Temperature,pressure

measurementssolve column
operatingproblems
Scott W. Golden

efinery
process
engineers
use
computer
modeling
to design,
monitor,
operate, and troubleshoot refinery units. Basic
chemical engineering
princiwith
these
ples, coupled

ProcessConsulting ServicesInc.

high-technology
tools, offer
the engineer opportunities
to
identify and fix process unit
problems.
Pressure,
temperature,
and composition
profiles are
fundamental
process meaFlq

Grapevine, Tex.

surements. But these

tools that identify
design and operating
lems are often lost
the more sophisticated
tech tools.
The details of three

simple
system
probamong
high-

tions will show how these

basic chemical engineering
tools can be used to identify
and solve operating
problems in refinery distillation
columns.

opera-

Fig. 2

Jet fuel

Reprinted

from the December 25, 1995 edition of OIL

Copyright 1995 by PennWell

& GAS JOURNAL

OG

TECHNOLOGY
I

Fig 3

Fig 4

ight cycle oil PA

+=Debutani*er

Normally no flow
(Balance line)

Case 1: Crude overhead

Many atmospheric-pressure crude units have twodrum
overhead
systems.
These systems are designed
to improve unit energy efficiency by recovering some of
the enthalpy from the column
overhead
vapor.
Although
these
systems
improve
energy efficiency,
they can cause corrosion and
operating problems.*
Fig. 1 shows a schematic of
an overhead system that uses
a hot reflux drum and a cold
product drum. The product
drum makes full-range naphtha, which the refiner uses as
reformer feed. The first column side draw is jet fuel with
a maximum
10% distillation
specification of 400 F.
The unit was designed to
maximize
naphtha
yield
while meeting
the jet fuel
front-end specification.
Historically, however,
the unit
had been difficult to operate.
It experienced corrosion, and
product quality was difficult
to control.

Control problems
The operating
objectives
of this system are:
l
To control reflux-drum
temperature
at 280 F. minimum
l
To produce
naphtha
with a maximum
D86 distillation 98 vol % point of 395
F.

Debutanizer

feed

l
To produce jet fuel with
a maximum 10 ~01% point of
400 F.
It was not possible to meet
all the control
objectives
using the design shown in
Fig. 1. The refiner could meet
either the reflux-drum
temperature or the product distillation
specifications,
but
not all the objectives.
The system was operated
to maintain
the hot reflux
drum at a minimum
temperature of 280 F. to avoid corrosion in the crude-oil/overhead-vapor exchanger. Operators had determined that, by
varying
the reflux
drum
pressure from 11 to 18 psig,
the control objectives could
be met.
Although
column
pressure is a novel independent
variable for adjusting
product composition
in an atmospheric
crude column
and
may not be optimum, it can
be made to work. The operators should be given considerable credit for making an
inherently
unworkable
system meet the product quality
objectives
and the reflux
drum target temperature.
Despite this success, the
operating
pressure
of an
atmospheric
crude
unit
should not be used as an
independent
variable.
Although
it is theoretically
possible to meet the control
objectives in this manner, it is
undesirable
for several rea-

F.

ight cycle oil PA

bottoms

Debutanizer

Temperature,

ed.

sons, including:
column
l
Minimizing
pressure reduces atmospheric residue yield.
l
Operating
experience
on this column showed that
temperatures
less than 280
F. in the reflux drum caused
severe operating
problems.
Salt deposition
resulted in
corrosion
in
the
heat
exchanger and fouling of the
columns top trays.

Original design
The system did not work
as intended. As they always
do, the operators had found a
way around
the problem.
They used pressure, temperature, and composition
to
meet the control objectives.
Following
their example,
pressure,
temperature,
and
composition
will be used to
analyze the problem.
Over time, crude oil composition
changes. For each
crude blend, there are differing amounts of naphtha, light
straight run, and light ends in
the feed. For a given crude oil
composition,
the operating
conditions
in the overhead
are essentially fixed by the
crude composition
and column heat balance.
For this unit, avoiding
corrosion and salt deposition
was the primary
control
objective. The reflux drum
was operated at 280 F. This
temperature
was maintained
by bypassing a portion of the

bottoms

Debutanizer

feed

crude
around
the
crude/overhead-vapor
heat
exchanger.
For a given composition
of overhead
from the column, the quantity of material
condensed at 280 F. and 15
psig is fixed. The column
reflux rate is set by returning
all the reflux-drum
liquid to
the column.
The quantity of reflux to
the column determines
the
composition
of the column
overhead
vapor.
If, when
operating
this column, the
overhead did not meet specification (naphtha end point),
the operators would change
the pressure
in the reflux
drum. They were able to
meet the control objectives,
although this was achieved at
the expense
of varying
atmospheric
residue production.
Problems in refinery multidraw
distillation
columns
are best analyzed using material balance
envelopes.
A
simplification
of the material
balance on the overhead system is: Column
overhead
vapor = Reflux + Refluxdrum vapor.
Assuming
a given crude
and a fixed jet fuel/diesel
separation:
Reflux-drum
vapor = Naphtha product +
Light
ends. In addition,
Naphtha
+ Jet fuel = Constant.
If the reflux-drum
temperature is maintained,
varia-

TECH IOLOGY
Fig

28

Flash drum vapors 4

tions in reflux-drum
pressure
change the quantity of material condensed
in the reflux
drum. This, in turn, changes
the quantities of naphtha and
jet fuel produced.
A decrease in the quantity
of naphtha and an increase in
the quantity of jet fuel cause a
reduction in, respectively, the
naphtha end point and the jet
fuel 10 vol % point.
The operators were intuitively applying basic chemical engineering
theory
to
operate this column. Unfortunately, however,
sophisticated process models have
gained
such
widespread
acceptance that basic theory
often is considered mundane
and boring.
Basic distillation
theory
defines the problem as a multicomponent
flash. Pressure,
temperature,
and composition, in conjunction
with the
aforementioned
material-balance equations, simplify the
problem.
It must be remembered
that pressure and temperature determine
composition.
Once two variables are fixed,
the third is also fixed, assuming the fluid is at equilibrium.

Modified flow scheme

The principles of pressure,
temperature,
and composition can be used to solve the
problem in this unit. Fig. 2
shows a modified
process

Flash drum vapors -b

flow scheme that has been

used effectively on two-drum
overhead systems.
These units process
a
wide variety of crude oils
with naphtha yields ranging
from 4 to 20% of crude. The
system shown in Fig. 2 separates control of the naphtha
and jet fuel yields from operation of the reflux drum.
The control objectives are
the same as for the flow
scheme in Fig. 1. The method
of meeting these objectives,
however, differs.
In Fig. 2, pressure changes
are not needed to meet the
control objectives.
The column operating pressure thus
can be maintained
at minimum levels set by column
hydraulic loading.
The changes in the process
flow scheme shown in Fig. 2
affect the overhead
system
material
balance. The new
material
balance equations
are:
l
Column
overhead
vapor = Reflux + Refluxdrum vapor + Net liquid to
product drum
l
Reflux-drum
vapor =
Naphtha
product
+ Light
ends + Refluxed liquid from
product drum
l
Naphtha
+ Jet fuel =
Constant (assuming a given
crude
and
fixed
jet
fuel/diesel separation).
The system now operates
in the following
manner:
l
Net liquid
from the

-..2LL
30

reflux drum to the product

drum is always maintained.
Crude composition
changes
will be reflected in the quantity of this stream; nevertheless, it will always be maintained, irrespective
of other
operating conditions.
l
Refluxed
liquid
from
the product drum will be varied from zero to some positive value. When there is net
liquid in the reflux drum as a
result of a particular crude oil
composition,
the flow rate
from the product drum will
be zero. The position indicator on the product-drum
valve is used to indicate flow
qualitutively. When the net
liquid from the reflux drum
has no flow, the flow of the
product-drum
reflux stream
will be positive.
This system separates the
inherent
link between
the
pressure and temperature
of
the reflux
drum
and the
naphtha and jet fuel compositions. The naphtha and jet
fuel material balance can be
varied while avoiding refluxdrum
temperatures
that
cause product
specification
problems.
The size of the two lines
added to the system is a function of variations in crude oil
blends.
Advanced
control
schemes can be applied easily to the process flow scheme
shown
in Fig. 2.

pumparound
553

AGO draw

Case 2: De-C2reboiler
The de-ethanizer,
or stripper, in a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit removes C2
and H,S from the debutanizer feed. The C, bottom-product specification is a function
of the downstream
units
processing tolerance for C2s.
De-ethanizer
column reboiler
systems often use some type
of series or parallel scheme to
recover
low-temperature
heat.
These columns are inherently
difficult
to control
because the C, content cannot be inferred
accurately
from column
temperature.
Small changes in columntray or reboiler-outlet
temperature
result
in large
changes in C, content. Thus,
de-ethanizer
columns
normally are operated
using
higher boil-up
than necessary, because of the difficulty
of controlling
CZs.
Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of
a typical series-reboiler
system for a de-ethanizer.
The
system comprises
a thermosyphon
in series with a
kettle reboiler.
The thermosyphon
uses a
low-temperature
heat source
from either the debutanizer
or the FCC main fractionator.
The kettle generally
uses
light cycle oil pumparound
heat from the main fractionator. (Typical heat duty is two
thirds low-temperature
heat

TECHNOLOGY
and one third high-temperature heat.)
In principle, all the liquid
leaving the bottom tray (total
draw)
flows
to the thermosyphon
reboiler.
The
vapor and liquid
from the
thermosyphon
flow to the
kettle.
The thermosyphon
and
kettle reboiler represent more
than one theoretical stage of
separation.
An
alternate
scheme separating
the thermosyphon and kettle reboiler
will yield closer to two theoretical stages.
The liquid level in the kettle and the column bottoms is
maintained
near the midpoint of the tube bundle
overflow baffle on the reboiler. The kettle reboiler has a
balance line back to the column. The balance line often
is cold to the touch because
there is little or no flow in it.
The liquid level indicator
should always be placed on
the reboiler because the liquid level in the column is
higher as a result of the pressure drop in the outlet line
from the kettle reboiler.
This pressure drop is normally low. On one FCC deethanizer,
however,
a high
pressure drop in the vapor
line, coupled with use of a
liquid-level
indicator on the
column
rather
than
the
reboiler, resulted in a flooded
kettle reboiler.
Depending
on
the
exchanger
bundle
design,
baffles typically are only 3 or
4 ft tall. A large tube-bundle
diameter
coupled
with
a
short tube length is preferred
for this service because it
increases baffle height.

Bottom composition
A 55,000 b/d FCC unit
was having difficulty
controlling the C, content in the
bottoms product. Increasing
heat input did not improve
the C, content enough
to
meet the LPG specification.
The stripper
heat input
had been increased
sufficiently to flood the column.
The liquid inventory in the
column dumped
intermittently into the high-pressure
receiver via the column overhead vapor line.

Because the high-pressure

receiver
liquid
is stripper
feed, a giant recycle loop is
created. Some operators call
this recycling snowballing.
Large build-up
of C2s can
occur in this type of system
because of low temperatures.

Columnprofiles
Composition
and temperature data were gathered
around the reboiler system to
determine the cause of the C,
composition
problem. Fig. 4
shows the temperature
data
taken from the unit.
There was flow in the balance line, and its temperature
was slightly more than that
of the liquid on the bottom
tray. On a more basic level,
the line was hot to the touch,
which indicates
flow from
the column through the balance line.
Temperature
measurements were taken at various
points in the system. These
values were:
l
Bottom tray, 190 F.
l
Balance line, 200 F.
l
Reboiler
liquid outlet,
263 F.
l
Debutanizer
feed, 255
F.
Computer
simulation
models allow the engineer to
generate changes in composition profile, as do McCabeThiele and Hengstebeck diagrams.
The
difference
between these types of diagrams and computer models
is that the models are much
faster.
In this de-eth%nizer, there
is a very large change in temperature
and composition
across the bottom stages. If
the reboiler system is operating properly, the liquid flowing from the bottom tray will
have 3.5-4.5 times more C2s
than the bottom product.
Various
streams
were
measured for C, content. The
results were:
l
Bottom tray liquid, 0.20
mole Y0
l
Balance line liquid, 0.17
mole %
l
Reboiler
outlet,
0.05
mole %
l
Column bottoms product, 0.08 mole %.
The high C2 content in the
column bottoms was caused

by problems in the reboiler

systems hydraulics.
The
unit
had
been
designed for less than 40,000
b/d capacity. Unit throughput and conversion
were
higher than intended.
When the unit charge and
the quantity
of debutanizer
feed were
increased,
the
reboiler system was unable
to handle all the flow from
the bottom tray. Some of the
bottom-tray
liquid, therefore,
was bypassing the reboiler,
causing
high
C2 content
material
to be mixed with
reboiler outlet liquid.
There were two causes of
the hydraulic limitations:
l
Improper
line sizes on
the kettle vapor-return
line
l
Too high a system pressure-drop
from the bottomtray liquid draw to the kettle.
These limitations
result in
liquid bypassing the reboiler
system.
In this case, temperature
and composition
profiles in
the reboiler system identified
these two culprits. The operating problem was solved by
eliminating
the hydraulic
bottlenecks.

Case 3: Crude column

An atmospheric crude colmodified
to
umn
was
increase the capacity of its
diesel pumparound
section
because crude charge capacity had been increased and
the diesel pumparound
section was causing a bottleneck. During
start-up,
the
column
had
experienced
operating
problems,
and a
pressure surge was recorded.
Fig. 5 is a flow diagram of
the diesel/atmospheric
gas
oil (AGO) section of the column, as designed.

Pumparound problem
After the modification,
the
diesel pumparound
pumps
were cavitating and no liquid
could be withdrawn
from
Tray 28. The column
was
gamma-scanned,
but no conclusions were drawn.
The gamma
scan was
interpreted
to indicate that
the trays were in place. The
column draw had to be modified, however, to allow heat

removal
from
the diesel
pumparound.
The column
could not be operated
as
designed.
The diesel draw on Tray
24 had been used to draw
both the product and the column internal reflux. But the
operators
found a way to
convert the operation from a
pumparound
to a pumpdown. This was an innovative solution
to a problem
that could have caused a
shutdown.
Fig. 6 is a diagram of the
modified
flow scheme (the
diesel pumpdown
pumps are
not shown). Computer modeling of the modified
flow
scheme was conducted
in
parallel
with
the gamma
scan. Because neither
the
gamma scans nor the computer models identified
the
problem,
some basic plant
data were gathered and evaluated.

Columnprofiles
Atmospheric
crude distillation
columns
fractionate
the feed components
into
products,
based on downstream unit feed specifications and refinery product
specifications.
Temperature,
pressure,
and composition
changes are inherent to the
distillation
process.
Proficiency with computer models and overreliance
on gamma scanning
have
displaced the idea of looking
to plant data for solutions to
processing
problems.
Pressure, temperature,
and composition
profiles (variations
within
a given system) are
often overlooked as powerful
troubleshooting
tools.
Although
the tools available to todays process engineer are wonderful, basic distillation principles should not
be overlooked:
l
Liquid is heaviest at the
bottom
of a column
and
becomes lighter as it moves
up the column. In an atmospheric crude column, the 50%
point can be used to measure
where
a product
is withdrawn from the column.
l
Column
temperature
decreases from bottom
to
top. The change per tray is a
function
of the individual

TECHNOLOGY

Table

Vol %
distilled

Temperatures,
F
Diesel
AGO

5:

579
542

648
598

z:
100

627
649
688

749
711
817

ments at low cost.

On this column, pressure,
temperature,
and composition data were collected in
the diesel/AGO
section of
the column. (When evaluating trayed atmospheric distillation
column
operations,
profiles of pressure, temperature, and composition should
always be gathered.)

Pressure

process. Proper changes ir

tray temperature
can bc
determined
using a comput
er model.
l
In a trayed column, the
pressure drop per tray varie:
between 0.075 psi and 0.1:
psi when the trays are func
tioning properly.
Although these are simple
aspects that may be easil)
understood,
the importance
2f their application
in trou2leshooting
and monitoring
distillation
columns
cannol
3e overstated.
Gamma
scanning
is i
sophisticated
too1
thai
requires proper execution. I
often is performed incorrect
ly, resulting in many incor
rect interpretations.
(Thl
author has been told severa
times that a column is flood
ed, when the gamma seal
was mistakenly
detectin!
downcomers.)
These sophisticated
tool
require highly trained per
sonnel to use them correctly
By contrast,
temperature
pressure,
and compositior
data can be gathered quickl!
using simple, reliable instru

One symptom of the operating problem in this tower

was the inability
to draw
diesel pumparound
liquid.
The diesel product draw
was at Tray 24 and the diesel
pumparound
draw, at Tray
28. The inability to draw liquid from an active tray means
the tray is either weeping
or
mechanically
damaged such
that liquid is not allowed to
reach the draw sump.
Pressure drop was measured between the available
pressure taps in the column.
The following
values were
measured
simultaneously
using two calibrated gauges:
l
Trays 28-29, 0.1 psi
l
Trays 24-29, 0.2 psi.
These low pressure drops
indicate tray damage.

Temperature
Following
the pressure
measurements,
the column
temperature profile was evaluated.
Trays 24-27 had thermowells. The draw-tray temperatures were measured,
and
the resulting
temperature
profile is shown in Fig. 6.
Temperatures
at the diesel
and AGO draw trays were,
respectively, 562 F. and 553
F. It is important to note that
the diesel draw temperature
was higher than that of the
AGO draw, even though the
diesel draw tray was six trays

higher than the AGO draw.

(The AGO
product
draw
should be hotter than the
diesel because AGO is higher-boiling-range
material.)

Composition
During
the temperature
and pressure profile measurements, distillation
analyses
were performed on the diesel
and AGO products (Table 1).
As expected, the distillation showed that the AGO
had a 50% boiling point that
was 56 F. higher than diesels,
The profiles
also indicated
three unexpected results:
l
The AGO draw is colder than the diesel draw.
l
The column
temperature profile does not change
materially
from Tray 24 to
Tray 27.
l
The pressure drop on
the diesel pumparound
trays
is very low.
The only reasonable interpretation of these results is that
the diesel pumparound
trays
have been damaged. Although
the subcooled
pumpdown
reflux is having some contact
with the vapor, the AGO product equilibrium
temperature is
not being reached.

References
I. Bannon,
R.P., and Marple,
S., Jr.,
Heat Recovery
in liydrocarbon
Systems,
Chem.
Eng. Prog.,
July 1978, pp. 41-45.
!. Lieberman,
N.P., Four steps solve
crude-tower
overhead
corrosion
problems,
OCJ, July 5, 1993,
pp. 47-50.
3. Kern, D.Q., Process Heat Transfer,
McGraw
Hill, 1950, p. 335.
t. Martin,
G.R., and Sloley,
A.W.,
Effectively
Design
and Simulate
Thermosyphon
Reboiler
Systems,
Part 1, Hydrocarbon
Processing,
June 1995, pp. lO10.
i. Martin,
G.R., and Sloley,
A.W.,
Effectively
Design
and Simulate
Thermosyphon
Reboiler
Systems,
Part 2, Hydrocarbon
Processing,
July 1995, pp. 67.78.
6. Fleming,
B., Sloley,
A.W.,
and
Golden,
S.W., Heat Integratmg
Fluid
Catalytic
Cracking
Unit
Fractmnation
Systems,
Paper
lY5b, AlChE
fall meeting,
Nov.
11, 1994, St. Louis.
7. Sk&y,
A.W.,
and Martin,
G.R.,
Process
Modelq
for Control
System
Design
and Analysts,
Proceedings
from the Conference on Modeling,
Simulation,
and
Control
in the Process
Industry,
Iapf2r
208-007,
Ottawa,
Ont., May 25-27, pp.
107-l 5.
8. Kister,
H.Z., Distillation
Design,
McGraw
Hill, 1992, pp. 67-71.

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Natural Gas In The
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90 pp., El4 in U.K., El6 overseas.
The book examines
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says the
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widely
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problems,
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A Year on the (H)Edge:

Integrating Physical and
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20043. 160 pp. no price available.
This book outlines
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