REPORT ON NHT FURNACE

OPTIMISATION

MATHURA REFINERY

REPORT
ON
OPTIMISATION
OF
MSQU NHT FURNACE

PREPARED BY:
ABHIMANYU GARG
SPNE
MSQU
MATHURA REFINERY

REPORT ON NHT FURNACE

OPTIMISATION

MATHURA REFINERY

PREFACE
This report covers the methodology adopted, observations &
benefits obtained by optimization of NHT furnace operation at
MSQU plant of Mathura Refinery.
The assignment has been carried out after taking adequate
precautions & close observation of all furnace parameters.

REPORT ON NHT FURNACE

OPTIMISATION

MATHURA REFINERY

Introduction
The Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit at MSQU employs Tk-527 catalyst(Haldor
Topsoe) & hydrogen-rich gas stream to decompose organic sulphur, oxygen
& nitrogen compounds contained in hydrocarbon fractions. In addition,
hydrotreating removes organo-metallic compounds & saturates olefinic
compounds. The hydro treating process is used to remove PENEX catalyst
poisons from Straight run naphthas prior to charging to the PENEX unit.
The Combined Feed Heater (308-F-01) raises the temperature of the
combined feed from approximately 255 0C to 303 0C before it enters the
NHT Reactor bed. The process stream entering the Combined Feed Heater
(308-F-01) must be in the vapor phase to avoid damage to the tubes. This
heater consists of 4 burners & is of the radiant-convective type with single
firing zone. It is a cylindrical updraft type having vertical tubes in the radiant
section and horizontal tubes in the convection section.

Objective
The following objectives were kept in mind before optimization of NHT
furnace operation was undertaken:
Minimize fuel rate for a given furnace coil outlet temperature & maximize
the process heat absorption for a given amount of fuel.
Adjust furnace draft to minimize air in-leakage while maintaining negative
pressure at entrance to convective section.
Optimize air distribution in the firebox by adjusting air registers on
individual burners as having low air flow in one part of the heater will lead
to higher overall oxygen requirement.
Pay attention to visual appearance of the firebox.

Methodology Adopted
The point of absolute combustion was used as a defining yardstick for
reaching the maximum attainable efficiency of NHT Furnace.
Point of absolute combustion may be defined as the point of maximum

REPORT ON NHT FURNACE

OPTIMISATION

MATHURA REFINERY

heater outlet temperature for a given amount of fuel for any given furnace or
heater (as illustrated in following figures).

Fig: Point of absolute combustion in terms of heater outlet temperature

REPORT ON NHT FURNACE

OPTIMISATION

MATHURA REFINERY

Fig: Point of absolute combustion in terms of maximum achievable combustion of

fuel
Flue gas oxygen analyzer was not seen as a reliable parameter for reaching
the point of absolute combustion as its accuracy was doubtful. The idea was
to get maximum heat out of given amount of fuel gas.
Though the NHT Furnace was being operated in the good operation side(as
shown in figure), it was away from point of absolute combustion as we
experienced the same during optimization exercise.
The air resistors were adjusted/ minimized on individual burners while
observing the flame pattern. Simultaneously, stack damper opening was
brought down to avoid afterburn in the furnace stack & keep the fire in
firebox. All the effects were observed for at-least 3-4 days before making
any further adjustments.

REPORT ON NHT FURNACE

OPTIMISATION

MATHURA REFINERY

This allowed us to reduce fuel gas flow as we were able to increase furnace
coil outlet temperature for the same fuel gas flow. Furnace Stack
temperature also came down from about 235- 240 OC to 195-200 OC.

Benefits Obtained From Optimisation

The entire optimization exercise delivered the following results/benefits:
1) Due to higher furnace efficiency, we were able to bring down the fuel gas
consumption from 680 nm3/hr to 580 nm3/hr for same tput & FCC Hcut to
NHT Feed.
2) Furnace Stack temperature came down from 235- 240 OC to 195-200 OC.
3) We were able to bring down FCC Hcut feed to NHT from 10-12 m3/hr to
6m3/hr leading to higher MS generation thereby contributing to our GRM.
4) Furnace Stack Damper opening came down from about 65% to 45%.
5) Furnace Draft pressure improved from about -3 mmwc to -5 mmwc.
6) Environmental benefits due to lower fuel gas consumption.
Cost benefits calculation
1) Savings in fuel gas equivalent to reduction in NG makeup to fuel gas.
Cost of NG = Rs 55,000/MT
Reduction in NG makeup = 100 m3/hr (Density of 0.803 kg/m3)
Total savings due to Fuel Gas = Rs 31,82,143 per month

Annual benefit of approximately Rupees 3.8 crores.

2) Apart from this, higher MS generation of 6m3/hr as FCC Hcut directly
blended into MS pool.