Hydrocarbon Processing 03 2016 PDF

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MARCH 2016 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
CORROSION CONTROL
Improve corrosion resistance with updated amine treating
MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

Detect and prevent boiler leaks in H2 plants
using a temperature profiling approach
HEAT TRANSFER
Fired heater case study examines
high thermal efficiency, low emissions
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY

Design and install
an enclosed ground flare
HARNESS THE POWER

OF ADVANCED HRSG TECHNOLOGY
The industry leader in Heat Recovery Steam Generators for gas

turbines up to 30 MW, RENTECH offers a full range of HRSG systems
to meet your toughest project requirements. We custom engineer our
crossflow two-drum and waterwall designs to perform superbly in the
most demanding applications and operating conditions. We master every
detail to deliver elemental power for clients worldwide.
HARNESS THE POWER WITH RENTECH.
HEAT RECOVERY STEAM GENERATORS

WASTE HEAT BOILERS
FIRED PACKAGED WATERTUBE BOILERS
SPECIALTY BOILERS
Select 52 at www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS
WWW.RENTECHBOILERS.COM
MARCH 2016|Volume 95 Number 3

HydrocarbonProcessing.com
10
38
SPECIAL REPORT: CORROSION CONTROL
39
Improved corrosion prevention with acid-aided regeneration technology

D. Lee, J. Klinkenbijl, T. Brok, J. Critchfield and D. Valenzuela
REGIONAL REPORT
45 Central American nations beef up import infrastructure,
fuel production amid demand shift
M. Rhodes and M. Nogarin
HEAT TRANSFER
53 Calculate thermal efficiency to optimize fired heater operation
V. D. Shirpurkar and M. E. Ibrahim
57
Minimize unplanned shutdowns of fired heater operations
DEPARTMENTS
4
10
21
23
107
108
109
110
K. R. Ramakumar
FLUID FLOW AND ROTATING EQUIPMENT

67 Limit the rate of change of fuel gas properties with mixing drum
H. Pandya and A. M. Fantolini
NEW IN CATALYSTSSUPPLEMENT
C-73 Taking bio-R&D to commercialization through partnering
M. Carugo and P. Truesdale
101
Design and implement a totally enclosed ground flare

M. Choroszy, A. Bourji and P. Prather
PROCESS CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION

105 Linear position sensors gain preference
in industrial process control applications
E. Otto
Cover Image: MOL Groups Danube refinery, located near Budapest, Hungary, has a capacity of 165 Mbpd.
It is one of the largest refineries in the Central and Eastern European region.
Industry Metrics
Global Project Data
Marketplace
Advertiser Index
Events
People
Corrosion prevention is
a necessary cost
25
Reliability
27
Automation Strategies
29
Project Management
35
Petrochemicals
37
Engineering Case Histories
D. Sudolsky, J.-P. Burzynski and J.-L. Nocca
ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY

95 Meet EPA Tier 3 clean fuel regulations through improved blending processes
Business Trends
COLUMNS
9 Editorial Comment
C. Baukal, B. Johnson and R. Newnham
MAINTENANCE AND RELIABILITY

63 Detect boiler leaks upstream of the shift reactor in H2 plants
Industry Perspectives
Avoid pump shaft failures

Data analytics solutions
require valid data
Protect operating margins with
outsourced asset management
Investigation into West Fertilizer blast
shows room for safety improvement
Case 89: Cracking of welds
due to weld fatigue
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Industry Perspectives
Political analysts shed light on US
election implications for the downstream
In a presidential election year in the US, the hot topic on
the minds of many industry leaders in 2016 is the impact those
election results might have on the downstream sector.
As a result, it comes as little surprise that the majority of
the headline speakers at this months Annual Meeting of the
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM)
come from the political realm.
Meeting details. The event (FIG. 1), which brings together top
executives and leading personnel from across the entire spectrum of the US downstream industry, kicks off on Monday,
March 14 with a general session featuring Mark Halperin and
John Heilemann, the managing editors of Bloomberg Politics
and co-hosts of the With All Due Respect television show on
Bloomberg and MSNBC.
With unmatched insider access and keen-eyed perspectives, Halperin and Heilemann will provide an unvarnished
take on the headlines and the broader forces shaping American
politics, AFPM said in a statement.
The Annual Meeting will also include a special breakfast
session on government relations and a speech at the annual
luncheon from retired US Gen. Colin Powell.
A year ago, those sessions were led by an address from former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who dropped hints
to industry attendees that she would likely make a run for the
US presidency in 2016. A few weeks later, she did exactly that.
Full event coverage. As the exclusive show daily provider for
the Annual Meeting, Hydrocarbon Processing will be live at the

meeting in San Francisco with full coverage of all conference
presentations. The HPInformer blog will include PDFs to the
official conference newspapers, as well as pictures and separate
news stories regarding all of the meetings technical content.
Stick with HydrocarbonProcessing.com throughout March
for updates from AFPM, as well as many other prominent
downstream industry gatherings.
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FIG. 1. AFPMs Annual Meeting typically draws a large downstream

crowd, including at last years event in San Antonio, Texas.
4MARCH 2016|HydrocarbonProcessing.com
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April 5-6, 2016 | Norris Conference Centers - CityCentre
SCM Strategies + Best Practices

in a Low-Cost Environment
In todays low-price environment, responding to changing demand with the
right capacity, quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively, can make or break
profitability. This creates even more imperative for oil and gas companies to
build more efficient, cost-effective oil and gas supply chains.
At the inaugural O&G Supply Chain Forum (OGSC), youll hear from supply
chain management experts regarding the latest strategies, trends, and best
practices in SCM.
Sessions focus on:

Driving operational excellence thru strategic distribution, planning
and scheduling
Cost management
Innovation in technology and research for SCM excellence
Best practices
Developing effective collaborations for an efficient supply chain ecosystem
Efficiencies in shale play operations
Attendees will get a better understanding of:

The framework for building a contemporary and global supply chain:
the people, process, product and technology aspects
Current challenges faced by manufacturers and distributors in an
environment of lowest total cost
How to use Big Data to drive sustainable cost-reduction
New ways of contracting and working internally to deliver
substantial cost reductions
5 key collaborations essential to efficient SCM
The short and long term benefits of category based procurement
The role supply chain solutions play in sand logistics
And much more
Lanyard Sponsor:
Exhibitors:
OGSupplyChain.com
Keynote: Craig Freking

Vice President Manufacturing
and Supply Chain
Weir Oil and Gas
Five Key Collaborations Essential to

Efficient Supply Chain Management
Just as secure supply lines are a key element
in military campaigns, effective and efficient
supply chain management is critical to success
in our global economy. Collaboration with
numerous internal and external links in the chain
is especially important to manufacturers and
distributors operating on the international stage.
Freking has 20 years of experience in
manufacturing, supply chain management
and continuous improvement in a variety of
industrial companies including Exterran LLC,
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Danaher
Corporation and Siemens Stromberg-Carlson.
A veteran of the US Marine Corps, he holds a
bachelors degree in management science from
St. Cloud State University and an MBA from
Rollins College. He is certified in production
and inventory management by APICS, the
premier professional association for supply
chain management and the leading provider of
research, education and certification programs
in that field.
This presentation will focus on the top five
collaboration areas that are critical to successful
supply chain management, using examples
gleaned from his companys experience as a
global manufacturer of wellhead products for a
variety of applications and pressure ratings.
Get valuable insight from these experienced supply chain experts:

Capturing cost efficiencies
in the market
Implementing category based

procurement
Lea Souliotis
Global Wells Procurement/
Supply Chain Manager Alaska
Sandeep Singh
Manager, Procurement Excellence and
Process, Procurement and SCM
BP
Cairn India Limited

Soft money approach in bid
evaluation
Steve Martin
VP Operations
Saleh A. Hassoubah
GM Contracts, Purchasing
and Warehouse Dept
Ryder Dedicated East
Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Co Ltd

(SAMREF)
Pioneering new uses of Big
Data to drive substantial
and sustainable cost-reduction
Breaking new ground

A supply chain transformation
Pravin Tampi
VP Global Sourcing of Supply Chain
Paul Smith
VP Oil and Gas
Newpark Drilling Fluids
Power Advocate
Risk mitigation for efficient

capital deployment
Julian Flores
Head of Energy Solutions
Douglas Polk
VP Industry Affairs
Panalpina
Vallourec USA Corp

Five key trends of oil
& gas consolidation
Efficiencies in shale play operations

Mark Sen Gupta
Senior Consultant
Uday Turaga
CEO
ARC Advisory Group
ADI Analytics LLC
>>Download the complete agenda at OGSupplyChain.com

For more information about the event / speaking opportunities: contact Tranessa Hunt, Events Coordinator
at +1 (713) 5204470 or Tranessa.Hunt@GulfPub.com
For sponsor and exhibit opportunities: contact Melissa Smith, Events Director at +1 (713) 520-4475
or Melissa.Smith@GulfPub.com
Save 15% with code: HPMarch

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with code: HPMarch
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Single Attendee
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Advanced Technologies
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KBC has the technology and expertise to empower you to maximise your refinery margins, improve the
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KBC will be at the AFPM Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA on 13-15 March 2016.
Visit us at our Hospitality Suite in Union Square 14 for food and drinks, entertainment, and market insights!
KBC Advanced Technologies

AMER: +1 281 293 8200 APAC: +65 6735 5488 EMEIA: +44 1932 242424
answers@kbcat.com www.kbcat.com blog.kbcat.com

Editorial
Comment
ADRIENNE BLUME, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Adrienne.Blume@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Corrosion prevention is a necessary cost

Corrosion is a major maintenance and
reliability concern because it has the potential to impact not only plant operations and
costs, but also the environment and worker
health and safety. It starts as a small problem that can quickly turn into several larger
ones. Equipment failures, leaks, plant and
unit shutdowns, environmental and product contamination, and worker accidents
are a few examples of bigger problems that
can occur as a result of corrosion.
Given the wide and far-reaching scope
of these issues, it comes as no surprise
that failure to prevent or mitigate corrosion in critical areas translates into corresponding high costs.
Recent incidents emphasize risk.
Two high-profile corrosion-related incidents have made headlines in recent
months in the US. In late January, a
natural gas storage facility near Los Angeles, California was discovered to have
released over 150 million tons of methane into the atmosphere since late October 2015. The cement casing of the
underground portion of the facility was
discovered to be significantly corroded,
amid other operational, safety and equipment issues. The incident caused health
and relocation problems for thousands of
residents. It also required the drilling of a
relief well to mitigate the leak.
Outside of oil and gas, a public health
emergency occurred in Flint, Michigan,
when lead-tainted water filtered into the
citys drinking water supply. The Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) decided not to require corrosion
control treatment for Flints switchover
from the Detroit water system to the Flint
River in 2014. This caused iron- and leadlined service pipelines to corrode and leach
unsafe levels of lead into Flints drinking
water, as discovered in August 2015.
The high costs of corrosion. According to research by inspecting and consulting company G2MT Laboratories, cor-
rosion will cost the US economy more

than $1.1 trillion in 2016. This estimate,
based on data provided by NACE International, includes direct (operator/owner) costs of corrosion, as well as indirect
(non-operator/owner) costs. Design,
manufacturing, construction and management costs are included for operators,
while non-operator costs may encompass penalties, litigation, environmental
cleanup, medical treatment and services
suspension. Indirect costs may become
direct costs as operators assume responsibility for corrosion-related incidents,
when applicable.
Among direct costs, money spent on
corrosion-prevention measures is generally considered to be money well spent.
Such measures include, but are not limited to, the use of specialty coatings,
sealants, inhibitors and other protection
products; proper materials selection; and
regular maintenance, inspection, repair
and replacement of corroded equipment
and corrosion-prone areas.
In the case of the gas storage facility in
California, safety and operational risks by
the operator combined with undetected
corrosion to allow an extended methane
release. This release, in turn, translated
into mounting public health care, industrial and litigation costs for the company
and the state, as well as damaged public
perception for the operator. In Flint, the
MDEQs decision to omit corrosionprevention measures was made in an effort to cut costs. However, this decision
ultimately resulted in much higher public
health, environmental and repair costs
than if corrosion-prevention measures
had been installed initially.
Both incidents show that prevention
and mitigation are the most important
costs related to corrosion, as well as the
primary tools for addressing it. If applied
properly, corrosion-prevention and corrosion-mitigation measures will reduce
most other direct and indirect costs associated with corrosion.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
38 Special Report.
A commonly applied process

for the removal of acid gas contaminants
from gas is amine treating. At its heart
lie the absorption of acid gases into an
amine solution and the regeneration
of this solvent to be fed back to the
absorption column. The interplay
between these two steps is important,
as the treating performance can be
majorly influenced by the amount of
acid gas dissolved in the lean solvent
returning from the regenerator. Shell
Global Solutions discusses corrosion
prevention improvements with acidaided regeneration technology.
45 Regional Report.
Due to the growth in the

regions middle class, Central America
has seen tremendous petroleum product
demand growth over the past decade.
This months regional report dives
into an overview of the region and
the future of Central Americas
downstream hydrocarbon processing
capacity buildout.
57 Heat Transfer.
Four rules to
minimize unplanned shutdowns
of fired heater operations are shown, as
well as examples of potential negative
consequences of not following each rule.
105 Instrumentation.
Todays industrial process

control applications increasingly
use automated systems to optimize
operations and ensure a safer, more
productive process. Linear position
sensors used in these automated
systems provide machine controllers with
highly accurate feedback on product
parameters, control states and outputs.
Eileen Otto discusses how linear position
sensors have become the preferred
technology for critical and reliable linear
displacement measurements in an array
of industrial process control applications.
Hydrocarbon Processing|MARCH 20169
| Business Trends
This months Business Trends focuses on five major trends
affecting the downstream industry. These include: a forecast on
global demand for industrial valves to 2020, how the approval of
Chinese teapot refinery crude import licenses could lead to a fuel
supply glut, the surge in US ammonia and urea plant construction,
the start of Nigerias DSDP program and the consolidation of
Japan's refining industry.
Photo: Iowa Fertilizer, a wholly owned subsidiary of Netherlands-based OCI
N.V., is building a world-scale fertilizer plant in Wever, Iowa. Once completed,
the $1.9-B facility will be able to produce between 1.5 MMtpy and 2 MMtpy
of nitrogen fertilizer. Construction on the plant began in 1Q 2013 and is
scheduled to begin operations in early 2016. Photo courtesy of Iowa Fertilizer.
LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Lee.Nichols@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Business Trends
World valve demand to reach nearly
$100 B by 2020
The Freedonia Group has forecast that world demand for
industrial valves will climb to $98.5 B through 2019 (TABLE 1).
That represents an annual increase of 4.3%. The companys latest forecast is detailed in its World Industrial Valves study. The
industrial valve markets greatest growth is in the developing
regions of Asia, Africa, Middle East, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe. Out of these regions, China will post
the strongest value growth, accounting for 23% of all additional valves sales on a global basis. A number of smaller national
markets, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey,
will see a healthy increase, as well.
Although the US, Western Europe and Japan will see
growth in valve demand, they will lag behind the demand
growth of developing nations. This is due to below-average increases in process manufacturing output and associated fixed
investment expenditures.
Market advances will be driven by growth in chemicals and
other process manufacturing output, electric power generation
and construction activity. Ongoing efforts to expand water infrastructures in developing countries and maintain water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems in developed nations
will also contribute to sales increases. The report goes on to say
that dollar gains will be boosted by greater use of smart valves
and actuators, and other better-performing, higher-priced items.
The demand for automatic valves (including control and
regulator valves, as well as separately sold valve actuators) is projected to grow at a faster pace through 2019 than sales of standard (conventional) hand-operated valves. Automatic valves
will continue to take market share away from standard valves
because of the advantages they offer, which include improved
safety and reduced operating costs. The fastest sales gains of any
major product type will be posted by automatic actuators, fueled by valve users ongoing efforts to automate standard valve
operation by installing automatic actuators as a less costly alternative to replacing units with automatic valves.
Will Chinese teapots worsen

Chinas fuel glut?
In 2015, China loosened restrictions on independent refiners ability to secure crude oil from the international market.
These refiners, known as teapots, have a capacity of 20 Mbpd
to 100 Mbpd. Although these refineries tend to be less complex than their nationally-owned counterparts, teapot refineries account for one-third of Chinas total domestic refining
capacity. Chinas total refining capacity topped 14 MMbpd in
2015. Also within that year, expansions in teapot refining operations increased the independent refining sectors total refin-
ing capacity to nearly 4.5 MMbpd, or nearly one-third of total

domestic refining capacity.
Allowing teapot refineries to access international crude is
another step being taken by the Chinese government to deregulate its oil market. Chinas administration, headed by President
Xi Jinping, wants market forces to play a more decisive role in
the industry. Allowing additional crude oil imports from small,
independent refiners will increase competition, as well as allow
additional entrants into the industry. For 2016, the Chinese
government has more than doubled non-state crude import
quotas to nearly 88 MMtpy, or approximately 1.75 MMbpd.
The new import licenses have restrictions, though, that
include:
The refiner must have one crude distillation unit with
processing capacity of at least 2 MMtpy (40 Mbpd)
The refiner must have an available credit line of $1 B
certified by commercial banks
The company must have at least five people with over
five years of international trading experience
The company must have at least 300 Mt of oil storage
capacity
The refiner must meet certain environmental conditions,
which include the decommissioning of older, morepolluting units.
The first import license was awarded in early August 2015
to independent Chinese refiner Baota Petrochemical Group. By
mid-August, two additional Chinese independent refiners received import licenses. These were Shandong Dongming Petrochemical Group and Panjin Beifang Asphalt Fuel Co. By the end
of September, Linjin Petrochemical Plant Co. and Shandong
Kenli Petrochemical Group were also awarded crude import licenses. At the time of this publication, additional crude import
licenses have been awarded to:
Shandong Huifeng Petrochemical Group
Chambroad Petrochemicals Co.
TABLE 1. World industrial valve demand forecast through 2019
Total industrial valve
demand, US $ MM
Annual growth, %
2009
2014
2019
14,300
19,300
22,650
6.2
3.3
Western Europe 13,400
15,800
18,100
3.3
2.8
Asia-Pacific
19,640
26,900
35,250
6.5
5.6
Central and
South America
3,340
4,650
5,870
6.8
4.8
Eastern Europe
4,710
6,450
7,800
6.5
3.9
Africa/
Middle East
4,810
6,800
8,830
7.2
5.4
5.8
4.3
North America
Total
20092014 20142019
60,200 79,900 98,500
Source: The Freedonia Groups World Industrial Valves study
Business Trends
Sinochem Hongrun Petrochemical Corp.
Tianhong Chemical
Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co.
In 2015, 10 teapot refineries were awarded crude import licenses totaling over 43 MMtpy. An additional 10 applications,
representing over 38 MMtpy, are awaiting government approval. These include:
Dongying Qirun Chemcial Co.
Hebei Xinhai Chemical
Henan Fengli Petrochemical Co.
Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group
Shandong Haiyou Petrochemical Group
Shandong Hengyuan Petrochemical Co.
Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical
Sinochem Hongrun Petrochemical Co.
Shandong Qingyuan Group
Wudi Xinyue Ran Hua Co.
If approved, total crude imports by Chinese teapots could
surpass 82 MMtpy, or nearly 1.7 MMbpd, in 2016. The majority of this crude will flow to the Shandong province. Located
in northeast China, the province contains approximately 80%
of Chinas teapot refineries. The province has already received
license approvals for nearly 31 MMtpy of crude imports, with
an additional 26.8 MMtpy awaiting approval. An additional
25 MMtpy of crude import licenses awaiting approval are
located in the Liaoning, Ningxia, Henan, Hebei and Shaanxi
provinces (FIG. 1). Should all crude import licenses be approved, China could overtake the US to become the worlds
largest crude oil importer.
The big question is how will the increased market share of
crude oil processing for Chinas teapot refineries affect domestic output and the region as a whole? Now that Chinese independent refiners can utilize crude oil in lieu of low-quality fuel
oil, non-state refineries are expected to boost run rates. This,
in turn, will create more refined products, which could add to
the fuel supply glut already being witnessed domestically and in
many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Since the majority of
Chinese independent refiners lack infrastructure to export their
Ningxia
Approved:
6.16 MMtpy
Shaanxi
Waiting:
3.6 MMtpy
Hebei
Waiting:
5.4 MMtpy
Henan
Waiting:
2.93 MMtpy
Liaoning
Approved:
7 MMtpy
Shandong
Approved:
30.73 MMtpy
Waiting:
26.8 MMtpy
FIG. 1. Breakdown on the approval status of Chinese teapot refiners

crude import licenses by province.
products to the global market, their refined products will be

sold primarily to the domestic market. This will ultimately eat
into market share held by state-owned entities China National
Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the parent company of PetroChina;
China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec); and China
National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC). Chinese teapots
growing crude processing market share may force state-owned
refiners to either find additional export markets or cut run rates.
Large, state-owned refiners are already adding to a diesel
supply glut in the region, however. According to Chinas National Bureau of Statistics, domestic refining output increased
by nearly 4% in 2015, reaching nearly 10.5 MMbpd. The increase in crude oil processing was in response to a surge in
domestic demand for gasoline. Chinese refineries were built
mainly to satisfy domestic diesel demand. However, overcapacity and slowing industrial buildout have created an oversupply
of diesel, which led the country to become a net diesel exporter
in 2014. Chinas shift to a more consumer- and service-based
economy has lessened the demand for diesel from the construction and heavy-duty trucks sector. As Chinas middle class expands and car sales rise, additional gasoline demand has caused
domestic refiners to produce more gasoline supplies. In doing
so, these refineries ultimately produce additional diesel supplies. Now that the countrys industrial growth is slowing, excess Chinese diesel supplies could end up flooding the Asian
market. With Chinese teapots likely to increase refinery run
rates, state-owned refiners will have to combat independents
eating into their domestic market share. Should state-owned
refiners be unable to find export markets for excess diesel supplies, and both independent and state-owned refiners neglect
to cut refinery run rates, then fuel stocks will inevitably begin to
rise, and the nations fuel glut will continue to worsen.
US 2016, the year of ammonia-urea

plant capacity growth
It is not breaking news that the US shale gas boom has sparked
a surge in the construction of new processing capacity. Some of
the largest capital-intensive investments are being made in the
US petrochemical and gas processing/LNG sectors. Total announced capital investments in the US petrochemical sector have
eclipsed $135 B. New capacity includes a sharp increase in the
construction of ethane cracking and derivatives capacity, methanol plant construction and propane dehydrogenation units.
The availability of cheap shale gas is also expanding the
US fertilizer industry. Over $16 B in new ammonia-urea plant
projects have been announced. The majority of these projects
are located in the Midwest, near agricultural demand centers.
FIG. 2 provides the location for active ammonia and urea projects
in the US. Total capital expenditures have decreased from over
$20 B. In 2015, CHS abandoned its $3-B Spiritwood project in
North Dakota, and EuroChem scrapped its $1.5-B Louisiana
ammonia plant. CHS announced that its Spiritwood project was
abandoned due to increasing construction costs, water supply
challenges, overall risk profile and time required for the project
to be built. In the end, CHS decided that the return on investment could not justify the projects cost. EuroChem shelved its
$1.5-B Louisiana project due to difficulty in securing financing.
Also, Western sanctions against Russia closed off many financ-
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ing options for the company. EuroChem decided to abandon the
800-Mtpy project in the second half of 2015.
Regardless, the US will see a hefty buildup of ammonia-urea
capacity through the end of the decade. Over 5 MMtpy of additional capacity is scheduled to go online in 2016. This includes
capital-intensive projects such as CF Industries Donaldsonville, Louisiana plant (began full-ramp up operations in 4Q
2015) and its Port Neal, Iowa plant, and Dyno Nobels Waggaman project. Total new ammonia-urea capacity could top 10
MMtpy by 2020 if all projects are completed.
Northern Plains
Nitrogen
Dakota
Gasification
Magnida
JR Simplot
Grannus
Total ammonia-urea capacity startup

2016 = 5.5 MMtpy
2017 = 4.3 MMtpy
2018 = 2.5 MMtpy
OCI
CF Industries
Cronus
Chemicals
Ohio Valley
Midwest Fertilizer Resources
Koch
Austin Powder
Koch
LSB Industries Southern Co.
(ammonia
Gulf Coast
byproduct)
Ammonia
(no site yet)
Pallas AM Agigren
BASF-Yara Nitrogen CF Industries
Dyno Nobel
FIG. 2. Active ammonia-urea plant projects in the US. Source:

Hydrocarbon Processings Construction Boxscore Database.
Nigeria begins DSDP program

to aid transparency
Beginning this month, Nigeria will replace its oil swaps
scheme, also known as offshore processing arrangements,
with a direct-sale-direct-purchase (DSDP) program. The new
DSDP program will allow state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Co. (NNPC) to sell crude oil and buy refined products directly from international refineries. The new program is
intended to end the countrys oil swaps program, as well as save
the country millions of dollars in costs.
The oil swaps program was started in 2010 when the cashstrapped NNPC could no longer pay for imported gasoline and
diesel with cash. The oil swaps program was basically an oil
bartering scheme that utilized a middleman to pay for refined
products from foreign partners. The Nigerian government
provided crude oil to traders in exchange for refined imports,
such as gasoline and diesel. It is believed that these types of
contracts lacked transparency and may have cost the Nigerian
government billions of dollars over the past five years.
The Nigerian government has decided to combat unreliable
oil swaps with its DSDP program. The DSDP programs goal is
to provide a more transparent system of crude oil and refined
product purchases, as well as save the Nigerian government
billions of dollars by eliminating the cost of using a middleman. If the DSDP initiative is successful in saving the Nigerian
government billions of dollars, then the savings could be used
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Business Trends
to finally update the countrys downstream processing sector.
The majority of downstream activities in the country are
located in the Niger Delta. The area contains three of the
countrys four operating refineries. Nigerias four refineries
(Port Harcourt I and II, Warri, and Kaduna) have a total operating capacity of 450 Mbpd. This refining capacity, which is
frequently underutilized, is not enough to meet domestic demand. The countrys crude oil production is nearly eight times
higher than domestic consumption (FIG. 3), but poor refinery
utilization forces the country to rely on refined fuel imports
to satisfy demand. Numerous refinery projects have been announced in recent years, but few have come to fruition.
Projects. Although the country has witnessed its fair share
of project holds and cancellations, multiple downstream projects are likely to move ahead. The most notable project is the
construction of Africas largest privately owned refinery. The
Dangote Industries Ltd. (DIL) integrated complex will be constructed in Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria, and will include a petrochemical complex and fertilizer facility (FIG. 4). The project
will be the first of its kind in Nigeria.
The $9-B, 650-Mbpd refinery will include a petrochemical
plant that will produce 750 Mtpy of polypropylene, and a fertilizer plant that will produce 2.8 MMtpy of urea and ammonia
for the nations agriculture sector. The refinery will produce
Petroleum and other liquids production
and consumption in Nigeria, MMbpd
3.0
Total oil production
2.5
Crude oil production
2.0
1.5
1.0
Crude output falls by more

than 25% from 2005 to 2009
as infrastructure attacks and
oil theft escalate.
Net exports
0.5
0.0
Total oil consumption

2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Attacks on oil facilities declined

following the implementation of
the amnesty program (20092010).
However, oil production has been
stagnant or declining over the past
few years because of supply disruptions
and natural production declines.
2011
2012
2013
2014
FIG. 3. Petroleum and other liquids production and consumption in

Nigeria. Source: US EIA.
gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and slurry to be used as a raw material for carbon black. The refinerys primary goal is to supply
the local market and reduce refined fuel imports. The project
was also a nominee for Hydrocarbon Processings 2015 Top Project awards for refining. Completion is scheduled for 2018.
The announcement of the DIL refining and petrochemical
complex has motivated additional companies to pursue largescale projects. Brass Fertilizer is planning to construct a worldscale methanol, ammonia, urea granulation and gas processing
plant on Brass Island. The $3.5-B Brass Fertilizer project will
produce 5 Mtpd of methanol, 2.2 Mtpd of ammonia and 7.7
Mtpd of urea for domestic and export markets. Operations are
scheduled to begin in 2018.
Indorama is expected to ramp up its $1.8-B Eleme fertilizer
plant to full commercial operations in 1Q 2016. The 1.4-MMtpy single-train urea plant is the largest in Nigeria. The project
was created in response to the Nigerian governments plan
to privatize the countrys fertilizer industry. The gas-to-ureabased plant is part of Indoramas aim to create the continents
largest petrochemical hub. The complex will ultimately reduce
urea imports, as well as provide affordable nitrogen-based fertilizers to the growing agriculture industry.
Quantum Petrochemical recently built a grassroots petrochemical and methanol complex. The $1.5-B facility is located
in southern Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea. The facility will
produce ethylene derivatives such as polyethylene, polypropylene and methanol.
Gulf of Guinea Methanol Ltd., a subsidiary of Nigerias Gulf
of Guinea Oil Exploration Ltd., is still looking into developing a $1.1-B plant to convert natural gas into methanol. The
methanol produced would be used as a feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
Lastly, Nigeria LNG is still committed to building a seventh
train at its Bonny Island LNG terminal. Construction of Train
7 would cost approximately $2.5 B. The project has been in
limbo for numerous years, and no date for a final investment
decision has been announced. If built, Train 7 would raise total
capacity at Bonny Island from 22 MMtpy to 30 MMtpy.
FIG. 4. Construction continues on the DIL refinery and petrochemical integrated complex in Nigeria. Photo courtesy of the Dangote Group.
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CRITICAL PROJECT EXECUTION FOR THE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRIES
Business Trends
The island nation is embarking on a massive reduction in

refining capacity. Oil products consumption in Japan has decreased for over a decade due to a shrinking population that
is transitioning to more efficient hybrid vehicles for transportation. The substantial decrease in demand for transportation
fuels has resulted in excess domestic refining capacity. In turn,
refinery utilization has been reduced or eliminated.
According to BPs Statistical Review of World Energy 2015,
recent Japanese refining capacity peaked at 4.65 MMbpd in
2008, and has been in decline ever since (FIG. 5). By 2015, Japans refining capacity had dropped over 900 Mbpd to nearly
3.75 MMbpd.
On top of declining demand, the Japanese government is
seeking to promote operational efficiency through its Refining
Ordinance. The plan was introduced in 2010 by the Japanese
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and called
for a new mandatory cracking-to-crude distillation capacity
ratio of 13%. The new rules became effective in March 2014.
The countrys second phase of its Refining Ordinance is
likely to shed up to 400 Mbpd of additional domestic refining
capacity by 2017. To adhere to the mandatory requirements,
Japanese refiners are expected to decrease utilization rates,
consolidate operations or shut down facilities. By the end of
2015, four of the five largest refining companies had already
announced mergers. Idemitsu Kosan will take over Showa
Shell Sekiyu, and JX Holdings, Japans largest refiner, will

merge with TonenGeneral Sekiyu. These mergers are expected
to take place by the end of 2Q 2017, and will result in two firms
dominating the Japanese domestic fuels market.
With declining domestic fuels demand, the METIs refining
ordinances and domestic refiners merging operations, Reuters
analysis forecasts that Japanese refining capacity could decrease
to 3.2 MMbpd by 2020, and down to 2.3 MMbpd by 2030. If
this scenario plays out, Japan would be dependent on refined
fuels imports to meet demand, especially for gasoline.
6
Refining capacity
Consumption
Forecast
4
MMbpd
The future of Japans refining industry
3
2
1
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2020 2030
FIG. 5. Oil consumption vs. refining capacity in Japan with refining

capacity forecast to 2030. Source: BP Statistical Review of World
Energy 2015, Reuters analysis.
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2016 Honeywell International. All rights reserved
MIKE RHODES, MANAGING EDITOR

Mike.Rhodes@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Industry Metrics
15
10
Cracking spread, US$/bbl
Feb.-16
Dec.-15
Nov.-15
Oct.-15
Sept.-15
Aug.-15
July-15
June-15
May-15
April- 15
Mar.-15
Feb.-15
Jan.-16
Jan.-16
Dec.-15
Nov.-15
Oct.-15
Sept.-15
Aug.-15
June-15
July-15
Jan.-16
Dec.-15
Nov.-15
Oct.-15
Sept.-15
Aug.-15
July-15
Jan.-16
Dec.-15
Nov.-15
Oct.-15
Sept.-15
Aug.-15
July-15
June-15
May-15
April-15
Jan.-16
Dec.-15
Nov.-15
Oct.-15
Sept.-15
Aug.-15
July-15
June-15
Jan.-16
Dec.-15
Nov.-15
Oct.-15
Sept.-15
Gasoil
Fuel oil
Aug.-15
Dubai
Urals
Prem. gasoline
Jet/kero
July-15
-10
-20
June-15
10
Jan.-15
20
May-15
30
Jan.-15
May-15
Singapore cracking spread vs. Oman, 20152016*
Brent dated vs. sour grades

(Urals and Dubai) spread, 20152016*
Light sweet/medium sour
crude spread, US$/bbl
Gasoil
Fuel oil
-10
-20
Source: EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 2016
-2
-4
Prem. gasoline
Jet/kero
April-15
2017-Q1
April-15
2016-Q1
10
Mar.-15
2015-Q1
30
20
Mar.-15
2014-Q1
Stock change and balance, MMbpd
Supply and demand, MMbpd
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
Forecast
40
Jan.-15
2013-Q1
Feb.-15
Rotterdam cracking spread vs. Brent, 20152016*
World liquid fuel supply and demand, MMbpd

Stock change and balance
World supply
World demand
Mar.-15
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J
2014
2015
2016
2012-Q1
Prem. gasoline
Jet/kero
Diesel
Fuel oil
Source: DOE
Jan.-15
Oil prices, $/bbl
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-10
-20
W. Texas Inter.
Brent Blend
Dubai Fateh
100
98
96
94
92
90
88
86
84
82
2011-Q1
April-15
US Gulf cracking spread vs. WTI, 20152016*
Selected world oil prices, $/bbl

120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
June-15
Production equals US marketed production, wet gas. Source: EIA.
Japan
Singapore
May-15
60
US
EU 16
April-15
J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J
2014
2015
2016
70
Feb.-15
80
Feb.-15
20
2
1
0
Mar.-15
3
Monthly price (Henry Hub)
12-month price avg.
Production
90
Feb.-15
Utilization rates, %
60
100
Jan.-15
Gas prices, $/Mcf
Production, Bcfd
Global refining utilization rates, 20152016*
80
Mar.-15
US gas production (Bcfd) and prices ($/Mcf)
Feb.-15
Jan.-15
100
40
WTI, US Gulf
Brent, Rotterdam
Oman, Singapore
May-15
An expanded version of Industry Metrics can be found

online at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
Global refining margins, 20152016*

20
Margins, US$/bbl
Refinery margins weakened in the US due to lower winter demand. In

Europe and Asia, stronger regional demand amid a tightening environment and export opportunities allowed for a recovery in crack spreads at
the bottom of the barrel, which, along with continued strength in the gasoline market, allowed refinery margins to rise. Refinery utilization rates rose,
mainly in Asia, following the end of the heavy maintenance season.
* Material published permission of the OPEC Secretariat; copyright 2016;

all rights reserved; OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, February 2016.
LEE NICHOLS, EDITOR/ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Lee.Nichols@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Global Project Data

Presently, Hydrocarbon Processings Construction Boxscore
Database is tracking over 2,100 projects around the world. The
map below shows a breakdown of total active downstream
projects by region and status. At the time of this publication,
approximately 60% of active projects are in the preconstruction
stage. The Asia-Pacific region continues to lead in total active

projects, followed closely by the Middle East. Approximately
40% of active projects in both regions are under construction.
New project announcements increased in February, primarily
from India and the US.
21
20
9 9
80
65
65
Canada
96
72
8
29
19
150
Europe
37
12
US
33
30
87
13 14 16
47
41
Planning
Study
Feed
Engineering
Under construction
14
Africa
20
79
60
59
16
185
165
Middle East
46
72
22
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
Total active projects by region and status, March 2016

30
24
21
26
25
27
22
17
18
27
26
20
18
6% Other
36% Refining
13
33% Petrochemicals
Jan.- Feb.- Mar.- April- May- June- July- Aug- Sept.- Oct.- Nov.- Dec.- Jan.- Feb.15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
16
16
Boxscore new project announcements,

January 2015present
25% Gas processing/LNG

Market share breakdown of downstream
HPI projects by sector
Detailed and up-to-date information for active construction projects in the refining,
gas processing and petrochemical industries across the globe|ConstructionBoxscore.com
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Reliability
HEINZ P. BLOCH, RELIABILITY/EQUIPMENT EDITOR

Heinz.Bloch@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Avoid pump shaft failures

We welcome and thrive on questions from reliability engineers and try to answer some as best we can. Inquiries do not
only inform us of the state of knowledge and the issues confronting industry; our answers often require research, and our
selections are appreciated by other readers.
We were asked to provide some direction relating to a readers
research on potential causes of catastrophic pump shaft and impeller failure. In the course of my work as a pump and vibration
specialist, the reader said, I have encountered a number of such
failures. One root cause of these failures that has been suggested
is a failed check valve, which allows the pump to freewheel in
reverse due to backflow. However, I have found no documentation that supports or explains this failure mode. In conversations
with various pump and field service technicians, it has been suggested that, when a pump is started while spinning in reverse,
the starting torque exceeds the shaft strength and catastrophic
shaft failure occurs. However, this explanation is counter to my
understanding of electric motor starting torque.
Pumps and pumps. Our reply highlighted first what our reader, of course, knew: There are cheap pumps and there are welldesigned, more expensive pumps. In the days when there was
still an abundance of common sense, some wise man wrote that
we always get what we pay for.
User experts Ed Nelson and John Dufour1 noted that nearly
all impeller fastening arrangements for single-stage pumps are
threaded in a direction that is counter to the as-designed pump
rotation. This reduces the chances of loosening in case the
pump is driven in the reverse direction. But, the probability of
reverse rotation is close to zero if the motors direction of rotation is checked before coupling the driver to the driven shaft. If
the motor and pump are installed in the as-shipped and coupled
condition, the chances of an impeller coming off are, of course,
50%.2 Nelson and Dufour remind us that some impellers are
screwed onto (or into) the wet end of the pump shaft (FIG. 1).
These impeller types are particularly vulnerable to backward
rotation in the case of product backflow.
Backflow can be prevented by discharge check valves, but
not all pumping loops have working check valves, and user companies rarely include these valves on their periodic turnaround
inspection and repair schedules. That fact is kept in mind by
users who, for that and other reasons, favor pump designs that
safely secure impellers to the shaft.
Know the impeller fastening method. No pump manufacturer has a universal fastener suitable for all pump sizes and
service environments. In fact, the fastening method is not usually shown on the manufacturers standard drawings. Also, relatively few user-purchasers include process pumps in a thorough
upfront machinery quality assessment (MQA).3 The fasteners,

in general, are standard items that the pump manufacturer purchases in bulk from a competitive seller. Like pump owners,
pump manufacturers want to purchase parts from the lowestcost supplier of buy-out or third-party items.
However, these fasteners can be a source of problems. Hardness and metallurgy must be observed, which brings us back to
an MQA. Usually, an impeller spins off only if it is not properly
secured, but even a keyed impeller fit jeopardizes reliability if
the key is loosely fitted. Whatever their size and speed, pump
impellers secured by castellated nuts or washers must retain
the impellers in a manner that does not allow them to come off
while operating in any direction. That is why we should examine drawings before we purchase; we should know how parts or
machines work before we buy parts; and we must ask a lot of
relevant questions before buying plant assets.
Some superior pump designs use keys to secure impellers.
A good key fit is a snug fit, meaning that hand-fitting is needed.
Whereas, a vulnerable keyway has sharp corners, a keyway with
low-stress concentration has bottom fillet radii, which then increases shaft safety factors. A well-designed shaft end also has
a generous fillet radius at the shaft shoulders. In some applications, the fillet contour is purposely made so large that special
care must be taken so that it does not interfere with the mating
radius at the bearing inner ring. Verification takes time. The indifferent do not take the extra time, and the uninformed do not
even know what to do with the extra time management allocated for higher-quality work. Pardon us for quoting Mark Twain
by saying, The man who has a book and does not read it is no
different from the man who cannot read.
For the record. The starting torque of many motors is seven
times the full running torque. It is agreed that discharge check
FIG. 1. A screw-on style impeller, which is particularly vulnerable to

backward rotation in the case of product backflow.2
Reliability
valves rarely leak to the point of allowing substantial reverse
flow. Lean and mean plants dont always install these check
valves, and, if they do, those valves are not usually included in
preventive-maintenance routines. In any event, a pump reliability and/or failure analysis review should include the piping
and all related systems.
In the readers repeat-failure example, it is also possible that
several seemingly small deviations can combine. It is easy to get
away with one or even two deviations, but it is rare to succeed
with four or five. Next to an electric motor, a pump is the simplest machine used by man. It typically has 40 parts and yet fails
relatively often. An aircraft jet engine has more than 8,000 parts
and rarely fails. Why? Jet engine manufacturers strive for perfection; they disallow every known deviation. Their quest to find
root causes of failure and their refusal to tolerate known deviances require trained personnel, strict adherence to checklists
and procedures, and the time to do things correctly.
In this instance, we were not given enough information to
accurately determine why the readers pump shafts failed. We
can only vouch for the greatly increased probability of combining a few seemingly minor deviations from best practice so
as to cause trouble. As deviations combine, safety factors will
vanish, impellers will come off and shafts will break. There will
never be a good substitute for following procedures and for understanding what happened. Replacing parts and restarting the
rebuilt machine without addressing the true root cause is the
perfect setup for repeat failures. Finding the root causes of fail-
ure and implementing sound remedial steps are the common

sense courses of action.
From our response, the reader correctly inferred that verbal
hints at failed check valves causing catastrophic shaft failures are
not supported by much factual evidence. He found nothing in
the physics of how electric motors develop torque that could
justify the over-torque reports. He suspected that such an explanation for a pump shaft failure was a convenient, but unverifiable, explanation, when identifying the real cause is somewhat
inconvenient. We essentially agreed, but gave him additional
food for thought.
LITERATURE CITED
Dufour, J. W. and W. E. Nelson, Centrifugal pump sourcebook, McGraw-Hill, New
York, New York, 1992.
2
Bloch, H. P., Pump wisdom: Problem solving for operators and specialists, John Wiley
& Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2011.
3
Bloch, H. P. and A. R. Budris, Pump users handbook: Life extension, 4th edition,
The Fairmont Press, Lilburn, Georgia, 2013.
1
HEINZ P. BLOCH resides in Westminster, Colorado. His

professional career commenced in 1962 and included
long-term assignments as Exxon Chemicals regional
machinery specialist for the US. He has authored over
650 publications, among them 19 comprehensive
books on practical machinery management, failure
analysis, failure avoidance, compressors, steam
turbines, pumps, oil-mist lubrication and practical
lubrication for industry. Mr. Bloch holds BS and MS
degrees in mechanical engineering. He is an ASME
life fellow and maintains registration as a professional
engineer in New Jersey and Texas.
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Automation
Strategies
RICK RYS, SENIOR CONSULTANT

ARC Advisory Group
Data analytics solutions require valid data

Process plants collect enormous amounts of data, both from
the sensors connected to the control system and from other
sources, including edge devices in the plant and remote devices in the cloud. However, to gain value from all of this data, it
must be properly collected, validated, analyzed and visualized.
Data quality is particularly important.
Data quality status critical. When the first digital con-
trol systems were developed, it became apparent that digital

controllers required data with a known quality status. This
is because controllers acting on bad data could lead to costly
and often perilous process upsets. Distributed control system
(DCS) developers embedded the quality information side by
side with the data as a quality status to enable the controller to
know when a measured value was invalid and act accordingly.
However, with many control systems, it is difficult to view
the data status, making it a common error to forget about the
data status when collecting data in a real-time historian or
when using that data in a calculation. Without knowing the
difference between valid and invalid historical data, decisions
made or actions taken on that data could be flawed.
Time factor also important. The time factor is also important, specifically the sampling frequency and the timestamping
of data. The input/output (I/O) system involved with industrial manufacturing gathers sensor data with sample rates typically in the range of 1 millisecond (msec) to 25 msec.
Real-time control systems can gather data asynchronously
from the I/O subsystem, often with some averaging and signal
conditioning involved. The controller typically samples all inputs, executes all control algorithms, and writes all outputs in
a fixed control cycle. Modern control systems typically operate
at between 10 msec and 1,000 msec.
Some data acquisition and control systems timestamp every
unique data value. In the manufacturing industry, the sample
rate for data in a historian is roughly an order of magnitude
slower than the controller cycle. Scan times for data collection
are commonly between 1 sec and 60 sec. In the typical configuration, the data historian collects the data at a constant time
interval and internally timestamps the data when collected. For
many data analytics applications, the I/O and control system
delays are so small that they can be ignored.
A classic problem is data aliasing. Slowly taking regular
samples of an oscillating waveform (like a sine wave) results in
recording a harmonic. This obscures the actual oscillation. As
a rule, it is necessary to sample at least 10 times faster than the
time constant of interest in the data analytics application. Research data loggers may need to sample data much faster than
typical industrial historians.
In instances where data might be collected from multiple

sources with transmission delays, the sensor data can be timestamped at the moment the measurement is made to ensure
accurate time synchronization.
In some cases, I/O systems compute a running average of
several samples, and the control systems collect this averaged
value. A common practice is to filter noisy analog data with a
first-order lag or similar filter in the control system. In most
cases, these digital data manipulations are not harmful, but
care should be taken to understand how the data gets from the
sensor to the historian to make sure it remains useful.
Different approaches used. Distributed control system
and programmable logic controller suppliers recognize the
need to handle quality status and timestamping, but each
supplier solves this problem in its own way, within its own
architecture. Combining data from the Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT) with traditional industrial historian data can be
problematic, as the pedigree of the data can vary widely and
will depend on the communication architecture.
Data quality status needs to be built into the sensor, the
signal conditioning and the communications technology that
moves the data from the sensor into applications like a data
historian. A useful approach is to define each data record as
either valid or invalid by inspecting all of the data validity information. If the status is bad, out of service, error,
high out of range, low out of range, or I/O BLOCK IN
MANUAL, or any other fatal error, then the data should be
marked as invalid.
Anyone looking at historical data is likely to ask, What was
really going on in my process? during a time period of interest. This requires uniform collection of valid sensor data, along
with contextual information that allows sensor and operational
data to be sorted. Processes have modes of operation like starting, normal operation, production grade, grade transition,
calibrating, stopping and shutdown. It is helpful to compute
the context in the control system and to record it as part of the
data. The context is like a treasure map that can show data
analysts how to gain maximum value from their data.
RICK RYS, a senior consultant at ARC, performs research
and consults with clients on technology areas, such
as process automation, energy management, advanced
process control (APC), simulation and optimization.
Prior to joining ARC, Mr. Rys worked as an independent
engineering consultant at R2Controls since 1996.
He also worked for Foxboro (Invensys and now
Schneider Electric) for 20 years in the process industries.
Mr. Rys holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from
the University of Massachusetts, and he is a registered
professional chemical engineer in Massachusetts.
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Project
Management
CHUCK NEWMISTER, ACCOUNT MANAGER

SKF, Austin, Texas
Protect operating margins with outsourced

asset management
The oil and gas sector is under pressure to maintain operating margins. Although oil prices have stabilized in recent
months, they have, nonetheless, fallen dramatically in the last
year. This has been driven mainly by oversupply, which is due
to a range of factors that include new reservoir discoveries
and drilling techniques, the shale fracking boom, weakness
in major economies, the growing availability of alternative
energy sources and the introduction of ever-more-efficient
combustion engines in cars, trucks, and industrial and power
generation plants.
Although the market for natural gas is slightly healthier,
there is also growing concern as short-term supply is likely to
exceed demand, with industry analysts predicting only a modest annual growth of 2.4% to 2018.1
Continuing volatility across the supply chain seems likely
to become the norm in the immediate future. Consequently,
companies must prepare for uncertainty and adapt operations
to become increasingly agile, while developing improved
methods to derive maximum value from existing and future
investments in extraction, refining, and distribution systems
and equipment.
Asset management and cost optimization. From the
early days of volume production and commercialization, the

oil and gas sector has led the world in the use of predictive and
preventive maintenance, developing models that have subsequently been followed by many other sectors of industry.
These techniques have been used as key tools to improve plant
and process safety, efficiency and optimization, and have underpinned the growth of a new discipline of asset management.
Asset management is based on a strategic assessment that
identifies plant improvement opportunities based on criticality, and then defines and applies the most appropriate solutions, which are designed specifically for each business.
The objective is to incorporate business goals, application
challenges and organizational culture into a road map that
improves the reliability, performance and functionality of
all operational extraction, process and distribution assets. A
methodology of asset efficiency optimization (AEO) is then
applied to ensure that every asset is utilized as efficiently as
possible, and to maximize output without increasing capital
expenditure, all while reducing overall maintenance and operational costs.
A successful asset management program depends on a
clearly defined strategy that is driven by business goals, beginning with an understanding of the current industry environment and a vision of where the business needs to be to achieve
optimum short- and long-term performance. This can be a difficult process to manage due to the complexity of the production and management systems found in many large, multi-site,
multinational oil and gas businesses.
Charting a course of action. Generally, the first step is
to carry out a client needs analysis (CNA) that is based on a
straightforward 40-question survey to provide a snapshot of
the operation of each production facility. This provides a measurable overview of the way in which its reliability processes
are functioning, as well as its position on the maintenance maturity continuum, benchmarked against industry averages and
best practices.
Once complete, the CNA provides the key data needed
to draw up a detailed AEO plan to improve plant reliability
and asset utilization. This work management procedure addresses four key areas: maintenance strategy, work identification, work control and work execution, all of which provide
an integrated methodology that reflects the unique processes,
culture and technology at each facility or operation (FIG. 1).
A structured approach to asset management will be familiar to many companies in the oil and gas sector, especially larger organizations. However, over time, the carefully planned
long-term asset management programs become disrupted
due to financial restrictions, plant updates, company acquisitions, changes in regulations or the launch of new products.
As a result, the viewpoint of managers and engineers becomes
focused on short-term challenges and internal issues, pushing
longer-term plans down the order of priority.
It is also worth noting that, although many companies in
the sector have extremely effective asset management and
plant reliability processes, these are not always systemized.
Information and knowledge that have been gained over many
years by plant engineers and operators largely remain locked in
their heads, with only a small proportion being recorded and
catalogued in a way that can easily be assimilated by new employees or third-party contractors. Consequently, when employees leave, they often take years of ingrained experience and
knowledge with them, leaving their replacements struggling to
manage the demands of often highly complex process systems.
A CNA analysis is a simple method of beginning the process, and can lead to the next phase, a reliability-centered
maintenance (RCM) project. This makes it possible to begin
capturing much of this valuable information in a way that is
meaningful to plant engineers and senior managers alike, and
in a format that reflects other business processes and can be
used on an ongoing basis.
Project Management
Long-term vision. The scale and complexity of most oil and
gas operations demand that, to be truly successful, an asset
management strategy requires a clear vision and a long-term
tactical implementation plan. Anything less will almost certainly lead to an increase in operating costs, with the risk of
burgeoning levels of equipment downtime, system reliability
and loss of productivity.
The growing market volatility and pressure on margins,
combined with factors like staff and skills shortages, and the
particular demands of managing and maintaining complex oil
and gas process systems, means that effective asset management can present significant challenges. For many businesses,
partnering with an experienced, knowledgeable and specialized
partner provides a far more cost-effective option. Outsourcing
all or strategic parts of the process can deliver greater flexibility, accountability and control; it can also relieve the pressure
on existing resources, such as freeing up internal engineering
teams to concentrate on other business-critical activities.
The benefits of an outsourced partnership. One such
organization that decided to outsource its asset management

process with an experienced partner is a major US-based oil
FIG. 1. A detailed AEO plan addresses four key areas to improve

plant reliability and asset utilization: maintenance strategy, work
identification, work control and work execution.
and gas pipeline transportation company. The business operates more than 12,000 mi of pipeline (FIG. 2), 150 main pumping stations and a number of key distribution terminals at railheads, ports and road hubs. Over a 10-yr period, however, the
company has undergone several mergers and changes in ownership. Senior managers recognized that this led to a gradual
loss of focus on machine reliability, with inconsistent practices
and methods of operation across the pipeline and distribution
network. They also understood that the companys predictive
maintenance strategy required a complete revaluation, but
that the business lacked the necessary in-house skills and resources to carry this out effectively.
The partner was commissioned to carry out a CNA study,
and then to provide condition monitoring services using its
extensive network of field-based service technicians to assess
the status of 700 pipeline assets across North America. The
partner began investigating the most valuable assets, primarily
at a number of key distribution terminals, focusing on critical
systems and equipment. An important element in this procedure was the use of its RCM techniques, which concentrated
on dominant failure modes and the effects of these failures.
Specific actions were recommended to prevent problems from
reoccurring. Noncritical events were also evaluated and appropriate actions taken to allow the customer to optimize maintenance costs and increase productivity. The same approach is
now being applied to the pipeline network of pumping stations.
The partner subsequently worked with the customer to begin developing standard job plans that defined the critical steps
that were required for each monitoring and maintenance activity: e.g., the repair of pump motors, including a list of the tools
and parts needed, the repair steps and correct sequencing involved, and the time and resources required. This plan will be
extended still further with a spare parts and stores optimization
program (SPO), which minimizes stockholding and costs while
improving the availability and location of key components to
ensure that repairs are carried out quickly and cost-effectively.
This strategic approach to asset management has had both
short- and long-term benefits for the customer. Outsourcing
the management of condition monitoring servicespaid for
FIG. 2. A US oil and gas transportation company, which operates more

than 12,000 mi of pipeline, turned to a partner because it understood
that it lacked the in-house resources to effectively carry out a
complete evaluation of its predictive maintenance strategy.
Project Management
via an agreed monthly management feeallowed the customer to move the costs from capital expenditure (CAPEX)
to operating expenditure (OPEX) budgets. This makes it far
easier to justify the cost of the program, while improving accountability proactivity and cash flow. The partners strategic
approach to asset management provides a clearly defined and
consistent operating methodology that can easily be adapted
as the needs of the customers business or the operating environment change, providing a solution that is both secure and
potentially future-proof. Perhaps most importantly, a savings
of more than $1 MM was delivered in the first 12 months of
the contract through improved asset uptime and productivity, and reduced repair and maintenance costs. This savings far
outweighs the annual cost of the service contract.
Experience, knowledge and resources. Across the indus-
try, outsourcing is becoming increasingly common for core

business services ranging from facilities management to logistics and information technology (IT). For companies in the oil
and gas sector, the challenge in outsourcing the management of
mission- and safety-critical assets is to find a partner that has the
requisite knowledge, experience and global resources to provide
the reassurance that each and every asset will be monitored and
maintained safely and to the highest standards at all times.
These suppliers are able to provide this reassurance. Just as
importantly, because they have specific and specialized skills
in the field of asset management, condition monitoring and
preventive maintenance, they are able to deliver better results,

faster and more efficiently than a comparable in-house function. An outsourced asset management partner adds an extra
strategic dimension to the work of in-house maintenance and
engineering teams, and can bring a fresh passion, greater strategic focus and a sense of purpose.
Ultimately, the outcome should be improved operational
efficiencies, cost savings and increased levels of asset optimization that allow oil and gas companies to become increasingly
agile in response to growing market volatility. At a recent program-review meeting with the pipeline customer, a stakeholder
applauded the fact that no asset under the monitoring program
had experienced a failure in three years.
1
LITERATURE CITED
PwC Strategy&, 2015 Industry Perspectives, http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/
perspectives/2015-oil-gas-trends.
CHUCK NEWMISTER is an account manager
for reliability end-user customers with SKF USA.
He has two decades of experience in the oil and gas
and hydrocarbon processing industries, and has been
involved in machinery reliability sales and service
centered on the US Gulf Coast for most of that time,
serving with SKF for five years. Mr. Newmister is a
member of the Houston Chapter of the Society of
Maintenance and Reliability Professionals and has
presented related material at numerous conferences.
He earned a BS degree in physics at Central Methodist
University in Fayette, Missouri.
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Save 15% with Super

Early Bird Registration
when you Register by 22 March
68 June 2016 | Milan Marriott HotelMilan, Italy | HPIRPC.com
Discover Innovations in the Downstream

Hear From Leading Operators Including: Total, Shell Global Solutions USA,
Indian Oil Corporation, Petrobras + More
Were pleased to announce the agenda for Hydrocarbon Processings International Refining and Petrochemical
Conference (IRPC), to be held 68 June in Milan, Italy at the Milan Marriot Hotel. The theme for this years conference
is Innovation in the Downstream. The multi-track program features sessions devoted to: process technology /
process optimization / plant design; internet of things; maintenance and reliability; efficiency and optimization; gas
processing; catalysts; clean fuels / biofuels; heavy oil; refining / petrochemical integration; training/safety; water
treatment / effluence management; feedstocks / alternative feedstocks; and emerging technologies.
As an IRPC attendee, you will hear from key players in the global petrochemical and refinery sectors regarding the
latest industry advancements, best practices, and case studies. In addition, youll have numerous opportunities to
network with top operators and technology leaders from across the global hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI).
Comprehensive Program Features 3 Tracks & 60+ Presentations

Participants include high-level professionals from these top operating companies + more:
Total
Eni
Shell Global Solutions USA
BayernOil
Bottled Water Sponsor:

Exhibitors:
OMV
PDVSA
Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Petrobras
Lanyard Sponsor:
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd

(ONGC)
SINOPEC
Exploring the Forefront of HPI Technology

Developed by our Esteemed Advisory Board, the 2016 Agenda
Features these Innovative Presentations:
Standard interface between TOTAL fuel blend optimizer ANAMEL and commercial oil movement
automation suites Edith di Crescenzo, Project Manager Advanced Control and Optimization, TOTAL
New reactor internals can be used to enhance profitability Pankaj H. Desai, Licensing Sales Manager,
Shell Global Solutions (US), Inc
Energy efficient way to debottleneck LP section of hydrocrackers with enhanced LPG recovery to
improve profitability Anurag Sharma, Deputy Manager Process, Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Removal of nitrogen compounds from a FCC feed charge Carlos Fernando Pinto Machado e Silva, Petrobras
EPRES technology of hydrogenation catalyst and Its commercial application Yulan Gao,
Fushun Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals, SINOPEC
Novel use of spent amine solution of gas sweetening plant as H2S scavenger, corrosion inhibitor
& biocide Dr. A K Shukla, Chief Chemist, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC)
Eni slurry technology: Achieving the goal of residue conversion Nicoletta Panariti, Licensing Manager, eni
Register Early + Save 15% when you Register by 22 March

Super Early Bird
(by 22 March)
Early Bird
(by 3 May)
Regular
Admission
$937
$986
$1,095
Team of Two
$1,675
$1,774
$1,971
Team of Five
$4,188
$4,435
$4,928
Team of Ten
$8,377
$8,870
$9,855
Registration Type
Single Attendee
Prices listed above are in $USD.
Register Online at HPIRPC.com or to Register Offline:
Contact Melissa Smith, Events Director, at Melissa.Smith@GulfPub.com or +1 (713) 5204475.
For Sponsor and Exhibit Opportunities:
>In Italy: Fabio Potesta, Mediapoint & Communications SRL, info@mediapointsrl.it or +39 010 5704948
>All others: Melissa Smith, Events Director, at Melissa.Smith@GulfPub.com or +1 (713) 5204475.
HPIRPC.com
KATALCO is a trademark of the Johnson Matthey group of companies and

TPRA is a trademark of Trkiye Petrol Rafinerileri Anonim irketi.
Petrochemicals
BEN DUBOSE, DIGITAL EDITOR

Ben.DuBose@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
Investigation into West Fertilizer blast shows

room for safety improvement
The final investigation report on the
massive West Fertilizer Co. fire and explosion in 2013 serves notice to the chemical industry that, while progress has been
made, significant gaps often still remain
within site safety protocols.
The fire and explosion on April 17,
2013, in West, Texas, resulted in 15 fatalities, more than 260 injuries and widespread community damage (FIG. 1). After
investigating the incident for more than
two years, the US Chemical Safety Board
(CSB) released its final incident report in
early February.
Many of its findings were quite jarring,
to say the least.
What led to the explosion. The deadly
incident occurred when about 30 tons
of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate
(FGAN) exploded after being heated by a
fire at the storage and distribution facility.
On the night of the explosion, the CSB
found that there was a stockpile of 40
to 60 tons of ammonium nitrate stored
at the facility in plywood bins. Though
FGAN is stable under normal conditions,
it can violently detonate when exposed to
contaminants in a fire.
This tragic accident should not have
happened, said Vanessa Allen Sutherland, CSB chairperson. We hope that
by sharing lessons learned from our West
Fertilizer investigation, we will help raise
awareness of the hazards of fertilizer grade
ammonium nitrate.
The CSB is an independent US federal
agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. While the board
does not issue citations or fines, it regularly makes safety recommendations to
companies, industry organizations, labor
groups and regulatory agencies.
Lack of community awareness. The
CSB also found that several factors contributed to the severity of the explosion, in-
FIG. 1. The nearby community in West, Texas, suffered extensive damage after the April 2013
explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. plant.
cluding poor hazard awareness and the fact

that nearby homes and businesses were
built in close proximity to the plant over
the years prior to the accident.
We found that, as the city of West
crept closer and closer to the facility, the
surrounding community was not made
aware of the serious explosion hazard in
their midst, said Johnnie Banks, team lead
for the CSBs investigators. West Fertilizer
Co. underestimated the danger of storing
fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate in ordinary combustible structures.
Investigators concluded that this lack
of awareness was due to several factors, including gaps in federal regulatory coverage
of ammonium nitrate storage facilities.
Subpar emergency planning. Finally,
the CSB also said that inadequate emergency planning contributed to the tragic
accident. Investigators found that the West
Volunteer Fire Department was not required to perform pre-incident planning
for an ammonium-nitrate-related emergency, nor were the volunteer firefighters
required to attend training on responding
to fires involving hazardous chemicals.
As a result, the CSB made several safety

recommendations to various stakeholders,
including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to better inform and
train emergency responders on the hazards.
More specifics in video. The specific
safety recommendations and proposed

policy changes by the CSB are available in a
12-minute video posted on the HPInformer blog at HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
The video, entitled Dangerously
Close: Explosion in West, Texas, includes
a 3D animation of the fire and explosion,
as well as interviews with CSB investigators and chairperson Sutherland.
While the damage in West has already
been done, the CSBs hope is that the publicity from this investigation and its findings can reduce the potential for similar
incidents in the future.
The CSBs goal is to ensure that no
one else be killed or injured due to a lack
of awareness of hazardous chemicals in
their communities, Ms. Sutherland said.
If adopted, the boards recommendations can help prevent disasters like the
one in West, Texas.
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Engineering
Case Histories
TONY SOFRONAS, CONSULTING ENGINEER

http://mechanicalengineeringhelp.com
Case 89: Cracking of welds due to weld fatigue

Pressure vessels, piping and fabricated
structures adhering to recognized welding codes rarely fail in static loading, unless
they are damaged or severely overloaded.
Weld cracking can develop in pressure vessels under cyclic conditions.1 While extensive research and design guides exist for the
design of welds under cyclic conditions,
the complex metallurgy of a weld, and the
quality of the weld, are difficult to define.
Here, in-service failures are discussed,
based on the authors experience with
fatigue cracking of welded fabrications.
Calculations2 had been performed to determine the nominal cyclic stress present
when failures occurred. In this manner,
limiting cyclic stress could be determined
and compared with available test data.
Why welds fail in fatigue. Metallurgical
changes, shrinkage, residual stresses, stress

concentrations and internal defects can
combine to cause a lower endurance limit
in fatigue from the base metal.
Fatigue can be thought of as a tensile
stress that opens up a preexisting crack
that may be small, causing it to grow. Here,
a plus symbol (+) is used to show a stress
cycling from zero to a tensile stress, indicating the opening of a crack.
Weld fatigue life. The author has seen
many in-service fatigue failures.
FIG. 1 illustrates one of many growing cracks in the toes of fillet welds on a
vibrating conveyor that had undergone
misalignment and twisting. The failure
occurred with only +6,000 lb/in.2 on
several marginal welds within one years
operation. Eliminating the misalignment
dropped the stress to +1,500 lb/in.2, and
the conveyor operated for 10 years without further cracking.
FIG. 2 shows a failure in a stainless steel
pipe shaft undergoing a rotating bending
stress. Notice how the weld starts from one
side at a defect and progresses through the
shaft. This particular weld had a small initial crack that started to propagate in less
FIG. 1. Crack in toe of fillet weld.
FIG. 2. Fatigue weld pipe defect.
than 1,000 cycles at +30,000 lb/in.2 There

is good reason to be suspicious whenever
an impact load causes a nominal stress of
+30,000 lb/in.2 or higher on a weld.
FIG. 3 is a bending failure in a plug-type
weld, which starts at an existing design
fabrication crack in the blind zone that
was inaccessible. The weld melt outline
is visible and was blended flat on the left
plate. Notice that there is a gap that acts
as the initiation point for the crack. Due
to this design issue, the nominal bending
stress on the plate must be kept low. This
was achieved by using a thicker plate and
better weld geometry.
All of these failures had a calculated
nominal cyclic stress of more than +6,000
lb/in.2 Once a fatigue crack starts, it usually continues to grow at these stress levels.
How to reduce fatigue failures. Designing and operating procedures to keep
cyclic weld stresses below those cited are
helpful. For example, on vibrating conveyor specifications, an equipment manufacturer agreed that, for critical welds, the
nominal stress should be less than +3,000
lb/in.2, as verified with strain gauges. On
welded augur shafts, cleaning of buildup
FIG. 3. Blind plug weld.
dropped cyclic stresses from +8,000 lb/

in.2 to zero. Other techniques are available
for reducing fatigue failures.3
LITERATURE CITED
Sofronas, A., B. Fitzgerald and E. Harding, The
effects of manufacturing tolerances on pressure vessels in high cycle service, ASME, Pressure Vessels and
Piping, Vol. 347, July 1997.
2
Sofronas, A., Analytical Troubleshooting of Process
Machinery and Pressure Vessels, Including Real-World
Case Studies, John Wiley & Sons, January 2006.
3
Maddox, S. J., Fatigue strength of welded structures, Woodhead Publishing, January 1991.
NOTE
Case 88 was published in HP in January. For past
cases, please visit HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
1
TONY SOFRONAS, D. Eng,

was the worldwide lead
mechanical engineer
for ExxonMobil Chemicals
before retiring. He now
owns Engineered
Products, which provides
consulting and engineering
seminars on machinery
and pressure vessels. Dr.
Sofronas has authored two
engineering books and
numerous technical articles on analytical methods.
| Special Report
CORROSION CONTROL
Corrosion is often the root cause of equipment failure, process unit and plant
downtime, off-spec product generation, contamination and accidents. In the
hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI), corrosion is an ongoing and dynamic
issue for processing facilities and equipment.
Corrosion-related damage is accelerated by several factors, such as high
temperatures, acidic/caustic conditions and erosive fluids; all are found in HPI
facilities. Likewise, aging process equipment is vulnerable to corrosion attacks
unless preventive and maintenance measures are applied on a regular basis.
The special report investigates methods to mitigate corrosion attacks on
HPI processing equipment and infrastructure, along with the use of new and
updated technologies to extend equipment life and prevent corrosion.
Photo courtesy of Valero Energy Corp.
Special Report
Corrosion Control
D. LEE, J. KLINKENBIJL and T. BROK,
Shell Global Solutions, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
and J. CRITCHFIELD and D. VALENZUELA,
Shell Global Solutions, Houston, Texas
Improved corrosion prevention

with acid-aided regeneration technology
A commonly applied process for the removal of acid gas contaminants from gas is amine treating. At its heart lie the absorption of acid gases into an amine solution and the regeneration
of this solvent to be fed back to the absorption column. The
interplay between these two steps is important, as the treating
performance can be majorly influenced by the amount of acid
gas dissolved in the lean solvent returning from the regenerator.
In some cases, achieving the treated gas specification using
standard reboiler duties in the regenerator column is difficult,
as the loading of the solvent entering the absorber may not be
lean enough. To obtain a leaner solvent, the regeneration can be
enhanced by the implementation of proprietary tail gas treating
technology that removes sulfur compounds downstream of the
Claus unit. In other situations, this technology offers the ability
to optimize amine processes by achieving a certain solvent leanness with lower regeneration steam requirements.
The proprietary technology relies on applying a controlled
concentration of certain acidic additives that enhance regeneration. Elements of the technology were originally developed
more than 40 years ago; the technology has evolved in application over the past decades to incorporate corrosion-avoidance
and improved-operability strategies.
The mature technology is particularly useful in existing
plants, as it can often help meet tighter specifications without
requiring hardware changes, thereby offering valuable benefits
in a world in which specifications and emissions limits change
over time, and the pressure to reduce capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX) is ever increasing.
Here, the application of the technology in actual operation is
examined, and trends and observations are drawn from operating experience.
PRINCIPLES
In absorption, the acid gas reacts with the amine in an equilibrium reaction to form ions; for example, H2S is removed by
reaction with a tertiary amine, as shown in Eq. 1:
H2S(g) D H2S(aq) + R3N D HS + R3NH+
(1)
This reaction is then reversed in the regenerator, stripping

the acid gas out of the solvent. In the bottom of the column,
this reverse reaction is favored by a lower pH, and, therefore,
by the addition of acidic regeneration-enhancing agentsfor

example, a strong mineral acid, as shown in Eq. 2:
HX + R3N D X + R3NH+
(2)
The R3NH+ concentration increases, forcing the equilibrium

of the reaction in Eq. 1 to the left and leading to a greater release
of H2Sand, therefore, a leaner solvent leaving the regenerator.
EXAMPLES
The technology companys experience with adding regeneration-enhancing additives to amine treating systems is mainly
based on its tail gas treating units (TGTUs). These units remove
H2S, using a selective amine solution to recycle it back to the sulfur recovery unit, thereby minimizing SO2 emissions from the
plant. In the process, deep solvent stripping is applied to remain
comfortably within environmental limits.
Good plant data describing plant performance and solvent
analysis are required to successfully apply acid-aided regeneration. A comparison of the experience at several different amine
units clearly showed the effect of additive presence, and the observations from these units and case studies are presented here.
Case studies 1 through 6 address plants removing H2S (with a focus on TGTUs, but also discussing high-pressure applications).
Case Study 7 reviews the technology companys experience of
applying regeneration enhancement to CO2-only applications.
Case Study 1: Lean H2S loading. This case study concen-
trates on improving the controllability of H2S lean loading in

multiple TGTUs. The units regenerator performance was optimized at various locations to decrease SO2 emissions.
Regeneration enhancement was applied in the multiple
TGTUs, which resulted in improved H2S performance of the
absorbers. Structured performance demonstrations were also
conducted; the concentration of regeneration-enhancing additive was manipulated in controlled tests. H2S performance in the
absorber (and, therefore, SO2 performance of the overall tail gas
treating) was improved in each system where the technology was
implemented. From this experience, an overall relationship was
established between the leanness of the solvent and the H2S performance of the TGTU absorber. However, the operability of the
overall TGTU system was also considered in the demonstrations.
Corrosion Control
It was discovered that when the additive concentration increased
beyond a certain maximum value, regenerator performance became increasingly sensitive to variation in applied steamrate.
This increased sensitivity to energy input is demonstrated
conceptually in FIG. 1, which shows trends observed from the
collated plant test data from the TGTUs. FIG. 1 illustrates the
overall relationship between the amount of regeneration-enhancing additive, energy input and resulting H2S lean loading.
It was observed that, with the same energy input, the solvent
becomes leaner when a higher concentration of additive is employed; and, at the same leanness, less steam is required with
higher additive concentration.
Case Study 2: Absorber performance. Enhancing regeneration in an amine unit can benefit treating performance only
if the absorber operates at a close approach to lean solvent loading. In practice, this means that the absorber must have enough
stages to allow for deep treating of H2S. An additional requirement is that improvement in regenerator performance must be
greater than the loss in the absorber top.
If these requirements are not met, then performance in the
absorber can actually worsen when acidic additives are present.
Lower additive concentration
H2S in lean solvent
H2S too insensitive

to steamrate
Higher additive
concentration
H2S too sensitive to steamrate
This is because the presence of the additives also results in a

higher H2S vapor pressure, which disfavors absorption. The
strength of this impact depends on several interacting factors,
such as the relative amounts of H2S, acidic additive and CO2 in
solution, along with the design and operating conditions.
In TGTU absorbers, the condition of the top trays is most
important for control of absorber performance, and, in this
region, coabsorption of CO2 plays a large role. CO2 interferes
in H2S removal, thereby decreasing the effect of enhanced regeneration. If substantial amounts of CO2 are coabsorbed, then
the approach to H2S equilibrium over the lean solvent worsens,
minimizing the deep H2S treating benefit of the technology.
This effect is illustrated in FIG. 2 from simulation, which is compared against known data;1, 2 partial pressure of H2S increases
with increasing CO2 coabsorption.
Case Study 3: TGTU with near-flooding conditions. After
a major capital change in a TGTU, the amine regenerator began
to experience near-flooding conditions, which posed difficulty
in achieving deep H2S stripping. In this particular situation, the
operators found that changing the steamrate had only a minor
effect on the depth of H2S stripping. When the ambient temperature was high, this unit experienced challenges meeting environmental targets.
A project to address the limitations concluded that the best
remedy was to formulate the methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)
solvent with the appropriate dosing of proprietary additive.
This action succeeded in reducing the regeneration steam by
40% to achieve the desired depth of stripping while the specification of the treated gas remained unchanged, which also lowered the regenerator differential pressure and reduced the risk
of flooding (FIG. 3).
No change was observed in the decomposition rate of the solvent, and no noticeable accumulation of soluble materials was
found. Also, following formulation, the operators now observe
a clear relationship between the steamrate and the resulting H2S
concentration in the treated gas, improving operability of the unit.3
Case Study 4: Energy savings. Steam savings possible for
an example case are illustrated in FIG. 4. Based on the previously
outlined conclusion to target additive content for controllabil-
Steamrate
FIG. 1. Summary of TGTU test data results.
0.0
0.3
Relative steam ratio

Relative stripper differential pressure
Relative H2S in treated gas, ppmv
0.0
40C
60C
GPA data, 40C
0.0
H2S partial pressure
0.2
0.0
Formulation period
0.0
0.1
0.0
CO2 loading
FIG. 2. Effect of CO2 coabsorption on H2S absorption.
FIG. 3. Effect of formulation on differential pressure, steamrate and

H2S performance.
30-May-08
28-May-08
1.0
26-May-08
0.8
24-May-08
0.6
22-May-08
0.4
20-May-08
0.2
18-May-08
0.0
16-May-08
0.0
14-May-08
0.0
Corrosion Control
ence is with TGTUs, it has also applied enhanced regeneration

in other applications, including selective H2S removal in highpressure natural gas. As with the tail gas treating technology,
that application requires deeply regenerated lean solvent to
meet the H2S specification in the treated gas.
This effect is illustrated in Case 5, in which H2S performance
of the system was optimized by manipulating the extent of regeneration enhancement. FIG. 5 shows the result of changing the
amount of the additive: low H2S lean loadings that occur at high
additive concentrations on an example high-pressure integrated
system. This plant was dependent on regeneration enhancement to reach targeted H2S concentration in the lean solvent.
Test runs demonstrated that higher levels of enhancement resulted in too-deep regenerationdeeper than the companys
technical governance for the application.
Case Study 6: Inferring corrosion effects. It is well known
Energy savings/steam ratio
that amine systems processing H2S tend to form a layer of

iron sulfide on exposed carbon steel (CS) surfaces. This layer
is thought to help protect CS surfaces against certain types of
corrosion. Past publications have introduced the concept that
maintaining a minimum level of H2S in the lean solvent facilitates preserving this iron sulfide layer.4, 5
This operating philosophy was applied to the plant in Case
5. The depth of regeneration was maintained on target by controlling the amount of regeneration enhancement. Monitoring of
corrosion coupons, filter changes and solvent-quality tests demonstrated a substantial decrease in corrosion in that location.
Building on that success, a systematic review of tail gas treating corrosion experience was conducted in the companys US
downstream applications to document CS corrosion in key locations within the amine units. This review was coupled with
solvent quality monitoring in the locations.
The study demonstrated that plants maintaining H2S in the
solvent were less likely to detect iron in solvent quality analysis.
Additional steam savings

sacrificed for improved operability
16% of original
Steam savings in example case

TGTU with AAR
40% of original
Required steam ratio
Steam savings
Acid concentration
FIG. 4. Steam ratio savings.
Case Study 7: Regeneration enhancement in CO2removal systems. The technology company has also reviewed
the effect of regeneration-enhancing additives with the objective of reducing the regeneration heat requirements, both in addition and in comparison to other options to reduce the energy
footprint of the unit at a specific plant. Although the CO2 speci-
H2S in lean solvent
Case Study 5: Application in high-pressure selective

treating. Although most of the technology companys experi-
Testing for iron in the solvent samples can give an indication of

possible corrosion. Although corrosion may occur without the
solubilization of iron, if iron is found in the solvent samples in
H2S removal plants, this can be seen as a warning sign of conditions that may lead to corrosion.
Plant data shows that iron content correlates with high
acid concentration, as well as low concentration of suppressive H2S in the sample. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between
iron content, depth of stripping and additive concentration in
the population of TGTUs. A simple relationship is observed:
plants that do not strip too deeply are less likely to find iron in
solvent samples.
Performance target range
Regenerator enhancement
FIG. 5. Relationship between H2S lean loading and additive

concentration in a high-pressure application.
Iron not found in

solvent samples
H2S leanness
ity, the bulk of the possible steam savings can still be realized,
as the steam savings curve flattens at higher acid concentrations. In this example case, 40% of the steam can be saved while
maintaining improved operability and preserving a minimum
concentration of H2S in the lean solvent.
Iron occasionally in
solvent samples
Iron found in
solvent samples
Regeneration enhancement
FIG. 6. Iron prevalence in MDEA-based TGTUs.
Corrosion Control
Acid gas lean loading, mol/mol
H2S AAR DIPA

CO2 AAR DIPA
H2S normal curve
CO2 normal curve
Steamrate
FIG. 7. H2S and CO2 lean loading in DIPA before and after adding
additives.
CO2 leanness, mol/mol
Low acid content

Medium acid content
High acid content
in a structured way. The data suggests that the presence of acids

in the solvent significantly impacts CO2 lean loading to some
extent. This data presents another example of the effect of acid
content in high-pressure absorption, although it is not as pronounced as in the case of H2S, for the reasons outlined above.
TAKEAWAY
Enhancing regeneration in amine treating systems has proven beneficial in different applications by improving operations
and relieving design limitations through reduced steamrates
and/or improved treating performance.
However, care must also be taken, since an improper dosing of acid can lead to corrosion risk, worse treating performance and reduced controllability of the unit. From experience in operating with acidic additives and controlled plant
tests, several observations were reviewed to understand how
to avoid corrosion and improve treating results while applying
regeneration enhancement.
NOTE
The tail gas treating technology referenced in this article is Shell Claus
Offgas Treating (SCOT) technology, and the proprietary units referenced are
Shell SCOT units.
LITERATURE CITED
Huang, S. H. and H. J. Ng, Solubility of H2S and CO2 in alkanolamines,
GPA Research Report RR-155, September 1998.
2
Bullin, J. A., R. R. Davison and W. J. Rogers, The collection of VLE data for
acid gasalkanolamine systems using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,
GPA Research Report RR-165, March 1997.
3
Bonner, S. and J. Critchfield, Relieving stripper flooding at Martinez SCOT 3,
presented at Brimstone Sulfur Symposium 2009.
4
Van Roij, J., J. Klinkenbijl, P. Nellen and K. Sourisseau, Materials threats in aging
amine units, Paper 2207 presented at NACE Corrosion 2013.
5
API Recommended Practice 945, Avoiding environmental cracking in amine
units, April 2008.
1
Steamrate
FIG. 8. Acid impact on CO2 solvent leanness and steamrate on an

example unit.
fications are somewhat more relaxed, the actual performance

examines a similar deep removal compared to the usual H2S
specification partial pressures.
Plant test data in a secondary amine solvent system was taken and is presented in FIG. 7, which predicts that, in conditions
similar to TGTUs, steam savings exist for CO2 , but are much
lower than for H2S and follow a much flatter curve. With the
lower steam savings, adding acids looks less interesting for CO2
systemsparticularly since CO2 is generally easier to strip out
than H2S, and since CO2 specifications are often less severe and
do not require deeper stripping of CO2 .
Note that a secondary amine forms carbamates in the presence of CO2 , a relatively more stable component, which is more
difficult to regenerate and makes it difficult to strip to very low
CO2 . FIG. 7 illustrates the effect of the additives. The lines indicate trends derived from plant data, while the performance
with additives is shown in data points from the tests. The data
indicate that systems using a secondary amine such as DEA or
DIPA can also benefit from the addition of acids, but less data
are available than for the tertiary MDEA solvents.
Observations have also been made for an MDEA-based solvent and are presented in FIG. 8. In this example, a gas treating
unit processing high-pressure gas for deep CO2 removal was analyzed, based on plant performance vs. plant leanness analysis,
DANMI LEE joined the gas processing group at Shell in 2014.

Upon completing her masters degree in chemical engineering
at University College London in the UK, she started working for
an engineering firm, performing concept studies and
preliminary designs for cryogenic gas processing technology.
At present, she is working on the development and validation
of amine treating models within Shells gas processing
technology team.
JEANINE KLINKENBIJL joined Shells gas treating group in
1982. Her expertise includes absorption, adsorption and sulfur
conversion, as well as carbon capture and storage, covering
the operation, design and development of new processes,
lineups and equipment. Presently, she is team lead in gas
processing expertise and also holds the gas treating principal
technical expert role at Shell. Some of her previous roles
include positions in process modeling, crude characterization, refinery support
and IT. She holds a masters degree in chemical technology from the Technical
University in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
THEO BROK is a senior deployment engineer in the gas
processing group at Shell in The Netherlands. He is also a
subject matter expert for amine and caustic processes. He is
leading the development of the X-solvents (ADIP-X and
Sulfinol-X) and has wide experience in sour gas projects.
Mr. Brok holds a masters degree in chemical engineering
from the Technical University of Eindhoven in The Netherlands.
He has worked for Shell for 27 years, including eight years in LNG and sour gas
processing facilities in Brunei and The Netherlands.
JIM CRITCHFIELD is a senior process engineer at Shell Global Solutions in Texas.
DIEGO VALENZUELA is a principal process engineer in gas treating and sulfur
at Shell Global Solutions in Texas.
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Regional report
M. RHODES, Managing Editor, and M. NOGARIN,

Contributing Writer
Central American nations beef up import

infrastructure, fuel production amid demand shift
Due to the growth in the regions
middle class, Central America and Mexico have seen tremendous petroleum
product demand growth over the past
decade. Multiple forecasts show that the
region will see a nominal increase in demand through the rest of the decade. Demand has been shifting to more middle
and light distillates, as opposed to fuel
oil. Unfortunately, the regions refineries have not been able to keep up with
demand and are challenged to produce
higher-grade, lower-sulfur transportation fuels.
Coupled with the shortage of fuel
production, the drop in oil prices has
hammered the region, especially those
countries that depend heavily on oil export revenues. To satisfy the growth in
demand, Central America and Mexico
have relied heavily on refined fuel imports from the US, as the drop in crude
oil prices has left little money to fund
capacity expansions. In the short term,

these nations would rather import refined fuels than invest in major expansions or grassroot facilities, which can be
multibillion-dollar endeavors.
This trend does not mean that the
region is devoid of refining projects. A
forecast slowdown in regional demand
over the next few years will reduce refined fuel imports; however, should regional growth pick up, major consumers
will need to increase refined fuel imports
due to inadequate refining capacity. This
will include the expansion and upgrade
of multiple refineries; the construction
of methanol, ammonia-urea and petrochemical plants; and the development of
new LNG infrastructure.
MEXICO
Mexico is the tenth-largest oil-producing country in the world, with approximately 2.8 MMbpd of output.
However, the country has witnessed

production declines over the past decade
due to natural declines in mature fields.
According to BPs Statistical Review of
World Energy 2015, Mexicos oil production has declined from approximately 3.8
MMbpd in 2004 to 2.8 MMbpd in 2014.
To combat oil production declines,
the country has instituted energy reforms
that could be the first step in a deeper involvement among international firms in
Mexico. These reforms mark a radical
shift away from state-owned Pemexs 75year monopoly on the oil and gas market, potentially opening up some of the
worlds biggest remaining untapped oil
reserves to private companies. The energy reform plan would see more than 900
onshore and offshore fields auctioned
off over the next five years. Mexico hopes
this will attract up to $63 B in investment
by 2018 and increase domestic production by 1 MMbpd by 2025.
Left: Methanexs methanol facility in Trinidad. The company operates two methanol plants on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate on Trinidads west coast.
Photo courtesy of Methanex. Right: Construction of the Etileno XXI project in Mexico. The plant is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 1Q 2016.
Regional Report
The countrys first auction, held in
July 2015 and primarily consisting of
shallow-water fields, was snubbed by supermajors. Major oil-producing companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total are opting for deepwater fields with
substantial proven oil reserves. The auctions for these fields began in late 2015.
Should a production boom occur in
Mexicowhich, according to recent estimates, also has the worlds fourth-biggest shale gas reservesfurther downstream development could occur by the
start of the 2020s. Local producer Mexichem has already said it is targeting numerous ventures and acquisitions with
foreign companies, although weaker oil
prices may slow those developments as
companies reevaluate the market.
Refining. Pemex owns and operates six
refineries in Mexico with a combined

installed capacity of approximately 1.7
MMbpd. These facilities process light
and extra-light crudes produced domestically. Heavier domestic crudes are
exported, mainly to the US Gulf Coast
(USGC) for processing. Domestic output is sufficient to meet consumption,
but the country lacks adequate refining
capacity to satisfy demand for transportation fuels. As a result, Mexico is forced
to import refined petroleum products.
Imports of gasoline averaged nearly 400
Mbpd in the first half of 2015. Illegal taps
on gasoline pipelines forced Mexico to
boost gasoline imports by an additional
75 Mbpd in mid-2015.
The country had announced major
refining capacity expansion investments;
however, due to the drop in oil prices,

those plans have been delayed. Low oil
prices forced Pemex to slash $4 B from
its 2015 budget, including a much-needed program to expand and upgrade the
countrys refining network.
However, in late 2015, Pemex reinstated its domestic refining modernization program. The company plans to
invest as much as $23 B to upgrade its
refinery system to produce more clean
fuels and to expand processing capacity.
Upgrades at Pemexs Tula refinery are already underway, with additional plans to
upgrade the Salamanca and Salina Cruz
refineries. Additional investments will
be made to more than double the output
of ultra-low-sulfur gasoline and diesel, as
well as in cogeneration projects to boost
electricity generation.
The modernization program will rely
on Pemexs goal of seeking out private
investors to fund refinery upgrades in exchange for a share of profits. Pemex ended 2015 with a total debt that exceeded
$100 B. The company will need to rely
on outside funding for these projects to
move forward.
Petrochemicals. Mexico has constructed its first major private-sector petrochemical project in 20 years (FIG. 1).
Etileno (Ethylene) XXI is a $5.2-B
greenfield petrochemical complex being built in Nanchital near Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz. The project consists of a
1-MMtpy ethylene cracker; two highdensity polyethylene (HDPE) plants,
one with a capacity of 400 Mtpy and the
other with 350 Mtpy of capacity, that
FIG. 1. Aerial view of the Etileno XXI project. Photo courtesy of Braskem Idesa.
will also produce a full range of monomodal and bimodal high-density and
medium-density polyethylene resins;
one low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
plant that will produce 300 Mtpy; and
storage, waste treatment and utility facilities. The project also includes a 150MW combined-cycle power (CCP) and
steam cogeneration plant; a multimodal
logistics platform for the shipment of 1
MMtpy of polyethylene via bulk train or
truck; and administrative, maintenance,
control room and ancillary buildings.
The JV company, Braskem Idesa has
built, developed and will operate the production facility. Brazil-based Braskem is
the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas, and Idesa is a leading
Mexican petrochemical company. The
project is intended to increase Mexicos
domestic petrochemical production to
satisfy demand and reduce imports of
petrochemical products.
A glaring gap exists between Mexicos
investment potential for polyethylene
production and its inability to meet surging demand. At present, 65% of polyethylene demand is satisfied through imports,
and the gap continues to grow each year.
The Etileno XXI project is forecast to replace $2 B of polyethylene imports used as
feedstock for the agricultural, automotive,
construction and consumer industries.
The facility is the largest project finance
transaction in the history of the petrochemical industry in Central America, as
well as the biggest foreign investment in
Mexico by a private Brazilian company.
Etileno XXI is expected to begin
operations by the end of 1Q 2016. Additional petrochemical projects include
Pemexs plan to restart the countrys fertilizer industry, which was nearly wiped
out due to high natural gas prices. Pemexs petrochemical division, Pemex
Gas y Petroqumica Bsica (PGPB), is
looking to partner with fertilizer producers to increase the countrys production
of ammonia and urea. PGPB is investing
more than $230 MM in upgrades at Ferquimexs 132-Mtpy Camargo ammonia
plant in Chihuahua and in Cobra Instalaciones Mexicos 1.5-Mtpd urea plant
in Coatzacoalcos. Both projects are expected to be completed in early 2016.
These two projects are a step in the right
direction, but much more time and investment will be needed to restart the
countrys fertilizer industry.
Regional Report
Four cooling towers have a total of 32
cells: 15 cells for ammonia plants 4 and
5, and 17 cells for plants 6 and 7. Two demineralizer units are capable of producing 15,262 cmd of steam for the ammonia
plants. Two electrical turbogenerators
provide 29.8 MW of power each.
The complexs 6.6-Mt storage system
consists of six spherical tanks, four with
a working storage capacity of 1.2 Mt and
two with a 900-t storage capacity. The
facility has the ability to send ammonia

by pipeline to the refrigerated terminals
at Pajaritos and Salina Cruz, thereby enabling ammonia output to either the Gulf
of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. The petrochemical complex also has two filling
stations for either ammonia tank trucks
or tank cars (rail).
Urea production for the petrochemical complex comprises the following
components: urea trains 1 and 2, which
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Mexico consumes 4 MMtpy of fertilizers. The country was self-sufficient in

its production of fertilizers until the end
of the 1990s; however, with increasing
natural gas prices and the closing of numerous fertilizer-producing plants, Mexico was forced to become a net importer.
Ninety percent of the countrys 1.5
MMtpy of urea consumptiona major
component in the production of fertilizersis imported. Taking into account
that Mexico has 54.9 MM hectares of
agricultural land under production, the
country is targeting the expansion of its
ammonia and urea markets.
In 2013, Pemex hoped to increase the
value-added price of natural gas with its
purchase of fertilizer manufacturer AgroNitroginados. In August 2015, the administrative council of Pemex approved
the activation of its subsidiary, Pemex
Fertilizers. This made the construction
of the Cosoleacaque petrochemical complex the main component of companys
fertilizer industry.
The main objective of the Cosoleacaque plant has always been to expand
and revitalize the fertilizers production
industry in Mexico, so the upgrade project consists of rehabilitating the Urea
production trains, the auxiliary services
and the area of compression.
The $220-MM plant modernization
project began in September 2014, and it
is estimated to be completed in March.
Once completed, the facility will be able
to produce 1 MMtpy of urea. The Cosoleacaque complex consists of the following components: ammonia plants 4,
5, 6 and 7, with production capacities of
1,440 tpd each. When the refurbishment
project is completed this year, the complexs ammonia production capacity will
increase from 1.4 MMtpy to 1.9 MMtpy.
The hydrogen (H2 ) recovery unit is
fed with the purge gas from the ammonia
plants. Ammonia is recovered and sent,
in turn, to the storage tanks, and H2 and
fuel gas are consumed again in the production units, while the absorption tower
keeps ammonia from the relay processing
plants to prevent emissions to the environment. Two storage tanks with a raw
water capacity of 200 Mbbl and a 200Mbbl clarified water tank are part of the
compound. For pretreatment, three units
produce 130,824 cmd of clarified water
for the cooling towers. The demineralizer
units are also utilized as service water.
3089_Catalysts_120x190_en.indd 1
47
03.06.14
15:12
Regional Report
each feature a production capacity of 1.5
Mtpd and transport to storage; a nitric
acid plant that can produce 625 tpd; an
expand its 5,500-mi natural gas pipeline

system, focusing on central and northern industrial cities. The majority of this
The drop in oil prices has left little capital to fund

capacity expansions in Central America and Mexico.
To satisfy demand growth, the region has relied
heavily on refined fuel imports from the US.
ammonium nitrate plant with a capacity
of 818 tpd; and a plant for nitrogenated
solutions, such as urea ammonium nitrate. These three plants are not included
in this rehabilitation project, although
their assets have been acquired.
Many more plants will need to be refurbished and rebuilt if Mexico hopes to
completely bring its fertilizer industry
back to life. If the investments are made,
then rebuilding this industry could take
510 years.
Gas processing/LNG. Mexico relies
on natural gas imports from the US to

satisfy domestic demand, mainly for
power generation. According to the US
Energy Information Administration
(EIA), US gas exports to Mexico via
pipeline have tripled in the past decade,
hitting over 700 Bcf in 2014 (FIG. 2).
Mexico suffered years of gas shortages
as US pipeline capacity failed to keep up
with its growing industrial demand for
gas, and as Pemex focused on more profitable oil production.
To satisfy increasing gas requirements,
Mexico is investing more than $10 B to
network will be filled by natural gas production from US shale plays, primarily
in southern Texas and in the Eagle Ford
shale play. The countrys pipeline expansion projects have prompted Mexico to
abandon plans to build nuclear power
stations and to instead construct new
CCP stations. These plans will provide
additional power generation to meet the
countrys increasing demand for electricity. With additional natural gas supplies
pouring into the country, Mexico has announced plans to possibly export excess
natural gas as LNG. Mexico now operates three LNG import terminals located
at Altamira, Costa Azul and Manzanillo.
Total domestic LNG regasification capacity is just over 15 MMtpy.
Pemex is conducting feasibility studies on two projects that could turn
Mexico into an LNG exporter. The first
export terminal would be located near
Salina Cruz on the Pacific coastline of
Oaxaca. Feasibility studies on the proposed $6-B terminal began at the end of
2014, and the total liquefaction capacity
is expected to be announced once the
studies are completed. If built, the ter-
US natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico, MMcf
1,000,000
750,000
500,000
250,000
0
1980
1990
2000
2010
FIG. 2. US natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico have tripled in the past decade. Source: US EIA.
minal could begin operations before the

end of the decade. The second proposed
project is to add liquefaction capabilities at Mexicos existing Costa
Azul LNG facility. Pemex has
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop
the project with Sempra Energy
units IEnova and Sempra LNG.
Feasibility studies are taking
place to examine the potential
addition of more than 3 MMtpy
of liquefaction capacity to the
existing terminal.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

The island nation is the largest oil and
natural gas producer in the Caribbean,
and nearly half of the countrys GDP is
tied to the energy sector. The countrys
largest oil producer is state-owned Petroleum Co. of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd.
(Petrotrin). Petrotrin also operates the
countrys only refinery, the 168-Mbpd
Pointe--Pierre facility, which is located
on the west coast of Trinidad, approximately 56 km north of San Fernando. It
produces liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),
jet fuel, gasoline, diesel and fuel oil.
Clean fuels projects. Construction was
recently completed on a new ultra-lowsulfur diesel (ULSD) unit at the refinery.

The ULSD plant is part of Petrotrins
clean fuels upgrade program to improve
the profitability of the Pointe--Pierre refinery, as well as to meet new diesel quality specifications.
Additional projects of the clean fuels program included a liquid fuel pipeline project and a gasoline optimization
program. On the petrochemical side,
Trinidad and Tobago is the worlds largest exporter of ammonia and the secondlargest exporter of methanol. The country has 11 ammonia plants and seven
methanol plants.
Petrochemical output. According to

Trinidad and Tobagos Ministry of Energy,
overall production and export for ammonia, methanol and urea totaled over 420
Mtpy in 2013. The country is investing $1
B in the construction of a new methanol
and dimethyl ether (DME) production
complex. The project is being developed
by state-owned National Gas Co. of Trinidad and Tobago, Massy Holdings and a
consortium consisting of Mitsubishi Gas
Regional Report
Chemical, Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The complex will be
owned by Caribbean Gas Chemical, a JV
of the aforementioned companies. The
facility will be located in La Brea and have
a total capacity of 1 MMtpy of methanol
and 20 Mtpy of DME. The plant is expected to begin operations in 4Q 2018.
Natural gas exports. Since the early
1990s, Trinidad and Tobagos hydrocarbon sector has shifted from an oildominated sector to mostly natural gas.
The country boasts one of the largest
natural gas processing facilities in the
Western Hemisphere. The Phoenix Park
Gas Processors Ltd. natural gas liquids
(NGL) complex has a processing capacity of nearly 2 Bcfd and an output capacity of 70 Mbpd of NGL. The products
are transferred to various power plants
for electricity production and to petrochemical plants for feedstock.
Natural gas is utilized in many sectors
of the country, including the production
of LNG, feedstock for petrochemical manufacturing and metals refining, and the
production of nearly all of the countrys
electricity generation. The country also
converts natural gas into LNG for export.
At present, Trinidad and Tobago is the
sixth-largest LNG exporter in the world.
The nation exports more than 14 MMtpy
of LNG from Atlantic LNGs Point Fortin
terminal. The plant consists of four liquefaction trains with a total installed liquefaction capacity of nearly 15 MMtpy. The
trains vary in size from 3 MMtpy to more
than 5 MMtpy. LNG exports are sent to
South America, Asia and Europe.
PUERTO RICO
With no oil or gas production, the
country is dependent on petroleum
products and natural gas imports to satisfy demand. To decrease fuel costs and
reduce emissions, Puerto Rico is shifting
from costly fuel oil and diesel to the use
of cleaner-burning natural gas for power
generation. To accomplish this strategy,
Excelerate Energy will build, own and
operate the Aguirre Offshore GasPort
project, which will be located approximately 4 mi offshore the southern coast
of Puerto Rico. The terminal will consist
of a floating storage and gasification unit
(FSRU), a fixed jetty and a subsea pipeline to deliver imported natural gas to the
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authoritys
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49
Regional Report
(PREPAs) Central Aguirre power plant.
With a total capacity of 1,500 MW, the
Aguirre power plant is the nations largest
power facility, and it also has the highest
fuel cost of all of PREPAs facilities.
By converting the plants feedstock
from heavy fuel oil and diesel to natural gas, the nation will save on fuel costs
and reduce emissions. The FSRU vessel
will have throughput rates of up to 500
MMcfd, with a storage capacity of 3.2
Bcf. The project received US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

approval in 2015, and operations are
scheduled to commence in 2Q 2017.
COSTA RICA
The countrys national oil refiner, Recope, has reinstated plans to expand and
modernize the Moin refinery. The project
is being developed by the Chinese-Costa
Rican Reconstruction Corp. (Soresco), a
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Petroleum Corp. (CNPC). The $1.5-B
project, located in the Caribbean port of
Limon, will expand the plants refining
capacity from 25 Mbpd to 65 Mbpd. It
will also improve the quality of refined
fuels to meet Euro 4 specifications, as
well as to produce biofuels.
The project was canceled in 2013 by
Costa Ricas comptroller generals office
due to a conflict of interest. The projects
contractors utilized CNPCs subsidiary,
Huanqui Contracting and Engineering
Corp., on the feasibility study. This was
prohibited in the JV agreement, which
stalled the project for nearly two years.
However, the projects feasibility
study was revived in 2015 with a new focus on transparency. If greenlighted, the
project could create a surge in domestic
employment. The expansion and modernization project is expected to create
over 2,000 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect
jobs during peak construction.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In February 2014, Antillean Gas Ltd.,
a consortium comprising COASTAL
(Propagas and Tropigas), Promigas, Ipson, InterEnergy and BW Gas, broke
ground on a new LNG receiving terminal.
The $350-MM, 1-MMtpy LNG import
terminal is located in San Pedro de Macors, on the countrys southeast coast.
The project is part of the countrys
plan to import natural gas to fuel power
plants and provide power generation for
residential, industrial and transportation
sectors. The facility, which will process
natural gas into more than 1,000 MW of
power generation for the country, is expected to be completed in 2016.
CUBA
The countrys energy sector has been
in the doldrums due to limited foreign
investments, unsuccessful deepwater
drilling, and a lack of oil and gas infrastructure, making it dependent on imports to satisfy fuel demand. The drop
in oil prices has also hurt two of Cubas
biggest investors, Russia and Venezuela.
Cuba is struggling to find other partners
to invest in its oil and gas sector projects,
such as a $6-B expansion and upgrade
to the Cienfuegos refinery (FIG. 3). The
country has been seeking investors for
years to back the plan that would see the
Cienfuegos refinerys capacity expanded
FG Hydrocarbon Processing_HP Isle_MARCH 2016_FINAL.indd 1
2/18/16 11:44 AM
Regional Report
FIG. 3. The technical renovations needed at Cubas four existing refineries, such as the Cupet
Cienfuegos refinery located in Cienfuegos, shown here, are stalled for lack of finances.
from 65 Mbpd to 150 Mbpd. The project

remains in limbo.
Although refining projects have
stalled, Cuba claims it will move ahead
with nearly $3 B in ammonia-urea and
LNG projects. The country is planning to
build a $1.4-B LNG regasification plant
and a $1.2-B ammonia-urea plant. The
LNG import terminal will have a capacity
of 2 MMtpy and will provide additional
power generation to the island.
The ammonia-urea plant will produce
400 Mtpy of urea and 370 Mtpy of ammonia. Excess output is expected to be
exported to Central America and the
Caribbean. Both of these projects are
backed heavily by Venezuela. No timetable for construction or completion has
been set. With the drop in oil prices severely affecting Venezuelas economy, it is
unlikely that these projects will be completed soon.
PANAMA
The country is not a producer of oil or
gas, and it relies primarily on imports to
satisfy demand. However, Panama plays
a major role in global trade. The Panama
Canal is one of the worlds most significant energy transit points, connecting
the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea
and the Atlantic Ocean. It allows tanker
companies to forego navigating around
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FIG. 4. Construction on the $5.2-B Panama

Canal expansion project is nearly complete.
the southern tip of South America, saving time and fuel costs.
The Panama Canal is at the tail end of
a $5.2-B expansion project (FIG. 4). The
canal has been limited to smaller tanker
vessels with capacities of approximately
400 Mbpd550 Mbpd. The expansion
will create a third lane of traffic through
the construction of a new set of locks.
This will not only double the canals waterway size, but it will also allow the passage of new, larger Panamax tanker ships
with capacities of up to 680 Mbpd.
The canal expansion should increase
crude and petroleum product traffic, as
well as boost traffic from the burgeoning
US LNG export industry. As of January 1,
the project was 96% complete. The Panama Canal Authority expects commercial
operations to begin in mid-2016.
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Heat Transfer
V. D. SHIRPURKAR and M. E. IBRAHIM,
Saudi International Petrochemical Co.,
Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Calculate thermal efficiency to optimize

fired heater operation
In a Saudi International Petrochemical Co. petrochemical
plant, fired heaters are designed to supply heat duty at 7 MW
and are one of the major consumers of energy. Since the esterification reaction to create polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)
is endothermic in nature, polymer chain formation is mainly
dependent upon the specific heat required to react a large number of molecules to form the PBT product.
The tubular heaters use mainly natural gas as fuel gas, which
is the main portion of fuel fired in the burners, plus waste organic chemical liquid tetrahydrofuran (LTHF) fuel, which is
generated from the tetrahydrofuran (THF) recovery unit. Additionally, offgas is fired into furnaces. However, in case of any
upset in process, the offgas is routed to the flare. The burner is
designed to fire combined oil and gas fuel, with plant air used
to atomize waste liquid fuel.
The type of heater used in a PBT plant is forced-draft,
which gets its air supply from a combustion air blower. Thermal energy liberated by the combustion of fuel is transferred to
stable heat-transfer fluids circulated in tubular coils. The heater
is thermally insulated, except for the top side, which is left bare
to facilitate access to burner performance checking.
This case study examines the operation of the fired heater
in a PBT petrochemical unit. The furnace, as shown in FIG. 1,
is considered among the best in operation in the country. It is
operated with a thermal efficiency of greater than 90%, in compliance with the lowest generation of SOx and NOx.
Fired heater efficiency. The successful operation of a fired
heater must aim at the highest possible thermal efficiency together with the lowest pollution. Furnace thermal efficiency is
defined as the percent ratio of the total heat absorbed in a furnace to the total heat input supplied:
Heat absorbed
Heater efficiency = 100
(1)
Heat supplied
(NCV+ Qa + Qf ) Qs Qr
(2)
(NCV + Qa + Qf )
Heat absorbed = Total heat supplied loss from stack
(3)
loss from radiation section
where:
NCV = Net heating calorific value, kJ/kg
Qs = Heat loss from stack, kJ/kg
Qr = Heat loss from radiation, kJ/kg

Qa = Sensible heat supplied by air, kJ/kg
Qf = Sensible heat supplied by fuel, kJ/kg
Natural gas supplied to the petrochemical facility is considered as the basis for calculation.
Calorific value calculations. The net calorific value (NCV)
and gross calorific value (GCV) of mixed fuel in TABLE 1 is calculated by using published molar calorific values of fuel components. Stoichiometric equations for component combustion
are listed in TABLE 5.
Flue gas calculation using combustion reaction. The

theoretical or stoichiometric requirement of air required for
fuel is calculated by using the combustion reaction with the
molar flowrate. The fuel combustion reaction forms water and
carbon dioxide and releases heat. The heat capacity of mixtures
is calculated in the flue gas analysis shown in TABLE 3.
SAMPLE CALCULATION FOR FUEL REQUIRED

To derive the kmol of CH4 required, use Eqs. 4 and 5:
16 kmol of CH4 = 32 kmol of O2
(4)
17.032 kmol/hr of CH4 = (17.032 32 16) =

34.064 kmol/hr of O2 required
(5)
Similar flowrate calculations for ethane, propane, etc., are

shown in TABLE 2.
Stack
Process gas;
normally no flow
Waste THF 35 kg/hr
Furnace
Heat transfer fluid out

Heat transfer fluid in
Natural gas 425 Nm3/hr
Combined air 7,157 kg/hr
Flue gas 7,448 kg/hr
FIG. 1. PBT unit furnace flow diagram.

Heat Transfer
TABLE 1. NCV calculation
Calorific value
Components of natural gas feed
Mol%
Nm3/hr
Mol wt
Kg/hr
Kmol/hr
Methane
89.81
Ethane
4.64
381.69
16
272.52
17.032
19.72
30
26.4
Propane
1.72
0.88
7.31
44
14.35
0.326
Butane
0.42
1.785
58
4.62
0.08
Nitrogen
2.56
10.88
28
13.59
0.485
Isobutane
0.3
1.275
58
3.3
0.057
CO2
0.45
1.9125
44
3.76
0.085
Hydrogen sulfide
0.1
0.425
34
0.64
0.019
Total natural gas supply
100
425
339.18
18.96
Component waste, liquid tetrahydrofuran (THF)
Mol wt
Kg/hr
Kmol/hr
THF
72
10
0.139
Butanol
74
25
0.338
374.18
19.44
Total fuel flow (LTHF + natural gas), kg/hr
Kmol SO2
formed
Kmol CO2
formed
Kmol H2O
formed
34.064
17.032
34.064
Ethane
3.08
1.76
2.64
Propane
1.63
0.326
0.652
Butane
0.52
0.32
0.4
30
Isobutane
0.37
0.228
0.285
20
Hydrogen
sulfide
0.028
0.019
0.019
10
Tetrahydrofuran
0.764
0.55
0.556
Butanol
Total, kmol/hr
45,630
kJ/kg
70
Excess air, %
60
50
40
0
0
2.02
1.35
1.689
42.482
0.019
21.571
40.303
TABLE 3. Components of stack flue gas flow

Component
50,417
kJ/kg
80
Kmol O2
required
Methane
Net
90
TABLE 2. Flow rates for oxygen, reactants and products

Component
Gross
Kmol/hr
Mol wt
Kg/hr
O2
9.346
32
299.1
N2
195.5
28
5,473
CO2
21.57
44
949.1
SO2
0.019
64
1.216
H2O
40.3
18
Total flue flow at stack, kg/hr
Heat capacity,
kJ/kgK
1.1
(simulation
calculation)
725.5
7,448
Stoichiometric, or theoretical, requirement of air. The

stoichiometric, or theoretical, requirement of oxygen is 42.482
kmol/hr. Oxygen content on a flue gas dry basis = 4%, based on
an oxygen analyzer reading. Refer to FIG. 2 for the percentage of
excess air supply as a general rule in industrial practice. Eqs. 6
and 7 can be used to calculate the stoichiometric, or theoretical, requirement of air:
Actual O2 supply in kmol/hr = (1 + 0.22)

42.482 = 51.828
(6)
O2 content in flue gas
10
15
FIG. 2. Flue gas oxygen content vs. excess air.
Actual air supply in kmol/hr for 51.78 kmol of O2 =

(100 51.828) 21 = 246.802 kmol/hr
(7)
Calculating nitrogen in flue gas. Since nitrogen does not

take part in the combustion, but is the major component in
airin addition to oxygen, minor inert gases, CO2 and moistureit is a significant component in emitted flue gas. Eq. 8
shows how the nitrogen flowrate is calculated:
O2 in flue gas = actual O2 supplied actual O2
(8)
used in combustion
Actual O2 supplied = 51.828 kmol/hr
Actual O2 used in combustion = 42.482 kmol/hr
O2 in flue gas = 9.346 kmol/hr
Nitrogen in flue gas = (actual air supplied actual O2
supplied) + N2 in fuel
= (246.802 51.828) + 0.48 = 195.459 kmol/hr
Calculating sensible heat of air Qa. How much heat is
contributed by combustion air depends on the level of inlet air

preheat. Eq. 9 shows how sensible heat of air is calculated:
Qa = M Cp (air inlet temp datum temp)
(9)
Heat Transfer
where:
M is the flow rate and Cp is the specific heat
= 7,157.245 1 (30 15)
= 107,359 kJ/hr
= 107,359 374.18 = 286.9 kJ/kg
TABLE 4. Furnace emissions against the national norms

Emissions summary
Calculating sensible heat of fuel Qf. See Eq. 10 for cal-
culating the contribution to sensible heat and precombustion,

based on inlet fuel temperature:
Qf = M Cp (fuel inlet temp datum temp)
(10)
= 374.18 2.07 (30 15)

= 11,618.289 kJ/hr
= 11,618.289 374.18 = 31.05 kJ/kg
NOx, tpy
SO2, tpy
Standard
9.37
Actual value
7.89
230
0.03
180
CH4 + 2 O2 = CO2 + 2 H2O

2 C2H6 + 7 O2 = 4 CO2 + 6 H2O
2 C4H8O + 11 O2 = 8 CO2 + 8 H2O

C4H10O + 6 O2 = 4 CO2 + 5 H2O
(11)
Flue gas density at 1 bar pressure
1.4
1.2
(12)
Density, kg/m3
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
50
100
150
Temperature, C
200
300
400
FIG. 3. Flue gas density vs. flue gas temperature.
Calculation of heater efficiency. See Eq. 13 for this calcu-
lation using the same sample data:
(13)
(45,630 + 286.91 + 31.053,612.6 912.6

= 100
45,630 + 286.91 + 31.05
= 90.15%
EMISSIONS SUMMARY CALCULATION

AND REGULATORY NORMS
The basis of calculation is considered as furnace operation
based on 8,000 hr over the entire year. The online analyzer shows
an average reading of CO at 0.3 ppm and NOx at 48.40 ppm.
Density of flue gas is shown in FIG. 3. At 180C, flue gas density
equals 0.75 kg/m3, calculated using simulation software. The flue
gas volumetric flowrate in m3/hr equals 7,447.36 0.75 = 9,929.
CO produced. See the Eq. 14 calculation of flowrate for the
sample data set:

mg/m3 = PPM mol wt 22.41
= 0.30 28 22.41
= 0.375
mg/hr = mg/m3 m3/hr (volumetric flowrate)
7.81
H2S + 1.5 O2 = SO2 + H2O
= 45,630 0.02 = 912.6 kJ/kg
(NCV + Qa + Qf ) Qs Qr
NCV + Qa + Qf
21.2
C3H8 + 5 O2 = 3 CO2 + 2 H2O
Heat loss by radiation Qr. The radiation heat loss is generally considered to be between 2% and 4%. This is dependent
upon material used in the insulating refractory lining and the
thickness of insulation. The refractory is composed of alumina
and silicate-based low-expansion cement cast to withstand a
maximum recommended temperature of up to 1,650C. Note
that Eq. 12 uses 2% for radiation heat loss.
Stack outlet temp, C
TABLE 5. Combustion component reaction equations
= 7,447.735 1.1 (180 15)

= 351,764 kJ/hr
= 351,764 374.18 = 3,612.6 kJ/kg
Qr = Net calorific value 0.02
CO, tpy
C4H10 + 6.5 O2 = 4 CO2 + 5 H2O
Calculating heat loss by stack Qs. See Eq. 11 for calculating flue gas heat loss up the heater stack:
Qs = M Cp (flue gas outlet temp datum temp)
Pollutants
(14)
= 0.375 9,929 = 3,723

kg/hr = 0.0038, tpy = 0.03
NOx produced. See the Eq. 15 calculation of flowrate:
mg/m3 = ppm mol wt 22.41

(15)
= 48.40 46 22.41 = 99.3
mg/hr = mg/m3 m3/hr (volumetric flowrate)
= 99.3 9,929 = 985,950
kg/hr = 0.985, tpy = 7.89
TABLE 4 compares emissions against the national norms;
this fired heater performs significantly better than the governments regulatory requirements.
VIJAY D. SHIRPURKAR is a senior process engineer at Saudi International
Petrochemical Co. in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. He has 13 years of technical and plant
operational experience in the refining and petrochemical sectors. He has worked
with refinery delayed cokers in the worlds largest grassroots refinery (Reliance
industries Ltd.,s Jamnagar plant in India) as a manager for LPG and fuel gas
separation units. He is a graduate chemical engineer from the Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar Technological University in Lonere, India.
MOHAMMAD E. IBRAHIM is the general manager of operations at Saudi
International Petrochemical Co. in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. He started his career
in process engineering and gained wide operational and troubleshooting
experience in working for international gas companies, especially in the area
of reformer furnaces. He graduated in chemical engineering from King Fahd
University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
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Linde Engineering North America Inc.*

6100 South Yale Avenue, Suite 1200 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136, USA
Phone +1.918.477-1200, sales@leamericas.com www.leamericas.com
*Linde Process Plants, Inc. is now Linde Engineering North America Inc.
Heat Transfer
C. BAUKAL and B. JOHNSON, John Zink
Hamworthy Combustion, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and
R. NEWNHAM, OnQuest Canada ULC, Calgary,
Alberta, Canada
Minimize unplanned shutdowns

of fired heater operations
There are many potential rules, or guidelines, for the safe
operation of process heaters. American Petroleum Institute
(API) STD 5601 and API RP 5352 provide many useful recommendations for operating heaters and burners, respectively.
Companies normally develop their own detailed procedures
based on API recommendations and their own experiences.
These best practices can be summed up in four simple and easyto-remember rules for operating fired process heaters. These
rules are intentionally broad to encompass many of the more
detailed procedures that have been developed for a particular
heater, and they are especially useful for new operators that are
learning the many facets involved with safely running process
heaters. These common-sense guidelines are not intended to
replace company procedures, but to provide a framework to
more easily remember some of the more important factors in
the safe operation of fired heaters. The focus here is upon safety,3 and not specifically, for example, on minimizing pollution,4,
5
or in maximizing efficiency6, 7 or uptime. However, these are
often corresponding results of following the principles presented here. Examples are also provided for the potential negative
consequences of not following each rule.
RULE 1: KEEP THE FLAMES IN THE BOX

Keeping the flames inside the firebox seems to be an obvious rule since the goal is to heat something inside the heater,
not outside. This is vital for both worker safety and equipment
integrity, and includes keeping not only flames in the heater,
but also the hot gases generated in the combustion process.
Flames and hot gases could exit any heater openings, including sight ports, burner air inlets and cracks in the heater shell.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a flame outside a heater. In this case,
the flame periodically exited the heater when the pressure inside
went positive, which was on a fairly regular basis.
Hot gases exiting a heater may or may not be visible, depending on the conditions. On a bright sunny day, hot gases that are
exiting heater openings might be difficult to see, so it is critical to
ensure that no conditions exist that could force flames and hot
gases outside a heater. The high-temperature gases can injure personnel, even those wearing flame-retardant clothing. Prolonged
emissions of hot gases can also damage equipment. Two common causes that can force flames and hot gases out of a heater are
positive pressure and pulsations, which are both discussed next.
Heater draft. Process heaters are designed to have a slightly
negative pressure at the top of the radiant section, which is also

referred to as the arch, or bridgewall.8 FIG. 2 shows a typical
process heater draft profile. The least-negative (lowest-draft)
location inside the heater is at the arch. However, it is possible for the pressure there to go positive. The primary device
used to control heater draft is the stack damper, which, if not
sufficiently open, would cause the pressure to go positive. A
plugged convection section could also cause the same effect.
Note: It is possible that the heater pressure could be negative
near the bottom of the heater, yet positive near the arch. This is
why the heater pressure should be checked before attempting
to look through the sight ports, especially those that are located
where the pressure is most likely to be positive if the heater is
not operating as designed. Draft measurement at the arch is essential, and automatic draft control is recommended to ensure
the heater pressure does not go positive.
Flame stability. While there are many types of unstable
flames, those that are pulsingoften referred to as huffing or
woofingcan force flames and hot gases to go outside of a
heater.9 The transient nature of this condition can cause the
FIG. 1. Flames and hot gases can escape heater openings, including
sight ports, burner air inlets and cracks in the heater shell.
Heat Transfer
pressure in a heater to fluctuate between positive and negative. Severe pulsing has been known to cause sight port covers
and explosion doors to lift or flap. Pulsating flames can cause
flames and hot gases to escape a heater, and they can also potentially cause flames to temporarily escape by lifting them
completely off the burner tip. If there is an ignition source
inside the heater, or in any part of the heater that is at a temperature above auto-ignition, flames could reignite.10 This is
potentially very dangerous, as the heater would likely be full of
flammable gases that could ignite explosively, causing severe
over-pressurization.
One of the possible causes of pulsing flames is the fuel
pressure to the burners exceeding the maximum design pressure.8 High fuel pressure increases the fuel/air mixture velocity exiting the burner. If that velocity significantly exceeds
the burning velocity, the flames can lift and even go out completely. The flames become over-strained because the gases
cannot react fast enough to maintain flame stability. In diffusion burners, also known as raw gas or nozzle-mixed, the mixing of the fuel and air begins at the exit of the burner. Higherthan-designed fuel exit velocities can also delay the mixing
process, which can increase the likelihood of flame instabil120
End of stack
100
After damper
60
After convection
raft
20
gn d
Floor
-0.5
RULE 2: KEEP THE FLAMES OFF THE TUBES

Fired heaters are used in the refining and petrochemical industries for the heating of various fluids. FIG. 3 shows heat that
is transferred by both radiation and convection to the outside
of the process tubes, through tubes by conduction, and away
from the inside of the tubes by convection. Flame impingement causes too much heat transfer to the outside of the tubes.
40
Arch
-0.6
Elevation, ft
80
ity. Before the flame blows off completely, it often begins to

pulse. This is because the high-velocity gases slow down as
they expand after exiting the burner, allowing them to burn
back toward the burner. Assuming that the gas velocities are
not so high that the flame blows off completely, this can set up
a pulsation where the flame burns back toward the burner but
then is pushed away by the higher-than-designed gas velocities. The pulsating heater pressure can cause flames and hot
gases to exit the heater. This cycle continuously repeats until
something changes.
There are other possible causes of flame pulsations, such
as damaged flame stabilizers (e.g., metal-cone flame holders
or ceramic tile ledges) or a problem with the fuel injection
system.9 Flame stabilizers are designed to anchor the flames
close to the burner outlet. Damaged stabilizers can lead to unstable flames. There are several possible fuel injection system
problems that could produce unstable flames, such as tips that
are plugged or damaged, improperly aligned or the incorrect
size. The proper installation and maintenance of the correct
burner tips are essential for proper burner operation and pulsation prevention.
Desi
-0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1

Pressure, in. of water column
0.1
FIG. 2. A typical process heater draft profile, which is designed to have

a slightly negative pressure at the top of the radiant section, or arch.
Conductionheat transfer
through steel tube
Convection
section
Radiant
section
Radiationheat
from flame and
hot walls
Convection-flowing
hot furnace gases
FIG. 3. Heat is transferred by both radiation and convection to the

outside of the process tubes.
FIG. 4. As most process heaters have a hydrocarbon feed, flame

impingement can cause serious problems.
Heat Transfer
Flame impingement on process tubes. Since most process heaters have a hydrocarbon feed, flame impingement can
cause serious problems. Visual observation of the burners may
show that the flames are contacting the tubes. In some cases, a
gradual increase in the tube metal temperature (TMT) could
also indicate possible flame impingement. Operators should
make it a point to look into each of their fired heaters at least
once a shift to check for any problems with the flame patterns,
particularly flame impingement (FIG. 4).
The effect on operations. The reason that tubes do not
overheat inside a furnace is because of the cooling effect of the
process fluid inside the tubes. This is the reason many heaters
have carbon steel tubes: once a tube begins to overheat, there
is a gradual buildup of carbon on the inside of the tube. This
insulates a tube from the cooling effects of the process flow,
which, in turn, makes the tube hotter. As the carbon continues
to build, the flow area of the tube is reduced. If allowed to continue, the carbon will choke the tube completely, potentially
resulting in a tube rupture.
Hot spots will normally develop in progressive stages.
When the flames contact the tube surface, there is a cooling
effect on the flame. This results in ash being laid down on the
tube. This buildup will lead to scale on the tubes as the outer
layer of the tube starts to burn away.
There are various stages in this process, illustrated in FIG. 5:11
Dark areas first begin to appear from the carbon coating
on the side of the tubes facing the burners.
Silver or light gray spots form within the dark areas. This
is caused by the carbon being burned off.
These light gray spots will enlarge and cover a larger area.
As the coking continues, red spots will begin to appear
in the gray areas of the tubes. In some cases, the tube
will take on a mirror finish that looks almost like a
chromed piece of pipe.
The tube will eventually start to bulge and then develop
pinhole leaks. The tube is ready to rupture, and
immediate action must be taken.
Preventive and corrective actions. Keeping the flames off
the tubes is paramount. If flame impingement is noticed, the first

step should be to adjust the burner causing the impingement to
get the flame off the tube(s).
The burner air register should be checked to confirm it is
open. Gas tips should be examined for any plugging that
could cause the flame to impinge on the tube. If plugging
is evident, the tips must be removed and cleaned. Gas tips
can be properly orientated by checking the burner drawing.
Oxygen and draft requirements as per the heater design
specifications should be confirmed.
If the heater cannot be shut down, there are three options:
1. Take the burner out of service, or reduce the firing rate
by manually closing the block valve.
2. Increase the excess air to help cool the firebox.
3. Increase the process flow to the overheated pass.
There are other options, such as wrapping the tubes or
clamping them while the heater is in service, which must be
considered as extreme risk situations and approved by facility
safety experts.
RULE 3: KEEP THE PROCESS IN THE TUBES

Generally, the purpose of a process heater is to heat some type
of fluid flowing through tubes inside the heater. In a refinery or
chemical plant, the fluid is typically some type of hydrocarbon
fluid, such as crude oil. The burners in the heater then heat the
fluid. More accurately, the burners heat the tubes, which conduct the heat into the fluid flowing through them. The tubes are
used to safely convey the fluid through the heaters. If those tubes
are damaged, the fluid that is under pressure can leak out into
the heater. This is particularly dangerous when the fluid is flammable because the heater is likely to be hot enough that flammable fluid could ignite if there is sufficient oxygen in the heater.
There are many possible causes for a tube leak. The tubing
could have been improperly manufactured with some thinner
sections that fail under pressure or prematurely. It has become
more common to inspect brand new tubes before they are installed in a heater with some type of tube inspection system to
ensure that this does not happen. Tube leaks can also be caused
by the presence of a corrosive process fluid (FIG. 6). An alternate
metal type may be required if the tubing is likely to fail due to
corrosion before it can be replaced at the next turnaround. An-
FIG. 5. Hot spots in tubes develop in progressive stages, leading to

scaling as the outer layer begins to burn away.
FIG. 6. Corrosive fluids can cause a pipe to rupture.

Heat Transfer
other potential cause for a tube leak is operating a heater with
insufficient process fluid flow, which is required to remove heat
from the heater to keep the process tube temperature below its
design limit. This may happen at startup if there are problems
getting the flow established. It could also be caused by a tube
failure or process flow valve being closed upstream of the heater.
As related in Rule 2, the most common cause for damaged
process tubes is flame impingement. Burners that are located
too close together can cause the flames to coalesce and create a
much larger and longer flame that could impinge on tubes near
or above the burners (FIG. 7). Continuous flame impingement
on a process tube causes the tube wall temperature to increase.
If the temperature gets high enough, it can cause the hydrocarbon fluid flowing through the tube to break down and deposit
coke (carbon) on the inside of the tubes. Tubes are designed

to be cooled by the fluid flowing through them by transferring
heat away from the metal by internal forced convection. However, if coke forms inside the tube, it acts like an insulator since
its thermal conductivity is much lower than the metals. This
reduces the convective cooling of the metal, causing the rise in
the metal temperature. When internal coking is coupled with
flame impingement, the heater tube temperature can continue
to rise above its maximum design limit and eventually cause the
tube to leak or even rupture. This must obviously be avoided
a significant tube leak can generate a large fire and huge quantities of thick black smoke as there will most likely not be enough
oxygen to fully combust all of the leaking flammable fluid. A
further concern is that the uncombusted leaking liquids and
gases could burn outside the heater, increasing the risk of personnel injury and equipment damage.
Convection section process tubes
RULE 4: KEEP FLAMMABLES OUT

DURING LIGHTOFF
Although this is listed as the fourth rule, purging is the first
action in the safe startup of all direct-fired heaters.9 Therefore,
purging is a mandatory requirement and is covered in all the
codes and standards around the world, such as API 556; NFPA
85, 86 and 87; EN 298; CSA B149.310; and ANZ 3814. Depending on the jurisdiction and authority under which the
heaters are operating, the purging function is not only mandatory, but it must also be a proven function within the safety
system operating the heater.
Flame starved for air
Flame-flame interaction
Radiant section process tubes
Recirculation zone
Tight burner circle
FIG. 7. Continuous flame impingement on a process tube causes the

tube wall temperature to increase.
Stack exit
Natural purging. In the past, and in many installations today,

the normal practice of purging a natural-draft heater is to alStack exit
Stack
Stack damper
Stack transition
Convection section
Radiant section
Burners
FIG. 8. Ambient air passes through a heater by natural draft, purging
the heater of any fuel products.
Stack damper
Stack transition
Convection section
Radiant section
Steam purge/snuffing
connections
Burners
FIG. 9. Injecting steam into the base of the radiant section pushes any
combustible gases up while bringing in fresh air through the burner air
registers or dampers.
Heat Transfer
low time for ambient air to pass through a heater by natural
draft, thus purging the heater of any fuel products (FIG. 8).
Typically, this takes about 20 minutes on a cold start, and is
left to the discretion of the operator. The stack damper and
burner air registers must be in the open position.
The major drawback with this purging method is proving
that the purging function has taken place and is complete.
The ambient conditions have a big effect on the freeflow of
air through a heater. In colder regions, the freeflow of air can
be zero, so there is no actual purging taking place. For that
reason, ambient purging based purely upon time does not
guarantee that a heater has actually been purged, and, therefore, should not be done.
The time designation of 20 minutes is not based on any
empirical calculated method to ensure that four or five volume changes take place, but this is an industry predetermined
minimum time period. Most operating companies will supplement the 20-minute time period with an operator-actioned
lower explosive limit (LEL) check for any combustibles in the
floor of the firebox.
Steam purging. An alternative to using ambient air is to
purge with steam (FIG. 9), which involves injecting steam into
the base of the radiant section. As this hot steam rises, it pushes any combustible gases up through the heater while bringing
in fresh air through the burner air registers or dampers. However, caution must be taken to prevent steam condensation
Stack exit
Stack
Steam injection
Stack damper
Stack transition
Convection section
Radiant section
Burners
FIG. 10. Injecting steam into the stack above the damper and utilizing
a steam educator draws air into the bottom of the heater and pushes it
up, expelling any combustible gases.
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Heat Transfer
Manual checks
complete
Purge permissives
satisfied
And
Ready to purge
Start purge
Start purge
fan
Start 5-minute
purge timer
Purge flow
detected in
1 minute?
Yes
Alarm reset
No
Common
alarm
Purge fail
Purge in progress
Purge
permissive
OK and flow
maintained?
No
Timer
complete?
Yes
LITERATURE CITED
ANSI/API Standard 560, Fired heaters for general refinery service, Fourth
ed., 2007, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC.
2
API Recommended Practice 535, Burners for fired heaters in general refinery
services, Third ed., 2014, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC.
3
Baukal, C. E., Safety, The John Zink Hamworthy Combustion Handbook, Vol. 2:
Design and Operations, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2013.
4
Baukal, C. E., I-P Chung, S. Londerville, J. G. Seebold and R. T. Waibel,
Pollutant Emissions, The John Zink Hamworthy Combustion Handbook, Vol.
1: Fundamentals, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2013.
5
Baukal, C. E. and W. Bussman, NOx emissions, The John Zink Hamworthy
Combustion Handbook, Vol. 1: Fundamentals, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida,
2013.
6
Baukal, C. E. and W. Bussman, Thermal Efficiency, The John Zink Hamworthy
Combustion Handbook, Vol. 1: Fundamentals, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida,
2013.
7
Newnham, R., Direct-Fired Heaters: Improving Efficiency and Capacity While
Reducing Emissions, Kingsley Knowledge Publishing, Alberta, Canada, 2013.
8
Waibel, R. T., M. G. Claxton and B. Reese, Burner design, The John Zink
Hamworthy Combustion Handbook, Vol. 2: Design and Operations, CRC Press,
Boca Raton, Florida, 2013.
9
Newnham, R., Direct-Fired Heaters: Operator Training Manual, Kingsley
Knowledge Publishing, Alberta, Canada, 2013.
10
Newnham, R., Direct-Fired Heaters: A Practical Guide to Their Design and
Operation, Kingsley Knowledge Publishing, Alberta, Canada, 2012.
11
Johnson, W., E. Platvoet, M. Pappe, M. Claxton and R. Waibel, Burner
Troubleshooting, The John Zink Hamworthy Combustion Handbook, Vol. 2:
Design and Operations, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2013.
1
Purge in
progress
Yes
No
These simple and commonsense rules for the safe operation

of a process heaterkeeping the flames in the box and off the
tubes, maintaining the process in the tubes, and shutting flammables out during lightoffare not intended to be comprehensive, but are designed to be easy to remember, particularly
for those with less experience in operating process heaters.
Failure to abide by these four rules can produce serious consequences, including personnel injury and equipment damage.
Companies should have their own detailed processes and procedures for operating specific heaters. Heaters must be constantly monitored with regular visual inspections both inside
and outside of the heater. This will help prevent flames from
exiting the heater, along with the leakage of flammable liquids
from the process tubes.
Stop purge fan

Purge complete
To light pilots
FIG. 11. A typical flow diagram for a mandatory purge using an
automated burner management system.
from affecting the operation of electronics in or near the heater, such as the ignition and flame monitoring instrumentation.
Another way to purge using steam is with a steam educator (FIG. 10). Steam is injected into the stack above the
damper. As the steam rises, it draws air into the bottom of
the heater and pushes it up through the heater, expelling any
combustible gases.
Mandatory purging with a burner management system. The most important function for the use of a burner
management system (BMS) is to prevent the possibility of an

accumulation of combustible gas within the heater prior to introducing a flame inside the heater.10 The issue becomes how
to prove that four to five volume changes have taken place.
With a steam purge, or a purge using a steam educator, this is
possible. If it is proven with the stack damper open, and if the
flowrate of the purge steam is known, it can be determined
how long it takes to evacuate the air and any combustibles from
within the heater. With a natural purge, this is not possible. For
facilities that lack available steam, the next resource is to install
a purge fan to perform the purge function. With this method
and the known flowrate of air, the purge time period can be
determined. FIG. 11 shows a typical flow diagram for the mandatory purge using an automated burner management system.
CHARLES BAUKAL is the director of the John Zink Institute,

which is part of John Zink Co. LLC, where he has worked since
1998. He is the author and editor of 13 books on industrial
combustion, including multiple versions of The John Zink
Hamworthy Combustion Handbook, and is also an inventor on
11 US patents. Dr. Baukal has 35 years of industrial experience,
and earned BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering
from Drexel University, an Ed.D from Oklahoma State University, and a PhD
in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds
numerous professional engineering and environmental engineering licenses.
BILL JOHNSON began his career in the power industry in 1969
designing coal-fired power plants. He started working at John
Zink in 1977, and his roles have included the design, sales,
testing and startup of process burners. Mr. Johnson is a
co-author of The John Zink Hamworthy Combustion Handbook.
He has written several technical papers for the hydrocarbon
processing industry (HPI), and has been involved with the
John Zink Burner School since 1982.
ROGER NEWNHAM is the senior vice president for OnQuest
Canada ULC, a Primoris company. He has over 40 years of
experience in the design and operation of direct-fired heaters,
including the writing and publishing of four books on this
subject. He earned a BSc degree in mechanical engineering
from Brighton University in the UK, and is a fellow of the
Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
Maintenance
and Reliability
K. R. RAMAKUMAR, Johnson Matthey
Process Technologies, UAE
Detect boiler leaks upstream of the

shift reactor in H2 plants
In a typical hydrogen (H2 ) flowsheet, water gas shift (WGS)
reactors are normally located after the steam reforming section. Common products of steam reforming include carbon
monoxide (CO), which the WGS reaction converts to produce
additional H2 , as shown in Eqs. 1 and 2, making WGS reactors
important for increased H2 production:
CO + H2O = CO2 + H2 ; H = 41.1 kJ/mol
(1)
The reaction is exothermic, and high conversions are favored

by low temperature and high steam-to-dry-gas ratio.
Ammonia plants usually operate a two-stage system; a hightemperature shift (HTS) followed by a low-temperature shift
(LTS), with a suitable form of inter-bed cooling. H2 plant designs
feature a number of differing shift conversion sections. There is
commonly an HTS stage followed by a pressure-swing absorption (PSA) unit to separate H2 product from other components.
Occasionally, a medium-temperature shift (MTS) is used in
preference to an HTS, with the main driver for an MTS being
a lower steam-to-carbon (S:C) ratio, which is associated with
higher process efficiency. In flowsheets where an HTS is in
place, the S:C ratio cannot be less than 2.8. In older H2 plants, a
two-stage system is often utilized in which an HTS is followed
by an LTS stage (with suitable interbed cooling), CO2 removal
and, finally, the methanation stage. There are also a few plants
with an HTS-LTS-PSA configuration for the purpose of producing more H2 and using a smaller PSA unit. The evolution of
different configurations is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.
The HTS reactor typically operates at an inlet temperature
range of 320C360C; an exotherm equivalent to a temperature rise of 55C65C is normally encountered. MTS catalysts
tend to run at an inlet temperature range of 200C230C, with
an exotherm equivalent to a temperature rise of 70C100C.

LTS and MTS catalysts operate close to condensation conditions during the early part of the catalyst life. LTS catalysts
typically operate at an inlet temperature range of 190C220C,
with an exotherm equivalent to a temperature rise of 15C
30C. Typical shift reactor parameters are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
The inlet temperature of an LTS/MTS should be at least
15C above the dew point at all times to avoid capillary condensation in the pore structure. Condensation and liquid water
in the shift reactor can adversely affect the life of the catalyst
by washing soluble catalyst poisons through the bed. In addition, there is a possibility that wet catalyst may be damaged by
the rapid evaporation or boiling of water within the pellets if it
is heated too quickly during a plant restart. Although current
HTS/MTS/LTS catalysts are quite robust and can withstand
PSA offgas
From steam
reforming
HTS
H2O
FIG. 2. A configuration of an H2 plant (since the mid-1980s).

PSA offgas
From steam
reforming
HTS
HTS
CO2
removal
LTS
Hydrogen
product
PSA
H2O
CO2 to vent
From steam
reforming
Methanation
Hydrogen
product
From steam
reforming
PSA offgas
MTS
PSA
Hydrogen
product
H2O
H2O
FIG. 1. A configuration of an H2 plant (typical of the 1970s).
Hydrogen
product
PSA
FIG. 3. Current H2 plant design options.

Maintenance and Reliability

wetting, to some extent, prolonged wetting can physically damage the catalyst, causing a higher pressure drop.
Another issue that cannot be neglected is any boiler leak
upstream of an HTS/MTS. The process gas boilers are mostly
fire-tube boilers that are designed to cool the reformed process
gas exiting the reformer. In such boilers, process gas enters the
tubes and heats the boiler feed water (BFW) as it enters the
shell through downcomer pipes from the steam drum. A twophase steam water mixture within the riser lifts itself back into
the steam drum due to the density difference between the incoming water and outgoing two-phase mixture.
Based upon the location of a BFW leak, there could be different scenarios by which the downstream shift catalyst could
be affected:
310C370C
Process gas
from SMR
800C930C
190C220C
1015 mol% CO
24 mol% CO
HTS
T = 55C65C
LTS
T = 15C30C
Gas to PSA/
methanator
Steam generation
Steam generation/feed preheat
0.10.3 mol% CO
FIG. 4. Typical parameters in an HTS-LTS configuration.
Leak towards outlet side (steam side)

No condensation case: There is a higher P across the
shift catalyst bed due to an increased mass flow.
Condensation case: Apart from a higher P due to the
above reason, there is a possibility of physical damage of
the catalyst due to re-vaporization of condensate, leading
to a further increase in P and pushing the poisons
farther down the bed.
Leak towards inlet side (water side)
Complete vaporization before reaching the catalyst bed:
In addition to the increased P contributed by increased
mass flow, the residual solids present in the water can
contribute to farther increase in P. FIG. 6 shows a classic
example of such a case.
Incomplete vaporization before reaching the catalyst bed:
In addition to the effect above, the catalyst can also be
subjected to physical damage due to the re-vaporization
of condensate, leading to a further increase of P and
pushing the poisons further down the bed.
In any case, the boiler leak could be detected by performing
an overall mass balance and observing the temperature profile
across the shift catalyst.
As shown in FIG. 6, the pressure drop slowly builds up at
the onset of boiler feed water ingress into the HTS reactor. It
continues to build up slowly for about a year, after which the
catalyst pellets at the bottom start to crush as the hydraulic load
surpasses the strength of the pellets.
TABLE 1. Steam reformer inlet and outlet conditions
2016 WOMENS
Reformer inlet conditions

Molar flow of feed gas
WGLConference.com
Mass flow of feed gas

S:C ratio
131.7 TPH
Total mass flow at reformer inlet
176.2 TPH
Inlet pressure
33 barg
Inlet temperature
540C
H2
November 12, 2016
Hyatt Regency Houston / Houston, Texas

44.5 TPH
3.0 mol/mol
Mass flow of steam
Typical reformer feed composition
Save the Date
2,500 kmol/h
mol% wet
1.27
CO2
1.28
H 2O
74.51
C1
21.66
C2
0.90
C3
0.25
C4
0.04
C5
0.04
C 6+
0.05
Reformer outlet conditions

Total molar flow
13,965 TPH
Total mass flow
176.2 TPH
Pressure
31.3 barg
Outlet temperature
900C

Therefore, it is very important for the plant process and operation engineers to detect boiler leaks well in advance to avoid
the deterioration of shift catalyst integrity.
One of the key practices that helps identify the upstream
boiler leak is to perform a mass balance across the shift reactor.
Additionally, it is a good practice to keep track of the condensate flow to the deaerator or stripper. Examples of sample mass
balances that help detect boiler leaks upstream of the shift reactor are illustrated in TABLE 1, which shows reformer and HTS
compositions; TABLE 2, a normal case with no BFW leak; and
in TABLE 3, which has a leak.
In the mass balance example, it has been assumed that the
BFW leak increases the inlet steam:dry gas ratio from the
normal value of 0.493 to 0.60. Based upon this assumption,

it can be seen that almost 18% (mass flow) excess condensate
is produced.
Where there is a provision for separate sample points, it is
advisable to take two samples: one immediately downstream of
the reformer, and the other at the inlet of the HTS/MTS reactor, downstream of the waste heat boiler (WHB). By performing a wet compositional analysis of these two samples, it can be
well established if there is a BFW leak.
In plants where there is no provision for collecting samples
at two locations, it is suggested instead to observe the daily
trend of condensate flow from catch pot to deaerator/strip60
200C230C
Process gas
from SMR
800C930C
Start of bed
crushing
50
Pressure drop, psi
1015 mol% CO
MTS
T = 70C100C
Start of persistent
boiler leak
40
30
20
Hydraulic load on bottom catalyst > catalyst strength;

therefore, catalyst at bottom collapses
10
Gas to asborber/
methanator
10
15
0.81.0 mol% CO
Steam generation
FIG. 5. Typical parameters in an MTS.
20
25
Time online, months
30
35
40
45
FIG. 6. The impact of boiler leak on an HTS catalyst with residual

solid buildup.
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426
TABLE 2. HTS reactor inlet and outlet conditions

NORMAL CASE (no leaks)
mol% wet
mol% dry
406
396
H2
48.63
72.62
CO
10.44
15.59
CO2
5.53
7.96
H2O
33.02
2.56
3.83
C1
Steam:dry gas ratio
Temperature, C
Typical composition at reformer

outlet/inlet to HTS reactor
416
386
376
366
0.493
Typical composition at HTS

reactor outlet
356
mol% wet
mol% dry
H2
56.13
75.38
CO
2.94
3.95
CO2
12.83
17.22
H2O
25.53
C1
2.56
3.44
Steam:dry gas ratio
0.343
HTS outlet molar flow
13,962 kmol/h
HTS outlet mass flow
176.2 TPH
Assuming 99% condensate recovery

at catch pots, recovered condensate
flow = 0.99 13,962 0.2553
3,529 kmol/h
64 TPH
TABLE 3. Boiler feed water leak mass balance case

Boiler feedwater leak case
Inlet to HTS reactor
mol% wet
mol% dry
45.39
72.62
CO
9.74
15.59
CO2
4.98
7.96
H2
H2O
37.5
C1
2.39
3.83
Steam:dry gas ratio
0.60
Typical composition at HTS

reactor outlet
mol% wet
mol% dry
H2
52.86
75.38
CO
2.26
3.95
CO2
12.45
17.22
H2O
30.03
C1
2.39
Steam:dry gas ratio
3.44
0.429
HTS outlet molar flow
14,258 kmol/h
HTS outlet mass flow
185 TPH
Assuming 99% condensate recovery

at catch pots, recovered condensate
flow = 0.99 14,258 0.3003
4,239 kmol/h
76 TPH
S:G 0.6
S:G = 0.493
S:G 0.75
346
336
0
Bed depth, m
FIG. 7. An HTS catalyst bed temperature profile for different S:G ratios
per. Another way of establishing a boiler leak when there is no

separate sample point at the inlet of an HTS/MTS is by using common sense and observing the compositions of the reformer outlet and HTS/MTS outlet. The water gas shift reaction is an equimolar reaction, the excess moles of H2 produced
at the outlet of the HTS/MTS should ideally be equal to the
moles of water (H2 O) consumed. If the moles of the produced
H2 (outlet/inlet) are invariably greater than the moles of the
consumed H2 O (inlet/outlet), then there is a possible BFW
leak upstream of the HTS/MTS that is responsible for the additional H2 O moles at the outlet of the HTS/MTS. Since CO
conversion is favored at high steam:dry gas ratios, the CO at
the outlet of an HTS/MTS would also be less than expected.
The bed temperature trend would also help in complementing the above observation. With a leak, the exotherm across an
HTS/MTS would be slightly lower than expected, provided
that the feed conditions are the same. The temperature trend
with different steam:dry gas ratios, as simulated in a simulation
tool, is shown in FIG. 7.
The maximum bed temperature at an S:G ratio of 0.493
(normal case) is 421C; and, at S:G ratios of 0.6 and 0.75, the
maximum bed temperatures are 419C and 416C, respectively.
The featured example shows this simple method by which
boiler leaks can be detected before it is too late. Frequent gas
sample analysis and mass balance are the keys in detecting any
boiler feed water ingress into the shift reactor.
REFERENCES
Broadhurst P. V. and P. E. J. Abbott, Improving hydrogen plant performance, Part
2, PTQ, 2002.
2
Anderson R., P. V. Broadhurst, D. Cairns, F. E. Lynch and C. Park, The chemistry within your catalysts, Part 3Water gas shift and methanation, Nitrogen &
Syngas 310, MarchApril 2011.
3
Lynch, F., and S. Appleton, Water and your shift converterHero or villain?,
Ammonia Technical Manual 2003, Proceedings of AIChE Ammonia Plant Safety
Symposium, 2003
1
K. R. RAMAKUMAR is a technical service engineer for Johnson Matthey and

is based in Dubai, UAE. He has more than 10 years of process, operations
and commissioning experience in hydrogen and hydrocracking plants.
Mr. Ramakumar holds a BS degree in chemical engineering.
Fluid Flow and

Rotating Equipment
H. PANDYA, Saipem India Projects Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi, India; and A. M. FANTOLINI,
Saipem, Milan, Italy
Limit the rate of change of fuel gas properties

with mixing drum
The fuel gas mixing drum is an integral part of many plants, especially LNG
plants. Any change in fuel gas composition, properties or pressure can lead to
operational problems in fuel-using systems, such as gas-fired turbines. These
systems are designed to accept a certain
degree of change of fuel gas properties;
however, their burners are sensitive to
the rate of this change. To limit this, fuel
gas mixing drums are typically used.
FIG. 1A shows a typical sketch of a
fuel gas mixing drum. It consists of two
separate sections, with a knockout drum
(KOD) in the bottom section and a central riser pipe with a number of baffles in
the top section. Fuel gas enters from the
bottom section and flows to the top section, or vice versa.
The riser contains a series of holes in
each baffle section, so gas from the riser
holes mixes with gas from the baffle sections. Baffles are sloped to allow the free
draining of liquid. This arrangement ensures proper mixing and gradual changes
in any process parameters. The KOD
section (FIG. 1) is designed as a normal
two-phase separator, such as a compressor suction drum. Here, the mixing drum
design procedure is reviewed for operational optimization.
Number of mixing stages in top
section. The fuel gas mixing drum en-
sures gradual change in fuel gas properties, such as the Wobbe Index, and also
acts as a buffer vessel to limit pressure
variation. The Wobbe Index is an indicator of the interchangeability of fuel
gases. Some gas turbine vendors use
different terminologies for this parameter, such as the Modified Wobbe Index
and Gas Index, and to include temperature as an additional variable; however,
these are all derivatives of the Wobbe
Index. In the following discussion, the
equipment is designed to limit the rate
of change of the Modified Wobbe Index
(MWI), defined as:
MWI =
LHV
T.SG
(1)
If the feed gas composition changes,

i.e., from heavier to lighter, the MWI at
the outlet of the drum will change gradually from value MWIOLD (heavy gas) to
value MWINEW (light gas).
MWI =
( MWI New MWIOld )

MWIOld
FIG. 1B. Assuming that the total number of
compartments are n, for the nth compartment, if the change in fuel gas property
starts to happen at time t = t + t, then
the property balance for the nth compartment at time t = t + t can be written as:
F
MWI n,t+t = MWI n,t + MWI n1,t n1
Vn
F /n
t + MWI New
t
(4)
Vn
F
MWI n,t n t
Vn
Gas outlet
Mixing drum
100 (2)
If the maximum allowable rate of

change of the MWI is R Allowable [%/sec]
as specified by the gas turbine vendor,
the residence time in the mixing drum
required to meet the rate change requirement will be:
MWI
R Allowable
VInitial
(3)
F
Volume, VInitial , is the initial volume of
the mixing drum required to meet design
parameters, if no internals, such as riser
baffles, are present. Due to the presence of
internals, mixing is increased and the required volume is consequently decreased.
To relate the required vessel volume
with the number of compartments, an analytical model of equipment is shown in
Riser
Baffle
Drain holes
Feed gas in
Knockout drum
Liquid outlet
FIG. 1A. Typical sketch of a fuel gas mixing

drum.
Fluid Flow and Rotating Equipment

Considering the maximum variation is
at the beginning of the disturbance, to calculate the initial tangent of the variation
curve for the last compartment, the differential of Eq. 4 with respect to time is taken.
Fn=F
(F/n)
F(n-1)
Vn-1
V4
(F/n)
F(n-2)
(F/n)
F
d ( MWI )
= MWI n1,t n1 +
dt n,t+t
Vn
F3
(F/n)
F2
V2
Vn
(F/n)
F /n
F
MWI New
MWI n,t n
Vn
Vn
V3
(F/n)
V1
(5)
F ( F /n )
d ( MWI )
= MWI Old n
dt n,t+t
Vn
F /n
F
+ MWI 'New
MWIOld n (6)
Vn
Vn
FIG. 1B. An analytical model of a fuel gas

mixing drum.
1.0
Assumptions:
Flow through riser in each compartment
is equal (F/n).
Inlet flow (F) to vessel does not change
with time.
All compartments have equal residence time
(Vn/Fn = constant).
Area of individual hole is small compared to
the cross-sectional area of the riser pipe.
Turbulent flow of gas in riser up to last section
of riser (i.e., Reynolds number > 5,000).
Ratio, VFinal/VInitial
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
Number of compartments
40
45
50
FIG. 2. The number of compartments vs. volume ratio.
Example 1
In a plant, fuel gas is changed from a light gas (MWI = 44 MJ/m3) to a heavier
gas (50.2 MJ/m3). Fuel gas flow is 0.5 m3/sec. Design a fuel gas mixing drum top
section to ensure maximum rate of change in MWI of 0.3 %/sec.
Solution:
Change in MWI = (50.2-44)/44 100 = 14.1%
VInitial From Eq. 3, 23.5 m3
Number of compartments assumed: 7
Riser diameter = 12 in. = 0.3 m
VFinal: (7 + 1)/(2 7) 23.5 = 13.4 m3
Assume for vessel: Length/diameter ratio: 2.2
/4 D2 (2.2 D) = 13.4
D = 1.7 m, assumed D = 1.7 + 0.3 = 2.0 m
L = 2.2 2.0 = 4.4 m
Length of first compartment, from Eq. 10
L1 = 4.4/(7 (7 + 1)/ 2) = 157 mm
However, to enable a manhole at first and last compartment, L1 assumed = 800 mm
Hence, overall length of top section = 5.1 m.
Bottom KOD length = 3.6 m (from standard 2-phase vessel calculation)
Height of bottom head (elliptical assumed) = D/4 = 0.5 m
Total height = 9.2 m
F /n
Vn
(7)
where Vn can be written as:
At the start of variation at time t = t,

MWIn1,t = MWIn,t = MWIOld :
F1
d ( MWI )
= ( MWI New MWI Old )
dt n,t+t
V1+V2+V3++Vn = VFinal
(8)
V2 = 2V1 , V3 = 3V1 , Vn = nV1

V1+2V1+3V1+................+nV1 = VFinal
(9)
n (n+1)
VFinal
V1 =
(10)
V =V
n (n+1)
2 1 Final
2
VFinal
VFinal
Vn= n
=
(11)
n (n+1) (n+1)
2 2
From Eqs. 7 and 11 and dividing by

MWIOld:
1
d ( MWI )
dt n,t+t MWIOld
(12)
( MWI New MWIOld ) F /n

VFinal
MWIOld
(n+1)

2
1
d ( MWI )
dt n,t+t MWIOld
MWI
2n

VFinal
n+1
(13)
Comparing Eq. 3 with Eq. 13,

V
n+1
2n
VInitial =
VFinal Final =
(14)
n+1
VInitial 2n
Eq. 14 shows that VFinal depends upon

the number of compartments. For n = 1,
the ratio of VFinal to VInitial is equal to 1. However for n = infinite, it is 0.5, which infers
that in no case can VFinal be less than 50%
of VInitial. FIG. 2 shows that the ratio initially
falls steeply up to n = 5 and then falls gradually. Hence, it is preferred to have the number of compartments be between five and
10. The calculated volume excludes riser
volume; therefore, the diameter of the vessel must be increased to adjust for riser volume. Increased diameter can be calculated
as the square root of the sum of the square
of vessel diameter and riser diameter. As a

conservative approach, the riser diameter is
often simply added to the vessel diameter.
Computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to support and verify the
sizing of such critical items, leading to
the optimization of the mixing inside the
drum (FIG. 3), the identification of the trajectories of flow from the holes, and the
definition of the velocity vectors in different points of the drum.
Pressure drop calculation. The mixing drum pressure drop includes the inlet/
outlet nozzle pressure drop, KOD pressure
drop, baffle section pressure drop, riser
pipe and holes pressure drop. Inlet/outlet
nozzle pressure drop and KOD pressure
drop are calculated as standard vessel pressure drop. Baffle section pressure drop is
negligible and so can be ignored. The
combined total of all these pressure drops
are in the range of 5 kPa10 kPa (excluding riser pipe and holes pressure drop).
Finally, the riser diameter and the diameter of holes can be selected through
using iterative calculations. At first, the
riser diameter is set the same as the feed
gas inlet diameter, and the holes size is
set at 30 mm. The number of holes are
adjusted based on mechanical considerations: holes mus be placed for turbulent
conditions at the exit while maintaining
mechanical resistance in the riser, and to
satisfy the pressure drop requirement.
If the velocity is sufficiently high (i.e.,
turbulent conditions are reached in the
hole), and the number of holes is still low,
the first trial calculation may be acceptable. If the velocity is low and no turbulent conditions are observed at the exit
(max. allowable 100 m/s), or the number
of holes is too high, a recalculation has to
be made with a different number of holes
to verify the velocity, the Reynolds number and pressure drops across the holes.
Riser pressure drop calculation.
Pressure drop in a perforated pipe distributor for turbulent flow with roughly
uniform flow distribution:1
4 fL
v 2
p =
2K i
3d
2
4 fL
if
<< 1 and
3d
v 2
K = 0.5 p = i
2
Example 2
In continuation of Example 1, gas density 17.1 kg/m3, gas viscosity: 0.01
cP. Calculate the pressure drop in the riser section of the mixing drum and the
percentage of maldistribution.
Solution: Riser diameter = 12 in.
Over length of riser pipe, (4f L/3d)
v1 = 7.1 m/s, Re1 = 3637221, f1 = 0.0034
v7 = 1 m/s, Re7 = 519603, f7 = 0.0038,
taking FAvrg = 0.0036, (4f L/3d) = 0.081
As (4f L/3d) << 1, DP pipe from Eq. 16 = 429 Pa
Assumed number of holes/compartments = 6,
Hole diameter = 30 mm. Assume Co = 0.62
DP hole from Eq. 17 = 6324 Pa
Total pressure drop = 6753 Pa
Percentage of maldistribution from Eq. 18 = 3.4%.
Typical value of parameters:
Number of compartments: 510
Pressure drop through equipment: 0.3 bar0.5 bar
Allowable rate of change for the MWI: 0.15%/sec0.5%/sec
Orifice discharge coefficient, Co: 0.62
Length/diameter ratio for equipment: 1.53.5
Pressure drop in the riser (pipe and hole): 40% to 60% of total pressure drop
Hole diameter: 8 mm30 mm
Minimum distance between holes: hole diameter
Percentage of maldistribution: < 5%
Baffle cut: 25%.
(15)
(16)
For turbulent flow, p is negative. To

obtain the desired uniform flow distribu-
FIG. 3. The distribution of the mass fraction on the symmetry plane.


tion, the average pressure drop across the
holes will be large compared to the pressure variation over the length of pipe. The
total pressure drop in the riser should be
less than 10% of the pressure drop across
the holes. This will cause a relatively smaller variation in the pressure drop across the
holes and, hence, smaller flow variation.
The pressure drop through the hole is:
po =
1 vo2
C02 2
(17)
The riser pipe size is normally the

same as the feed nozzle size. Holes are arranged in multiple rows and the number
of holes in a row may vary between various compartments. The hole diameter
and number of holes are assumed, and the
pressure drops in the riser and holes are
calculated using Eqs. 15, 16 and 17.
The percentage of maldistribution in
the riser pipe is calculated as follows:
Percent maldistribution =100
(po p )
po
(18)
The number and arrangement of the

holes are selected to have minimum maldistribution.
V
F
t
n
p, po
vi
vo
f
Co
Re
L
d
D
Bottom sectionKOD design. Once
the diameter of the mixing section is calculated, the design of the bottom section
can be performed by using the same diameter as the top section.
The estimated diameter for the mixing drum is generally sufficient for the
separation of droplets less than 200 m,
although it is necessary to verify if this
condition is respected. Other process design details, such as the distance between
bottom tangent line and inlet nozzle, the
holdup volume, the height of the liquid
levels (alarms), etc., can be followed as per
best engineering practices in the industry.
The last step is to optimize the L/D
ratio to have vessel dimensions acceptable
for the mechanical design.
LHV
T
SG
R
ABBREVIATIONS
Lower heating value of fuel, Btu/SCF
Absolute temperature, R
Specific gravity of fuel relative to air
at ISO conditions
Rate of change, %/sec
Volume, m3
Feed flow, m3/s
Time, sec
Number of compartments
Pressure drop, Pa
Riser inlet gas velocity, m/s
Gas velocity through hole, m/s
Gas density, kg/m3
Fanning friction factor
Orifice discharge coefficient
Reynolds number
Length of section of riser pipe, m
Diameter of riser pipe, m
Diameter of vessel, m
LITERATURE CITED
D. W. Green and R. H. Perry, Perrys Chemical
Engineers Handbook, 8th Edition, 2008, McGraw-Hill.
HITESH PANDYA, a senior principal

engineer at Saipem India Projects
Pvt. Ltd, has over 12 years of
experience in the oil and gas
industries in the fields of
engineering design and operation.
He holds a BTech degree in
chemical engineering from Banaras Hindu University.
ANTON MARCO FANTOLINI is
the LNG technology projects
manager at Saipem Corporate.
After graduating with a degree
in chemical engineering, he
gained 18 years of experience
in the oil and gas industry,
along with specific knowledge of LNG plant design.
July 1920, 2016 / PetchemTechForum.com
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TAKING BIO-R&D TO COMMERCIALIZATION

THROUGH PARTNERING
D. SUDOLSKY, J.-P. BURZYNSKI, J.-L. NOCCA, Anellotech, Pearl River NY
Process development in the hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) is not for

the faint-of-heart or the quick fix crowd.
The inherent risks of high investment in
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technical and commercial requirements.
This article discusses a green innovation and technology start-up company,
Anellotech, and how challenges along the
path towards commercialization of its thermal catalytic process for converting nonfood biomass into aromatics (BTX) have
been addressed via the close collaboration
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set a goal of realizing this previously elusive
aspiration of producing bio-BTX by leveraging the innovation of fresh thought and
advanced R&D with decades of industrial
and institutional knowledge and experience with fluidized bed reactors and associated catalyst formulations. The companys founders knew that only a team built
upon, and balanced by, practical learnings
and visionary development could succeed
in taking the fledgling technology from the
lab bench to the competitive world market.
Understanding this, and with the effort
being led by its own internal team with
R&D and industry expertise, the company
has sought out and attracted a coalition
of highly involved and motivated technical, commercial and operational partners.
These partners bring additional expertise
in process development, catalysis, plant operations, commercial licensing and product market applications for the technology.
THE BEGINNING
The path began eight years ago in

the labs of Professor George Huber at
the University of Massachusetts. With a
bench-scale unit and the assistance of his
UMass R&D team, Prof. Huber created
the early basis for what is perhaps the best

chance for the HPI to make the leap from
fossil-driven basic chemicals to bio-based
building blocks for mainstream chemical
intermediates and plastics: the Bio-TCat
Process. This technology became the
foundational asset for the formation of
Anellotech. FIG. 1 illustrates the sequence
from concept through commercialization.
Since that starting point in 2008, the
company significantly advanced the technology in corporate R&D facilities, and
grew its staff to 22. These scientists and
engineers have worked to resolve early development hurdles and to design a proprietary catalyst with a major catalyst development partner, specifically for required
reactor conversions. The next step, howeverand a major oneis the scale-up to
pilot level testing to create a data platform
for the design of a commercial demonstration plant. A fully integrated development
and testing facility will be operational in
2016. This 25-meter-tall unit, jointly designed with a process development partner, will confirm the viability and suitability of the process for scale-up, plus generate
the data needed to design commercial
plants planned for first commercial operations by the end of this decade. This development partner has extensive experience
in scaling up pilot designs to world-scale
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ensure that the development and test unit
is sufficiently instrumented and flexible
enough to capture the required data and
accommodate learnings along the way.
THE PARTNERSHIPS IN BRIEF
Experience shows that one of the keys

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for new technology in the HPI is aggressive partnering to leverage the application
of critical resources at the point of innovation and problem solving. Anellotech has
assembled resources that complement its
own experienced R&D team. These partners are experts in process development,
catalysis, engineering design and licensing,
working in close cooperation with Anellotech to accelerate development and drive

cost-competitiveness. Here is the role of
each partner:
Johnson Matthey (JM) will
co-develop and provide catalysts
for the development program
and will manufacture catalysts
for commercial use.
IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN)
will collaborate with Anellotech
throughout the process development
with a focus on process scale-up and
hydrodynamic studies, including
work at its site in Lyon, France.
Axens will finalize development and
basic plant design and prepare the
technology for commercialization.
Strategic partners in the BTX supply
chain have also invested in the effort. In January, Suntory and Anellotech announced
they have been engaged in an alliance since
2012 to help realize a 100% bio-based
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle.
These alliances provide essential expertise
and market presence to foster the successful commercialization, broad licensing and
servicing of commercial plants.
Just naming the players and describing
their interests and capabilities does not
adequately capture the nature of these relationships. Lets take a closer look at what
truly makes this alliance strong.
WHY THE ALLIANCES ARE WORKING
Catalyst partner. At the heart of the Bio-
TCat Process is a fluidized bed reactor

utilizing a catalyst that must address both
the physical and performance requirements of the process. It was paramount
for Anellotech that it work with a catalyst
supplier committed not only to providing
development and manufacturing capability, but also investing time and resources to
the commercialization effort. JM has supplied all jointly-developed catalysts since
its involvement began in 2014, and JM will
provide catalyst for subsequent develop-
HYDROCARBON PROCESSING|MARCH 2016|NEW IN CATALYSTS
C73
NEW IN CATALYSTS
TABLE 1. Technology alliances

Research and development
Catalyst research
Technology demonstration
Technology licensing
Proprietary products
Technology demonstration
and product development
Process licensing, basic engineering

design and technical services
Proprietary equipment
and catalyst sales
Process development
Technology development
P
pro roduc
duc e
ts
Commercial
De
tes mo an
t si d
te
Pa
cus rtner
tom ing
ers
Sponsors
Fi
inv nanci
est al
ors
Partners
De
tec velo
hno pin
log g
y
Sca
l
of d ing
esi up
gn
Startup
Cre
fou ated
nde by
rs
At
bel tracti
iev ng
ers
Rig
rev orou
iew s
s
U
lab nivers
ora ity
tor
y
Concept
Technology development
FIG. 1. Sequence from concept through commercialization.
ment, demonstration and commercial

units, including the TCat-8 development
unit being installed and commissioned in
Texas later in 2016.
JM has provided technical and project
management personnel at its Savannah
R&D center to work on tailored catalysts, and respond to alternative process
conditions developed by the Anellotech
process engineers. JM is also providing
expertise on catalyst systems; catalyst
characterization; fingerprinting the finished catalyst with physical, chemical and
other special tests; catalyst processing
within the Bio-TCat Process; and catalyst
equilibration. Once the development program is complete, JM will provide manufacturing scale-up and commercial manufacturing capability, plus participate in the
provision of extensive technical services
to licensees as the technology becomes
more widely adopted.
Process partner. Although Anellotech
had considerable process expertise of its

own, there was a need to buttress its basic
knowledge in fluidized bed reaction systems and catalyst regeneration with greater
depth in scale-up and commercial plant
behavior. It needed a process partner with
its own scientists, labs and pilot plants to
magnify the total critical mass dedicated
to the Bio-TCat development effort. Also,
there was a need for a process partner with
a presence in licensing to broad sectors
of the HPI. IFPEN and subsidiary Axens
were an extraordinary fit with this profile.
As the development program unfolded, IFPEN and Anellotech became
an integrated team functioning under an
alliance management committee, along
with a technical committee, for guiding the development effort. IFPEN has
C74
made significant contributions working

alongside Anellotech on process design,
HAZOP studies, control systems, experimental planning and developing chemical analysis methods. This collaboration
will continue while IFPEN also begins
conducting advanced modeling and
cold-flow hydrodynamic studies to support reaction engineering and scale-up.
IFPENs advanced computational modeling capabilities are essential to bringing Anellotechs technology beyond the
bench and to scales appropriate for larger
scale testing and development and, eventually, commercialization.
In total, it took approximately nine
months for IFPEN, Axens and Anellotech to develop their alliance structure
and agree to terms for an initial memorandum of understanding (MoU). IFPEN, Axens and Anellotech intentionally
sought to spend more time on the MoU
to get the full operations development
and licensing teams involved in defining
the objectives and the mechanics of the
alliance, both for near-term development
and for future commercial operations as
a licensing business alliance. Countless
hours were spent exploring the capabilities and resources of both parties, understanding the current state of the technology and what, in very real and practical
terms, would be needed to bring it to
commercialization. During this MoU development period, they also confirmed
the alliances long-term business vision,
which aligned the interests of all three
entities while slowly building a strong
partner working relationship.
Another key ingredient of commercialization success is early and patient
investment by an aligned partner. While
only recently announced, Suntory pro-
NEW IN CATALYSTS|MARCH 2016|HydrocarbonProcessing.com
vided significant funding to Anellotech

from 2012 onward, prior to the initial
discussions between the technical partners, which began in earnest in early
2014. This funding enabled Anellotech
to continue to make significant strides
at its Pearl River R&D facilities while
negotiations with the technology development partners progressed without undue pressure to prematurely finalize the
development alliance. TABLE 1 illustrates
these parallel processes. Suntory valued
and fully supported the deliberate and
detailed approach that these three eventual technical development and commercialization partners were taking, realizing
that the new alliance was also crucial to
achieving the Suntory goals. Suntory, too,
was intensely focused on fostering the
development of a real solution for its primary goal of a 100% bio-based PET bottle. The full and uncompromised alignment of all these partners around making
cost-competitive drop-in bio chemicals
a reality is perhaps the most powerful aspect of their collaboration. This funding
not only sustained the Bio-TCat program
through this alliance-building phase but
also continues today as the parties are
preparing to start up the TCat-8 test unit.
In summary, the Anellotech development and commercialization team is
extraordinarily well aligned to lead the
Bio-TCat Process into the market and
to support the needs of its licensees for
the foreseeable future. Its four partners
(Suntory, JM, IFPEN and Axens) have
specific complementary skills and businesses that ideally fit the expected implementation and growth of this technology
entry into the production of bio-based
core chemicals.
ENABLING ANELLOTECHS
LICENSING VISION VIA STRONG
TECHNICAL PARTNERS
A technology can only be declared a

success if it can survive the test of time in
the field under real market and operating
conditions. Anellotech understood early
on that its best operating model would
need to be based on licensing to compa-
NEW IN CATALYSTS
nies that have the wherewithal to build
and operate plants, utilizing the technology. Thus, it has chosen a complete
technology licensing business model that
supplies not only the intellectual property
under license but that also designs the
commercial plants, supplies proprietary
catalysts and provides ongoing technology improvements, as well as technical
services to its licensees. In addition, the
partners will offer technical services to
licensees to keep the plants updated and
running efficiently over their lifetimes.
To that end, Anellotechs partners were
also selected due to the alignment of their
businesses with Anellotechs long-term
operating and service commitments to its
licensees. In this way, licensed plants will
be fully supported and the technology
continuously enhanced by a coalition of
process, catalysis and operations experts.
It is evident that a key contributor to
the steady and continued progress toward
commercialization of the Bio-TCat Process has been the formation of a team of
capable and complementary partners.
However, a list of impressive names in
an alliance does not guarantee true innovation or real progress. Essential to successful development is the fully invested
thought each partner has made in understanding where the technology stands;
agreeing how it will be introduced to, and
supported in, the marketplace; and what
each collaborator must contribute along
the path from one milestone to another.
The in-place alliance members understood that even a functionally complete
team could benefit immensely from additional partners to critically augment
efforts and accelerate the team toward
its shared goals. Thus, there has been an
ongoing search for additional collaborators to join the commitment. Anellotech
also found that existing alliances often
provide synergies that lower the barriers
of entry for additional interested parties.
For example, the Suntory interest in bioparaxylene creates an excellent opportunity for other entities looking to source
bio-benzene from the overall production
of a plant co-producing both aromatic
chemicals. Also, the mandate of the existing partners that Bio-TCat produce drop-
in aromatic chemical products will attract

the interests of downstream processors
that are interested in obtaining early access to a highly sought feed material, identical to what they already process, but with
renewables sourcing. Another Anellotech
goal is to provide a technology that delivers cost and environmental benefits to refiners with aromatics processing capability or interest in aromatics as high-octane,
non-oxygenated blend stock for gasoline.
Anellotech has benefitted immensely
from its highly functional alliances. Its
core collaboration strategy has enabled
this startup to truly establish a path,
whereby, the efforts inside its own organization can be effectively and reliably leveraged to bring its technology to
commercial-scale operation. Rather than
solely filling discrete gaps, truly effective
alliances should provide a continuum of
capabilities required for success where
the collective team of partners operates
seamlessly to reach its goals. Together,
Anellotech and its partners have entered
the race to develop a cost-competitive,
drop-in bio-BTX.
IT ALL STARTS WITH API STANDARDS.
No matter where you go around the world, the oil and natural gas industry relies on API Global Standards
to meet the highest level of safety. Show the world your commitment to safety. Start with API.
2016 API Spring Refining and Equipment Standards Meeting

May 16-19, 2016 | Hyatt Regency Chicago | Chicago, Illinois
Register at www.api.org/meetings
Its times like these you need people like us.

2016 American Petroleum Institute, all rights reserved. API and the API logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of API in the United States and/or other countries.
2016SpringRefiningAd_HydrocarbonProcessing.indd 1
2/17/16 2:51 PM
C75
Global leader in
hydroprocessing
catalysts offering
the complete
range of catalysts
and services
Advanced Refining Technologies

7500 Grace Drive
Columbia, MD 21044 USA
+1.410.531.4000
www.artcatalysts.com
ADVANCED REFINING TECHNOLOGIES
THE LEADER IN HYDROPROCESSING

Chevron and Grace joined together in 2001 to form Advanced
Refining Technologies (ART), with goals based on the values of our
parents: technology expertise, world-class research and development,
global manufacturing footprint, and a complete portfolio of hydroprocessing catalysts designed to meet the challenges of todays refiners.
ART combines Graces material science, manufacturing, marketing and
sales strength with Chevrons extensive experience operating its own
refineries and leadership in technology, design and process licensing.
Starting from a strong base of resid hydrotreating catalysts for
Chevron Lummus Global (CLG)-designed units, ARTs portfolio also
included ebullating bed resid hydrocracking and distillate hydrotreating
catalysts. The joint venture acquired the Orient Catalyst Companys
hydroprocessing technologies and the HOP catalyst product line, and
has become the largest shareholder in Kuwait Catalyst Company. ART
resid and distillate hydrotreating catalysts are now used in both CLG
licensed/designed units as well as units designed by other licensors.
Early in 2013 ART fulfilled its vision of offering a complete portfolio of hydroprocessing catalysts when it signed an agreement with
CLG giving ART the exclusive right to sell CLGs hydrocracking and
lubes hydroprocessing catalysts to both CLGs licensees and any other
refiners for existing unit refills, regardless of design or licensor. The
agreement streamlines hydroprocessing catalyst supply and improves
technical service for refining customers by establishing ART as the
single point of contact for all their hydroprocessing catalyst needs.
CLGs depth of technical expertise remains available for the refiner
who requires process technology and design services.
ART PROVIDES CONTINUOUS CATALYST INNOVATION

AND CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS
Keeping in step with the ever increasing demand for refiners to
produce cleaner and higher quality products, ART continues a strong
R&D program to develop cutting edge catalysts. Recent new product
launches in the hydrocracking pretreat segment include ICR 513 and
ICR 1000 for high HDN activity and improved aromatics saturation.
ART also recently introduced several hydrocracking catalysts to meet
refiners complex needs: ICR 257 noble metal catalyst for naphtha-jet,
ICR 214 and ICR 215 for naphtha-jet, ICR 188 for maximum distillate,
and ICR 191 which was designed to provide premium performance
for distillate or naphtha-jet production. These new catalysts were developed working together with refiners around the world to meet todays
challenging feeds and operating severities all while achieving long,
stable operating cycles.
ART continues to innovate in the resid segment. ICR 192 is an
advanced high activity catalyst with outstanding activity for removal
of MCR, sulfur and nitrogen from heavy feedstocks. Its tolerance for
metal deposition gives it excellent performance throughout the entire
run length when used as the final catalyst in an RDS catalyst system.
For ebullating bed resid hydrocracking units, ART recently introduced
several technology platforms that can be used in dual catalyst systems
to help refiners achieve optimum profitability. The HCRC platform
combined with the HSLS platform in a dual catalyst system allows
refiners to attain high resid conversion activity at identical operating
conditions while achieving good sediment control. The increased resid
conversion, combined with higher contaminant removal, gives higher
SPONSORED CONTENT
yields of better quality products and allows for options to maximize

conversion at constant operating temperature.
For distillate hydrotreating, ART recently introduced 486DX, a high
activity CoMo catalyst designed for maximum HDS activity in FCC
pretreat service. It can be used in combination with the appropriate ART
NiMo catalyst in an ApART Catalyst System or as a standalone catalyst
in lower pressure applications. It is very effective treating a variety of
feedstocks including vacuum gas oils, heavy coker gas oils and blendstocks with similar boiling ranges. ARTs SmART Catalyst System for
ultra low sulfur diesel production continues to evolve with the successful
introduction of 545DX for higher HDS and aromatics saturation activity
over previous generations of NiMo catalysts. For lower pressure applications, a SmART system using 425DX offers higher HDS activity and
better stability compared to previous generations of CoMo catalysts.
In addition, ART continues to upgrade its plants to produce these
new catalysts and future ones that are currently under development.
These products are being designed to help refiners meet the challenges
of the expected growth in demand for diesel and other low-sulfur fuels,
while continuing to further upgrade the bottom of the barrel.
CONTACT INFORMATION
7500 Grace Drive
Columbia, MD 21044 USA
(410) 5314000
www.artcatalysts.com
C77
www.cat-tech.com
SMARTER
MAKING YOUR
PLANT WORK...
Cat Tech is at the forefront of new technologies.
After years of research we are now unloading
and loading catalysts from petroleum processing
units faster, safer and more economically
than ever before. And we continue to create
specialised equipment and processes to help
you stay on schedule and increase productivity.
We thrive on exceeding our clients expectations
and
understand
the
need
for
upfront
communication in relation to timescales and

costs. No-one likes surprises in this industry and
we ensure that everything is done, from pre-job
CATNAP DELIVERS FASTER, SAFER CATALYST CHANGEOUT

CATnap is a dust-fee catalyst changeout process
that should save you over 24 hours in your initial
reactor shutdown timeline. Its also a safer process
(non-inert entry) that reduces the hazards of
handling, transporting and storing passivated
catalyst. And CATnap renders the catalyst nonpyrophoric to prevent self-heating, so your reactor
is back up and producing much sooner improving
the units time value.
CATCADE SIMPLIFIES AND IMPROVES REFORMER TUBE LOADING

CATcade loading services uses Cat Techs innovative technology to improve and simplify dense loading
of primary reformers in hydrogen, methanol and ammonia plants. Designed in 3-D and employing nonmetallic fatigue and abrasion-resistant materials CATcade eliminates the need for equipment maintenance
during a job, delivering a fault-tolerant procedure thats easy for workers to sustain throughout long shifts.
planning, on site activities to post job reporting

in a manner which allows our customers to
DENSE BED LOADING
concentrate on their core businesses. We are
Cat Tech offers a selection of exclusive dense bed loading technologies such as Cat Techs own
proud of our reputation as World Leaders in
TURBOcat Dense Loader and the JE Dense Loader. Both systems offer differing loading technologies
to suit varying customers requirements but both will enhance your dense bed loading activities with
improved loading rates and bed levelness.
Catalyst Handling, so let us show you what we

can do.
At Cat Tech, we continue to
create new ways to make catalyst
changeouts safer, faster and more
productive. And that can make
very good things happen for your
business. Contact us for further
information.
Phone: +44 (0) 1724 871747

Fax: + 44 (0) 1724 861928
Our well established sales team have

a wealth of experience. We take pride
on ensuring all enquires are dealt with
quickly and efficiently.
Bulgaria: Cat Tech Services (South

Eastern Europe) Ltd.,
Str.Asen Zlatarov 6
Varna , 9000, Bulgaria
UK: Cat Tech (Europe) Ltd.,

1 South Park Road,
South Park Industrial Estate,
Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire,
DN17 2BY UK
Phone: +(35) 9527 46770

Phone: +(35) 9886 799271
China: Cat Tech Services (Shanghai) Ltd.,

Room 1230 No.1, 58 Nong Huachi Road,
Putuo District,
Shanghai 20061 CN
Phone: +(86) 2152 9175 08
Fax: +(86) 2152 9175 05
Thailand: Cat Tech Services (Thailand)

Ltd., 2/1 Soi Banbon Nuenpayom Road,
Maptaphut Sub District, Muang Rayong
District, Rayong Province 21150 TH
Phone: +(66) 894 064 100
Fax: +(66) 638 692 382
Singapore: Cat Tech Asia Pacific Pte.

Ltd., 17 Fan Yoong Road,
Singapore 629794
South Africa: Cat Tech SA.,

19 Seepraal Complex,
Mimosa Road, Jeffreysbay,
Eastern CapeSouth Africa
Phone: +(65) 6264 6261

Fax: +(65) 6264 6401
Phone: +27(42) 9400091

Fax: +27 609131413
Chile: +56 994 512 785
Venezuela: Please contact the UK

office on +44 (0) 1724 871747
CAT TECH INTERNATIONAL
WORLDWIDE SPECIALISTS IN CATALYST

HANDLING AND TOWER FIELD SERVICES
CATALYST HANDLING SERVICES
Cat Tech has over forty years experience working in the catalyst
industry. We remove and replace catalyst from process vessels within
the refining, chemical and petrochemical industries. Our trained professionals, based throughout our worldwide network, are focussed on safety
and our customers goals, utilise equipment and processes to do the job
right, anywhere, any time.
We have been recognised as a worldwide leader in Catalyst Handling. We are proud to serve many organizations throughout the world
through our network of offices, we are constantly developing innovative
technologies to improve the quality of our service and developed unique
technologies that eventually become the norm for our industry such as air
lance unloading, CATcade and CATcap tubular loading, combined automated Delta Pressure Measuring and dust removal equipment for all types
of tubular process vessels, technologies to eliminate inert entry, life support
systems for IDLH atmospheres, robotic catalyst removal, CATnap catalyst
passivation, superior quality dense loading technology, catalyst de-dusting,
for fixed bed process reactors and unique insitu, heat exchanger cleaning
and tank sludge removal with no waste water or chemicals to treat.
Exceeding customer expectations is what we always aim to do and
we are proud to constantly surprise our clients as to the lengths we go too
in order to achieve the desired results. We have found over the years that
it is often just down to the sheer hard work and with our highly trained
and skilled teams and our Cat Tech patented Technologies we have a
solution for every problem.
We provide specialised turnkey catalyst handling solutions for every
reactor type and configuration to deliver results for any facility, large or
small, and we can combine a variety of specific solutions in addition to
the services we provide such as Catalyst De-dusting, Inert Entry Inspection
Repair and Maintenance, Catalyst Pre-sulphiding, Insitu Heat exchanger
cleaning, and Tank Sludge Cleaning (without the need to open exchangers and no waste water or chemicals to treat or dispose of, Grit Blasting,
Reactor Cooling, Closed Loop Nitrogen Cooling and Recirculation
Vacuum Systems, Vacuum Services, IDLH Confined Space Entry, Video
Inspection, Multi Man Life Support Systems with Video Surveillance and
Direct Communication, catalyst storage containers, catalyst screening/
segregation, transportation, disposal, and metals reclamation, into one
project managed by professionals who specialise in catalyst handling.
Using our network of resources and experience we will streamline the
catalyst handling process with a total catalyst management service providing maximum value to our customers.
Service industry over the years, Cat Tech Tower Field Services has the
unique distinction of being an independent Tower specialty contractor
with global capability and resources. This flexibility allows us to mobilise
quickly, respond effectively and carry out our customers requirements with
distinction and high levels of professionalism. We work hard to maintain
an industry reputation for speed and dependability. Our crews have
been trained by us, many of whom are cross trained in both reactor and
tower work. As such this allows us to staff a project with the proven skills
necessary to produce customer satisfaction.
It is our intention to demonstrate the benefit of utilizing Cat Tech for all
of your tower work. These benefits are summarized below:
An experienced specialty tower contractor, beginning operations
in 2010 but having personnel with a depth of knowledge
rivalling our competitors. Management, supervision and crews
knowledgeable about all tray fabricators equipment, as we
are an independent contractor not tied to a specific licensor or
manufacturer. Average management experience is 30+ years;
average supervision experience is in excess of 20 years.
Proven track record for productivity, safety and quality.
Willingness by Cat Tech to designate an individual to your
facility, to act as a resource for all tower related work scope
issues, budget estimates, work scope durations, etc.
Associate companies to furnish all tray fabricators specialty
hardware on site offering several options to you our customer
for an onsite hardware trailer that will respond immediately
to your request for missing tray hardware.
Turnkey Tower Field ServiceNew Tray Installation Service, Blind,
Open, Clean, Repair, Close and Head-up Service, Revamp or Modification to Trays, Turnkey Tower Optimization Projects, Emergency Provision
of Tower Internals, Complete Mechanical Warranty, Technical Advisory
ServicesTower & Vessel Inspection Field Service, Detailed Inspection
Reports, Turnkey Reactor Tray Field Service.
For more information on our range of services, please visit www.cattech.com to contact your nearest Cat Tech office, our team is ready to assist.
Cat TechOur Technology & ExperienceYour Success
TOWER FIELD SERVICES

Our tower tray, packing and other internals installation service has
deep roots, with several of the senior team at Cat Tech being involved
in the founding of the Cana-Tex organization. Since 1971, Cana-Tex
had been the premier global tower specialty contractor performing
tower maintenance and plant turnaround projects around the world.
These origins of successful experience now makes Cat Tech Tower Field
Services a global organization which is both cost efficient and technically experienced. Observing all of the consolidation within the Tower
SPONSORED CONTENT
CONTACT INFORMATION
Cat Tech (Europe) Ltd
1 South Park Road, Scunthorpe, United Kingdom, DN17 2BY
P: +44 (0) 1724 871 747
F: +44 (0) 1724 861 928
sales@cat-tech.com
www.Cat-Tech.com
C79
choose
wisely.
At CRI, we provide catalyst and process solutions tailored for the
petrochemical and refining industry. Our technology is an integral part in
helping achieve success in a customer's application. Our strengths in R&D,
catalyst manufacturing and technical service allow CRI to progress quickly
from lab scale to production to customer results. We pride ourselves on
developing lasting relationships with our customers through collaboration
and successful implementation of catalytic solutions.
It is all part of our commitment to delivering innovation.
cricatalyst.com
CRI CATALYST COMPANY
CRI CATALYST COMPANYYOUR PARTNER

FOR OPTIMAL CATALYST SOLUTIONS
In an environment with stricter specifications, higher selectivity requirements and challenging economic demands, how can CRI partner with
you to deliver higher value?
CRI Hydrogenation and Specialty Catalysts, formerly KataLeuna, is a
division of CRI which develops and markets hydrogenation and specialty
catalysts. With more than 90 years of catalyst development and manufacturing capability in Leuna, Germany, CRI has a wealth of experience
in developing and delivering valuable catalyst solutions to the industry.
By listening to our customers and partnering with them, CRI has
combined the knowledge of its deeply experienced staff, state-of-the
art testing facilities and world class manufacturing facilities to develop
solutions for the customers selective and full hydrogenation needs. The
solutions provided include high performance catalyst products designed
to address our customers specific concerns, such as stability, activity,
selectivity, robustness towards operational swings, pressure drop and/or
cycle length. In addition, specific tools such as detailed kinetic modeling
enable CRI to quickly assess customers hydrogenation challenges, and
provide optimal solutions.
SELECTIVE HYDROGENATION CATALYSTS

CRI offers catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of acetylene, for
both front-end and tail-end applications. In front-end applications, CRI
acetylene hydrogenation catalysts have proven performance in numerous
process designs, including C2 minus, C3 minus, and Raw Gas, in both
adiabatic and isothermal reaction systems. The catalysts are characterized
by exceptional stability in terms of both selectivity and activity.
For C3 streams, CRI offers a portfolio of catalysts for the removal of
methyl acetylene and propylene diene (MAPD) for both gas and liquid
phase applications.
For selective hydrogenation (and isomerization) of C4s in alkylation
pretreat streams, the portfolio uniquely includes both palladium and nickel
catalyst products for this application. Again, CRI has proven commercial
experience for all the various reaction systems designs, including up-flow,
down-flow, liquid and gas phase.
For the hydrogenation of Pyrolysis Gasoline (Pygas) streams, CRI
combines its catalyst knowledge and expertise with operating experience
(from Shell in-house Pygas units), process design experience (from Shell
Global Solutions licensing division) and world-class modeling abilities to
become a recognized leader in providing Pygas solutions. A full portfolio
of 1st and 2nd stage Pygas catalysts are available to address typical
challenges in Pygas unit operations, such as balancing 1st and 2nd stage
reactions, pressure drop mitigation, activity optimization, and minimization
of aromatic saturation.
FULL HYDROGENATION CATALYSTS

A portfolio of catalysts is available for the full hydrogenation of hydrocarbon streams. These catalysts are designed to have high poison tolerance while minimizing the potential for any side cracking reactions. Applications served include C4/C5 streams, benzene saturation and aromatic
hydrogenation in light oils to heavy solvents. A full array of catalysts is available, giving customers options for treating a wide range of feed streams.
SPONSORED CONTENT
SPECIALIZED HYDROGENATION CATALYSTS

CRI offers a wide range of specialized hydrogenation catalysts for use
in specific chemical applications, including phenol hydrogenation, alcohol
polishing, nitriles to their corresponding amines, poly-alpha olefins and
phenyl acetylene to styrene.
PARTNERS
CRI brings decades of catalyst experience to its customers with standard or specialized needs. Together with our global technical support
group, we look forward to work with our customers, providing tailored
solutions, application knowledge, operational and start-up assistance,
routine performance monitoring, and/or additional technical services as
needed to help get the most out of the customers application.
At CRI, by Delivering Innovation, we are committed to improving your
processes. Contact us today to discuss your specific needs.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Kaspar Vogt, CRI Catalyst Company
+1 (713) 241-1877
Kaspar.Vogt@cri-criterion.com
www.cricatalyst.com
C81
Next generation Arsenic protection &

new MaxTrap capabilities
Criterions highest activity catalysts for

maximum volume expansion & sulfur/
nitrogen removal DN-3636 & DC-2635
Extreme stability with improved

activity for DN-3552,
DN-3532 & DC-2535
CRITERION PORTFOLIO
SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS

Innovative, exceptional and thorough. These are a few descriptors for the Criterion
Catalyst Portfolio that has been robust for years and continues to evolve. The primary
catalyst groups of SENTRYTM, CENTERATM and ASCENTTM work to solve countless
hydroprocessing issues. Weve come to be known for the superior R&D and pilot testing
performed by our scientists and technical services team, and our newest products and
capabilities have arrived!
Criterions solutions improve refining efficiency and cut costs. We pride ourselves on
extended customer service and collaboration to build solutions because performance
matters. The top scientists, solutions and service lead to the highest quality performance
in the industry.
Leading minds. Advanced technologies.
www.CRITERIONCatalysts.com
CRITERION
CENTERA SOLUTIONS
EVOLUTIONS OF CUSTOM PERFORMANCE
CENTERA DN-3636 NIMO
HEAVY FEED CENTERA THRIVES
With a continued trend and long-term forecast of strengthening

distillate margins many refiners look to ways of maximizing their facilities
ULSD production. The ability to upgrade incremental low value highendpoint and cracked stocks into the ULSD pool provides a large and
immediate benefit to facility margins. The capability to perform this
product upgrade ensures that the economic gains are not countered
by reduced run lengths and the associated maintenance expenses. The
ability to custom design a catalyst system that fits within existing facility
operational goals and constraints opens the door to long-term success.
The improved performance benefits of DN-3636 have also been

utilized in stacked catalyst systems to enhance the performance of CoMo
ULSD catalysts. This type of system has been used extensively as a means
to increase catalyst system activity while managing H2 consumption. The
data in FIG. 3 shows the performance benefits from DN-3636 in these
systems when processing an SRGO/LCO (80/20 vol/vol) feed blend
at 520750 psig.
Incorporating DN-3636 in a DC-2635/NiMo catalyst system
increases catalyst system ULSD RVA by an additional 1520% over a
DN-3630 option. In this example, the DN-3636/DC-2635 system offers
a 2025% RVA increase over a DN-3630/DC-2618 system that will be
valuable for increasing LCO thoughput while maintaining catalyst cycle
length. Even at low operating pressures, DN-3636 offers substantial
performance benefits over DN-3630. This data also illustrates the performance advantages of Criterions newest CoMo catalyst: DC-2635.
DN-3636 is the latest generation of NiMo ULSD catalysts. It offers
improved performance over a wide range of operating conditions and
is a valuable tool for refiners to optimize their ULSD unit operations and
maximize their profits.
Development and advances in catalyst technology continue to follow

the significant R&D efforts employed in response to global clean fuels
initiatives. CENTERA catalysts provide step-out activity and stability
improvements over previous generations of Type II catalysts. The red dot
signifies the latest generation available today (FIG. 1).
Refiners strong performance gains provided by the original
CENTERA technology platform continue to unlock process unit
capabilities. The latest generation CENTERA technology catalyst,
DN-3636 NiMo, further opens the door to enhanced operations.
CENTERA DN-3636 combines the commercially-demonstrated
product with upgraded capability as demonstrated in the CENTERA
line, along with the stability features demonstrated by our ASCENT
line. DN-3636 is an industry-proven NiMo distillate catalyst, with further
improvements in CENTERA active site architecture allowing for step-out
hydrodesulfurization (HDS), hydrodenitrogenation (HDN), and aromatics
saturation (ASAT) performance unmatched in the industry.
The higher activity of DN-3636 can facilitate processing of heavy,
high nitrogen feeds without a negative impact on unit operation. The
performance benefits possible with DN-3636 in NiMo ULSD service
when processing a heavy SRGO feed are shown in FIG. 2.
In this case, DN-3636 provides an additional ~ 15% activity
which can be utilized to process heavier feeds, extend cycle length, on
increase unit throughput.
800
600
Increased cycle length
Benefit 2
Increased feed severity

Lower cost feed slate
Benefit 3
Increased volume swell

Lower hydrogen consumption
Benefit 4
Cetane improvement
Benefit 5
Margin improvement
Increased value across unit
520 psi (36 bar)

750 psi (52 bar)
ULSD HDS RVA
500
Feed 1
Feed 2
Feed 3
DN-3630
DN-3636
Benefit 1
FIG. 2.
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
700
RVA %
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
ULSD HDS RVA
EVOLUTION OF HYDROTREATING CATALYST
400
300
200
100
1980
1985
FIG. 1.
SPONSORED CONTENT
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
DC-2618/DN-3630/
DC-2618
DC-2635/DN-3630/
DC-2635
DC-2635/DN-3636/
DC-2635
DC-2635
FIG. 3.
C83
In todays refining environment,

you need to be ready
for anything.
The new ACHIEVE series of FCC
catalysts from Grace hands you the
versatility and functionality you need for
todays dynamic refining environment.
Select the ACHIEVE advantage thats
right for your feeds, your process, and
your business requirements.
ACHIEVE 100
High activity for light feedstocks
ACHIEVE 200
Get all the tools you need.
ACHIEVE 300
Visit grace.com/achieve to learn more about

how we can tailor a formulation to meet your
most challenging requirements.
Coke-selective bottoms conversion
Propylene selectivity
ACHIEVE 400
Octane and butylene selectivity
ACHIEVE 800
Maximum metals tolerance and

resid conversion
Grace and ACHIEVE are registered trademarks of W. R. Grace & Co.

TALENT TECHNOLOGY TRUST is a trademark of W. R. Grace & Co. 2016 W. R. Grace & Co.
GRACE CATALYSTS TECHNOLOGIES
BUILT ON TALENT, TECHNOLOGY AND TRUST

Grace Catalysts Technologies is the global leader in developing
and manufacturing process catalysts and related technologies used in
refining, petrochemical and other chemical manufacturing applications.
Refining Technologies, Specialty Catalysts and the Advanced Refining
Technologies joint venture are managed in this segment, as is the
UNIPOL Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business.
INNOVATIVE REFINING CATALYSTS AND ADDITIVES

FROM THE INDUSTRYS BROADEST PORTFOLIO
The FCC, or fluid catalytic cracking, unit is one of the principle
conversion units in a refinery. Grace offers a broad portfolio of state-ofthe-art catalyst solutions to meet refiners needs and remains dedicated
to helping our customers achieve success. We help refineries stay
competitive in various ways, such as maximizing the yield of the most
valuable products, selecting the optimal catalyst for the refinery crude
slate, and continually advancing product innovation.
A key component of how we ensure our customers success is the
industry-leading technical service that Grace has been providing to the
refining industry since 1947. Our highly specialized engineers support
our customers with application and operations expertise, start-up and
optimization assistance, and industry benchmarking. Sophisticated
R&D facilities and high-throughput testing labs help Graces team
understand catalytic and feed impacts before they occur in the refinery.
Earlier identification of the impact allows time to optimize the operating
parameters and catalyst management strategies, enabling a more
stable and profitable operation. Grace developed the ACHIEVE FCC
catalyst technology specifically to meet the challenges of opportunity
feeds. Grace has launched an entire series of ACHIEVE catalysts
(100, 200, 300, 400, 800) each designed to maximize the value
from the FCC within a given set of refinery constraints. As refiners
adjust their operating conditions, feed stocks, and yield objectives,
Graces newest FCC catalytic solutions will help them maximize profit
and manage the uncertainties, especially those presented by increased
opportunity crude processing.
Our experience, backed by manufacturing excellence, has made
Grace the worlds leading supplier of FCC catalyst and additives,
with manufacturing locations on three continents and sales in over
60 countries.
Graces current portfolio of FCC additives allows refiners to reduce
SOX, NOX, and CO emissions from their FCC units, as well as lower
sulfur content in gasoline. Super DESOX and Super DESOX OCI
provide refiners with the most cost-effective solutions to minimize SOx
emissions from their FCC units. Graces patented GSR gasoline sulfur
reduction catalysts and additives and related technologies create a
variety of opportunities and options for refiners to drive profitability
during routine maintenance and unit upsets, while maintaining
regulatory compliance. Refiners around the world have demonstrated
that use of GSR catalysts and additives is a cost-effective component of
their clean fuels strategy to meet 10 ppmw gasoline sulfur specifications.
The portfolio also includes ZSM-5 additives, OlefinsMax ,
OlefinsUltra, OlefinsUltraHZ, and OlefinsUltra MZ. These products
SPONSORED CONTENT
provide increasing levels of activity for LPG olefin maximization, and

are the industry leaders preferred products for FCC units focused on
maximizing propylene yield.
CATALYSTS FOR POLYOLEFIN PRODUCTION

AND MARKET LEADING PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
Grace provides catalyst systems and supports for polyethylene and
polypropylene process technologies. Grace has a unique position
as the only company currently supplying a complete portfolio of
polyolefin catalyst systems including, silica and magnesium based
support systems, metallocene components, key raw materials and
intermediates, and finished Chromium, Ziegler Natta and SSC
catalysts for essentially all polypropylene and polyethylene process
platforms and applications.
For more than 50 years, Grace has been a leading producer
of polyolefin cata lysts and additive systems. Our heritage is in
polyethylene catalysts, but through a series of acquisitions, partnerships
and new investments, we have rapidly expanded in the polypropylene
catalyst sector. In December 2013, Grace acquired UNIPOL PP,
a proprietary gas phase polypropylene process technology for the
production of a broad range of polypropylene products. Our UNIPOL
PP licensing and catalyst business also includes UNIPOL UNIPPAC
Advanced Process Control software.
CONTACT INFORMATION
7500 Grace Drive, Columbia, MD 21044, USA
+1 (410) 531-4000
catalysts@grace.com
www.grace.com
C85
TK-569 HyBRIM and TK-565 HyBRIM
Want to be part
of the ULSG
generation?
Changes in environmental regulations are accelerating
the transportation fuel demand towards production of
ultra-low sulfur diesel and gasoline, requiring refiners
to rethink their production processes.
Topsoes new HyBRIM catalysts have superior
activities allowing for more rigorous FCC
pretreatment, while improving operational
performance and product yield structure.
Get introduced to our new catalysts
at topsoe.com
topsoe.com
HALDOR TOPSOE
DRIVING OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE

WORLDWIDE
KEEPING LEADING COMPANIES IN THE LEAD
BUILDING HYDROCRACKING CAPABILITIES
Topsoe is a leading catalyst supplier and technology licenser that fuels

performance and, ultimately, bottom line profitability for our customers
worldwide. During the past 75 years, we have served the worlds top oil
refineries, chemical plants, and environmental and energy companies.
Our advanced solutions and services have helped customers operate
efficiently and safely while increasing revenues and reducing costs.
Topsoe isnt just a trusted catalyst and technology supplier for

hydrocracking processes; we are also a single point of responsibility
partner that takes our customers business seriously. For refiners requiring
high conversion, we offer single-stage, separate hydrotreating and twostage hydrocracking process solutions, including our heavy polynuclear
aromatic management solution; HPNA TrimTM to reduce unconverted oil
purge rates and achieve true full conversion (> 99%).
Since 2001, over 80 loads of hydrocracking catalysts have been
deployed in more than 45 hydrocracking units, including the three largest,
around the world. Many of these customers have chosen to stay with our
catalysts for subsequent reloads after initial switching.
COMPREHENSIVE CAPABILITIES WITHIN REFINING

Thanks to our experience, Topsoe understands what matters most:
keeping key processing units running optimally. Customers benefit from
our integrated solutions, which include reactor internals, grading material,
catalysts, process design, and engineering services that do exactly that
with a single point of responsibility.
We back our solutions with research and diagnostic tools to optimize
each customers operations. With one of the broadest catalyst portfolios
available, as well as solutions tailored for revamps and grassroots units,
we can deliver the right solutionno matter what the challenge.
Developing new and improved products to keep pace with changing
customer needs is made possible by our fundamental understanding of
catalyst behavior at the nanoscale.
FRONTRUNNERS IN HYDROTREATING
Topsoe works across the entire spectrum of hydrotreatingfrom
naphtha to heavy residue. More than 150 hydrotreating units have
been licensed by Topsoe, and we have more than 220 current diesel
hydrotreating catalyst references. 80% of these are for the production of
ultra-low sulfur diesel with less than 10 wt ppm sulfur. 40% of the worlds
low sulfur diesel is produced with Topsoe catalysts.
FUELING SUSTAINABILITY
The conversion of biomass and waste materials feedstocks into drop-in
ultra-low sulfur diesel and A1 jet fuel has become increasingly important
due to regulatory and environmental challenges. These factors, as well
as Topsoes commitment to sustainability, inspired Topsoe to develop
HydroFlex catalyst and technology solutions. HydroFlex provides full
feedstock flexibility, so now refineries can reliably produce clean fuels
from a wide range of feeds with confidence. They can be deployed either
as stand-alone units or for co-processing with fossil feedstocks. Topsoes
HydroFlex solutions for renewable fuel production have been in operation for several years in over 20 units.
SPONSORED CONTENT
BEYOND HYDROPROCESSING
Topsoe serves related industries as well, offering solutions for hydrogen
supply, sulfur management, and NOx emissions. Topsoe offers high performance hydrogen catalysts and plants for capacities ranging from 5,000 to
more than 200,000 Nm3/h hydrogen with focus on low energy consumption. Our WSA and SNOX technologies remove sulfur and NOx from
flue gases, recover the SOx as concentrated sulfuric acid and reduce the
NOx to free nitrogen. Topsoes SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) DeNOx
process is the most efficient process you can find for removing NOx from
gases and has been adopted by many industries for treating off-gases.
WITH KNOWLEDGE COMES PROFIT

Getting the most out of high-value refinery processes depends on
operational performance. Topsoe brings the insights and proven catalysts
and technologies that refineries need to run reliably and profitably. Bring
us your biggest challenges. We are here to help you meet the evolving
demands of our industry.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Haldor Topsoe A/S (HQ)
Haldor Topses All 1
DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Phone +45 45 27 20 00
topsoe@topsoe.dk
www.topsoe.com
C87
Highest possible
return values for spent
PGM bearing catalysts
including rhenium
On-site kilning
eliminates
trans-shipping costs,
speeds processing
In-house settlement
and metals
management options
to meet your liquidity
and metals transfer
needs
World class
continuous
sampling system
helps provide
maximum returns
SA-BIN secure
containers store spent
PGM bearing catalysts
for fast and hassle-free
shipping directly to our
refining facilities
Green initiatives help

protect our
environment
and your financial
interestsfor peace of
mind
Sabin's One Stop recovery

and refining services
Security, accuracy, convenience, and speed
Sabin's all inclusive one stop recovery and refining services eliminate the need to send
your spent PGM bearing catalysts to multiple sources. We handle everything with one
stop. Stop by our website today and discover the Sabin difference: sabinmetal.com
SABIN METAL CORP.
PRECIOUS METALS RECOVERY AND

REFINING FOR GLOBAL INDUSTRY
The Sabin Metal Group of Companies, headquartered in East
Hampton, New York, marked its 70th anniversary in 2015. The company is composed of five independent organizations including Sabin
Metal Corp., Scottsville, New York, considered the most sophisticated
facility of its kind for safely processing precious metal-bearing materials;
Sabin Metal West, a specially equipped facility for sampling large lots
of precious metal-bearing spent hydrocarbon processing catalysts. This
refinery employs dual electric arc furnace (EAF) technology which helps
maximize recovery of precious metals, and also incorporates a unique
low dust continuous sampling system for accurate sample derivation
and total environmental safety and compliance.
Sabin Metal Europe B.V., based in Rotterdam, and Sabin Metal
Corp. (DMCC branch) based in Dubai, UAE are technical service divisions working with hydrocarbon, chemical, petrochemical, and nitric
acid processors in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, to recover and
refine precious metals from spent catalysts and nitric acid production
equipment and facilities.
Sabin International Logistics Corp. (SILC), is a licensed hazardous
waste, hazardous materials, and general commodities transporter
providing global transportation and logistics for spent precious metalbearing catalysts and other materials. The company operates its own
fleet of trucks, and is also a Permitted and Licensed Freight Broker.
SILCs SA-BIN secure storage/shipping containers represent a unique
method for quickly, conveniently, and safely storing and transporting
spent precious metals-bearing catalyst materials from Sabins customers
to its processing facilities.
SMC (Canada) Ltd., the McAlpine Mill in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada,
offers capabilities and processing technologies to extract highest pos-
SPONSORED CONTENT
sible metal values from residual materials generated in refining, smelting, and milling operations.
The Sabin Metal group of companies is the largest domestically
owned, independent precious metals refining organization in North
America. The companys recovery/refining facilities and sales/service
offices are located in strategic countries around the world. Sabins gold,
silver, platinum, and palladium are accepted on NYMEX/COMEX
(Chicago Mercantile Exchange); Sabins platinum and palladium are
also accepted for delivery on the London/Zurich market by the London
Platinum and Palladium market (LPPM). The organization is now entering its eighth decade of working with a worldwide customer base by
providing added value services along with the peace of mind that comes
from working with an environmentally responsible precious metals refiner.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Bradford M. Cook
(832) 707-1338
bcook@sabinmetal.com
sabinmetal.com
C89
www.ConstructionBoxscore.com
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Hydrocarbon Processings Construction Boxscore Database,
the most reliable source to track active construction projects in the refining, petrochemical, gas processing,
LNG and solids industries throughout the world, now reaches further and is more powerful than ever before!
Welcome to the NEW

ase
Construction Boxscore Datab
Project details on thousands of active projects and global

construction contracts, including contact information for
key personnel
Advanced search that filters the listings by project type,
scope, region, investment and more
Daily updates for new and newly updated projects
The weekly Boxscore Update e-newsletter with new listings
and trends analysis
For more information, contact:

Norman Adams at Norman.Adams@GulfPub.com
or +1 (713) 525-4626
JNette Davis-Nichols at Jnette.Davis-Nichols@GulfPub.com
or +1 (713) 520-4426
AXENS
OPTIMIZE YOUR PERFORMANCE WITH

AXENS CATALYST TECHNOLOGY
Axens is recognized as a worldwide technology benchmark for clean
fuels production, conversion solutions, aromatics and olefins production
and purification. The combination of the technology and services with
the catalyst and adsorbent manufacturing and supply business constitutes
an efficient structure that handles market needs as a single source.
Currently, Axens offers a complete product range of hydrotreating
and hydroconversion catalysts for naphtha, gas oil, vacuum gas oil and
residue applications and continues to launch new catalysts to meet high
conversion and mild hydrocracking objectives and to produce ultra-low
sulfur diesel (ULSD) while maximizing refinery profits.
IMPULSE CATALYST TECHNOLOGY

With the worldwide
tightening of fuel specifications and increased
demand for middle distillates, hydrotreating
catalyst technology
has become crucial to
the refining industr y.
As a consequence, Axens has launched a new catalyst technology
called Impulse. Impulse is a complete, high performance family of
hydrotreating catalysts which combine stability with high levels of activity.
Impulse catalysts allow for even more difficult feedstock to be processed
without cycle penalty. They feature higher flexibility, maximum throughput with higher end boiling point and longer cycles. Impulse achieves
increased activity by maximizing the amount of the catalytically most
active mixed Mo (Ni)/Co sites. The superior performances obtained have
led customers, including many majors, to award Axens with repeat orders.
HRK, HDK AND HYK SERIES HYDROCRACKING

CATALYSTS
Axens hydrocracking solution
upgrades a wide range of heavy feedstock to produce the desired slate of
products while meeting ultimate quality targets. It relies on catalysts from
the pretreating HRK series and the
hydrocracking HDK and HYK series
which are combined to achieve operator conversion targets. The combination of HRK, HDK and HYK Series
squeezes more middle distillates from heavy ends while reaching high
conversion levels and excellent products quality.
SYMPHONY REFORMING CATALYSTS

Symphony is the next
generation family of reforming
catalysts combining the best
in catalyst support and multimetal formulation technologies. Compelling results are achieved for
virtually all reforming services: from fixed bed to CCR, low to high density
loading, lean to rich naphtha feed and high to low octane severity. Contrasted with prior-generation best-in-class reforming catalysts, Symphony
catalysts (PS 100, PR 150, PR 156 and P 152) show step-out improvement in yield, selectivity, coke stability and hydrothermal stability without
sacrificing activity, leading to a remarkable increase in unit profitability.
After switching to Symphony, even well before end-of-life of the incumbent
catalyst, customers have reported payback times of less than 4 months.
SULFUR RECOVERY CATALYST

Axens continuous R&D efforts have
contributed to a drastic improvement in
the way in which Sulfur is recovered.
Axens has, for instance, pioneered the
use of titanium dioxide catalysts to boost
the efficiency of the Claus unit and has
revolutionized the design of Claus tail gas
treatment units by introducing low temperature catalysts.
Axens provides essential support to its
customers and offers a large family of innovative products in the field of sulfur recovery. These range from regular Claus alumina (CR), boosted alumina for
COS hydrolysis (CR-3S), pure titanium dioxide catalysts (CRS 31, CRS
31 TL) and BTX management catalysts (CSM 31) to Claus tail gas treatment (TGT) catalysts. Our TGT Co-Mo catalysts, TG 107 and TG 136,
have been designed for low temperature processes. While maintaining
ideal TGT unit performances, the lowered operating temperature entails
significant energy savings and improves the cycle length of the catalyst.
CONTACT INFORMATION
89, bd Franklin Roosevelt - BP 50802
92508 Rueil-MalmaisonFrance
information@axens.net
www.axens.net
SPONSORED CONTENT
C91
InstruCalc
CONTROL VALVES FLOW ELEMENTS RELIEF DEVICES PROCESS DATA
New Version
Available
InstruCalc 9.0 calculates the size of control valves, flow elements and
relief devices and calculates fluid properties, pipe pressure loss and liquid
waterhammer flow. Easy to use and accurate, it is the only sizing program you
need, enabling you to:
Size more than 50 different instruments,
Calculate process data at flow conditions for 54 fluids in either mixtures or
single components and 66 gases, and
Calculate the orifice size, flowrate or differential range, which enables the
user to select the flow rate with optimum accuracy.
Updates and Whats New in InstruCalc Version 9.0

ENGINEERING STANDARD UPGRADES
NEW VERSION
Control Valve Revisions:

Updated to ANSII/ISA 75.011.01-2012
Calculation accuracy changed for critical flows
Viscosity correction factor changed
Pressure drop calculation revised to agree with Crane
Technical paper No 410.
Option of Cv Units (English) or Kv units (Metric) added.
Option of either aerodynamic noise calculation by ISA 75.17
method or InstruCalc method
Calculation accuracy added (input data within acceptable limits)
Relief Devices:
Pressure Relief Devices Program follows API 520 Pt 1, 9th edition dated 7/14
OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
The ability to have more than one calculation open at a time has been added.
Each instance of the program is framed in a different color. The user can have
multiple what if scenarios displayed for making engineering decisions.
Order Direct from the Publisher.

GulfPub.com/InstruCalc or call +1 (713) 520-4426.
JOHNSON MATTHEY PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES
JOHNSON MATTHEYS PURASPECJM

IMPURITY REMOVAL SOLUTIONS
FOR YOUR TOUGHEST CHALLENGES
PURASPECJMSOLUTIONS
FOR IMPURITY REMOVAL
IN REFINERIES
Refiners worldwide are increasingly challenged to minimize downtime while maximizing profitability and safety. Johnson Mattheys
PURASPECJMTM absorbents and process technologies were created to provide a solution
for refiners targeting impurities that can be
harmful to people, equipment, and chemical
processes. Over 30 years of experience in
the oil and gas industry has enabled Johnson
Matthey to be a market leader in purification solutions associated with chloride, sulfur,
mercury, arsine, and other harmful impurities.
This know-how has allowed us to partner
with our customers through superior materials, cost-effective technology, and valueadding services.
CLEAR YOUR CHLORIDE

OBSTACLES FOR GOOD
Johnson Matthey is proud to present
PURASPEC JM CLEAR TM , a suite of engineered chloride removal materials that can be
applied to meet performance requirements in
refineries. The use of non-alumina ARMORTM,
bimetallic PERFORMTM, and organic chloride
specialty PURASIEVETM materials enable the
longest run length with the lowest cost of ownership. CLEAR chloride guards are utilized
to remove inorganic and organic chloride
content, which can cause fouling and corrosion issues in downstream equipment and
processes. All of our materials are designed to
eliminate side reactions such as organic chloride and green oil formation, which are typically seen on historically prevalent promoted
alumina and zeolite adsorbents. Paired with
a PURASPECJM chloride test kit, the only handheld test kit in the market capable of quantitatively detecting organic and inorganic chloride content, refiners can also see the benefits
that CLEAR solutions provide. CLEAR chloride
guards are proven to improve plant safety,
reduce maintenance costs, increase reliability,
and enable better monitoringa CLEAR value
for any refiner.
SPONSORED CONTENT
FIG. 1. Chloride concentration

on a granule of ARMOR in
stressed service.
FIG. 2. Distribution of H2S on

a spent nickel-based sulfur
guard.
TACKLE SULFUR HEAD ON

PURASPEC JM sulfur removal technology
aims to understand and eliminate sulfur from
liquids and gases. H2S, mercaptans, sulfides,
disulfides, and thiophenes are addressed costeffectively by utilizing a variety of engineering materials specialized for these services.
PURASPEC JM sulfur absorbents have been
most commonly employed to maximize performance in catalytic reformer units, protect
downstream users, and remove sulfur content
from recycle gas and fuel gas streams. Our
offering doesnt stop with our absorbents, we
are fully dedicated to the entire customer journey and offer sample coordination for project
definition and on-stream monitoring.
MAKE MERCURY THE NEW

PROBLEM OF THE PAST
PURASPECJM is the market leader in mercury removal solutions for gas and liquid
phase streams. Previously thought to only apply
to high Hg crude, new insight indicates that
relatively low mercury content crudes can yield
appreciable concentration of mercury in various streams throughout the refinery. To address
safety and corrosion concerns, PURASPECJM
has a number of engineered solutions to
remove elemental, ionic, and particulate mercury from problematic streams. These have
been previously applied exclusively to hydrocarbon liquid and gas streams, but we now
FIG. 3. EPMA image of

discharged aqueous PURASPEC
mercury adsorbent.
offer a novel solution for Hg removal from

aqueous (water) streams. We can help you to
understand your mercury situation and address
any concerns, ensuring the health and safety of
your people and the environment.
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR

OPPORTUNITIES
Hundreds of customers have made Johnson
Matthey their long-term partner for impurity
removal. Market leadership through technology innovation is our reputation and we will
ensure that you receive a full service, optimal
solution for your application. Contact your
Johnson Matthey representative or leave an
inquiry at www.PURASPEC.com.
PURASPEC, CLEAR, ARMOR, PERFORM, and
PURASIEVE are trademarks of the Johnson Matthey
group of companies.
CONTACT INFORMATION
2 Trans Am Plaza Drive, Suite 230
Oak Brook Terrace, IL 60181-4296
Tel: +1 630 268 6300
Fax: +1 630 268 9797
www.jmprotech.com
C93
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Environment
and Safety
M. CARUGO and P. TRUESDALE, Emerson Process
Management, Round Rock, Texas
Meet EPA Tier 3 clean fuel regulations

through improved blending processes
Gasoline refiners and distributors face multiple challenges
that are becoming more difficult each year. Arguably, the biggest of these comes from the US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), where Tier 3 regulations on gasoline sulfur
content will make control of the blending process more critical
and more challenging. Other countries are adopting similar, or
even tighter, regulations.
The global economic environmental demands have increased the need to control costs, and poorly executed blending can add considerably to those. Errors can require batches
to be touched up or completely re-blended, which can delay
shipments and require additional tankage to hold excess workin-progress components or semi-finished productproduct
that should have been shipped. This tankage is expensive to
build and maintain.
This article will examine the impact of Tier 3 regulations on
gasoline blending at refineries and terminals, and illustrate options that can contribute to compliance with these new regulations while keeping costs under control.
Clean fuel and the EPA Tier 3 challenge. The EPAs previous set of sulfur regulations, Tier 2, was published in 2000
and phased in over a number of years. By 2004, refiners and
importers of gasoline were given an overall sulfur cap of 300
ppm, with an annual corporate average sulfur level of 120 ppm.
In 2005, the refinery average limit fell to 30 ppm, with a corporate average limit of 90 ppm and a cap on any single batch
of 300 ppm. In 2006, the average level remained at 30 ppm and
the maximum cap was reduced to 80 ppm.
The EPA credits the Tier 2 regulations with reducing gasoline sulfur content by 90%, which not only directly reduced
vehicle emissions of sulfur oxide (SOx ), but also enabled auto
manufacturers to use new emissions reduction methods that
would have been impossible with higher-sulfur fuel. But, states
the EPA, Subsequent research provides a compelling case that
even (the Tier 2) level of sulfur not only degrades the emissions performance of vehicles on the road today, but also inhibits necessary further reductions in vehicle emissions performance to reach the Tier 3 standards.1
Tier 3 regulations go well beyond Tier 2. The annual average sulfur in gasoline sold moves from 30 ppm to 10 ppm
across all company sites, and this extends to the point of sale.
The sulfur cap on any single batch is set at 80 ppm at the refinery gate, while the distribution cap is 95 ppm. This applies not
only to finished gasoline, but also to blendstocks like reformulated blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB). Large refineries must comply by 2017, and small refineries (those producing less than 75 Mbpd) by 2020. The caps may potentially be
reduced in the future.
Time is of the essence. The phase-in schedule is shown in
the new standards essentially bring the entire country

close to Californias light-duty emissions (LEV 3) specifications.
FIG. 1 illustrates the schedule in more detail. Tier 3 products
must be produced several months before the January 1, 2017,
deadline for them to be available. Given the time required for
planning and implementing the new blending infrastructure,
now is the time to begin.
The EPA estimates that compliance with Tier 3 regulations
will cost the average refinery $0.065/gal of gasoline shipped, in
addition to a capital investment of $2.025 B in 2011 US dollars.2
TABLE 1;
Consequences of noncompliance. If the cost of compliance seems high, the cost of noncompliance is higher. Failing
to meet specifications can result in fines and even prohibition
from delivery into a market region. The EPA has promised
stricter enforcement of the standards and that those fines
ID Task name
2016
2017
May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
1 Assessment
2 Develop plan, costs, financials
3 Project review/approvals
4 Detailed engineering
5 Purchase equipment
6 Site work and installation
7 Site acceptance test
8 Comissioning
9 Start Tier 3 production
FIG. 1. Efforts must begin immediately for products to be in

compliance with the January 1, 2017, Tier 3 requirements.
Environment and Safety

will increase in the future. In a recent court case, the EPA imposed a $2.9 MM civil penalty against a company that had
committed a number of offenses, including excessive volatile
organic compound (VOC) emissions from several of its facilities, failure to comply with the per-gallon sulfur standard
for gasoline produced at one of its refineries, shipping gasoline with more than 10% ethanol, and exceeding Reid vapor
pressure (RVP) standards for gasoline distributed from one
of its terminals. The penalty also included the retirement of
$200 M worth of sulfur credits, and it required that the refinery spend an additional $2.8 MM on pollution controls at
several terminals.
Errors in blending can require re-blending, which includes
sampling the blend tanks, analyzing the contents, touching
up the mixture, and circulating and sampling again before the
product can be shipped, adding to costs. Delays due to rework
can result in demurrage costs for marine vessels.
Tier 3 sulfur limits are not the only challenge facing blenders today. Pipeline operators maintain strict specifications on
the gasoline they will carry, including octane rating, drivability index and a range of volatility specs, such as distillation,
vapor to liquid (V/L) ratio and RVP. Allowing a blend to
stray outside these limits can jeopardize the facilitys ability to
blend directly onto the pipeline.
The upshot is that blending will continue to become more
complex in the future, and the need to meet tighter specifications will increase the pressures on blending operations.
1.2
1.1
Unfinished/
components
Product
blends
Optimum
blending
Finished
product
$ $ $ $
Crude mixing
penalty
Suboptimum
blending
1.0
Crude receiving
Process units
(offsite)
Blending (offsite)
Sulfur in final blend
Frequency of occurrence
Mean
Time
Specification
limit
Giveaway
Sulfur composition
FIG. 3. The average sulfur content must be kept away from the
specification limit to meet all batch requirements. However, that
distance represents expensive giveaway.
prove the bottom line, as shown in FIG. 2. In a refinery producing 100 Mbpd of gasoline, a margin of $0.005/gal due to an
upgraded blending system can be expected to increase profits
by $7.4 MM/yr.
Upgrading a blending operation will generally involve improvements to field devices, blend meters, tankage, online
analyzers, control systems and blend management systems. A
blender upgrade project will yield a reduction in the variability
of the process, allowing operations that are closer to specifications and reducing giveaway. A certified blend control solution
can also blend directly to a pipeline or ship, thereby reducing
required tankage and the inventory (working capital) previously held in them. The reduction in variability involves an upgrade to the process controls, including measurement systems.
A side benefit can be improved reliability and availability by
Product shipping
FIG. 2. A blender upgrade project will yield a reduction in the

variability of the process, allowing operations that are closer to
specifications and reducing giveaway.
Specification
limit
The effect of blending improvements on profit margins. Upgrading the blending process can significantly im-
Production cost, cents/gal
Refinery margin, price factor x crude
Crude
Blending modalities. Blended product can be sent to a tank

prior to its delivery to a pipeline, ship or terminal. In this case,
the final blend specification is met at the tank by using conventional manual sampling and lab analysis. The end product
can be any particular grade of gasoline ready to be delivered,
or it can be sold as a gasoline blendstock like reformulated
blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB), conventional
blendstock for oxygenate blending (CBOB) or California
RBOB (CARBOB) to be blended downstream into a finishedgrade product.
Alternatively, the final tank can be eliminated and blending
can be accomplished inline directly to a pipeline or ship. While
this saves substantial money on tankage, blend control becomes
more critical. Rather than meeting specifications at the final
tank, where any needed adjustments can be made, an inline
blender must meet specifications in real time for each blend segment (typically approximately 5,000 bbl). Blending directly to
ships or pipelines requires custody-transfer-level measurement
accuracy, with all the attendant calibrations, certifications and
record keeping. In addition, there must be online analyzers that
meet inline certification, calibration and accuracy standards.
Savings from
reduced giveaway
Specification
limit
Reduced variability
giveaway
Current
giveaway
5 ppm
10 ppm
Average product sulfur level
FIG. 4. As production costs increase exponentially as sulfur content

decreases, shifting closer to the specification limit saves money.

TABLE 1. Schedule for sulfur reduction
2014
Federal
California
2015
2016
Tier 2
(30 ppm average;
80 ppm refinery capacity)
LEV 2
2017
2018
2019
Large refineriesTier 3
(10 ppm average; 80 ppm refinery cap;
95 ppm distribution cap)
2020
2021
Small refineriesTier 3
(10 ppm average; 80 ppm refinery cap;
95 ppm distribution cap)
LEV 3 (S10 ppm average; 20 ppm refinery capacity)
using different technologies, e.g., utilizing Coriolis over turbine meters or pump
health monitoring.
Under spec
Over spec
FTNIR & ASTM D2885, proto fuel
Variability is the enemy. The ques-
Number of blends
tion facing the refinery blend planner or

scheduler is, What is the appropriate
sulfur level at each point? To meet the
10-ppm target, should the sulfur target in
With proto fuel, ASTM D2885
5% off spec
the blend be 7, 8 or 9 ppm at the refinery?
The main enemy here is variability in realtime analysis, component composition
Lab, ASTM D2699
and flow measurements. Operating close
to the 10 ppm specification costs less than
producing a 7 ppm average. The greater
variability involved in the process, the
89.93
90.0
90.14
90.28
90.35
greater the safety margin must be.
Acceptable range
RON repeatability, r
The effects of variations in sulfur content are shown in FIG. 3. To meet speci- FIG. 5. Improving the accuracy of online analysis is one key to reducing variability.
fications for all batches, the average sulfur content must be kept away from the
this complexity will continue to increase. Gasoline must then
specification limit. However, that distance represents expensive
be recertified. Previously, terminals tended to have less-sophisgiveaway. FIG. 4 illustrates how narrowing the frequency distributicated instruments and measuring standards than refineries.
tionreducing variabilitysignificantly reduces giveaway and
Tier 3 has led to increasing interest in improved instrumentacosts. Note that production costs increase exponentially as sultion and analytical measurements at terminals.
fur content decreases, so shifting closer to the specification limit
Tier 3 standards have not only reduced sulfur levels, but
saves money, with the amount increasing rapidly as the specificahave also made quality tracking and contamination avoidance
tion limit is reduced. A $0.01/gal increased margin in a refinery
more critical. Allowing even a small amount of higher-sulfur
that produces 100 Mbpd will result in a gain of $14.8 MM/yr.
gasoline to mix with a batch of 10 ppm product will push it
One key to reducing variability is to improve the accuracy
out of spec and be very expensive to correct. Remember that
of online analysis. In FIG. 5, the octane engines using ASTM
the 10 ppm annual average specification applies at the refinery
D2699 and ASTM D2885 have repeatability curves shown in
gate, and NOT at the blender.
blue and green, respectively. Repeatability with an FT NIR analyzer (red curve) is dramatically better, due to the significantly
TABLE 2 highlights the importance of not only reducing
increased number of test results. (Typically, a result from FT
variability when producing gasoline, but also of tracking that
NIR is provided in less than two minutes.)
gasoline and how its characteristics change as it moves toward
Control valve performance, measurement accuracy and loop
the final delivery point, mostly long after the product leaves
tuning also play significant roles in blender variability and rethe refinery. A good deal of this can be attributed to the presproducibility. As a result, a blender upgrade project will also
ence of higher-sulfur gasoline remaining in the system, includneed to verify that the field equipment is working properly; all
ing sulfur impregnating the walls of vessels, only to leach out
control loops are tuned; and measurement devices have been
and contaminate higher-tier product.
properly selected, installed and calibrated.
Why is blending so technically difficult? What makes
blending so difficult and complex? First of all, there is the scale
Tier 3 impact on product logistics at the terminal level.
involved. A typical large refinery may have 50 different speciIt has long been a standard practice to carry out final ethanol
fications that reflect regional and seasonal grade differences:
blending at the terminal, but now there is increasing interest
summer, winter and transitional seasons. Certain areas (Caliin blending other components like butane (C4H10 ), pentane
fornia, in particular) have very specific requirements. Also, a
(C5H12 ) and biofuels at terminals, as well. Additive managerefinery may produce upward to 1,000 blends per year, ranging
ment at the terminal is also more important. Some terminals
from 10 Mbbl to 200 Mbbl.
are also processing transmix, and there is every indication that

Charting a path to Tier 3 compliance. An effective approach to reaching Tier 3 compliance begins with an analysis
and benchmarking of the current performance of the facility.
This blending assessment, which should take one or two days,
begins with an in-depth overview of the refinerys normal
overall operation, production, blend planning and scheduling functions. The consultants will also examine process unit
operations, product blending and quality control-product/
certification procedures. The assessment results will provide
a first look at possibilities for improvements, along with the
expected savings.
The next step is a detailed feasibility study, which is followed by the blending project execution using information
from the feasibility study.
Ethyl equation
Blend MON
Bonus
Lab
MON alky
Linear combination
OMN FCC
FCC
Alky
Composition, %
FIG. 6. Gasoline blending is not linear, e.g., when blending FCC

gasoline and alkylate. It peaks in accordance with the blue curve,
and the bonus obtained from more closely approximating the true
relationship is economically significant.
TABLE 2. Potential contamination issues

Sulfur measurement
Actual sulfur, ppm
Target sulfur, ppm
Sulfur at blend header
8.3
7.5
Pipeline to refinery gate
2.5
2.5
Sulfur at refinery gate
10.8
10
Pipeline contamination
2.8
2.8
Terminal contamination
0.8
0.8
Truck contamination
0.5
0.5
Retail station contamination
0.3
0.3
Sulfur at retail station
15.2
14.4
ASTM D7039 reproducibility
2.6
2.6
Worst-case gasoline sulfur
17.8
17
Not only must the refinery be prepared to meet many different specifications, but the specifications themselves are also complex and interactive. Along with octane requirements, research
octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON),
there are volatility requirements that are intended to balance
ease of vehicle starting with reductions in evaporative emissions.
Specifications that affect vehicle operation include RVP, distillation, V/L ratio and drivability index. Specifications dealing with
environmental issues include sulfur content, oxygenate levels,
benzene levels, VOC vapor emissions, percentages of aromatics
and olefins, nitrogen oxides (NOx ) and sulfur emitted during
vehicle operation, particulate emissions in vehicle exhaust and
greenhouse gas emissions. All these specifications are part of the
EPA Tier 3 standards and must be met simultaneously.
Adding to the difficulty is the fact that gasoline blending is
not linear, e.g., when blending fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)
gasoline and alkylate, as indicated in FIG. 6. The octane level does
not follow a straight line; it peaks in accordance with the blue
curve in the figure, and the bonus obtained from more closely
approximating the true relationship is economically significant.
Achievable results and benefits. Implementing the latest methods has yielded ongoing savings of $0.15/bbl due to
gasoline tank optimization, $0.10/bbl to $0.35/bbl in octane
giveaway reduction, and $0.05/bbl to $0.15/bbl in volatility
giveaway reduction. It has accounted for $1 MM in one-time
savings due to component tank rationalization, with a subsequent $100,000 annuity; a $10 MM one-time savings in final
product tank rationalization, followed by a $100,000 annuity;
a $100,000 annuity due to the avoidance of marine demurrage; and a $1 MM savings from inventory reduction.
Any blender upgrade project should consider opportunities to take advantage of updated technologies to improve
availability, reliability and safety. Examples include tank overfill protection, which can prevent costly spills, and equipment
health monitoring of the major component pumps, which can
improve safety and reliability by detecting changes in performance caused by developing equipment faults, such as seal
leaks or cavitation.
Tier 3 is here, and it is time to consider upcoming blending
challenges. It is vital to begin with a well-conceived plan that
captures new business benefits and achieves compliance with
the new regulations.
LITERATURE CITED
Control of air pollution from motor vehicles: Tier 3 motor vehicle emission and
fuel standards; Final rule, Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 81, April 2014.
2
Control of air pollution from motor vehicles: Tier 3 motor vehicle emission
and fuel standards final rule: Regulatory impact analysis, US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), pp. 561, March 2014.
1
In his role as the director of the global refining industry,

MARCELO CARUGO leads the refining programs across
Emerson Process Management. He has over 25 years of
experience within the refining and petrochemical industries
in the Americas and Europe. His expertise includes automation
systems, advanced control and optimization projects,
consulting and design, with a particular focus on economic
justification, offsites, blending and logistics at process plants, terminal facilities
and within operations. Mr. Carugo holds an MS degree in electronic engineering
from NUFFIC, The Netherlands, and an electronic engineering degree from
the University of Buenos Aires.
PATRICK TRUESDALE has over 40 years of experience
within the refining, petrochemical and chemical industries.
This experience involves process and utility plants; terminal
and distribution facilities; operations; maintenance; project
and supply chain management; automation systems;
advanced control and optimization project consulting;
design; and implementation.
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Environment
and Safety
M. CHOROSZY, A. BOURJI and P. PRATHER,
Houston, Texas
Design and implement a totally enclosed ground flare

As awareness of environmental issues increases to new levels, all emissions sources in industrial facilities are falling under
more scrutiny than ever before. As a result, the totally enclosed
ground flare (TEGF) is gaining popularity as a way to reduce
noise and light from conventional flare gas applications.
The TEGF has also been used to expand the capacity of existing ground and elevated flares.
from an elevated flare. TABLE 1 shows the recommended design

thermal radiation limits for personnel. The radiation from this
particular flare is only a potential problem for a nearby elevated
structure, not for personnel. The radiation at grade is sufficiently low to allow for a person to walk at the base of the flare stack
without danger. No direct line-of-sight radiation exists from a
Critical design parameters of TEGFs. TEGFs can be used
in new flaring applications and in existing facilities to provide a

method to expand the capacity of existing elevated or ground
flares. A TEGF system consists of a refractory-lined cylindrical
flare stack structure that is designed to have combustion take
place within the cylinder: flame should not be visible at the top
of the flare stack. The refractory lining is designed to protect the
carbon-steel support shell of the unit. The flare system has burners that fire either sideways or upward at the bottom of the cylinder. These flare burners are typically equipped with pilots that
fire continuously to ensure ignition of the waste gases at all times.
Typical TEGFs are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Key features include:
Smokeless combustion
Very low noise levels
No radiation outside the combustor
Reduced emissions through better destruction efficiency.
FIG. 1. Typical TEGF in a marine loading application.
Personnel access. TEGFs are equipped with ladders, platforms and personnel protective fencing to meet US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. The platforms meet the 36-in. minimum width standard
and are for maintenance access to externally located instruments
and equipment. There is no personnel access allowed inside the
ground flare area during normal operation. Because the flames
are completely enclosed within the walls of the flare stack, there
is no radiation coming from the top of the flare as there would
be from an elevated flare. This ensures the safety of personnel to
access the platforms when the TEGF is in operation. Sight ports
are sometimes provided at various elevations along the side of
the flare stack so an operator can view the flames inside.
Radiation isopleths. Because direct line-of-sight radiation is
present from an elevated flare stack, the impact of constant load

radiation on nearby structures and personnel must always be
evaluated. The isopleth in FIG. 3 is what can be typically seen
FIG. 2. Burner internals in a typical TEGF.

Heat and combustion plume. Generally, a TEGF is signifi-
mum relief load. To be conservative on draft, the lower range

for temperature development is used. Flame should not protrude above the top of the fence, although some flicker may be
noticeable at night. If the capacity of the TEGF is exceeded, it
would be possible for flame to be visible above the enclosure.
The need to have enough room for the air to mix with waste
gases and combust is a greater constraint than draft.
Structural integrity. The TEGF facility requires a structural
Heat density. The term heat density is actually a misnomer, as

most vendors use it to refer to the heat released per ft2, and not
the heat released per ft3. A current rule of thumb in published
literature1 for acceptable heat density is between 300 MMBtu/
hr/ft2 and 400 MMBtu/hr/ft2 for burners that internally recirculate flue gas. Flare burners do not internally recirculate flue
gas and are not concerned generally with nitrogen oxide (NOx )
production, as they are emergency-relief devices.
Capacity: Heat release and draft. TEGFs are large stacks,

and calculations to support the sizing of the unit are iterative.
The amount of air pulled into the TEGF is a function of temperature, stack effect draft and pressure losses due to hydraulic
flow through the stack, and pressure losses through the windows. Since the temperature developed is a function of excess
air, the calculation must iterate until the pressure loss is equal to
the developed draft. Conservatively, the draft developed from
the stack effect must be sufficient to balance the requirement
to induce the necessary combustion air to support the maxi-
Air-assist. The TEGF can be designed with an air-assist, or

steam-assist, if necessary, to ensure smokeless combustion. For
an air-assisted TEGF, the blowers are not sized to provide the
TEGF with adequate combustion air. Instead, they are sized to
ensure adequate mixing for lightoff and combustion for the firststage burners. This same function can be achieved with steam,
which induces mixing with ambient air. If air-assist is used, the
blowers are conservatively sized in terms of both flow and head
for this function. It is necessary to keep all openings (windows)
clear of obstructions for the TEGF to draft enough air for combustion. High-pressure burners will have enough fuel pressure
to induce their own mixing, but low-pressure burners will not
and need assistance for smokeless operation.
cantly shorter than an elevated flare. Thus, the TEGF can be

shorter than other surrounding plant equipment (especially
columns), so care must be taken to ensure that the hot and
combusted gas plume rising from the TEGF does not impinge
on either the equipment or personnel-accessible areas. Often,
a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is completed to
determine the shape and coverage of the TEGF plume.
design in accordance with the latest version of ASCE 7 code,
using a wind speed, exposure category and importance factor
suitable for the location of the equipment.
TABLE 1. Recommended design thermal radiation for personnel

Permissible design level
kW/m2
Btu/hft2
9.46
3,000
Maximum radiant heat intensity at any

location where urgent emergency action
by personnel is required. When personnel
enter or work in an area with the potential
for radiant heat intensity greater than 6.31
kW/m2 (2,000 Btu/hft2), radiation shielding
and/or special protective apparel (e.g., a fire
approach suit) should be considered.
Safety precautionIt is important to
recognize that even personnel with
appropriate clothing cannot tolerate thermal
radiation at 9.46 kW/m2 (3,000 Btu/hft2) for
more than a few seconds.
6.31
4.73
1.58
2,000
1,500
500
Maximum radiant heat intensity in areas

where emergency actions lasting up to
30 sec. can be required by personnel without
shielding but with appropriate clothing.*
Refractory. Four major variables must be considered in selecting proper refractory:

Skin temperatureIf the exit temperature of the flue gas
is conservatively estimated at 2,000F, a shell temperature
of 300F provides an economic design. Adequate
600
500
300
200
Maximum radiant heat intensity in areas

where emergency actions lasting 2 min to
3 min can be required by personnel without
shielding but with appropriate clothing.*
100
Maximum radiant heat intensity at any

location where personnel with appropriate
clothing can be continuously exposed.
* Appropriate clothing consists of hard hat, long-sleeved shirts with cuffs buttoned,
work gloves, long-legged pants and work shoes. Appropriate clothing minimizes
direct skin exposure to thermal radiation.
Radiation in Btu/hr-ft2
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
400
Feet
TEGF because the flame is fully contained within the flare stack.
As long as a TEGF is properly operated, the radiation isopleth
shown in FIG. 3 need not be produced. If the flame should escape
the top of the enclosure, then the potential exists for line-of-sight
radiation, and this would need to be examined and addressed.
Grade, ft
250
FIG. 3. Radiation isopleth of heat intensity vs. distance from base.

personnel protection must be provided, since the shell
skin temperature will be above the OSHA limit.
DurabilityLong-term exposure of the refractory ceramic
fiber to temperatures exceeding 2,300F will result in the
drastic shrinkage of material. If the material experiences
drastic shrinkage, its ability to insulate will be highly
compromised and will result in overheating the shell.
Material selectionTABLES 2 and 3 show the anchor
material as a function of maximum anchor temperature
for clean and dirty fuels, respectively. The actual anchor
piece is embedded in the ceramic fiber and not actually
exposed to the total heat load. The refractory modules
most commonly used are 2,300F-rated modules. Using
a 2,600F module results in minor additional costs but
allows greater over-temperature protection. Since the
composition of flare gases may not be known exactly,
some sort of over-temperature protection is advised.
This can be provided in the form of a high-high
temperature cutoff if it is possible to direct the flow of
flare gases to another device. Acid gas could destroy the
modules, but acid gas is not normally directed to a TEGF.
Heatup timeA TEGF lined exclusively with ceramic
fiber or ceramic fiber modules allows for rapid heatup and
cooldown of the unit without concern for the insulation
durability and longevity. The TEGF can be lined with
castable or brick, but it would have to be kept warm to
avoid thermal shock during an emergency flaring event.
Controls: Bypass valves and flame-front generators
(FFGs). Flow to the TEGF is highly variable, so the TEGF is
designed with stages that open sequentially as flow increases.

The number of stages is determined by the flare gas flow and
pressure. TEGFs are not equipped with non-reclosing pressure
relief valves on the first stage. Second and later stages typically
have bypass valves to protect the upstream equipment in case
the staging valve does not open.
Each pilot is generally equipped with a dual-element thermocouple. The pilots are generally always on. There is a move
to use on-demand ignition of pilots in order to save gas, but this
idea has not gained much traction in the US. The pilot mixer
and ignition transformers are located outside the flare stack, so
there is no real need for a backup FFG. However, some TEGFs
are still equipped with a backup FFG ignition for the pilots.
Safety shutdown. When a TEGF is utilized as an emergency
relief device per safety codes, there are generally no devices
present to stop the flow of flare gas to the unit.
Temperature control. There is no temperature control of the
TEGF, per se. Because it is natural draft and no stack damper

exists, the amount of excess air entering the windows cannot be
controlled. The amount of flare gas entering the TEGF is controlled by pressure. As the supply pressure of the incoming flare
gas rises, additional staging valves open. There are TEGFs that
burn low-Btu gas and have auto or manual dampers; these are
very common in marine and truck loading applications.
Blowers. In air-assisted units, blowers are equipped with variable-frequency drives. The blower is set to 25% output and is
TABLE 2. Anchor material temperature limits, clean fuel

(less than 0.5% sulfur)
Maximum anchor temperature, F Recommended material
Up to 1,500
Stainless steel type 304
1,5001,700
Stainless steel type 310
1,7001,900
RA 330, INCOLOY 800
1,9002,000
INCONEL 601
2,0002,100
INCONEL 501 with ceramic cuplocks
Above 2100
Ceramic
TABLE 3. Anchor material temperature limits, dirty fuel

(more than 0.5% sulfur)
Maximum anchor temperature, F Recommended material
Up to 1,700
SS type 310 with ceramic cuplocks
1,7002,000
INCONEL 501 with ceramic cuplocks
Above 2100
Ceramic
then ratcheted upward as various stages open. It is important

to note that blowers provide assist air only. They do not supply
sufficient amounts of air to ensure combustion at full load. The
required amount of air is induced through the window openings
via natural draft. It is critically important that the flow of air in
and around these windows is not obstructed in any way.
Conclusion. Evaluation of the TEGFs capacity and suitability
for the service intended is highly dependent on the molecular

weight and composition of the flare gas. Any significant deviation from the assumptions made in regards to molecular weight
and composition of the flare gas can result in unwanted consequences. A hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP) must be
conducted on TEGFs to ensure compliance with all potential operating scenarios and plant operating practices. Integrated staging curves should be obtained from the TEGF manufacturer.
1
LITERATURE CITED
Straitz, J. F. III, Improve flare design, Hydrocarbon Processing, October 1994.
MARTHA CHOROSZY is a principal technical consultant for fired

equipment at WorleyParsons in Houston, Texas. She received a BS
degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology (MIT) and an MBA degree from Tulane University.
Ms. Choroszy is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and a
member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). She is the
author of numerous publications, a recipient of Tulanes Allen Vorholt award and a
member of MITs Energy, Environment and Sustainability Network.
ALI BOURJI is a senior technical director at WorleyParsons in
Houston, Texas. Dr. Bourji received his BS and MS degrees in
chemical engineering from the University of Houston and his
doctorate degree from Lamar University. He is a professional
engineer and a member of AIChE and AFPM. Dr. Bourji is the
author of numerous publications and serves on the Chemical
Engineering PhD Advisory Council at Lamar University.
PERRY PRATHER is a supervising process engineer at
WorleyParsons in Houston, Texas. He received a BS degree
in chemical engineering from McNeese State University. He is
a licensed Engineer-in-Training (E.I.T.) in Louisiana and the
companys representative to the Design Institute for Emergency
Relief Systems (DIERS) Users Group.
15 September 2016
Banking Hall
London
Nominations Now Open

The deadline for submissions is 20 May 2016
Download the submissions forms from
www.petroleum-economist.com/awards
CATEGORIES INCLUDE:
Chief Executive of the Year
Energy Company of the Year
Downstream Company of the Year
Energy Finance Provider of the Year
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Event Contact Details:
Emily MacKenzie
Email: awards@petroleum-economist.com
Tel: +44 20 7779 8801
www.petroleum-economist.com/awards
Process Control
and Instrumentation
E. OTTO, TE Sensor Solutions, Pennsauken, New Jersey
Linear position sensors gain preference

in industrial process control applications
Todays industrial process control applications increasingly
use automated systems to optimize operations and ensure a
safer, more productive process. Linear position sensorsoften
known as linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs)
used in these automated systems provide machine controllers
with highly accurate feedback on product parameters, control
states and outputs.
Whether implemented as a stand-alone component, or as
part of a control or safety system, the LVDT is also capable
of providing highly accurate and reliable linear displacement
measurements from micro inches to several feet under various operating and environmental conditions. Essentially, the
LVDT plays an important role in machine control by providing feedback about product location. To some extent, it is the
LVDT that ensures proper machine operation.
Mechanics of an LVDT. In basic terms, an LVDT is an elec-
tromechanical device that converts linear position or motion

to a proportional electrical output (FIG. 1). More specifically,
the LVDT produces an electrical output signal directly proportional to the displacement of a separate movable core. Typically,
the ferrous core within the LVDT is attached to the moving element on the piece of equipment requiring position feedback.
The basic LVDT design consists of three elements: a primary winding; two identical secondary windings; and a movable
magnetic armature, or core. The primary winding is excited
with an AC supply, generating a magnetic field that, when the
core is placed in the central or null position, includes equal
voltages in both of the secondary windings. The secondaries are
wired-series-opposed so that their combined output represents
the difference in voltage indicated in them, which, in this case, is
zero. As the core is moved left or right, the difference in the inducted voltages produces an output that is linearly proportional
in magnitude to the displacement of the core. Its phase changes
180 from one side of the null position to the other.
Usually, this AC output voltage is converted by suitable electronic circuitry to a high-level DC voltage or current for convenient use by a computer or other digital output device.
Because there is normally no contact between the LVDTs
core and coil structure, no parts can rub together or wear out.
This means that an LVDT features a potentially unlimited mechanical life. This factor is highly desirable in many industrial
process control and factory automation systems.
New electronics and construction materials enhancement. Recent innovations in construction materials, manu-
facturing techniques and low-cost microelectronics have

revolutionized LVDTs into a more reliable and cost-effective
technology for process control applications. Previously, the electronics necessary to properly operate LVDTs were complicated
and expensive, prohibiting their wide use in process control applications for displacement measurement.
Modern application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and
microprocessors give LVDT technology more complex processing functions and enable signal conditioning within the sensor
housing. Thus, LVDTs generate digital outputs directly compatible with computer-based systems and standardized digital
buses. As a result, todays LVDTs can provide more accurate and
precise measurement of dimensions in a wider variety of quality
control, inspection equipment and industrial metrology applications, including online parts inspection, servo-loop positioning
systems and manufacturing process control.
For applications where sensors must operate in extreme environments, the sensing element can be segregated from the
electronic circuitry, unlike capacitive, magnetostrictive and oth-
FIG. 1. The basic LVDT design consists of three elements: a primary

winding, two identical secondary windings and a movable magnetic
armature.
Process Control and Instrumentation

er high-frequency technologies. Connected by long cables up
to 31 m, AC-operated LVDTs can work with remotely located
electronics that power the sensors, and amplify and demodulate
their output. This output is then displayed on a suitable readout
and/or inputted into a computer-based data acquisition system
for statistical process control.
Enabling LVDT use in tight places with harsh conditions.
LVDTs were once considered too long for applications with
limited space. New winding techniques and computer-based
winding machines allow the LVDT body to be reduced, while
maintaining or increasing stroke length. With the improved
stroke-to-length ratio (now up to 80%), the LVDT becomes a
viable position measurement device for machine tool positioning, hydraulic cylinder positioning and valve position sensing.
Smaller, contactless LVDTs also feature a lightweight, lowmass core (FIG. 2) that is ideal for process control applications
with high-dynamic-response requirements, such as plastic injection molding machines and automatic inspection equipment, as
well as different robotic applications that require displacement
feedback to ensure proper machinery operation.
In the oil and gas industry, compact LVDTs are used in the
position feedback control of downhole drilling equipment,
such as bore scopes that measure the inside diameter (ID) of
the drilled hole. The sensor coil assembly and separable core
FIG. 2. The lightweight, low-mass core of smaller LVDTs is ideal for process
control applications that have high-dynamic-response requirements.
FIG. 3. Hermetically sealed linear position sensors offer a highly accurate

and enduring solution for the position measurement of steam control
valves in power generation plants.
that are inherent to the technology can withstand extremely

high environmental pressures, as the mechanical configuration
of the coil assembly is vented (pressure balanced) to the pressure of the non-conductive mediums. Because the sensor coil
assembly can withstand a combination of high pressure, elevated temperatures, and shock and vibration, the LVDT is able to
make measurements in downhole drilling equipment possible
where space is at a premium and the environment is hostile.
LVDTs are also configurable in a variety of mechanical and
electrical designs to meet the measurement and environmental requirements of various process control applications. New
corrosion-resistance and high-temperature materials enable the
LVDT to operate in more hostile environments, including those
with high- and low-temperature extremes, radiation exposure
or vacuum pressure conditions. For applications where sensors
must withstand exposure to flammable or corrosive vapors and
liquids, or operate in pressurized fluid, the case and coil assembly
can be hermetically sealed using a variety of welding processes.
Power plant applications. In power generation applications,
linear position sensors designed for high-temperature and mild

radiation resistance can provide feedback on the position of
nuclear steam and gas turbine control valves for increased plant
efficiency and reduced operating costs (FIG. 3).
In a typical power plant, steam turbines contain a number of
control valves: a reheat stop valve, an interceptor valve, a governor valve and a throttle valve. Typically, plants have very precise
control schemes for valve position to increase operating efficiency and save fuel. Operating within the harsh environment
of a power or steam plant, linear position sensors can determine
if valves are fully opened or closed to within a thousandth of an
inch, providing output to remote electronics that can be monitored by operators if something is not working properly.
Sensors also play an important role in the predictive maintenance of gas turbines as part of process control systems that are
used to monitor shell expansion and bearing vibration. Installed
on turbine shells, hermetically-sealed LVDTs measure shell expansion, providing linear output that operators can utilize to
determine the proper thermal growth of a turbine shell during
startup, operation and shutdown.
LVDTs designed to withstand shocks and heavy pounding are used in the press and dye industry for the mechanical
control of machine operations, as improper operation can lead
to broken dyes that result in downed machines, while the ambiguous force of presses can lead to misshapen and out-of-spec
parts. Spring-loaded LVDTs are installed on presses so that the
plunger of the sensor is compressed as the punch press comes in
contact with the metal being shaped. The output of the LVDT
is fed back into the machines control system, providing feedback on how far a press has moved and when to stop.
The LVDT has evolved into the preferred technology for critical and reliable linear displacement measurements in an array of
industrial process control applications.
EILEEN OTTO began her career in sales at Schaevitz Engineering,
becoming a sales engineer for the Midwest region when Lucas
purchased Schaevitz. In 1999, she left Lucas to work as a
manufacturers representative. She is presently employed as a
sales and marketing manager at TE Sensor Solutions (Macro
Sensors LVDTs), where she is responsible for working with major
accounts for the development and marketing of new products.
MARKETPLACE/Gerry.Mayer@GulfPub.com / +1 (972) 816-3534
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ADVERTISER INDEX / HydrocarbonProcessing.com

The first number after the company name is the page on which an advertisement appears. The second number is the Reader Service Number. There are two ways readers can obtain product and service information:
go to www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com/RS, follow the instructions on the screen, and your request will be forwarded for immediate action, or go online to the advertiser's website listed below.
Company
Page
RS#
Advanced Refining Technologies ............. C-76C-77
(82)
Website
www.info.hotims.com/61385-82
Company
Page
RS#
Grace ................................................... C-84C-85
(85)
Website
Company
Page
RS#
Prognost Systems GmbH.................................... 49
(157)
Rentech Boiler System ......................................... 2
(52)
Rosen Swiss Ag ................................................. 43
(61)
Sabin Metal Corporation ........................ C-88C-89
(71)
Scott Safety ........................................................ 5
(70)
Silcotek ............................................................ 26
(152)
Silicon Refractory Anchor Systems .......................19
(155)
Spectrum Analytics ........................................... 28
(83)
Spraying Systems Co ..........................................15
(67)
Team Industrial Services .....................................13
(86)
Website
Gulf Publishing Company

Boxscore ....................................................C-90
Events.......................... 61, 64, 65, 3233, 67, 70
HPI Market Data 2016 ...................................C-72
Marketplace .................................................107
Software .................................................... C-92
Subscription ...............................................C-94
Gulfstar Group ..................................................44
(75)
(80)
Haldor Topsoe A/S................................. C-86C-87
(90)
Chevron Lummus Global .................................... 52
(89)
Idrojet ...............................................................19
(154)
Clariant ............................................................ 47
(156)
Johnson Matthey Process Technologies Inc..34, C-93
(76)
CRI Catalyst ...........................................C-80C-81
(74)
KBC Advanced Technologies Inc............................8
(88)
Criterion Catalyst & Technologies, L.P. ......C-82C-83
(87)
Linde Engineering North America ....................... 56
(66)
Cudd Energy Services .........................................31
(153)
Merichem Company........................................... 111
(84)
TLV Corporation................................................. 99
(64)
Dyna-Therm ......................................................14
(151)
Paharpur Cooling Towers, Ltd. ............................ 22
(99)
UOP LLC ............................................................ 20

Wood Group Mustang ........................................ 24
(60)
Zeeco ............................................................... 36
(94)
AFPM...............................................................100
American Petroleum Institute ............................ 75
Auma Riester GmbH & Co Kg ...............................51
(159)
Axens .......................................................112, C-91
(51)
Bluebeam Software Inc.......................................18
(69)
Cat Tech International Ltd .......................C-78C-79
Emcor ...............................................................17
(55)
The Petroleum Economist Ltd ............................104

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation.......................... 50
(158)
This Index and procedure for securing additional information is provided as a service to Hydrocarbon Processing advertisers and a convenience to our readers. Gulf Publishing Company is not responsible for omissions or errors.
Bret Ronk, Vice President

Downstream and Midstream
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Energy Construction Forum,
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(OTC) Asia, March 2225,
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Global Petroleum Show,

June 79, Stampede Park,
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ASME Turbo Expo, June 1317,
COEX Convention and Exhibition
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4th Annual Canada LNG Export

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American Petroleum Institute
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Standards Meeting, March 1418,
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www.api.org
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Managing Aging Plants
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Petchem Tech Forum,

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MIKE RHODES, MANAGING EDITOR

Mike.Rhodes@HydrocarbonProcessing.com
People
Clariant has appointed

Britta Fuenfstueck as
a new member of its
executive committee.
The former chief executive
officer (CEO) of the
Clinical Products division
at Siemens Healthcare
will join Clariant in April.
During her career with
Siemens, Ms. Fuenfstueck
held various leadership
positions, including
CEO of the Molecular
Imaging business unit;
vice president (VP) of
strategy, and mergers
and acquisitions for the
Healthcare Sector; and
the director of product
portfolio and planning,
marketing and sales,
for Siemens Magnetic
Resonance business unit.
Amec Foster Wheeler
CEO Samir Brikho has
stepped down and is
being succeeded by CFO
Ian McHoul, who has
been appointed to the
role of interim CEO with
immediate effect. Mr.
McHoul will also chair the
group leadership team
while the internal and
external search for the
new CEO is conducted.
Richard D. Bedell, the
senior VP of refining
for Marathon Petroleum
Co., will retire, effective
in March. Raymond L.
Brooks, the general
manager of the companys
Galveston Bay refinery
in Texas City, Texas, will
replace Mr. Bedell, who
joined MPC in 1979. Mr.
Brooks began his career
with MPC in 1983.
TPC Group has named

Ed Dineen as its chairman,
president and CEO.
Mr. Dineen most recently
served as the CEO of
Siluria Technologies,
and is an industry veteran
with more than 35 years
of petrochemical and
energy experience.
He previously served as
chief operating officer
(COO) of LyondellBasell
North America, as well
as president of its global
chemicals division. He
joined LyondellBasell in
1998, leading its urethanes
and performance
chemicals, intermediates
and performance
chemicals, and chemicals
and polymers businesses
before being named
president of global
chemicals.
Guangdong Yizumi
Precision Machinery Co.
Ltd. has named former
Engel Holding GmbH
Chief Technology Officer
(CTO) Hans Wobbe as
its chief strategy officer.
Mr. Wobbe has held key
positions in a number of
companies, including as
the head of development
at Werner & Pfleiderer
GmbH, and the managing
director of technology
at Munich, Germanybased KraussMaffei
Kunststofftechnik GmbH.
In 2004, he was appointed
as CTO at Schwertberg,
Austria-based Engel, and
was responsible for the
development for all plants
in Asia, Europe and North
America, including the
establishment of Engels
Shanghai, China, plant.
Alicat Scientific has

appointed Andy Mangell
as its European territory
manager, where he
will serve as support
for distributors of
the companys line of
pressure controllers,
mass flow controllers,
meters and accessories.
Mr. Mangell has spent
the last 15 years as the
UK managing director
of Bronkhorst UK,
overseeing the sales
strategy for its thermal
and Coriolis mass flow
controller lines. Prior to
this, he spent nine years
developing the UK market
for pressure measurement
and mechanical pressure
regulator manufacturers.
FieldComm Group has
named Thoralf Schulz,
the global technology
manager of control
technologies in process
automation for ABB, as
the new chairman of its
board of directors.
Mr. Schulz joined ABB
as a product manager
in the area of process
control systems, and has
held various positions
in product management,
project management
and product development
within ABBs process
automation business.
In other board changes,
Shinji Oda, the general
manager of technology
marketing for Yokogawa,
will succeed Kimikazu
Takahashi, a Yokogawa
corporate fellow. Axel
Lorenz, the vice president
of process automation
at Siemens AG, will also
join the board.
Hudson La Force has been

named as president and
CEO of W. R. Grace & Co.
Since 2008, he has served
as Graces senior VP and
CFO. Mr. La Force will be
responsible for Graces
catalysts technologies and
materials technologies
business segments, and
Graces global manufacturing and supply chain
operations. He previously
served as the COO senior
counselor to the secretary
at the US Department
of Education and as a
member of the presidents
management council.
LyondellBasell has made
several senior leadership
changes. Timothy D.
Roberts, executive vice
president of global olefins
and polyolefins, will leave
the company. Mr. Roberts
will be succeeded by
Daniel M. Coombs, who
joined LyondellBasell
last year as the executive
vice president of global
intermediates and
derivatives, technology
and procurement. Mr.
Coombs previously held
several senior executive
roles with Chevron Phillips
Chemical Co.
James D. Guilfoyle,
the current senior VP of
global intermediates and
derivatives, will continue
in his current role while
assuming additional
responsibilities for the
companys supply chain.
As part of this
transition, LyondellBasell
has also named Paul
Augustowski as senior VP
of olefins and polyolefins
in the Americas.
BP has realigned its senior

executive team. Lamar
McKay has been named
to the new position of
deputy group CEO.
Mr. McKay, a 35-year
veteran of BP, has been
the CEO of the companys
upstream segment since
2013. He has been a
member of the executive
team since 2008. After
beginning his career with
Amoco in 1980, he held
a range of technical and
leadership roles before
working on the BP-Amoco
merger. After further
senior executive roles
in the US and Russia,
Mr. McKay was appointed
chairman and president
of BP America, BPs
chief representative in
the US, in 2009.
Mr. McKay will be
succeeded by Bernard
Looney, who currently
serves as the COO of
production in the upstream
segment, a position he
has held since 2013. Mr.
Looney joined BP in 1991
as a drilling engineer,
holding roles in the North
Sea, Vietnam and the Gulf
of Mexico. He joined the
executive team in 2010.
Katrina Landis, the
executive vice president
of corporate business
activities, is leaving
the company after 24
years. She has been the
executive vice president
of corporate business
activities, responsible
for BPs integrated supply
and trading activities,
renewable energy
activities, shipping,
and technology and
remediation management,
since 2013.
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HARNESS THE POWER

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Engineering Case Histories

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ADRIENNE BLUME, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Corrosion prevention is a necessary cost

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