-in.
condenser rected in time to avoid costly rework and unscheduled plant
2-in.
downtimes. There were a number of other equally troublesome
4-in. 1-in. missteps in other categories, such as splitter design, heat exchang-
-in.
ers and pumps, that were fixed by the RPC. Although only process
examples are quoted in this article, the other two members of
2-in.
After the refinerys project team supporting the mechanical side and
instrument, and electrical had similar experiences requiring cor-
FIG. 6 Before and after design for condensate handling, routing rective actions.
and flash drum.
All of the cited examples illuminate current concerns for the
oil industry leaders and provide warning signs. A frustrated past
colleague who now works for another major US refiner recently
said, I have seen some engineering lately that I think a smart 8th
grader could do better. In these times, the industry will need to
protect itself against such design and engineering faults, missteps
and miscalculations that could curtail production, cause unsched-
uled downtimes and/or escalate project cost into overruns.
The writer went out to speak to three outside engineering
directors for feedback on this article. Their input and perspectives
and recommendations have been incorporated in the article and
its conclusion:
The largest single safeguard for the oil industry and affili-
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talented team of experienced and versatile in-house engineers who
are capable of managing daunting challenges in major projects
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Big Spring Refinery. He has been with BSR for the past 18 years, responsible for the
largest capital projects at the refinery. Previously, he worked at Esso Chemical and
Imperial Oil in Canada for 15 years. Mr. Sanghavi has also worked for four interna-
tional engineering companies in the US, the UK and Canada during his career. He
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Select 159 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
54
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

Nickel recycle: Extending

service life for reformer tubes
Case studies investigate methods to conserve
high-nickel tubes for fertilizer facilities
S. B . KUNTE, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd., Chembur, Mumbai, India

T
his case study deals with the conservation of centrifu- Thermal shocks due to reformer tripping
gally cast reformer tubes in the fertilizer industry. A fertil- Localized overheating from damaged catalyst
izer plant investigated how to extend the service life of High-thermal gradient along the length of the tubes
reformer tubes beyond design limits. The study describes two Non-uniform firing of the burners
cases: one case focused on HK-40 tubes and the other with HP Restrictions in the free expansion and contraction of the
micro-alloyed tubes. In both cases, reworking the tubes proved to tubes
lengthen the service life for the reformer tubes. The recovery and Bowing of the tubes
reinstallation procedures were successful. Such actions not only Inadequate induced draft in the furnace.
resulted in huge savings on the reformer-tube inventories but also Since accidental failure of a reformer tube is a very expensive
in conserving expensive raw materials, such as nickel. affair in terms of fire hazard and production loss, the reformer
tubes are normally replaced after extracting 90% of the design
Metal shortages. There is a fear that the rising demand for life, depending on the maintenance practices being followed. This
nickel (Ni) will cause shortages and increase the price for this metal. again means a hike in Ni demand beyond projection.
Industry must find ways to conserve Ni and recycle this metal.
Reformer tubes used in the fertilizer and petrochemical industries Manufacture and service conditions. As per the exist-
are an area in which large quantities of Ni are applied. This article ing global norms, reformer tubes are constructed from fresh raw
details the advantages gained in recycling used reformer tubes. materials and no scrap material is allowed. The author, being a
metallurgical engineer, had initial hands-on experience in quality
Changes in materials of construction. The fertilizer control and assurance steps in the manufacture of centrifugally
industry has seen the material of reformer tubes change from cast reformer tubes and other heat-resistant castings in a major
HK40 to IN519 and now to HP-micro alloyed. The wall thick- foundry. The work involved planning and executing quality-
ness of the reformer tubes reduced from about 17 mm to about control steps followed by quality-assurance steps for each tube.
10 mm without losing strength and other high-temperature prop- This included testing from spectrographic analysis of molten
erties. This is a major advantage with respect to heat transfer, charge ready for pouring to the hydraulic-pressure test of the
increase in volume and also with respect to the total weight of the finished reformer tubes, and assembly to the complete satisfaction
tubes which provides more benefits. of the third-party inspection agency as per specified concerned
But, in the process, Ni consumption has increased from 20% international standards.
in the old HK40 tubes to 35% in the present HP- micro alloyed This initial experience of the quality aspects for centrifugal
tubes. Table 1 shows the nominal chemical composition of HK40, castings has been of great help. His present responsibility, span-
IN519 and HP micro-alloyed tubes, with the corresponding ning a period of about 30 years of monitoring the plant health in
sound-wall thickness used. Note: There is a substantial increase Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. (RCF), which is a huge fer-
in the Ni content. tilizer manufacturing complex, where hundreds of reformer tubes
This table reflects the situation for reformer tubes. But in are in service. The responsibility of plant health service includes,
general, the demand for Ni is increasing globally. With the cur-
rent rate of consumption, we may run out of Ni by the end of TABLE 1. Nominal composition of reformer tube alloys
this century.
Common C, Cr, Ni, Nb, Mn, Si, Tube wall
name % % % % % % Other thickness, mm
Design life of reformer tubes. Reformer tubes are nor-
HK40 0.4 25 20 2 Max 2 Max 17
mally designed for a service life of 100,000 operating hours under
ideal conditions. The service life is generally limited by creep fail- IN519 0.4 25 25 1 1.5 1.5 15
ures. In practice, there are several factors contributing to the loss HP Micro- 0.4 25 35 1 1 1.4 Micro alloy 10
of creep properties, thus making it difficult to run the tubes up to alloyed additions
the full design life of 100,000 hours. These factors are: Ti, Zr, W, Cs

I
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011 55
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
among others, monitoring the behavior/performance of reformer
tubes and analyzing their routine and unusual challenging failures
over the entire service life of the tubes.
The author had the opportunity to conduct an entire third-
party inspection activity for 90 HP micro alloyed reformer tubes
being manufactured for RCF in a well reputed foundry. The
author witnessed the gradual transition of reformer tubes met-
allurgy from HK40 through IN 519 to the present HP-micro
alloyed, which occurred gradually over the last three decades.
The reaction in the reformer tubes is endothermic. The
reformer furnaces in RCF are side fired. The reaction peaks in
the top portion, and it slows down toward the bottom side of
the tubes. The tubes remain cooler at the top and become hotter
toward the bottom. If the tubes are designed to operate at the
tube skin temperature (TST) of 870C and if the bottom portion
of any given tube is at 890C, the top portion of the same tube
could be at 820C or 830C or even less. Under ideal conditions,
the thermal gradient from top to bottom of the tubes should
be at minimum level. But in practice, reformers are operated
sometimes with this gradient as 100C or even more. For all
practical purposes, a gradient of 20C to 30C can be considered
as very good.
Common failure pattern and its assessment. Due
to continuous high TST, the reformer tubes are more prone
to failure in the bottom one-third portion. Over the last 30
years at RCF, more than 90% of the reformer tube failures were
recorded in the bottom one-third portion only. Very rarely were
FIG. 1 Tubes are being tested for straightness.
FIG. 2 Welding in progress.
56
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
tube failures recorded above the bottom one-third region due to
localized overheating. Not a single failure was recorded in the
top one-third portion.
As the tubes get older, they start losing their high-temperature
strength; the rate loss depends mainly upon their skin tempera-
ture. Only the outer surface of the tubes is available for carrying
out all non-destructive testing (NDT) like microstructure, ultra-
sonic flaw detection, dye penetrant, magnetic permeability, OD
measurement, radiography, soap-bubble test, etc.
Out of these methods, the tests that tell the true inside story
are mainly done on the weld seams. The general feeling is that the
weld seam is the weakest portion, and cracks in the tubes originate
from welds. However, many times it has been observed that the
tubes crack in the parent metal away from the weld. So, the weld
seam does not need to be treated as a part of the tube susceptible
for cracking. Besides, reformer tubes with only one joint and those
without using filler wire are already in use within the industry.
It is not a very common practice to do radiography testing on
reformer tubes to assess the health condition and residual life.
Even if radiography is done, it is only applied to the weld seams.
Ultrasonic-flaw detection and magnetic permeability tests are very
commonly carried out for the entire length of the tubes. It is very
tricky and difficult to co-relate the results of these tests with the
residual life of the tubes.
The microstructure is studied only on the outer surface of
the tubes, and it cannot tell the story on the inside surface. It
may not be advisable to correlate the deterioration observed
in the micro structure on the outer surface of the tubes with
the residual life of the tubes as it may not be leading to sudden
failure. The dye penetrant test is done only on the weld seams,
and it tells about the damage that has already occurred. The
soap-bubble test can be done for the entire tube but it also tells
about the defects that already exist.
TABLE 2. Summary of measurement for OD in 90
reformer tubes in a methanol reformer
Initial OD, in Min. and max Min. and max Min. and max
mm 1997 OD, 2005, mm OD, 2006, mm OD, 2007, mm Remarks
129.4 to 130.5 and 131 and 131 and Tubes with
130.2 132.2 134.6 134.6 more than
133 mm OD
were replaced
FIG. 3 Dye-penetrating testing tubes.
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
Not Mozart, Yet a
Classical Genius
Gradual aging of the tubes and its monitoring. The
inside surface of the tubes has a machined finish, but the outer
surface of the cast tubes has a rough shiny granular finish. As the
tubes grow older, the outer surface of the tubes becomes smooth
and gradually loses its shine. Anyone closely associated with the
reformer tubes for a long time can tell the approximate age of the
tubes just by examining their surface finish.
The present generation of reformer tubes has a good resistance
to creep, but with aging, as they start yielding and gradually
bulging, the surface finish starts changing. The tubes estimated
as young as five years can be taken out of service if they exhibit
bulging during this period. This largely depends on the operating
conditions.
The TST of the tubes has the maximum impact on their aging
process. The design of the present reformer furnaces is generally
spacious, and the possibility of the tubes receiving undesired heat
flux from the neighboring tubes and from the furnace walls is
minimized. Some tubes that run below the design TST exhibit
very less increase in the outer diameter even at the end of their
life, whereas some tubes running at higher TST show excessive
sudden bulging even at a young age. For a particular design oper-
ating pressure and temperature, the manufacturer of the reformer
tubes specifies the maximum allowable bulging and advises not to
use the tubes beyond this bulging, which is normally 2% for the
HP- micro alloyed tubes.
So, the warning on the tubes could be best realized before 100,000
running hours or 2% bulging, whichever is earlier. As the reformer
tubes run hottest in the bottom one-third portion, the bulging of
the tubes occurs predominately in this region, and so do are the
failures. The bulging of each individual tube is monitored during
every possible opportunity. Experience shows that the bulging of
the tubes in top one-third portions is insignificant. For assessing
the residual life, the bulging of the tubes in the bottom one-third
portion needs to be monitored very closely. Table 2 is a summary
of measurements for the OD in the bottom one third portion in
methanol reformer at RCF.

Replacement and repurpose strategies. The tubes

showing sudden excessive bulging are more likely to fail than the Just like Mozarts compositions
tubes bulged to the same value steadily over a long period. The SAMSONs Series 240 Valves are
tubes will bulge steadily to the maximum allowable limit over a world renowned and appreciated.
prolonged period, which is substantially less than the design life. Tuned like organ pipes, the Series 240
Similarly, the tubes, which have bulged less than 1% but have suits all pressures and ows, from ada-
almost lived their designed life can also give more service. In the gio to allegro. Yet, the valves denitely
case of the methanol reformer at RCF, a service life of 110,000 work piano so nobody will be roused
running hours has been extracted from few HK40 tubes, as their by a sudden beat of the drum. And, just
bulging was less than 1% throughout their life. like in an orchestra, the number of in-
In reality, no one wants to take any chances on reformer tubes. struments is your choice. With position-
They are replaced in time. Slightly unhealthy and failed tubes ers, solenoid valves and limit switches,
are replaced immediately, and when life of majority of the tubes further virtuoso performers are waiting
comes to an end, all the tubes are replaced together. No one pre- to come in.
fers to run the reformer with a combination of fresh and old tubes.
Everything ultimately leads greater demand for Ni. We supply the instruments,
you be the conductor.
Case No. 1: Repurpose of used HK40 tubes. More than
15 years ago, the reformer in the methanol plant at RCF had 90
tubes made from HK40 tubes. The reformer used an old design,
and all the outlet pigtails and headers were inside the furnace.
SAMSON AG x MESS- UND REGELTECHNIK
During a shutdown, about 35 aged tubes were replaced with
Weismllerstrae 3
new HK40 tubes as part of the planned activity. Due to such
60314 Frankfurt am Main x Germany
unavoidable partial replacements, the reformer always ran with Phone: +49 69 4009-0 x Fax: +49 69 4009-1507
Select 160 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS E-mail: samson@samson.de x www.samson.de
A01007EN
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
a combination of some very old tubes and some fresh tubes. The
removed 35 tubes had only a scrap value, and procurement of new
tubes was not planned immediately.
The failed/aged/scrapped 35 tubes were inspected thoroughly.
Bulging measurements and micro-structure analysis were done
on each tube. The bottom half portion of all these tubes was dis-
carded, regardless of its condition. The top one-third portion and
about a meter extra (depending on the position of the first weld
seam) of the discarded tubes was found useful from a metallurgi-
cal point of view. The good portions of the scrapped tubes were
salvaged, and 10 new tubes were fabricated from these portions
in-house. The bottom reducers and grid plates were salvaged from
the discarded tubes only.
These tubes were put into service, and they worked satisfac-
torily for almost 30,000 hours (four years) until all the 90 HK
40 tubes were replaced with HP-micro alloyed tubes. This has
resulted in considerable cost savings and better utilization of the
reformer tube inventory kept in stores.
Significance of Case No. 1. This activity, never attempted
before in the reformer tube application industry, was initially
felt only as a salvaging operation for emergency use. The impor-
tance associated with the Ni crisis and all other expensive natu-
ral resources was not seriously considered those days as they
are today.
Case No. 2: Recovery of used HP- micro alloyed
tubes. By 2007 in the same reformer, many of the same HP-
micro alloyed tubes had almost reached the end of their design
Select 161 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
58
life. There had been accidental failures of the reformer tubes, and
the reformer was operated with a combination of old and new
tubes. During April 2007 turnaround, 25 damaged tubes were
replaced with new ones. The reformer ran for a long time with the
undesired combination of some old tubes and some fresh tubes.
It was decided to replace the entire reformer, with the project to
be completed by October 2009. Until then, the reformer was to
be operated with many old tubes, which were installed in 1997,
because it is very difficult and expensive to buy reformer tubes in
smaller quantities.
All of the scrapped 25 tubes were, therefore, inspected thor-
oughly. Eight tubes that had developed cracks and operated in
blanked condition for some time were discarded. The bottom
half of the remaining 17 tubes along with pigtails were discarded
without any testing. It was planned to fabricate at least four good
tubes from the 17 top halves of the scrapped tubes. Eight good
reducers and grid plates were salvaged from the scrapped tubes.
The 17 top halves were subjected to these tests:
1. Straightness and dimensions. The lengths were matched in
such a way that the coldest end, i.e., the topmost portion of the
tubes becomes the bottom most portion of the new tube.
2. Bulging throughout the length
3. Microstructure study of the tubes selected at random
4. Tensile strength testing of random samples
5. Macro structure study of sample rings selected at random.
The excessively bent portions and most portions of the tubes
below the first weld seam were discarded. The macro structure
did not reveal the original proportion of equiaxed and dendritic
columnar grains. Some failed tubes exhibited a good amount of
FIG. 4 Final tubes are ready for hydrotesting.
FIG. 5 Old tubes being cut down in sizes.
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

equiaxed grains, but the older tubes mostly showed columnar

grains. No macro fissures were observed. The microstructure
analysis and tensile strength values did not show any abnormal
deterioration and, accordingly, the bulging of these portions was
within 0.6%.
Desired lengths were measured and marked for making four
tubes. The inspection and testing norms were set just like making
new tubes. The machined surface was checked with dye penetrant
testing before welding, and no porosity was tolerated. Welding of
the selected pieces was done with the same WPS used for making
fresh tubes. Root-dye penetrant test, final-pass dye penetrant test
and 100% radiography were carried out. There was not much
rejection in carrying out welding of the old used tubes, and the
weldability of the material was found well within acceptable lim-
its. Brand new pigtails were welded to the reducers, and four new
tubes were made ready for hydrotesting. The hydrotest was done
at the same pressure for new tubes. The pressure was held for a
much longer time than the time specified for new tubes. There
was no leakage observed.
All the fabrication, inspection, testing and witnessing were
done in-house as seen in Figs 15. Making tubes this way does
not mean recycling Ni. All the four tubes reborn from scrap were
put into service. They were subjected to real acid tests as they are
installed in the corners where the tubes receive maximum heat
from side walls. The tubes remained in service at 920C for 14
months, i.e., about 10,000 hours until April 2010 when the entire
reformer was replaced as a part of project activity. The tubes have
contributed about 2,400 tons of methanol production worth
approximately Rs. 4 crores, i.e. about $ 900,000 during their
second life.

Comments. Ni does not die in the reformer. More service life

is still left in the cold end of the reformer tubes. The cold end,
i.e., the top portion of the tubes, does not get exposed to high
temperatures as does the bottom portion, and thus, it retains its
original properties to a considerable extent. The cost for making
one good tube from three used tubes is less than 10% of the cost
of new tube, and the service life expected from this tube could
be 30,000 to 40,000 operating hours or four years to five years.
The extravagant usage of Ni (or, for that matter, all resources)
may deprive our future generations of fresh Ni too early. Salvag-
ing reformer tubes may postpone fresh Ni stock outages, and we
may escape abuses and curses from our own grandchildren and
great-grandchildren for our extravagancy. HP

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author is highly thankful to the RCF management for giving freedom to
carry out the unique exercise of salvaging used reformer tubes and putting them
back into service, which was never attempted before in the reformer tube industry.
The author is also thankful to Dr. Ellaya Perumal, Corrosion and Metallurgical
Consultancy, Bangalore, for his valuable input to this technical article.

Satish B. Kunte is the chief engineer in the technical services

department for Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd., Chembur,
Mumbai, India. He began his career with Nitin Castings at Thane
and was employed by JAMS Engineering from 1979 to 1980. Mr.
Kunte joined RCF in 1980 as a corrosion and inspection engineer
and has held many responsible positions. He holds a BE degree in metallurgy from
the College of Engineering in Pune and is a research council member for the Central
Electrochemical Research Institute at Karaikudi, India.

Select 162 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

59
Select 97 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

Consider new materials for

ethylene furnace applications
An innovative metallurgy solves maintenance issues
G. Verdier and F. Carpentier, Manoir Industries, Pitres, France

E
thylene furnaces, cracking liquid or and thermal shock resistance properties, are New developments. To enhance
gas hydrocarbon molecules in the altered to the point that the tube material carburization resistance of tube materials,
presence of steam, operate at high becomes very brittle. The tube can fail at new alloys now contain aluminum (Al),
temperatures. While the cracking operation the first thermal shock. in a limited enough quantities to prevent
induces coke formation that deposit along- Because of the mentioned issues, radi- the formation of low-melting point com-
side the radiant coils tube walls, the tube- ant coil outlet materials have evolved from pounds. However, in a sufficient amount, it
skin temperatures increase up to what is the what was originally a 25Cr/35Ni mate- also decreases creep resistance properties. To
material operating limit, or until the pres- rial to a higher Cr-content alloy, typically restore those creep properties back to where
sure drop due to the constriction of surface 35Cr/45Ni material. they were originally, tantalum (Ta) is added
is too small. Then the furnace is shut down as carbide former, as shown in Table 2.
and a mix of steam and air is sent through Mechanical properties. It is always
the coils for decoking purposes. difficult to balance material properties. TABLE 1. Alloy material resistance
Coil suppliers have researched on find- When some developments are achieved on in ethylene operations
ing construction materials for ethylene fur- one hand, some drawbacks unfortunately Carburization Creep
naces that can withstand higher operating occur on the other hand. While a 25/35 resistance resistance
conditions. Several years ago, a family of material has superior creep properties, its
Cr25/Ni35 alloy1 Average Very good
alloys was developed that can successfully carburization resistance is affected due to
operate under the extreme environment of its lower Cr content as compared to 35/45. Cr35/Ni45 alloy2 Very good Average
an ethylene furnace. This article describes
new achievements in the metallurgy of eth- TABLE 2. Make-up of new alloy for ethylene tubes
ylene furnace applications. Element C Ni Cr Mn Al Ta Ti Si
% mini 0.35 38.0 28.0 0.5 add 0.53
Background. As mentioned before, high
temperatures and pressures are used to % maxi 0.6 42.0 32.0 1.50 3.0 add add 2.004
crack liquid hydrocarbons and natural gas
into olefins. Several processing conditions
challenge furnace design and construction
materials for the furnace.
t
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naces usually consist of a multi-pass config-
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diffuses into the metal of the tubes. The FIG. 1 Historical summary with features.
mechanical properties, mostly the creep

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 61
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

In Europe, a specific pressure vessels surface and delays formation of the cata- tance to carburization. Additional process
directive called PED is required. For a spe- lytic coke inherent to gas cracking. The benefits occur with tube metal tempera-
cific material such as a heat-resisting alloy furnace run lengths are longer. tures having been modified to take full
to be qualified and recognized for its use advantage of the alloy in comparison with
in a pressure vessel, the manufacturer of Examples. The new generation of alloy 35Cr-45Ni-type material.
the alloy must obtain a particular material can help both maintenance (carburization Case 3. An ethylene operator in Asia
appraisal (PMA). The PMA is provided by resistance, extended tube life) and process opted to change out 35/45 material to
a notified body upon review of the raw data (longer run lengths). The section criteria the Al-based alloy in two full furnaces at
regarding mechanical properties supplied for alloy materials for ethylene tubes highly two different gas crackers. After several
by the manufacturer. depends on the problem to be solved at the decoking cycles, the run lengths of the
For the new Al-based alloy, the Dutch furnace level. two furnaces increased by 20%. The alloy
Stoomwezen was selected as the notified Case 1. Sabic NL is a major user of the manufacturer is monitoring furnace opera-
body to provide the PMA. Stoomwezen Al-based alloy; six complete furnaces have tions on a permanent basis for this ethyl-
rule requires creep data reaching 1/3 of been converted to the new MzAl tubes, ene producer.
the design life, in this case 33,000 hours with the oldest furnace operating six years. Case 4. Another European ethylene
of creep tests or more. Users in Europe who This furnace has not shown signs of car- producer is in the process of converting
have therefore positively decided to select burization or creep elongation. Decision one complete ethane cracker. Both process
this alloy had their case backed up with criteria for the new installation were driven and maintenance benefits are anticipated
approximately four years of creep tests. by maintenance. to occur.
Case 2. This European-based ethylene Case 5. Two complete naphtha cracking
New alloy in service. The Al-based operator has three complete furnaces furnaces were purchased by an European
alloy has now been installed in service for using the Al-based alloy tube material. The ethylene producer. The alloy selection was
over six years. Besides the material related oldest installation has been operating for to overcome excessive creeping of 35/45
features such as carburization resistance four years. Only two tubes were recently material and address creep elongation and
and creep properties, application of this removed from the furnace of investigation tube life.
material in service showed a lower coking and in-depth study for the Al-diffusion Case 6. This North American producer
rate compared to other alloys when natural pattern. Tubing adjacent to the Al-based operates gas crackers in furnaces using very
gas is used as the feedstock. material, after four years, were easily weld- small diameter tubes, which are sourced as
Indeed, Al plays an inerting role of the able, thus proving the new alloys resis- the problems for run length issues. A full
Ta-based alloy furnace was delivered and
Asset Longevity is in the process of being installed to assess
process benefits and lower coking rates.
Plant & Pipeline Performance
Options in tube materials. In six
years, new alloy materials for ethylene tubes
have been developed and are being installed
by ethylene producers globally. While
maintenance related issues such as extensive
creeping, or heavy carburization leading to
tube change are overcome to extend tube
life by approximately two years, the process
benefits alone with gas cracking users make
Quest Integrity Group is a dynamic company built on a founda- this alloy the optimum selection. HP
tion of leading edge science and technology that has innovated
NOMENCLATURE
and shaped industries for nearly 40 years.
Al Aluminum C Carbon
Cr Chromium Mn Magnesium
Our asset integrity and reliability management solutions are Ni Nickel Si Silicon
comprised of technology-enabled advanced inspection and Ta Tantalum Ti Titanium
engineering assessment services and products that help com-
NOTES
panies in the rening and chemical, pipeline, syngas and power 1 Manaurite XM
industries increase protability, reduce operational and safety 2 Manaurite XTM
3 Manaurite XO
risks and improve operational planning.
4 Manaurite 40XO

(888) 557-3363
Gilles Verdier is the director of Metallurgy, and
(888) 893-7030 Frederic Carpentier is a senior Metallurgist.
Together they have 55 years of experience in metallurgy in
general, and half of this in heat-resisting alloys. Both hold
www.QuestIntegrity.com
PhDs in their discipline. Manoir Industries is one of the
Sales@QuestIntegrity.com leaders in supplying high-temperature alloys for the petro-
chemical industry. Manoir Industries operates four plants
in its petrochemical division serving the global industry.

Select 163 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

62
Through predictive algorithms, diagnostics and information sharing,
Flowserve can increase critical asset uptime and reliability.

Experience In Motion owserve.com/uptime

Select 83 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 Opportunities in
Petrochemical Industry

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fertilizers, polymers and metals. SABIC was established in 1976 and ranks today among the worlds top ve petrochemical companies. It has more
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Select 62 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
Testing and repair options for
critical dry-gas seal: Updates
Do your research when sending compressor seals out for renovations
C. CARMODY, AESSEAL plc, Rotherham, UK
U
pgrading from traditional com-
pressor seals to advanced dry-gas
seals (DGSs) is entirely feasible and
has been pursued for approximately two
decades. Over the last five years, DGS pro-
duction for new compressors has increased
as well as well-planned implementation
of dry-seal retrofit options. However,
primary emphasis on the manufacture of
new DGSs has resulted in service issues
related to product engineering. As with all
industries where demand for new products
outstrips capacity to support existing prod-
ucts, both pricing structure and lead time
for component repairs have come under
scrutiny. This author discusses the issues
related to the repair and testing of DGSs.
Advanced seal designs. Utilization of
centrifugal compressors for gas transporta-
tion has increased over the past decades. In
these presumed clean gas services, most
modern gas movers are now fitted with
DGSs in preference over much older con-
ventional wet and labyrinth seal configura-
tions. Simply put, DGSs operate by creating
and maintaining a very thin fluid film (< 5
m) between two mating surfaces. Main-
taining this fluid film under all operating
conditions is essential to ensure reliable seal
operation. The fluid film is so small that the
most efficient method of demonstrating its
existence is to perform a dynamic test. For
this reason, all DGSs are dynamically tested
at the time of manufacture and after repair.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic representing such
a seal and its associated controls.
DGSs contribute to significantly
improved overall machine reliability. Ad-
vanced seal designs reduce overall mainte-
nance requirements; they also save power
and gas consumption and thus contribute
to sizeable operating cost savings in gas
transmission services.
Test facilities are key to repairs.
The first phase of providing a global DGS
repair service required upgrading the cus-
tomary repair and inspection facilities
to unparalleled standards of excellence.
Since the repair and testing program of a
UK manufacturer was aimed at any type,
configuration or specification of DGS, the
new facility had to be devised with utmost
versatility in mind.
To accommodate the repair of large-
diameter and high-speed seals, it was first
necessary to provide a suitable power
supply for dynamic test purposes. In the
autumn of 2005, the seal manufacturer
commissioned a new electrical substation
dedicated to reliably supplying power to
the companys Rotherham (UK) DGS
Test Facility. This 500 kVA substation is
now able to serve both of the two DGS
test rig motors as well as the other services
necessary to conduct dynamic tests on
these seals.
FIG. 1 A typical DGS arrangement with a control system.
SPECIALREPORT
Each of the two test rigs contains a
state-of-the-art inverter drive enabling
precise speed control of the 106 kW-rated
motors up to a maximum speed of 7,000
rpm. Each motor provides the input to a
planetary gearbox with three output mod-
ules that can be interchanged to provide
output speeds up to 45,000 rpm. The
power and speed capacity of each test cell
will allow the dynamic testing of large-
diameter, high-speed seals under full oper-
ational conditions.
Testing is feasible with either 350 bar
(5,000 psi) air or 230 bar (3,300 psi) nitro-
gen. Air is supplied by a 45 kW multistage
reciprocating compressor that delivers
130 m3/hr at a 350 bar capability. Irre-
spective of the gas type used in testing, it
is passed through a coalescing filtration
system that removes particles above two
microns in size. To enable testing a wider
range of DGS operating conditions, it was
also necessary to provide additional heat-
Process gas supply
Inert buffer
gas supply
Seal leakage
monitoring
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 65
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
ing or cooling. Cooling of the gas and test The first element of the repair process is
equipment is achieved via a 76 kW capacity usually an initial price quotation that can
chiller, whereas additional heating can be also be based upon electronically trans-
introduced via a 60 kW heat exchanger. ferred images or historical repair knowl-
Control of test activities is achieved edge of the seals condition. This allows the
through specially designed test panels and seal manufacturer/repair group to quickly
software. The test panels control all gas flow respond to customer demands for reason-
in and out of the test cell and are designed able estimates of cost and time-to-repair.
to enable any part of seals under test to The estimate may well leave the office
be individually pressurized or vented, as before a defective seal arrives at the testing/
appropriate. Test speed and temperature repair UK facility.
are controlled from an integrated software Once a seal arrives at the DGS service
program. This software also controls the facility, it is disassembled and mapped for
data logging or capture of speed, pressure, damage assessment. The damage is then
gas consumption and temperature taken documented in a concise examination
from critical locations around the seal and report that provides the full scope of work
test cell throughout the dynamic test. needed to restore the seal to its original as-
designed condition. Firm price and delivery
DGS repair process. The ability to test are rapidly offered together with details of
DGSs to high standards is only one aspect the dynamic test protocol, one normally
of a full-repair service. The seal manufac- conducted in accordance with API 617.
turer has drawn upon many years of experi- Already, at this stage of the repair initial
ence in the conventional seal industry and design work is conducted. This design work
transferred the same service-based culture typically covers equipment and fixtures
into a first-class DGS repair program. such as spin test and balance mandrels
needed later in the repair process. Because
the facility is geared toward different seal and
compressor designs, fixtures must purpose
designed for a particular repair. They will
later be needed to verify the integrity of rotat-
ing face materials and, if required, to effect
dynamic balancing to ISO Standard 1940.
A complete material assessment is done,
whereby all materials of construction are
fully certified. Providing both rapid repair
response and all requisite documentation is
FIG. 2 One of the seal manufacturer/ facilitated by close links to premium sup-
repair groups two dynamic test
rigs. pliers of raw materials. The seal manufac-
turer/repair group has made it a practice to
FIG. 3 A typical graph relating to the logged data taken during a typical DGS dynamic test
where pressure and speed are varied to suit future operating conditions.
66
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
order materials beyond those needed for a
particular repair. The resulting buildup
of DGS parts stock will unquestionably
advance the speed of responding to future
repair requests.
Replacement and rebuilding.
Replacement of damaged faces is an impor-
tant facet of the repair process. Premium-
grade corrosion-resistant tungsten carbide,
reaction bonded and sintered silicon car-
bide and silicon nitride seat replacements
are offered. Stationary faces can be supplied
in blister-resistant carbons and diamond-
like carbon (DLC) coated silicon carbide
where additional PTFE (Teflon) coatings
are also applied to seal faces. Steel com-
ponents can be repaired and recoated as
required and where replacement parts are
necessary, full material certification require-
ments can be met.
In all repairs offered by the seal manu-
facturer/repair group, replacing consum-
able items is standard. Such replacement
includes all springs and fasteners; also
included are secondary seals, where all
O-rings fitted to DGS repairs are explosive
decompression-resistant grades. Whenever
polymer upgrading is feasible, the original
selections are replaced with spring-ener-
gized PTFE-equivalent sealing devices.
Since most DGSs are supplied with
external barrier devices, these components
can also be repaired along with the seals.
Labyrinth components and both contact-
ing and non-contacting segmented seals are
often supplied as part of the repair program.
Once all of the replacement parts have
been produced, re-assembly and testing
can proceed. A full-spin test is conducted
at 23% over the maximum speed rating
of the seal. The component itself is sub-
jected to twice its normal rotational stress.
Also, whenever applicable, full dynamic
balancing is done on all rotating assem-
blies. Similarly, all stationary assemblies
are subjected to force-displacement tests
that exercise the face assembly and serve
to identify seal hang-up. Only then are the
various assemblies finally fitted into the
test equipment, as shown in Fig. 2.
Customers are invited to observe DGS
testing at the companys main facility. Even if
unable to attend, customers can still partici-
pate anywhere in the world and view the test
progress in real time via a WebEx Internet
link. A second remote surveillance option
involves a 3G mobile phone link, whereby
the test is being filmed with a 3G camera.
This option is available in the form of live
video streaming to any mobile phone with
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 MAINTENANCE

suitable 3G features. Irrespective of whether

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seal. The CD is normally supplied with the
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Although tests are normally conducted
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requirements. Dynamically testing each
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 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

How to justify root-cause

failure analysis for pumps
New method uses annualized risk to determine RCFA analysis levels
R. X. PEREZ, Pumpcalcs, San Antonio, Texas

W
e have all read about and acknowledged the merits of
root-cause failure-analysis methods. But not everyone
agrees on when and how these methods should be used.
In times past, the author worked for a while within an organiza-
tion so enamored with failure analyses that the formal reports were
to be written by a machinery engineer for each and every plant
machinery failure. This seemed unusual and even a bit extreme.
Yet, the issue begs an important question: When is formal fail-
ure analysis justified? Before answering and explaining, we need
to briefly agree on the customary definition of a root cause failure
analysis. A root-cause failure analysis (RCFA) is a formal analysis
of an equipment or system failure with the intent of uncovering
all latent causal factor(s) and contributing factors, so that similar
future failures may be prevented.
Latent causal factors are unseen or hidden causes hiding
just below the surface of the wreckage. Whenever a repeat failure
occurs, we must realize that the hidden causes are still at play and
that future failures are likely. It certainly makes it imperative that
during the failure-analysis process, the analyst (or analysts) will
look beyond the physical evidence and uncover the true latent
causes for the failure. Here are a few quick examples of latent
causal factors in process pumps:
Parallel operation of pumps drives a pump off its allowable
flow range, which then causes internal recirculation and high
bearing loads
Low-flow pump operation due to process changes results in
frequent seal failures
Oil supply is inconsistent because of inherent issues with an
inexpensive oil delivery choices (oil ring degradation)
Design weaknesses in certain bearing protector seals can
result in oil contamination
Oil contamination is caused by poor lubricant storage prac-
tices
Oil consolidation efforts often lead to unwise oil replace-
ment choices, and ultimately causes bearing failures
Bearings selected in accordance with the generalized recom-
mendations of prominent industry standards are not always the
best choice.
The bearing manufacturer investigated the application condi-
tions and the failed cylindrical roller bearings. Changing from a
belt-drive to a direct-drive arrangement had drastically reduced
the radial load on the existing bearing. In turn, this had led to
rollers slipping on the inner raceway. The solution was simple: the
original bearing was readily replaced by a deep-groove ball bearing.
In essence, the bearing manufacturer determined that a light
load on the cylindrical roller bearing was the cause of bearing
distress. The latent root cause was the transition from belt-drive
system to a direct-drive arrangement. The solution to this issue
was to select the proper bearing for the new load conditions.
Time is money. The RCFA method is one of the most pow-
erful tools of a reliability program, but it is also one of the most
time-consuming and, thus, costly endeavors. Since time is money,
RCFAs must be administered judiciously.
Like all decisions made in a competitive environment, the deci-
sion of when to conduct an RCFA must be based on economics.
Since not all failures are created equal, not all failures warrant the
same level of analysis. The decision to conduct an RCFA should
be based on the answers to two questions:
1. What is the consequence of the failure? Obviously as the fail-
ure consequence rises, the need for analysis becomes more critical.
2. What is the failure frequency? The higher the failure rate the
more attention the piece of equipment should get.

Root-cause failure analysis: A case history. A petro-

chemical plant and oil refinery was experiencing recurring failures
of a cylindrical roller bearing in a critical centrifugal pump (Fig.
1). Transition from belt-drive to direct-drive configuration of the FIG. 1 Recurring failure of cylindrical roller bearing in critical
pump led to unexplained bearing failures and costly downtime. centrifugal pump. Photo credit: NSK Bearings Europe.

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 71
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

TABLE 1. Consequence vs. failure frequency

Annual failure frequency
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
$10,000,000 $100,000 $1,000,000 $10,000,000 $100,000,000 $1,000,000,000
Consequence per event

$1,000,000 $10,000 $100,000 $1,000,000 $10,000,000 $100,000,000

$100,000 $1,000 $10,000 $100,000 $1,000,000 $10,000,000
$10,000 $100 $1,000 $10,000 $100,000 $1,000,000
$1,000 $10 $100 $1,000 $10,000 $100,000
$100 $1 $10 $100 $1,000 $10,000
$10 $0 $1 $10 $100 $1,000

TABLE 2. Typical risk matrix Notice as risk levels (i.e., consequence times frequency) exceed
High consequence A A A $1 million/yr, they are highlighted in a rose color. Risk levels of
$100,000/yr are highlighted in yellow, and risk levels of $10,000/
Medium consequence B B A
yr are highlighted in green. Risk levels of $1,000 and below are
Low consequence C C B
shown in gray. They are assumed to warrant little or no concern.
Low failure Medium failure High failure In general, we can say that high-risk issues are in the upper right-
frequency frequency frequency
hand corner of risk maps and low-risk issues are in the lower left-
hand corner of risk maps (Table 1).
If we denote the consequence as C and the rate of failure, F, One can consider these annualized risk levels to be potential
we can define the risk, R, of failure as the product of consequence revenue that can be recovered if the root cause of an issue falling
and the failure rate: in one of these cells is found, and the required remedial steps are
Risk (R) = C F implemented. With that being said, we should view all RCFA
So, if a pump that costs $20,000 to repair fails four times a pursuits as potential projectsand, as on any projects, we must
year, this represents an annualized risk of $80,000/yr, i.e., $20,000 assess their cost-to-benefit ratio.
4. Next, we will construct a risk matrix based on a broad range Suppose we have an event that is occurring 10 times a year
of consequences and failure frequencies (see Table 1). with a consequence of $10,000. This represents an annualized

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72
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

risk of $100,000. If the total cost of remedial action and RCFA is
$20,000, the project will have a payback of about 73 days. On the
other hand, if there is a $100,000 consequence that occurs once
every 100 years, this only represents a risk of $1,000/yr. It would
not make much sense to assign a multi-disciplinary analysis team
to investigate this failure.
The take-away here is that annualized risk is a better means of
determining the level of analysis justifiednot the consequence
level. However, it is possible to also set a maximum allowable loss
trigger for a failure investigation. For example, a site may choose
to investigate all events resulting in losses of $1 million or more,
regardless of their frequency. Together, the risk map and the maxi-
mum allowable loss methods can provide clear RCFA guidance.
Most production companies take this basic risk-based approach
and develop their own risk matrix, as shown in Table 2.
Each organization must define what high-, medium- and
low-consequence events are, along with low-, medium- and
high-failure frequencies. For example, a company might choose
to define high-, medium- and low-consequence events as
those resulting in losses of more than $250,000, $100,000 to
$249,999, $25,000 to $99,999 respectively. High-, medium-
and low-failure frequencies could be defined as more than two
failures/yr, more than one failure every two years, or less than
one failure every two years, respectively. So, a $150,000 failure
occurring every year would fall in the B risk level category, but
a $150,000 failure occurring twice or more a year would fall in
the A risk level category.
Non-monetary events, such as environmental releases and
safety events, may also be included in a risk matrix. An example
of a high-attention environmental event could be a release of 10
barrels or more of any hazardous fluid from the process. A high-
risk safety event could be any lost time accident.
Notice in the risk map (Table 2) that even high-consequence
events occurring at lower frequencies are considered A risk
levels. This is because this risk map incorporates a maximum
allowable loss trigger regardless of event frequency for high-con-
sequence events. It serves as managements way of conveying that
all major events are unacceptable regardless of frequency.
Level C issues. Failure events falling in the C region of
the risk matrix can be considered bread and butter investiga-
tions. Even though they are termed low-consequence events,
they typically represent the largest number of RCFAs. Based on
their sheer numbers, they can represent the greatest cost-saving
potential for a plant. Level C RCFAs are often conducted by
mechanics using the 5 Why or similar methods. A systematic
use of Level C RCFAs can lead to a dramatic and rapid reduction
of repeat failures.
Proceeding to analyze. The root cause failure analysis effort
should be considered one of the main pillars of machinery reliabil-
ity. We have all seen formal failure investigations solve the most
perplexing and costly problems. But to ensure success, partici-
pants must be given the proper training and the time to uncover
latent-root causes.
The payoff is well worth the price. Consistent administration
of these methods can empower an organization to whittle down
early and frequent machinery failures until only predictable end-
of-life failures are experienced. HP
Robert Perez is the author of Operators Guide to Centrifugal
Pumps and co-creator and editor of the PumpCalcs.com website.
He has more than 30 years of rotating equipment experience in
the petrochemical industry and has numerous machinery reliability
articles to his credit. Mr. Perez holds a BS degree in mechanical
engineering from Texas A&M University at College Station and an MS degree in
mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Perez holds a
Texas PE license. He can be reached at rxperez@pumpcalcs.com.

RCFA levels. Having defined A, B and C risk level events, we

need to determine the extent to which analysis is warranted at
each of these levels. Here are some general guidelines as to when
and whom to assign to the analysis of A, B and C level events:

Level A issues. Failure events falling in the A region of the

risk matrix justify the highest level of analysis. This usually means
that a multidisciplinary team should be used to mine the data
and procure the physical evidence in order to determine the most
probable cause or causes of the failure. Typically, this requires
a team consisting of three to five technical specialistsoften
composed of a machinery engineer or technician, vibration tech,
process engineer, operators, etc.should be formed to leave no
stone unturned during the investigation. The team may take a
few days or weeks to finalize their findings and recommendations.

Level B issues. Failure events falling in the B region of the

risk matrix are considered costly but do not justify a full-blown
team approach. Level B analyses are typically conducted by an
engineer or highly skilled machinery technician working with
process support. This type of analysis rarely takes more than one
week for an individual to finalize.
Select 166 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
73
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 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
Spiral heat exchanger in desalter
service solves fouling issues
Technology offers problem-free operation along with
considerable maintenance savings
C. WAJCIECHOWSKI, Alfa Laval, Richmond, Virginia
A
major US refinery was experienc-
ing severe fouling and plugging
problems in two shell-and-tube
(S&T) heat exchangers installed to cool
desalter effluent using cooling water.
In 2008, the refinery replaced the two
S&Ts with a fouling-resistant spiral heat
exchanger (SHE). The SHE gives continu-
ous problem-free operation, higher process
reliability and more consistent wastewater
treatment temperatures than the S&Ts.
Best of all, there has been no plugging
and, based on savings in maintenance and
cleaning costs alone, the payback time was
less than 18 months.
In the desalting process, crude oil
is contacted with hot water to remove
impurities such as chloride salts and par-
ticulate matter before continuing through
the crude preheat train into the refinery.
The solids and salts collect in the process
and must be flushed out with the effluent
water. In a process called mudwashing,
solids are mixed with the effluent water
and removed. The effluent waternow
contaminated with oil, suspended solids
and dissolved solidsneeds to be cooled
before traveling downstream to wastewater
treatment.
As shown in Fig. 1, Refineries typically
use two stages of cooling before wastewa-
ter treatment: 1) effluent cooling by pre-
heating feed water, and 2) effluent cooling
with cooling water. The first application
is a heat recovery service; so maximiz-
ing the efficiency of this heat exchanger
is important. The second heat exchanger
is a trim cooler and is designed to pro-
tect the wastewater treatment plant from
excessively hot effluent. Unfortunately,
due to severe fouling in both applications,
refiners will bypass the heat-recovery ser-
vice and foul the cooling-water exchanger
so rapidly that it damages the wastewater
treatment system. The consequences of
the damage include unplanned downtime
and environmental penalties for non-
compliance. Fortunately, there is a solu-
tion to this widespread problem of desalter
effluent fouling with the SHE. These facts
are very evident in a specific US refinery
that has operated a SHE in desalter service
since 2008.
The process of cooling the effluent
water has caused fouling headaches in
refineries for years, as was the case with the
major refinery covered in this article. Due
to continuous, costly fouling and plug-
ging problems, it was necessary to shut
down the S&Ts cooling the desalter efflu-
ent water once a month on average. The
unplanned downtime caused problems for
the wastewater treatment plant, since the
effluent temperature was poorly regulated
and frequently out of specification.
SHE recommended. SHEs have a
well-proven technology for fouling appli-
cations. Its single-channel design resists
Crude oil
START
Desalted water
Feed water
FIG. 1 Simplified desalter system configuration.
SPECIALREPORT
plugging while the fully counter-current
flow paths allow for effective heat recovery
in a compact space.1 SHE is the only tech-
nology that copes easily with the solids in
the stream and can handle process upsets
with high solid concentrations. Due to
the design efficiency, it was possible to
install just one SHE. This only had 50%
of the surface area of the S&Ts, yet it still
outperformed them in the long term.
Problem-free operation. Shortly
after the SHE startup, the refinery had sat-
isfactorily noticed that the pressure drop
through the unit remained stable. Increas-
ing pressure drop had frequently been one
of the reasons the refinery needed to shut
the S&Ts down for cleaning. The SHE
continued to provide trouble-free opera-
tion and, over an extended period, only
a moderate reduction in thermal perfor-
mance was measured.
Cleaned once since startup. In June
2009, after 14 months of operation, the
refinery opened the SHE for the first time
Desalted
crude oil
Desalter
Feed water
Cooling water
Desalted water
to treatment
Cooling water
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 75
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

TABLE 1. Cost savings when using SHE

Cleaning frequency Cost per Total cleaning
Unit Service (amount/year) cleaning* costs/year
2 shell-and-tubes Desalter effluent cooling 12 $6,000 $72,000
1 spiral heat exchanger Desalter effluent cooling 0.86 $3,250 $2,786
* S and T cleaning costs calulated as $2,500 (disassembly/assembly tube side, two units) and $2,500 (cleaning rig: day one and $1,000
cleaning rig: day two). Spiral cleaning costs calculated as $1,250 (disassembly/assembly one unit) and $2,000 (cleaning rig: 5.5 hrs).

FIG. 2 Single-channel geometry resists
plugging while counter current
flow efficiently recovers heat.
to check for foulingan operation made
easy by the option of integral davits on
each cover. To their surprise, the engineers
found only a thin greasy coating on the
effluent side and minor scale on the cool-
ing water side. With the S&T exchangers,
they witnessed many plugged tubes after
only one month. The spiral was mechani-
cally hydroblasted and placed back in
service the next day. By December 2010,
it was noted that the SHE had only been
cleaned once since startup and was still
operating efficiently. An onsite engineer
stated that its doing well and there have
been no complaints.
Savings. The cost to clean the tube side
of the two S&T exchangers was estimated
by the refinery in Table 1. Given the fre-
quency of cleaning, the investment cost for
the SHE was returned in less than 1.5 years
on savings in maintenance alone (Table 1).
Summary. The SHE technology includes
these benefits:
Fouling problems in refinery desalter
effluent services can be greatly reduced or
eliminated.
The single-channel design and robust
construction make the spiral an ideal prod-
uct for this challenging refinery service
(Fig. 2).
Often, the capital cost of the spiral
equipment can be justified with the savings
in maintenance/cleaning costs alone, not to
mention the added reliability of the process
and more consistent wastewater treatment
temperatures. HP
LITERATURE CITED
1 Anderson, E., Minimizing refinery costs using
spiral heat exchangers, PTQ Q2 2008.
Chris Wajciechowski is cur-
rently a business development man-
ager in the process technology divi-
sion of Alfa Laval. Mr. Wajciechowski
is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a

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 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

Optimize reordering of critical

raw materials and parts
New models evaluate the total costs in receiving
and storing materials for a refinery
A. GOTI and N. ZABALETA, University of Mondragon, Spain;
A. GARCIA and M. ORTEGA, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain;
J. URADNICEK, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia

O
ptimizing the reordering of raw materials and main- The problem. The optimization problem studied here con-
tenance spare parts is a problem extensively studied siders several input variables, constant variables, assumptions
in the academic field, but poorly solved. This project and output objectives. Fig. 1 shows the overall context of the
focuses on the problem of reordering points and batch sizes via problem. The inventory problem deals with two input variables:
a commercial discrete-event simulation software. A product for Reordering point when a new purchasing order, RP, is
reordering points was developed and tested. It was successfully launched
used to optimize the reordering points and batch sizes of several Maximum amount of elements that the warehouse already
critical spare parts for a refinery. The satisfactory results enabled has ordered and is en route to the warehouse, Qmax .
reducing the total ordering, storage and backorder costs. In the case of Petronor, each time we are below the reor-
dering point, a purchasing order is sent to fill the space of
Inventory management principles. Most companies the reference up to Q max . Thus, the reordering quantity of
are implementing lean production principles. These are related any instant in time, Qi(t), will have to take into account how
to minimize waste from unneeded and inefficient operations, much is Qmax ; how many units are in the warehouse at that
such as excessive buffering operations to serve the client or back- moment, Q(t), and if any previous order sentQi-1(t), Qi-2(t),
orders.1 These two inefficiency types can be resolved by defining etc.have not arrived yet; and how many units are on their
a proper reordering pointas too low reordering points may way to the warehouse.
worsen service rates, whereas excessively high reordering points The behavior of the remaining elements of the tool developed
increase storage costs. An adequate definition of batch size to is equal to what was defined by Goti,3 and is summarized here.
reorder can improve total purchasing efforts plus management Concerning the constant values and assumptions to be modeled,
costs for products to be stored. Additionally, it is a parameter it is assumed that:
that definitively influences overall storing plus backorder costs The logistic lead-time, LT, the time taken from when a
for the facility. purchase order is submitted to the arrival of the products related
Several authors and companies offer
their safety stock and/or reordering point
calculators.2,3 Nevertheless, literature infor- Input data Input data
mation is very scarce when dealing with Reordering point 20 No. orders 2 Ordering cost 250.00
joint optimization of reordering points and Lot size 50 Average stock x time 20 Holding cost 233.62
batch sizes. Considering this background Lead time 2.56 Non-met demand 41 Back order cost 410.00
Demand D 12 Total cost 893.62
and context conditions, this research proj-
ect is based on the work presented by Goti3 Supplier Reception and production of Wroclaw plant
where a reordering point optimizer tool the received purchased orders
was developed and tested along with a joint 0
Input
reordering point plus batch size optimizer. buffer
The tool has been successfully applied to 0 30 0
several critical spare parts for Petroleos del Truck
Norte S.A. (Petronor) refinery at Muskiz, Reference
Spain. The results were obtained through Q, LT An order is launched if available stock
simulations using the tool presented, and is lower than the reordering point
they coincide with what the purchasing
department wanted, and significant sav- FIG. 1 Graphical description of the problem to be solved.
ings were obtained.

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 79
SPECIALREPORT MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY
to that order, is a variable but known. Historical data is available
so that information can be fitted to a known distribution.
Customer demand rate of client, TT, is the speed in which
the client consumes buffered products; it is known. Historical
data is available, so that information can be fitted to a known
distribution.
The buffer containing the arriving products has an infinite
capacity.
Each batch of products jointly bought has a fixed purchasing
order cost, Ce.
Each product has a fixed cost per unit of time for being
stored in a buffer, Cs.
A fixed backorder cost, Cb, is assigned each time a client
needs a product from the buffer and does not find any products
in inventory.
Finally, the outcomes to be optimized may consider the joint
optimization of these costs:
Minimizing the total cost spent on submitting purchase
orders and intake at the warehouse, Cet .
Minimizing the total holding cost for elements in the buf-
fer, Cst .
Minimizing the total cost of not serving the client because
the buffer is empty, Cbt .
Each one of these costs will be calculated by multiplying the
times an event related to the listed costs happens. So, being ne and
nb, respectively, the amount of purchasing orders submitted and
the amount of non-served products in the studied period, Cbt and
Cet are calculated as:
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80
Cbt = nb  Cb (1)
Cet = ne  Ce (2)
While calculating for Cst is performed taking into account Cs
and the amount of time each of the m products is stored in the
buffer, ts , as it is shown in Eq. 3:
(3)
Scope of the problem. Optimizing for Qmax and RP vari-
ables while considering Cbt , Cst and Cet criteria, can be formulated
as a single-objective problem (SOP) or a multi-objective optimi-
zation problem (MOP). A SOP could be presented by summing
all purchasing, buffering and backorder costs, while MOP would
be formulated to optimize a vector of functions:
f = (f1, f2, ..., fn ) (4)
where f represents functions that depend on the decision variables,
Q and RP.
The optimization proposed here considers the total costs as
described in Eq. 5 as a SOP problem:
f (Qmax, RP) = Cst  Cet  Cbt (5)
Modeling and optimization techniques. The discrete
event simulation (DES) was used as a modeling technique for this
problem. The main advantages of DES are two:57
Standard DES-based tools provide capabilities of modeling
or modifying complex system models.
DES is closely related to stochastic systems, so they are
appropriate when simulating real-world phenomena, since there
are few situations where the actions within the system can be
completely predicted in advance.
To generate stochastic events, simulation packages generate
pseudo-random numbers to select a particular value for a given
distribution. Thus, using pseudo-random numbers, it is possible
to implement the stochastic nature of actual spare part and con-
sumable consumption in DES models.
Specifically, the development of the model was done using an
educational version of commercial software. This was collabora-
tion between the authors and Petronor. Both parties could experi-
ence the potential benefits of a DES approach for addressing real-
world situations, which are quite different from those that can be
Results of the optimization process
120,000
Total cost,
80,000
40,000 12
10
0
0 8 Reorder point,
15 units
20 6
Qmax, units 25
FIG. 2 Optimization results
 MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY SPECIALREPORT

found in text books. The study focused on some references using TABLE 1. Economic data of the optimization case
the data available at that time. Indeed, Petronor was very satisfied
with the proposed approach and stated that values obtained from Reference Consumption, units/month LT, days, normal distr.
the study were very reliable and would be implemented. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Average Deviation
The authors are very confident that Petronor will rely in the Oxygen bottle 4 5 1 2 1 3 1 0 1 2 0 1 75 1
future on DES approaches for both this type of analysis and for
others. As to reordering point studies, they may consider acquir- TABLE 2. Logistic data of the optimization case
ing some software to recalculate values (as data change overtime).
Parameter Unit Value or distribution
Optimization algorithms and brute force. Depend- Ce $/order 7
ing on the complexity and the characteristics of the optimiza- Cs $/(product.year) 37.5
tion problem, different techniques can be used. For instance, if Cb $/(unit not served in time.hour) 180
the problem is faced as a MOP, a multi-objective evolutionary
algorithm (MOEA)i.e. the non-dominated sorting genetic ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
algorithm NSGA-II9can be used. In case a SOP (minimizing The authors thank the collaboration of Jose Luis Arredondo, Javier Lucas
total cost as the unique objective) is presented, single objective Fernandez and Iaki Orbe from the purchasing department of Petronor, along
optimization algorithms may be enough to solve the problem. In with the help and support provided by Lanner, developer of Witness, and OptTek,
this case, the scatter search utility of an optimization set of tools developer of OptQuest. This project has been funded by the following funding
was used to develop the optimization tool.10 This software was programs:
Demagile Tools: Development of decision-making tools for the implementa-
chosen due to two main reasons. First, in terms of its usability, it tion of principles related to the Leagile production. Project funded by the Basque
provided a convenient environment that allows the user to easily Government (Basic and Applied Research Project, PI2009-24 code).
tune the optimum seeking procedure.10 Second, in terms of effi- Servistock: Development of a tool for the joint optimization of logistic
ciency and effectiveness, it performed very satisfactorily for this safety stock levels and transportation types (European transnational project
study, and the authors highly recommend its use.10 MANUNET-2008-BC-001).
Availafacturing: Development of a tool for the management of technical
assistance service networks for the availability maximization of manufactur-
Implementation case. As it was previously stated, the set of ing equipment and/or products (European transnational project MANUNET-
modeling plus optimization techniques was applied to optimize 2009-BC-006).
the reordering points of several references for Petronors Muskiz
refinery. To have an idea of the size of this refinery, it can be LITERATURE CITED
mentioned that spending for parts exceeds 42,000 (Fig. 2). Complete literature cited is available online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
In this case, there were some special interest elements to be
optimized because they have generated several backorders in the
past. One of these elements, an almost pure oxygen bottle, is used
in the laboratory for testing samples of petroleum-derived prod- Aitor Goti Elordi, PhD., is a member of the Spanish reliability
ucts that reach the refinery. It is worth remarking that although committee, focuses his research activities are the areas of optimi-
it is not very expensive, a backorder for this bottle may stop the zation and simulation in maintenance, production and logistics.
laboratory tests needed to homologate the material samples ana-
lyzed. To avoid this hugely expensive circumstance, these samples
are urgently sent to other laboratories located all over Spain when
this backorder occurs. Thus, the backorder cost represented in lvaro Garca is a profesor at the Univesidad Politcnica de
this case comprises the cost of having to send samples to other Madrid and mainly focuses his research activities within the field of
laboratories. Data shown in Tables 1 and 2 reflect the economic optimization and simulation in production and logistics.
and logistic data for this problem, respectively.
It is worth noting that the client plant work is scheduled on
three shifts. The optimization problem, as shown in Eq. 6 will be
faced, where RP can acquire any positive integer value. Finally, the Dr. Miguel Ortega teaches at the Universidad Politcnica de
warmup period and simulation period values are five and 229 days Madrid and researches and works with companies in optimization
respectively, and have been calculated considering the suggestions and simulation fields.

provided by the theory of the simulation, compiled by Goti.11

Results. The results obtained after the optimization process

using the previously shown values are ranked in Fig. 2.
The optimization software indicated that the RP and Qmax
values corresponded respectively to 10 and 14, when the values
used before were respectively 8 and 16. Thus, it is worth remark-
ing two aspects:
For this case, the optimization results proposed a roughly
equal average stock level of the reference within the plant.
But using the new reordering policy (with a higher reorder-
ing point but with a more tense logistic flux), the overall logistic
cost achieves a significantly lower value. HP
Noemi Zabaleta received her PhD in industrial engineering
from Mondragon University, Basque Country (Nothern Spain). Her
research is focused on technology transfer and project manage-
ment.
Juraj radnek received his PhD in mechanical engineering
from Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. He has published
papers in the field of mathematical modeling of mechanical sys-
tems, simulation and optimization.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 81
Oil Refinery | Marcelo Senatore | Technical Marketing | Germany

If eight shutdowns could be

reduced to one, what would
that do for your productivity?

When a German oil renery experienced corrosion problems in its crude oil
distillation column, it turned to Sandvik for the solution. Since pitting and under
deposit corrosion were the reasons behind the short heat exchanger lifetime,
Sandvik suggested replacing the previously used carbon steel tubes with next
generation duplex stainless steel grade Sandvik SAF 2707 HD.

The new tube material was installed in 2006. Inspection after 4 years showed only
slight erosion corrosion. After cleaning, eddy current testing and hydro testing, the
bundle was reinstalled to run for another 4 years.

Reducing the number of shutdowns from 8 to 1 over a 4 year period has increased
plant safety and resulted in big savings in terms of material replacement, manpower
and lost production.

CHALLENGE
YOUR EXPECTATIONS

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 HEAT TRANSFER

Update on designing for

high-fouling liquids
A critical analysis of shell and tube exchanger systems looks
at clean and dirty service performance
J. M. NESTA, Fluor Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada;
and C. A. COUTINHO, Heat Transfer Research, Inc., College Station, Texas

H
eat exchanger design for high-foul-
ing liquid hydrocarbons requires
careful consideration to minimize
the frequency of costly shutdowns. In an
earlier article, an alternative methodology
was presented that aimed at achieving a
critical velocity made possible by a reduced
amount of excess surface area.1 This was
recommended in lieu of typical fouling
resistances that result in large excess sur-
face areas with lower velocities for the same
pressure drop. Here we discuss:
Importance of shear stress by control-
ling the fluid velocity
Role of allowable pressure drop
Fouled performance of low-foul evaluation, the critical shear stress value
designs compared to conventional designs.
Note: The designs outlined involve the
development of a low-foul exchanger crude oil exchangers is a shear stress of 15
(as opposed to no-foul). This avoids the
perception that fouling can be completely
eliminated using high-shear stress methods.
Rather, it is advisable to provide an overde-
sign should fouling occur or accommodate
future increases in capacity.
Role of shear stress. Wall shear has
now been established as an important
parameter to gauge the fouling propensity
of a fluid. Calculating the shear stress at
the inner surface of a tube with fully devel-
oped single-phase flow is straightforward.
However, the determination of shear stress
on the shell side is more uncertain. The
flow direction with conventional baffles
varies from cross flow to axial flow, includ-
ing a transition region between the two.
At high Reynolds numbers, some of the
crossflow pressure drop does not result
from shear stress but from drag. For these
reasons, shear-stress calculations in the
past were cumbersome, and fluid velocity
was regularly used as a proxy. Recent ver-
sions of the design software produced by
Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) can
provide shear stress as an output value for
both tube-side and shell-side flow. This
enables engineers to establish an appropri-
ate relationship between the shear stress
and fouling tendency of particular flu-
ids. The shell-side shear stress estimation
has more uncertainty than the tube-side
method. However, it still provides reason-
able results for baffle cuts of 20%25%
and baffle spacings of 30%60% of the
shell diameter.2
In the absence of prior testing or field
that mitigates fouling is unknown. Towards
this end, an appropriate rule of thumb for
considered. While the pressure drop for the
Pa20 Pa on both the shell side and tube
side. This cutoff value has been chosen
from experience. Engineers may want to
use the higher value for the most severe ser-
vices, such as the hot end of crude preheat
trains. For shell-side evaluation, only the
crossflow shear stress is used. It is recog-
nized that shear stress for axial flow over
the baffle tips will be low, and some foul-
ing can be expected in this region. Note:
Tube-side value of density times velocity
squared for both liquids and gases should
not exceed 8,928 Pa (v2 8,928 Pa) to
prevent erosion at the tube ends unless fer-
rules are used.3 In all designs discussed in
this article, the value of v2 was maintained
below 8,928 Pa. There is no limit on maxi-
mum shear for the shell side.
Role of allowable pressure drop.
Plant designers have reference tables to cal-
culate the allowable pressure drop across
a preheat train based on liquid viscosity,
flash points and other parameters that
serve to optimize operating and pumping
costs. However, it must be recognized that
severe fouling operations require a critical
single-phase shear stress to provide ade-
quate performance. Thus, implicit expenses
for maintenance and loss of performance
(for example, increased fired-heater fuel
cost) must be included in the evaluation
for the optimum allowable pressure drop.
These added maintenance expenses, due to
poor designs that allow low pressure drops,
may completely overwhelm the theoretical
savings that can be attained with reduced
pumping costs.
When designing shell-and-tube heat
exchangers for heavy fouling services, it
is the fouled pressure drop that must be
clean case is easily computed, the fouled
pressure drop is often a guess. One way of
tackling this problem is to use a high-shear
stress design that minimizes the difference
between clean and fouled performance.
This reduces the margin of error of the
pressure drop fouling allowance. Examples
show that fouled pressure drop can be 2 to
3 times higher than clean pressure drop
for conventional designs. Thus, the task of
estimating a proper allowance with con-
ventional designs for high-fouling services
is quite difficult. The examples also dis-
credit a popular misconception that low-
foul designs require more pressure drop
than conventional designs. As shown in
Table 1, low-foul designs typically have a
lower pressure drop than fouled conven-
tional designs.
Different design performance.
In general, the fouled performance of
different designs may be simulated if 1)
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 83
HEAT TRANSFER

TABLE 1. Comparison of lowfoul and conventional designs for clean and fouled cases
Lowfoul based Lowfoul based Conventional with
Evaluation parameter on 15 Pa shear on velocity flow Conventional 10% overdesign
Area, m2 808 811 1,286 1,427
Cost, US$ $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $1,359,000 $1,474,000
Clean case % Excess () area for fouling 19 19 61 66
Shell side P, kPa 240 175 149 126
v, m/s 0.87 0.60 0.47 0.40
, Pa 1517 1314 910 8
Tube side P, kPa 199 171 146 127
v, m/s 2.43 2.24 1.80 1.61
, Pa 1517 1314 910 8
Fouled case % Excess () area for fouling +3 30 33 40
Shell side P, kPa 240 287 388 412
v, m/s 0.87 0.82 0.84 0.83
, Pa 1517 1415 1416 1416
Tube side P, kPa 239 241 299 311
v, m/s 2.55 2.55 2.51 2.49
, Pa 20 20 20 1921

TABLE 2. Geometry specifications of conventional and low-foul designs dict fouled performance with any sort of
accuracy, but rather to investigate the rela-
Low-foul based Low-foul based Conventional with tive performance of different designs for a
Evaluation parameter on 15 Pa shear on velocity flow Conventional 10% over design given set of assumptions. While the fouling
Area, m2 808 811 1,286 1,427 layer is not likely to evenly coat the tubes,
Number of shells, par series 24 24 24 24 the assumption is adequate for a relative
Shell diameter, mm 650/660* 760 840 880 comparison of fouled performance. The
TEMA type BES BET BET BET four designs evaluated include:
Design 1: A low-foul design based on
Tube length, m 5.2 4.9 6.1 6.1
a critical shear stress of 15 Pa
Tubes/shell 251/255* 274 341 379
Design 2: A low-foul design based
Tube passes 2 2 2 2 on velocity
Tube pitch, mm 31.75 31.75 31.75 31.75 Design 3: A conventional design
Tube angle, deg 90 45 45 45 based on fouling factors and typical allow-
Baffle spacing, mm 190/210/235/235* 200 210 219 able pressure drop
*A variable baffle spacing, shell size and tube count were used for Design 1 (from hot shell to cold shell).
Design 4: A conventional design as
per Design 3, plus a 1.1 multiplier on flow
and duty.
Clean Fouled
The geometries of all designs are avail-
able in Table 2. Design 2 (low-foul based
Shear based v = 2.4 m/s v = 2.6 m/s t = 0.3 mm on velocity) is an actual exchanger in ser-
low-foul design = 16 Pa = 20 Pa
vice and is the low-foul example for the
original article.1 Anecdotal reports indicate
Rf = 0.0004 m2 C W-1 that this exchanger has a run time of three
to four months between cleaning. This is
Conventional
design with 1.1 v = 1.6 m/s v = 2.5 m/s
t = 2.1 mm a significant improvement in comparison
= 8 Pa = 20 Pa to a conventional design in similar service,
safety factor
which required cleaning every three to four
Rf = 0.0030 m2 C W-1 weeks! When clean, this design has a shear
FIG. 1 Tube side parameters for designs 1 and 4. stress of 7 Pa12 Pa on the shell side and 13
Pa14 Pa on the tube side. Because the field
reports suggest that these shear stresses fall
the fouling is assumed to be asymptotic assuming an asymptotic shear stress and short of that required to eliminate cleaning,
or nearly asymptotic and 2) each design fouling layer thermal conductivity value. A it is assumed that this design had an asymp-
achieves approximately the same shear design is checked for fouled performance totic shear stress of 15 Pa on the tube side
stress at asymptotic conditions. Thus, the by specifying the fouling layer thickness by and 20 Pa on the shell side. A higher rate
fouled performance of various exchangers trial and error until the asymptotic shear was used on the tube side to be direction-
can be simulated using new software by rate is achieved. The intent is not to pre- ally consistent with the conventional foul-
84
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 HEAT TRANSFER

ing factor which is higher on the tube side.

Because the conventional design geome-
try is unavailable, two hypothetical designs
are developed for evaluation purposes.
One design (Design 3) uses conventional
fouling factors and an allowable pressure
drop of 150 kPa for each side. The other
conventional design (Design 4) contains
a 10% overdesign. In all simulations, the
smooth-tube friction factor was used for
the clean-design pressure drop, and the
commercial tube friction factor was used
for the fouled-pressure drop. The fouling
layer thermal conductivity was assumed
to be that of asphalt on the hot shell side.
On the cold side, a slightly higher thermal
conductivity was used to account for a cok-
ing type chemical reaction that generally
occurs at the base of the fouling layer. Table
3 summarizes all relevant process data.
Note: Even though the shear stress is
increased from Design 1 to Design 2, the
surface area is nominally similar. This can
be attributed to a change in tube pitch from
45 to 90. The 90-degree layout helped
to increase the shear stress but simultane-
ously decreased the heat transfer coefficient
for a viscous fluid. This anomaly occurs THE SERVOTOUGH LASER 2900
in viscous flow where the shear stress and
heat transfer coefficient diverge for differ- MAXIMISE YOUR COMBUSTION
ent pitch angles and it will be the subject of PROCESS AVAILABILITY WITH THE
future investigation.
Table 1 lists a comparison of the LASER EXPERTS
designs. It is interesting to note that the
fouled performance is inversely propor-
NO ONE KNOWS MORE ABOUT PROVIDING
tional to surface area and equipment cost. HIGHLY RELIABLE GAS MEASUREMENTS IN
The fouled heat transfer and pressure drop DEMANDING CONDITIONS THAN SERVOMEX.
worsen as the surface area increases. Con-
With over 50 years experience of gas analysis, we are
ventional designs with extra surface area the rst company to realise the TRUE benets and
do not provide additional safety, but are challenges of using lasers in combustion gas analysis.
worse than the low-foul designs in terms of
heat transfer and cleaning intervals. Merely
APPLICATIONS FOR LASER TECHNOLOGY:
increasing the size of an exchanger, without
also increasing the allowable pressure drop COMBUSTION CONTROL: FLUE GAS O2 AND CO
will lower the starting shear stress, and con- PROCESS SAFETY: FLUE GAS CO AND CH4
sequently, increase the fouling layer thick- DENOX SYSTEMS: AMMONIA SLIP NH3
ness at the fouled end of run. This is illus-
trated in Fig. 1, which compares designs
1 and 4. Thus, the surface area dedicated BACKED BY EXPERT SERVICE AND FIELD SUPPORT,
to a fouling and/or safety margin tends to ITS NO WONDER WERE THE NO.1 CHOICE
WITH THE MAJOR HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
create a fouling resistance that can render COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD.
a design inadequate for the fouled case.
Extra surface area hinders a good design FOR MORE INFORMATION, TALK TO THE EXPERTS:
if the excess area comes at the expense of a WWW.COMBUSTION-EXPERT.COM
reasonable shear rate.
These examples point to the allow-
able pressure drop as a vital parameter for
good design in high-fouling applications.
Although the pressure drop for low-foul
designs may be higher than typical values
previously used in the industry, the sce-
Select 169 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
85
HEAT TRANSFER
narios shown demonstrate that the design
consideration should be the fouled pres-
sure drop and not the clean design pressure
drop. As shown in Table 1, the fouled pres-
sure drop in conventional designs increases
rapidly due to fouling, thereby resulting in
premature cleaning and loss of duty.
Fouling. Ultimately, fouling can
account for over 60% of the thermal resis-
tance in conventional designs. While the
TABLE 3. Process data sheet
Density, kg/m3
Thermal conductivity, W/m C
Specific heat, kJ/kg C
Viscosity, cP
Surface tension, dyne/cm
Operating temperature, C
Fluid
Total flow, kg/h
Operating pressure, kPa
Velocity, m/s
*Fouling resistance, m2 C /W
Film coefficient, W/m2 C
*Designed with no fouling factors and additional ~22% extra surface area.
Select 170 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
86
low-foul Design 2 is only marginally better self-fulfilling prophecy, it is advisable to
than the conventional design with respect design exchangers for the pressure drop that
to duty, there is a greater discrepancy in inevitably arises during fouling services.
pressure drop from the start-to-end of ser- Lastly, problematic fouling services
vice. This comparison also illustrates that have a dynamic fouling resistance that
even though the right critical shear stress (as strongly depends on the starting shear
in Design 2) is unknown, a low-foul design stress. One must design for service-specific
based on high-shear stress will likely out- shear stresses with a general safety factor to
perform a conventional exchanger designed account for accuracy of heat transfer cor-
for a low-shear stress. Because fouling is a relations and physical properties. For non-
problematic fouling services, heat exchang-
ers are typically designed using additive
Shell side Tube side fouling resistances from a table published
Inlet Outlet Inlet Outlet by TEMA. Caution: When using TEMA
859 911 834 810 fouling factors, these values have remained
0.064 0.071 0.072 0.068 unchanged since their first publication in
2.783 2.495 2.491 2.599
1941. Work is currently underway through
HTRIs Exchanger Design Margin Task
2.996 10.797 2.5 1.704
Force to produce a practical supplement
18.5 24.1 18.4 16 to the TEMA fouling factors known as the
363 269 235 268 resistance factor method. This method
RHC residue stripper bottoms Preflashed bitumen aims to combine fluid design based margins
210,636 615,636 with good design practice.4 It is intended
2,800 2,500 to be an ever improving source of infor-
mation, regularly adjusted to garner the
0.6 2.2
knowledge and methods available. HP
0.00052 0.00120
629 1,241
LITERATURE CITED
1 Nesta, J. M. and C. A. Bennett, Reduce
fouling in shell-and-tube heat exchangers,
Hydrocarbon Processing, July 2004, pp. 7782.
2 Bennett, C. A., Tubeside and shellside shear stress for
single-phase flow, F-17, Heat Transfer Research,
Inc., College Station, Texas, 2008.
3 Standards of the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers
Association, 9th Ed., TEMA, New York, 2007.
4 Kistler, R. S. and R. L. Shilling, Heat Transfer
Research Incorporated, correspondence with
authors, June 7, 2010.
NOMENCLATURE
Variable Description
 Fluid density, kg/m3
v Velocity, m/s
 Shear stress, Pa
P Pressure drop, Pa
Rf Fouling resistance, m2 C W1
t Fouling layer thickness, mm
John M. Nesta is a technical director specializing in
heat transfer equipment at Fluor Canada, Ltd. He holds
a BS degree in chemical engineering from the University
of Southern California. His practical experience includes
over 30 years of designing, evaluating and procuring
heat exchangers used in the process industries. Mr.
Nesta is a member of the American Petroleum Institute
committees for heat transfer equipment: Standards
660, 661 and 662.
Cecil A. Coutinho is the fouling researcher at
Heat Transfer Research, Inc. He earned his BS degree in
chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln and a PhD in chemical engineering from the
University of South Florida. His research focuses on
crude oil fouling and mitigation. He is a member of
the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the
Materials Research Society.
 GAS PROCESSING

Is your antifoam compatible

with the amine system?
Several options help minimize operation costs
and mitigate unscheduled shutdowns
A. ATASH JAMEH, A. Z. GHARAGHOOSH, S. MOKHATAB and A. G. SHAZADEH,
Sarkhoon and Qeshm Gas Treating Company, Bandar Abbas, Iran

T
he specific behavior of antifoam use was studied in a particu-
lar plant. The goal was to find a solution for applying the
new antifoam for the best compatibility with amine systems.
A gas sweetening unit was installed to remove hydrogen sulfide
(H2S) contained in a high-pressure (HP) natural gas stream. The
solvent used for the H2S removal from the gaseous stream was a 34
wt% diethanolamine (DEA) solution, and the designed plant treat-
ing capacity was 250 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd)
of HP sour gas. Due to bad filtration and an improper antifoam
selection, an upset occurred that created foaming at the contactor
tower. Six months after the unit startup, the deferential pressure
of the lean/rich (L/R) exchanger was increased to 4 bar (allowed
limitation was 0.7 bar). An unplanned shutdown of the sweetening
plant occurred since cleaning was needed for the L/R amine heat
exchangers. It took maintenance 12 hours to do the turnaround.
The study indicated that the high amount of incompatible
antifoam injection to the system created this problem. Also, a
reaction between the antifoam and sour gas produced a solid-
like agglomeration particle. At lower amine flowrates, the heat
exchanger incurred particular sedimentation formed in the heat
exchanger, which caused resistance in the amine flow, thus increas-
ing the deferential pressure. A glycolic antifoam was substituted for
a silicon-based antifoam and the antifoam injection concentration
was reduced from 80 wt% to 10 wt%. This solved the sedimenta-
tion issue. The amount of antifoam inhibitor remained about 5
ppm in the amine-solution cycle, saving the plant $100,000.
The antifoam injected, chosen with a particular amine solvent, is
dependent on the solvent type, sour-gas composition and hydrocar-
bon condensate level that will be contained in the plant feed.
In normal gas-treating plants recirculation solution circuits,
antifoaming additives are intended to act as both antifoams and
defoamers. Antifoam may be added to the solution prior to foaming
symptoms, but an inspection will need to determine the response.
The injected antifoam eventually disburses throughout the plants
solution inventory to prevent foam generation since the solution
becomes agitated in the stripping and absorber columns.
Fine particulates, such as iron sulfide, play a different role.
Iron sulfide tends to form a quasi-polymeric layer in the film
around a bubble. This increases surface viscosity and prevents
Plastic lm breaks
Low surface
viscosity
Gravity
Capillary tension
FIG. 1 Unstable foam in uncontaminated liquids.1

Foaming a major problem. Foaming is caused by changes

in surface chemistry. Chemical contaminants that lower treating Elastic lm encapsulates
solution surface tensions enhance foaming tendency and aerosol
formation. When the surface tension is low, the solution can cre-
ate a very thin film that is elastic in nature and capable of encap-
sulating a gas bubble or forming tiny liquid droplets (aerosols).
When the surface tension is high, the solution cannot form a thin High surface
Gelatinous viscosity
film and will not readily encapsulate a gas bubble or form an aero- layers
sol (Figs. 1 and 2). Antifoams are chemicals designed to prevent
foam formation. The antifoam chosen for a gas plant is generally
done during the engineering-phase. A basic understanding of gas
composition and solvent type to remove acid gas is needed.
{
Coulombic forces
It is obvious if the selected antifoam is not compatible with the
solvent in applications with a sour-gas treating plant. Typically, there FIG. 2 Stable foam in contaminated liquids.1
will be some unscheduled shutdowns due to an unsuitable selection.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 87
GAS PROCESSING
liquid migration from the bubble wall into the intersection of the
bubbles. In short, iron sulfide simply retards drainage and thus
stabilizes the foam. A clean amine solution will not form stable
foam. Contaminants in the feed gas, amine-degradation products,
fine particulates, and chemical additives that reduce surface ten-
sion and raise surface viscosity can dramatically enhance foaming
tendency and foam stability.
Anything that has destabilizing effects on foam is antifoam.
Efficiency is dependent upon the bulk-solution chemistry, oper-
ating conditions and surface active agents (surfactants) creating
the foam. The most productive antifoams have traditionally been
FIG. 3 Silicone antifoam.
GJP4.5e11
Vacuum Systems
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Telefon: +49 7243 705-0, Telefax: +49 7243 705-330
E-Mail: info.gewi.de@geagroup.com, Internet: www.gea-wiegand.com
Select 171 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
88
synergistic mixtures of hydrophobic liquids and solids. Examples
classified by major constituents include:
Nonpolar oilsminerals and silicones
Polar oils, such as fatty alcohols, fatty acids, alkyl amines
and alkyl amides
Hydrophobic solidstreated silica, aluminum oxide and
polypropylene.
These compounds usually contain additional surfactants to
enhance other properties required in the finished blend, sur-
face wetting, emulsification, particle dispersion or detergency.
A confusing aspect of surfactant applications is that a chemical
compound may have antifoaming properties in one application
but may be used as an emulsion breaker in another.
Complex chemistry problem. The vast formulation library
reflects the complexity of interfacial physical chemistry, and wide-
spread need to control foams. Antifoam recipes are normally
proprietary and are seldom published in detail. Even if the recipes
were published, its extremely difficult, given the state of the art,
to distinguish which components were actually causing the anti-
foaming action at any given time in any particular application.
Result: A trial-and-error application is required.
In many ways, the art of breaking or preventing foam is as
complex as its formation. Certainly, it is a subject that has been
undergoing intense study. There are no hard and fast rules gov-
erning the efficiency of a given antifoam formulation in any
particular application. Each application is based on empirical
data, usually bench-level trials. However, there are some physical
and chemical factors consistent among observations made while
studying antifoams, along with their functionalities under differ-
ent conditions. Factors that affect antifoam performance include:
Solubility. Most antifoams exhibit extremely low solubility
in aqueous solutions. For instance, antifoam based on glycolic
acid was provided from another gas plant to replace the current
antifoam. Since the antifoam must be heated before injection, it
was not being dispersed in the amine solvent since there was no
heating system. This resulted in changing the antifoam type.
Droplet size. The entry force required to allow the antifoam
droplet to enter the bubble wall generally increases as antifoam
droplets become smaller.
Presence of hydrophobic solids. Liquid/solid mixtures are
usually more effective than either component used alone.
FIG. 4 Polar antifoam.
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GAS PROCESSING
Environmental shear. Some antifoams are inactivated by
too much shear. This is usually due to solid/liquid separation and
antifoam droplets being too small to bridge the bubble lamellae.
Shear also plays a major role in the differences between dynamic
and equilibrium surface tensions. If the interfacial area increases
faster than the surfactant molecules can occupy it, the dynamic
surface tension is higher. Equilibrium surface tension represents
the fully saturated surfactant film along the interfacial area. The
same dynamic affects apply to the antifoaming surfactants ability
to occupy the interfacial area.
FIG. 5 Excess antifoam absorbs iron sulfides formed as a result of
increasing HSS, which consequently precipitates on an L/R
amine exchanger.
Select 172 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
90
Repeated exposure to foaming. Repeated exposure to foam-
ing eventually exhausts the antifoams ability to inhibit formation.
This is probably due to the separation of hydrophobic solids and/
or reduced droplet size. Multiple-shake test experiments have
shown that some antifoams gradually lose their antifoaming ability.
Competing chemical constituents. Other surface-active
chemical constituents have been found to occupy interfacial areas
and to reduce the effects of antifoams. This is one reason why
some antifoams work better in high-shear environments where
gas-to-liquid interfaces are constantly being formed, and not so
well when added to exiting foams. Antifoam co-surfactant pres-
ence may also cause inhibition.
Surfactant concentration. Higher surfactant concentrations
tend to reduce antifoam effectiveness by increasing the entry force
necessary to bridge the interfacial film.
Dissolved salt species and concentration. The presence of
high-valance metal ions reduces antifoam effectiveness. Counter-
ions surround the polar ends of the surfactant molecules, reducing
their electrostatic interaction with other surfactant molecules in
the film.
Two antifoam types recommended by gas processing plant
personnel are: silicones, which are mixtures of nonpolar siloxane
oils and hydrophobic silica solids; and glycols or high-molecular
weight alcohols, which are mixtures of polar oils and other high-
molecular-weight surfactants.
Silicone antifoams and excess injection. The most
prevalent antifoams in the gas-processing industry are silicones.
The majority of these antifoams are composed of siloxane oils
mixed with silica particles in varying concentrations; although
some do not contain silica. Chemically, siloxane oils have long,
hydrophobic R-hydrocarbon groups attached to silicon atoms
that render them insoluble in aqueous solutions. Most silicone
antifoams contain silica particles that are treated to become hydro-
carbons so they remain suspended, preferentially, in silicone oils.
The photomicrograph in Fig. 3 shows a silicone-oil droplet with
suspended silica particles. The droplet appears granular.2
The synergism between the silicone oil and the hydrophobic
silica particles is described as acting like pins, breaking the
surfactant film surface and subsequently reducing the antifoam
droplets entry force requirement.
While the silicone antifoam family has unquestionable anti-
foaming ability, there have been serious concerns with their use
in gas-processing systems. These concerns include tendencies
to exhaust in service and their potential impact on heat transfer
and corrosion inhibitor function due to their surface wetting or
coating tendencies. Premature fouling of mechanical filters and
activated carbon due to surface coating and insolubility have long
been associated with silicone usage in antifoams. Most recently,
mass transfer inhibition has proven to be a concern as well. Sili-
cone antifoams will exhaust in service when the silica particles
separate from the oil fraction. Interestingly, simply adding more
siloxane oil revives the antifoaming ability, and it is not more
costly than simply adding new antifoam.
Overdosing silicone antifoam has gained the reputation of cre-
ating foam. But, in fact, studies show that these antifoams reach
a critical concentration where foaming is not caused; but rather,
they simply fail to inhibit it. At elevated concentrations, the anti-
foam gets tied up in micelle structures in the bulk solution. Once
tied up in micelles, it can no longer spread on the interface, form
lenses and be incorporated in the foams structure.
 GAS PROCESSING

Polar oil antifoams. The polar oil family of antifoams com-
bines electrochemically neutral hydrophilic moieties with long
hydrophobic hydrocarbon groups. These antifoams are formu-
lated from, and usually named some variant of polyglycol copoly-
mer, polypropylene or ethylene block polymer, polyoxyethylene/
oxypropylene esters of C8C30 fatty acids, oxy/ethoxyprpylene
alcohols, and other non-ionic surfactants. As with silicone oil
formulations, insolubility in aqueous solutions is the key prop-
erty of these antifoams. They are most effective above their cloud
points. Below their cloud points, some non-ionic surfactants have
caused surfactant films, becoming thicker and more stable due to
long-range electrostatic repulsion between the monomers. Above
their cloud points, they produce insoluble droplets that are incor-
porated into the interfacial films similar to other insoluble oils.
Non-ionic surfactants offer several other properties not found in
silicone antifoams; the most obvious is the lack of a synergistic solid
component. In Fig. 4, the micrograph shows droplets of polyglycol
antifoam in an MDEA solution and the lack of droplet granularity.
This solid fraction eliminates in-situ exhaustion due to separation.
Case study. Amine foaming is a complex problem caused by a
combination of chemical contaminants, stabilized by fine particu-
lates, and dependent on physical parameters and process condi-
tions. To prevent foaming from disrupting gas-plant operations,
the causes and the symptoms must be known. Questions to ask
include: What role does computer simulation play in solving the
problem? What role should additives, antifoamants, corrosion
inhibitors and formulated solvents play? How does the selection
and operation of filtration equipment promote or reduce foaming?
A parameter that causes foam is an amine degradation product.
Acidic amine degradation products can be very troublesome. They
are formed when the amine reacts with oxygen in the feed gas.
The reaction proceeds at varying rates, depending on concentra-
tion, temperature and pressure. Primary and secondary amines
are easily oxidized. It takes less organic acid to cause problems in
a tertiary amine solution because tertiary amines have inherently
lower surface tension.
Organic acids also reduce the effective acid-gas absorption
capacity of the treating solution by forming heat-stable salts
(HSSs). These salts are soluble reaction products of organic acids
and functional amine. A buildup of HSS may lead to problems.
If left unchecked, the same organic acids that form HSS with
the amine solvent can polymerize and form longer-chain organic
acids that cause foaming. Since hydrocarbons are present in feed
gas, operators injected more antifoam. Over time, the antifoam
accumulates in the amine solvent. The excess antifoam is altered
to an adhesive polymer that contributes to clogging the L/R amine
exchanger (Fig. 5).
Fig. 6 shows the antifoam absorbing suspended iron sulfide
particles and foaming large agglomerates in an amine solution
that was sampled from the gas plant. This clearly shows how
antifoam droplets can prematurely plug activated carbon beds
and the mechanical filter even if the droplets can pass through
without being absorbed.
Since the applied antifoam was not a compatible solution
with plant operation and to overcome a foaming upset, operators
injected more than the expected amount of antifoam. Data in Table
1 illustrates how much antifoam was accumulated in the cycle since

TABLE 1. Effect of glycolic antifoam on foaming

of amine contactors
Year Number of foaming occurrences Total injection, liters
2004 382 4,015
2005 250 2,912
2006 95 450

FIG. 7 Accumulated gelatin formation if incorrect antifoam is

used.

250 14
Foam tendency, ml
Foam stability, s 12
200
Foaming tendency, ml

Foaming stability, s

10
150 8

100 6

4
50
2
0 0
0.00 1.05 1.22 3.46 4.66 4.95 5.20
HSS, wt %

FIG. 6 Excess antifoam in the amine solvent created an adhesive FIG. 8 HSS vs. foaming tendency and stability.
gel.

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 91
GAS PROCESSING

the plants commissioning in 2003. Foam formation could have Iron carbonate and iron sulfide are more soluble on the lean
been avoided along with the promotion of foam formation in the side. HSS and/or degradation products will cause iron carbonate
contactor. As a consequence, buildup of glycolic antifoam in the and iron sulfide to become soluble in the lean side of the system.
cycle caused a reaction with oxygen (sometimes accompanied with When the amine is circulated back to the contactor and picks
deionized water). It was necessary to inject the amine solution to up carbon dioxide (CO2) and H2S, the iron carbonate and iron
control the concentration; thus, a fatic acid formation occurred. sulfide will precipitate, leaving the HSS and/or degradation prod-
This increased the HSS amount also causing the number of foam- uct free. This free-complex former is circulated back to the lean
ing occurrences to increase. Unknown impurities such as gelatins side where it picks up more iron. This cycle can repeat over and
can also form due to improper antifoam injection selection (Fig. 7). may cause severe corrosion on the lean side of the amine treating
As HSS concentration increases, more iron sulfides are pro- system. The precipitated iron carbonate and iron sulfide can plug
duced that cause amine foaming. Data collection from the plant trays in the contactor, or form on the plate and frame of the heat
justified this claim, as illustrated in Fig. 8. HSS that causes foam- exchanger, impacting operation as shown in Fig. 9.
ing when the HSS and amino acids enter with the gas or are
produced. Amino acids are well known in making complex com- Foaming effects in an amine contactor. Chemical
pounds with iron. The complexes are formed by the reaction: additives, such as antifoamers and corrosion inhibitors, have a
place in amine plant operation, but they should only be used with
Fe (H 2 O) 6 + 2 + n (anion)
Fe (anion) n (2 - n) + (6 - n) H2 O a thorough understanding of the applied chemistry. Most anti-
where n = 1 to 6. foams are either silicone-based or long-chain alcohols. Corrosion
The reaction shifts toward complexation by increasing the inhibitors can be either inorganic metals or film-forming organic
anion concentration or by increasing the hexaquo-iron ion in compounds. Formulated solvents are based on combinations of
solution. Anions such as thiocyanate, formate and acetatecom- amines or amines with the addition of corrosion inhibitors and/
mon amines in HSS anionsreadily form iron complexes. These or antifoaming agents. A system already full of silicone from lube
complexes cause the dissolution of iron sulfide to shift to the right, oil or an amine formulation usually does not respond well to
providing more irons for complexation. additional silicone.
The antifoam injected into the gas plants amine solvent was
a glycolic-base, a common antifoam that is a long-chain alcohol.
Extreme caution should be exercised with its use. As a result,
incompatibility with the process occurred and operators had to
inject more antifoam than expected to eliminate the foam symp-
toms in the contactor. The antifoam readily undergoes oxidation to
form a long-chain fatty acid. A feed gas containing oxygen can pro-
vide the reactant to oxidize it to a fatty acid. Long-chain alcohols
should be avoided when oxygen is present. Parts per million (ppm)
levels of oxygen can react with the amine to form carboxylic acids.
Carboxylic acids react with functional amine and basic amine
degradation products to form very soluble long-chain organic acids

TABLE 2. Foaming test on glycolic types

Foam tendency, Foam stability,
Antifoam type ml at 69C S at 69C
FIG. 9 Iron sulfide buildup in a heat exchanger caused by excess Type A glycolic antifoam 80 2
antifoam.
Type B glycolic antifoam 330 12
Lean amine DEA as a blank 180 8
Dissolved oxygen in demineralized water
Dissolved oxygen in deionized water, ppm

16 1.6
Dissolved oxygen in amine solution, ppm

TK-301 T-101
14 1.4
12 1.2
10 1.0
8 0.8
6 0.6
4 0.4
2 0.2
0 0.0
22.05.06
04.6.06
04.6.06
08.6.06
09.6.06
11.6.06
17.6.06
23.6.06
30.6.06
07.7.06
16.7.06
21.7.06
28.7.06
04.8.06
11.8.06
18.8.06
26.8.06
01.9.06
10.9.06
31.10.06
1.11.06
2.11.06
3.11.06
4.11.06
5.11.06
6.11.06

Date

FIG. 10 Dissolved oxygen in amine (T-101) and deionized water FIG. 11 Foaming tendency and foam stability test.
(TK-301).

92
I MAY 2011 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
 GAS PROCESSING

or fatty acids. Fatty acids increase liquid hydrocarbon solubility in
amine solution and also cause severe foaming problems.
During this study, different tests were carried out for measur-
ing the amount of dissolved oxygen in an amine. Treated water
was used to dilute the amine solution. The results show that the
source of oxygen reacted with the amine, and that the antifoam
was water deionized at about 20 ppm dissolved oxygen based on
ASTM measurements (Fig. 10). This was also used to wash the
treated gas in the contactor. The oxygen level contained in the feed
gas was not measured.
Corrosion inhibits for the most part and is created by organic
film-forming chemicals. As such, they are surface active and are
readily removed by activated carbon until the carbon becomes
saturated. When this happens, the carbon begins to unload and
can rapidly increase the concentration, causing a foaming problem.
not reveal composition, thereby making it virtually impossible to
make informed decisions regarding supplemental additives. Even
mixed amines can be a problem. If the mixture contains MEA
and DEA, and the feed gas containing oxygen and organic acids
will form readily. If the bulk of the formulation is MDEA, which
is sensitive to small concentrations of organic acids, the solution
will likely have a severe foaming problem.
Lost-treating capacity is often the net effect of foaming in the
contactor. The height of the foam increases and the void volume
inside the vessel decreases. Reduced void volume increases pressure
drop in the system. As the vapor liquid contact area is reduced
(filled with foam), the effective mass-transfer zone is reduced and
Different antifoam with different effect

No. of occurring foaming in contactor

1.2 500
Formulated solvents pose a new challenge for the gas-plant No. of foaming occurrence 450
each day

Antifoam injection, cc/hr

operator. The formulations are typically proprietary. Suppliers do 1.0 400
Antifoam injection(cc/hr)
350
TABLE 3. Laboratory test of different types 0.8
300
of antifoams 0.6 250
200
Solvent Foaming height, ml Foaming stability, s 0.4 150
Amine solution at plant 573 15 100
0.2
Injection of Type A glycolic antifoam 50
to amine solution 250 11 0.0 0
Antifoam alcoholic Antifoam alcoholic Antifoam silicon
Injection of Type B glycolic antifoam
Type A Type B base
to amine solution 490 > 60
Injection of silicon antifoam FIG. 12 Characteristics of different antifoams on contactor
to amine solution 180 10 operations.

polimeri europa
eni.com

Select 173 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

M_0495_180x125_Hydrocarbon_Polimeri_Ing.indd 1 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 201110:36
24/03/11 93
I
GAS PROCESSING

During this step, a sample solution of the amine cycle was

14 taken and the effects of three antifoams on foaming symptoms
No of occurring foaming were evaluated. The parameters, such as foaming stability and
12
No of foaming in contactor per day

foaming tendency, were recorded and the results are shown in

Injection of
10 antifoam glycolic Table 4. Silicon-based antifoam has a higher efficiency than gly-
type B colic types. The laboratory test confirmed that a silicon-type
8 antifoam is more appropriate for an amine solution; the decision
Injection
was to apply it into solvent at the plant. Data gathered from the
6 of antifoam plant proved that, since a silicon base was applied, numbers of
glycolic foam occurrences were drastically reduced, as shown in Tables 3
4 type A
and 4 and Fig. 13.
Injection Using a silicon-based antifoam not only had a higher perfor-
2 of antifoam mance over a glycolic antifoam, but it also could provide the same
silicon base
0
efficiency with little injection into solution.
The study indicated that a high amount of antifoam injection
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into the system created process problems like clogging the L/R
amine exchanger, increasing the number of foaming occurrences in
Date
the contactor, gas-treating instabilities and increased unscheduled
FIG. 13 Trend showing decrease in foam that occurred in the plant shutdowns. It was shown that the reaction between antifoam
contactor. and sour gas, preferentially with oxygen of deionized water, pro-
duced a particle solid-like agglomeration. If the heat exchanger had
TABLE 4. Different types of antifoams field tests a decrease in the amine flowrate due to particular sedimentation,
an increase in deferential pressure also occurred. With a decrease
Number of Time for in the concentration of antifoam injection from 80 wt% to 10
Antifoam foaming Injection at overcoming wt%, this problem along with the amount of antifoam inhibitor
type Test occurrences each step, cc foaming, min
remained about 5 ppm in the amine solution cycle. Selecting a
Glycolic base, Run 1 12 400 15
new antifoam must encompass a deep study for compatibility.
Type A Run 2 10 30 13
Choosing the right antifoam saved the plant about $100,000. HP
Glycolic base, Run 1 8 200 11
Type B Run 2 5 200 10 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Silicon base Run 1 1 300 5 The authors thank Mr. Saifi and Mr. Nori in their cooperation with field and
Run 2 3 650 8 laboratory testing.
Run 3 2 600 7 LITERATURE CITED
1 Paul, C. R., Gas ConditioningFace the Facts about Amine Foaming,
Chemical Engineering Progress, July 1991.
less acid gas is absorbed. When foaming occurs in the flash tank, it 2 von Phul, S. A. and L. Stern, Antifoam: What is it? How does it work? Why
reduces the surface area from which the gas evolves. Reduced surface do they say to limit its use? Laurence Reid Gas Conditioning Conference,
area prevents the solution from achieving the desired semi-rich load- Norman, Oklahoma, 2001.
ing. Foam prevents gas from immigrating out of the solution. If the
reboiler is at full rate, it may not be possible to achieve specification.
Abolfazl Atash Jameh is the head of process engineering,
a division of engineering and technical services, at the Sarkhoon
Tests and methodology. For this study, a determination and Qeshm Gas Treating Company in Iran. He joined the National
of foaming tendency and resultant foam stability of pure liquid Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) in 1999 and has 10 years of experi-
and mixtures was used in the following procedure. Air is sparged ence in process engineering, modeling and optimization, as well
as troubleshooting gas processing units. Mr. Atash Jameh received an MS degree
through a measured amount of solution at a specified rate for a in chemical engineering from the Sharif University of Technology in 1998 and a
specific period (Fig. 11). The difference between initial and final BS degree in chemical engineering from the Petroleum University of Technology
foam height is measured. When the air stopped, the time required in 1995. He has authored and coauthored more than seven papers in national and
for the foam to collapse was recorded. international conferences.

For measuring the HSS, two methods were used. The first
one used titration, which is a traditional method and would be
efficient to judge the amine behavior. The second method was
using ion chromatographic, an application that should be taken.
Appropriate antifoaming effects on amine solvent.
Since injecting more glycolic didnt have a suitable effect on the
foaming upset, another glycolic antifoam was applied. This anti-
foam, unfortunately cannot completely disperse in solution. As
shown in Fig. 9, when a Type B glycolic antifoam was used, it
inhibited foaming. However, it needs more time to overcome the
foaming symptoms as compared to the Type A glycolic antifoam
that was applied and mostly agglomerated, as shown in Table 2
and Fig. 12.
Ahmad Zamani Gharaghoosh is the head of technical
inspection department at the Sarkhoon & Qeshm Gas Treating
Company (SQGC). He joined National Iranian Gas Company ( NIGC)
In 1997.Mr. Zamani Gharaghoosh has more than 11 years of expe-
rience in gas refinery processes, static equipment inspection, and
risk-based inspection, and is a corrosion specialist at the gas refinery.
Saeid Mokhatab is an internationally recognized expert in
the field of natural gas engineering with a particular emphasis
on gas transmission, LNG and processing. He has been involved
as a technical consultant in several international gas-engineering
projects and published over 150 academic and industry-oriented
papers. Mr. Mokhatab is a member of the editorial board for most professional oil and
gas engineering journals, and serves on various SPE and ASME technical committees.

94
I MAY 2011 HYDROCARBON PROCESSING
Special Supplement to

SULFUR
2011
CONTENTS
The ultimate path to H2S-free gas C97

Corporate Proles
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Select 77 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

The ultimate path to H2S-free gas
Z. LIU, GTC Technology US, LLC, Houston, Texas; and B. CHIA, GTC Technology, Singapore
Advanced technologies offer
competitive advantages over
traditional methods
With the desire to maintain a clean environment,
there is an increasing pressure by worldwide environ-
mental regulatory agencies, as well as petrochemical
and refining industries to continue meeting more strin-
gent standards for sulfur emissions from processing
facilities. It is important to understand the various
sulfur-recovery (SR) methods available and to imple-
ment advanced, reliable and cost-effective technolo-
gies for SR to ensure continuous and smooth plant
operation. Following are highlights of some of the
advanced technologies for SR as well as their competi-
tive advantages over traditional methods.
Traditional SR units. In the refinery pro-
cesses, sulfur is converted to hydrogen sulfide (H2S),
which is recovered primarily in amine absorbers to
minimize sulfur emissions to the atmosphere. The rich
amine solution is regenerated in an amine regenera-
tion unit, producing a H2S-rich gas stream that is then
fed to the SR unit (SRU)the Claus processwhere
the H2S is converted to elemental sulfur.
The Claus reaction is reversible, with sulfur
vapor and water vapor always present. This prevents
H2S conversion from reaching 100%, and thus the
byproductscarbon disulfide (CS2) and carbonyl
sulfide (COS)cannot be 100% hydrolyzed. From a
thermodynamic standpoint, lower temperature is more
favorable to equilibrium conversion. However, this is
restrained by the dew point of sulfur vapors. Due to
the limitation of chemical equilibrium and reaction
temperature, the highest SR in a Claus unit is lower
than 98%. Without further treatment, the remain-
ing H2S in the feed is combusted and emitted to the
atmosphere as sulfur dioxide (SO2). This was the case
until 1970, when the first commercial unit was built
to treat Claus tail gas (TG).
Since then, a number of different TG cleanup
processes have been developed to overcome the
thermodynamic equilibrium of the Claus reaction and
thus, increase the overall SR. Environmental emission
regulations are becoming tighter and there is increas-
ing demand to achieve even higher sulfur removal
and recovery.
Integrated Claus and TG treating.
In view of this need, an optimized and integrated flow
scheme combining Claus and tail-gas treating (TGT)
has been introduced. This new SR process offers lower
capital and operating costs, higher reliability and oper-
ability, and a 99.9+% SR efficiency.1
SULFUR 2011
Sour gas from either rich amine regeneration or injection, entrained gas in the liquid sulfur is removed
sour water stripping, or both, is sent to the sulfur- through a degassing pump and then sent to the offgas
producing burner after entrained liquid removal. In this incinerator. Liquid sulfur, after gas removal, is sent to
burner, based on required oxygen for the reaction, the a sulfur shaping machine by a liquid sulfur transfer
air quantity supplied by a blower is strictly controlled. pump, and then sent to autopacking and to a stack-
After burning, all of the organics in the acid gas are ing machine for weighing and packing. Specifications
oxidized. About 65% of H2S from the feed is trans- of solid sulfur obtainable in the new SR process are
formed into sulfur through a thermal Claus reaction. shown in Table 1.
About one-third of the remaining H2S is transformed The Claus tail gas is heated by flue gas from the
into SO2 to meet the stoichiometric amount of SO2 offgas incinerator to 300C and sent to the hydro-
required in the Claus reaction. A small portion of high- genation reactor after mixing with hydrogen. SO2,
temperature process gas from the sulfur-producing S2, COS and CS2 are converted to H2S by reduction
burner is used to adjust the inlet temperature of the and hydrolysis reaction. The process gas from the
1st stage converter via a high-temperature mixing hydrogenation reaction is sent to a steam generator
valve. The majority of high-temperature process gas to generate 0.4 MPaG steam. The temperature of the
is sent to a waste-heat boilerTwo line caption
to produce 1.1 MPaG, tail gas is decreased to 170C and sent to a quench
250C superheated steam. The temperature of the column. The tail gas interacts with quench water and
process gas is decreased to 350C and then cooled is cooled to 40C. The sour water generated is sent to
to 160C in the first-stage condenser. Liquid sulfur the sour water stripper.
is separated from the process gas and sent to the The cooled tail gas is sent to the amine absorber.
sulfur drum. Lean amine solvent is sent to the top of the amine
Process gas from the first-stage condenser is then absorber to reduce H2S, and rich solvent is sent to the
reheated to 258C by high-temperature process gas solvent stripper for solvent recovery. Offgas from the
and sent to the first-stage converter to undergo cata- top of the amine absorber is sent to the offgas incin-
lytic Claus reaction. Due to exothermic reaction heat, erator. Flue gas is vented at 296C after superheating
process gas from the first-stage converter increases to the inside battery limits (ISBL) generated steam and
308C and is used to heat up low-temperature process preheating the Claus tail-gas feed before hydroge-
gas from an outlet of the second-stage condenser. Pro- nation. Acid gas stripped off from the rich solvent is
cess gas is further cooled to 160C and liquid sulfur is recycled to the sulfur manufacturing burner.
separated and sent to a sulfur drum. Process gas from
the second-stage condenser is heated up to 220C
TABLE 1. Solid sulfur specification
and sent to the second-stage converter. Process gas
from the second-stage converter is sent to the third- Property Unit Specification
stage condenser. Liquid sulfur is separated and sent
Purity wt % 99.9 (on dry basis)
to the sulfur drum. The Claus tail-gas is sent to a tail As wt % 0.01
gas treating section after entrained liquid knockout. Ash wt % 0.03
Waste heat from the first, second, and third-stage Acidity (as of H2SO4) wt % 0.003
condensers is recovered to generate 0.4 MPaG satu- Water wt % 2.0
rated steam. Liquid sulfur from the sulfur drum flows Organics wt % 0.03
to a liquid sulfur pool. After quinoline and nitrogen Fe wt % 0.005
Hydrogen
Saturated steam Superheated steam
Sour gas from amine
regeneration and/or
sour water stripper
Tail-gas H2S-free gas
Claus
Boiler-feed water treating
Sulfur Sour gas recycle
FIG. 1. Block flow diagram for new SR process.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SULFUR 2011
I S-97
SULFUR 2011

10% Turndown in normal operation may be as low

5% as 15%
Hig Amine/Claus/TGT Hydrogen source flexibility within most refiner-
hC
O 10 ies and petrochemical complexes.
2 an 0t
du pd
1% nc su
on lfu
H4S concentration

ven r SR application. SR from high-pressure sour

5,000 ppm tio
na natural gas streams with medium amounts of sul-
lg
as
Non-aqueous solution ap fur has historically been a challenge for the industry.
p lic
25 ati Conventional treatment using the amine/Claus/TGT
1,000 ppm (all applications) t pd on
s
su methods is capital intensive and mostly favored for
500 ppm lfu
5t r large units. Other systems, on the other hand, were
0.1 1t pd
tpd pd su primarily developed for low-pressure applications.
su su lfu
Scavenging lfu lfu r A non-aqueous process has been developed spe-
100 ppm r r
cifically for the treatment of high-pressure sour natural
gas in medium-sized sulfur applications, with produced
1,000 5,000 10,000 50,000 100,000 1,000,000
Gas owrate, m3/hr sulfur in the range of 0.1 tpd to 30 tpd.2 Fig. 2 indicates
the application range of this non-aqueous technology.
FIG. 2. Application range of non-aqueous technology.
The non-aqueous solution has a high solubility for
elemental sulfur. Because the elemental sulfur stays
dissolved in the solution, there are no solids in the
Sweet gas liquid circulated to the absorber. By design, the solu-
tion avoids the problems that make the aqueous sulfur
Lean solution recovery systems unsuitable for direct treatment of
high-pressure gas.
Absorber Flash gas
With this process, H2S is removed from the sour
Heated SO2 gas in a conventional absorber tower. The H2S reacts
Sour gas Flash Slurry surge tank with dissolved SO2 to produce elemental sulfur, which
vessel tank
remains in solution. HP

Extended version avaiable online at

Hydrocarbon Processing.com.
Sulfur lter
system NOTES
1 GTC Technology in alliance with Shandong
Scraped surface
crystallizer Sulfur
SunwaySulfur Recovery Technology
2 GTC Technology, in alliance with CrystaTech
FIG. 3. Non-aqueous solution technology flow scheme. CrystaSulf technology

In the new SR process, there is only the sulfur
manufacturing burner and offgas incinerator consum-
ing fuel gas. The inline burner to generate reducing gas
for Claus tail-gas hydrogenation is eliminated. This
results in less equipment and fewer controlling loops
than those of similar processes. The process not only
maintains a high SR rate, but also avoids high costs for
energy consumption, investment and operation. The
amount of emission vent gas is also reduced. Some
similar processes use steam or electricity to heat up
process gas as a means to reduce emissions. How-
ever, outside battery limits (OSBL) cost on steam and
electricity generation cannot be omitted by doing this.
Through flow scheme optimization and inside battery
limits (ISBL) heat integration, this process consumes
the least energy compared with similar processes, thus
making it the most environmentally friendly method.
In terms of equipment, it utilizes a high-temper-
ature mixing valve, which is critical to this process. At
temperatures above 1,200C and in a strong reducing
environment, any metal will be corroded by sulfur
species. The internal-cooling mixing valve controls the
Zhepeng Liu is project manager
surface temperature under the critical temperature in the technology department at GTC
of corrosion. This equipment has been used for more Technology US, LLC, in Houston,
than six years of continuous operations, demonstrating Texas. He has over 15 years experi-
ence in the refining and petrochemi-
proven reliability for long-term operation.
cal industry and is a specialist in aromatics and deriva-
The sulfur manufacturing combustion chamber tives production processes. Mr. Lius background covers
is another key piece of equipment in this process. It the fields of catalyst/process development, process engi-
is constructed with corundum-mullite bricks, which neering design, commissioning/startup, operation/opti-
mization, technical services and project management.
have been used in continuous operation for more than
Before joining GTC in 2004, he worked for Sinopec
10 years without major maintenance. For catalysts, SRIPT, UOP and Shanghai SECCO.
the process uses a self-developed high-performance
catalysts for both catalytic Claus and tail-gas hydro-
genation applications. In addition, the process has Beitian Shermaine Chia
demonstrated the several competitive advantages is a technical sales engineer at
over the similarities: GTC Technologys Singapore office.
H2S concentration in acid-gas feed may range She joined GTC in June 2008 and
from 30% to 97% is actively involved in commercial
Ammonia over H2S ratio in feed gas may vary activities involving licensing support and proposal
up to 0.42 preparation. Ms. Chia graduated from the Nanyang
Single-train capability from 4 tons to 340 tons Technological University with a BS degree in engineer-
of sulfur ing (chemical and biomolecular engineering).

S-98
I SULFUR 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 CORPORATE PROFILE: SILCOTEK
SULFUR 2011

SilcoTek coatings improve system

performance
SilcoTeks coating technology allows customers to improve the performance of
process instrumentation, and the plant bottom line, by enabling reliable, accurate
sulfur and H2S sampling. For nearly 25 years the Scientists, Engineers and Techni- A corrosion resistant coating that increases the lifetime of system components
cians at SilcoTek have been offering innovative coating solutions to petrochemical, by improving corrosion resistance by 10x or more.
refinery, oil and gas customers. SilcoTeks CVD technology bonds an inert silicon
layer into the surface of stainless steel and other alloys, preventing active com-
pounds like H2S, mercaptan, ammonia, sulfur and mercury species from interacting A non-stick coating designed to reduce the onset of carbon coking and fouling
with fluid pathways or components. SilcoTeks inert coatings have revolutionized on stainless steel by 8x.
sulfur transport and analysis by eliminating adsorptive effects of stainless steel;
allowing transport, storage and detection of ppb level active compounds while
maintaining accurate, reliable analytical results. A high purity coating designed to improve the performance of instrument and
SilcoTeks patented coating technologies include: vacuum systems.
SilcoTek is dedicated to offering upstream and downstream oil and gas cus-
tomers new, advanced coatings to maximize material performance; making the
Our newest coating! A tough, durable, inert and corrosion resistant coating impossible, possible.
designed for harsh environments found in oil and gas exploration, transport and Contact information
processing. SilcoTek Corporation
112 Benner Circle, Bellefonte, PA 16823
Phone: (814) 353-1778, Fax: (814) 353-1697
The ultimate inert coating technology. A required coating when analyzing low Email: Silcod@SilcoTek.com
levels of organo-sulfur compounds, such as H2S. Website: www.SilcoTek.com

Maximize Material Performance!

SilcoTek coatings make the impossible... possible.
Solving problems for the process, analytical, oil, gas and semiconductor industries for over 20 years.
s%LIMINATESURFACEINTERACTIONWITHACTIVECHEMICALS
LIKE(23MERCURYANDMANYMORE

s$RAMATICALLYIMPROVECORROSIONRESISTANCE
s%LIMINATECOKINGORCARBONFOULING
s2EPELSMOISTUREQUICKDRYING

Improve performance of many common process materials

s3TAINLESSSTEEL s#ERAMIC s4ITANIUM
s.ICKELALLOYS s'LASS s#ARBON

,EARNHOW3ILCO4EKCANIMPROVETHEPERFORMANCEOFYOURPRODUCTSVISITOURWEBSITEWWWSilcoTekCOMORCALLUSAT  

SPONSORED CONTENT HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SULFUR 2011

I S-99
 UV/Vis and
SPECTROP NIR
HOTOMET
WANTED F ERS
PROCESS OR
ENGINEER
ING.
Plant/proc
ess engine
seeks high er
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up to eight at once. With an IP-65-compliant housing and a 2-year-life
lamp, the IPS-4 needs no annual maintenance. So its perfect for outdoors,
next to inaccessible areas along your process.
Just 31 inches wide, the IPS-4 is packed with features including 22-key keypad, analog
signal output, 3 digital signal ports, high-speed Ethernet port, plug-and-play/web-based
queries, alarm contacts, RS232 and RS485 ports. Plus, its multilingual interface includes
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AMETEKs entire family of spectrophotometer-based analyzers is proven in applications
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To learn more call 412-828-9040 or visit our web site.

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Select 56 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 CORPORATE PROFILE: AMETEK PROCESS INSTRUMENTS
SULFUR 2011

AMETEK offers extended capabilities

for sulfur measurement and analysis
For decades AMETEK has provided hydrocarbon processors and sulfur recovery
operators with a broad line of instruments specifically designed for process mea-
surement and analysis. The recent addition of Asoma Instruments to its Process
Instruments group has extended the companys capabilities even further, especially
in the realm of helping processors meet emerging ultra-low sulfur content regula-
tions. AMETEKs line now includes instruments for:
feed gas process control
residual H2S measurement
continuous SO2 emissions monitoring
tail gas and pit gas measurement and analysis
tail gas treating unit analysis
H2S, H2 and HC in natural gas
ultra-low-S measurement in fuels
S and Cl in diesel, gasoline, crude oil, bunker fuel,
other petroleum distillates
S in high-temperature, high-pressure, viscous fluids
like residual and crude oils.
Designed to measure viscous hydrocarbon in crude lines, pipelines, terminals,
Single- and Multi-Gas Analyzers. AMETEK makes a range of and blending operations, the Asoma 682T-HP can help meet emerging lower-sulfur-
gas analyzers capable of measuring SO2, H2S, and other species with high accu- content regulations. Its faster, more sensitive and more compact than previous
racy. The Model 880-NSL tail gas analyzer has become an industry standard for models, and it provides continuous, reliable detection of sulfur at pressures up
online analysis of tail gas in SRUs. The robust Model 920 allows multi-range SO2 to 800 psig. It can operate as a stand-alone analyzer or be tied to plant-wide
analysis, with virtually no H2O or CO2 interference, while the Model 932 multigas automation systems to provide real-time strategic measurements. Analysis range
H2S analyzer uses a sophisticated UV-VIS photometer to measure up to five gas for sulfur is 0.04%6.0%.
species in applications ranging from feed gas analysis and reaction rate monitoring
to impurity detection and quality assurance monitoring. Experience Makes the Difference. An installed base of more
than 2,000 analyzers and 45 years of quality performance make AMETEK the first
Benchtop ED-XRF Analyzer. The Phoenix II, a polarized Energy choice for hydrocarbon processing and sulfur recovery professionals. Serving the
Dispersive-X-Ray Fluorescent (ED-XRF) benchtop analyzer, offers extreme simplicity industry with solutions that lastthats AMETEK Process Instruments.
of operation in a low-cost, compact design. Ideal for elemental analysis of liquids, Ask us about operator training, too.
solids, pastes, slurries and powders, this ED-XRF spectrometer can operate in the
rugged production process environment or the laboratory with equal ease. A simple,
intuitive touch-screen display makes analysis easy for non-technical operators, yet
its advanced enough for even the most experienced user, with a Low S version
capable of detecting less than 1 ppm sulfur in fuels. Predefined, factory-calibrated
application packages conform to industry, national and international standards; no
need for time-consuming onsite method creation and calibration.

682T-HP. The Model 682T-HP is designed for analysis of sulfur in highly viscous Contact information
hydrocarbons such as residual and crude oils. This highly sensitive unit easily handles Phone: 412/828-9040
high-sample pressures and situations where fouling of flow-cell windows with E-mail: sales.info@ametek.com
paraffin or similar substances can occur. Web-site: www.ametekpi.com

SPONSORED CONTENT HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SULFUR 2011

I S-101
 Foster Wheeler Acquires
Sulfur Recovery Technology
This addition to our technology portfolio enhances our ability to help you
reach peak operating and environmental performance.

Find out more at www.fwc.com/sru

Select 75 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 CORPORATE PROFILE: FOSTER WHEELER
SULFUR 2011

Peak operating, environmental performance

with Sulfur Recovery Technology
Sulfur Recovery Technology
Foster Wheelers newly acquired sulfur recovery technology brings clear advan-
tages to our refinery customers. The technology provides a smaller footprint, as
well as cost-effective designs with enhanced operability features. Included in the
proprietary technology is a Claus unit burner that is capable of destroying ammonia
up to 25 mole % in the SRU feed, and providing low level oxygen enrichment up
to 28 mole %. The units typically deliver overall sulfur recovery efficiencies rang-
ing from 96% to 99.95% and higher, whereas efficiencies of other sulfur removal
technology, for Claus type units, trend a bit lower.

Our Expertise
Our personnel employed at the new Foster Wheeler Salt Lake City office are
knowledgeable in the design of SRU units, including Claus units, tail gas treating
units and tail gas incinerators. Our sulfur expertise also includes sulfur storage, sul-
fur degassing, sulfur pit vent disposition, sour liquid or gas amine absorbers, amine 3 Catalytic Reactor Beds 200LTPD Sulfur Recovery Unit
regenerators, sour water strippers, sulfur condensers, and waste heat boilers. Other
areas of proficiency include hazardous waste incineration, natural gas processing,
and general refinery units.

Our Scope of Work

Coupled with the small footprint, our design offers reduced piping runs that
are completely free draining. Lower corrosion and reduced pressure drop are clear
benefits from the reduced pipe routing, which also results in lower Capex and
enhanced operability and maintenance.
Furthermore, all sulfur condenser passesexcept the final passare typically
routed through a single shell, based on unit capacity. We have also successfully
designed units in which the thermal reactor waste heat boiler was also included
with the sulfur condenser, in a single shell. The mechanical expertise required for
reliable and safe design of the waste heat boiler and sulfur condenser tubesheets,
as well as the partitioning of the condenser passes in the boiler plenums, has been Tail Gas Catalytic Reactor 200LTPD Tail Gas Treating Unit
developed through many years of experience. Steam pressures ranging from 50 psig
to 600 psig are available, and each plant is designed to be self-sustaining in steam
usage during normal operation. These proven, innovative designs help to set our
technology apart from the rest.

Global Reach
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I S-103
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HYDROCARBON PROCESSING SULFUR 2011
I S-105
Select 88 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

Review unit-wide impacts
on closed-drain drums
API 521 standard helps decipher the correct
operating pressure for this system
R. MUKHOPADHYAY, Consultant, Bangkok, Thailand
C
losed-drain drums are generally
intended to receive hydrocarbon-
drained liquids from various
upstream sources. These drains may be
maintenance drains, continuous-process
drains and open-hazardous drains from
drip pans. The vent line of this vessel type
is normally routed to the low-pressure (LP)
cold vent headerultimately culminating
into a LP cold vent tip. Liquid from the
drum is removed periodically. The drum
inbreathes during pumping out and out
breathes during liquid inflow through the
vent line on top.
Design pressure. The question is what
should the design pressure be without any
liquid seal at the vapor outlet to prevent
air ingress? To a process designer, a sim-
ple design is very straight forward. The
process designer will consider gas blow-
by scenarios from upstream contributory
inlet streams and design the vent line of
the closed-drain drum, sufficiently large to
cater for the largest inflow rate either from
non-continuous maintenance drains or the
liquid rate from continuous drains com-
ing through restriction orifices (provided
for preventing blow-by scenarios). This
would prevent the overpressure genera-
tion by allowing adequate out breathing
facility in case of large inlet flow to the
drum. Based on this simplistic concept, the
design pressure of an open-to-atmosphere
drum system is set at 3.5 barg = 50 psig, as
per standard practice.
However, most process designers may
not be able to explain why a 50-psig design
pressure was chosen. Why not another
number? To find an answer to why 50
psig was chosen, you have to remember
that, apart from inlet streams coming from
upstream and creating overpressure pos-
sibility in the drum, there may be another
source of over-pressure as well.
Since these drums handle hydrocarbon
liquid/vapor mixture and are operating at
pressure slightly above atmosphere, there
is a chance of air ingress to the drum in
some circumstances (shutdown or other
instances of inbreathing/pump-out, etc.),
potentially inducing an explosion inside
the drum. Vessels need to be strong enough
to withstand such overpressure from the
internal explosion. Note, in many cases,
the LP vent header is not generally purged
to prevent air ingress. Reasons are to mini-
mize waste of hydrocarbon/nitrogen and
green house gas emissions. Hence, the
designer may need to rethink the vessels
design pressure. The explosion overpres-
sure from such a potential internal explo-
sion (deflagration) becomes a key point in
correctly assigning the design pressure of
such drums.
In the past, simulations of explosion
scenarios using sophisticated software for
limited volume (30-m cloud) had been
done (Fig. 1). These calculations used
unconfined-explosion models. Maximum
over-pressure generated in unconfined
explosions is 2.53.0 barg or 40 psi.
This result is extended to arrive at the
extent of over-pressure, suitable for the
lower bound of the entire range. Instead of
using any arbitrary number in the hydro-
carbon processing industry, the number
tends to fit the minimum design pressure
of such low-pressure atmospheric vessels
(non-purged, non-sealed on vapor side)
at a minimum 3.5 barg. This is based on
the results predicted from mathematical
modeling/simulation from an explosion
scenario. Following are specific company
standard requirements regarding design
pressure of closed-drain drums:
LOSS PREVENTION
TOTALS GS-EP-SAF-228 (liquid
drainage) states: The design pressure of
the closed-drain drum shall be 3.5 barg or
more, in line with API RP 521, to provide
minimum resistance to an internal explo-
sion. All facilities connected to a closed
drain drum shall be designed at no less
than the design pressure of the closed-drain
drum. This is an open-ended statement,
stating 3.5 barg or more. How much more
pressure is not concluded. What is the
method used to arrive at this pressure?
Shells DEP 80.45.10.10 (pressure
relief, flare and vent system design), Sec-
tion - 4.1.3.2 states: The knockout drum
shall be designed as an ASME pressure ves-
sel with a design pressure of at least 3.5 bar
(ga) (50 psig). If no seal vessel is used, the
design pressure shall be at least 7 bar (ga)
(100 psig). The minimum design pressure
of 7 bar (ga) (100 psig) is specified for flare
knockout vessels so that the vessel will
safely withstand the overpressures from an
internal deflagration (i.e., flashback).
BP RP-44-1 also mentions a minimum
design pressure of 7 barg.
API-521, Section 7.3.2.4, states:
Most knockout drums and seal drums
are operating at relatively low pressures.
To ensure sound construction, a minimum
design gauge pressure of 345 kPa (50 psi)
is suggested for knockout drums in sub-
sonic flare or other low-pressure applica-
tions. A vessel with a design gauge pressure
of 345 kPa (50 psi) should not rupture
if a deflagration occurs. Stoichiometric
hydrocarbon-air mixtures can produce
peak explosion pressures on the order of
seven to eight times the absolute operating
pressure. Most subsonic-flare seal drums
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 107
LOSS PREVENTION
operate in the range of gauge pressure
from 0 kPa to 34 kPa (0 psi to 50 psi).
Seven to eight times the absolute work-
ing pressure gives the range of explosion
overpressure in such drums as: (0+14.7)* 7
psi to (5+14.7) *7; i.e., 102.9 psi 137.9
psi or 7 barg 9.5 barg for most of the
subsonic flare seal drums/vent knock-out
drums (KODs)unpurged/unsealed
atmospheric closed drain drums. Analyzing
the API 521 standard, starting from a mini-
mum 50 psi design gauge pressure, it states
Select 174 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
108
that the vessel would not rupture under
deflagrations. However, based on the drum
operating pressure, the explosion overpres-
sure can go up to 137.9 psi (9.5 barg) in
commonly known cases. Hence, you cant
always stick to a single design pressure value
of 50 psig (3.5 barg) for all atmospheric
drums. Along with a design pressure arrived
at based on purely process considerations,
an internal explosion overpressure might
become significant if the possibility of such
deflagration exists.
These higher design pressure range
values can be justified by the API 521 inter-
pretation, from a mechanical design point
of view of carbon steel, which is the most
commonly used material for such vessels.
Lets look at API 69 (latest edition) clauses
to find a relationship. NFPA 69 has taken
it a step further to define two different
acceptability criteria with respect to vessel
deformation/failure that is: 1) Design pres-
sure for a scenario where explosion causes
vessel deformation, but no rupture occurs
and 2) Design pressure for a scenario where
explosion causes no vessel deformation.
Obviously, vessels designed for the
second scenario will require higher design
pressure (may be higher plate thickness).
Some clients prefer design 1, but others
prefer design 2. Once the design criteria is
established and in line with the NFPA
the design matches harmoniously with
the API-521 interpretation of two design
pressure ranges: minimum 3.5 barg and
the higher side up to 9.5 bar. This depends
on the drums observed operating pressure.
ASME has a method of calculating defla-
gration containment design pressure for
vessels as per Section VIII, Division 1, of
the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
defines two terms to explain the previously
mentioned no rupture and no defor-
mation concepts. It defines the ratio of
ultimate stress and enclosure material
allowable stress as a dimensionless entity
symbolized by Fu. It also defines the ratio
of yield stress and enclosure material
allowable stress as another dimensionless
entity symbolized by Fy . Fu corresponds to
the no rupture but deformation concept,
whereas Fy corresponds to the no deforma-
tion concept.
Fu = 60,000/20,000 = 3.00; carbon steel
plate; SA-516 60 K02100; Temperature <
150F
Fy = 32,000/20,000 = 1.6; carbon steel
p; SA-516 60 K02100; Temperature <
150F
The following excerpt illustrated in
Table 1 from ASME Section II, Part D,
to justify the values mentioned previously.
Line 22 values from Table 1 are relevant for
this case of Fu and Fy (60,000, 32,000 and
20,000). Using the concepts of NFPA 69s
standing and following mentioned clauses,
the intended range of deflagration design
pressures of 3.5 barg to 9.5 barg can be
established and verified. Relevant clauses
from NFPA 69 are defined:
13.3.4* Given an initial pressure and
dimensionless pressure ratio for the poten-

TABLE 1. Allowable stress (ksi), ASME Section II, Part D, USC Units
Alloy
Line Nominal Product Spec. Type/ design/Units P- Group strength, strength, pressure use
no. composition form No. grade No. No. No.
21 Carbon steel Plate SA-515 60 K02401
22 Carbon steel Plate SA-516 60 K02100
23 Carbon steel Plate SA-283 D K02702
tial deflagration, Pmawp shall be selected
based on the following conditions as
defined by Eqs. 1 and 2:
Permanent deformation, but not rup-
ture, of the enclosure can be accepted.
Pmawp [R(Pi =14.7)-14.7]/(23 Fu ) (1)
Permanent deformation of the enclosure
cannot be accepted.
Pmawp [R(Pi =14.7) -14.7]/(23 Fy ) (2)
where:
Pmawp = enclosure design pressure (psig)
according to ASME Boiler and Pressure Ves-
sel Code
R = dimensionless pressure ratio
Pi = maximum initial pressure at which
combustible atmosphere exists (psig)
Fu = ratio of ultimate stress of the enclo-
sure to the allowable stress of the enclosure
according to ASME Boiler and Pressure Ves-
sel Code.
Fy = ratio of the yield stress of the enclo-
sure to the allowable stress of the materials
of construction of the enclosure according
to ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
13.3.4.1* The dimensionless ratio, R,
is the ratio of the maximum deflagration
pressure, in absolute pressure units, to the
maximum initial pressure, in consistent
absolute pressure units.
13.3.4.2 For use as a practical design
basis (since optimum conditions seldom exist
in industrial equipment), the value of R is:
For most gas and air mixtures, the
value of R shall be 9
For St-1 and St-2 dustair mixtures,
the value of R shall be 11
For St-3 dustair mixtures, the value
of R shall be 13
13.3.4.3 A value for R other than the
values specified in 13.3.4.2 shall be permit-
ted to be used if such value can be substan-
tiated by test data or calculations.
13.3.4.4 For operating temperatures
below 25C (77F), the value of R shall be vacuum, the maximum initial pressure shall
calculated for use in Eqs. 1 and 2:
R = R [298 / (273+Ti )] (3)
where:
R = deflagration ratio adjusted for
operating temperature
R = maximum deflagration ratio for the
mixture measured at 25C (77F)
Ti = operating temperature (C)
LOSS PREVENTION
Min. tensile Min. yield External Max.
ksi ksi chart No. temp. Notes < 100F < 150F < 200F < 250F
1 1 60 32 CS-2 1,000 G13,T3 21.3 20 19.5 19.2
1 1 60 32 CS-2 1,000 G13,T3 21.3 20 19.5 19.2
1 1 60 33 CS-2 700 22.0 20.7 20.2 19.8
4.0 0.40
3.5 0.35 50
Explosion overpressure, MPa
Explosion overpressure, bar
Explosion overpressure, psi
3.0 0.30 30-m cloudCFD Simulation A
40
30-m cloudCFD Simulation B
2.5 0.25 Design pressuretime curve No. 3
2.0 0.20 30
1.5 0.15 20
1.0 0.10
10
0.5 0.5
0.0 0.00 0
0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 0.90 1.00
Time, seconds
FIG. 1 345-kPa (50-psig) design pressure-time curve and typical model calculations.
13.3.5 The presence of any pressure Using the previously stated concepts of
relief device on the system shall not cause permanent deformation acceptable and
the design pressure calculated by the meth- permanent deformation not acceptable
ods of 13.3.4 to be reduced. and the concepts of ultimate tensile stress,
13.3.6* The maximum initial pressure for yield stress and allowable stress of the mate-
positive pressure systems shall be as follows: rial of construction (usually carbon steel
For positive pressure systems that material) with the proper number crunch-
handle gases and liquids, the maximum ing, the following calculation support is:
initial pressure, Pi, shall be the maximum Permanent deformation acceptable.
initial pressure at which a combustible R = 9 per NFPA 69 for most gas and
atmosphere is able to exist, but a pressure air mixtures
not higher than the setting of the pressure Pi = 0.0 psig (Assuming Atmospheric
relief device plus its accumulation. conditions)
For positive pressure systems that Fu = 60,000/20,000 = 3.00 for carbon
handle dusts, the maximum initial pres- steel plate SA-516 60 K02100 temperature
sure shall be the greater of the following < 150F
two pressure values: Pmawp [9 * (14.7 + 0.0) 14.7] / [(2/3)
Maximum possible discharge pres- * (60,000/20,000)]
sure of the compressor or blower that is Pmawp 58.8 psig for vessel operating @
suspending or transporting the material 0.0 psig (59.25 for 0.1 psig)
Setting of the pressure-relief device Matches perfectly with NIOSHs design
on the vessel being protected plus its accu- pressure vs. time curve (Fig. 1).
mulation Pmawp 283.8 psig for vessel operating
For gravity discharge of dusts, the @ 50 psig
maximum initial pressure shall be the atmo- Pmawp 81.3 psig for vessel operating
spheric gauge pressure (0.0 bar or 0.0 psi). @ 5 psig.
13.3.7 For systems operating under The hydrocarbon processing industry
appears to have accepted 50 psig as the
not be less than atmospheric gauge pressure design pressure for vessels operating at or
(0.0 bar or 0.0 psi). near atmospheric pressure. The case valid
13.3.8 Auxiliary equipment such as for permanent deformation accepted but
vent systems, man ways, fittings and other no rupture, in case of internal explosion. R
openings into the enclosure, which could = 9 given in NFPA for HC. A value of R
also experience deflagration pressures, shall = 7.8 would give Pmawp= 50 psig. The value
be designed to ensure integrity of the total of R = 7.8 is in perfect agreement with the
system and shall be inspected periodically. statement in API 521 that stoichiometric
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 109
LOSS PREVENTION

hydrocarbon-air mixture can produce < 150F permanent deformation cannot be accepted
peak explosion overpressure on the order Pmawp [9 * (14.7+0.1) 14.7] / [(2/3) in case of internal explosion.
of seven to eight times the absolute operat- * (32,000/20,000)] Usually, after an event like an internal
ing pressure. Pmawp 110.25 psig for vessel operating explosion, the vessel integrity would be in
Permanent deformation not accept- @ 0.0 psig (111.1 for 0.1 psig) question and calls for replacement. How-
able (preferred by some clients): Pmawp 532.13 psig for vessel operating ever, some clients prefer to have design
R = 9 per NFPA 69 for most gas and @ 50 psig pressure like this. Hence, for the design
air mixtures Pmawp 153.4 psig (10.6 barg) for vessel concept of the permanent deformation
Pi = 0.0 psig (assuming atmospheric operating @ 5.0 psig; R = 9.0 not acceptable case, the design pressure
conditions) Pmawp 131.4 psig (9.0 barg) for vessel of closed-drain drum can be in the range
Fy = 32,000/20,000 = 1.6 for carbon operating @ 5.0 psig; R = 7.8 of 9-9.5 barg, in line with the API 521
steel plate SA-516 60 K02100 temperature Conclusion: This is an unusual case, if 7.3.2.4 (h) clause and the values mentioned
in Shell DEP, TOTALs GS-EP, BP-RP and
other reputed company standards.
New Directions
WHO SHOULD CURRICULUM: Mechanical design view point. A
ATTEND: vessel designed for DP = 100 psig will show
Global Best Practices permanent deformation, but no rupture up
OPERATIONS Safety Personnel + to 300 psig (simple ratio of design. Stress
Process Asset Protection vs. rupture stress or UTS).
Superintendent A vessel designed for DP = 100 psig will
Decontamination
Operations/Unit Trends+Methodologies not show permanent deformation up to
Engineer 160 psig (simple ratio of design stress vs.
Plant Manager Planning + Logistics
yield stress).
in Process Unit Decontamination

Waste Water Manager Chemistries A carbon-steel vessel designed for

Operations Manager/ Efuent Management MAOP= 50 psig and a thickness of 14 in.
Supervisor can be as big as 12 ft diameter. So, do not
Economic Benets
bother till the vessel diameter exceeds 12
MAINTENANCE ft. If the diameter exceeds 12 ft, consider
RELIABILITY
increasing the length, keeping the diameter
Maintenance at 12 ft.
Manager/Engineer
Design pressure of atmospheric vessels
Turn Around
Manager/Engineer
like closed drain drums (not purged), con-
sidering internal explosion case:
Turn Around
Planner/Coordinator Min. 50 psig (would not rupture as per
Asset Manager
API 521
Max. = in the range of 131153.4 psi
ENGINEERS (910.6 barg), considering a variation of R
Tech Service from 7.09.0.
Engineer It is established with calculation sup-
Process Engineer ports and references that 50 psig153.4 psig
Construction is the range of design pressure of the closed-
Manager drain drum type atmospheric low-pressure
Utility Manager vessels, handling hydrocarbon vapor/liquid,
with no liquid seal for the LP vent from the
ENVIRONMENTAL vessel; the usual operating pressure of the
& SAFETY vessel varies from 05 psig. This is on the
PROFESSIONALS basis of deflagration (internal explosion)
over-pressure, mentioned in many operat-
ing company standards and API 521. HP
Decontamination Trends &
Global Best Practices Seminar Rajib Mukhopadhyay earned
a BTech degree in chemical technol-
Discover The Latest ogy and a BSc degree in chemistry
from the University of Calcutta. He
Held in Cologne, Germany | October 24-28th 2011 has more than 17 years of profes-
sional experience in oil and gas sector, specializing in the
Space is limited so register now at www.deconu.com process safety and loss prevention field. Mr. Mukhopad-
Sponsored by Zyme-Flow hyay has extensive hands-on experience in operation,
commissioning and trouble-shooting process opera-
Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities available
)RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQFRQWDFWDVKOH\EDUEHU#]\PHRZFRP
tions. He has worked for numerous engineering and
production organizations.

Select 175 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

110
Where do You Want to be
on the Performance Curve?

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 PROCESS INSIGHT
Optimizing CO2 Capture, Dehydration and Compression Facilities
The removal of CO2 by liquid absorbents is widely implemented
in the eld of gas processing, chemical production, and coal gasication.
Many power plants are looking at post-combustion CO2 recovery to meet
environmental regulations and to produce CO2 for enhanced oil recovery
applications. The gure below illustrates actual data of fuel consumption in
2005 and an estimate of energy demand for various fuels from 2010 to 2030.
The world energy demand will likely increase at rates of 1015% every 10
years. This increase could raise the CO2 emissions by about 50% by 2030
as compared with the current level of CO2 emissions. The industrial countries
(North America, Western Europe and OECD Pacic) contribute to this jump in
emissions by 70% compared to the rest of the world, and more than 60% of
these emissions will come from power generation and industrial sectors.
formulated solvent without implementing any split ow congurations. This is
much less than the reported steam usage for the MEA solvent.
The design of a facility to capture 90% of the CO2 from the ue
gas of a coal red power plant is based on the specied ue gas conditions,
CO2 product specications, and constraints. Using the ProMax process
simulation software from Bryan Research & Engineering, CO2 capture units
can be designed and optimized for the required CO2 recovery using a variety
of amine solvents. The following gure represents a simplied process ow
diagram for the proposed CO2 Capture Plant.

Despite the strong recommendations from certain governments, The table below presents the main ndings for CO2 capture from the
there are very few actual investments in CO2 capture facilities geared toward coal red power plant and the NGCC power plant, each designed to produce
reducing greenhouse gas emissions mainly because of the high cost of CO2 about 3307 ton per day (3,000 TPD metric). To produce the same capacity of
recovery from ue gas. CO2 capture costs can be minimized, however, by CO2, only one train with smaller column diameters is required in the case of
designing an energy efcient gas absorption process. Based on the ndings the coal power plant and two trains with larger column diameters are required
of recent conceptual engineering studies, HTC Purenergy estimated the in the NGCC Power Plant case. This is mainly due to processing a larger
production cost to be US$ 49/ton CO2 (US$ 54/ tonne CO2) for 90% CO2 ue gas with lower CO2 content in the NGCC power plant. Consequently, a
recovery of 4 mole% CO2 content in the ue gas of NGCC power plants. A substantial reduction in the capital and production cost was reported for the
separate study showed the cost for 90% CO2 recovery of 12 mole% CO2 from coal red power plant CO2 recovery facility.
a coal red power plant to be US$ 30/ton CO2 (US$ 33/tonne CO2). The cost
of CO2 recovery from coal power plant ue gas is substantially less than that
of NGCC power plant ue gas due to the higher CO2 content in the feed.
The energy efciency of a CO2 capture plant depends primarily on
the performance of the solvent and optimization of the plant. In traditional ue
gas plant designs, MEA was the primary solvent and was limited to 20 wt% to
minimize equipment corrosion. Recent developments in controlling corrosion
and degradation has allowed an increase in the solvent concentration to
about 30 wt% thus decreasing the required circulation and subsequent steam
demand. A recent DOE study shows the steam consumption for an existing
CO2 plant using 18 wt% MEA (Kerr McGee Process) is 3.45 lb of steam per
lb of CO2 for amine regeneration. A modern process that uses 30 wt% MEA
is expected to use 1.67 lb of steam per lb of CO2 for amine regeneration. The
HTC formulated solvent is a proprietary blend of amines and has a lower
steam usage than the conventional MEA solvent. Based on the material and
energy balances for the plant designed in the recent study, the reboiler steam For more information about this study, see the full article at
consumption is estimated at about 1.47 lb steam/lb CO2 using the proposed www.bre.com/support/technical-articles/gas-treating.aspx.

Bryan Research & Engineering, Inc.

P.O. Box 4747 Bryan, Texas USA 77805
979-776-5220 www.bre.com sales@bre.com
Select 113 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
 PROCESS DESIGN

Design an efficient
exchanger network
Advanced heat integration and pinch technology reduces energy
consumption
F. RIKHTEHGAR, KBS Co., Tehran, Iran

E
nergy use in chemical plants, such as refineries and petro-
chemical facilities is complex and interrelated. Identifying
where and how energy use can be improved is best pursed
using a system approach that inherently takes these complexities
and interactions into account. This article will demonstrate the
basic principles and capabilities of pinch technology; how its
energy targeting capability is used to determine the scope for
reducing energy consumption and costs; and the design meth-
ods used to improve heat-recovery networks and process-utility
systems for olefin plants. The intent is to illustrate the potential
for energy recovery in each chemical process, how much heating/
cooling is actually required for the process, and how we can design
a process that achieves the energy target.
The term pinch technology was introduced by Linnhoff to rep-
resent a thermodynamically based methodology that guarantees
minimum energy levels in the design of heat exchanger networks
(HENs)generating savings in processes and total sites. Wherever
heating and cooling process materials take place, there is a poten-
tial opportunity to save energy.
Composite curve. HEN analysis first identifies hot and cold
stream sources (source and sink) from the material and energy
balance. For instance, the current typical flowsheet of a specialty
chemical process is considered (Fig. 1). For heat exchange, there
are only three streams (reactor feed, reactor product and column
product). The supply and target temperature and enthalpy change
of four streams are given in Table 1.
180
Temperature, C

Hot composite
150
curve
TABLE 1. Stream data
Stream Stream Supply temp., Target temp., H, CP, 100
no. type C C KW W/C Cold composite
Tmin = 10C
1 Hot 180 80 2,000 20 50 curve
2 Hot 130 40 3,600 40
3 Cold 60 100 3,200 80 H
4 Cold 30 120 3,240 36
FIG. 2 Current case composite curve.

60 QHmin = 960
H
3,200 Condenser
heat 200
100 72
Temperature, C

150
30 H 120
3,240 Reboiler
R1 R2
heat
H 40 100
130
3,600
cool Tmin = 10C
50
180 H 80
2,000 QCmin = 120
cool
H

FIG. 1 Flowsheet of a case study. FIG. 3 Composite curve of targeting case.

HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 113
PROCESS DESIGN

Fig. 2 shows Tmin = 10C, and, for

QHmin this flowsheet, the hot and cold utility
recovery is 960 and 120 units respectively.
The importance of Tmin is that it sets
Total
the relative location of the hot and cold
streams, and therefore the heat recovery

Temperature
amount (Fig. 4).
Cost

Energy
The heat-recovery pinch. To achieve
Tmin a small Tmin, the types of heat exchanger
and fluid regime are important. We con-
Capital sider counter-current flow for that and
QCmin operating with a T min less than 10C
Tmin H should be avoided. In Table 2, minimum
approach temperature for some industries
FIG. 4 Balanced composite curve. has been shown. The correct setting of
composite curves is defined by an economic
trade-off between energy and capital cost,
according to selecting Tmin. Fig. 4 illus-
Tinterval
QHmin QHmin
trates the total system cost as the relative
position of composite curves is changed
over a range of Tmin. There is a trade-off
Temperature

between energy and capital cost and an eco-

Tinterval

nomic amount of energy recovery, thus this

trade-off can be carried out using energy
and capital cost targets.
Pinch principles include:
QCmin QCmin Do not recover process heat across
H H H pinch
Composite curves Shifted composites Grand composite Do not use cold utility above pinch
FIG. 5 Grand composite curve of a case study. Do not use hot utility below pinch
CP rule: CPOUT >= CPIN for feasi-
bility.
During pinch analysis, threshold problems may occur when
the composite curves are closer together. In this case, one of the
hot/cold utilities will be zero while the utility consumption is
constant. Finally, the cost graph will be shown according to this
7
constraint. A better method to calculate the energy targets is the
problem table algorithm. By shifting the composite curves (CCs),
6 Tmin /2, you can do the heat balance across the shifted CC and
shifted temperature intervals. In each shifted temperature interval,
the calculated energy balance is:
Temperature

5
Hi = [ CPC-CPH ] Ti (1)
4
Utility selection. Part of heat recovery is calculated by using
3 external utilities. The remaining maximum heat recovery of HEN
should be calculated with utilities after the heat recovery of pro-

( )
2 7 1 qstream cess-process heat exchangers. The common hot utility is steam in
Network area: Amin = several levels; flue gas or hot oil are designated as high-temperature
1 interval DTLM H
utilities. Cooling water, air cooling, air preheater and some steam
generation are designated as cold utilities. In pinch analysis, the
H grand composite curve (GCC) is an appropriate tool to show the
FIG. 7 Area integrity of HEN.
interface between the process and utility system (Fig. 5).
With the GCC method, the premise is to use the specified utility
at the appropriate levels. For hot utility, use at the lowest tempera-
ture and generate at the highest temperature. For a cold utility, use
Consider steam at 200C and cooling water (CW) at 20C for at the highest temperature and generate at the lowest temperature.
heating and cooling utilities. It is preferable to try to recover the
heat between process streams. The scope for heat recovery can Grid diagram. The energy recovery analysis considers two
be determined by plotting all streams on T-H diagram (Fig. 2). separated regions as below and above the pinch to achieve energy
114
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 PROCESS DESIGN

targets during the HEN design. For instance, if there is a chemi- this study, the cracking furnace and super-heater were excluded
cal plant flowsheet, it is complicated to show the pinch point, due to acceptable heat integration and the reaction that was done.
streams and the overall required diagram. Thus, another tool to A Tmin value of 10C was chosen to mention future potential
represent pinch design is needed. The grid diagram is used when savings. The extracted stream data is shown in Table 3 (Editors
the designer focuses on streams that need heating/cooling and
removal of all unit operations except heat exchangers, heaters and
coolers. In the grid diagram, all the hot/cold streams are clear and
Poor
the related heat-exchange region should be clarified (Fig. 6Edi- economics
tors note: Fig. 6 is available online at HydrocarbonProcessing.
com). Good
economics
Dont discard
Heat-exchanger area target. It is possible to predict the existing area
required area for the entire problem by using the vertical enthalpy Ideal scenario
intervals; the area calculated with this model is only minimal

Area
when all the stream heat-transfer coefficients are equal. For each Grassroots Existing
optimum network
enthalpy interval, we can predict the area requirement from the
composite curves. The duty and heat-transfer coefficient are
Grassroots
obtained from the stream data, and the log-mean temperature trade-off curve
difference (TLM) is derived from the composite curves (Fig. 7).
Infeasible

Retrofiting exchanger networks. Most industry own-

ers are interested to do it by considering the minimum required
energy consumption. Revamping the heat-exchanger network Energy
will be the key factor within these projects. Pinch studies for FIG. 8 Area/Energy trade-off.
revamp projects are more common. The technique used in this
technology is retrofit. The need to retrofit
might arise from a desire to reduce the
900
utility consumption of the existing net-
work. If the need to increase throughput 800 Hot composite
Cold composite
is required, modify the feed to the process 700
or apply a modification to the product
600
Temperature, C

specification. Naphtha furnace

A typical capital/energy trade-off dur- 500 product
ing a revamp project is explained using the 400 Ethane furnace
grassroots trade-off curve as a basis, (Fig. 8). product
300
Any existing design or revamped design will
lie above the grassroots curve. The shaded 200 Quench oil Dilution steam
area is infeasible for any revamp design. Quench water heat recovery
100 Column reboilers
However, in a revamp situation, the 0 Liquid feed
objective is to make the best use of the 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
existing area. In an ideal scenario, one Enthalpy, GJ/h
would like to proceed horizontally, as FIG. 9 Composite curves for ethylene hot section.
shown (maintaining the same area but
reducing energy). A realistic revamp project
will follow a curve that represents increased 900
area requirements and reduced energy
800 Process GCC
requirements (Fig. 8). A curve with better Utility GCC
economics is closer to the grassroots curve. 700 Naphtha furnace product

600 Ethane furnace product

Temperature, C

Olefin plant pinch analysis. For a

more detailed study, in this step consider 500
a case study of pinch analysis on an olefin 400
plant, located south of Iran (BIPC). The 300 U: HP steam (gen) U: MP steam
plants capacity is 411,000 metric tons/yr
200 Pygas rec cooler
of ethylene product. Process data was taken U: PS steam
Quench water heat recovery
from the design process flow diagrams and 100 Dilution Liquid feed U: cooling water
discussions with operating engineers. The steam
0
olefins unit was separated for the pinch 0 100 200 300 400
Enthalpy, GJ/h
analysis into cold and hot sections. This is
due to the significant differences in tem- FIG. 10 GCC for ethylene hot section.
peratures and operation economics. During
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 115
PROCESS DESIGN

TABLE 2. Industrial recommended Tmin Table 4 illustrates that the total potential savings is 194.8 GJ/hr.
The majority of the savings should be achieved through reducing
Industrial sector Experience Tmin value, C steam use and increasing high-pressure steam generation. Fig. 10
Oil refineries 2040 shows the grand composite curve for the utility data.
Petrochemicals 10-20 According to GCC, it recommends that MPS should be used to
Chemical plants 1020 increase high-pressure steam generation since it is a higher level and
Low temperature processes 35 more beneficial for the plant. The other case is using a cross pinch,
but it causes some energy penalties within the HEN and using the
retrofit project can optimize these problems for energy targeting.
TABLE 4. Energy targets and gaps
Heating Target, Gj/hr Now, Gj/hr To save, Gj/hr Conclusion. The best design for an energy-efficient HEN
MPS 68.2 133.9 65.7
results in a trade-off between the equipment and operating cost.
This is dependent on the choice of the Tmin for the process.
PS 19.1 50.8 31.7
Pinch technology can help guide the choice of process modifica-
Total hot 87.3 184.7 97.4 tion. It can be applied to generate financial savings by improving
Cooling Target, Gj/hr Now, Gj/hr To save, Gj/hr heat recovery and reducing utility loads. Pinch analysis begins
PS (Gen) 0 62.1 62.1 with the heat and material balance, and certain parameters should
CW 114.2 321.1 206.9 be chosen. It is very important to extract the required data for tak-
ing into account when a new design or a retrofit study is prepared.
HPS (Gen) 148.7 135.1 13.6
It consists of the key targeting steps: heat recovery improvement,
Sea Water 151.5 0 151.5
utility selection and process changes. HP
C3, 20C 6.46 0 6.46
LITERATURE CITED
Total cold 420.9 518.3 97.4
Complete literature cited is available online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
Total energy 508.2 703 194.8

note: Table 3 is available online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com).
Fig. 9 illustrates the composite curves for the process.
The energy targets and the pinch temperatures obtained by the
pinch analysis are shown in the Table 4.
Farbod Rikhtehgar is a process engineer at KBS Co., spe-
cializing in modeling and simulation studies of refineries and pet-
rochemical plants. He has a BS degree in chemical engineering
from Iran University of Science and Technology and an MS degree,
specializing in energy from Tehran University.

Buzau - ROMANIA phone: +40 238 725 500

www.betabuzau.ro

Select 176 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS

116
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com

Case 62: Useful shaft stress
equations to remember
Committing several equations to memory can be useful
T. SOFRONAS, Consulting Engineer, Houston, Texas
R
emembering complex equations is
not required for reasonable on-the-
spot answers. Neither are sophis-
ticated computer studies when a quick
screening study will be satisfactory. This case
history shows simple equations1 that have
been useful for making quick decisions.
Failed solid circular shafts. Too much
shaft torque can cause failures; so its good
to remember this torque equation:
Torque due to horsepower (HP): T =
63,000  HP / rpm in-lb
Torsional shear stress failure solid cir-
cular shaft is:
Ss = 16  K  Tin-lb/ (  Din 3) lb/in2
K is the stress magnifier caused by sharp
corners such as keyways and steps (shoul-
ders). K = 2 can be used for both torsion
and bending.
Assuming no material data were avail-
able for more accurate decisions, calcula-
tions showing stress Ss greater than 25,000
lb/in2 for mild steels would be cause for
concern.
Bending failure solid circular shaft.
There is usually a bending moment M (in-
lb) acting on the shaft.
Sb = 32K  Min-lb / (  Din3 ) lb/in2
Calculating Sb greater than 50,000 lb/
in2 would be a concern for mild steels with-
out materials data.
Fatigue failures shafting. Cyclic torque
or bending on shafting can result in fatigue
cracking at stresses much lower than the
yield strength.
When fluctuating loads are calculated
using the above equations, they need to
be compared to the endurance limit of the
steel. The uncorrected endurance limit is
approximately half the ultimate strength of
the steel. Uncorrected means a perfectly
smooth shaft with no imperfections. Cor-
ENGINEERING CASE HISTORIES
rosion, poor surface finish and other irreg-
ularities could reduce this value by 50%
or more. In the case of a welded shaft the
cyclic stresses at even a good weld should Motor
be less than approximately 2,000 lb/in2 to
avoid risking fatigue type failures.
Combined stresses. When shear stresses
(S s ) and bending stresses (S b) are both
present at the same section of the shaft at
the same time, the two combine into an
equivalent stress Se , which should then be M
Failure
compared to the yield stress:
Se = ( Sb2 + 3Ss2 ) lb/in2
1
2
Equations on a vertical centrifugal
pump. Consider a 1-in. broken shaft, as
shown in Fig. 1. This is a 75-hp pump oper-
ating at 3,560 prm. The shaft broke near
a steady bushing and the moment at that
point was M. Using the previous equations:
FIG. 1 Vertical pump shaft failure.
T = 1,327 in-lb and Ss = 13,520 lb/in2
is much less than the 25,000 lb/in2 yield.
The shaft should not have failed in tor- torsional failure might suggest binding.
sion unless the material yield properties Fatigue might suggest cavitation, or vibra-
were lower or there was a torque 2 times or tory activity due to misalignment or unbal-
more above design. Lower material proper- ance. Low-material strength properties due
ties might be possible due to corrosion or a to corrosion damage or inadequate material
material substitution made at a repair. selection may have led to failure because
Since M is unknown, so is Sb ; we will low-strength materials simply cannot carry
thus determine what M would have to be the imposed load. HP
to cause the shaft to fail at the location
observed: LITERATURE CITED
1 Sofronas, A., Analytical Troubleshooting of
50,000 =[{ 32  2  M / (  13)}2 + Process Machinery and Pressure Vessels: Including
3  13,5202 ]
1
2
Real-World Case Studies, John Wiley & Sons, p. 6.
M = 2,170 in-lbf
This is a significant bending moment for
a shaft that should not have such a moment
at this location. Yet, there was a failure. Dr. Tony Sofronas , PE, was
It would be logical to now request a worldwide lead mechanical engineer
metallurgical examination of the fracture for ExxonMobil before his retirement.
Information on his books, seminars
surface, and the outcome of such an exami- and consulting, as well as com-
nation will be valuable. A bending-torsion ments to this article, are available at http://mechanical
failure might suggest misalignment. A pure engineeringhelp.com.
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011
I 117
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I APRIL 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
FREE Product and Service InformationMAY 2011
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ADVERTISERS in this issue of HYDROCARBON PROCESSING

Company Page RS# Company Page RS# Company Page RS#
Website Website Website

ABV Energy S.p.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 (156)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-156
ACS Industries Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 (159)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-159
Altair Strickland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
www.info.hotims.com/35903-97
Ametek Process Instruments . . . . . . . 34 (155)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-155
Ariel Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
www.info.hotims.com/35903-76
Asco Valve Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
www.info.hotims.com/35903-64
Axens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
www.info.hotims.com/35903-53
Baker Hughes Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
www.info.hotims.com/35903-67
Baldor Electric Company . . . . . . . . . . 74
www.info.hotims.com/35903-57
Bently Pressurized Bearing Co . . . . . . 86 (170)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-170
Beta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 (176)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-176
Bryan Research & Engineering . . . . . 112 (113)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-113
Burndy Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 (151)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-151
CB&I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
www.info.hotims.com/35903-87
Costacurta SpA Vico . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
www.info.hotims.com/35903-84
Delta Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
www.info.hotims.com/35903-54
Eidos Sap SRL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
www.info.hotims.com/35903-94
Elliott Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
www.info.hotims.com/35903-52
Emerson Process Management
(Fisher Controls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
www.info.hotims.com/35903-69
Emirates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
www.info.hotims.com/35903-80
ENI S.p.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 (173)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-173
Eralytics GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 (161) Paharpur Cooling Towers, Ltd. . . . . . . 39 (98)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-161 www.info.hotims.com/35903-98
Flexitallic LP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 (93) PARCOL SpA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 (162)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-93 www.info.hotims.com/35903-162
(97) Flottweg AG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 (152)
Quest Integrity Group LLC . . . . . . . . . 62 (163)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-152
www.info.hotims.com/35903-163
Flowserve Pumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 (83)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-83 Rentech Boiler Services . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (58)
GEA Wiegand GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 (171) www.info.hotims.com/35903-58
(76)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-171 Samson GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 (160)
(64) GE Power and Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 (86) www.info.hotims.com/35903-160
www.info.hotims.com/35903-86 Sandvik Steel AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 (100)
(53) Gulf Publishing Company www.info.hotims.com/35903-100
Circulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Saudi Basic Ind Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 (62)
(67) Construction Boxscore . . . . . . . . . . . 38 (157) www.info.hotims.com/35903-62
www.info.hotims.com/35903-157
Selas Fluid Processing Corp . . . . . . . . 53 (82)
(57) EventIRPC Asia . . . . . . . . . . . 2124 www.info.hotims.com/35903-82
HPI Maketplace . . . . . . . . . . . 118119
Servomex Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 (169)
Hermetic Pumpen GmbH . . . . . . . . . . 72 (165) www.info.hotims.com/35903-169
www.info.hotims.com/35903-165
Hoerbiger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26-27 154 Shin Nippon Machinery Co., Ltd. . . . 108 (174)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-174
www.info.hotims.com/35903-154
Idrojet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 (166) Spraying Systems Co . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 (66)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-166 www.info.hotims.com/35903-66
Inpro / Seal Company . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 (153) Sulzer Chemtech, USA Inc.. . . . . . . . . 51 (68)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-153 www.info.hotims.com/35903-68
(87) Johnson Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 (90) Swagelok Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 (63)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-90
www.info.hotims.com/35903-63
KBC Advanced Technologies Inc . . . . 111 (99)
(84) www.info.hotims.com/35903-99 Total Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 (73)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-73
KBR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 (60)
(54) www.info.hotims.com/35903-60 Trachte USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 (172)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-172
Linde Process Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 (81)
(94) www.info.hotims.com/35903-81 Tray-Tec Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 (168)
Lurgi GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 (61) www.info.hotims.com/35903-168
(52) www.info.hotims.com/35903-61
Weir Minerals - Lewis Pumps . . . . . . . 70 (92)
Merichem Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 (78) www.info.hotims.com/35903-92
www.info.hotims.com/35903-78
(69) Wood Group Surface Pumps . . . . . . . 47 (158)
Merichem Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 (164)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-158
www.info.hotims.com/35903-164
(80) Microtherm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 (167) Zyme-Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 (71)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-167 www.info.hotims.com/35903-71
Nace International. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 (96) Zyme-Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 (175)
www.info.hotims.com/35903-96 www.info.hotims.com/35903-175

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HYDROCARBON PROCESSING MAY 2011

I 121
 HPIN WATER MANAGEMENT
LORAINE A. HUCHLER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Huchler@martechsystems.com

Legionellato test or not to test?

Legionella pneumophila (legionella)
bacteria cause Legionellosis, a pneumonia-
like illness that infects persons with com-
promised immune systems and can be
fatal. These bacteria are common in natural
waters and thrive in warm waters found
in cooling towers. Cooling towers that
have high concentrations of water droplets
(aerosols) entrained in the vapor plume can
broadcast aerosols several miles before the
droplets reach the ground. If water from
these cooling towers has high populations
of legionella bacteria, vulnerable persons
who inhale the aerosols have a high risk for
potential infection.
Designing the optimal strategy to
minimize the risk of legionella infections
in populations downwind of the cooling
tower requires a combination of mechani-
cal, chemical and operational solutions.
One of the most controversial aspects of
managing the risk of Legionellosis from
cooling towers is the bacteria test protocol
and the decision to test or not to test for
legionella bacteria.
Most European countries have legal
requirements to conduct routine testing
for legionella bacteria in cooling towers.1
There are no legal or regulatory require-
ments to conduct legionella testing in the
US. However, the Cooling Technology
Institute (CTI) is creating a standard2 for
cooling towers that requires legionella test-
ing (culture method) for validation of the
bacteria control program and bacteria test-
ing for control.
Validation methods. Validation
requires that the cooling tower owner
conduct successive legionella tests during
a specified time period and obtain non-
detectable legionella bacteria for all test
results. The validation process assumes
that the bacteria control program will be
effective in controlling the population of
legionella bacteria for the remainder of the
validation period.
At present, the draft standard requires
the legionella culture testa test that
requires a certified laboratory to conduct
the approximate 10-day test. The draft stan-
dard does not currently provide any options
for alternative legionella test methods.
However, there are technologies available:
polymer-chain reaction (PCR) and immu-
noassay. The qualitative PCR method,
Q-PCR, amplifies a synthetic DNA primer
molecule known as a probe labeled with a
fluorescent dye that binds to the Legionella
pneumophila bacteria3 with sensitivity simi-
lar to the standard culture method.
The KWR study showed that three
Q-PCR methods detected the same num-
ber of positive results as the standard culture
method. The immunoassay method showed
a positive correlation to the culture method.
The immunoassay test uses antibodies to
detect the legionella bacteria. One of the
commercially available immunoassay tests
is the Fastpath.4 Q-PCR tests are available
within 24 hours while immunoassay results
are available in less than an hour.
Bacteria testing. Industry has docu-
mented that the likelihood of detect-
ing legionella bacteria in cooling water
increases as the aerobic bacteria population
increases. The preferred control method is
to monitor aerobic bacteria population.
The most common test for aerobic bacte-
ria is a culture method on an agar media.
Operators examine the test results on a
daily basis and use the preliminary results
to adjust the biocide feedrate.
Alternatively, operators may use other
tests as a control method: adenosine tri-
phosphate (ATP) or biological activity
reaction test (BART). ATP methods use
bio-luminescence to measure the rela-
tive amount of live cells that may or may
not correlate to the results of the culture
method, depending on the species of bac-
teria and accuracy of the test method. The
BART methods use a nutrient media that
is specific to a category of bacteria (e.g.,
heterotrophic aerobic, slime-forming, fluo-
rescent Psuedomonads, etc.)
Conclusions. The legionella culture
method is the definitive measure of the
bacteria, but the delay in obtaining results
makes this method inappropriate as a rou-
FIG. 1 Legionella pneumophila bacteria.
tine control method. Newer technologies
for legionella testing, such as Q-PCR and
immunoassay-lack sufficient correlation to
the culture method and/or sensitivity to be
accepted as a standard method at this time.
The most common control method is a
culture of aerobic bacteria. However, many
plants are using supplemental methods
such as ATP or BART. All microbiologi-
cal methods have limitations in the non-
culturable species of bacteria and/or in
the correlation to population of legionella
bacteria. Plant personnel should carefully
consider the role of validation and controls
protocols in managing the risk of legionella
in their cooling towers. HP
LITERATURE CITED
1 Spain, United Kingdom, Holland, Singapore:
Quarterly testing as a minimum.
2 Draft Standard: CTI STD-159: Legionellosis
Related Practices for Evaporative Cooling Water
Systems, Cooling Technology Institute.
3 Oesterholt, F., D. van der Linde, B. Wullings,
and H. Veenendaal, A new method of screening
cooling water and process water for Legionella
pneumophila, KWR 2008.
4 Fastpathtrademark of Nalco Co., www.nalco.com.
The author is president of MarTech Systems, Inc.,
an engineering consulting firm that provides techni-
cal services to optimize water-related utility systems
in refineries and petrochemical plants. She holds a
BS degree in chemical engineering and is a licensed
professional engineer in New Jersey and Maryland.
She can be reached at: huchler@martechsystems.com.

122
I MAY 2011 HydrocarbonProcessing.com
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