Process Analytics in
Ethylene Production Plants
Ethylene
Ethylene is the largest volume
industrially produced organic mate-
rial. Current worldwide production
is about 95 Mio. t/year and is pro-
jected to increase for the foresee-
able future. A typical modern plant
· December 2007
produces in excess of 800000 t/year.
Feedstock to ethylene plants ranges
from light Ethane/Propane mix to
heavy naphta and vacuum gas oils.
Most plants are designed with raw
material flexibility in mind. Majority
of ethylene produced is used in the
production of polymers and ethyl-
ene derivatives such as ethylene
oxide and glycol. A typical ethylene
plant also makes a number of other
Case Study
important chemicals such as propy-
lene, butadiene and pyrolysis gaso-
line.
In the past years, Ethylene plants
have evolved into highly integrated,
highly flexible processing systems
that can profitably adjust to chang-
ing raw material availability and
market demands for Olefins prod-
ucts. Advanced process control
technologies are used in Olefins
plants and have greatly improved
products qualiy, plant efficiency and
resulted in quick payback of the
investment.
Typical process features of an ethyl-
ene process are short residence time
in the furnace, high selectivity, feed-
stock flexibility, operational reliabil-
ity and safety, easy start-up, and
energy efficiency.
Process analytics is a key issue for
process control by online monitor-
ing the various process streams in
ethylene and propylene production.
Process analytics maximizes yields
and ensures product quality specifi-
cations.
C3Split
TLE DeBut
Fuel Oil
Gasoline
Recycle
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© Siemens AG 2007
Ethylene production
Feed Cracking
Flue gas Flue gas
Pyrolysis furnace
The hydrocarbon molecules of the feed- 1.7 1.8
stock are cracked in the furnace (Fig. 2)
in the presence of a catalyst at high
Steam boiler
temperatures. Typically more than ten
furnaces are used in a single ethylene 1.6
plant. Most feedstocks are naphta or a Transfer line
mixture of ethane and methane. The Diluent exchanger
feed is mixed (diluted) with steam to steam
1.4
minimize the side reaction of forming
coke and to improve selectivity to pro-
duce the desired olefines by lowering Fresh Spaltofen
Furnace
hydrocarbon partial pressure. Cracking feed
1.1 1.2 1.5
is an endothermic reaction with heat to
supplied by side-wall or floor burners or quench tower
a combination of both, which use gas-
eous and/or liquid fuels.
1.3
The fundamental parameters of crack-
Recycle
ing furnaces are temperature and tem-
feed Fuel
perature profile, residence time of the
gas during cracking, and partial pres-
sure. Fig. 2: Feed and furnace section
Further processing of cracked gas, i.e. 1.5 Cracked gas at TLE exit CO 0 ... 200 ppm Cracking ULTRAMAT 23
NO (NO2) 0 ... 250 ppm control ULTRAMAT 23
separation into the desired products or OXYMAT 64
O2 0 ... 8 ppm
fractions, can be performed in many dif-
ferent sequences that depend on the 1.6 Boiler combustion O2 0 ... 10 % ZrO2 probe
feedstock type and the number and control
specification of the plant products. 1.7 Stack of steam CO 0 ... 0,5 % Emission ULTRAMAT 6
Many options are available with differ- boiler NOx 0 ... 0,1 % control ULTRAMAT 23
ent plant designs for cracked gas O2 0 ... 10 % OXYMAT 6
derived from gaseous or liquid fee- 1.8 Flue gas from CO In compli- Emission ULTRAMAT 6
stocks. For example: With pure ethane furnace NOx, SO2 ance with control ULTRAMAT 23
as feedstock, the amount of C3 and O2 regulations OXYMAT 6
heavier byproducts is small and their Table 1: Process analysis data (selection) in the feed and furnace section
recovery is not economically feasible, or
a significant content of propane in the
feedstock makes a depropanizer neces-
sary and butane feeds requires oil and
gasoline removal from the cracked gas.
Therefore, plants will differ from each
other and the following flow diagrams
of show only exemplary solutions!
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© Siemens AG 2007
Acid gases to
incineration or
recovery
to compression section Hydrogen rich
tail gas
3.1 3.3
3.3
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Acetylene hydrogenation
from
The DeEthanizer overhead is heated and refrigeration
4.1 H 2 rich tail gas
hydrogen is added to convert acetylene Cold Methane rich tail gas
to ethylene and ethane (hyrogenation). box
box
PSA 4.2
The effluent contains less than 1 ppm of DeMethanizer
DeMethanizer
acetylene, and traces of methane and Recycle
Recycle
hydrogen. DeEthanizer
DeEthanizer
C2 4.5
Ethylene fractionator from
Hydrierung
refrigeration Hydrogenation
(C2 splitter)
C2Split
C2Split Ethylene
After acethylene removal, the dried gas 4.7
enters an ethylene-ethane separator DePropanizer
DePropanizer
(ethylene fractionator or C2 splitter). 4.3 C3 4.9
Ethylene product is gained here while
ethane being recycled. C3+ C3Split
C4 material
DePropanizer from 4.4
C4+ 4.11
The condensate stripper and the DeEth- refrigeration
Propylene fractionator
(C3 splitter)
The overhead of the DePropanizer is 4.10
C5+
sent to the propylene fractionator
(C3 splitter) for further processing. Benzin
Gasoline
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© Siemens AG 2007
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© Siemens AG 2007
Fig. 8: Series 6 gas analyzer (field design) Fig. 9: LDS 6 in-situ laser gas analyzer
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© Siemens AG 2007
Our solutions
Analytical solutions are always driven We rely on many years of world-wide
by the customer´s requirements. We experience in process automation and
offer an integrated design covering all engineering and a collection of special-
Fig. 11: MicroSAM Process GC
steps from sampling point and sample ized knowledge in key industries and
preparation up to complete analyser industrial sectors. We provide Siemens
cabinets or for installation in analyser quality from a single source with a func-
shelters (fig. 14). This includes also sig- tion warranty for the entire system.
nal processing and communications to Read more in "Our Services“.
the control room and process control
system.
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© Siemens AG 2007
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© Siemens AG 2007
Case Study
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