Special Focus Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels
K. GUPTA and M. ETHAKOTA, TechnipFMC, New Delhi, India;
Integrate solar/thermal energy
in oil and gas processing
One of the greatest challenges facing
the world is climate change, the aftermath
of emissions of greenhouse gases into our
atmosphere. Awareness of climate change
and its causes is spurring the development
of new methods to reduce carbon dioxide
(CO2 ) emissions.
In support of the Paris Climate Agree-
ment, India is committed to tackling this
ongoing issue. The country’s balanced
and comprehensive Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions (INDCs)—
a term used under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) for reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions, which all
countries that signed the UNFCCC were
asked to publish before the 2015 United
Nations Climate Change Conference held
in Paris, France, in December 2015—are
proving that the recent decisions of the
Indian government represent a quantum
leap in its aspirations to face the challeng-
es of climate change.
According to the International Energy
Outlook 2016, world consumption of
marketed energy will increase from 549
quadrillion Btu in 2012, to 629 quadril-
lion Btu in 2020, and to 629 quadrillion
Btu in 2040—a 48% increase from 2012
to 2040. Oil remains the world’s lead-
ing fuel, accounting for 32.9% of global
energy consumption, according to a BP
study. Meeting the growing energy de-
mand will present further challenges due
to the constraints required to minimize
environmental damage.
The Paris Agreement’s focus on ener-
gy, as well as the new policies in place, will
impose greater restrictions on emissions
of CO2 . This will significantly impact the
fossil fuel sector. The shift in policy has
made its mark on the investment pattern
in the energy sector—at a time when
and S. PAYYANAD, TERI University, New Delhi, India
investment in upstream oil and gas has
fallen sharply, roughly $1.8 T/yr of en-
ergy sector investment has been attracted
to clean energy. The value of fossil fuel
consumption subsidies experienced a tre-
mendous reduction in 2015, dropping to
$325 B from almost $500 B in the previ-
ous year. This reflects not only lower fos-
sil fuel prices, but also a subsidy reform
process that has gathered momentum in
several countries.
A new approach. Fossil fuels continue
to dominate energy supply, but the overall
distribution of energy sources is changing
in both share and investment. Mitigating
climate change by reducing CO2 emis-
sions is not an easy task for the conven-
tional sector, as a significant monetary
burden is imposed on oil and gas compa-
nies. An approach is needed regarding new
technology that focuses on innovation, as
well as on retrofitting existing systems
with new combinations. Identifying and
investing in technology that will reduce
carbon footprint and, at the same time,
generate profit is the best option for oil
TABLE 1. CO2 emissions by source (IPCC, 2005)
Process Number of sources
Fossil fuels
Power 4,942
Cement production 1,175
Refineries 638
Iron and steel industry 269
Petrochemical industry 470
Oil and gas processing N/A
Other sources 90
Biomass
Bioethanol and bioenergy 303
Total 7,887
and gas sector companies. Oil extraction
and refining are consuming almost 10%
(approximately 9 MMbpd) of the total
oil produced—the US Energy Informa-
tion Administration’s (EIA’s) Short-Term
Energy Outlook 2017 estimates that total
oil production in 1Q 2017 was 97 MMb-
pd. This is equivalent to 0.055 exajoules
per day (EJ/d), considering the calorific
value of crude as 43 megajoules (MJ) per
kilogram (MJ/kg), which is sufficient to
light 6.2 B homes per month (15 W for
5.5 hr for 30 d), or 515 MM homes/yr.
The integration of renewable energy
sources into the conventional energy
sector can be a promising solution if the
economics of both can coincide. The op-
portunities and applications for solar/
thermal systems to fully or partially re-
place fossil fuels are explored here.
India’s oil refining capacity for 2016–
2017 was projected to be 310.6 MMtpy,
but the lack of accurate data regarding the
total energy consumption for the coun-
try’s oil refineries exposes the negligence
of the sector. The reason for including
Indian refineries in the Perform, Achieve
CO2 emissions, MMtpy
10,539
932
798
646
379
50
33
91
13,466
Hydrocarbon Processing | JANUARY 201835
 Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels
and Trade (PAT-2) cycle is their fuel con-
sumption itself.
As per international benchmarks, the
specific energy consumption (SEC) of
an Indian oil refinery is 542 Kcal/l–872
Kcal/l (kilo calorie per liter), or 5.42%–
9.27% of total production. This means
that 5%–10% of the energy produced is
used for the production process. This is
not an insignificant amount and therefore
deserves recognition. Energy efficiency
enhancement and an increase of environ-
mentally friendly energy resources (e.g.,
wind, solar, biomass) in the global energy
mix offer a promising solution. Lower
carbon emissions, increased long-term
profitability, higher natural gas prices and
the non-availability of natural gas in cer-
tain geographical locations are the main
drivers for the adoption of renewable en-
ergy. Solar/thermal technology is used in
only a few areas, such as in steam genera-
tion for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) ap-
plications in the Middle East and North
Africa (MENA) region.
Within oil refineries, a good share of en-
ergy consumption is utilized in the name
of “process heat.” The energy demand is
met by the burning of conventional ener-
gy resources such as oil and gas. Globally,
the refining sector ranks third in station-
ary CO2 emissions, as shown in TABLE 1. A
typical refinery emits 0.04 metric t/bbl–
0.049 metric t/bbl of CO2 in processing
light to heavy crude, which indicates the
TABLE 2. Energy consumption of
refineries
Refinery % of total production
Refinery 1 8.1
Refinery 2 10
Refinery 3 9.3
Refinery 4 7.5
140
Energy consumption, MMKcal/hr
120
100
80
60
40
20
0 0
Refinery 1 Refinery 2 Refinery 3
FIG. 1. Energy consumption of refineries.
36JANUARY 2018 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
potential and need for integrating solar/
thermal technologies—such as parabolic
trough collectors (PTCs), linear fresnel
reflectors (LFRs), solar towers (STs) and
non-concentrating collectors—that can
result in considerable energy gain.
Energy consumption in refineries.
Refinery operations generally consume
energy in three different forms: heat,
steam and electricity. For the same pro-
cessing capacity, the amount of energy
consumed changes depending on the re-
finery’s complexity—as the complexity
increases, so do the process steps and en-
ergy consumption. It is important to un-
derstand the average consumption of any
refinery to set a baseline for the study to
quantify the reduction in consumption of
conventional energy (FIG. 1 and TABLE 2).
Ninety percent of the total energy
is used as thermal energy for the high-
temperature processes: heating of feed
(65%) and steam generation (23%). The
average energy consumed in each process
and their temperature requirements are
highlighted in FIGS. 2 and 3.
When examining solar/thermal in-
tegration in refineries, it is important to
consider some of those applications in
detail, along with the understanding of
the basic features of various solar/ther-
mal technologies.
SOLAR/THERMAL
TECHNOLOGIES
Concentrating solar/thermal (CST)
systems use combinations of mirrors or
lenses to concentrate direct beam solar ra-
diation to produce forms of useful energy,
such as heat, electricity or fuels. CST sys-
tems are mainly classified as either non-
concentrating or concentrating systems.
Direct normal irradiance (DNI) is the pri-
1.2
Alkylation
1 Catalytic reformer
Fluid catalytic cracker
0.8
Hydrocracker
0.6 Hydrotreater
Visbreaker
0.4
Delayed coker
0.2 VDU
ADU
Refinery 4
FIG. 2. Specific energy consumption in different refinery units, Kcal/l.
mary parameter in deciding the total ener-
gy available for the CST system. A global
DNI profile is shown in FIG. 4, and can be
used to analyze the solar/thermal poten-
tial of a particular geographical region.
A solar/thermal system combined with
a thermal energy storage (TES) system is
particularly effective, as it can store the
generated heat and can be used when solar
energy is unavailable. Heat transport and
storage have become a focus of research
and can provide solutions to a variety of
challenges related to the intermittent na-
ture of solar energy. The three types of
TES are sensible heat storage, latent heat
storage and thermochemical storage. So-
lar/thermal collectors are classified as
low-temperature, medium-temperature
or high-temperature, and the suitable heat
transfer media is selected primarily based
on the operating temperature.
Low-temperature collectors can make
use of refrigerants/phase-changing mate-
rials, water, water-nano fluids and water-
glycol mixtures as heat transfer media.
Water-glycol mixtures and hydrocarbon
oils are generally preferred for medium-
temperature collectors. High-temperature
systems make use of hydrocarbon oils,
nanofluids and molten salts as heat trans-
fer and storage media. Research is ongoing
for different heat transfer media—such as
air/compressed gases, molten metals, flu-
idized solid particles and ceramics—to
achieve better properties to make them
suitable for storage applications. The
main challenges for energy storage are
finding a commercially viable solution
and committing to high investment costs.
Parabolic trough collectors. PTCs
consist of solar collectors (mirrors), heat
receivers and support structures (FIG. 5).
The parabolic-shaped collector is fabri-
0 100 200 300 400 500
 Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels

cated by forming a reflective surface for ~1,300°C

concentrating sun rays to its focal line. Amine treatment Sulfur recovery Sulfur
unit unit ~1,000°C
The receiver consists of an absorber tube Hydrogen
(usually metal) inside an evacuated glass HGU
envelope. The absorber tube is a coated ~250°C ~200°C Isomerization
stainless steel tube, with a spectrally se- Naphtha Naphtha Gasoline
hydrotreating splitter
lective coating that absorbs the solar Catalytic
C ~300°C reforming
(shortwave) irradiation well, but emits ~380°C D Kerosine
very little infrared (longwave) radiation. U hydrotreating Kerosine
jet fuel
This helps reduce heat loss. Evacuated ~350°C
glass tubes are used because they contrib- Diesel
hydrotreating Diesel
ute to reduced heat loss. PTCs are one of PRU Alkylation
the most mature solar/thermal technolo-
~350°C
gies and have been in commercial use for VGOO FCC gasoline
the last four decades. PTCs have an oper- hydrotreating FCC hydrotreater
ating range of 290°C–550°C.
Distillates Heavy fuel/
Hydrocracking bunker
Linear fresnel reflectors. LFR systems
~425°C V ~400°C–430°C
(FIG. 6) generate a line focus onto a down- ~480°C
D
ward-facing receiver. The long row of plain U Visbreaking
or slightly curved mirrors is focusing onto
the receivers. These systems are single-axis Lube oil Lube oil
plant blending
tracking, and the downward-facing cavity ~480°C Distillates
reduces convection heat losses. The cost of DCU Coke
an LFR system is lower compared to a par-
abolic trough system due to the flat mirrors FIG. 3. Temperature requirements of different sub-processes in a crude refinery (coking refinery
used and the lower requirements of the configuration).

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Hydrocarbon Processing | JANUARY 201837
 Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels
supporting structure, which is mounted
closer to the ground. An LFR system has
an operating range of 250°C–390°C.
Solar towers. STs, also known as central
receiver systems (CRSs), use hundreds
or thousands of small reflectors (called
heliostats) to concentrate the sun’s rays
on a central receiver placed atop a fixed
tower (FIG. 7). The concentrated power
of the tower concept achieves very high
temperatures. The concept is highly flex-
ible; designers can choose from a wide
variety of heliostats, receivers and trans-
fer fluids. STs have an operating range of
250°C–650°C, which can be extended
to 1,000°C–1,200°C by using air/helium
as the heat transfer medium. At the same
FIG. 4. Direct normal irradiation (DNI) world map (Source: DLR 2008).
FIG. 5. Parabolic trough collector.
FIG. 6. Linear fresnel reflector.
38JANUARY 2018 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
time, STs are a more expensive option
than the other technologies mentioned
here, due to the complex receivers and
high-temperature domains.
Non-concentrating collectors. These
collectors (FIG. 8) are either flat-plate or
evacuated tube collectors. Compared to
concentrating collectors, non-concen-
trating collectors can only be used in low-
temperature applications that are limited
to 120°C. The cost is also low compared
to concentrating collectors. The selection
of suitable collectors for the application
depends on the operating temperature of
the application. Collectors and their cor-
responding temperature ranges are tabu-
lated in TABLE 3.
FIG. 7. Solar power tower.
FIG. 8. Non-concentrating collectors.
CASE STUDIES
Case studies for different high-tem-
perature requirements for various solar/
thermal technologies are discussed in
detail here. The absence of solar energy
at night and during cloudy days can be
compensated by energy storage and a hy-
brid system—a solar energy system with
a backup heat source from a conventional
source—that will ensure consistent ener-
gy supply. Storage is excluded from Case
Studies 1, 2 and 3, while Case Study 4 is a
hybrid system with storage.
Case 1: ST systems for high-tem-
perature process heat applications.
Traditionally, fuel oil, fuel gas and natural
gas are used for heat requirements at high
temperatures. Most reactions, such as
steam reforming, catalytic reforming and
gasification, require high temperatures in
the range of 500°C–1,000°C, as well as
high heat flux due to their endothermic
nature. High heat flux and temperature
requirements make the entire process
highly energy intensive (FIG. 9).
Utilizing solar/thermal energy to sup-
ply heat to these reactions, directly or
indirectly, will be a breakthrough in the
integration of solar/thermal technology
in oil and gas processing. Different solar
thermal technologies can be considered
as integration options, but the constraint
comes with the operating temperature.
Technologies with high concentration
ratios, such as a central receiver system/
dish system, offer an operating tempera-
ture of 600°C–1,000°C by using heat
transfer fluid (HTF) media like air/he-
lium. Molten salt as an HTF is a viable
option for temperatures below 600°C.
A high-temperature application re-
quires a temperature of 950°C, and this
can be attained by using air as an HTF me-
dium, along with a central receiver system
with volumetric air receivers. While this is
not a mature technology, the prototypes
developed have shown a positive output.
Heliostats concentrate the solar rays
onto a volumetric receiver, which heats
the air to the desired temperature. The
high-temperature air exchanges heat in
the heat exchanger/reactor, and the low-
temperature air is returned to the central
receiver system through a blower. The
results of the case study are summarized
in TABLE 4.
A 20 MW-t (megawatts thermal) ca-
pacity system was simulated to explore its

technical viability. A design point DNI of
800 W/m2 was chosen, considering the
hourly radiation profile available for west-
ern India. An inlet temperature of 450°C
and an outlet temperature of 950°C were
considered. Heliostats of standard size
12.2 m2 × 12.2 m2 were used for the anal-
ysis. In the high-temperature segment,
the payback period exceeds 10 yr due to
the high capital expenditure (CAPEX) of
the high-temperature ST system.
Typically, the central receiver system
has an initial investment of $0.7 MM/
MW, including the cost for heliostats,
tower and receiver, and a land require-
ment of 2.1 acre/MW–3.5 acre/MW
without the storage system. The addition
of a thermal storage system to ensure a
continuous energy supply requires three
to four times the average footprint, as well
as the same required CAPEX.
Case Study 2: Integration of solar/
thermal crude heating application.
Process heating is an important part
of crude oil production. A significant
amount of heat is required to preheat
crude before it is processed in a crude dis-
tillation unit (CDU). Generally, refineries
rely on fuel oil-fired heaters for preheating
crude. Because the quantity of crude pro-
cessed per day is large, so is the required
amount of heat. In this case study, a typi-
cal plant processing crude with a heat re-
quirement of approximately 38 MMKcal/
hr was considered, with a refining capac-
ity of 4.5 MMtpy.
This demand was supplied through
fired heaters that use fuel oil to heat the
crude to a temperature of 302°C–380°C.
The conventional system was partially
replaced by the proposed system with a
capacity of 12 MW-t designed to heat the
fluid from 302°C to 320°C. The proposed
FIG. 9. High-temperature application schematic.
Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels
system used a PTC system for harnessing The simulation provided an energy
solar energy into process heat. The integra- output of 18,156 MWh/yr, replacing 5%
tion is illustrated in FIG. 10. Since the tem- of the heat required for the heating of crude
perature requirement was in the range of from 302°C to 320°C. The partial replace-
300°C–400°C, a PTC system or dish sys- ment of the fired heater for crude heating
tem was suitable for this application. The appears to be a viable option, as it replaces
existing system was modified by incorpo- 5% of energy from solar with a 12-MW-t
rating a PTC system and integrating it with system. The project is providing a simple
the existing system with a shell-and-tube payback period of approximately 5 yr.
heat exchanger. HTF was heated from
a temperature of 340°C to 380°C in the Case Study 3: Partial boiler replace-
PTC, and it was used to heat the crude oil ment with LFR-based solar/thermal
in a heat exchanger by increasing the tem- system. A refinery’s steam requirement
perature of crude from 302°C to 320°C. plays a major role in its energy consump-
After exchanging heat, the HTF tion. Low-pressure (3.5 barg/150°C),
(Therminol) was again fed back into the medium-pressure (10 barg/250°C) and
PTC circuit. Crude was further heated high-pressure steam (35 barg/360°C)
from 320°C to 380°C in the fired heater it- are used for different process require-
self, reducing the fired heater’s load. Typi- ments. Captive utility boilers are a source
cally, a PTC system has an energy collec- of steam and operate either on fuel oil or
tion of 930 MWh/yr/acre–1,150 MWh/ natural gas. The combustion of fuel oil or
yr/acre, and requires an investment of fuel gas also contributes to refinery emis-
$300/MWh (TABLE 5). sions, as well as to the total specific en-
TABLE 3. Operating temperature range of different collectors
Temperature range, °C Solar collector Heat transfer fluid
< 80 Flat plate, non-tracking compound parabolic Water
80–200 Parabolic trough, linear fresnel Water/steam
200–300 Parabolic trough, linear fresnel Mineral oil
300–400 Parabolic trough, linear fresnel Synthetic oil
400–650 Heliostat/central receiver, parabolic dish Steam/molten salt
> 650 Heliostat/central receiver Air/helium
Solar field
HTF 340°C
HTF 380°C Preheated crude
to crude distillation
Flash
Fired heater
Crude at B/L
Desalter
Crude
Heat exchanger
Crude
preheat
train
FIG. 10. Solar/thermal integrated crude heating.
Hydrocarbon Processing | JANUARY 201839
 Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels

ergy consumption. As most of the captive solar/thermal technology. The results are Case Study 4: Solar/thermal-based
boilers cater to refinery processes, the summarized in TABLE 6. vapor absorption refrigeration. In a
capacity of these systems is usually huge. The system is now providing an an- typical petroleum refinery, approximate-
Typically, a 1-MMtpy refinery requires nual solar heat generation of 18,341 ly 12% of electricity is used for heating,
35 tph–80 tph of steam through its utility MWhr/t and reducing the CO2 emis- ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
boilers. Replacing a part of the steam re- sions by 4,775 tpy, with a simple payback and lighting, providing sufficient im-
quirement with solar/thermal technolo- period of approximately 4 yr. Typically, petus to explore space cooling systems.
gies can reduce CO2 emissions and save an LFR system requires 0.43 acre/tph– Solar/thermal-based vapor absorption
a significant amount of fossil fuel (FIG. 11). 0.6 acre/tph of steam production, while systems make use of heat generated from
This case study had a steam require- investment costs vary from $0.41 MM/ solar radiation to operate. A non-con-
ment of 15 tph at 10 bar, and utilized LFR tph–$0.62 MM/tph, and can reduce centrating type of solar/thermal system
CO2 generation by 0.19 kg of CO2 /kg of is most suitable for the low-temperature
TABLE 4. Key results, central receiver steam production. application. The temperature needed
system: 20 MW-t for the input heat changes is dependent
Location (25.75°N, 71.42°E) TABLE 6. Key results, LFR: 12 MW-t on the required cooling capacity. Water/
steam can be used as the heat input me-
Design point DNI, W/m2 800 Location (26.25°N, 73.05°E)
dia, and this provides flexibility to match
Design loop inlet/outlet 450/950 Design point DNI, W/m2 750 the heat requirement with the cooling ca-
temperature, °C Total annual solar heat 18,341 pacity. The solar-based vapor absorption
Total reflective area, m2 50,098 generation, MWh/y refrigeration (VAR) system comprises a
Annual heat collection, MWh/yr 34,500 Availability, %/yr 17 vapor absorption chiller, solar collectors,
Availability, %/yr 20 Land requirement, acres 7 a cooling tower and heat storage.
Land requirement, acres 70 CAPEX, $MM 4.94 The configuration of the integration
of solar/thermal technology with a VAR
CAPEX, $MM 14.13 OPEX, $MM 0.05
system is illustrated in FIG. 12.
OPEX, $/yr 2,158 Payback period, yr ~4 The case used for the analysis had a
CO2 reduction, tpy 9,546 CO2 reduction, tpy 4,775 cooling requirement of 15 TR for the
Payback period, yr > 10 space cooling. Boiler and thermal stor-
TABLE 7. Key results, solar VAR: 15TR
age were considered to compensate for
the non-availability of solar hours and
TABLE 5. Key results, PTC: 12 MW-t Location (21.75°N, 72.18°E) to ensure continuous supply throughout
Location (21.75°N, 72.95°E) Design point DNI, W/m2 750 the year. The VAR system required an
Design point DNI, W/m 2
750 Total annual solar heat 201 input of 71 kW-h to generate a cooling
generation, MWh/y power of 53 kW. The system used hot
Total annual solar heat 18,156
generation, MWh/y Space cooling, TR 15
water at 86°C to produce chilled water at
9°C (TABLE 7).
Solar share, % 5 Solar share, % 33
The chiller was integrated with solar/
Land requirement, acres 16 Land requirement, m2 201 thermal storage of 400 kWh and a 115-kW
CAPEX, $MM 7.32 CAPEX, $ 83,500 boiler to ensure a continuous and reliable
OPEX, $MM 0.146 OPEX, $ 2,262
supply. The system generated heat of 201
MWh-t from solar collectors, while fossil
Payback period, yr ~5.0 Payback period, yr ~4.0 heat generation produced 409 MWh-t.
CO2 reduction, tpy 5,975 CO2 reduction, tpy 78 The total heat balance between solar
and conventional sources is illustrated in
FIG. 13. The system replaced 32.6% of the
fossil heat to produce a cooling output of
53 kW, with a payback period of 4 yr.
This case study for a low-temperature
application is the simplest use of solar
heat in the low-temperature segment.
Other potential uses include desalina-
tion, low-temperature steam production
through solar/thermal systems for heat
tracing, and storage tank heating. Oil
and gas companies can perform various
case studies by selecting suitable technol-
ogy for their applications. Solar/thermal
component costs are expected to drop,
FIG. 11. Solar/thermal steam production.
and the options presented in these case
40JANUARY 2018 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com
 Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels

studies will continue to become more at- tor requires heat storage or a hybrid sys- system must be integrated with the exist-
tractive, as seen in the case of solar photo- tem while utilizing renewable energy. The ing utility boiler and, in the case of the
voltaics (PV), where the power price has high initial cost of the solar/thermal sys- low flow of steam from the solar/thermal
fallen from $0.17/kWh to $0.04/kWh in tem creates budgetary concerns, but that system, the utility boiler must ramp up be-
just a few years. cost is demand driven. The solar/ther- fore dropping the steam header pressure.
mal system offers 35%–40% efficiency in Maintenance of a solar/thermal sys-
Challenges and limitations. The oil terms of conversion of solar energy into tem is significant, as the mirrors require
and gas sector faces various challenges and process heat, which is lower compared regular cleaning to remove the dust and
limitations while adopting and integrating to fossil fuel heat conversion. Integration fine particles present in an open atmo-
renewable technologies. Reliability is the presents another challenge—e.g., steam/ sphere. Improper cleaning mechanisms
most prominent challenge, and the oil sec- heat generation through a solar/thermal can badly affect the performance of the
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.0
0.9 Q cool in MWh
0.8 Q aux in MWh
Q s, tot in MWh
0.7 Q tot in MWh
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Day

FIG. 12. Solar/thermal VAR system schematic. FIG. 13. Annual energy balance, solar VAR system.

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Hydrocarbon Processing | JANUARY 201841
 Alternative Feedstocks/Biofuels

system. Perhaps the greatest challenge is The oil and gas industry must in-
convincing the oil and gas sector that the crease its awareness of the potential
adoption of renewable energy is feasible, benefits of solar/thermal integration.
and can achieve the necessary efficien- This begins with the identification and
cies and return on investment (ROI). classification of the temperature range
and heat requirements for the installa-
The path forward. The first step to- tion of solar/thermal systems, includ-
ward effectively utilizing the available ing the need to review land availability,
solar/thermal potential in the oil and gas ownership, complexities in leasing pro-
sector is a combined evaluation by an oil cedures, etc.
and gas engineering consultant, the solar Partial replacement of industrial heat
developer and the refinery client. The is a feasible and achievable goal. The re-
engineering consultant must be con- finery should explore the carbon credit
vinced of the benefits of adopting CST benefit from local government, as well
technologies, and then should serve as as local policies that are favorable for
an advocate of those technologies. Using the deployment of renewable energy
their experience in the oil and gas sec- technologies. Oil and gas companies can
tor, this group will play a major role in also include the integration of renewable
the integration of these technologies and energy in their social responsibilities
in the reduction of cost of these plants. within the category of corporate social
The solar developer must develop meth- responsibility (CSR).
odologies that meet the requirements of
the oil and gas industry. The close asso- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ciation of the solar developer, manufac- The authors would like to sincerely acknowledge
turer/supplier, engineering consultant the support and guidance provided by Avril Tourmen,
New Business Manager for Asia Pacific BD and Sales
and client will lead to the development for TechnipFMC, for her significant contributions to
and improvement of these technologies. the development of this article.
KALPANA GUPTA is a Deputy Chief Engineer within
the process department at TechnipFMC, India.
She has more than 16 yr of experience in the design
and engineering of hydrogen and refinery units,
with a particular focus on the integration of
refineries and renewables. Ms. Gupta earned
her graduate degree from the Malaviya National
Institute of Technology (MNIT) in Jaipur, India;
her post-graduate degree in chemical engineering
at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT
Delhi); and a diploma in renewable energy from
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) India.
MARUTHI ETHAKOTA is the head of the Technip
India process department, and has 20 yr of
experience in process engineering and technology.
Prior to his time at Technip India, he worked in
process and product development for Hydrogen
Syngas Technology at Technip Benelux B.V.
Netherlands. He earned a BTech degree from
Andhra University, and an MTech degree in
chemical engineering at the Indian Institute
of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur).
SACHIN PAYYANAD is a Renewable Energy
Specialist with a primary focus on solar/thermal
systems. He is a certified boiler engineer, and
holds post-graduate diplomas in thermal power
plant engineering and environmental law. His key
interest areas include solar/thermal systems,
solar fuels and hydrogen. He earned an MTech
degree in renewable energy engineering and
management at The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI) India.

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