Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065 © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.cet-journal.com
1060 X. Yang et al.
fied and many possible FM measures are presented and dis- ling train and the reactants thereafter for C2 and C3 reactors.
cussed. The significance of modeling and simulation for help- Liquid accumulated in the bottom of flash drums is fed to the
ing ethylene plants to conduct FM is also highlighted. demethanizer (DeC1). In DeC1, methane is separated from the
cracked gas as the overhead product stream mainly used as the
fuel gas. The bottom stream consisting of C2 and heavier com-
2 Ethylene Process and Flare Source ponents is sent to the recovery section, which includes deetha-
Description nizer (DeC2), depropanizer (DeC3), and debutanizer (DeC4)
to separate the C2, C3, and C4 components, respectively. The
To reduce flaring emission sources, the ethylene plant process C2 and C3 reactors are used to convert acetylene to ethylene
should be analyzed first. Fig. 1 illustrates a typical flow dia- and convert MAPD (methyl acetylene/propadiene) to propyl-
gram for an ethylene plant. ene, respectively. The main products of ethylene and propylene
are separated from the tops of the C2 and C3 splitters, respec-
tively, while the bottom streams from the C2 and C3 splitters,
2.1 Ethylene Production Process containing ethane and propane distinctively, are circulated to
the upstream as the feedstock.
The feedstock (e.g., LPG, naphtha, and light diesel) is sent to
furnaces for cracking. The furnace effluent, called cracked gas,
is then forwarded to the quench tower where the cracked gas is 2.2 Identification of Flare Sources
cooled and partially condensed. The quench tower overhead
vapor is then sent to cracked gas compressors (CGCs). After Major flare activities in ethylene plants are start-ups, shut-
being compressed and dried, the cracked gas is fed to the chil- downs, process upsets, and plant trips. During these activities,
ling train, where the cracked gas becomes chilled and then is eight flaring locations are identified, which include:
directed to flash drums. Hydrogen is separated from the top of – CGC suction. Cracked gas will be diverted to the plant flar-
the flash drums, which will be used as a cold stream in the chil- ing system from CGC suction during situations that com-
www.cet-journal.com © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065
Pollution prevention 1061
pressors trip, compressors are unable to receive cracked gas tions [12–16]. Their methodology can be generally divided into
during start-ups, or compressors are already shut down three steps: (i) develop and validate steady-state simulation
while the cracked gas still keeps coming. (SS) models; (ii) upgrade the SS models to dynamic simulation
– Chilling train tail gas outlet. When the top product flow rate (DS) models with real validations; (iii) use the validated DS
of DeC1 overpasses the pipe limits to the fuel gas network, models to examine FM procedures for their operational safety
the excessive products will be directed to flare in order to and operability [17]. Fig. 2 presents this methodology frame-
protect the systems. work. Note that based on the methodology framework, FM
– DeC2/DeC3 overheads. When DeC2/DeC3 overhead prod- strategies can also be optimized. The plant expertise-assisted
ucts do not meet the feed requirements to the C2/C3 reactor dynamic simulation will be a cost-effective and promising way
distinctively, the products will be diverted to the flare system to examine FM opportunities in the future.
to prevent catalysis deactivation.
– C2/C3 reactor outlets. The majority of flaring during ethyl-
ene plant start-ups and process upsets occurs at the C2/C3
reactor outlets. Since very low concentrations of acetylene/
MAPD are specified at their outlets, C2/C3 reactors easily
suffer upsets. Once the unqualified outlet streams are sent to
the downstream units, the C2/C3 splitters will be contami-
nated and require at least several hours to recover. Under
this situation, the unqualified streams from the C2/C3 reac-
tor outlets should flow to the flare system directly.
– C2/C3 splitter overheads. The final products are high-purity
ethylene from the C2 splitter overhead and high-purity pro-
pylene from the C3 splitter. The customer requirements are
around 99.95 vol.-% and 99.60 vol.-%, respectively. There- Figure 2. General methodology framework.
fore, off-spec products with lower purity will be directed to
the flare system.
3.3 FM Project Management
3 General FM Strategy When validated FM measures are put into practice, their
execution should be well managed. This needs experienced op-
Based on the introduction, it is apparent that FM at ethylene erators, engineers, and administration, along with effective
plants is a very challenging task. It deals with such a complex planning, scheduling, and training. For instance, many
system that synergistic effects should be sought and utilized planned FM projects involve plant operational and design
whenever possible and at all possible scales. The developed strat- modifications. Thus, the affected facilities or even the entire
egy contains three steps as explained in the following sections. plant should be in shutdown mode to protect the personnel
and equipment safety. To reduce the downtime loss, the modi-
fications should be scheduled during plant turnarounds. Since
3.1 FM Classification and FM Opportunity a typical turnaround takes only 20–50 days, advanced planning
Identification is critical in order to avoid excess downtime [18, 19]. A special
team should be organized and equipments and pipelines must
Flares occur when off-spec products are generated or opera- be ordered well in advance of the date required onsite [19].
tional emergencies are met. Generally, they can be classified by Qualified personnel is required to execute the projects. The
planned and unplanned categories, both of which involve dif- project should also be scheduled at stages, and various tasks of
ferent scenarios. Because the conditions and root causes for each stage should be well-monitored to ensure that the tasks
each flaring scenario are generally different, FM measures for are accomplished with quality on time.
these scenarios should be identified in advance. Examining
efforts should be conducted in advance instead of during the
flaring. The potential FM opportunities can be identified based 4 Major FM Activities
on the cooperation of researchers and site expertise.
As aforementioned, the major flares that an ethylene plant
experiences can be classified into planned and unplanned cate-
3.2 FM Feasibility and Reliability Examination gories. In this section, FM activities related to these two cate-
gories will be extensively addressed.
Once possible FM opportunities (measures) are identified, they
need to be examined and validated to ensure their feasibility
and reliability. Previously, many plants used a trial-and-error 4.1 Planned Plant Events
approach to gain expensive and sometimes painful experiences
[12]. Recently, Xu and Li’s research groups systematically stud- Planned events provide enough time for orderly and controlled
ied FM problems in chemical plants through dynamic simula- actions in plants. These events mainly include plant shut-
Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065 © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.cet-journal.com
1062 X. Yang et al.
downs, maintenances, and start-ups. As the flaring emissions ment is met. After the CGC has started, the tail gas from the
during shutdowns and start-ups account for a significant por- chilling train and the DeC1 top will be flared until the chilling
tion of the whole plant flaring, this section will focus on these train and the DeC1 systems finally chill down, allowing that
two planned events. methane and hydrogen separations are guaranteed.
Similarly, before C3s contained in the DeC2 overhead
stream meet the composition requirement of the C2 reactor
4.1.1 Plant Shutdown feed, the feed is directed to flare [5, 6, 10]. At that time when
C3s meet the requirement, the flow is routed forward through
Shutdown is a transient operation plants experience from nor- the C2 reactor. Then, hydrogen is added to the reactor to start
mal operation to an idle mode. During this period, the raw catalytic reactions. After that, the flaring source will be the off-
feed to the furnace section is worked offline, the units are spec effluent (acetylene is higher than the limit) from the reac-
depressurized, and the process is brought to an ambient tem- tor. Once the reactor effluent is on-spec, the reactor effluent
perature. The operation transition generates off-spec products, will be fed into the C2 splitter for the separation of ethylene
which are released to the flare system. Historical practices dur- and ethane. Before ethylene from the C2 splitter overhead
ing shutdowns would firstly reduce the feed flow rates to the meets all customer specifications, the off-spec product still
lowest point of plant stability, then trip out CGC, and pull fur- needs to be flared. This principle is also used in the C3s separa-
naces off as quickly as possible. This process results in a huge tion. After products are on-spec, furnace feed rates begin to
number of flaring from the CGC suction. For such a shut- increase. For such a start-up, the total flaring emission could
down, flaring emission could be as high as millions of pounds be as high as millions of pounds [11].
[4]. The following measures have been summarized to minimize
In order to reduce flaring and recover the high-value gas, flares [4–8, 10–16, 20]:
the following measures are identified [7, 10, 11]: – Establish appropriate recycles to recover off-spec products.
– Replace all plant-produced hydrogen to the C2/C3 reactors – Pre-inventory and operate distillation towers on total reflux.
with imported hydrogen to maintain reactor effluents on – Start up the CGC section with artificial gas before start up
specification. Circulate plant-produced hydrogen and tail the cracking furnaces.
gas to the CGC suction. – Start up furnaces one by one and control the feed ramping
– For an ethane/propane feedstock, reduce the furnace coil rate carefully.
outlet temperatures (COTs) to suppress cracking reactions, – Speed up the chilling-down rate while maintaining the chil-
while pushing high-value components out of facilities as ling train within equipment constraints.
product with uncracked ethane/propane. – Ensure that the normal operating conditions of the DeC1
– Use ethane and propane cycles to gradually replace the fresh through the DeC4 are almost achieved before directing the
feedstock until the plant runs in full recycle. bottom stream of one tower to the downstream of the next.
– Recycle the C2/C3 reactor effluents back to the CGC suction – Add imported high-purity ethylene into the reflux drum of
when product streams from the C2/C3 splitters are no long- the C2 splitter to reduce its settling time.
er on-spec. Very recently, DS-based studies for start-up FMs have made
– Recover ethane from the C2 splitter and direct it to the fuel a significant progress. It is a cost-effective way to help plants
system until the C2 splitter bottom is drained out. Then take identify and improve their start-up strategies. Two reported
the furnaces offline. case studies are employed to demonstrate the DS application
– Slowly take refrigeration systems offline, shut down the significance. The first case is about a DS-assisted flare minimi-
CGC operation, and depressurize the left hydrocarbons in zation project [12], which studied the OP1 plant of Equistar
the process to the flare system. Chemicals Channelview complex. The DS was performed to
cover the DeC2, DeC3, and C2 reactors and the C2 splitter on
the basis of process flow scheme, equipment data, and instru-
4.1.2 Plant Start-up ment data. With the help of simulations, the DeC2 control tray
temperature set point was tuned from 62.2 /C (144 /F) to
Start-up involves operating the process from its initial state to 57.2 /C (135 /F), which improved the temperature distribution
its normal operation condition. During this period fresh feeds of DeC2 from Figs. 3a to 3b, and thus enhanced its operation
increase gradually and equipments are pressurized; fluids are stability during the start-up. As reported, the actual start-up
heated up or cooled down to normal operating temperatures. flaring load in OP1 plant was significantly reduced by 75 %
Historical start-up procedures would ramp up furnace feeds to compared with the earlier startup of the OP2 plant (OP1 and
provide the CGC feed and help generating super high-pressure OP2 plants have the same design and production scheme) on
steam to drive the compressors’ turbine. It will then start up that site.
the CGC section, start up the chilling train, start up DeC1 The second case is about an ethylene plant start-up flare
through DeC4, bring the C2/C3 reactors on specification, and minimization via plant-wide dynamic simulation [15]. This
bring ethylene and propylene products on specification. study covers the CGC, chilling train, DeC1, and recover sec-
During the start-up, from the activating CGC to the nor- tions. To avoid excessive flaring, multiple recycles were estab-
malizing product quality, off-spec product or intermediate lished including the major recycles from the DeC1/chilling
product streams will be generated and flared. In detail, the feed train, DeC2, and DeC3 to the CGC suction, and a short recycle
stream to the CGC suction will be flared off until the require- from the DeC4 top to the DeC2 bottom. These recycles were
www.cet-journal.com © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065
Pollution prevention 1063
(100 °F) (150 °F) other significant project requirements [19]. In this stage,
DeC2 Temperature Profile
everyone who participates in the project should be in
37.8 °C 65.6°C
Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065 © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.cet-journal.com
1064 X. Yang et al.
improve the process. Operation during this period is for trou- result of a power outage, instrument air failure, equipment
bleshooting and ensures that the plant start-up, daily opera- malfunction, lightening weather, etc. Plant trips usually cause
tion, and shutdown are performed safely, reliably, and effi- the partial or total shutdown of a plant immediately, allowing
ciently. The team leader needs to conduct meetings to evaluate very little time for specific planning. Under such situations,
the project, update documents, conclude the project, assign piping and equipments in the system should be depressurized
responsibility for further improvements, etc. to flare to protect personnel, equipments, and facilities. The
ambient environment is usually polluted, because it is often
impossible to make adjustments necessary to minimize flaring
4.2 Unplanned Plant Events to the same extent as what should be done during a scheduled
shutdown. Despite this situation, there are still actions that
Unplanned events occur in plant operation as a result of fault can be taken to reduce flaring. As the flaring source is the fur-
operations, equipment malfunctions, power outage, etc. Such nace sector, reducing the furnace load as quickly as possible is
events require immediate and synergistic actions to reject pro- the best option [8, 9]. Like Shell Chemicals at Deer Park, plants
cess disturbances and suppress process upsets, so as to protect can develop an emergency shutdown sequence for furnaces
plant personnel and facilities. For unplanned events, plant based on their flaring impact [9]. The following rules may be
safety is always the first priority. Flaring is one of the most fre- useful: (i) shut down large-capacity furnaces before small-ca-
quent choices during these unplanned events, because it is a pacity furnaces; (ii) shut down cracking furnaces with lighter
quick and effective way to protect the plant personnel, facil- feed first.
ities, and the ambient environment. FM activities should not Note that when shutting down furnaces, the feed flow rates
jeopardize plant safety and should be very carefully implemen- should be well controlled within equipment constraints. The
ted. In practice, two types of unplanned events contribute to a simulation can be helpful to identify which way is the most
significant part of flaring: process upsets and plant trips. FM effective and which shutdown rate is the safest and fastest for
details of these two events are discussed below. flaring reduction. There are some situations that furnaces just
need to be cut down instead of shut down. In these cases, the
cut rates can be optimally determined with the help of a simu-
4.2.1 Process Upsets lator.
Also note that operators’ faultless handling of emergencies
Process upsets mean that facilities run in an unstable or an definitely helps plants accomplish flare minimization. As some
undesirable situation that may jeopardize product quality and/ emergencies happen occasionally, operators seldom have ex-
or plant safety. The most significant flaring scenarios during perience to handle them. Simulations can virtually create these
process upsets occur when off-spec products are generated and situations so that operators can have a better training. Simula-
have to be burned. tions can also be used to develop a standard operation proce-
To reduce the flaring caused by process upsets, recycling off- dure (SOP) and train operators to improve their operation
spec materials to the upstream process for reprocessing pre- when facing these emergencies.
sents a good choice. Two major options are available to route
the off-spec components: one is to line the recycle to the CGC
suction, and the other is to tie it to the furnace feed [6, 8]. 5 Concluding Remarks
Both options have advantages and disadvantages. For the for-
mer option, there are limits for the recycled flow rate. Too big Flaring is an important but passive method in ethylene plants
flow rates will cause further unstable operations as a result of to protect the personnel, plant, and the environment. Excessive
the snowball effect. The latter option, because ethylene and/or flaring causes air pollution problems and negative societal im-
propylene are brought to cracking again, will generate more pacts, as well as tremendous raw material and energy losses.
acetylene and MAPD and subsequently take a longer time for Thus, flare minimization has great benefits to environmental,
product streams to come back on-spec. Under this scenario, societal, and industrial sustainability. Based on various indus-
the furnace COT set point and the flow rate of raw feed should trial practices, a general solution strategy is presented to mini-
be considered to decrease to some extent. Another choice for mize ethylene plant flaring. In this strategy, various flaring
handling the off-spec propylene stream is to store it temporari- activities are classified and major possible flare minimization
ly because of its noncryogenic temperature for the liquid measures are presented and discussed. The significance of
phase. To determine the best FM way, plant situations and up- modeling and simulation for helping plant flare minimization
set root cause should be investigated case by case. Under this in terms of examining operation feasibility and safety and
situation, dynamic simulation-based decision making can be developing training programs and SOP to improve operators’
helpful. performance is also highlighted.
www.cet-journal.com © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065
Pollution prevention 1065
Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 7, 1059–1065 © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.cet-journal.com