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May 2017
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CONTENTS
May 2017 Volume 22 Number 05 ISSN 1468-9340
03 Comment 51 Protective spray
Stuart Milton, Metallisation Ltd, UK, explains how thermal sprayed
05 Guest Comment aluminium coatings can help to protect vital equipment against corrosion.
07 World News 155 Out of this world
14 Quick to adapt Stephen Karns, HarbisonWalker International, USA, discusses how
Currently, lots of changes are occurring in the North American refining petrochemical reformer efficiency can be improved with high emissivity
sector. Contributing Editor, Gordon Cope, examines how US Gulf Coast coatings that were originally designed for rocket nozzles.
refiners are making the most of them. 59 Rediscovering rupture discs
19 Bidding to innovate Orhan Karagöz, Rembe, Turkey, examines the isolation and protection
Jim Ondyak, Dorf Ketal, USA, discusses how companies can change of safety valves using rupture discs on the upstream and downstream
suppliers between bidding events, taking advantage of technical connections.
innovation and boosting profitability. 63 Unconventional thinking pays off
25 Lean and mean Volker Becker, MAN PrimeServ (MAN Diesel & Turbo), Germany, discusses
Marina Ivanova and Matt Adams, Douglas-Westwood, UK, an equipment turnaround and upgrading case study for a refinery in
explain why a leaner downstream maintenance market is experiencing Romania.
renewed activity. 68 Getting creative
28 The devil is in the detail Sean Phillips, FS-Elliott, USA, reviews the commissioning of a customised
Valentin Kotlomin and Ekaterina Kalinenko, Euro Petroleum Consultants, compressed air solution for a Middle Eastern oil refinery, and the
Russia, examine the thought process behind a development programme recommendations for reducing project and maintenance costs while
created for a refinery upgrade. increasing system efficiency.
32 The challenge of change 73 What to expect
Rainer Pittnauer, Intergraph® Process Power & Marine, Austria, discusses Fernando Romero and Matt Walton, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
the challenge of change management, and how modern engineering Compressor International, USA, examine the effects of impeller
technology can assist. manufacturing tolerances on compressor efficiency.
37 Reliability is king 79 A delicate task
Philip McCusker, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, UK, explains how Massimiliano Di Febo and Pasquale Paganini, IPC, Italy, discuss how
advanced data analytics has helped gas processing plants improve advanced software can assist operators in achieving highly accurate
reliability and maximise operating efficiency. compressor performance predictions.
41 Mindful maintenance 84 A renewed interest
Jake Davies, Emerson Automation Solutions, Permasense Technologies, Ben Williams, Ariel Corporation, outlines the important role that
explains how monitoring corrosion in a sour water stripping unit enables reciprocating compressors play in renewable hydrocarbon diesel facilities.
a refinery to plan maintenance activities, avoiding unplanned outages and 189 Competitive edge
increasing availability and reliability. Greg Brumfield and Tony Slapikas, AMETEK Process Instruments, USA,
45 Environmentally minded outline how mass spectrometry determines flare gas heat values.
Dr. Wolfgang Hater, Christian zum Kolk and Ingo Königs, Kurita 193 Fast and precise
Europe GmbH, Germany, discuss the growing movement towards Thomas Knight, Orbital Gas Systems, USA, examines an option for
environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors that are zinc-free and providing continuous LNG sampling, vaporisation, conditioning and
contain minimum amounts of phosphorous. analysis on LNG applications.
198 LNG on the rise in Russia
Inessa Shahnazarova and Ekaterina Vankova, Vostock Capital, Russia,
present the findings of a recent study into the latest developments in the
Russian LNG industry.
104 15 facts
This month we give you 15 facts about refining!
THIS “Change is the only constant” said ancient
MONTH'S
philosopher Heraclitus, over 2000 years ago. Still
today, many owner operators (OOs) struggle with
change and how to manage it efficiently. Rainer
FRONT Pittnauer of Intergraph® Process, Power & Marine

discusses the challenge of change management,
COVER
and how modern engineering technology can help
in this issue on p. 32.
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follow connect like join prior permission of the copyright owner. All views expressed in this journal are those of the respective contributors and are not
@HydrocarbonEng Hydrocarbon Hydrocarbon Hydrocarbon necessarily the opinions of the publisher, neither do the publishers endorse any of the claims made in the articles or the
Engineering Engineering Engineering advertisements. Printed in the UK. Uncaptioned images courtesy of www.shutterstock.com.
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COMMENT
CONTACT INFO CALLUM O'REILLY
EDITOR
B
MANAGING EDITOR James Little
[email protected] ack in March, I had the pleasure of
EDITOR Callum O'Reilly
attending the 115th American Fuel &
[email protected] Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM)
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Francesca Brindle Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas,
[email protected] US. While it’s safe to say that the global oil and
ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Rod Hardy gas industry is currently in a state of flux, the
[email protected] atmosphere at the Annual Meeting was largely optimistic. The Trump administration’s
ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Chris Atkin ‘America First Energy Plan’ seems to have filled the US petroleum refining and
[email protected] petrochemical manufacturing industries with a degree of hope for the future. You
ADVERTISEMENT EXECUTIVE Will Powell can get a good sense of this optimism by simply turning to the next page of this
[email protected] magazine. In an exclusive Guest Comment for Hydrocarbon Engineering, the President
ADVERTISEMENT EXECUTIVE David Ramsden and CEO of the AFPM, Chet Thompson, offers his insight into the current state
[email protected] of the US market and the AFPM’s expectations for the future under a Republican
ADVERTISEMENT EXECUTIVE Dmitry Oleynik government.
[email protected] Although an air of quiet optimism may be resonating from the US downstream
DIGITAL ASSISTANT EDITOR Angharad Lock sector at the moment, the industry is fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
[email protected]
In his Guest Comment, Mr Thompson is quick to mention the proposed Border
PRODUCTION Ben Munro Adjustment Tax provision, which is continuing to cause concern for refiners,
[email protected]
particularly those serving the domestic market.
WEB MANAGER Tom Fullerton Compounding these concerns, an analyst with Wood Mackenzie believes that
[email protected]
US gasoline demand is nearing its peak, and is set to decline in the long-term due to
SUBSCRIPTIONS Laura White “stringent fuel efficiency standards and shifting demographics.”1 Speaking at the AFPM
[email protected]
Annual Meeting, Andrew Shepard forecast that US gasoline demand would decline by
ADMINISTRATION Nicola Fuller over 1.5 million bpd by 2030, which will move the country closer to a gasoline surplus.
[email protected]
Shepard contends that US refiners will need to start looking for new export markets
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS beside Mexico and Latin America, with Asia Pacific offering an attractive option. He
Nancy Yamaguchi Gordon Cope
believes that US Gulf Coast refiners will be competitive enough to ship into Asia,
although exporting into this market could bring down gasoline prices.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Annual subscription £110 UK including postage However, Wood Mackenzie holds that the situation will be more complicated for
/£125 overseas (postage airmail). refiners in the Midwest and East Coast. As demand declines, PADD II is set to move
Two year discounted rate £176 UK
including postage/£200 overseas (postage airmail).
into a gasoline surplus. Shepard argues that the outlet for this surplus will be key
to the fortunes of Midwest refiners: “If PADD II must push into PADD III to clear the
SUBSCRIPTION CLAIMS
Claims for non receipt of issues must be made within 3 months of surplus, Midwest gasoline pricing would be severely depressed […] To avoid drastic
publication of the issue or they will not be honoured without charge. shutdowns, Midwest refiners must gain increased access to the higher-priced PADD I
APPLICABLE ONLY TO USA & CANADA market.” East Coast refineries, which are already at a disadvantage as they have to pay
Hydrocarbon Engineering (ISSN No: 1468-9340, USPS No: 020-998) is
published monthly by Palladian Publications Ltd GBR and distributed for imports, face an uphill battle. Shepard believes that approximately half of refining
in the USA by Asendia USA, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831.
Periodicals postage paid New Brunswick, NJ and additional mailing
capacity on the East Coast will be shut down in the forecast period, as gasoline prices
offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to HYDROCARBON decline across the Atlantic Basin in the wake of new exports from the US Gulf Coast.
ENGINEERING, 701C Ashland Ave, Folcroft PA 19032
However, he warns that even more East Coast capacity could be at risk if competition
from PADD II is greater than expected or if new capacity is added from PADD III.
In this issue of Hydrocarbon Engineering, Contributing Editor, Gordon Cope,
15 South Street, Farnham, Surrey examines the opportunities and challenges for refiners on the US Gulf Coast (p. 14).
GU9 7QU, ENGLAND And in the build up to the AFPM’s Reliability & Maintenance Conference & Exhibition,
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 718 999 this issue includes a number of articles looking at the downstream maintenance
Fax: +44 (0) 1252 718 992 market, plant upgrades and asset integrity.
1. SHEPARD, A., 'What happens to US refineries when demand declines', Wood Mackenzie,
presented at the AFPM Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, US (March 2017), https://www.
woodmac.com/reports/refining-and-oil-products-what-happens-to-us-refineries-when-demand-
declines-46278045
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GUEST COMMENT
CHET THOMPSON
PRESIDENT & CEO, AMERICAN FUEL & PETROCHEMICAL
MANUFACTURERS (AFPM)
W
hat a difference a year makes. From With the goal of
a change in administration to a new improving public
Congress, the petroleum refining and infrastructure and
petrochemical manufacturing industries lifting restrictions
have every reason to be optimistic. – sound energy
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) policies can finally
predicts that through the middle of the 21 st Century, be put back on the table.
petroleum products will continue to supply more In addition, Congress has taken crucial steps to
than a third of US energy demand – and more than rollback aggressive regulations. The Midnight Relief
40% of global energy demand. US refineries are Act, the REINS Act, and the Regulatory Accountability
among the most competitive Act will bring back faith
in the world. They supplied in the US economy.
more than 225 billion gal. of President Trump’s freeze on
transportation, heating, and new or pending regulations
other fuels to consumers in The AFPM supports will scale back years of a
the US, as well as in Latin comprehensive tax regulatory legacy that put
America, Europe, Africa and our security and prosperity
Asia. The rapid growth in oil reform, but refiners second. The REINS Act will
production creates thousands are concerned that a require agencies to get
of high-paying jobs and Congressional and Executive
decreases the US’ dependency border-adjusted approval before enacting
on foreign supplies. tax could have ‘major rules’. In simple terms,
A decade ago, we it will ensure that large
imported 12.4 million bpd of considerable actions taken by agencies
crude and refined products. In impacts on the are responsible, fair, and
2016, that number was slashed economically sound.
to only 4.8 billion bpd – the industry, consumers Along with regulatory
lowest since 1985. In fact, in and the economy. reform, it is time that
the latter part of 2016, for the the government executes
first time ever, we exported sensible, pro-growth tax
more crude and refined reform. At the forefront of
products to Latin America this issue is the proposed
than we imported from the region. Border Adjustment Tax provision. The AFPM supports
Simply put, we are the world’s refiner. comprehensive tax reform, but refiners are concerned
While I am hopeful about the state of the that a border-adjusted tax could have considerable
industry, I am also realistic about the work that impacts on the industry, consumers and the economy.
needs to be done to ensure growth continues at the We hope to work closely with the House Ways
current rate. Cutting back on the red tape and abusive and Means Committee to implement the best plan
regulations needs to go hand-in-hand with tax reform forward.
to guarantee that the US oil and gas industries remain At the American Fuel & Petrochemical
competitive, and able to keep up with demand. Manufacturers Association, we are proud to serve
The America First Energy Plan is a primary example the American people. For 115 years, we have made
of how both Congress and the new administration progress possible, and we don’t plan on slowing down
can work to promote business and economic growth. now.
HYDROCARBON 5 May 2017

ENGINEERING
WORLD NEWS
GE Oil & Gas awarded LNG project
USA | Williams
USA |
contract Partners to sell
interests in Geismar
N extDecade LLC has entered into
an agreement with GE Oil & Gas
to advance its LNG export projects
to invest up to a specified amount
in project-level equity and debt
financing for Rio Grande LNG at the
olefins facility
and associated pipelines in Texas.
GE Oil & Gas has been selected
as the exclusive supplier of gas
time of final investment decision
(FID).
NextDecade also recently
W illiams Partners L.P. has agreed
to sell 100% of its membership
interest in Williams Olefins LLC,
turbine and compressor equipment announced that it had entered into which owns an 88.46% undivided
for the liquefaction trains of the a definitive merger agreement with ownership interest in the Geismar,
Rio Grande LNG project and the Harmony Merger Corp. The Louisiana, olefins plant and associated
associated Rio Bravo Pipeline. proposed merger is expected to complex, to NOVA Chemicals for
In addition to technology and close in late 2Q17. Consummation US$2.1 billion in cash, subject to
services, GE Oil & Gas is providing of the proposed merger will result customary closing conditions.
NextDecade with a common equity in NextDecade becoming a publicly Upon closing of the transaction,
investment, and is granted the right listed company. Williams Partners' subsidiaries will
enter into long-term supply and
transportation agreements with NOVA
Chemicals to provide feedstock to the
Bechtel to deliver petrochemicals
Egypt | Geismar olefins plant via Williams
Partners’ Bayou ethane pipeline system
project in the US Gulf Coast.
These agreements secure a
B echtel has been awarded two

contracts by Carbon Holdings
of Egypt: one to provide project
and procure all the equipment and
materials for the polypropylene
production expansion at the
meaningful long-term fee-based
revenue stream for the partnership.
Williams Partners plans to use the
management services for the Tahrir complex's existing Oriental cash proceeds from the Williams
Petrochemicals Complex at Petrochemicals site. Olefins transaction to pay off its
Ain Sokhna, Egypt, and one to build Basil El Baz, the Chairman and US$850 million term loan and to fund
two new polypropylene units at an CEO of Carbon Holdings, said: "We a portion of the capital and
adjacent site. In its project are very pleased to be working investment expenditures that are a
management role, Bechtel will have with Bechtel. The selection of a part of the partnership’s extensive
oversight of project execution and world-class contractor is critical to growth portfolio. Williams expects
contractor performance on what ensuring the successful delivery of that for federal tax purposes, any
will be the largest petrochemicals a facility as large and as taxable gain generated from the
complex in Egypt. complicated as Tahrir transaction will be sheltered by its
Bechtel will also design, build Petrochemicals." net operating loss carry-forwards.
India | Reliance commissions ethane project
R eliance Industries Ltd has

announced the successful
completion of its ethane project,
integration of several elements
across a complex infrastructure
value chain. This includes securing
of ethane receipt and handling
facilities; laying pipelines and
upgrading crackers (to receive
including commissioning of its ethane refrigeration capacity in ethane) at its Dahej, Hazira and
ethane receipt and handling the US Gulf Coast; delivery of Nagothane manufacturing
facilities and ethane cracking, at its dedicated very large ethane facilities.
Dahej Manufacturing Facility in carriers (VLECs) to carry ethane The execution of this project at
Gujarat in less than three years. from the US Gulf Coast to the this scale and magnitude is a world
The project involved seamless West Coast of India; construction first.

ENGINEERING
WORLD NEWS
IN BRIEF Air Liquide to supply hydrogen
USA |
purification PSA unit

OMV has announced that it has
A ir Liquide Engineering and
Construction will supply a
hydrogen purification pressure swing
as the technology provider for the
methanol plant. A year later, it was
contracted to supply oxygen for its
invested approximately €110 million
adsorption (PSA) unit to one of the world-scale methanol manufacturing
for a planned turnaround at
largest methanol production complex. Air Liquide Engineering &
the petrochemical units of its
facilities to be built by Yuhuang Construction also provides detailed
Schwechat refinery. There will
Chemical Inc. (YCI) in St. James Parish, engineering and procurement
be a comprehensive, routine
Louisiana. services for the complex.
safety inspection, carried out in
Purified hydrogen will enable Construction of the methanol
cooperation with TÜV Österreich.
higher efficiency of methanol complex has begun this year, with
This turnaround is mandatory and
production, with less natural gas the first phase of the methanol
is held once every six years. The
consumption per ton of methanol. project beginning operations by late
2017 turnaround will take place in
In 2014, Air Liquide was selected 2019.
parallel with the turnaround at the
neighbouring Borealis plant.
 China | CB&I announces technology award

Vopak and Exmar have released a
C
joint statement confirming that
B&I has been awarded a contract Lummus Global (CLG) hydrocracking
Vopak will not be pursuing its
by Zhejiang Petroleum and units for the project. CLG is a joint
proposed acquisition of Exmar's
Chemical Co. Ltd (ZPC) for the venture between Chevron and CB&I.
participation in floating storage
license and engineering design of a "CB&I appreciates the
regasification unit (FSRU) assets.
single train 220 000 tpy diphenyl opportunity to provide an additional
The two companies previously
carbonate (DPC) unit, based on technology to ZPC's complex in
announced a conditional agreement
Versalis technology, for a refining and China, making it the largest single
on the deal in December 2016.
petrochemical complex in China. train DPC plant in the world," said
Finalisation of the deal was subject
CB&I previously announced the Philip K. Asherman, President and
to consent and cooperation of
CDAlky® license and two Chevron Chief Executive Officer of CB&I.
multiple stakeholders.

Fluor Corp. has been selected by
a division of Marathon Petroleum Neste Jacobs wins refinery
Czech Republic |
Corp. to execute the engineering energy study contract
and procurement scope for a major
N
reconfiguration at Marathon’s este Jacobs has been awarded a integration of the process. This is
Galveston Bay and Texas City contract to perform a combined with fired heater
refineries. The reconfiguration comprehensive energy efficiency optimisation to maximise the
will allow the two refineries to study of Unipetrol's Litvinov oil benefits. The study also includes
achieve updated US Environmental refinery in the Czech Republic. waste water optimisation
Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 3 The energy efficiency study will assessment to minimise the water
gasoline sulfur standards. The be performed by utilising Neste usage and recycling of waste water.
scope of the contract includes a Jacobs' proprietary NAPCON energy Meanwhile, Neste has
new unit, modernisation of several performance analysis. announced that it has started to
existing units, and modifications to The study will review existing distribute its Pro Diesel in its
the utilities and offsites to support energy consumption and Estonian station network.
the scheduled process changes and production within the refinery Distribution will start with four
refinery connections. process units. This includes stations and will be expanded
pinch-analysis to identify throughout May to cover 20 Neste
opportunities to improve heat stations in Estonia.
May 2017 8 HYDROCARBON

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WORLD NEWS
IN BRIEF ExxonMobil and SABIC select
USA |
San Patricio County

ClearSign has received a follow-on order
from a refinery based in California. The
E xxonMobil Chemical Company
and SABIC have each announced
the selection of a site in San Patricio
The proposed project, one of 11
that ExxonMobil announced as part
of its 10 year, US$20 billion 'Growing
order follows DuplexTM technology's County, Texas for potential the Gulf' initiative, is expected to
successful pilot project. In this project, development of a jointly owned create thousands of jobs during the
ClearSign retrofitted the company's petrochemical complex on the US construction phase, as well as 600
vertical cylindrical refinery heater Gulf Coast. new, full-time jobs and 3500 indirect
with its technology to comply with air The proposed multibillion dollar jobs during operations. It is also
emissions requirements. After the retrofit, investment would include a expected to generate more than
independent testing conducted by a world-scale ethane steam cracker US$22 billion in economic output
third-party confirmed NOX single digit capable of producing 1.8 million tpy during the construction phase and
emissions. of ethylene, which would feed a more than US$50 billion in economic
monoethylene glycol unit and two output during the first six years of
 polyethylene units. operations.
Global Bioenergies has succeeded in
producing isobutene by fermentation at
the scale of the Leuna Demo plant, with Parkland to acquire Chevron
Canada |
run length and performances exceeding
those performed on the pilot plant in Canada's downstream fuel business
Pomacle, France. Success in this phase of
the process' scale up was obtained less
than five months after start-up of the P arkland Fuel Corp. has entered
into an agreement with Chevron
Canada Ltd (CCL) to acquire all of the
Vancouver; 37 commercial cardlock
and three marine fuelling locations;
as well as a complimentary refinery
fermentation unit at the Leuna Demo
plant. shares of Chevron Canada R&M ULC, in Burnaby, terminals located in
which operates its Canadian Burnaby, Hatch Point, and Port Hardy,
 integrated downstream fuel business.
The acquisition places important
B.C., and a wholesale business that
includes aviation fuel sales to the
Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co.
(ZPC) has awarded and signed contracts
British Columbia (B.C.) infrastructure Vancouver International Airport.
for the engineering, technology license
under experienced Canadian Subject to satisfaction of
and proprietary equipment for a MECS®
ownership. customary closing conditions,
sulfuric acid regeneration unit, licensed
The business acquired as part of Parkland will pay approximately
by DuPont Clean Technologies. ZPC is
the acquisition consists of CAN$1.46 billion, plus an estimated
constructing a greenfield refinery and
129 Chevron-branded retail service CAN$186 million in working capital
petrochemical project on Dayushan Island.
stations principally located in Metro for the acquired business.
The US$15 billion project is the largest
privately led project in China’s history, and
will be executed in two phases; the first Nikkiso Co. Ltd to acquire Cryogenic
Japan |
coming online in 2018.
Industries

The US Department of Energy (DOE)
has signed an order authorising Golden
N ikkiso Co. Ltd has agreed to
acquire the business and
trademarks of Cryogenic Industries
regulatory approvals.
Cryogenic Industries aligns with
Nikkiso’s philosophy of operating
Pass Products LLC to export up to
2.21 billion ft3/d of LNG to countries that
Inc. and Cryogenic Industries AG. each of its product companies as a
do not have a free trade agreement (FTA)
The deal will include all of the distinct entity, while utilising the
with the US. The LNG will be exported
company’s operations, including synergy of service capabilities and
from the company's Golden Pass Terminal
ACD, Cosmodyne and Cryoquip, as logistics across all product groups.
near Sabine Pass, Jefferson County, Texas.
well as their respective subsidiaries. Cryogenic Industries also adds
The acquisition is expected to additional service centres to
close mid-2017, subject to Nikkiso's global service network.

ENGINEERING
INNOVATION
YORK-EVENFLOW
vane inlet device
Engineered for reliability.

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shortfalls. For compact separators used in the liquefaction section of an LNG plant, feed distribution is a
critical component of the overall separator design.
Implementing the reliable YORK-EVENFLOW vane
inlet device in combination with the DEMISTER-PLUS
mist eliminator provides multiple benefits to your
separations application.
• Integrated support structures increase mechanical strength
and allow installation through vessel manways.
• Multiple welded vane ladders provide greater rigidity.
• Engineered to your specifications for vertical or horizontal
vessels, YORK-EVENFLOW vane inlet devices separate
liquid away from mist eliminators and prevent
re-entrainment of droplets from the sump.
• Applied in a high energy vapor stream entering through
a radial inlet, the YORK-EVENFLOW vane inlet
device decreases the momentum, facilitates the phase
disengagement, and provides good vapor distribution.
No vane inlet device. With YORK-EVENFLOW

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WORLD NEWS
DIARY DATES IGU | Growth in LNG supply projects
16 - 19 May
International Downstream Week
T he International Gas Union’s (IGU)
2017 ‘World LNG Report’ notes a
significant growth in LNG supply
commercial operations in Australia
Pacific LNG, among others.
The most pronounced increase in
Dubrovnik, Croatia
projects in 2016, as well as increases in LNG demand comes from Asian
www.europetro.com
demand for LNG as a fuel from new markets, with China’s LNG
and existing markets across the globe. consumption increasing by
23 - 26 May Global LNG trade in 2016 climbed approximately 35% to 27 million tpy.
AFPM Reliability & Maintenance Conference &
5% from 2015 to reach a record Global liquefaction capacity
Exhibition
New Orleans, Louisiana, US
258 million t. This increase is reached 339.7 million tpy in 2016. This
www.afpm.org/conferences noticeable when compared with the growth includes new projects such as
average 0.5% growth rate of the Sabine Pass LNG, as well as Gorgon
previous four years. The IGU LNG and Australia Pacific LNG. Global
12 - 14 June
ILTA 37th International Operating Conference &
attributes the growth to a significant liquefaction capacity is expected to
Trade Show increase in new supply, due largely to grow significantly over the next few
Houston, Texas, US the start of exports from the US Gulf years, with 114.6 million tpy of capacity
www.ilta.org/aocts of Mexico, as well as the start of under construction as of January 2017.
13 - 15 June API | US petroleum demand increases

Global Petroleum Show
T
Calgary, Alberta, Canada he American Petroleum Institute down 1.7% from March 2016 to average
www.globalpetroleumshow.com
(API) reports that total petroleum 9.2 million bpd.
deliveries in March 2017 climbed 0.2% US crude oil production decreased
20 - 21 June on the corresponding period of last 0.2% from March 2016 to average
ERTC: Ask the Experts year to average nearly 19.7 million bpd. 9.2 million bpd. NGL production was
Cologne, Germany
These were the highest March up from the prior month and the prior
asktheexperts.wraconferences.com
deliveries since 2008. first quarter, but was down from the
In 1Q17, total domestic petroleum prior year, averaging 3.4 million bpd.
9 - 13 July deliveries were up 0.4% compared with US total petroleum imports in
22nd World Petroleum Congress
1Q16 to average 19.5 million bpd. March averaged nearly 10 million bpd.
Istanbul, Turkey
www.22wpc.com
Gasoline deliveries in March were Total petroleum imports were down
up from the prior month, but down 3.8% from the prior month, and down
from the prior year, and the prior first 0.1% compared with the prior year.
12- 14 September
quarter. Total motor gasoline deliveries Total petroleum imports were up 4.4%
Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia
Houston, Texas, US
increased 4.3% from February, but were in 1Q17 compared with 1Q16.
tps.tamu.edu
Chinese crude imports from non-OPEC
EIA |
17 - 19 September
Abu Dhabi International Downstream Summit countries
Abu Dhabi, UAE
adid.wraconferences.com
C hina is the world’s largest net
importer of crude oil, and in
recent years its crude oil imports have
and 2016. Leading non-OPEC suppliers
included Russia (14% of total imports),
Oman (9%), and Brazil (5%).
6 - 9 November
Sulphur 2017 increasingly come from countries On an average annual basis, China’s
Atlanta, Georgia, US outside the Organization of the crude oil imports increased by
www.sulphurconference.com Petroleum Exporting Countries 2.2 million bpd between 2012 and
(OPEC). While OPEC countries still 2016, and the non-OPEC countries’
11 - 15 June 2018 made up most (57%) of China’s share increased from 34% to 43% over
ACHEMA 2018 7.6 million bpd of crude oil imports in the period. Market shares for China’s
Frankfurt, Germany 2016, crude oil from non-OPEC top three non-OPEC suppliers (Russia,
www.achema.de countries accounted for 65% of the Oman, and Brazil), all increased over
growth in its imports between 2012 these years.

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Currently, lots of changes are occurring in the North American
refining sector. Contributing Editor, Gordon Cope, examines
how US Gulf Coast refiners are making the most of them.
Quick
to
adapt
ENGINEERING
T
he US has the capacity to produce 19 million bpd There has also been a 3 million bpd surge of light tight
of fuel and associated products. Slightly over half oil (LTO) coming from unconventional shale oil production.
that (9.8 million bpd) is located in Petroleum USGC refineries have accommodated increased purchases
Administration for Defense Districts (PADD) III of domestic LTO by reducing purchases of imported light
district, which includes the Gulf States of Texas, Louisiana, oil. This has been a costless way of absorbing increased
Mississippi and Alabama. domestic production, but other approaches are being
One of the most eventful changes over the last several considered in order to optimise profitability.
years is the evolving mix of refinery feedstock in the Low cost refinery modifications include
US Gulf Coast (USGC). Traditionally, refiners have relied on de-bottlenecking, such as replacing gathering trays and
a blend of lighter domestic crude, lighter imported crude, condenser units needed to collect the larger volumes of
and heavy stocks delivered by tanker from Mexico and lighter distillation products at the top of the atmospheric
Venezuela. distillation unit (ADU) column. More expensive options
Over the last several years, however, changes have include capacity expansion; increasing ADU capacity,
occurred. While Mexico and Venezuelan imports have secondary processing capacity, and integrated projects that
dropped due to decreases in output in their respective include both ADU and secondary modules.
countries, Canadian heavy crude from the oilsands has Refiners are analysing the opportunities and adjusting
increased dramatically due to the recent completion and accordingly. ExxonMobil, for instance, is expanding output
repurposing of various pipelines that allow product to flow at its 345 000 bpd refinery in Beaumont, Texas. The
from PADD II terminals to the Gulf. Some of the projects expansion consists of two separate projects. The first, due
include the Seaway Twin Pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma, for completion in 2018, involves the installation of a
to the Enterprise Crude Houston (ECHO) terminal in Texas, 40 000 bpd SCANfining unit (short for selective
and, hence, to numerous destinations along the coast. cat-naphtha hydrofining) that will produce gasoline that
Clearwater Beach, Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico.

ENGINEERING
meets the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) need for a more comprehensive process safety
Tier 3 gasoline sulfur specifications. In addition, ExxonMobil management system in the US to protect worker safety,
is adding a 20 000 bpd module that will allow it to process public health, and the environment."
light crudes from US shale. The latter project is expected Although refiners have not suffered as badly as
to be operational by late 2017. producers in the recent downturn, their profits are
In late 2016, US refiners set a gasoline production diminishing. According to Muse, Stancil & Co., 3Q16
record of 10.5 million bpd. Since domestic use has been margins averaged US$13.25/bbl for Midwest refiners,
stagnant, refiners have been exporting over 1 million bpd. US$14.61/bbl for West Coast refiners, US$8.54/bbl for
Over half of the exports, some 600 000 bpd, originate in Gulf Coast refiners, and US$3.31/bbl for East Coast
PADD III Gulf Coast facilities. refiners1. In the same time frame for 2015, refining margins
USGC refiners are using their proximity to Latin were US$24.12/bbl, US$25.68/bbl, US$12.62/bbl, and
America to deliver increasing amounts of fuel to countries US$6.88/bbl, respectively.
that lack capacity to meet domestic needs. Mexico is a The lower margins are reflected in lower profits.
case in point; while Pemex, the state-owned monopoly, Valero Energy Corp., for instance, reported a net income
has 1.6 million bpd refining capacity, chronic of US$645 million for 3Q16, less than half (US$1.4 billion)
underinvestment in recent years has resulted in outages reported in 3Q15. Analysts and operators largely blame
and decreased efficiencies to the point where it only the cost of renewable identification numbers (RINs) for
produces approximately 330 000 bpd of gasoline, less than lower returns.
half the daily consumption of 820 000 bbls. Most of the EPA regulations under the Renewable Fuel Standard
shortfall of 490 000 bpd is made up from USGC refiners, (RFS) programme stipulate a renewable volume obligation
who shipped slightly under 400 000 bpd in late 2016. (RVO), a percentage of renewable fuel that must be
Most of the shipments arrive at the port of Tuxpan, blended into fuel that is sold to US consumers. The RVO
Vecacruz, on Mexico’s east coast. The increased traffic has quota increases every year under statutory mandates. If a
placed a heavy strain on Pemex’s existing import refinery cannot meet its RVO by directly blending
infrastructure. Fortunately, the country has passed renewables into its fuels, it must purchase RINs, which are
legislation to de-monopolise the oil and gas sector, and credits attached to each gallon of renewable fuel
private entities are now stepping into the breech. In produced. In 2016, refiners paid approximately
August 2016, TransCanada announced it was joining a US$2.2 billion for RIN credits, pushing many refineries to
consortium with Mexico-based Sierra Oil and Gas and the point of bankruptcy.
marine shipper Grupo TMM to build a US$800 million Further complicating the matter, the RFS also requires
project that includes offloading and storage facilities in the inclusion of cellulosic biofuels (essentially ethanol
Tuxpan, and a 265 km pipeline to the interior town of Tula produced from the non-food portions of plants, such as
(located north of Mexico City) capable of handling corn husks). The original statutes called for the inclusion
100 000 bpd of fuel. of 4.25 billion gal. by 2016, but the EPA, recognising that
Howard Midstream is also building the Dos Aguilas the biofuel sector did not have enough capacity to meet
project, a 287 mile, 12 in. pipeline that will carry refined the mandated target, used its waiver authority to reduce
products from Corpus Christi, Texas to Nuevo Laredo, the amount to 230 million gal. In late 2016, the American
Tamaulipas, and Monterrey in northern Mexico. The Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) calculated
project, which is expected to be in service by mid-2018, will that the biofuel sector was only able to deliver
include 1.2 million bbls of storage. Nustar Logistics and approximately 174 – 190 million gal., 40 – 56 million short
Pemex are building a refined products line from Edinburg, of the target. Since the shortfall by third-parties would
Texas, to Pemex’s Burgos gas plant near Reynosa, Mexico. require refiners to buy cellulosic RINs worth up to
The 10 in. line will be 46 miles in length. US$75 million for ‘phantom fuel’, the AFPM petitioned the
EPA to grant a partial supplemental waiver in an amount
Challenges equal to the shortfall.
Safety continues to be a major concern at refineries. In Although the sulfur content of transportation and
late November 2016, a fire broke out at a compressor in heating fuels has been declining for several years due to
ExxonMobil’s 502 000 bpd refinery in Baton Rouge, federal and state mandates, new international regulations
Louisiana. Six people were injured. In August, a fire broke on limits are set to take effect in 2020. The fuel market
out at Motiva Enterprises 227 000 bpd refinery in for large marine vessels represents a significant
St James Paris, Louisiana. It occurred in the H-Oil unit; percentage of refinery output. The International Maritime
emergency crews quickly contained the incident, with no Organization (IMO) is now calling for allowable sulfur
injuries reported. In April, Houston Refining reported a fire limits in bunker fuel to be reduced from 2.5% by weight
in the coker at its 268 000 bpd refinery located in the (approximately 25 000 ppm) to 0.5% (500 ppm).
Houston Ship Channel. The fire was quickly extinguished, While refiners can add new sulfur-removing modules
and no injuries were reported. to clean up bunker fuels, it is a costly proposition, and
The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) called for greater one in which the payoff is uncertain. Owners that operate
diligence. It noted: "Despite some positive initial steps ships in coastal waters (such as ferries and cruise ships)
toward improvement in process safety management at the have been adding scrubbers to their vessels in order to
federal level, CSB investigations have emphasised the meet obligations, while still using bunker fuel. Other

ENGINEERING
Latest News
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RIDING THE OIL PRICE ROLLER COASTER XXXJOUFSHSBQIDPNHPDBEXPSY

Michael Hinton, Allegro Development, questions whether the oil price volatility
will persist in 2017 and continue to cause shock to the petrochemical sector?

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www.hydrocarbonengineering.com FRXQWULHV$XWR&$'LVDUHJLVWHUHGWUDGHPDUNRI$XWRGHVN,QF%ULFV&$'LVD
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CVR Energy refineries, has publicly called for the reform
Associated petrochemical projects of the renewable fuel credits.
The USGC is also undergoing a rapid expansion of its On inauguration day in January 2017, the White House
petrochemicals sector. Both oil and chemical released the America First Energy Plan, which stated: "For
companies are taking advantage of inexpensive natural too long, we’ve been held back by burdensome
gas and abundant ethane supplies to build new regulations on our energy industry, President Trump is
capacity. According to the US EIA, domestic ethylene committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary
nameplate capacity stood at approximately policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters
29 million tpy in 2012 of the US rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help
Between 2013 and 2015, a series of 15 projects American workers, increasing wages by more than
involving capacity expansions, feedstock conversions or US$30 billion over the next seven years.” The plan intends
restarts added approximately 2 million tpy nameplate to leverage the US$50 trillion worth of hydrocarbons on
capacity (and 140 000 bpd ethane throughput capacity) federal land to help pay for infrastructure.
to the industry. They include Dow Chemical’s restart of It also indicated that the administration will focus the
the Hahnville, Louisiana plant, LyondellBasell’s EPA on its primary mission of protecting the nation’s air
expansion at LaPorte, Texas, and Westlake Chemical’s and water: “Protecting clean air and clean water,
feedstock conversion at Calvert City, Texas. conserving our natural habitats, and preserving our natural
In addition, five new plants are expected to come reserves and resources will remain a high priority.”
onstream in 2017, including Dow Chemical’s In late 2015, the White House under President Obama
1.5 million tpy facility in Freeport, Texas; announced that the Keystone XL project, a 590 000 bpd
Oxychem/Mexichem’s 544 000 tpy plant in Ingleside, pipeline designed to deliver heavy crude directly from
Texas; Chevron Phillips’ 1.5 million tpy and Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries, was rejected. When
ExxonMobil’s 1.5 million tpy projects in Baytown, Texas; President Trump took office in January, he signed an
and Formosa Plastics' new 1 million tpy plant in Point executive order to accelerate approval of the project.
Comfort, Texas. TransCanada subsequently submitted a new Presidential
In all, the 2016 expansions and 2017 greenfield Permit application to the US Department of State.
projects in the USGC and other jurisdictions will add Although the project still faces many hurdles, the
over 7 million tpy nameplate capacity (and addition of a reliable source of heavy crude would be
400 000 bpd of new ethane throughput capacity). By most welcome in the USGC.
the end of 2017, the US ethylene nameplate capacity is Other moves may create complications, however. The
expected to exceed 38 million tpy, which represents Trump Administration has proposed a Border Adjustment
almost 40% growth. Tax (BAT) to reduce trade imbalances with certain nations,
While the repatriating of the petrochemical sector such as China and Mexico. Although details remain
is a positive step, it is having consequences. Westney sketchy, a 20% border tax on imports, including roughly
Consulting reports that construction costs, which have 10 million bpd of crude, has been floated. Some refiners in
held relatively steady at 20 – 25% of total capital the USGC could adjust by increasing domestic LTO
costs on large construction projects since the 1970s, consumption, but refiners located on the east and west
have now risen to 40 – 45%.2 Part of the increase is coast, where pipeline access is relatively limited, would
due to rising labour costs where skilled trades are in still have to rely primarily on imports for their crude
short supply. slates. Since the proposal also includes a cut in export
taxes, USGC refiners would benefit from gasoline and
operators have switched to lighter fuels, and even LNG. diesel exports, but refiners providing for the domestic
All options mean lower demand and lower profits for market would have little succour. Industry executives
refiners, compounding the decision-making process. estimate that the BAT would add as much as US$0.40/gal.
to the price at the pump, which, in turn, would depress
Positives (and politics) consumption.
Refiners are moving to shore up their finances through
various means, including mergers and acquisitions. In Conclusion
November 2016, Western Refining agreed to merge with While the Republican victory in the 2016 election is a
San Antonio-based Tesoro for US$6 billion. The deal gives harbinger of relief for the refining sector, many challenges
Tesoro several new refineries located in New Mexico and remain. Stakeholders in not only the USGC, but throughout
Minnesota, as well as the 131 000 bpd refinery in El Paso, North America, will have to work diligently to anticipate
Texas. Upon completion of the deal, Tesoro will own and respond to the shifting supply and demand, regulatory
10 refineries with a combined capacity of 1.1 million bpd. and legislative landscape in order to maintain profitability,
Tesoro has also publicly stated that it is evaluating and persevere.
opportunities to enhance its portfolio in the lucrative
Permian basin in Texas. References
The long-standing dispute with the EPA over the RFS 1. 'Refining Margins', Muse, Stancil & Co., OGJ Statistics,
(12 December 2016).
may be reaching a conclusion. Carl Icahn, a special adviser 2. 'Approximating the Disproportionate Growth in the Cost of Capital
to President Donald Trump and the partial owner of Projects', white paper, Westney Consulting Group, (July 2014).

ENGINEERING
[ IMPROVING REFINERY
[
BIDDING
MARGINS KEYNOTE
TO
INNOVATE
Jim Ondyak, Dorf Ketal, USA, discusses how companies can
change suppliers between bidding events, taking advantage of
technical innovation and boosting profitability.
S
uppliers of speciality chemical solutions play an important role in refinery profitability.
There are many crude treatment and process applications within the refinery where
chemistry assists in improving refining economics and reliability. If these programmes are
not working properly, there is potential for significant adverse impacts including
off-specification and derated production, equipment damage, and unplanned shutdowns.
Bidding to award multi-year contracts is the global norm for procuring these products and
services. Between bidding events, the potential to change suppliers is normally restricted.
Refiners are finding that profitability can be improved when these restrictions are modified and
processes are put in place to encourage change between bidding events that takes advantage of
technical innovation. This article explores this new trend and offers examples of how bidding
and technical innovation are being uncoupled by refiners to improve profitability. Case histories
for corrosion control, emulsion breaking, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) treatment are presented to
illustrate the impact of this new trend in procurement.
Background
The annual cost of speciality chemicals and services for a typical refiner is in the millions of
dollars. Collectively, it is one of the largest controllable variable costs in the refinery, but the
cost of performance problems can be far higher. Changing chemical suppliers to get the same

ENGINEERING
chemistry at a lower price introduces profit risk if the results Technical innovation procurement
are compromised. This creates an interesting negotiating strategy
dynamic. The cost of change includes the consideration that It is difficult to vet technical innovation during a bid. Bidding
there may be an unintended negative consequence in the speciality chemicals is resource intensive for the refiner and
transition. Incumbent suppliers, aware of these considerations, the supplier, and is best managed on a relatively short,
have a potential advantage in the pricing negotiation. disciplined timeline. The process of evaluating technical
Procurement efforts have been successful in reducing innovation can also be resource intensive, but compared to
supplier leverage through increased knowledge of how to bidding, the resources are often functionally different. For
create a competitive advantage for their organisation.1 example, while R&D is not normally needed to a great
Around 25 years ago, supplier selection was often made by degree in bidding, it is necessary for evaluating technical
the superintendent of the unit whose criteria was heavily innovation.
influenced by their confidence in the technical For best pricing leverage, the bidding process must at
representatives servicing the business, their knowledge of some level be perceived by the incumbent as a threat to their
the operation, how much they valued the working business. This perception can be best created when
relationship, and their aversion to change. In this communication processes are tightly controlled to limit
environment, there were multiple suppliers in the refinery information flow to the supplier. The most powerful bids
and gross margins for speciality chemicals were in the range create the perception that multiple suppliers are essentially
of 60 – 70%. It became obvious to procurement and refinery equivalent in meeting the bid criteria, and price will be a major
management that refiners were paying a lot of money for factor on the final decision. Competitive bidders are
suppliers to make sales calls on each other’s business. motivated to underestimate dosage to show major cost
Crude oil refinery consolidation and the emergence of more reduction. Experience has shown that the successful bidder is
sophisticated supply chain practices were two major factors in often able to adjust their dosage commitments based upon
changing supplier relationships. The number of refineries in the new observations and performance demands.
US declined from 216 in 1986 to 149 in 2004, and the majority of In contrast to bidding, evaluations of technical innovations
the closures were small, less complex refinery assets.2 During require different resources, more open communication, and a
the same time period, supply chain practices were changing flexible timeline. The trend is to carry out this work between
across multiple industries ranging from automotive to pulp and bidding events. When bids are awarded, the contract retains
paper to refining.3 Refinery supply chain leaders, faced with the option for the refiner to use the best available technology
excess refinery capacity and closures, implemented strategies to from any supplier offering technical innovation that meets the
increase their buying power and reduce costs. They created new refinery’s needs. This motivates incumbent suppliers to
negotiating leverage by bundling purchases across multiple continue to invest in R&D or risk losing the application.
applications and locations and changed the buying process by The following three case studies explain the benefits of
moving decision making away from relationship buyers. The this innovation procurement strategy – high temperature
expanded bidding list and winner take-all strategy exposed corrosion inhibition, emulsion breaking, and H2S scavenging.
supplier vulnerabilities. For example, buyers learned that
products sold to them as specialities were often not special Case study 1: high temperature corrosion
relative to similar products offered by the competition. This inhibition
knowledge reduced the risk of change and increased buyer High temperature corrosion inhibitors (HTCI) are part of a
power. Prices dropped as products become more commoditised crude flexibility strategy that utilises crudes contaminated
in the marketplace. with naphthenic acid. These crudes are sold at a discount that
Suppliers cut budgets for R&D and improved efficiencies can reduce cost of crude by orders of magnitude greater than
in all areas to deal with the price reductions. They sought the cost of the corrosion inhibitor. The cost of chemical is
increased volume to counter reduced margins and responded immaterial relative to the profit improvement results that the
by offering further increases to the size of the bundle while corrosion inhibitor can offer, clearly an example where a
pursuing a bidding process, which reduced innovation leverage bidding strategy is not a good fit.
and increased barriers for competitor entry. By awarding The industry standard for this application is a class of
additional application business to a single supplier, the chemistries called phosphate esters. These molecules are
supplier was often stretched to provide chemistries and surfactants designed to deliver phosphorus, the primary
service outside of its traditional expertise. This increases the corrosion inhibitor molecule. The phosphorus reacts with
risk for substandard performance for the refinery and reduces existing iron sulfide scale to make it less porous to naphthenic
the opportunity for innovations to improve margins. acid penetration to the surface and more resistant to shear
Today, multiple rounds of bidding have significantly stress. Historically, the choice of HTCI has been from partial
reduced supplier gross margins. Bidding continues to serve as a esters containing an acidic O-H bond that is inherently
restraint to price increases and, in some cases, can expose new unstable when exposed to refinery temperatures. This
examples of supplier vulnerabilities that lead to significant instability degrades the efficiency of the corrosion inhibitor.
price reductions. However, the innovation process is not well There are now new tri-ester molecules that address the
incorporated into bidding, and there are unmet needs for thermal stability problems with partial esters.
improved results that require innovation. A new strategy is The emerging best practice is to use a third-party
emerging that uses technical innovation as a method to laboratory, experienced in autoclave testing of HTCI’s, to trial
further reduce costs and increase leverage on suppliers. alternative products. Third-party laboratories provide unique

ENGINEERING
assets are underutilised and where there has been significant
lost profit by avoiding more high acid crudes in the blend,
even without inhibitors.
The breadth and magnitude of the economics and the
complexity of evaluating alternative innovative HTCI
chemistry demonstrates that relying upon a bidding process
bundled with other applications is not resource efficient or
cost effective when selecting HTCI.
Case study 2: emulsion breaking

Procurement practices for purchasing emulsion breakers vary
worldwide. In Asia, the extent to which the refiner has
delegated desalter operation to the supplier is less, the
Figure 1. Performance improvement with aldehydes.
number of suppliers is greater, and competitive trials occur far
more frequently. The level of trial frequency is sufficient for
procurement decisions to identify technical innovations,
especially with difficult metals removal and desalting
challenges.
Refiners in North America and Europe have become more
dependent on the chemical supplier to monitor and control
desalter operation. There are fewer suppliers and bidding
practices limit new entrants. In over 80% of the refineries in
North America, a competitive trial has not occurred in over
five years. As a result, there is far less data for procurement to
evaluate technical innovations in desalting.
However, new trends in procuring technical innovation
are changing this paradigm. The technical innovation case
history in desalting involves a new class of emulsion breaking
chemistry using aldehydes. Described as a new class of
adjunct chemistry, aldehydes can dramatically improve the
Figure 2. Comparison of portable electric desalter (PED) ability of the emulsion breaker to remove more water, faster,
tests. and with less oil in the brine (see Figures 1 and 2). This
synergy is magnified when the emulsion breaker (EB) is
designed to take advantage of the aldehyde functionality.
Quantification of the technical and economic performance
improvement of this new adjunct chemistry in the dynamic
operating environment of desalters requires an open
innovation evaluation process. Current commercial bidding
practices cannot capture the advantages of this new
technology.
A new procurement trend is for refiners to conduct more
trials and utilise third-party laboratories to conduct desalter
solution comparison studies. These comparisons show
significant quantifiable improvement differences in the new
desalter chemistries, allowing refiners to take better advantage
Figure 3. Comparative performance of three products of changing crude economics. Once again, the economic
with equal triazine content. benefit of the innovation is potentially orders of magnitude
greater than the cost of chemicals.
testing expertise, generally have more timing flexibility, and
eliminate bias. Refiners who have gone through this exercise Case study 3: H2S scavenging
have learned that there are significant differences in the H2S is a toxic gas present in crude and intermediate refinery
phosphorus efficiency of commercially available products. products that have not been hydrotreated. Transportation of
Some products take as much as four times more phosphorus H2S containing hydrocarbons has been under increased
to carry out the same corrosion inhibition as the best-in-class scrutiny to protect personnel involved in shipping of these
product. This is important because phosphorus is a potential hydrocarbons and to reduce air emissions from handling and
foulant in the crude unit and in hydroprocessing units storage. H2S scavengers are the class of chemicals that react
downstream. with the H2S in the hydrocarbon.
In addition to evaluating inhibitors, there is also the need Surveys of refiners frequently list H2S scavengers in the top
to re-evaluate the total acid number (TAN) limits of the five in dollar spend for chemicals and growing. Increased
existing metallurgy. This process can discover when current demand for these products is evident to suppliers.

ENGINEERING
The procurement challenge with this class of chemicals is performance similarity is maximised and the evaluation
sporadic usage and the material to be treated is inconsistent in time is compressed. Assessment of the economic value of
chemical demand. As a result, this business is routinely granted to innovative chemistry requires the opposite
the bid winner as an extra or add-on to the bid scope, however, refiner/supplier relationship to be established. The
this is changing. Increased costs are driving more scrutiny on the valuation of innovation is best carried out through open
line item spend. Success with on-site ‘can tests’ and tests using communication and without time requirements.
third-party testing services is leading procurement managers to Three case studies were used to illustrate that the
increase testing of scavenger performance. Figure 3 presents a profit improvement benefits of having a process for
laboratory test result of three scavengers, each with equal triazine technical innovation can be significant. Economic benefits
content. The efficiency of these products differs significantly. extend far beyond the acquisition cost and are best
Researchers have discovered a number of options for improving quantified in the ‘cost-in-use’. The resources required to
efficiency of triazines as well as nitrogen free scavengers. For evaluate technical innovation vary depending on the
those refiners facing increased cost in H2S scavenging, it is subject matter, the needs of the refinery, and the highly
recommended that they survey the supplier base for technical variable change process required to capture the value.
innovations in this area. The survey will show that efficiency of Success with technical innovation is leading a number
scavengers is a dynamic subject and the average refiner is missing of refiners to make changes to the terms of supplier
profit improvement opportunities because they do not recognise contracts to better facilitate changes without causing
the innovation that is happening in this category of speciality animosity. On the contrary, these changes can be
chemistry. There is a clear trend to not rely on the actives motivating to improve performance and increase R&D
content, but to carry out performance testing when selecting the efforts to meet the needs of the refiner.
scavenger as there are potential savings of 30% or more available.
References
1. TRENT, R. J. and MONCZKA, R. M., 'Purchasing and Supply
Conclusion Management: Trends and Changes Throughout the 1990s',
Time and resource requirements for commercial bidding of Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol. 34, Issue 3, pp. 2 - 11,
(September 1998).
established refining process chemicals is significantly different 2. 'The Petroleum Industry: Mergers, Structural Change and Antitrust
than the assessment of innovative refining process chemistry. Enforcement', An FTC Staff Study, Federal Trade Commission
Bureau of Economics, (August 2004).
Commercial bidding of established chemistry extracts value for 3. 'Delivering Real Value Through Cost Reductions', UPS Supply
the refiner when communication is minimised, the perception of Chain Solutions White Paper, Copyright © 2005.
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Marina Ivanova
and Matt Adams,
Douglas-Westwood, UK,
explain why a leaner
downstream maintenance
market is experiencing
renewed activity.
D
ouglas-Westwood’s (DW) recently released 'World long-term fundamentals of downstream asset population
Downstream Maintenance Market Forecast will continue to have a positive impact on onshore
2017 – 2021' paints a positive picture for the sector maintenance expenditure over the forecast period.
over the forecast period – along with opportunities The report is based on a ‘bottom-up’ (facility-by-facility)
for maintenance providers as appetite for maintenance market outlook, analysing maintenance services expenditure
spend increases. Expenditure is expected to total across eight key equipment and service lines, split into asset
US$336 billion over the forecast period, with a 3.2% services and asset integrity in eight regional markets and
year-on-year growth. The world’s current total population of across four asset types: refineries, petrochemical facilities,
over 14 000 operational downstream facilities is expected to gas processing and LNG (import and export) plants.
see 158 greenfield and 326 brownfield expansions by 2021. In North America is expected to keep its dominant share of
spite of the challenging industry climate – albeit improved the total market at 34%, with expenditure forecast to rise
slightly since OPEC’s November 2016 announcement – the from US$19 billion in 2016 to US$24 billion by 2021. This is

ENGINEERING
Asset integrity encompasses consultancy, asset
management and integrity services aimed at extending the
initial design life of downstream facilities through the
management and development of regular maintenance
cycles. Asset integrity will account for 28% of total
downstream MMO spend, at US$94 billion over the
2017 – 2021 period, with integrity services being the most
expensive sub-service line, representing 87% of the total
asset integrity market at US$81 billion over the forecast
period.
Fluctuating refining margins

Figure 1. Global total maintenance expenditure by The low crude prices had a positive impact on European
asset 2012 – 2021. refining margins in 2015, primarily due to lower feedstock
prices. Widening margins offered a huge incentive for
higher utilisation rates and minimising downtime. Improved
refining margins allowed integrated operators to spread out
risk and offset some of the losses made upstream, albeit to
a limited extent. Whilst the crack spread was increasing
(the difference between the price of crude oil and the sales
price of refined products), most European refiners delayed
major turnarounds in order to capitalise on higher margin
products.
Since mid-2016, however, European refining margins
have contracted due to a combination of slow economic
growth in the region and an oversupplied end product
market. Pressure has been felt by both integrated and
Figure 2. Global downstream population pure-play downstream operators, as companies saw their
2012 – 2021. first quarter earnings fall significantly. Subsequently, falling
utilisation rates have provided opportunities for
downstream MMO specialists, as the opportunity costs of
driven by a significant growth in LNG export terminals maintenance have fallen.
capacity, with an anticipated increase from just 4 million tpy Fundamentally, the downstream sector is OPEX led and
in 2016 to an impressive 30 million tpy by 2021. less susceptible to commodity price fluctuations compared
Asia is forecast to be the second largest market over to CAPEX led markets. Downstream infrastructure requires
the next five years, with a 28% share of total downstream ongoing maintenance expenditure to ensure adherence to
maintenance spend, due to the region’s large refining, health and safety regulations and reduction of operational
petrochemical and LNG capacity additions, coupled with a costs and downtime, which is essential for sustained
significant existing installed base. throughput.
In-house model assumptions and outputs are
sense-checked via extensive industry interviews to provide Downstream facility population and
a high level of accuracy and give a granular and realistic regional trends
evaluation of current and forecast activity in the sector. Over the 2017 – 2021 period, the global downstream facility
population is expected to increase from just over 14 000 in
Service line overview 2017 to almost 15 000 by 2021. Petrochemical plants will
DW’s report is divided into two main service lines: asset continue to account for the majority of the global
integrity and asset services, each of which are segmented downstream population at 78%, with almost 11 000 plants
into additional sub-service lines. worldwide currently operational. Most petrochemical
Asset services – split into mechanical services, facilities, however, are small capacity single product plants
electrical and instrumentation, fabric maintenance, rotating with relatively lower maintenance cost per tonne of
equipment and process equipment – incorporates services throughput.
delivered to minimise downtime and operational costs of Historically, the largest contributor to global
downstream facilities. Over the forecast period, asset petrochemical capacity has been Asia at 43% over the
services is expected to total almost US$242 billion, 2012 – 2016 period, driven by vast industrial and
accounting for 72% of global downstream maintenance and manufacturing demand. The second largest region in
modification (MMO) expenditure. The electrical and capacity terms has been North America, with a 20% share.
instrumentation sub-service line is expected to be the However, over the forecast period, DW expects some
largest contributor to total asset services expenditure, due changes in capacity shares among regions, primarily driven
to a high spend per barrel/tonne of throughput across the by feedstock dynamics, with ethane-based Middle East
majority of asset types. producers having a significant cost advantage over

ENGINEERING
LOW... ...RATING ...
naphtha-based competitors in Europe. Global petrochemical capacity is expected
to rise by 5% over the forecast period, while maintenance expenditure on these
assets is expected to total US$143 billion, accounting for 43% of total downstream
asset maintenance spend.
The refining sector, representing 32% of total global expenditure over the last
five years, is expected to account for the majority of capacity additions over the
forecast period. Over 2017 – 2021, global refining capacity is expected to increase
by 13%. With a high routine maintenance cost per barrel of throughput,
US$109 billion is forecast to be spent on refinery maintenance worldwide
between 2017 and 2021. Historically, Asia (30%) and North America (22%) have had
the largest shares of refinery capacity, driven by vast demand for refined products
such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and asphalt. Over the forecast period, DW
anticipates the two regions will continue leading the sector in terms of capacity,
though Asia’s share is forecast to increase marginally to 31% and North America’s
to decline slightly to 20%. Being the regions with the largest refinery capacity,
Asia and North America are expected to have the highest refinery asset
maintenance expenditure over the forecast period at US$26 billion and
US$38 billion, respectively.
Gas processing and LNG plants are expected to contribute approximately
low-rating.hoerbiger.com
equal shares to total downstream asset maintenance spend, at 13% each over the
forecast period. The largest shares of gas processing capacity over the last five
years, 39% and 20%, belonged to North America and the Middle East, respectively,
due to the abundance of natural gas in both regions. Over the forecast period, the
Middle East is expected to see its share increase marginally to 21%, with
North America’s declining to 36%, whilst both regions will remain leading players.
However, the largest contributors in terms of total gas processing maintenance
expenditure are expected to be North America and Asia at US$18 billion and
US$10 billion, respectively. The Middle East, despite its high proportion of gas
processing capacity, is expected to spend a modest US$5 billion on gas processing
maintenance in the 2017 – 2021 period, due to the region’s cost competitiveness
and relatively less stringent regulatory requirements.
Between 2017 and 2021, a 24% growth in LNG export capacity and a 28%
increase in LNG import capacity are expected. Historically, the Middle East (32%),
Africa (22%) and Asia (21%) have had the largest shares of LNG export capacity.
Over the forecast period, the Middle East and Africa will see this decrease to 23%
and 17%, respectively, while Australasia will see its share increase from 13% to 22%
in the wake of a host of new LNG facilities starting up over 2014 – 2017. Asia has
had and will continue to hold the largest LNG import capacity, growing from 50%
in the 2012 – 2016 period to 55% between 2017 and 2021. However, most notable
within the LNG space is the significant increase in export capacity to be seen
from North America over the forecast period, from just 1 million tpy in 2014 to
over 82 million tpy by 2021 – driving an impressive 22% year-on-year growth in
LNG facility maintenance in the region.
Conclusion
Squeezed refining margins are likely to result in increased demand for
downstream maintenance services, which will offer opportunities for specialist Do you want LOWER OPERATING
service providers in the sector. Brownfield capacity additions, coupled with a COSTS? It‘s really quite simple:
number of greenfield facilities to come online over the forecast period, will Compress the exact amount
contribute to the positive forecast of total global expenditure in the 2017 – 2021
of hydrogen you need and save
period.
Whilst negatively impacted like many other sectors in the oil and gas industry, money! The eHydroCOM stepless
the downstream asset maintenance market represents a bright spot over the next capacity control system makes
five years. In comparison with CAPEX-led (offshore upstream) markets, the it possible.
downstream maintenance sector has been less vulnerable to commodity price
fluctuations, as facilities require a combination of preventative and remedial
maintenance services to ensure a safe and efficient production environment and
the maximisation of uptime. Age of infrastructure, size, and complexity of
downstream plants and capacity additions will remain robust drivers of demand
for downstream maintenance throughout the forecast period.
Valentin Kotlomin and
Ekaterina Kalinenko,
Euro Petroleum Consultants,
Russia, examine the
thought process behind a
development programme
created for a refinery
upgrade.
The devil
is in the
detail
ENGINEERING
A
highly competitive market is one of the most while keeping an eye on short-term product market
prominent features of the global refining trends, these companies tap into downstream
industry today. One reason for this is the growth integration potential or go for product slate
in petroleum products supply due to capacity optimisation. Others are prepared to invest into their
additions – new refineries coming on stream in regions assets.
such as the Middle East, Asia and the US. The other This third type – those who, despite the lack of
reason relates to a series of demand constraining factors stability in the industry and in the finance markets, are
acting in the industry – a slowdown in global economic prepared to allocate substantial funds to the construction
growth, the growing concerns relating to the or modernisation of new/existing production facilities –
environmental impact of fossil fuels, the energy efficiency will be the focal point of this article. More specifically,
challenges for transportation vehicles and for any kind of this article will review the challenges and typical pitfalls
industrial application. to avoid when implementing and working on an asset
In this context, refiners are constantly forced to development programme.
search for ways to maintain acceptable margin levels. When it comes to investing into petroleum refining,
When approaching this task, every refinery has to act there are some elements in particular that should be
upon their financial and organisational capabilities. taken into consideration, the size of investment being one
Some opt for ‘quick wins’ – the kind of projects that do of them. Hardly any refinery development programme
not ask for investments and consist of living out the costs less than hundreds of millions of dollars (if not a
principles of lean manufacturing, such as raising energy few billion dollars). In the current setting, with its low
efficiency, cutting maintenance cost or reducing production profitability and weak residual fuel sales
feedstock and petroleum products losses. Others, once margin, the main question for refinery development
again with limited investment, strive to boost programmes is: how can the conversion rate be increased?
profitability by concentrating on the revenue side – That is, turning heavy bottoms residue into high-margin

ENGINEERING
motor fuels. With this task in mind, the total cost may All of the above stands to reason but with one
easily go above US$1 billion since a modern world-class reservation; the situation that has just been analysed
deep conversion complex is a series of units with high should not serve as proof that the proposal by
pressure equipment, strict material design requirements, Licensor 2 is non-competitive, in fact, far from it. Since
and a need for high precision and reliable electrical and each refinery operates in conditions that are unique and
automation facilities, etc. On top of that, should one plan differ quite considerably in terms of location and
such an expansion on the existing refinery layout, it may operating strategy, it is natural to assume that Licensor 2
lead to a substantial (and costly) extension of most probably found itself ‘in the wrong place’ – there
infrastructure, utilities and downstream process units. It is are without a doubt such refineries elsewhere, which do
no wonder that the first thing on a refinery owners’ not pay as much for energy as the refinery from the
agenda when considering various asset development previous example, and such refineries will surely gain
options is: which is the most economical in terms of value through CAPEX savings despite the unit's greater
CAPEX? energy use.
The cheaper the better? Modernising existing facilities

The first potential pitfall a refinery may encounter is: The second pitfall that refineries sometimes find
‘the cheaper, the better’. When faced with two offers themselves in is one illustrated by a case from previous
from two competing licensors for a unit with equal consulting experience, which may be entitled, ‘let’s take
functions, equal capacity and equal product yield, it what we’ve got and modernise it’.
seems apparent that one should pick the option that Petroleum refining is the type of industry where it is
costs less to construct. quite possible to change the rated capacity of process
This was exactly the dilemma faced by a Russian units, to alter product quality or yield, or even carry out
refinery when considering a new middle distillates unit conversion. More to it, the modernisation of existing
hydrotreatment unit that would have resulted in getting facilities has a number of advantages: the opportunity to
Euro-V quality product and boosting diesel sales margins make use of the existing equipment, reduce CAPEX
in both domestic and export markets. through the use of existing utilities, infrastructure and
Upon receiving and studying proposals from two interconnections, etc. For some refineries, land allocation
world-renowned licensors, the refinery concluded that challenges make it impossible to extend and construct
they were equal in terms of feedstock requirement and new units as they may be constrained by their geographic
product yield. There was, however, a significant location – i.e., a mountainous region, its proximity to
difference between the proposals: the size in CAPEX. major cities – or by health, safety and environment (HSE)
The reference price for construction after the due time legislation.
and geographic location adjustment turned out to be Land allocation for the new construction was not a
US$500 000 higher for Licensor 1 when compared to challenge in the next case. In considering substantial
Licensor 2. While one might question the signifcance of modernisation of an existing unit, the refinery focused on
US$500 000 in a project with approximately the CAPEX saving potential of such a project.
US$60 million of total CAPEX, it is important to consider This specific case study focuses on an attempt at the
the specifics of the project. For this particular refinery, modernisation of a visbreaking unit at a Russian refinery.
the investment was not about maximising the economic The unit was initially designed for the thermal cracking of
value of a given unit; in fact, it absolutely had to invest heavy residue while yielding gasoline and diesel blending
in order to comply with the legislative changes components. As time went by, this kind of refining process
pertaining to environmental friendliness of motor fuels was being replaced by new and more effective
in the domestic market and to stop the slump in export technologies that were appearing in the market –
sales margins for high sulfur distillates. All of the above i.e., catalytic cracking, hydrocracking. That was when the
rendered CAPEX savings (as marginal as they were) unit was first modernised – specifically, converted to a
important for the refinery owners. vacuum resid visbreaking. While prior to this conversion, a
However, the whole situation started to look substantial amount of atmospheric residue got into fuel
different upon comparing the two proposals in terms of oil without being split into vacuum gasoil and vacuum
estimated energy consumption. It turned out that the resid, the conversion provided an opportunity to bring
‘lower priced’ proposal (Licensor 2) had the higher vacuum resid viscosity close to fuel oil values and achieve
energy and steam use – namely two times and 30%, extra volumes of vacuum gasoil to send to a catalytic
respectively, as compared to the ‘higher priced’ proposal cracking unit, thus boosting its capacity. The next
(Licensor 1). Subsequently, as they compared estimated potential modernisation step was predetermined by the
operating costs for the two proposals using energy need for further refinery configuration improvement –
prices for that particular refinery, it turned out the namely, the construction of a hydrocracking unit that
savings in CAPEX achieved with Licensor 2 would be would have required even greater amounts of vacuum
‘eaten up’ by the greater operating costs in the first five gasoil.
years of unit operation. In view of the service life of the The refinery had two options: either modernise the
facility, the ‘more expensive’ proposal from Licensor 1 existing visbreaking unit and raise its capacity by 30% or
looked the most attractive option. build a new visbreaking unit.

ENGINEERING
The first option was not confined to raising capacity. It Conclusion
also consisted in improving the unit’s industrial safety The two cases reviewed support the idea that when
characteristics and replacement of certain worn pieces of taking the decision on increasing refinery efficiency, the
equipment. Thus, the new equipment list grew from approach to studying available options for asset
17 to 44 items. However, despite the new items development has to be as comprehensive as possible.
contributing to the higher price of modernisation, it was Refineries should not lock themselves into options with
still a better option in terms of CAPEX in comparison to the lowest CAPEX and should take into account the
building a new visbreaker of the required capacity. operating costs that would follow. Furthermore, in the
The refinery also kept in mind another implication of current environment there is no point in looking for a
an old unit modernisation – the need for tight operating one-size-fits-all solution as each refinery operates in a
cost management or, to be more precise, better energy unique set of conditions, hence, the individual approach
efficiency. In view of this objective, the project involved a is crucial in coming up with a development programme
series of measures aimed at decreasing per unit energy that fits like a glove.
consumption in such a way that a
30% capacity gain would not lead
to proportionate growth in
energy cost. On the contrary, it
would reduce energy cost and
bring the energy efficiency of the
facility closer to the standards of
a new modern visbreaking unit.
In assessing the second option GasPT ®
– a new visbreaking unit – the

Continuous Analysis, Acc Accurate
cc cururat Results
ura
refinery made use of data on the
most advanced units offered by
major process licensors.
Upon comparing the two
options it turned out that the
modernisation of the existing
visbreaking unit would be seven
times less expensive than building
a new one. However, no matter
how hard the refinery tried to
manage the operating costs, a
modernised unit would still lag
behind a newly constructed one in
terms of performance by 30% on
average (up to 40% in some areas).
Due to the current state of
the petroleum product market
and the finance market, the
refinery postponed the realisation
of the development programme,
in general, and the decision on
the visbreaking unit in particular.
Yet there are some conclusions to
be drawn from the analysis
Calculating gas properties in accordance
carried out. Surely, the with ISO 6976, Orbital’s GasPT technology
modernisation of the existing unit measures the thermal conductivity, speed of sound and CO2 in natural gas, giving you the Calorific Value
may entail substantial CAPEX needed to control your system.
savings, yet the savings can take
their toll on the operating cost – Using the established principles of Hydrocarbon Equivalence, GasPT also provides gas composition
for calculation purposes in other devices such as flow computers.
in many cases, no matter how
hard the refinery tries to improve Whether you operate a gas, petrochemical or emissions
the operational efficiency of application, GasPT is the online gas analysis of choice:
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COVER FEATURE
THE
CHALLENGE
OF CHANGE
ENGINEERING
Rainer Pittnauer, Intergraph® Process Power & Marine,
Austria, discusses the challenge of change management,
and how modern engineering technology can assist.
A
ll plants and facilities are subject to continual lives, destroying facilities, and adversely affecting the local
change as technologies evolve, turnarounds are plant environment while damaging the company reputation.
executed, and modification and upgrading projects These issues have led to a growing focus from
take place. Yet, the facilities themselves and the regulatory authorities on the management of change
information that describes them is often inconsistently processes, while demands for demonstrable compliance
updated in line with these changes, creating challenges for with auditable traceability are continuously increasing. In
the effective and safe operation of the facility. Often, owner addition, existing facilities are often being operated longer
operators can lose the ability to track changes – through the than originally planned due to technology advances and
review and approval process, what has been done, what are decreased appetite from owners to invest in new capital
the consequences of these changes, and where is the facilities. In the worst case scenario, extended lifetime
information related to the change stored. combined with poor traceability and insufficient processes
A recent study by Intergraph1 showed that some of the in place can lead to an increased risk of losing ones’ license
biggest challenges met by owner operators include the to operate.
inability to find the necessary information for executing Furthermore, there are other real-life problems arising
projects and being able to determine whether or not this from the lack of management of change (MOC). Many
information is accurate and up-to-date. This is often due to a owners face extended turnaround times as well as
lack of change management and traceability as the heightened overall cost of maintenance and operations, as
companies do not have an integrated approach to time is lost in searching for correct documentation and
engineering information management. If there is 30 years’ information about the facility. Surveys have shown that up to
worth of plant documentation in paper format scattered one-third of the cost of modifications can be attributed to
across the facility, it is no wonder that change management finding and verifying engineering information.
becomes a burden.
Challenge of efficient change
Safety issues management
Currently, many owner operators have a manual and Managing change in an operating plant is a complex, safety
paper-based change management process in place, which critical work process, where continuous changes have to be
poses a major security risk for facilities. A paper-based managed. These changes often have to be controlled in
approach does not allow tracking and prevention of parallel, if the same equipment is impacted by several
unauthorised changes, making maintaining an integrated changes. This can quickly become complex, as multiple
information asset difficult. In addition, safety issues are often alternate solutions to the proposed changes need to be
linked to poor management of change, which has too often managed simultaneously, changes might be cancelled prior
been a direct or indirect cause of major incidents, claiming to implementation, or postponed for future turnarounds.

ENGINEERING
Intergraph PP&M’s SmartPlant® Enterprise for owner operators,
which provides a preconfigured work process and
out-of-the-box integrations with operating systems to provide
improvements for management of plant operation changes.
This integration between operating systems and
engineering information management allows for
maintenance of the digital representation of the plant in an
efficient and consistent way. Comprehensive solutions for
capturing both unstructured and structured data, as well as
data validation, ensure the transition from an existing
manual, document driven change process to an electronic
Figure 1. Mobile technology brings as-built data change process.
available on the field. These types of solutions supporting an electronic-driven
change process provide rigorous MOC of engineering
information with full traceability and audit trail. The
technology provides a change impact analysis capability that
presents the user with possible documents and tags,
impacted by a change based in an initial assessment and, by
examining these impacted tags and documents, shows other
ongoing changes with which there may be potential conflict
and synergies. This ensures that change requests are properly
considered in the context of other changes and that the
impact of a change on all relevant tags and documents are
identified. The preconfigured MOC process includes an
electronic workflow for managing the review, authorisation,
design, and approval of changes in the engineering design
Figure 2. Augmented reality solutions bring basis, and, optionally, the notification of maintenance to
engineering information live during a plant
walkthrough. perform changes by creating notification records in the plant
maintenance system (SAP PM).
A manual change process is a time consuming and error A digital twin of an existing asset
prone activity. It requires collecting information and As aforementioned, the existing engineering information and
documentation, which is often only available in silos, 3D plans of the existing facility might often be insufficient or
scattered around the facility, and sometimes even in paper completely missing. This makes any brownfield project
format. These documents would need to be maintained challenging, as there is no way to ensure that the planned
properly and shared with the people and departments changes or upgrades will fit into the existing piping and
involved during the different stages of the change space. To facilitate this, owner operators are increasingly
management process, typically involving the following using laser-scanning technology to capture the as-built
components: information of their assets.
Change risk analysis. The whole process starts with surveying the plant with a
Review and approval. laser scanner. Each scan takes approximately five minutes and
Testing and implementation. captures millions of data points, while it simultaneously
Post-implementation review. captures high definition photographs of the scanned area. The
Update as-built documentation. equipment is highly portable and can be moved quickly
between scanning stations to cover the whole plant. The
Executing the above-mentioned parallel activities in a laser's range means there is no need to get close to hazardous
manual, document centric process can easily lead into equipment and working at a height can be minimised.
erroneous decision-making that is based on incorrect or Using the free Leica Truview software, the scan data is
outdated data. The implications of this include extended presented as a point cloud, in which each pixel has X, Y and
plant downtime during implementation of changes. This can Z co-ordinates. This means that even without building a new
also lead to risky or dangerous events taking place due to a 3D model, the point cloud can be used for measurements
change in a plant that relies on wrong information, and comparisons with existing computer aided design (CAD)
e.g. bypassing the wrong safety function in the emergency models of the plant.
shutdown system (ESD). Together with the photographs, the captured brownfield
data and the point cloud data makes it possible to perform a
How can software technology help? virtual walkthrough of the plant, from one scanning station
In order to address these challenges, owner operators are to another, and to take measurements. Based on this
searching for tools that offer the capability to maintain the information, a digital twin of the physical asset can be
dynamic engineering design basis and integrate with other created, enabling owners to execute a data-centric approach
information systems. An example of such a solution is to change management, and overcome many of the

ENGINEERING
CHANGE IS THE ONLY
CONSTANT
Intergraph® SmartPlant® Enterprise for Owner Operators
OVERCOME CHANGE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Intergraph SmartPlant Enterprise for Owner Operators provides preconfigured work process and out of the
box integrations with operating systems to provide major improvements for management of plant operation
changes.
This integration between operating systems and engineering information management offers:
t.BJOUFOBODFPGBEJHJUBMSFQSFTFOUBUJPOPGBQMBOUJOBOFGýDJFOUBOEDPOTJTUFOUXBZ
t$PNQSFIFOTJWFTPMVUJPOTGPSDBQUVSJOHCPUIVOTUSVDUVSFEBOETUSVDUVSFEEBUB
tData validation enabling a transition from a manual, document-driven change process to a state of the art
electronic change management process.
It’s time your facility keeps up with change.
Visit http://bit.ly/ppm-spo for free webinars, brochures, white papers and more.
© 2017 Hexagon AB and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates. Intergraph is part of Hexagon. All rights reserved.
Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.
Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
challenges related to manual processes: inaccuracy, lack of in document-centric environments, or managing their plant
traceability, and frequent errors. documentation as hardcopy. The prerequisite to leveraging
such immersive technology as virtual reality (VR) and AR is
Synchronising changes the availability of data-centric solutions, which provides a
An aspect of change management that is often not ‘digital twin’ plant representation.
considered is how changes to the engineering design are Mobile technology will enable engineers on the field to
reflected in operational systems such as maintenance, execute changes more safely and efficiently, as they can
reliability, inspection, and a host of other systems that bring the digital twin of the asset with them to the field. The
consume engineering information. Most owner operators traditional approach today is to provide hardcopy printouts
either rely on manual processes or cumbersome batch of relevant documentation and information. Paper printouts
transfers, in order to ensure that systems are updated in line are not only labour-intensive to produce and maintain, but
with changes to the engineering data and documentation. also cumbersome and difficult to use in the field.
The problem with such approaches is that they are Furthermore, mark-ups made in the field are often difficult
error-prone and can result in operational systems being to interpret back in the office, which causes further delays in
incorrectly updated. The consequences can include transcribing data into relevant systems.
equipment not being maintained or inspected correctly, or Having mobile technology in place enables access to
errors in the procurement of replacement equipment and accurate information throughout the execution of change.
parts. To eliminate such issues, Intergraph PP&M has The required data and documents can be taken offline to the
implemented solutions to automatically update consuming field on a mobile device. In addition, it is possible to capture
systems, such as SAP, with new or updated tag details. notes or photographs, etc. in the field quickly and efficiently.
Later on, modifications, media capture in the field, as well as
Improved MOC: project example red-marks, can be uploaded to the system. This eliminates
Intergraph PP&M recently implemented an electronic change delays and errors in transcribing notes from paper mark-ups.
process for an owner operator in Germany. This customer In addition to mobile technology, AR and VR solutions will
was already efficiently maintaining the existing plant shape training and change management execution. For
information in a central repository, but change management example, having a HoloLens or an AR helmet available means
was still a manual process. engineers can perform a dry run of the change before it takes
This manual change management process was inefficient place, testing all the possible scenarios that could go wrong.
and severely lacked transparency. Furthermore, certain During the execution of a change, VR/AR devices will
changes had not been documented properly, causing a lack guide the engineer through the different work steps:
of traceability. The solution was to implement an electronic Indicating the personal protection equipment and tools,
workflow that represented the exact steps of the change which are required to perform the task.
process. Describing the exact procedures including sub-procedures
The plant information, such as tags and documents, were that define the work steps.
already available in the system electronically. This way, once Identifying the proper equipment linked to the change,
a change is filed in the system, all affected tags and such as through quick response (QR)/radio frequency
documents can be linked to the change. During this time, the identification (RFID) scanner.
system defines which stakeholders are required for a Viewing of the documents and drawings linked to the
change.
particular change by using checklists. Depending on this
information, the system automatically selects the proper Providing photos and 3D real time animations for steps
that need to be performed.
workflow. This electronic workflow manages the automatic
Evaluating the real time process values.
distribution of information, the review, and approval tasks
related to the change for all involved stakeholders.
This way, all the required departments are now either Conclusion
notified automatically, in case action is required, or informed The key reason change management is so challenging comes
that the changes have been made, even if no action needs to down to the availability of existing engineering information.
be taken. By implementing this comprehensive change work Plant information required to assess, plan, and execute a
process, the customer increased efficiency of change change is often only available in silos and very often in paper
management, as all changes are handled in a consistent format. In addition, poor reporting measures are in place, and
process, ensuring better visibility and full traceability. there is often no way to evaluate the impact of a change. This
Moreover, this enabled the possibility of a rich reporting and can be improved by creating a digital twin of the physical
change impact analysis, which is used to maintain an asset, which helps to overcome many of the challenges
accurate overview of events in the facility. related to manual MOC processes: inaccuracy, lack of
traceability, and frequency of errors. Mobile, as well as AR and
Future of change management VR solutions, will further enhance and shape the way change
Mobile technology and augmented reality (AR) solutions will management will be executed in the near future.
become key for efficient and safe change management in the
near future. The technology needed for this improvement is Reference
already there, but the industry has not yet acknowledged its 1. Intergraph Research on Intergraph Information Management/Owner
full potential. There are still a number of companies working Operator Solutions.

ENGINEERING
Philip McCusker, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, UK, explains
how advanced data analytics has helped gas processing plants
improve reliability and maximise operating efficiency.
I
n the gas processing sector, reliability is king, but process start of an abnormal operating condition. Think of it like this: the
interruptions are hard to predict. The problem is that early minute detail of a snooker table, the smoothness of the cue ball,
warning of equipment failures is difficult to achieve with the speed and angle of the shot, the roughness of the felt, the
conventional process alarm management techniques, as the room temperature, and the air flow are variables that all affect the
alarm settings are fixed and need to be suitable for all operating outcome of the game. It is only by measuring these
conditions. As such, alarms are set broadly so when they are interdependent relationships that one can theoretically predict
eventually triggered, the equipment is already on the way to gameplay with accuracy. The same can be said of preventing
failure. interruptions to gas processing – and it is on this principle that
Whether it is cryogenic processing or natural gas reforming, all Air Products’ Plant Performance Advisor service is based.
gas processing plants can have equipment issues that cause costly
downtime and expensive maintenance. Although alarms are set to How does it work?
notify operating teams of any problems as single measurement Huge datasets are collected from sensors on all manner of
data points, they are often too wide in their measurement setting different equipment in use across fleets of plants including
to provide meaningful early warning of a condition to avoid an compressors, pumps, motors, expansion turbines, blowers, cooling
impending equipment failure or process interruption. As such, towers and heat exchangers. The sensors measure vibrations,
problems can go completely undetected until it is too late, bearing temperatures, winding temperatures, pressures, pressure
causing unplanned interruptions, which are costly to both plant ratios, temperatures, approach temperatures, flows, performance
operators and their customers, and require maintenance efficiencies, and every other conceivable monitoring point in the
intervention to remedy the equipment deterioration. key operating equipment.
Through careful data analytics, these enormous datasets are
What is changing? then transformed into composite variables that take into account
In order to provide earlier warning of an abnormal condition, one the backdrop of the current operating conditions, creating a
needs to use more functionality than is offered by single variable ‘fingerprint’ of the equipment’s operation. Rather than equipment
alarm points. By using multi-variable data points fed into a being monitored by broad fixed alarm points, it has an ongoing
condition algorithm, the abnormal or alarming points can be ‘health check’ through condition multi-variable algorithms that
‘conditioned’ to reflect the natural variability that is associated can identify equipment deterioration before conventional process
with the plant’s specific operating condition. Operating conditions monitoring sensors can.
can change on most plants due to factors such as operating As such, the software will hone in on any deviation from the
mode, loading, and ambient extremes, which all serve to mask the expected operating conditions.

ENGINEERING
The early warnings of a failure condition that can
be identified through such a system are complex and
varied, ranging from slightly raised lubrication oil
temperatures for a nitrogen recycle compressor,
through to mildly increased vibration of a high
pressure boiler feed water pump. Often these issues
are subtle and would not be picked up by simple
human observation, and occur well before the
equipment reaches its alarm point. What they have in
common, however, is their ability – if left undetected
– to negatively impact plant processing efficiency,
costs, downtime, and, crucially, customer experience.
One example of this is the slight increase in valve
temperatures of a multi-service reciprocating H2
Figure 1. The winding temperatures of a fan’s motors jump up to an compressor that occurred on a particular plant just
out-of-bounds condition. before a planned outage at a sister plant feeding the
same pipeline. The Plant Performance Advisor
software was able to detect this deviation and
predict valve failure. This, in turn, allowed reliability
engineers to control and manage the situation,
pro-actively shutting down the compressor and
replacing the valves ahead of the sister plant’s
planned outage. This avoided machine damage that
could have cost in excess of US$100 000, as well as
significant supply chain costs.
The ability to detect issues and predict and
‘manage out’ problems before they occur is
Figure 2. Excessively dirty air filters cause a lack of air cooling flow. invaluable. At another plant, for example, an axial
position alert was received directly after a
newly-installed pump was started up for the first
time. Investigations revealed that the operating status
of the pump was stable and that, in fact, this was an
issue with the set-up of the axial position probe
rather than the pump itself. Left undetected and
unaddressed, this would have left a pump
unprotected, which again, if it failed, would result in
thousands of dollars worth of equipment damage
and process interruptions. As it was, the engineers
were able to correct the set-up of the probe, ensuring
full protection was in place.
Examples like this underline the critical
importance of understanding how the wealth of
Figure 3. The filters are replaced causing motor winding and bearing operating data available to a modern process plant
temperatures to improve. can be used to improve the intelligence of equipment
condition and facilitate an intervention at a more
appropriate time. Real-time monitoring, combined
with a pro-active detection of abnormalities, is key to
ensuring processing efficiency is at its optimum.
In all of this, security of data remains paramount.
Air Products' data processing is stored in a secure
digital cloud with high dimensional data matrices,
low signal-to-noise ratio and a high degree of
correlation, all serving to give an accurate
representation of overall asset performance.
The performance fingerprint is monitored by
reliability engineers who receive alerts as well as
proactively looking for abnormal operating
Figure 4. The vibration of a high pressure boiler feed water pump conditions. This allows them to rule out likely causes
increases rapidly. and escalate alerts so that any issues can be resolved
at a time that suits the customer, and before

ENGINEERING
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potential failures occur. Any action taken is then analysed for its regular maintenance servicing, meaning less gross downtime and
effectiveness in comparison with previous operating conditions. reduced overall costs.
This process, which can be summarised in four key stages – The ability to compare a broad dataset is critical in assessing
monitor, detect, alert, diagnose – allows plant management to the performance of entire plants. At Air Products, for example,
predict issues far sooner than they would normally be able to more than 400 industrial gas facilities worldwide are monitored
and, therefore, plan maintenance at a convenient time to and maintained. This generates hundreds of thousands of data
coincide with pre-planned outages. points for analysis in proprietary algorithms and against a set of
key performance indicators, allowing plant performances to be
A pro-active approach benchmarked and each specific site to run at the most cost
As well as helping to reduce process interruptions, the software effective level.
measures the efficiency of each sub-system of the plant and
estimates the conditions that would denote maximum Example: a fan motor
efficiency. This is then used to provide monthly reports that The software's dashboard indicates that the winding
contain recommended actions for cost and efficiency savings, temperatures of a fan’s motors have jumped up to an
ultimately optimising plant performance. This, in turn, gives the out-of-bounds condition. Reliability engineers receive an alert
plant operator the confidence to extend the intervals between and notify the site maintenance team to perform an online
inspection (Figure 1).
The inspection reveals excessively dirty air filters that are
causing a lack of air cooling flow (Figure 2). The filters are
replaced, improving the motor winding and bearing
temperatures, and avoiding overheating of the motor
components, long-term abnormal behaviour and any collateral
damage (Figure 3).
Example: high pressure boiler feed water

pump
The vibration of a high pressure boiler feed water pump starts to
increase rapidly, triggering an alert with the reliability engineers
who promptly escalate the issue to the machinery engineer
(Figure 4). The plant shuts the pump down and swaps operations
to a secondary pump. A spare pump is installed while the
original pump is sent to the workshop for an expedited rebuild.
Due to the swift response from the machinery engineer,
plant operations and maintenance, the repair is limited to just
replacing the bearings, the balance disc and throttling sleeve,
thus avoiding impeller, bearing housing and casing damage,
which could have cost over US$200 000 in extra maintenance
expenses (Figure 5).
Example: nitrogen recycle compressor

The lubrication oil temperature of a nitrogen recycle
compressor was on an upwards trend for several months. This
caused the software to generate an alert – high lubrication oil
temperature dramatically increases the rate of oil degradation,
while negatively impacting vibrations and gear integrity.
Figure 5. Due to a swift response, the repair is limited The reliability engineers surveyed the lubrication oil
to the bearings, the balance disc and throttling sleeve. temperature, identified a faulty temperature control valve and
added the replacement of the valve to the plant’s
planned maintenance shutdown. Left undetected,
failure of this valve could have resulted in
extended plant downtime, and thousands of
dollars worth of damage (Figure 6).
Conclusion
When it comes to gas processing, the ‘gift of
foresight’ is front and centre. As the sector grows
and develops, big data and, more importantly,
Figure 6. The lubrication oil temperature of a nitrogen recycle
compressor, before and after the replacement of a faulty temperature intelligent data analysis and processing will be key
control valve. to preventing unplanned interruptions and
reducing costly equipment damage.

ENGINEERING
M
Jake Davies, any process units in a refinery – such as fluid catalytic crackers
(FCCs), delayed cokers, and hydrotreaters – generate significant
Emerson Automation Solutions, quantities of sour water. Sour water is wastewater containing
Permasense Technologies, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) that need to be
removed before the water can be released into the plant or the environment.
explains how monitoring Removal of these components is carried out by sending the sour water from
corrosion in a sour water stripping the process to a stripping tower where steam is applied directly and through
heat exchangers. The H2S and NH3 contained in the water are released by the
unit enables a refinery to plan heat and exit the top of the tower.
maintenance activities, avoiding H2S and NH3 corrode the stripping unit, so maintenance is eventually
unplanned outages and increasing required to replace or clean various components in the system. The problem
facing refineries is: when should this maintenance be carried out? If
availability and reliability. maintenance is not carried out at an appropriate time, the stripping unit can
fail, shutting down various refining processes. The estimated cost for such a
failure is approximately US$1 million, considering lost production time and
the cost of repairs. If maintenance is performed before it is needed, excessive
expense is incurred, along with possible unit shutdowns.

ENGINEERING
the sour water stripper is cooled further before being discharged
to the wastewater system, or recycled to the crude unit desalter as
wash water.
Corrosion challenges for sour water

strippers
Sour crude processing, as opposed to sweet crude, often results in
excessive crude nitrogen content, which is a precursor to the
production cyanides, such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Cyanides
can create corrosion issues in the sour water system. Produced in
the downstream conversion units (such as the FCC or delayed
coker), cyanide compounds concentrate into the water phase of
the main fractionator overhead. Free cyanides can be deposited in
the wet gas stream, causing hydrogen blistering. Cyanides can
Figure 1. Sour water stripper process flow diagram destabilise any passivation (iron sulfide) layer, causing it to flake off
showing high risk corrosion areas (in orange). as free iron sulfide, resulting in plugging and fouling downstream.
Sour water stripper tower corrosion and fouling from
corrosion by-products, such as iron sulfide, are common
operational problems compromising asset integrity. The tower and
overhead sections are exposed to high levels of H2S and NH3 and
can experience high rates of ammonium bisulfide corrosion.
Corrosion risks can be compounded by high levels of cyanides
from upstream units that concentrate in the overheads.
Commercial impact of sour water

stripper unit shutdowns
Sour water strippers are one of the forgotten workhorses of a
refinery. In many instances, capital cost constraints in original
refinery construction, refinery expansion projects or clean fuel
projects resulted in a lack of spare capacity or redundancy in the
sour water stripping facilities. Many refineries operate with sour
water storage facilities to enable the sour water stripper to be shut
Figure 2. Corrosion monitoring locations (orange dots) for down for maintenance for a period of time.
sour water stripping unit. Increasing operations of hydrotreating units – driven by
ever-lower sulfur specifications of finished gasoline, jet fuel and
diesel – have increased the quantity of H2S and NH3. In some
Online corrosion monitoring can predict when maintenance is cases, the original facilities are being operated at significantly
due, allowing a refinery to schedule maintenance when it does not higher processing rates than the original design.
affect operations, thus saving the cost of a process shutdown. It can In turn, this has limited refinery flexibility to shut down the
also indicate when maintenance can safely be deferred. sour water stripper for repairs in the event of a corrosion-induced
leak, as the increased load reduces the time that any surplus sour
Overview of the sour water stripping water can be stored.
process Once storage for sour water is exhausted by an unplanned
Sour water feed is collected in a sour water flash drum (Figure 1), sour water stripper shutdown, the facility may be forced to take
which operates near ambient conditions to allow the efficient more drastic action to minimise incremental sour water
separation of any gases and the removal of any liquid hydrocarbons production, including the following:
by decanting. The sour water is introduced to the top section of the Reducing throughput on key units to lower sour water
sour water stripper column after heating in the feed/effluent production and enable sour water volumes to be managed
exchanger. In the stripping section of the sour water stripper column, within the available storage.
the sour water is contacted counter-currently with steam from the Reducing stripping steam to key fractionation towers, resulting
reboiler to liberate H2S and NH3. in worsened fractionation and the conversion of high value
The sour gases from the stripper column overheads are cooled product (e.g. diesel) into low value product (e.g. fuel oil).
with air or water until most of the water vapour is condensed. The Switching to more expensive sweet crude feedstock.
separated sour condensate is reintroduced into the stripper column Without one or more of these steps, the refinery faces
as reflux to enable the tower top temperature to be controlled in the violation of effluent water quality limits, resulting in greater
85 – 90˚C (185 – 195˚F) range. This prevents ammonium salt formation scrutiny of refinery operations by local and/or national regulators.
and minimises the water content of the gases being fed to the The commercial impact of a sour water stripper outage on a
downstream sulfur recovery unit (SRU). given refinery will depend on the specific configuration. Assume
The sour gas is routed to the SRU, which enables elemental sulfur an outage would constrain total refinery throughput by an average
to be recovered from the H2S. Stripped water from the bottom of of just 10% for a five day period while repairs are made. Using a

ENGINEERING
representative refining margin of US$7/bbl, the impact on a
refinery of 200 000 bpd capacity would be US$0.7 million plus
the costs of the repair. A replacement bundle for the stripper
overhead exchanger, which is at the highest risk of corrosion, is
US$0.1 – 0.2 million. So, an unplanned five day shutdown of the
sour water stripper could cost over US$1 million in lost
production.
Corrosion monitoring
Continuous wall thickness measurement sensors are ideally
suited to monitor corrosion in high risk areas of sour water
stripper towers. The monitoring data from these sensors Figure 3. Wall thickness trend at the overhead condenser
outlet. Corrosion monitoring detected a lessening of
enables refiners to determine if corrosion is taking place. This is
corrosion in September, when the reboiler duty was
especially valuable to understand the correlation between modified. The change was made permanent in November
corrosion rates and changes in feedstock and process and corrosion was controlled within tolerable levels.
conditions, minimise the risk of leaks, and enable better
forecasting of equipment retirement.
Continuous corrosion monitoring systems support the monitoring, the customer observed a high corrosion at the overhead
optimisation of corrosion prevention and mitigation strategies, condenser outlet, which is fabricated from carbon steel.
and provide data to enable justification of metallurgy upgrade Initially, the corrosion rate was equivalent to 2.3 mm/y (August
decisions to corrosion resistant alloys. to September in Figure 3). However, testing on the unit during the
Potential corrosion monitoring locations are shown in first half of September showed that by altering the operating
Figure 2. A typical sour water stripping unit installation would conditions, notably the reboiler duty of the tower, it was possible to
comprise approximately 10 – 15 monitoring locations, with two significantly reduce the corrosion in this location. In mid-September,
to four sensors per location resulting in 20 – 60 sensors in total. operating conditions were then returned to normal and the
For example, a European refiner installed several Permasense corrosion rate returned to the high rate observed earlier.
sensors around its sour water stripper tower for general In early November, the operating conditions were permanently
corrosion monitoring purposes. The focus was on the overhead changed and corrosion was subsequently brought within tolerable
condenser/overhead line, feed/effluent exchanger, tower limits in this area of the tower. It is believed that the increased
bottoms line and reboiler outlet. In the course of routine reboiler duty increased the steam rising up the stripper, so more
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water was condensed in the overheads. This served two many years, resulting in a significant net cost saving for the customer
purposes: it reduced the H2S and NH3 partial pressure in the from deferred equipment retirement and replacement costs. This
overhead system by dilution, and provided a washing of any was achieved because of the direct and rapid feedback of process
ammonium bisulfide salts in the overhead condenser, thereby condition changes on corrosion rates.
avoiding under-deposit corrosion.
The optimisation of the reboiler duty operating conditions Continuous corrosion monitors
extended the lifetime of the overhead exchanger and line by Although intrusive corrosion probes and manual ultrasonic
inspection have been used for tens of years in refineries, the
development of non-intrusive, wireless, ultrasonic, continuous
corrosion monitoring systems by Emerson allows sensors to be
installed anywhere on a sour water stripping system at low cost,
even while the unit is in operation.
The corrosion sensors require no wiring for power or
communications. Instead, the battery-powered sensors
communicate wirelessly with a central gateway which delivers the
data direct to the desk of the integrity or operations engineer,
avoiding the need to enter the unit to take or collect measurements.
Emerson’s Permasense corrosion monitoring sensors are
designed to be robust in all industrial environments. They are
certified intrinsically safe for installation in Zone 0 areas and are
capable of monitoring all of the most critical locations.
In higher temperature locations, such as near the main
fractionator reboiler, unique waveguide-based sensors will be
Figure 4. Emerson’s Permasense waveguide sensors
required due to their temperature resistance up to 600°C (1100°F)
enable continuous wall thickness monitoring on
locations up to 600˚C. The sensors are wireless (Figure 4).
and battery powered, so no cabling is required. The The Permasense ET210 sensor (Figure 5) for operating
sensors protrude through the insulation, measuring temperatures up to 120˚C (250˚F) is suitable for most areas of a sour
the wall thickness of the hot piping or vessel. water stripping unit. This sensor is magnetically mounted and
measures metal thickness through external corrosion protection
coatings up to 1 mm (40 mils) thick.
Each Permasense sensor measures the metal thickness in an area
approximately 1 cm2 (0.5 in.2) in dia. It transmits an ultrasonic pulse
across the pipe or vessel wall, and measures the time it takes for the
signal to reflect off the inside metal surface wall and return to the
sensor. Therefore, it measures only a small, localised area, which is
suitable for general corrosion monitoring. However, in more critical
areas, it is advisable to install two or more sensors to increase the
probability of localised corrosion detection. Sensors can be installed
as multi-point arrays at the highest risk locations based on
understanding of the temperature, metallurgy and equipment
geometry.
The number of sensors needed for each array is driven by
historical inspection records, or by the proportion of the area being
monitored and expected to be affected by the localised corrosion
attack. The larger the area that is expected to be affected by
corrosion attack within the monitored area, the fewer sensors are
required.
Conclusion
Sour water stripper tower corrosion and fouling are common
operational problems compromising asset integrity in refineries. The
tower and overhead sections are exposed to high levels of H2S and
ammonia, and can experience high rates of corrosion. If a stripper
tower leaks or fouls, it can cause refinery processes to be shut down
while the tower is repaired, at a cost of approximately US$1 million
for a typical refinery. Continuous corrosion monitoring can detect
Figure 5. ET sensors are mounted magnetically with problems, allowing a refinery to schedule maintenance at a
a plastic securing strap and measure metal thickness
convenient time and avoid process shutdowns. It can also allow a
through external corrosion protection coatings such
as paint. refinery to defer maintenance if corrosion is less than expected,
resulting in additional savings and fewer shutdowns.

ENGINEERING
ENVIRONMENTALLY
MINDED
Dr. Wolfgang Hater, Christian zum Kolk and
Ingo Königs, Kurita Europe GmbH, Germany,
discuss the growing movement towards
environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors
that are zinc-free and contain minimum
amounts of phosphorous.
C
orrosion inhibition for cooling water systems in natural and renewable organic acids and is inherently
refineries and petrochemical plants is a challenge – biodegradable.
especially in times where environmentally friendly
treatment programmes are favoured. Performance
Open cooling water systems consist of critical equipment
such as recirculation pumps and heat exchangers, which are Corrosion inhibition
often made of carbon steel. Due to its nature, carbon steel will The background of the development of the PMOA was to find
corrode in water, leading to equipment damage, high an environmentally friendly molecule providing a strong
maintenance work and, consequently, unscheduled plant corrosion inhibition effect. Hence, the first series of
shutdowns. To avoid unacceptable corrosion, the cooling experiments in Kurita's European R&D centre evaluated its
water quality is adjusted and corrosion inhibitors are applied. corrosion inhibition performance in comparison to standard
For decades, corrosion inhibition has been achieved with inhibitors. The results of these tests are shown in Figure 1.
phosphates, phosphonates, zinc and combinations of these PMOA shows good efficiency. Zinc, phosphate and polyacrylic
substances. Besides providing good corrosion protection, the acid were chosen to represent state-of-the-art yet poorly
discharge of commonly applied corrosion inhibitors is, from an biodegradable inhibitors, whereas polyaspartic acid is an
environmental perspective, often critical. They have poor example of a green inhibitor. The water quality at which the
biodegradability and the discharge of heavy metals, such as inhibitors were tested is shown in Table 1.
zinc, should be avoided. PMOA indicates a slightly better performance than zinc. A
During recent years, an increasing environmental corrosion inhibition of more than 90% was achieved,
awareness has lead to much stricter limitations for the indicating the potential of the newly developed corrosion
discharge of corrosion inhibitors. To comply with these inhibitor. Polyaspartic acid and polyacrylic acid are both well
limitations, while providing a strong corrosion protection, known for their anti-scaling efficiency, but, as expected, show
Kurita Europe has developed a new low phosphorous, heavy little corrosion inhibition abilities.
metal free corrosion inhibitor; a phosphorous modified After showing a strong corrosion inhibition performance in
organic acid (PMOA). This corrosion inhibitor is based on the first test runs, the performance of PMOA was evaluated in
HYDROC
HYD RO ARBO
ROCARB
RBON 45 May 2017
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more detail by varying important parameters of the water
Table 1. Water quality for corrosion tests
quality and inhibitor concentration. The impact of the pH, the
Parameter Unit Value
water hardness, different chloride concentrations and the
pH - 8.2 water temperature were observed especially.
Total hardness mg/l CaCO3 150
Calcium hardness mg/l CaCO3 120 Impact of the calcium concentration and pH
Cooling water systems are operated at a wide range of different
Total alkalinity mg/l CaCO3 95
calcium concentrations. Sometimes, softened or desalinated
Chloride mg/l 60 water is used where no hardness is present. In other systems,
very hard makeup water is used and the calcium hardness in the
cooling water can easily increase to 10 mol/m3 (1000 g/m3 as
CaCO3) or more. Therefore, corrosion tests at different
Ca2+-concentrations between 0 and 10 mol/m3 were conducted.
It is apparent from Figure 2 that PMOA is able to protect
the metal from corrosion, even if no calcium is present.
Furthermore, the corrosion inhibition of PMOA is almost
constant between 70 and 80%, up to a Ca2+ concentration of
10 mol/m3.
Another series of tests was carried out to evaluate the
corrosion inhibition performance of PMOA at different
pH-levels. Figure 3 shows the results of corrosion tests on
carbon steel as a function of the pH of the test water.
Typically, cooling water systems are operated at pH levels
between 7.0 and 9.0, which is why the tests were carried out in
this range. During these tests, it was proven that the corrosion
Figure 1. Corrosion inhibition of PMOA and other
standard inhibitors. inhibition efficiency of PMOA is almost independent from the
pH within the usual range of cooling waters.
Chloride and temperature variation

The chloride concentration in cooling water ranges typically
from 200 – 500 ppm. Chloride is an aggressive ion, and at high
concentrations it lowers the efficiency of corrosion inhibitors.
Also, the corrosion inhibition efficiency of PMOA decreases
with increasing chloride concentrations. However, corrosion
inhibition in the common chloride range is more than sufficient.
To estimate the influence of fluctuating cooling water
temperature, tests at three different water temperatures were
conducted: 25, 30 and 40˚C (77, 86 and 115˚F, respectively). The
results show that PMOA performs well, independent from the
temperature.
Figure 2. Corrosion inhibition of PMOA at different Chlorine stability

calcium levels. Inhibitor programmes applied in cooling water systems need
to meet high demands. Since oxidising biocides, especially
chlorine or bleach, are often used as a biocide, a corrosion
inhibitor needs to have a high stability against them.
To evaluate the chlorine stability, a series of tests were
conducted in which PMOA and other standard phosphonic
acids – aminotrismethylenephosphonic acid (ATMP),
hydroxyethylenediphosphonic acid (HEDP) and
hydroxyphosphonoacetic acid (HPA) – were compared. The
results are shown in Figure 4. With regard to chlorine stability,
PMOA performs well. After 4 hours with 1 ppm Cl2, the loss is
only 21% for PMOA.
Hardness stabilisation
Besides providing a strong corrosion protection, PMOA also
shows excellent properties as an inhibitor for calcium
Figure 3. Corrosion inhibition of PMOA at different carbonate. Even at very low dosing rates, an almost complete
pH-levels. scale inhibition is achieved. The performance is comparable to
polyacrylic acids, while outperforming the biodegradable

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polyaspartic acid. PMOA can be the backbone of a complete Ecology and toxicity profile
treatment programme for cooling systems due to its corrosion PMOA exhibits a low toxicity (LD50 rats > 5000 mg/kg) and
inhibition and anti-scaling efficiency. is neither irritant to the skin or eyes nor has a
skin-sensitising effect. Furthermore, it does not
demonstrate a mutagenic effect. The new corrosion
inhibitor has a balanced biodegradability. It is not readily
biodegradable, which probably would cause a significant
degradation already in the cooling system, but its
biodegradability is enough to be degraded in the receiving
water or sewage plant. Furthermore, the no effect
concentration (NOEC), both for algae and daphnia, is far
higher than the expected concentrations in surface waters.
Thus, it can be concluded that the application of PMOA is
both safe for humans and the environment.
Synergy
In order to further enhance the corrosion inhibition
efficiency, synergies of PMOA with other corrosion
inhibitors were evaluated. For this purpose, tests were
conducted in which the portion of PMOA and other
Figure 4. Chlorine stability of PMOA and standard phosphonates was varied between 0 and 100%. The total
phosphonic acids. inhibitor concentration was kept at 20 g/m3 in all tests. The
best corrosion inhibition was achieved at a combination of
60% PMOA and 40% of a standard phosphonic acid.
As a result of the synergy tests, Aktiphos 4170
(product A), a formulation based on PMOA and a standard
phosphonic acid, was developed to leverage the improved
corrosion inhibition. Additionally, product A contains a
dispersant and a nonferrous metal inhibitor.
Corrosion tests in a pilot plant

The formulation described before was studied in a pilot
cooling system to determine the corrosion inhibition
efficiency under realistic and critical conditions. The
Figure 5. Corrosion coupons from evaluation tests. formulation product A, containing PMOA, was compared
to two other standard corrosion inhibitors: a formulation
based on the high performance corrosion inhibitor HPA and
a low phosphorous containing product. Both formulations
contain a dispersant and nonferrous metal inhibitor. The
low phosphorous product additionally contains
ortho-phosphate and an amine compound.
The tests in the pilot plant showed that after 25 days of
operation, product A demonstrated an excellent corrosion
inhibition effect. The corrosion rate was 1.6 mils/y (MPY)
and was almost the same as the high performance
corrosion inhibitor, which contained 60% more
phosphorous.
The corrosion coupons that were installed during the
test periods are shown in Figure 5. It is obvious that not
only the general corrosion rate of the coupon, which was
treated with product A, is very low, but also the pitting
corrosion is reduced to a minimum. The second tested low
phosphorous corrosion inhibitor did not provide good
general corrosion protection and could not prevent the
formation of pits.
Figure 6. Corrosion rate and deposit for an all-organic and
PMOA-based treatment programme obtained in a refinery
cooling system. The contribution of each programme Case study
to the PO4-level in the cooling water is indicated. An open recirculating cooling system in a German refinery
(1 mm/a = 40 MPY; 1 g/m2 = 0.092 g/ft2). was treated against corrosion for several years with an
all-organic treatment. The authorities limit the

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Table 2. System data and cooling water quality still satisfy the strict phosphorous limits of this customer. The
data of the system and the cooling water quality are shown in
System data
Table 2.
Volume 2000 m3 Figure 6 shows the comparison of the results obtained
Recirculation rate 2100 m3/hr with the two different treatment programmes, which are
Cycles of concentration 2.5 both heavy metals free. A marked improvement of corrosion
Water (typical analysis)
and scale control could be achieved with the PMOA-based
programme. At the same time, the total amount of
pH 8,9
phosphorous (P) from the treatment was reduced 30%, which
Conductivity 2250 μS/cm significantly eases the waste water management of the
Calcium hardness 510 g/m3 CaCO3 refinery.
Total hardness 670 g/m3 CaCO3 Product A demonstrates a significantly improved
corrosion protection, particularly regarding the phosphate
m-Alkalinity 265 g/m3 CaCO3
contribution to the circuit water. With it, it is possible to
Chlorides 209 g/m3
achieve an excellent corrosion inhibition without exceeding
Sulfates 439 g/m3 the phosphorous limit in the waste water.
concentration of phosphorous in the blowdown. To comply Conclusion

with the strict phosphorous limit, the product dosage could The introduction of the PMOA marks a new milestone in the
not be set to the recommended dose rate that would provide development of environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors.
good corrosion protection. Consequently, the resulting Made of renewable, natural organic acids and with a minimal
corrosion rates of the all-organic treatment programme did phosphorous contribution, good corrosion inhibition can be
not satisfy the customer’s technical standard for corrosion achieved.
rates to be less than 4 MPY for carbon steel. PMOA has demonstrated its strong performance regarding
Product A is a product based on Kurita’s newly developed corrosion and scale inhibition on a laboratory-scale, as well as
corrosion inhibitor PMOA, which has a low phosphorous in difficult-to-treat cooling water systems. Almost all cooling
content. Treating the aforementioned system with product A water qualities at different pH-levels, hardness concentrations
offers the possibility to work with a product concentration etc., can be treated with PMOA. Furthermore, it has a good
high enough to provide excellent corrosion protection and toxicity profile and is inherently biodegradable.
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pruftechnik.com
Stuart Milton,
Metallisation Ltd, UK,
explains how thermal
sprayed aluminium
coatings can help to
protect vital equipment
against corrosion.
ProTective
spray
M
etal or thermal spraying is a technology that facility. As well as being used for CUI protection, TSA also
protects or extends the life of a wide variety of offers excellent protection against traditional atmospheric
structures in the most hostile environments and in corrosion. To ensure the success of the thermal spraying
situations where coatings are vital for safety and process, the preparation of the surface of the items to be
performance. Corrosion prevention in the oil and gas industry, sprayed is critical. Prior to spraying, the surface needs to be
although essential, can be challenging. prepared by grit blasting with steel grit to SA2.5 or, ideally, SA3,
One of the major costs to the oil and gas industry is with a surface roughness between 75 μm and 110 μm. In normal
corrosion under insulation (CUI). The severe consequences of a circumstances, it is at this stage that TSA is applied. For
failure in high pressure pipes and vessels results in high atmospheric corrosion protection, the TSA sprayed coating is
maintenance costs. As part of an ongoing maintenance and commonly sealed to extend the life of the coating. For CUI
safety regime, pipes are stripped of insulation to enable applications, particularly when spraying on a live plant, the
engineers to inspect the pipework for potential damage and TSA coating is often left uncoated. The final stage is then to
excessive corrosion. A series of non-destructive tests are then reapply the insulation to the pipework. The protection offered
carried out before the pipes are reinsulated. by TSA coatings greatly reduces the number of inspections
It is at this stage that coating with thermal sprayed required and life cycle costs can be significantly reduced. CUI
aluminium (TSA) is the preferred method for a number of prevention strategies provide long-term, reliable protection
operators within the oil and gas industry. TSA is found to be a that encourages inspection-free and maintenance-free piping
cost effective solution when reviewed over the lifetime of the systems and a significant reduction in maintenance costs.

ENGINEERING
molten material is atomised by a cone of compressed air and
propelled towards the work piece. The molten spray solidifies on
the component surface and forms a dense, strongly adherent
coating, suitable for corrosion protection. The coatings are
available for almost instant use, with no drying or curing time
required, and there is no risk of damaging the component.
Project examples
UK oil refinery
One of the largest oil refineries in the UK recently used
Metallisation's equipment. The modern marine terminal handles
approximately 2000 ship movements and 22 million t of crude oil
Figure 1. MK73 flamespray system. and other products. The project was commissioned to apply TSA in
order to combat CUI problems. Typically, equipment is coated with
TSA during normal routine maintenance turnarounds when the
process units are shut down. However, during this project, the TSA
was applied onto live equipment in order to eliminate any loss of
production. The process to repair and refurbish live equipment
follows the same stringent working procedures used during routine
maintenance turnarounds, but with enhanced safety precautions to
mitigate any risk from working on live equipment. This included an
upgraded scaffold enclosure, which completely enveloped the
equipment, providing protection from the weather and eliminating
dust and debris contamination of surrounding equipment.
After removal of the external weatherproofing jacket and
insulation, full visual and ultrasonic thickness inspection was
undertaken. Once completed and any repairs implemented, the
Figure 2. TSA being applied by arcspray to a new oil surface preparation started by blasting to SA3 cleanliness with a
refinery vessel before installation.
profile of 75 – 125 μm. Various quality assurance/quality control
(QA/QC) tests were undertaken to check the blast quality, profile
and cleanliness before metal spraying. Next, the aluminium was
applied within four hours of the blasting process. Finally, the
insulation and weather jacket were reapplied.
Offshore oil platform

An offshore oil platform, designed and constructed by a UK
engineering, procurement, installation commissioning (EPIC)
company, was to be erected in the North Sea oilfields and
required protection against this harsh environment. TSA was the
chosen solution.
The offshore platform, a three-leg tubular steel jacket, which
weighed approximately 436 t, with the topsides weighing around
345 t. The centre core of the jacket was 27.1 m long with 3 x 1 m dia.
main tubular columns. The insides of the columns were TSA’d with
Figure 3. Pipeline being blasted.
250 – 400 μm of aluminium and sealed with an epoxy sealer.
Around two-thirds of the external surface of the columns, which
This coating solution is increasing in volume, with a were going to be exposed to the harsh North Sea, were coated to
number of global oil companies adopting this process within the same thickness, sealed with epoxy sealer and top coated with
many plants around the world. Confidence in the application a polyurethane (PU) topcoat.
process and technique has grown to such an extent that the The top section and the platform’s support braces were also
coating of live plants is commonly undertaken. coated, sealed and top coated with PU, totalling another 500 m2.
Metallisation Ltd's Mark 73 Flamespray pistol offers a choice Once the centre core and top section were welded together, the
of continuous or stop/start nozzles, which has helped to raise weld joints were also coated, sealed and top coated to complete
throughput by 33%. The equipment combines a spray head with the task and ensure all sections had been protected. The inclusion
an improved valve and pilot assembly and a high power air of a longer supplies pack, up to 50 m from the gas bottles to the
motor drive. A spreader system also helps the operator to pistol, provided the operators with the flexibility to move freely
achieve a more even coating when applying over large areas. around the large jacket structure without having to move the gas
In this process, the raw material, which is in the form of a supplies, which greatly increased productivity. This additional
single wire, is melted in an oxygen-fuelled gas flame. The aspect enabled the team to spray an average of 100 m2/d of TSA,

ENGINEERING
Product Bulletin
NeXRing™: covering all your random packing requirements
Why it’s better Concrete benefits

NeXRing provides an extremely large and uniform open NeXRingTM makes it possible to reduce the capital cost for
area regardless of ring orientation, allowing high surface newly constructed plants while column sizes can be further
area contact with the liquid and vapor streams. This high optimized. There are significant improvements when compared
performance design allows successful replacement of the with 2nd or 3rd generation rings:
more traditional ring types for process upgrades and increases • Up to 50% increased capacity compared to P-Ring
design and operating flexibility. • Up to 10% increased capacity compared to I-Ring
More capacity Typical applications for NeXRing

For capacity limited designs, Sulzer can offer a NeXRing The operation characteristic of NeXRing is the same as
alternative which will provide higher capacity, and lower traditional rings. Applications for NeXRing include:
pressure drop with no penalty in the efficiency. • Fertilizer/Acid Gas removal/Gas sweetening
• Natural Gas Liquids treatment (LNG)
Increased efficiency • Demethanizer/Deethanizer
When you require more efficiency without sacrificing capacity, • Butadiene purification
the expanded NeXRing family also offers the ability to increase • Degassing
the number of stages while maintaining the tower’s capacity. • Liquid/Liquid Extraction
Summary
NeXRing is a patented high performance ring which provides
extremely large and uniform open area regardless of ring
orientation to vapor flow with the following benefits:
• Higher capacity
• Lesser pressure drop
• Lower investment cost
NeXRing is successfully replacing many types of older
generation packing.
Successful design of columns with high performance random

packing requires the right internals, but the payout can be
significant. Sulzer’s Application Team can help evaluate all
possible options and provide an optimal solution for your
column.
www.sulzer.com
Please check for your local contact
Sulzer NeXRingTM Random Packing

The Sulzer Applications Group
Sulzer has over 150 years of in-house operating
and design experience in process applications. We
understand your process and your economic drivers.
Sulzer has the know-how and the technology to design
internals with reliable, high performance.
Europe, Middle East and India Asia Pacific North and South America
Sulzer Chemtech Ltd. Sulzer Chemtech Co., Ltd. Sulzer Chemtech USA, Inc.
P.O. Box 65 10 Benoi Sector 8505 E. North Belt Drive
8404 Winterthur, Switzerland Singapore 629845 Humble, TX 77396, USA
Phone: +41 52 262 50 28 Phone: +65 6515 5500 Phone: +1 281 604-4100
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Legal Notice: The information contained in this publication is believed to be accurate and reliable, but is not to be construed as implying any warranty or guarantee
of performance. Sulzer Chemtech waives any liability and indemnity for effects resulting from its application.
Petrochemical plant
In a recent project at a petrochemical plant, the gas bottles and
compressor were situated in a remote supply area, which gave
easy access to the gas cylinders and enabled manifolding for
fewer cylinder changes. In elevated applications, such as vessels
and towers, the cylinders can remain on the floor, while the
spray system is elevated tens of metres. This situation requires
less complex scaffolding, as the heavy bottles are not scaffold
mounted. The 30 m supply package, consisting of gas, oxygen
and air, was fed from the overhead supply area down to the
control panel. The pistol is then a further 10 m away from the
control panel. This set up allows a length of piping that is
approximately 60 m long to be sprayed without having to move
Figure 4. TSA being applied to a pipeline in hard to the cylinders and air compressor, offering significant
access areas. productivity and safety benefits in a difficult environment.
The contractor on this specific project used two Metallisation
MK73 Flamespray systems in different spray locations. Once the
blasting and inspection were completed, the TSA application
commenced. Typically, blasting and inspection is completed in
the morning and takes approximately four hours. The TSA is
applied in the early afternoon for around three hours and the
final sealant application is at the end of the day. The TSA is
applied with a methodical work pattern, with the pipe topside
coated first and then the underside. The long supplies package
allows the sprayer and wireman to move freely and efficiently
around the worksite in order to suit the specific area.
The equipment's deflected extension is suitable for those
difficult to access areas commonly found at petrochemical sites
and has been designed specifically for this application area. It
comes in three lengths, 150 mm, 300 mm and 450 mm. The
Figure 5. TSA being applied by flamespray to a new extension unit can spray directly forward or at a deflected angle
offshore oil platform. (up to 90°) by varying the deflector air pressure. The deflection
nozzle can rotate through 180° to allow spraying in a 360° arc
around the pistol. The long supplies system provides flexible
working conditions, which are particularly useful when spraying
the underside of the pipes.
Following the application of the TSA, the pipelines in this
specific application were sealed. In some CUI related
environments, no sealer is applied, especially where the spray
area is operational and hot. During the application of the TSA,
the operators periodically checked the coating thickness using a
dry film thickness (DFT) gauge and made appropriate corrections
along the way. The specification for this particular job was
250 – 500 μm. The QA/QC inspector for the project also
checked and recorded the coating thickness throughout the
process. To support the QA/QC process, the spray operators
produced witness plates on a daily basis, which were then tested
Figure 6. TSA being applied to a pipeline with MK73 for adhesion to ensure it met the minimum 1000 psi – 6.9 MPa
flamespray system. coating adhesion. Audit bond strength testing was also carried
out periodically on the actual sprayed pipe sections.
which, considering the complexity of the project, was quite an
achievement. Conclusion
Prior to metal spraying the platform surfaces, each section Corrosion prevention in the oil and gas industry is essential,
was grit blasted overnight, ready to be sprayed during the day. challenging and expensive. However, as demonstrated in these
The spraying chamber was maintained at a controlled case studies, metal spraying pipes, vessels, and platforms with
temperature with up to 2.2 million Btu of heating available to TSA has many benefits. TSA has proven to be a cost effective
ensure optimum quality of the coating. By applying TSA, the solution when reviewed over the lifetime of the structures that
platform has a predicted life to first maintenance in excess of have been metal sprayed. As well as being ideal for CUI
20 years, even in the harsh environment of the North Sea protection, TSA also offers excellent protection against
oilfields. traditional atmospheric corrosion.

ENGINEERING
OUT OF
THIS
WORLD
Stephen Karns, HarbisonWalker
International, USA, discusses how
petrochemical reformer efficiency
can be improved with high emissivity
coatings that were originally
designed for rocket nozzles.
E
ngineers of petrochemical plants are always searching
for ways to improve their process. After all,
continuous improvement is an important role in many
successful companies. Technology that can reduce
maintenance costs, cut fuel consumption, improve reliability,
or increase production are priority objectives for anyone
tasked with improving a plant’s processes. High emissivity
coatings can be utilised to address all of these key results,
especially when used in reforming and cracking furnaces. This
is because of the way that these coatings transfer more heat
to the process, rather than through the refractory lining,
yielding a greater efficiency with less wear and tear on
refractory and process tubes. Coatings similar to this have
already been used in lower temperature furnaces such as fired
heaters for years, but high emissivity coating technology is
now available that provides these results for years, between
turnarounds, and without any loss of efficiency.
Emisshield is a product line of high emissivity coatings
designed to maximise radiant heat transfer efficiency. It was
originally created by the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) for use on heat shields and rocket
nozzles to reduce the surface temperature of these
components and maintain the proper operating
temperature. By using a high emissivity coating, the weight
on heat shields and rocket nozzles can be reduced, which in
turn can reduce the cost of operation and improve the
safety and reliability of the vessel.
When used for petrochemical reformers and crackers,
this coating can provide a variety of benefits including
increased production, decreased energy consumption, and

ENGINEERING
based in Saudi Arabia. One furnace was coated
initially, with the remaining two coated during the
following turnaround. These furnaces are all of
identical design, with wall burners directing the flame
along the refractory walls and including two passes
through the convective and radiate sections. Both
passes run through the convection section first, then
through the radiant section. Three main objectives
were assessed: increased VCM production, reduced
fuel consumption, and reduced maintenance cost.
The owner also had some unique problems; uneven
pass temperatures and bending tubes due to excess
operating temperatures.
Figure 1. Percentage of cracking conversion increased after Case study

installing Emisshield coating.
Data was collected before and after it was coated.
The average observations are shown in Table 1. The
Table 1. Key performance indicators measured before and average exterior shell temperature dropped by an
after coating; all indicators show an improvement in efficiency average of 10°C, one clear sign that more energy is
Before After being transferred to the process stream. Reducing the
exterior temperature is also a benefit for workers’
Radiant tube skin temperature (°C) 678 600
safety, such that it diminishes the risk of dehydration
Coil outlet temperature (°C) 498 495
and heat stroke, and reduces the risk of explosion by
Radiant flue gas temperature (°C) 830 770 overheating exterior fuel lines. Based on these
Exterior wall temperature (°C) 82.3 63.7 observations, a minimum additional heat transfer of
314.5 w/m2 was estimated. This translates to an
Table 2. Performance measurements before and after coating; additional 97 kg/hr or 776 tpy. Based on the value of
Emisshield decreased fuel consumption by 2% this added production, a payback time of 1.25 years
Furnace # Before After % Change (15 months) is estimated, not including other savings.
The coating is expected to last at least five years, but
1 1.43 GJ/t 1.40 GJ/t 2.10
will likely last significantly longer. To further illustrate
2 1.43 GJ/t 1.40 GJ/t 2.10 the added VCM production, the cracking conversion
3 1.55 GJ/t 1.52 GJ/t 1.90 percentage was monitored. As can be seen in Figure 1,
Average 1.47 GJ/t 1.44 GJ/t 2.04 the cracking conversion percentage increases
significantly after the installation, going from an
reduced maintenance costs. By applying the coating to the average of 50% before coating, to 54% – and climbing –
radiant walls and tubes in a pyrolysis furnace, the efficiency of afterwards. One added benefit was a more consistent coil
the furnace is improved significantly. Increasing the emissivity outlet temperature between the first and second pass, which
of the surfaces also increases the amount of radiant energy the helps to maximise the production of both passes. This is
surface can absorb and radiate. So, the surfaces not only caused by the more even heat distribution throughout the
absorb more energy, they also radiate more energy – entire radiant section.
depending on where the cooler load is located. When applied
to process tubes, the amount of energy absorbed is maximised, Savings
thereby increasing the energy transferred to the feedstock. On To evaluate energy savings, an average annual cost of GJ/t of
refractory walls – regardless of the type – maximising the product was measured before and after coating the furnaces.
emissivity here will increase the amount of energy that the Table 2 provides a summary and average of the findings for
wall absorbs. However, because the cooler load is inside the each of the three furnaces. Overall, the average fuel savings
furnace, this additional energy is radiated to the load rather from all three furnaces was 2.04%. This is valued to be
than being conducted through the lining to the shell. The approximately US$225 000 of savings for each furnace, with a
result is an overall increase in efficiency by transferring the total saving of US$675 000 for all three annually. By using
most energy possible to the feedstock. If all the conditions in Emisshield, the amount of energy transferred to the load is
the furnace were kept the same (burners, feed rate, and increased, so less fuel is needed to heat the product to the
dampers) then the load would become overheated. To correct proper temperature. The burners were automatically adjusted
this, the feed-rate is increased and the burners are turned when the unit’s operators observed an increase in coil outlet
down. Most process heaters are designed to make these temperature, which yielded a reduced fuel consumption per
changes automatically. When the feed rate is increased, this ton of product manufactured.
boosts production; and once the burners have been turned To gain an understanding of the difference in general
down, fuel consumption is concurrently decreased. maintenance costs before and after coating, the maintenance
The folowing case study focuses on three vinyl chloride costs for 2.5 years before and after applying the coating were
monomer (VCM) reformers that were needed for a customer compared. The average annual maintenance cost before

ENGINEERING
coating was US$493 000, whereas after coating it was however this can be eliminated. Tubes no longer need to be
US$277 000 (a reduction of 44% and an annual savings of blasted to remove the insulating layer of oxide and will last
US$216 000 per furnace, with a total annual average significantly longer because of it.
maintenance savings of US$648 000). Other benefits of the coating included a decrease in
ceramic fibre dust buildup (resulting from the devitrification of
Benefits the fibres), reduced emissions, and a safer working
One effect is the lower surface temperature of the refractory environment. The coating acts as a high temperature rigidiser
inside the furnace. In these furnaces, the only factor that prevents the fibres from breaking off and building up on
influencing refractory life is temperature. Since more energy is the tubes in the convection section. To keep the convection
radiated from the surface of the refractory, its surface section working properly, this has to be cleaned out
temperature is reduced and it experiences less wear and occasionally, losing production in the meantime. Because of
shrinkage over time, saving expenses on repair and the added production and reduced fuel consumption, the
replacement. amount of CO, CO2, NOX, and SOX per unit of product
Another result of implementing the coating is the effect it manufactured is also reduced. This can translate into fewer
has on the tubes, helping to reduce hotspots and eliminate carbon credits purchased, or increased production under
oxidation. High emissivity coatings on the tubes contribute to existing emissions permits. Lastly, the coating reduces exterior
the even distribution of heat along the entire tube and temperatures, which helps to save on maintenance, but it also
throughout the entire furnace, which significantly reduces helps to reduce the heat stress on employees working around
hotspots that could damage the tube. Specifically, this solved the furnace. In addition to this, it can prevent the overheating
the issue of bending tubes that had plagued one of the of exterior fuel lines that can result in explosions. The overall
furnaces. In most furnaces such as these, coke buildup will result is a safer furnace during operation.
occur inside tubes at hotspots, eventually leading to a lengthy
shutdown to clear the blockage. The addition of a high Conclusion
emissivity coating significantly reduces this buildup and can In summary, high emissivity coatings can provide value to VCM
double the time between decoking cycles by eliminating the reforming furnaces. These coatings have provided additional
hotspots. This effect was observed in these furnaces and production, fuel savings, a reduction in maintenance costs, and
attributed to the maintenance savings. Oxidation and reduced emissions per unit of product manufactured. They
carburisation of the alloy also affect tube maintenance, can also help to make the furnaces safer to work around.
Orhan Karagöz,
g , Rembe,, Turkey, y,
examines the isolation and p protection of
safetyy valves usingg rupture
p discs on the
upstream
p and downstream connections.
I
n recent years, several industries have recognised the need to
isolate, or have protected, the inlet of a safety valve with
rupture discs. However, many have missed the opportunity to
fully protect the safety valve from the effects of process
conditions entering the outlet side of the valve.
Many years ago, the various industries, in many cases driven
by legislators and environmental groups, were faced with the
need to improve the rogue emissions that were left to flow for
years and ignored as part of ‘the way things were done’.
The first step was to try and find better safety valves that
were simple to build into the design of new plants. However, the
existing plants were looking at substantial investments to
replace older designs with newer ones. Similarly, for new plants
there was a significant increase in the cost of safety valves in
order to try and meet the lower emission levels required for
certification and permits that were necessary to allow start-up
and to continue to run the plants.
While there were significant increases in the capabilities of
safety valves, the expectation was that they would not be able
to meet the requirements for future zero targets. As such, an
alternative solution was needed.
The rupture disc

Rupture discs have been around for decades and were always
seen as the secondary solution for overpressure after safety
valves. The lack of understanding of the rupture disc continues
to this day, it can still be perceived as a mystery to engineers in
the mechanical and process disciplines, and to field operatives
that install and maintain them.
Discs are seen as a ‘problem’ because they open and let the
pressure out, when in fact that is exactly what they are designed

ENGINEERING
to do. It is still unrecognised by many operators that when partners-up with the safety valve to help improve performance.
the disc performs correctly it is not the problem, but the The safety valve requires the use of rupture discs to achieve
solution. 100% isolation and provide better operational stability.
So how does the rupture disc help the safety valve For several years, Rembe has regularly observed rupture discs
perform better while it is in use? In the case of isolation, it being installed upstream of a safety valve. Operators are now
starting to appreciate that a properly engineered rupture disc
will help lower operating costs and increase the up-time for a
plant. The belief that this arrangement adds more cost to a
project has been proven to be false. In fact, the opposite is the
case, as costs are seen to come down.
Combatting corrosive materials

Take a typical installation where the safety valve faces a process
condition with a high concentration of corrosive materials,
increased temperatures and an operating pressure close to the
safety valve set pressure. This tests the limits of safety valves,
resulting in poor performance below the expected levels needed
for operational stability and no leaks. High maintenance costs are
needed to keep the valve as close to original specifications as
Figure 1. An up-close look at a rupture disc shows possible (increased downtime to the production for routine
leak tightness by metal-to-metal sealing. valve servicing and/or repairs and higher manpower costs to
cover the work scopes).
The solution of the safety valve manufacturers is a higher
specification valve, made from more exotic materials with
higher CAPEX costs, as well as the increased cost of spares to
maintain the valves. Take a typical petrochemical plant with
several hundred safety valves. Over time, the CAPEX
accumulates to be a significant increase in the cost of the valve
inventory.
Rupture discs fitted upstream of the safety valve, in a
material that will isolate and withstand the process conditions,
leaves the plant owner to install lower grade materials in the
safety valve, while still meeting all the requirements of design,
but with a significant reduction in the safety valve CAPEX.
The rupture disc and holder will be a minor cost compared
to higher specification safety valve CAPEX. If the lower
maintenance costs are added, the disc and holder will cost
nothing. This is a win-win path with more production uptime,
less emissions, greater safety, overall lower maintenance costs
and spares inventory.
Figure 2. An example of a combined rupture disc and
safety valve.
Challenges
However, Rembe still witnesses safety valves with an upstream
rupture disc failing, requiring maintenance and stopping
production or causing safety issues.
It is important to remember that a safety valve also has an
outlet. In many cases, the outlet is not a separate line to
discharge but is manifolded together with other parts of the
plant, allowing process gases/vapour to enter the outlet of the
valve and creating safety valve failures.
This is something easily eliminated by a downstream
rupture disc, which prevents any process gases entering the
safety valve on the outlet side. The rupture disc will also block
any back pressure from entering the safety valve and remove
those concerns during valve selection.
With burst sensors installed both upstream and
downstream, rupture discs can be monitored and connected
Figure 3. Rupture discs with smooth surfaces ensure back to the control room for system reporting across the plant,
leak tightness. so operators instantly know which valves and discs are in a
green or red state.

ENGINEERING
Q Customer:
Ethylene plant, Saudi Arabia.
Q Challenge:
Overhaul and repair four critical steam turbines in 12 days.
Q Result:
Elliott coordinated six months of pre-planning –
and completed the project four days early.
They turned to Elliott

for planning and execution.
The customer turned to Elliott because they understood that planning is everything –
and that few companies can match Elliott in turnaround planning and execution.
Who will you turn to?
C O M P R E S S O R S Q T U R B I N E S Q G L O B A L S E R V I C E The world turns to Elliott.

www.elliott-turbo.com
several valves were found with broken or cracked springs,
springs that had corroded to failure point, bellows that were
corroded and breached, and several safety valves so badly
affected that the disc and nozzle were corroded solidly
together and the valve could not have opened.
This raised major safety concerns that the plant would not
meet its three-year maintenance-free plan, which would cause
it to revert back to the tried and tested method of regular
removal/replacement of the safety valves.
Figure 4. In-situ testing saves time and money. In conjunction with Rembe, the analysis showed that
aggressive process gases were present upstream and in the
The rupture disc manufacturer can, in conjunction with downstream side of the valves and that the best protection
design/process engineers, work to select the rupture discs that for the valve was offered through isolation with rupture discs
give the best possible safety and isolation performance. in a suitable material. This would also allow the end user to
Unfortunately, this is still a rarity and is a common explanation progress towards a three-year target with the end goal of
for why rupture discs may be blamed for poor performance extending this to five years.
when they are simply doing what they are designed to do. In addition, the use of the company's KUB-V rupture discs
They are the only fail-safe device that always opens when allows for in-situ lift testing of the safety valves during the
faced with an over pressure situation. three-year period to ensure that the safety valves were still
operational. Rembe’s rupture discs can be removed and
Case study inspected then reused and still be in a serviceable condition.
This case study is an example of a refinery application where
safety valves failed in operation due to process conditions Conclusion
attacking the metal structure. While the benefits of rupture discs have been a mystery to
Rembe was approached by the refinery to assist them in many operators for several decades, there is a growing
overcoming the serious issue with the safety valves. The plant appreciation of their ability to help improve the performance
needed to operate for three years without safety valve removal of safety valves. As illustrated in the above case study, a
for service and recertification, except in emergency cases. During properly engineered rupture disc can help to lower operating
the removal of the safety valves at a scheduled shutdown, costs and increase a plant's up-time.
STAR-CCM+: Discover
better designs, faster.
Multiphase fluid dynamics simulation for
the fermentation and process industries.
siemens.com/mdx
Volker Becker,
MAN PrimeServ
(MAN Diesel & Turbo),
Germany, discusses an
equipment turnaround and
upgrading case study for a
refinery in Romania.
Unconventional
thinking pays
off
S
ince the end of the 1970s, the Rompetrol company discharge pressure of 18.5 bar, respectively driven by
on the Black Sea coast at Navodari, Romania, has four-stage back-pressure steam turbines, type
been running several turbomachinery units at the DG040/030l.
local Petromidia refinery. The turbomachinery was One six-stage mixed flow gas radial compressor, type
originally delivered by former GHH Sterkrade company, RH063/06K, designed for an intake rate of
37 100 Nm3/hr and discharge pressure of 17.6 bar, driven
which is now part of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE. As
by an electric motor and transmission gearing.
predecessor of the original manufacturer,
One three-stage, double-flow radial air compressor,
MAN Diesel & Turbo still offers all services for the
type RH080/03D, designed for an intake rate of
turbomachinery, which is now more than 35 years old. 60 000 Nm3/hr and discharge pressure of 3.3 bar,
The Petromedia refinery is a member of KMG driven by a condensing turbine, type DK060/110R.
International/KazMunayGas Group and one of Eastern
Europe's largest refineries with a processing capacity of In 2008, a barrel compressor, type RB35-5, was installed
more than 5 million tpy of crude oil, or 100 000 bpd. at the refinery as part of a mid-hydrocracking plant. At the
Rominserv is responsible for maintenance and repair at beginning of the 1990s, one of the aforementioned
the refinery. The turbomachinery delivered in 1978 by compressor systems for syngas compressing had already
GHH/MAN includes the following: been shut down.
Two syngas barrel compressors, type RV040/06, Up to 2010, the machinery was predominantly maintained
designed for an intake rate of 119 000 Nm3/hr and a by original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-independent

ENGINEERING
spare parts deliveries, was
deemed inadvisable.
Among other discoveries,
major eccentricities between
the bearing blocks and
machine enclosures were
identified. If not subject to
extensive machine-based
repair work, they would lead
to irreparable damage to
enclosures and bearing seats.
Figure 1. Synthesis gas compressor: before (left) and after maintenance and Various machine fixtures
reconditioning (right). such as enclosure rings, blade
carriers and labyrinth seals
could no longer be
disassembled without
destroying them as they
were too fouled and thus,
irremovably lodged in the
enclosures. Some enclosure
walls also revealed material
cracks.
Tolerances and play far
exceeded the specified
range, bearing materials were
brittle and damaged. Some
Figure 2. Centrifugal compressor: before (left) and after (right); the revision brought of the rotors displayed major
visible effects. run-out deviations. Existing
spares were, for the most
part, unmaintained and part of previous overhauls. In some
cases, there were no longer even any original parts.
On opening the enclosure, the DG040/030l
back-pressure turbine in particular revealed major defects.
Bearings were worn, labyrinth seals damaged, and the
blades and steam nozzles were seriously eroded by steam.
Even the turbine rotor, for which no spare had been
stocked, was damaged (some of its labyrinth seals were
broken off, its blades were victim to steam erosion, and the
journal diameters were far below the set diameter due to
previous repairs).
It soon became apparent that complete restoration of
the turbine would be impossible within the timeframe with
the existing spares and without considerable
Figure 3. Beside detailed planning, comprehensive machine-based repair work on the enclosure and blading.
maintenance projects also require close co-operation Due to the original design of the turbine and its
between field service and service workshops. corresponding safety reserves, MAN Primeserv managed to
complete an emergency overhaul of the equipment. The
service providers. However, in 2010 MAN PrimeServ, service operator was thus able to resume operation in safety until
provider of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, was commissioned as the next overhaul. The plant was duly recommissioned
general contractor to perform overhaul work on the after the overhaul so that neither upstream or downstream
specified machinery. The main aim of this measure was to processes in the refinery needed to be interrupted
enhance plant availability through preventive maintenance unnecessarily.
and thus eliminate the eventuality of unforeseen Due to a lack of spare parts and machine tools, defective
shutdowns. labyrinth seals, for instance, could only be repaired manually,
On shutting down the plant for overhaul, major with blade edges merely equalised by hand and bearing
defects were identified. Due to the extremely narrow time surfaces re-bedded as best possible. Crack tests were also
slot, a major effort was involved in rectifying these performed and existing cracks ground out.
defects so that availability could be guaranteed for the The syngas compressor also revealed considerable
next five years of production. However, continuing defects, in this case, bearings and oil-buffered seals were
operation after 2015, without further repair measures and replaced. The decision was taken not to remove the barrel

ENGINEERING
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Thus, over the course of 2011, the idea of using the
identical machine shutdown at the beginning of the 1990s
to replace the machinery during the 2015 overhaul was
suggested. However, as this plant had been used as a source
of spare parts for the machinery still in operation since its
shutdown, almost all that was left on the machine platform
was the outer casing, which due to exposure to the
elements, was in a deplorable state. And although various
used spare parts were found in the customer's warehouse,
it was immediately obvious that their condition precluded
installation.
No one on the client's side could imagine that the
barrel compressor and back-pressure turbine would ever
see service again. However, after intensive discussion and
technical deliberations, Rominserv was finally persuaded of
the feasibility of replacing the machinery within the
available overhaul period.
Working closely together, Rominserv and MAN
Primeserv Field Service Coordination drafted detailed
overall project schedules, in which all repair and overhaul
jobs were planned along with the required personnel, tools,
materials and spare parts, as well as the use of portable
machine tools. A risk assessment was also included, in
which possible findings on the machinery were enumerated
and measures for their rectification were defined in
advance.
Figure 4. On-site experts identify maintenance The two old casings were disassembled in mid-2014 in
requirements. Navodari and, together with any remaining parts, shipped
to the MAN PrimeServ's Repair Competence Center in
Oberhausen, Germany. After arrival, all parts were
examined, repaired or, in some cases, new parts were
produced entirely.
A major advantage was the fact that MAN, as original
manufacturer, held all production drawings for the two
machines and, as a result, no re-engineering was necessary.
Furthermore, design options could be put in place that
upgraded the technical state of the old machinery beyond
its original level.
After reconditioning, the barrel compressor and
back-pressure turbine were returned to the refinery
promptly before the overhaul date. The back-pressure
turbine could only be shipped part-assembled due to its
design with two floating bearing blocks. Final assembly
Figure 5. High-end equipment in the service could therefore only take place on site in Navodari during
workshop ensures precision on-site. the planned shutdown.
An extensive package of spare parts was ordered and
delivered for the remaining turbomachinery, including new
as the existing spare parts were assessed to be inadequate. rotors, casing rings, blade carriers, labyrinth seals and
Again, due to the compressor's high quality and existing bearings.
safety reserves, it was also possible to resume use safely At the start of the overhaul in September 2015, the
until the next overhaul. steam and process gas lines on the old turbine and
Immediately following the overhaul, the plant compressor enclosure of the syngas plant were
operator and MAN representative office in Romania met disconnected and the two machine enclosures lifted out of
to draft a service concept aimed at guaranteeing reliable the base frame.
continued plant operation to far beyond 2025. The state The base frame support surfaces were cleaned and
of the syngas system, in particular, posed a challenge optically measured, whereupon major deviations in
because the refinery stipulated that the customary parallelism were established between the different
overhaul period of three weeks, planned for 2015, could surfaces. As an initial rough measurement had been
not be extended despite the considerable extent of conducted on the base frame prior to the start of the
necessary repairs. overhaul, during which the first deviations were already

ENGINEERING
identified, portable machine tools were already put in
place before the overhaul and were ready for action. Work
on the surface support could commence immediately – a
preventive measure that ultimately helped minimise the
overhaul time.
A total of six base frame support surfaces were
Together facing a
reworked with portable milling tools to restore them to brighter tomorrow
their original state and required degree of surface quality.
Once the surfaces had been reworked, the two At Yokogawa, we believe the sky’s the limit.
reconditioned machines were mounted on the frame. And to reach beyond today’s horizons,
The final turbine assembly went successfully, as all we work step-by-step with you to make
settings and clearance adjustments had already been
the unimagined a reality. That’s how we
performed at the Repair Competence Center in Oberhausen.
move forward, through the synergy of
The two enclosures were then aligned in relation to one
another and new dowel holes were inserted to secure the co-innovation partnership. Join hands with
enclosure, with the help of a portable boring mill. us, and together we can sustain a brighter
All the peripheral equipment of the old machine was future. Yokogawa: Building a better
reused and connected to the new enclosure. The necessary tomorrow with you today.
connection tolerances, in respect to the flange parallelism
and offset of the process lines, were observed without
having to cut any lines. Therefore, it was sufficient in this
case to slightly adjust the line routing and brackets.
With the help of hydraulic traverse lifts specially Please visit www.yokogawa.com/eu
produced in advance, the fixed enclosure rings could be
removed from the other two radial compressor enclosures
without damaging the outer enclosure. Once all fixtures
had been removed from the two compressor enclosures
and condensing turbine, the enclosures were cleaned and
the centre position measured.
Using a portable lathe, the bearing seats on four
compressor bearing blocks and two turbine bearing blocks
were removed, along with the newly delivered bearing
supports. Then the bearing blocks were centred in relation
to the machine enclosures. After the crack test on the
enclosure, all interior parts were replaced by new parts and
everything was reassembled with the specified tolerances.
Feedback
At the end of September 2015, all plant parts were
recommissioned in process conditions and have been
operating since to the customer's full satisfaction.
Since the original syngas plant best supported the plant
in operation during its 25 year 'sleep' through its supply of
various spare parts, this role can now be assumed by the
now-dismantled plant.
After overhaul, the old plant and all dismantled parts of
the other MAN turbomachinery were returned to the
Repair Competence Center for inspection and repair. This
ensures that all the necessary parts will be available again
for the next general overhaul and continued operation of
the overall plant is guaranteed for the upcoming years.
Conclusion
Besides technical expertise as the basic prerequisite for
maintenance and service, this case study shows the vital
importance of open transparent communication and
intensive cooperation between plant operator and machine
and system manufacturer to duly perform exacting
time-critical work within budget for the full satisfaction of
all concerned.
GETTING
CREATIVE
Sean Phillips, FS-Elliott, USA, reviews the commissioning of
a customised compressed air solution for a Middle Eastern
oil refinery, and the recommendations for reducing project
and maintenance costs while increasing system efficiency.

ENGINEERING
T
he challenge is on for oil refineries. According identified, the refinery expressed an interest in
to a recent A.T. Kearney1 study of the global partnering with FS-Elliott for its compressed air system.
refining market, 1 in 10 oil refineries are The EPC’s responsibilities included the engineering,
expected to cease operations over the next procurement, construction and commissioning of crude
four years. To survive, and ensure fiscal sustainability, distillation units, atmospheric residue desulfurisation
refineries are reorganising their operational models, units, diesel hydrotreating units, naphtha hydrotreating
expanding product offerings, increasing efficiency, and units, kerosene hydrotreating units, a saturated gas unit
preparing to meet the upcoming environmental and a heavy oil cooling unit. After receiving the various
regulations. project specifications set forth by the refinery, EPC, and
Understanding that the volatile market conditions the project management consultant (PMC), FS-Elliott
required a significant response, a refinery located in the scheduled an on-site meeting to discuss the project.
Middle East organised an expansion project set forth to With specifications coming in from multiple parties, an
double its refining capacities while minimising important part of this meeting was clarifying
environmental impacts and improving the safety and contradictory requests to ensure the equipment met the
functionality of its operations. Included in the project refineries' expectations. The EPC stressed that staying
was a highly customised solution for delivering within budget and on schedule was critical to project
instrument air to processes within the refinery. success with no room for complications.
With the details collected from their onsite meeting,
Project details FS-Elliott prepared a quotation for two separate,
Historically, the Middle Eastern refinery had a strong three-stage, API centrifugal compressors capable of
relationship with FS-Elliott dating back to the 1980s delivering 162 m3/min. of pressure and up to 10.3 bar (g).
when the refinery’s first compressor was commissioned. One unit would be driven by a high-tension electric
The relationship was further strengthened through new motor, the other driven by a steam turbine. To allow the
projects, technical inquiries, and on-site lessons to EPC to visualise the equipment configuration, the
educate new equipment users on best practices for company developed 3D renderings of the compressors
efficient compressor operation. Once an engineering, and dryers, which were imported into the EPC’s 3D plant
procurement and construction (EPC) contractor was layout system to identify possible interference issues.

ENGINEERING
accessibility, saving the refinery labour, time and
money.
Bridging technology and

communication
The EPC awarded FS-Elliott the bid based on its prior
experience working with the refinery, the level of
technical resources that were contributed during the
bid process and the company's flexible approach to
compressor manufacturing. Although the project
manager was highly involved during the bidding phase,
upon winning the project, the project manager began
to serve as the single point of contact throughout
project execution.
Virtual 3D review sessions took place at the 30, 60,
90, and 100% project milestones to accommodate the
challenge of the EPC’s technical and management team
spread across multiple locations and to allow for
Figure 1. Compressor 3D model at the 30% milestone real-time analysis. During the 30% project milestone
review.
review, the team examined the interstage piping, all
major connections and the sub skid and instrument
rack dimensions to ensure the correct clearances were
met. At the 60% review, oil and water piping,
instrument and valve orientation positioning, and
minor end user connections were examined, along with
a detailed inspection of the instrument rack design.
Kick plates were added in the 60% review to elevated
walkways to ensure the safety of the refinery workers.
A final review was performed at the 90% review, which
included a comprehensive inspection of the system
along with all electrical connections. Human factors
and ergonomics (HF&E) were reviewed at this stage,
ensuring controls were at eye level, valves were easily
accessible, intercooler bundles could be removed
without interference, and all pipes that radiated heat
were insulated to prevent injury. The time and
dedication to detail during each milestone review
allows for a smoother installation and the avoidance of
potential HF&E issues that could potentially turn into
Figure 2. Compressor 3D model at the 60% rework for the refinery after installation.
milestone review.
Advanced compressor control
According to the project specifications, separate control
In many cases, the specifications for downstream systems should be available to provide inlet guide
projects are not applicable to packaged equipment. vane/blow-off valve pressure and flow control and
Therefore, collaborating with a compressor anti-surge control. Since adding a separate system
manufacturer to help understand the implications of required additional instrumentation, such as flow
including or not including an aspect of a specification transmitters, temperature transmitters, and inlet guide
is vital to meeting budgetary constraints and fulfilling vane position feedback, the sales engineer reached out
the needs of the end user. During the bidding phase, to the EPC to explain the capabilities of the control
FS-Elliott formed a team consisting of a project system.
manager, control system engineer, sales engineer, and The company’s control systems offer either
product engineer, all serving to educate the EPC on anti-surge control or surge avoidance. Understanding
unfamiliar areas of the compressor specifications and the needs of the refinery, FS-Elliott suggested surge
ensure the parties involved from FS-Elliott were on the avoidance based on the compressor motor power being
same page regarding the needs of the refinery. Specific proportional to airflow. When compared to flow-based
recommendations from the project team included anti-surge control, surge avoidance would be much
adding shut-off valve level transmitters to reduce easier to operate and more cost effective for the EPC.
maintenance requirements, and designing the Unlike traditional systems that rely on a manual
compressor with outward connections for easier process, the company’s control system provided

ENGINEERING
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integrated condition and vibration monitoring hardware.
Control modes included base, suction throttle, and auto
dual, with the latter being the most common of
operating modes that allows for the most efficient
operation of the compressor. An anti-condensation
heater was added to maintain the temperature inside the
control panel several degrees above the outside ambient
temperature and the dew point, eliminating damaging
condensation.
Seawater-resistant design
Constant sand storms, temperatures reaching upwards of
60˚C, 100% humidity, and a potentially hazardous
atmosphere, while common for Middle Eastern oil
refineries, are extremely challenging conditions for
compressor operation. Adding to the complications was
the lack of on-site process water.
Typical centrifugal compressors feature water-cooled
Figure 3. Compressor 3D model at the 90%
milestone review. intercoolers between each stage to return the air to an
ambient temperature and remove condensed moisture.
After the final compression stage, an aftercooler uses
the water to cool the air and remove additional
moisture before the air exits the system.
Without process water cooling capacities, the
refinery would be relying on seawater to cool its
equipment, which presents significant challenges. From
working on past projects with oil refineries that relied
on seawater for compressor cooling, FS-Elliott
understood the risk of debris entering the compressed
air system and the destructive nature of seawater.
Cement-lined steel pipes were used to bring the
seawater up to the water manifold, as this was the best
way to protect the pipes from corrosion. Titanium was
selected to safeguard the machinery, the supply pipes,
heat exchanger tubes and all channels, bonnets, and
nozzles. Although challenging to work with, titanium
offered superior durability, while still allowing for the
adequate removal of the heat of compression. Since
there was a risk of sand entering the intake airstream,
self-cleaning intake filters were added and integrated
into the control system monitoring.
Figure 4. Control panel with dual redundancy Conclusion

and integrated condition and vibration monitoring
Upon final testing, the units were shipped to the
hardware.
Middle Eastern refinery in late 2016 with start-up
planned for mid-2017. An internal meeting between the
operators with hot swap full redundancy, allowing company’s project execution and global services took
critical components, such as the central processing unit, place to review the project and understand the needs of
power supply, and input/output modules, to continue to installation and start-up. Due to the delay between
operate without interruption should one component shipment and start-up, an extended warranty and
fail. This automatic process avoids unexpected storage instructions were provided to keep the
shutdowns and switches control while the unit is still in equipment safe until commissioning. Once
operation. By using one system to fulfil the required commissioned, the compressed air system will serve a
control capabilities, the EPC was able to save over major role in the expansion project, which will keep the
US$300 000 and allow for a more simplified integration Middle Eastern refinery profitable amidst the dynamic
with plant controls. downstream market conditions.
The control system designed for the project featured
intrinsically safe circuitry, essential for the potentially References
1. ROSS, B., FORREST, R., WALTERS, N. and KAUTOVAARA, A., 'The
hazardous operating environment, a MODBUS connection Shifting Oil Refinery Landscape: Transformations for 2021',
to the refinery’s distributed control system (DCS) and Future Refining & Storage, (February 2016).

ENGINEERING
WHAT
TO
EXPECT
Fernando Romero and Matt Walton, Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries Compressor International, USA,
examine the effects of impeller manufacturing
tolerances on compressor efficiency.
S
ir Stanley Hooker described the act of
compressing a gas in a centrifugal compressor as
the action of driving water over a ramp with a
broom: “One can take almighty strokes, and over
the water goes”. This is analogous to the aerodynamic
principles utilised by impellers inside centrifugal
compressors. The impellers impart kinetic energy by
accelerating the working fluid. Inside the diffuser the
fluid decelerates, converting kinetic energy into
potential energy, resulting in a static pressure increase.
The efficiency of individual impellers affects the overall
performance of a multistage compressor.
Over the last 40 years, discharge pressures for high
pressure compressors has more than doubled from
6000 psi to 14 000 psi. LNG and ethylene plant sizes
have increased eightfold over the same period of time.
Impeller efficiency and compressor stability are two key
design factors required to meet the increase in demand
and service. Compressors working with higher discharge
pressures are subjected to higher excitation forces,
require narrower impeller passages and operate at
higher rotational speeds. This means effective design
requires an accurate prediction of the expected
performance, while the manufacturing methods must

ENGINEERING
provide resilience and the highest degree of impellers manufactured to higher dimensional
dimensional control. tolerances perform to higher efficiency than
In this article, the authors present a detailed two-piece impellers.
evaluation of the effects of impeller manufacturing
methods, tolerances and quality control over impeller Compressor and impeller design
efficiency and the overall compressor performance. A Equipment designers and manufacturers both rely on
statistical design methodology, called the sophisticated computational methods and empirical
Taguchi method, was used during the evaluation of test data to define the specific shape of a
various impeller characteristics and their influence on compressor impeller. The latest computational
performance. methods allow for very complex simulations and
A real life case study of the performance of two predictions of performance that get closer to reality.
compressors, triggered by a performance discrepancy Higher computing power enables engineers to
observed during an actual factory acceptance test, is superimpose multiple disciplines into one analysis or
presented. One rotor was constructed with traditional simulation, solving more than one problem at a time.
two-piece welded impellers, while the second was This optimises the design process and enables
made with impellers manufactured from a single piece original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to increase
of material by electric discharge machining. The results the discharge pressure, efficiency and operating
of the study validate the experimental observations of ranges of their compressors.
the Taguchi method and confirm that single-piece The end result of the design process is a ‘flow
path’ that defines the area variation within a
compressor impeller and the particular shape of an
impeller vane. Once an ideal impeller shape for a
specific range of operating conditions is found, the
actual impeller performance is measured in a test
bed and compared to the intended design based on
the computational analysis.
Impellers that meet design expectations can be
trusted to become part of an OEM’s design catalogue
and represent the seed design that is used to
generate a family of impellers that are further
optimised to varying operating conditions. These
variations and fine tuning are achieved by scaling the
impeller flow path and adjusting the shroud, hub and
head cuts.
Since the manufacturing process used in the
construction of an impeller has a direct influence on
the impeller’s performance (due to the impeller
shape difference from the standard impeller and
deviation from the similarity principle in the range of
tolerances), it is important for the compressor
Figure 1. Configuration pattern parameters for designers to have an understanding of how these
impeller performance. variables influence the impeller performance.
Taguchi evaluation of impeller

Table 1. Summary of performance statistical
analysis results features
Taguchi combined engineering and statistics to
Control factor Polytropic Pressure
efficiency coefficient produce a statistical evaluation tool that was used to
measure the influence of key impeller design
Blade lean angle @ inlet Low Low
parameters on impeller performance through
sensitivity sensitivity
experimental variation. The experiment relies on
Blade lean angle @ outlet Low Low computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to predict the
impeller design. The Taguchi method is useful in
Blade height @ outlet (tip width) Low High identifying which design parameters produce a
relevant effect and, therefore, should be the focus
Blade height @ inlet High Moderate for establishing tolerance requirements that minimise
deviations from the target performance.
Welding distortion Moderate Moderate Figure 1 shows the different impeller parameters
considered for the experimental evaluation. These
Blade thickness Low Low variables are defined as the ‘control factors’ during
sensitivity sensitivity the experimental evaluation.

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HAVER & BOECKER
The control factors’ variation ranges are based on

actual measured dimensional variations observed
during the manufacturing process of impellers. For
each variation, the pressure coefficient and
CHEMICALS
polytropic efficiency of the impeller is calculated.
The factors that were found to have moderate to
high effects on impeller performance are blade height
at the inlet and outlet and welding distortion. In
addition, the beta angle variations can greatly affect
the pressure coefficient of low flow coefficient
impellers.
Impeller manufacturing methods

Over the last century, engineers have continually
improved state-of-the-art compressor impeller
manufacturing. The range of impeller manufacturing
methods has evolved and become more
sophisticated, along with the machines themselves.
Lower technology designs used the classical riveted
type, which are obsolete in today’s advanced
machines. In this design, the blades, cover and back
plate are all made from different pieces of metal,
fastened together by mechanical rivets. The
three-piece welded type is similar, with fillet welds
joining the blades to both the cover and the back
plate. A two-piece welded impeller improves on this
by reducing one half of the welds. In this type, the
blades and the cover or back plate are machined from
a solid piece of material before welding. A two-piece
brazed impeller is similar, but brazing allows for
joinery that is too small to weld effectively and can
also reduce the distortion introduced by welding. In
the one-piece weldless type, the flow path is formed
CLEAN.
by material removal from a solid piece of metal.
Impellers can also be manufactured by casting using INTELLIGENT.
PROFITABLE.
the lost wax method. The last four listed methods are
the most widely employed by current manufacturers.
The downside to welding

Impellers are subject to very high static and dynamic What if you could own and control the perfect
stresses. Static stress loads are primarily caused by flow within your complete process without
centrifugal loading, while dynamic stresses are due to
making any compromises?
a variety of causes such as harmonic excitation,
natural frequency resonance, acoustic loads, or flow
variations. Additionally, compressors are often Now you can.
exposed to harsh environments, which can introduce
harmful corrosive elements. Welded impellers have
the disadvantage of having a heat affected zone
(HAZ), which is an area that typically exhibits
increased hardness and comparatively worse
mechanical and material properties than the weld
joint or base metal. Given the demands inherent in HAVER & BOECKER OHG
impeller design, the reduced properties in the HAZ Phone: +49 (0) 25 22-30 0
and the distortion introduced during welding may [email protected]
pose a disadvantage. Experienced metallurgists know
to look to the weld joint as the prime suspect in an
impeller root cause failure analysis.
In contrast, one-piece sans-weld impellers
produce a monolithic structure that is the most
accurate and resilient when compared to multi-part
HAVER & BOECKER

impellers. Most single-piece impellers with wide flow The dielectric solution cools the impeller and
paths can be manufactured on 5 axis computer electrode and carries the debris away, where it is
numerical control (CNC) mills. For applications with filtered from the fluid.
narrow flow paths, alternative methods such as electric As the EDM process melts the material at the
discharge machining (EDM) in combination with surface, a thin layer of the molten material re-solidifies.
electrolytic machining (ECM) can be applied, where the This thin layer on the surface is referred to as the
practical limitations of the machine tool head are recast layer. A very thin HAZ also forms below the
reached. Advanced single-piece impeller manufacturing recast layer as a result of the high temperatures
methods that utilise 3D printing are being explored. associated with the EDM process. These surface
conditions can have the same negative effect on
Typical one-piece manufacturing impeller efficiency and strength under corrosive
sequence conditions that a weld HAZ can. To remove the recast
The typical manufacturing sequence for a single-piece and HAZ, and to improve the surface finish, polishing
impeller begins with a forged disc that has been has to be considered.
solution treated, water quenched and stress relieved. To polish the impeller, ECM uses Faraday’s principle
This disc is machined to a rough shape and is inspected (electrolysis) to remove material from the work piece.
for defects. The impeller gas passages are then formed The process is the reverse of electroplating. The
using EDM. impeller (anode) and electrode (cathode) are immersed
The EDM process uses a series of carbon electrodes in a electrolyte solution (Figure 2). This controlled
shaped to form the gas passage. A set of approximately material removal sacrifices a small (50 μ) layer from the
10 (depending on impeller configurations) different impeller surface. This removes the recast layer and
shaped electrodes are required to form the gas passage. HAZ, and improves the surface finish, with typical
The impeller and electrode are immersed in a dielectric surface finishes from ECM finer than Ra = 6 μ. Final
fluid and a direct current is applied to the electrode machining and balancing are then conducted on a
and cycled on and off. When the dielectric strength of smooth, dimensionally accurate, and HAZ-free impeller
the fluid is achieved, plasma forms, which allows a (Figure 3).
spark between the electrode and the impeller. The
spark melts and vaporises the impeller material, and A test bench case study
over time forms the shape of the impeller’s gas passage. During a manufacturing performance test of a
conventional two-piece welded impeller design,
measured efficiency was higher than predicted while
the measured pressure coefficient was lower than
predicted. To investigate this phenomenon, a root
cause analysis (RCA) was conducted.
The RCA results indicated that the impeller flow
passage area was the most likely cause of the
performance discrepancy. To check this, the outlet flow
area of each impeller was measured and compared
against the design value.
It was determined that the flow areas of the
Figure 2. The EDM process. impellers were restricted by excessive weld
penetration, and the blade thickness at the impeller
inlet and outlet were larger than those of the scaled
standard impeller due to the limitations of the
fabrication process. The deviation from scale model
impeller's principle of scaling, and the restriction of
impeller flow area caused the performance test result.
The design engineering team re-simulated the
impeller performance, adjusting the model to account
for the restricted flow passages. It was found that if
the impeller was manufactured with no deviations, it
would match the scaled standard impeller, and the
compressor would have matched the predicted
performance. The application of one-piece impellers
was chosen as the optimum resolution based on the
narrow gas passages.
The one-piece impeller rotor was manufactured and
installed in the high pressure compressor casing and an
Figure 3. The ECM process. ASME PTC-10 Type-2 performance test was conducted.
At the guarantee point, the one-piece impeller showed a

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www.mhicompressor.com/en
Corp. has improved its design procedure for the
application of one-piece impellers and
performance correction factors for the two-piece
welded impellers when in applications with narrow
tip width. This continuous improvement of both
manufacturing methodology and simulation
improvement from empirical data enables
Mitsubishi to achieve guaranteed machine
performance.
Conclusion
Even though the physics of compressing fluids has
not changed since the invention of the centrifugal
compressor, the science of designing and
manufacturing these machines has evolved
significantly to meet new industry and process
challenges. Due to the complex geometry and
numerous manufacturing variables, turbomachinery
designers will continue to rely on empirical data
from design experience and bench testing. This
Figure 4. Performance improvement by one piece impeller data can back feed into computational methods to
Type-2 test. generate increasingly accurate models, which allow
designers to evaluate the benefits of new and
advanced manufacturing methods.
20% improvement in the pressure coefficient and a 2.5%
improvement in polytrophic efficiency. This result is consistent Note
The content of this article was adapted from a lecture
with the results of the simulation. In other words, improved
presented by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor
tolerance control and no welding distortion accounted for this Corp. and ExxonMobil Development Company at the
improvement in both pressure coefficient and efficiency. 41st Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (2012) entitled:
‘A Comparison of Manufacturing Methods, Quality Control
Based on the test results for two-piece and one-piece and Testing Methods as they relate to High Head Low Flow
impellers (Figure 4), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor Impeller Efficiency and Overall Compressor Performance’.
T +1 704 716 7022

T +49 2961 7405-0
Your Specialist for

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SOLUTIONS
Consulting. Engineering. Products. Service.
Inc.
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Massimiliano Di Fe
Febo
ebo an
and Pas
asqua
quale Paganini,
Paganini, IPC,
IPC, Italy,
Italy,
discuss how advan
advanced
nced sof
oftware
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ssist o
operators
perators iinn
achieving highly accur
accurate
rate co
ompres
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sor p
performance
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redictions.
O
ne of the primary tasks during the during the test are different from the specification
manufacturing of a centrifugal compressor is conditions defined in the machine’s data sheets.
the shop testing. Compressor testing is usually Sometimes the need for different inlet pressure and
performed at the original equipment temperature may occur, or the test could require a gas
manufacturer’s (OEM) facilities and is, in general, different from the one specified in the data sheet; or, in
performed with the purpose of validating the some cases, both conditions may turn up simultaneously.
performance that has been stated by the OEM in the The ASME PTC10 (Performance Test Code on Compressors
machinery specification sheets. and Exhausters) Standard identifies these possible different
Centrifugal compressor shop tests represent one of the test cases and refers to the Type1 Test (Type1) to test the
main stages in the machine manufacturing process. The same specification gas and specification conditions, and
importance of this phase is also attested by the fact that, in Type2 Test (Type2) to test with different gas and/or inlet
almost all cases, the project quality requirements include a conditions.
witnessed test, which is executed in order to ensure that In the cases where inlet conditions during the test are
the manufacturer’s predictions meet the specification different from the ones recalled in the specifications, the
(design) performance. OEM provides compressor performance maps, adjusted to
Shop testing for centrifugal compressors can be a test conditions, in order to superimpose that onto the
delicate task. In general, it may be that inlet conditions performance measured during the test.

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Similar considerations may also apply to field testing, conditions, i.e., with a specification gas (in the case study
where the inlet conditions at the time of the test may not considered, the gas process is a hydrocarbon).
be under full control, and may represent an independent A numerical analysis is executed using the IPC software
variable for the test process. Furthermore, in certain called CMap, in order to predict the compressor’s
circumstances, inlet conditions may vary in time in performance when running it in test conditions with a test
unpredictable ways. In these last cases, in particular, the gas. The output of this analysis is a performance map
availability of computational tools, which predict referenced to specific test conditions with an R134a
compressor performance under changed (off-design) inlet refrigerant (simulated test map). The obtained simulated
conditions, may be of great value. map (with predicted performance adjusted to
accommodate for the test gas R134a) may then be used as a
Purpose and method description reference for a comparison to the test performance that
This article aims to present the results of a numerical was measured during the shop test.
simulation of a centrifugal compressor's performance, in The main parameters used to assess the performance of
accordance with a Type2 test, with test gas differing from a centrifugal compressor are:
specification gas (where the test gas is Freon R134a 2134a). Flow.
The input for this analysis consists of compressor Head.
performance maps, provided by the OEM in specification Power absorbed.
Efficiency.
Some additional conditions are needed to allow a

significant comparison of these parameters in the two
different referenced conditions (specifications/test). From
a fluid dynamic point of view, a strict similarity of flow at
each performance point is necessary in order to compare
the predicted performance with the tested performance.
For this reason, the non-dimensional parameters, such as
head coefficient, flow coefficient and Mach number, must
be conserved primarily (some additional conditions are
requested: the machine’s Reynolds number, Mach number
and volume ratio).
Flow coefficient.
Figure 1. Discharge pressure in specification
conditions.
Head coefficient.
Table 1. Inlet conditions Mach number.

Specification inlet conditions Test inlet conditions
Reynolds number.
Gas mixture: Gas mixture
• Methane: 80.51% • R134a: 100%
• Nitrogen: 1.46% This equality of non-dimensional parameters among
• Ethane: 14.69% test and specification conditions eliminates the need to
• Propane: 3.19% test the centrifugal compressor at the same speed as the
• I-butane: 0.07% OEM predicted performance in specification conditions,
• N-butane: 0.08%
and allows, within a certain range, to test with gas mixes
Pressure: 40.2 bara Pressure: 1 bara different from the design one.
Temperature: 50°C Temperature: 35°C In this article, the test performance has been predicted
considering that R134a will be used as a test gas. R134a is, in
fact, a typical gas used in many performance tests.
Simulation
As mentioned above, the starting point is the availability
of an OEM centrifugal compressor performance curve in
specification conditions, along with a relevant gas mix
composition and thermodynamic conditions (pressure
and temperature). With this input data available, the
CMap software will perform all complex calculations in a
fully automated fashion and will produce the predicted
compressor performances for test inlet pressures, inlet
Figure 2. Screenshot of Cmap software. temperatures and Freon R134a that are different to the
design/reference ones.

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CMap conducts the compressor performance prediction curves have been calculated using Cmap. Figure 1 shows the
using different equations of state (EOS) depending on which predicted tested performance curves obtained with Cmap.
gas mix is considered in the calculation. For a hydrocarbon gas
mixture, the Lee-Kesler (LK) or Peng-Robinson (PR) EOS can be Possible applications of the method
used. For Freon R134a, the modified Benedict-Webb-Rubin As stated at the beginning of this article, the first
(mBWR) EOS is selected in order to determine the application of this method involves the comparison of
thermodynamic properties of the operating fluid. After the the test predicted maps to the measured test
first calculation step it will then be possible to proceed to the performance. Using the CMap software, the OEM
comparison of the predicted tested performances to the specification (design) maps are quickly adjusted to the
actual tested performances. Table 1 shows the inlet condition test conditions with a test gas and different inlet pressure
of predicted performance and inlet condition of tested and temperature. Due to the software, this operation is
performance. quick and straightforward to achieve. Obtained predicted
Starting from the centrifugal compressor performance maps can be easily superimposed onto measured test
map in specification conditions, the tested performance maps, allowing one to check the capacity of the machine
according to the specified conditions.
The proposed method can be profitably used to
predict the centrifugal compressor's overall performance
when running with operating conditions other than those
specified. This may be the case for a compressor running
in operative conditions that are different from the
specification ones. In this case, the proposed method can
predict the expected performance of the compressor
when run in real input conditions. The availability of
expected performance (that is to say, the design
performance adjusted to the actual operating conditions)
will also allow for a new type of diagnostic capability,
arising from the ability to compare actual performance to
Figure 3. Polytropic head in specification conditions. what is expected. A deviation of the measured (actual)
performance from the expected (adjusted) ones, beyond a
certain threshold, can be read as an indication of some of
the phenomena or problems affecting the compressor
and causing its operating parameters to deviate from
expected values.
When implemented in IPC monitoring systems, CMap
software can automatically store data and provide a real
time indication of compressor efficiency and comparison
with expected ones. The detection of a deviation of
actual efficiency from the expected efficiency (i.e., design
adjusted in actual condition) is a meaningful indicator of
compressor health. This is a powerful feature that permits
a continuous indication of how much of the machine’s
behaviour is alligned with design expectations. These
Figure 4. Discharge pressure in test conditions (with evaluations can then be used to build historical trends
Freon R134a). and pictures of the machine status throughout the
operation period. Collected data is useful to support
decision making on predictive maintenance activities,
plans and operations.
Another important application of the presented
method is the use of CMap software for the prediction
and modification of surge points during operating
conditions, with different inlet pressure, temperature and
operative gas. This method is called SPS® – an IPC patent.
This method is particularly well suited for the protection
of heavy duty, high pressure centrifugal compressors,
especially ones working under time-varying inlet
conditions.
The availability of such advanced compressor
protection features increases the level of machinery
Figure 5. Polytropic head in test condition (with
Freon R134a). protection and avoids potential critical failures due to a
compressor surge, as well as the dangerous effect of

ENGINEERING
possible repetitive short duration surging events, whose
cumulative action may cause a significant reduction of the
machine lifetime if not detected by the compressor
protection system.
Conclusion
Experiences with real machinery demonstrated that a
compressor performance prediction obtained with Cmap
software aligns with OEM predictions and field
measurements. In those cases where deviation had been
detected, Cmap identified compressor anomalies,
providing useful quantitative indication suggestions for
possible corrective action. Figure 6. Compressor surge in actual operative
The methods proposed and described in this article conditions.
allow one to:
Predict the tested performance of a centrifugal
compressor with Freon R134a as the inlet gas. analyse the performances and efficiency of the
Predict the performance of a centrifugal compressor machine in a simple and immediate way.
under varying thermodynamic conditions of the inlet Implement advanced methods for antisurge
gas. The prediction of compressor performance is protection, SPS.
accurate, even at high pressures, whereas the ideal gas CMap may be used as a third-party software for
theory, commonly used, introduces considerable validation of the compressor test performance during
errors. an OEM shop test.
Analyse the performance of the compressor during Observe how the methods and software tools have
operation and compare it to the expectations been validated against compressor technical data,
provided by the manufacturer. then vs all the available scientific papers on
Obtain useful indications regarding the health of the thermodynamic gas theories developed in the
compressor (diagnostics), based on the capability to hydrocarbon research field.
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Ben Williams, Ariel Corporation, outlines the important role that reciprocating
compressors play in renewable hydrocarbon diesel facilities.

ENGINEERING
C
rude oil refineries and biodiesel facilities generally have separates glycerin from fat or vegetable oil by reactions between
very little in common with regard to the processes used triglycerides and alcohols (typically methanol). Since
in each. That is not the case with renewable hydrocarbon transesterification is a liquid chemical reaction, no gas compression is
diesel facilities, many of which use a number of similar required. Biodiesel may be used as a primary fuel or as a blend stock
processes to those used in most petroleum refineries. This article with petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel must meet the requirements of
will briefly address the differences between biodiesel and ASTM D6571 in the US and EN-14214:2008 in Europe.
hydrogen derived renewable diesel fuel. It will also describe how a RHD is known by a number of different names, including
renewable hydrocarbon diesel facility in Gesimar, Louisiana, US hydrogenation derived renewable diesel (HDRD), green diesel or
produces clean liquid fuels from multiple renewable feedstocks. renewable diesel. In the US, RHD must meet the requirements of
Hydrogen compression is crucial for the operation of this facility ASTM D975 (the standard for petroleum diesel) or ASTM D396
and there were multiple options available for this compression. (standard for home heating oil). In Europe, it must meet EN-590:2013
Factors influencing the main process compressor selection and its (standard for ultra-low sulfur diesel) and a new standard for paraffinic
role in the facility are also described. diesel fuels: EN-15940:2016.
A number of processes are used to produce RHD, including the
Biodiesel vs renewable hydrocarbon Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process, which involves the conversion of
diesel synthesis gas (syngas) that is produced from biomass. Another means
Renewable fuel production has increased significantly in recent of production is the hydrogenation and subsequent processing of
years. Renewable fuels have been shown to produce fewer fats, oils and greases. Generally, both of these types of renewable
greenhouse gases (GHG) than typical petroleum diesel fuel. There diesel production require some form of gas compression.
are two types of diesel fuels produced from biomass: biodiesel and RHD is a sulfur free, high performance diesel fuel produced by the
renewable hydrocarbon diesel (RHD). Both are considered hydroprocessing of fats, oils and greases. It is a complex composition
‘advanced biofuels’ in that their lifecycle GHG emissions are less of mainly normal paraffins (n-paraffins) and methyl branched
than 50% of their petroleum counterpart. Typical feedstocks for isoparaffins, the same molecules that enhance engine performance in
biomass-based diesel include pine (tall oil), inedible corn oil from petroleum diesel, resulting in higher cetane values and shorter
ethanol production, palm oil (palm oil biofuel is not an advanced compression ignition delays. Additionally, RHD does not have the
biofuel), waste cooking oils, animal fats, vegetable oil waste, brown aromatic compounds found in conventional petroleum diesel fuels
trap grease, soybean and canola oil. that can reduce engine performance and cause soot build-up.
A report by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) states that A key step in the production of RHD is hydrodeoxygenation
in October 2016 there were 93 operating biodiesel facilities in the (HDO). HDO involves the reaction of the fatty acids/glycerides (main
US producing over 2.1 billion gal./y of biodiesel.1 There are a components of fats and oils) with hydrogen to remove oxygen atoms
number of methods used to produce biodiesel, also known as fatty
acid methyl ester (FAME), but the most commonly used method is
through a process called transesterification. This chemical process

ENGINEERING
phosphorous and other contaminants from the reactor feedstock. The
feedstock is combined with hydrogen and charged to the HDO reactor.
The process configuration is analogous to hydrotreating (i.e. for
desulfurisation) processes that are common in petroleum refining.
At this point, the clean-burning paraffinic, hydrocarbon liquids meet
current diesel specifications. Additional processing, including
isomerisation and distillation, produce three main products: RHD,
renewable naphtha and renewable LPG.
As mentioned above, a significant amount of hydrogen is required
to produce RHD. The location of the Geismar facility provided REG with
ready access to a number of reliable sources of hydrogen. These include
multiple hydrogen pipelines and nearby industrial gas facilities.
Figure 1. Hydrogen makeup and recycle compressor Compressor selection

package prior to shipment to a refinery in Indiana, US. Hydrogen compression for the Geismar facility is critical. The main
process requires three independent hydrogen streams for the HDO and
and saturate the resulting hydrocarbon chains. This occurs at HI processes. Compression is required to raise the pressure of the
relatively high pressure, greater than 69 barg (1000 psig), and hydrogen stream from pipeline pressure, approximately 45 barg, to the
temperatures greater than 260˚C (500˚F). The HDO product is applicable reactor pressure. There is also a requirement for a recycle
then isomerised to change most of the straight chain paraffins service. A separate compressor is required for an offgas service.
into branched isoparaffins. This step of the process, occurring in Discussions with current REG employees involved in the original
a hydroisomerisation (HI) reaction, reduces the cloud point of plant design and construction offered some insight into the selection of
the diesel fuel, which improves its low temperature the process compressors. Initially, both centrifugal and reciprocating
performance. compressors were under consideration. Both compressor types are
Hydrogen demand for a RHD plant is comparable to a fuel suitable for hydrogen service. However, with low molecular weight gas,
hydrocracker of similar capacity. For this reason, a highly reliable centrifugal compressors are better suited for much higher volumes than
source of hydrogen is critical for RHD facilities. required in this case. Additionally, multiple hydrogen services would
Renewable diesel may be used as a standalone diesel fuel or require multiple centrifugal compressors, thereby increasing capital cost.
blended with petroleum diesel fuel. Because renewable diesel is Both long stroke and short stroke reciprocating compressors were
completely fungible with petroleum diesel, existing considered. Long stroke, low speed reciprocating compressors have
infrastructure is suitable for its transport. Currently, there are been the compressor of choice in the refinery and petrochemical
less than a dozen commercial scale renewable diesel refineries industry for many years, based on the perception that they are the most
in the world. Among these facilities is REG Geismar LLC. reliable option. However, other types of reciprocating compressors have
proven to be reliable in these types of installations, including vertical
REG Geismar and labyrinth types, as well as short stroke, moderate speed types.
Renewable Energy Group Inc. (REG) based in Ames, Iowa, US, When comparing long and short stroke reciprocating compressors,
currently owns and operates 12 biorefineries in the US and two a number of considerations come into play, including physical size,
in Germany. These biorefineries produce advanced biofuels delivery, the time and cost of installation and capital cost. Long stroke,
from waste fats, oils and greases, as well as refined vegetable low speed compressors are physically larger and are normally block
oil. Since 2006, REG has produced over 1 billion gal. of mounted; the bare compressor is built in a factory, transported to site
biomass-based diesel, including renewable hydrocarbon diesel and installed on a concrete foundation or ‘block’. The other
produced at its biorefinery in Geismar, Louisiana, US. components and auxiliaries required for the complete compressor
In 2014, REG purchased the interests of Dynamic Fuels (a system include pulsation dampeners, moisture separators, lubrication
joint venture between Syntroleum Inc. and Tyson Foods), oil console, process piping and valves, and process gas coolers. The
including a large scale renewable diesel refinery located in electric motor, coupling and flywheel are also shipped to site for
Geismar. When commissioned in 2010, the Geismar facility was installation and assembly. This process requires significant time and
the first large scale renewable diesel refinery in the US. The expense.
refinery has a nameplate capacity of 75 million gal./y of high Comparatively, moderate speed, short stroke compressors are
quality, clean RHD, renewable naphtha and renewable LPG. physically smaller for the same capacity. The smaller size and weight
are the primary reasons these compressors are sold as part of a
Geismar biorefinery – process compressor package. A compressor package is a modular arrangement
overview with the entire compression system installed on a structural steel skid
Among the dozens of industrial facilities located in Geismar, the (Figure 1). Modularisation (packaging) offers significant cost advantages.
REG biorefinery is unique; not only in what it produces but also Compressor package fabrication and assembly take place in a shop
due to the feedstock used by the plant. The refinery uses REG’s rather than in the field, reducing installation time. The impact of
multi-patented, Bio-Synfining® process to produce ultra-clean weather is eliminated and the quality of construction is improved.
renewable fuels from a wide variety of ‘waste’ feedstocks. The Shipping costs are reduced since fewer shipments are required to get
Geismar facility does not use feedstock taken from the world the complete compressor system to site. Although it may seem that
food supply. modularisation is a relatively new concept in plant construction,
The Bio-Synfining process begins with pretreatment of the compressor packages have been common in the upstream oil and gas
feedstock. The pretreating process removes metals, liquids, market for decades. They are becoming more common in the refinery

ENGINEERING
The gas processing industry requires longevity, reliability, and highly specified solutions. Ariel
offers a wide range of API 618 moderate speed compressors that allow for full configuration on
unique project requirements. ARIEL IS COMMITTED TO YOU.
Learn more about Ariel compressors

www.arielcorp.com/For-You/
six cylinders; each service being compressed by separate cylinders.
A multi-service compressor can be a good option when all of the
services must operate at the same time. Using a single reciprocating
compressor to handle multiple gas streams benefits the end user
by reducing the number of compressors, electric motors (and their
associated control circuitry) and by reducing the plot space
required for the compression systems. The use of a multi-service
compressor is typically only possible if all of the independent
services operate at the same time. Multi-service compressors are
common in the refinery and petrochemical industries (Figure 2).
In addition to the compressor, the process compressor package
includes a 2100 kW electric motor and coupling, suction and
discharge pulsation dampeners (designed in accordance with the
digital pulsation study), frame and cylinder lubrication systems,
local controls and instrumentation, interconnecting piping to skid
edge, and a free standing local control panel, all installed on a
structural steel skid.
Offgas compressor
This compressor is used to compress a product fractionator offgas
for hydrocarbon recovery. The package scope of supply is similar to
the main process compressor, only smaller. This package includes a
Figure 2. Multiple service compressor packages 224 kW electric motor driver.
installed at a refinery in eastern US. In both the offgas and main process compressors, the
compressor cylinders are non-cooled. This eliminates the need for
and petrochemical industries, primarily because less fieldwork cylinder jacket water systems, thereby reducing the size of each
equates to lower construction costs compressor package and increasing their overall system reliability.
Another advantage of a compressor package is the smaller The cylinders are unlined, which reduces their physical size for a
compressor foundation. The structural steel skid supports the given capacity. Instead of replaceable liners, the cylinder bores are
compression system and acts as the compressor foundation. The hardened (>55 Rc) by an ion nitriding process; making them less
compressor skid design considers all forces and couples associated susceptible to wear.
with the compressor system, thus reducing site foundation Cylinder and piston rod packing lubrication is by a crankshaft
requirements. A relatively simple concrete pad is typical for a driven lubricator pump through divider blocks that meter oil flows
moderate speed compressor package. to the compressor cylinders and packing. Oil flow amounts are
Other factors leading to the specific compressor selection dependent on gas composition and compressor operating
include the following: conditions.
The ability to handle multiple services with a single The main process compressor cylinders have suction valve
compressor. unloaders on both the head end and crank end for startup. Their
Balanced reciprocating weights on opposing throws and low purpose is to unload the compressor for startup, reducing the
rod loads. torque required for starting the motor. For both compressors,
Availability of spare parts. Due to design standardisation, capacity control is by spillback, also known as recycling. In the case
cylinder and running gear parts were readily available and, if of the main process compressor, each hydrogen service has its own
needed, could be pulled from the production queue. This spillback line.
includes cylinders and crankshafts, which some other original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) quoted 12 to 18 months for
delivery. This significantly reduced the need for purchasing
Conclusion
capital spares. Although crude oil refineries and renewable fuels facilities would
Troubleshooting and technical support. seem to be very different, a renewable hydrocarbon diesel facility
Training at the OEM's facility. Free training classes covering may use many of the same processes as a petroleum refinery to
basic compression, basic and advanced mechanics training and produce a very similar product. In both facility types, reliable
engineering training are available throughout the year. compression is crucial. In the case of REG’s Geismar facility,
packaged API 618 moderate speed, reciprocating compressors are a
In the end, packaged, API 618 moderate speed reciprocating critical part in the process of producing renewable hydrocarbon
compressors were purchased for the main process and offgas diesel that meet or exceed industry standards.
compressors currently operating in the REG Geismar facility. The
compressor selections and brief descriptions of the associated Notes
The author would like to thank Renewable Energy Group Inc. for their
package scope of supply for each are described below. invaluable assistance with this article. REG’s Ed Daughters, Ramin Abhari,
Peter Havlik and H. Lynn Tomlinson were particularly helpful and their
Compressor descriptions assistance is greatly appreciated.
The three independent hydrogen services – HDO makeup, HDO

recycle and HI hydrogen makeup – are compressed by a single, References
1. US Energy Information Agency's (EIA) 'Monthly Biodiesel Report',
packaged, moderate speed reciprocating compressor and http://www.eia.gov/biofuels/biodiesel/production/biodiesel.pdf.

ENGINEERING
COMPETITIVE
EDGE
Greg Brumfield and Tony Slapikas,
AMETEK Process Instruments, USA,
outline how mass spectrometry
determines flare gas heat values.
B
y January 2019, US petroleum refiners will need to environment. Among the most effective and commonly used
comply with new US Environmental Protection technologies is flaring.
Agency (EPA) flare stack combustion rules that include Through its inspection and enforcement programmes, the
additional monitoring and analysis requirements, EPA has identified numerous instances in which flares have
making it necessary for operators to quickly and accurately been improperly operated and monitored. The results are
determine the heat values of flare stack gases. lower combustion efficiencies and the possible release of
Refiners are vetting various technologies for analysing and excess emissions, including potentially harmful pollutants.
monitoring flare stack gases to narrow the field of applicable The EPA is working to improve flare combustion
technologies. Among them is mass spectrometry, which offers efficiencies and devoting significant resources to correcting
several significant advantages in terms of accuracy, reliability, regulatory non-compliance of flares. The EPA expects its new
and ease of maintenance and operation. rules will virtually eliminate smoking flare emissions and upset
Petroleum refineries generate waste gases that need to emission events. Refineries are required to monitor emissions
be controlled safely, economically and in a manner that from key sources within their facilities and around their fence
protects both the environment and public health. Because lines. When fully implemented, the tighter rules are expected
not all waste gas can be eliminated or recovered, various to yield a reduction of 5200 tpy of toxic air pollutants and
technologies have been used to reduce their impact on the 50 000 tpy of volatile organic compounds.

ENGINEERING
Table 1. Fast, accurate determination of Flares are specifically designed to combust gases. Many flares
flare gas heat value by process mass employ steam or air to promote the mixing of oxygen within the vent
spectrometry (MS) gas to ensure efficient combustion without smoke. Many parameters
Sample Calculated Measured in Calculated/ affect combustion efficiency. Among the most important is the heating
no. by MS laboratory measured value of the gases to be combusted. Determining the heating value of
(Btu) (Btu) the gas has been shown to correlate well with combustion efficiency.
556989 807 790 102% Additionally, federal regulations require that flare gases contain at
557114 862 843 102% least 300 Btu/ft3 for an air or steam-assisted flare and 200 Btu/ft3 for
557241 765 757 101% an unassisted flare, at all times. When that heating value is not met by
vent gas alone, supplemental or make-up gas, such as natural gas, must
557342 1552 1463 106%
be added to the gas stream to ensure complete combustion. Along
557425 872 834 105% with those costs, there are other costs involved with running a flare gas
557660 872 834 105% system inefficiently or in non-compliance.
557793 1702 1697 100% The penalties for violating federal flare gas requirements can be
557942 904 894 101%
severe. Flue gas violations may result in fines under the Clean Air Act of
up to US$37 500/d per violation, and the knowing violation of a flare
558024 785 777 101%
requirement may subject an individual to criminal prosecution,
558150 1062 1049 101% including fines, imprisonment or both.
558165 817 805 101% In addition, the EPA is committed to public reporting and
558524 1041 1019 102% transparency. It plans to track monitoring data from refineries in a
database open to the public. Along with that, there are incentives for
558615 336 329 102%
refineries to take corrective action quickly. Improved flare combustion
558755 887 866 102%
efficiency is expected to yield cost savings due to reduced steam usage.
558856 788 766 103% Venting gas heating values are important because sufficient
558894 756 737 103% combustible material must be continuously present to ensure flame
558993 699 686 102% stability and to achieve high combustion efficiencies. Problems may
occur, especially if a single flare is used to control a variety of streams
559103 1212 1180 103%
or vent gas with varying components. Operators need to evaluate vent
559252 760 747 102% gas heating values not only continuously, but for the full range of
559370 950 923 103% operating scenarios to ensure compliance with heating value limits.
559441 891 880 101% To do that, refiners can use one or a combination of technologies.
559523 741 732 101% AMETEK’s process mass spectrometer is one of the technologies under
consideration. Among the most common is a zirconium dioxide-based
559651 1138 1096 104%
calorimeter. The principal advantage of this technology is refiners’
559780 649 644 101% familiarity with it. Calorimeters are widely used to determine the Btu
559857 673 667 101% value of fuel gas. That gas, however, is typically low in sulfur and
563307 730 712 103% hydrogen content, while refinery flare gas is typically high in both sulfur
599490 211 192 110%
and hydrogen.
In addition, the calorimeter’s effectiveness is limited when
599491 158 143 111%
hydrogen and sulfur are present in the gas stream. The calorimeter’s
599492 770 748 103% zirconium oxide detector is subject to sulfur contamination, which can
599637 809 787 103% be an issue with practically every flaring event.
599648 262 244 107% Calorimeters also cannot be used when there are high
concentrations of hydrogen in the gas stream. Solutions for dealing
669163 742 738 100%
with those limitations can add cost and create additional complications
719002 808 800 101%
for a system needed to maintain refinery operation and required to be
719186 904 895 101% in compliance at all times.
725811 914 904 101% Gas chromatography is another technology that most refiners are
767398 1025 1018 101% familiar with. Many refineries already have gas chromatographs
equipped to their gas flares. However, chromatographs are slow, with
767399 1011 1004 101%
long cycle times, making them unsuitable for real-time control of steam
767406 1022 1015 101% and make-up gas mixtures.
768152 934 927 101% A third method, mass spectrometry, has undergone successful field
768157 982 975 101% demonstration vs competitive technologies. That testing, conducted at
769085 1026 1018 101% a leading Southern California refinery, demonstrated that a mass
spectrometer can provide more detailed and relevant data than gas
771240 990 987 100%
chromatography, and its Btu numbers were equivalent to those
Average 102% provided by a calorimeter, but with greater specificity.
Based on this simulation of the instrument response, The mass spectrometer offered the speed and specificity necessary
staying within the required specification of ±15% seems to accurately calculate the appropriate amount of supplemental gas for
an achievable goal complete gas combustion. It was set up to monitor and quantify

ENGINEERING
16 components in the flare gas stream, including H2, N2, inverting a matrix that describes the contribution of each
methane, ethane, propane, n-butane, i-butane, and pentanes, component to the individual ion currents.
among others. Taking advantage of its analysis speed, the mass The method described here and in ASTM D2650-04 works
spectrometer was able to obtain a calculation in less than in a sequential fashion, moving from the better known
10 seconds, which is faster than using a chromatograph. components to those with heavy interferences. While matrix
Raw data from the mass spectrometer was collected using deconvolution gives excellent accuracies, as long as the stream
ASTM method D 2650-04 (Standard Test Method for chemical concentrations do not differ too much from the calibration
composition of gases by mass spectrometry) to calculate the blend used to establish the matrix, the method used in this
concentrations of individual gas components. The resulting demonstration is much more robust for the rapidly changing
concentration data was then converted into the flare gas heat composition of the streams typically found in flare stack gases.
value as described in ASTM D3588-98 (Standard Practice for Several components (the butenes, pentanes and any
calculating heat value, compressibility factor and relative hexanes) were combined measurements since they are difficult
density of gaseous fuels). to speciate by process mass spectrometry. Fortunately, the Btu
The FlarePro quadrupole process mass spectrometer used values within each group are very similar, so that no significant
to conduct the field demonstration had the following error is introduced for the measurement at hand.
specifications:
Stainless steel enclosure (general
purpose or C1, D2 area
classification).
1 – 100 atomic mass unit (amu)
mass range.
24-valve inlet system.
Get accurate flare
Dual electron multiplier/faraday
plate detector (10 ppm to 100%
detection).
gas heat values fast,
Thermoelectric cooler (TEC) cooling. with the FlarePro™ Mass Spectrometer
Process 2000 software for method
creation and auto calibration.
24 in. footprint, which fits the same
space as the gas chromotograph.
By modifying the standard process
mass spectrometry method of analysis
slightly, the mass spectrometer
provided fast and accurate Btu content
measurement, even when confronted
with a widely changing flare gas stream.
The analysis technique allowed for a
reduction in calibration complexity,
while still providing data that fell
comfortably within the specified error
band.
The principle behind this method
was to identify the interference-free
components (H2, H2S, hexane) first and
then to use those values to correct the
ion currents for those components that
experience interference. For example,
to subtract the hexane interference
from the pentane current, then the With impending EPA rule changes for flare gas stack combustion, you’ll need
hexane and pentane interference from to measure heat value at the stack quickly, accurately, and often. AMETEK
the butane currents and so forth. All of Dycor®’s FlarePro mass spectrometer has the speed and specificity for the
the calculations were performed task, calculating make-up gas quantities 10X faster than chromatographs. It
automatically by the instrument’s can speciate and quantify alkanes and alkenes up to C7 and convert ASTM
software. calculations of concentration to yield flare gas BTU values, even with wildly
It should be noted that the changing flare gas streams. Features include:
calculation method described here, and
• 24” footprint (general or C1, D2 areas) • Low maintenance
specified in the ASTM method, differs
• 16-valve inlet system • Modbus/OPC communications
from the standard ‘matrix
• 1 to 100 amu mass range • Environmentally controlled to
deconvolution’ method commonly
• Easy-to-service modular design accommodate a wide range
used by process mass spectrometers.
of temperatures
Matrix deconvolution works by Learn more at www.ametekpi.com.
© 2017 by AMETEK Inc. All rights reserved.

11 – 15 June 2018
Frankfurt am Main
Figure 1. AMETEK FlarePro process mass spectrometer.
The real-time, field-stream data collected, using the

modified analysis method described above, verified the
accuracy of the mass spectrometer’s response over a wide
range of Btu values (Table 1). The instrument’s performance
under test indicated that it could achieve the required
specification goal of ±15%.
Accuracy of the method

Based on real field stream data, and using the modified analysis
method described above, AMETEK verified the response of the
mass spectrometer over a wide range of Btu values (Table 1).
By adapting the standard method of analysis slightly, the
FlarePro provides a fast, accurate Btu content measurement
even when confronted with a changing flare gas stream. The
analysis technique allows for a reduction in calibration
complexity, while still providing data that falls comfortably
within the specified error band.
There are other advantages to using a process mass
spectrometer for determining flare gas heat values. The
instrument’s software makes for easy setup, operation, and
calibration. Its modular design and self-diagnostic capabilities
make maintenance easier and significantly reduces the
amount of downtime a unit might experience. In addition, the
unit features advanced alarm and automation capabilities that
further ensure its reliability and extend its practical
BE INFORMED. application.
Refiners should consider other factors when selecting the
BE INSPIRED. right technological solution for this application. The selection
criteria should include the manufacturer’s capabilities and
BE THERE. experience in process analysis.
› World Forum and Leading Show Conclusion

The US EPA has tightened regulatory requirements on refinery
for the Process Industries flare gas with the goal of reducing potentially harmful
› 3,800 Exhibitors from 50 Countries emissions through improvements in flue gas operating
practices, including better control and monitoring of
› 170,000 Attendees from 100 Countries supplemental gas, air and steam.
Among the technologies under consideration is process
mass spectrometry. This technology performed well against
competitive technologies, offering a number of advantages.
AMETEK has demonstrated that by modifying the standard
method of analysis slightly, it was able to use mass
spectrometry to provide fast and accurate Btu content
measurement.
www.achema.de
FAST and
PRECISE
Thomas Knight, Orbital Gas Systems, USA, examines an option

for providing continuous LNG sampling, vaporisation, conditioning
and analysis on LNG applications.
T
he increasing rate of worldwide natural gas Typically, the calorific value (CV) and other physical
trading, particularly in shipped LNG, makes properties of LNG are calculated from gas composition
accurate energy accounting more important data obtained via gas chromatography (GC) to the
than ever. Each LNG cargo, loaded at a well-known industry standards for natural gas. Orbital’s
production facility for export and unloaded at a Gas Properties Transmitter (GasPT®) represents an
reception terminal for regasification, can represent alternative method. The instrument has been
more than US$20 million in investment. Even small developed specifically to address the issues of variable
uncertainties in the measurement of LNG volume and gas quality with performance specification targets for
heat content could lead to a significant loss in revenue. speed of response, accuracy, availability, cost and ease
As energy accounting requires the calculation of the of installation.
product of volume and calorific value (heating value),
these two parameters must be considered as equally Drawbacks of gas chromatography
important to the overall energy measurement Measurement of natural gas quality by GC requires a
uncertainty. sample of the LNG to be vaporised without changing

ENGINEERING
Figure 1. Continuous vs intermittent gas sampling; a) GC time slice of gas sample; b) GasPT acoustic resonator.
with the timed period between each capture of gas

sample being several minutes, then successive slices of
sample gas may vary in content.
In comparison, Figure 1b shows Orbital’s
technology with a spherical acoustic resonator, in
which the gas sample continuously flows, is mixed,
and provides five measurements for a speed of sound
calculation every second, eliminating the errors found
due to preferential vaporisation. This results in a more
continuous time-averaged calculation of the physical
properties of the gas sample.
GasPT infers a gas composition from physical
measurements of speed of sound and thermal
conductivity. From the inferred gas mixture of
Figure 2. GasPTi gas conditioning and analysis methane, ethane, propane and nitrogen, the
enclosure.
instrument uses ISO 6976, as a GC would, to calculate
the gas quality properties.
its composition in any way. The GC takes a timed slice This technology, although relatively unknown in
of this vaporised sample from the sample path every the global LNG market, is now being used across all
few minutes, and injects it into the separation stream. LNG import terminals in the UK. The instrument speed
Peak identification and integration leads to the of response is less than 10 sec., with update times of
calculation of concentration for individual gas 1 sec., so the data provided is close to real-time and
components. From the known gas composition, the virtually continuous rather than batch sampled as a
gas properties such as CV, relative density, etc., can GC. More frequent sampling has been shown to
then be calculated using ISO 6976. The assumption, reduce the average error in CV measurement
however, that each timed slice of data perfectly compared with a traditional GC when the CV is
represents the entire sample stream until the next varying. Initial cost of installation, configuration and
data point may not be correct. It is a practical (and commissioning is less than a GC and the ongoing
physical) impossibility to achieve total instantaneous operational expenditure is less with minimal
vaporisation within the sample system and so maintenance required and the complete elimination
homogenous vaporisation of the LNG sample is not of calibration and carrier gas.
achieved, which guarantees the sample composition The sensor has been used across all areas of the
will be altered. In addition to poor vaporisation, icing typical LNG unloading facility, including monitoring
on the sampling line indicates poor insulation and the and controlling BOG and the nitrogen ballasting that
possibility of heat ingress into the sampling line with is required to bring CV and Wobbe in-line with
resulting bubbling or partial vaporisation. Some specifications for entry into the national transmission
stratification of LNG in storage is inevitable and network.
returned liquefied boil-off gas (BOG) will result in the
composition of the LNG changing over time during An integrated system
loading and reloading. The technology has been integrated with Orbital’s
Figure 1a represents the vaporised LNG as mixed patented gas conditioning technology, based on an
molecules of methane (red), ethane (yellow), propane electro-polished 2 mm identification sample pathway
(blue) and butane (green). Assuming a stable process with a continuous flow path to reduce sample volume,
gas composition but a non-homogenous vaporisation, increase response speed and reduce the potential for

ENGINEERING
Need a reprint?
We can tailor to your

requirements,
produce 1 - 12 page
formats, print colour or
mono and more
+44 (0)1252 718999

[email protected]
There is no requirement for carrier gas or calibration
Table 1. Preliminary test results for integrated
GasPTi-LNG-Phazer system gas. This results in an installation and commissioning
time of less than two hours onsite. A safety barrier
SCV dry
and microcontroller in the safe area of the plant
Average (MJ/m3) 42 8693
provide flexibility in communications as serial RS485,
ASaP Phazer with GasPT Standard deviation (u) 0 0186 ethernet or analogue/digital interfaces.
Precision (U) (K = 2) 0 0372 Regarding safety approvals, GasPTi-LNG has been
Shell minimum Standard deviation (u) 0 0582 certified by Baseefa, the UK approvals service for safe
performance criteria use in Zone 0 hazardous areas. In addition to ATEX,
Precision (U) (K = 2) 0 1164
IECEx and CSA approvals, American Bureau of Shipping
Evaluation Precision (U) (K = 2) Pass (ABS) approval has been obtained for marine LNG
The reported precision is based on a standard deviation tanker applications. This was a rigorous approval
from the average value multiplied by a coverage factor k = 2, process reflecting the harsh marine ‘engine room’
providing a level of confidence of approximately 95%
environment of high heat, humidity and vibration in a
saltwater atmosphere. Several LNG tankers now have
the instrumentation monitoring LNG BOG prior to
reliquefaction. To gain instrument performance
approvals, the independent test laboratory NMi in
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has tested and certified
the instrument as Class A for CV measurement, as
according to European Recommendation OIML R140.
The instrument also complies with the performance
requirements of the American Gas Association (AGA)
Report No.5 ‘Natural Gas Energy Measurement for CV
Determination’.
The device has been applied to LNG production
plants, LNG regasification terminals, floating
regasification vessels and on LNG tankers for
transportation.
Integrating LNG sampling,

vaporisation and analysis
Figure 3. Phazer LNG vaporiser. Most recently, the analyser has been integrated with
a small LNG vaporiser (the Phazer) produced by
Analytical Solutions and Products (ASaP) in the
trapped or stagnant gas contaminating fresh gas Netherlands. This has resulted in a compact unit that
samples. The enclosure (Figure 2) includes double can be easily installed and operated on any LNG
block and bleed isolation valves, gas filtering, process line.
preheating prior to pressure drop, critical orifice for The Phazer design criteria include full compliance
first pressure reduction, flow control and final with ISO 8943 and successful testing against
pressure adjustment for the sensor. The integrated EN 12838. A sub-cooled cold section with high
system (GasPTi) has been further developed for LNG vacuum insulation helps prevent partial vaporisation.
applications. Due to the lack of CO2 within LNG, this The primary shut-off and boil-off valves are
can be simplified with the inferencing calculations operated without breaking the high vacuum. The
loaded on to a microcontroller in the safe area, unique flash vaporisation and flow control design
meaning the system is then suitable for Zone 0 significantly reduces the partial vaporisation
hazardous areas. previously described.
Test results are summarised in Table 1, showing
Benefits how the integrated system surpasses minimum
The installation and commissioning of a gas performance criteria set by Shell for LNG analysis
chromatograph system can be complex and stability and precision.
time-consuming. On-site installation and
commissioning with long sample lines, mechanical, Conclusion
electrical and civil works can take several weeks to Traditional GC analysers and vaporisers may have
complete. In comparison, a typical fixed probe issues with speed of response, periods of
installation has gas sampling, conditioning and non-measurement and gas sample partial vaporisation.
analysis integrated into one pipeline-mounted The sensor integrated with Phazer technology can
system. A power cable and a multicore provide continuous LNG sampling, vaporisation,
communications cable are connected to the safe conditioning and analysis to give rapid, reliable and
area control room to complete the installation. accurate CV data on LNG applications.

ENGINEERING
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Inessa Shahnazarova and Ekaterina Vankova, Vostock Capital, Russia, present the
findings of a recent study into the latest developments in the Russian LNG industry.

ENGINEERING
T
otal global LNG demand is expected to continue growing strongly. The
number of importers and exporters is increasing and this trend is set to
continue. Vostock Capital expects LNG demand to grow steadily until
2025 – 2030. A bright spark for producers looking to contract their LNG
in the coming years could be new markets in China, India, Southeast Asia and
Europe. Concurrently, North America, Australia, Africa and Russia are set to
increase their LNG exports.
Being mobile, LNG has the potential to reduce fuel costs and ensure stable and
secure gas transportation to various regions of the world. It is a basis for economic
growth, which is why it is vital to promote the LNG industry in Russia.
Russia anticipates serious competition in its LNG sector as it puts into
operation several new projects. The Sakhalin-2 project is currently the only
operating plant for large scale LNG production in Russia. It accounts for some
4.5% of total global LNG production and satisfies the demands of Japan and
South Korea. The project operator is Sakhalin Energy (Gazprom, Shell, Mitsui,
Moscow City International

Business Centre, Russia.

ENGINEERING
Mitsubishi). Plans are currently underway to construct a third train Novatek, Rosneft, Gazprom VNIIGAZ, Kriomash-BZKM, the
at the facility. The design documentation for the construction of Institute for Energy and Finance, BASF, Sakhalin Energy, Technip,
a third phase will be ready in 2017. Construction of a third train LNG-Gorskaya, and Eurotube GmbH.
will enable half as much capacity growth — up to 15 million t.
Other Russian LNG projects include Far East LNG, which Survey analysis and questions
Rosneft intends to implement in the Khabarovsk region, together
with its Sakhalin-1 partners, ExxonMobil. The project will have an ‘What are the key challenges affecting your
estimated capacity of 5 million tpy. business in the LNG industry?'
Meanwhile, Yamal LNG is an integrated project for natural gas This question did not have any predefined answers. The
production and liquefaction in Sabetta village. Three trains are participants had to identify three problems, the elimination of
under construction, with a capacity of 5.5 million tpy each. They which would promote their business development. As, in general,
are due to be launched in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Novatek does not the study participants are the representatives of two groups – the
exclude the possibility of extending Yamal LNG with an industrial companies’ representatives (oil and gas producers and
additional train. The prospects for expansion are to be discussed project operators) and service providing companies’
with project partners (Total, CNPC and Silk Road Fund). representatives (engineering companies, design institutes and
Pechora LNG is a large scale project, stipulating for the equipment producers, service providers and technology suppliers)
development of two fields in the Nenets Autonomous District – the respondents’ opinions may be divided as such:
(Kumzhinsky and Korovinsky), the creation of gas and transport
infrastructure, as well as the construction of an LNG plant, gas Service providers
treatment unit and sea terminal. In December 2015, Rosneft and The key challenges facing service providers in the field of LNG
Alltech Group completed the establishment of joint venture (JV) can be summarised as follows:
RN-Pechora LNG, with Rosneft’s share of 50.1%. The capacity of Closed nature of the business: a lack of access to the projects
the facility is 2.6 million tpy. for the independent service providers; the focus of Russian
There are also plans underway for the construction of the customers on foreign developers and suppliers; a lack of
Baltic LNG facility in Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region. The interest in domestic equipment; the predefined nomination
of separate companies as contractors on some services.
projected capacity of the plant is 10 million tpy, extendible to
15 million tpy. Gazprom and Shell signed a memorandum of Finance: the high net value of LNG equipment and potential
customers’ lack of financial sources; the customers’
understanding (MoU) on the project in June 2016. The companies
requirement for substantial technical information at the
anticipate defining the terms of the JV for the construction of the preliminary stage without payments.
LNG facility by the end of the year, and the project is to be
Technologies: new opportunities for import substitution,
commissioned in December 2021 – 2022. however, a lack of experience in LNG facility design and
Another large scale LNG project worth mentioning is construction compared to foreign companies; LNG tanker
Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2, to be located in the Salmanovsky equipment selection criteria does not stipulate for
(Utrenniy) area in the north of Gydan. The field has estimated breakthrough technologies or adherence to old technologies.
recoverable reserves of 235 billion m3 of gas and almost 9 million t
of liquid hydrocarbons. Producing enterprises
A number of small scale LNG projects are also planned in The key challenges facing the producing enterprises in the field of
Russia, including LNG Gorskaya. This floating LNG project will LNG can be summarised as follows:
include an in-house fleet that will deliver LNG to Europe and Finance: expensive materials and LNG equipment; insufficient
provide vessel bunkering facilities in the Gulf of Finland. project funding; high prices on LNG transportation; high
LNG Gorskaya intends to commission the production facility in capital costs; budgeting; finance attraction difficulties; low
late 2018 and to start LNG sales in early 2019. level of required investments; fixed price on gas regardless of
its remoteness from the pipe; and a high cost of project
Cryogas has commissioned a small scale LNG facility in the
funding at a low LNG price.
Pskov Region. The facility launch took place on 26 May 2016. The
Market: export restrictions and absence of export permits;
plant capacity amounts to 21 000 tpy of LNG. Cryogas has also
lack of customer’s infrastructure; fuel consumers’
implemented the construction of an LNG terminal with capacity unavailability to convert into LNG; poorly developed internal
of 660 000 tpy in the port of Vysotsk (Leningrad region). The LNG market; demotivation of regional authorities in using LNG
facility and adherent infrastructure will be commissioned in 2018. due to its final cost in regasified state; competition with
inefficient projects; field owners unwilling to process the
Study associated petroleum gas; basic energy sources oversupply in
Vostock Capital has conducted a study to gather recent (and the global market.
often publicly unavailable) information from those who largely Personnel: narrow circle of specialists in the field; low
shape the future of Russia's LNG industry. The methodology of competence of domestic participants in the design,
this study was underpinned by the combination of qualitative and equipment production and facilities construction processes;
quantitative methods. It included a survey carried out with the unqualified local engineering, procurement and construction
help of a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with industry (EPC) contractors.
experts. A total of 153 respondents took part in the study, Common problems
including LNG project managers and leading experts, main The LNG industry also raises the following common problems for
contractors, technology and equipment developers and suppliers, all market players:
and consultants and researchers. Among the participating Administrative barriers: bureaucracy and corruption in
companies were Gazprom proyektirovaniye, Saipem S.p.A, authorities; uncertainty in government regulation prospects

ENGINEERING
Be wise
when you
advertise
Test a publisher’s statement
of circulation. In today’s business
climate you can’t afford not to.
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and lack of forecasts about potential LNG demand and small scale LNG projects are: LNG Gorskaya (70%),
development of the industry in Russia; inefficient state Vysotsk LNG (56%) and Pskov LNG (24%).
regulation of the industry; excessive requirements of the
authorities; lack of legal framework documents in health, 'Name three Russian companies and three
safety and the environment (HSE) and fire safety; leading international companies developing
immaturity of the legal framework associated with LNG
usage on vehicles; absence of Russian standards and
technologies and producing equipment for
requirements (GOST); outdated legal framework on design;
LNG projects.'
monopolism in the gas sector; information security. To reveal the leaders among Russian and international
Finance: tight credits; ambivalence in price regulation; technology and equipment suppliers for the LNG industry, this
project freeze. question did not have any predefined options. The
Macroeconomics: unstable economic environment; respondents named three Russian and three international
western sanctions; high macroeconomic risks. companies that they considered to be leaders in the LNG
industry.
'Which of the large scale LNG projects are Among the Russian companies, the majority of
most promising, in your opinion?' respondents named Cryogenmash, Cryogas, Geliymash and
The respondents had to rank large scale LNG projects from a Kriomash-BZKM.
list on a scale from one to six, where six signifies the most Among the foreign technology and equipment suppliers,
promising and one signifies the least promising. the most popular companies were Siemens, Shell, Linde,
According to the results of the study, the Yamal LNG Technip, Kvaerner, Cryostar, Air Liquide, and JGC Corp.
project was considered the most advanced by 44% of
respondents. The construction of the third train at Conclusion
Sakhalin-2 was considered the next most viable, with 39% of There is no doubt that the Russian LNG market has a lot of
respondents marking it as ‘highly promising’, followed by constrained potential, some of the hurdles blocking it, such
Arctic LNG 2 (15%), Baltic LNG (13%), Pechora LNG (11%) and as sanctions or entrenched red tape, lying beyond the power
Far East LNG (10%). of market players, while others, e.g. well trained staff or
lobbying in favour of proper standards, being within their
'Which small scale LNG projects are the most reach. Played right, LNG expertise gained across the Russian
promising?' LNG industry can prove invaluable in entering emerging
This question was open and had no predefined options for markets, such as Iran, with their own challenges of various
answers. According to the survey results, the most popular sorts.
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15 FACTS ON...
The states of
REFINING Gasoline
Texas, Louisiana accounts for
and California nearly half of all In the 19th Century, US petroleum
account for US petroleum refineries processed crude oil
OVER HALF product primarily for KEROSENE
of all US domestic production (gasoline was considered a waste)
refining capacity
In 1745, the US refining
FIRST OIL WELL capacity
AND REFINERY INCREASED BY
350 000 bpd in 2016
were built in
compared to 2015 (up 1.95%)
Ukhta, Russia, by
Fawley is the Fiodor Priadunov In 2015, the
largest refinery US
ONE BARREL
accounted for of crude petroleum
in the UK, contains only
The US has
supplying 15% 20.4% 30 – 40% gasoline
of the UK’s oil 126 000 MILES of refinery
products of crude oil and throughput The Jamnagar
refined petroleum refinery (India)
As of 1 January product pipelines In 2016, is the LARGEST
2016, there were US oil refinery in
141 Many UK refineries demand for the world, with a
operable refineries came onstream gasoline was crude processing
in the US in the late 1950s 9.3 million bpd capacity of
with a total crude and early 1960s, 1.24 million bpd
distillation capacity reflecting post-war
of approximately demand for
18.32 million bpd petroleum products
Thanks to petroleum distillation, demand Samuel Kier established the

for WHALE OIL dropped significantly until US’ FIRST OIL REFINERY in
commercial whaling was banned by the Pittsburgh in 1853
International Whaling Commission in 1986

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