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ERTC CONFERENCE DAILY DAYS 1 & 2 9/10 November 2009
2009/14th Annual MeetingINSIDE TODAY . . .
Hotel maps and hospitality suites . . .3
Co-catalysts maximize FCC profits. . .4
Six years of visbreaking success . . . .8
News in brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Avoiding unscheduled turnaround . .12
ERTC schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
www.HydrocarbonProcessing.com
9/10 November 2009 ERTC Annual Meeting 1
Berlin is an appropriate city to host the 14th annual meeting of the ERTC. The city has lived through booms and busts, blockades, the destruction of world wars and played a major role as a flashpoint in the Cold War. And yet Berlin still stands, stronger and more com-pelling than ever, with new invest-ment, major construction projects and a healthy arts scene. Given the current gloomy state of Euro-pean refiners, those in attendance at ERTC should look to Berlin for inspiration.
Yes, refining margins are low and the threat of refinery closures in Europe is very real. Purvin & Gertz opined in a study released earlier this year that Europe may need to close 10% of its capac-ity. Total recently reported that its refining margins dropped over 80% in the span of a year. New capacity is coming onstream in the Middle East that will take business away from European refiners.
In the face of such depressing prognostication, the programming of the ERTC offers some rays of light. Europia will give a regula-tory update on IPPC and EU ETS.
The latest advances in refining technology will be profiled, from hydrocracking to biofuels. Interest-ing case studies will be parsed, like Neste Oil’s efforts in Finland to use HVO type fuel in motor vehicles.
Plus, a new session track on sus-
tainable refining will be unveiled, with eight presentations highlighted. All of this, in conjunction with the first ever gala dinner on Tuesday night, means that the 14th annual ERTC will shine brightly and offer refiners hope for a better future. ■
Welcome to BerlinHow abouta trillionfor European refining?
It may have been the banks, bless their souls, who paved our way into the current crisis, but on the hairy ride back down the economic cycle, it’s European refineries, not banks that will be shutting up shop. And there’s no government rescue waiting in the wings.
For perhaps one in five of the refiners attending this year’s conference, the quest for optimal operations is replaced by the simple question: “Will we get through this – and how?”
Credit Suisse’s European refining margin at a few pennies over $4/bbl means not only that refining’s golden age is a pre-credit crunch memory, but that many sites are running on empty. Their revenue streams are shallow or dry, at the same time as traders are sitting on stocks of oil products of historic proportions.
In October, Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) estimated there were some 60–75 million barrels of diesel and jet fuel being stored onboard ships alone.
It seemed audacious earlier this year when traders started hiring newly constructed Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) for the stor-age of heating oil in European waters. But in October, Shell took to scrubbing out used supertankers for the same purpose. And at the end of that month, Vitol – the trader with the biggest stake in the oil storage game – report-edly fixed an Ultra Large Crude Carrier.
Vessels like that, as you’ll appreciate, can often accommodate the country whose flag they bear in their main fuel oil tank. Even a smaller VLCC has a capacity of perhaps 2 mil-lion bbl. Vitol’s fixture may be for storing crude oil, for which such vessels were intended (we don’t know), but the fact remains that there’s a
Trillion continued on page 6
Tim Lloyd Wright,HydrocarbonProcessing
Bouncing back in 2010 will be a chore for any company involved in the energy business. For the experienced members of the HPI, the comeback in 2010 will be very similar to the recovery endured in the early 1980s.
During 2008 and into 2009, the energy markets slid to the lowest era of prices and demand not seen since the 1970s recession. Crude oil prices dropped to $30/bbl in early 2009. As the global economy begins to recover, demand for petroleum-based products is showing increased consumption on a quarterly basis. Renewed confidence in the financial markets and higher demand is pulling up the price of crude oil.
For the refining industry, demand con-traction and high inventories for transporta-tion fuels have created numerous problems.
As consumption stopped, refiners had to deal with an oversupply of products. Likewise, oil producers slowed production of opportunity crude oils to improve their cash flow. Thus,
refiners who had invested in heavy, sour oil upgrading capacity were not able to capitalize on these investments. Low demand, high inventories, and minimal margins forced shutdowns of refining capacity during 2009.
As the refining industry re-emerges from this downturn it will be reshaped by several factors. Excess refining capacity has flooded the present mar-ketplace. Too much supply is chasing diminished demand, thanks to the weakened global economy. However, more refining capacity will enter the market from 2009–2014, as shown in Fig. 1. Approximately 7.6 million bpd
of new distillation refining capacity is fore-cast to be added over the next five years. Not
The Brandenburg Gate was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II to represent peace. It is probably the most well-known landmark in Berlin, and now stands as a symbol of the reunification of the two sides of this great city.
HPI spending to exceed $210 billion in 2010
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Crud
e di
still
atio
n ca
paci
tyad
ditio
ns, m
illio
n bp
d
OECDChinaOther AsiaMiddle EastOther Non-OECD
Source: IEA
FIG. 1. Crude distillation capacity additions by nations—2009 to 2014.
Spending continued on page 6
In a single process step, BASF combines a new, advanced FCC catalyst matrix with our proven zeolite technology, in an ultra-low sodium, intimately dispersed, proximal structure. The sum ... Prox-SMZ (Proximal Stable Matrix and Zeolite) a proprietary technology platform providing:
� Leading hydrothermal stability
� Deep bottoms conversion and best bottoms to coke ratio
� Low dry gas and coke production
� Suitable for all FCC feedstocks including highly contaminated resids
HDXtra, the fi rst catalyst derived from the innovative Prox-SMZ technology platform, optimizes the zeolite-to-matrix ratio to maximize bottoms-to-LCO conversion to meet growing diesel demand.
Stamina combines selective cracking with proven metals tolerance features for resid feeds.
When the right reaction matters, trust BASF for bottoms upgrading and distillate maximization.
1 + 1 = #1
For more information, please visitwww.catalysts.basf.com/prox-smz
9/10 November 2009 ERTC Annual Meeting 3
How to get around
Getting from point A to point B
Hospitality suites
The hospitality suites open at 17:00 on Monday and Tuesday evenings. They are also open during the day on Tuesday and Wednesday at several junctures in time, including coffee breaks and lunch. We wish everyone pleasant networking and deal making.
Oil demand up in 2010Global oil demand will grow
next year for the first time since 2007, says a recent report from IHS Cambridge Energy Research Asso-ciates (IHS CERA). The group also projects demand returning to its pre-recession levels by 2012.
IHS CERA sees a f ive-year turnaround scenario, pegging oil demand growth at 900,000 bpd in 2010 and, then, the big news of the report, a return to its 2007 high of 86.5 million bpd by 2012.
“Oil demand dropped by 2.8 million bpd from its high point of 86.5 million bpd in 2007 to 83.8 mil-lion bpd in 2009,” IHS CERA says. “The last time that the world expe-rienced such a severe decline in oil consumption was in the early 1980s and it took nine years for demand to return to the 1979 pre-recession high. A five-year turnaround—while still a substantial amount of time—would be swift in comparison.”
IHS CERA thinks emerging markets will drive the recovery of oil demand. It expects oil demand to increase from 83.8 million bpd in 2009 to 89.1 million bpd in 2014, with 83% coming from non-OECD countries.
The research group expects China alone to account for 1.6 mil-lion bpd of cumulative growth, while only 900,000 bpd of growth will come from OECD countries.
The miniscule growth numbers from the OECD countries highlight structural changes like “higher fuel efficiency, the displacement of con-ventional oil with renewable energy sources and a slower pace of growth in transportation fuel consumption.” All of these factors trend toward flat demand in the OECD.
Honeywell acquires RMG GroupHoneywell recently acquired
RMG Group for approximately $400 million. The goal of the acquisition is to strengthen Honeywell’s posi-tion in the clean energy industry, specifically natural gas. Based in Kassel, Germany, RMG’s main busi-ness involves natural gas measur-ing and control products, services and integrated solutions. RMG will be part of Honeywell Process Solu-tions (HPS). HPS President Norm Gilsdorf said that the deal would increase value to customers of both businesses throughout the natural gas production supply chain.
News in brief
PublisherBill Wageneck
Conference EditorBilly Thinnes
Production ManagerChris Valdez
Published by Hydrocarbon Processing as two daily editions, November 9/10 and 11. If you wish to advertise in this newspaper, or to submit a press release, please contact the editor via e-mail ([email protected]).
Hydrocarbon Processing2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020Houston, TX 77252-2608Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
ADVERTISERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ad page
Alfa Laval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
BASF Catalysts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Criterion Catalysts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
DuPont/Veolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Haldor Topsøe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Johnson Matthey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
KBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Process Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Süd-Chemie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
UOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4 ERTC Annual Meeting 9/10 November 2009
Co-catalysts - maximize FCC profitability through product flexibility
Due to rapid changes in fuels supply and demand, the refining industry has experi-enced volatility in the relative pricing of its products. As a result, the drive to maxi-mize either gasoline or diesel from the FCC has been constantly changing. How does a refiner respond to these market variations to maximize the value of the products from the FCC unit?
Co-catalysts are a new product category providing the refiner with the flexibility to change the product slate of the FCC with-out changing the FCC catalyst. Changing between a maximum gasoline Co-catalyst and a maximum LCO Co-catalyst will allow the refiner to rapidly capture the most favor-able economics at all times – maximizing FCC profitability.
Co-catalysts are added to the base catalyst to rapidly change the core performance of the FCC. Due to their exceptional catalytic properties, Co-catalysts drive this fundamen-tal change in unit performance and displace at least the equivalent rate of the base cata-lyst. They can be added quickly to the unit making the unit respond to rapidly changing product values - in the shortest time – opti-mizing profitability far more quickly than reformulating the FCC catalyst.
Co-catalysts have similarities with both additives and catalysts, but stand alone as a separate and new category of products. Catalysts provide the core catalytic perfor-mance of the FCC unit. Additives are added to the base catalyst to promote other chem-
istry such as propylene maximization, sulfur reduction of gasoline, CO promotion, NOx and SOx reduction. Co-catalysts are added to the base catalyst—at greater addition rates than typically used for additives—to change the FCC core performance.
The demand for distillate products worldwide is expected to be the main driv-ing force behind increased production and use of transportation fuels. Distillate con-sumption is expected to increase over 60% by 2030 while gasoline consumption is only expected to increase by 27% over that time, according to the Hart World Refining and Fuels Service, 2009–2030.
The price differential between diesel and gasoline will be a function of a great number of factors including seasonal demand differ-ences, supply of alternates -such as ethanol and biodiesel - and import/export pricing. The combination of these many factors
results in pricing volatility as indicated by the relative pricing for diesel and gasoline in 2008 (see figure 2).
LCO maximization. LCO production can be increased through operational changes:
• Decrease riser outlet temperature• Decrease catalyst activity• Increase feed preheat• Increase HCO recycle• Change cut-points.However, these changes do not necessar-
ily improve the profitability of the FCC due to the resultant increase in bottoms product and loss of product volume. Only a change in catalytic performance can definitely increase FCC profitability for LCO maximi-zation. Changing the catalytic performance allows for increased LCO selectivity – lower bottoms make – and can maintain profit-able product volume and value. A catalyst reformulation could provide this change in catalytic performance, but this takes too long to capture the advantage of the rapidly changing economics.
HDUltra. HDUltra is BASF’s new LCO maximization Co-catalyst and is the most effective route to increasing LCO availabil-ity. It was developed from our Prox-SMZ technology platform to:
• Maximize LCO yield• Maximize bottoms upgrading• Maintain coke selectivity• Highest Fresh MSA = 170 m2/g• Highest ecat MSA = 120 m2/g• Lowest Na content.The Prox-SMZ, or “proximal stable
matrix and zeolite” – technology platform is engineered for middle distillates. The matrix and zeolite are in close proximity, so that the zeolite can provide controlled cracking of the products from matrix upgrading. The high-est catalytic stability available maintains the high activity of both the matrix and zeolite.
In a commercial trial, HDUltra replaced 30% of the base catalyst and increased LCO by 2% and decreased slurry by 2% compared to the competitors catalyst. HDUltra signifi-cantly improved the LCO selectivity of the base catalyst by increasing matrix activity and matrix stability – equilibrium catalyst MSA = 120 m2/g.
Gasoline maximization. Gasoline maxi-mization is profitably achieved by maximiz-ing both bottoms upgrading and gasoline yield as well as minimizing LCO and coke make. BASF has for many years been at the forefront of catalyst technology for gasoline maximization. A catalyst reformulation can achieve the required change in performance, but this takes too long to capture the advan-tage of rapidly changing economics.
Converter. Converter is the market lead-ing gasoline maximization Co-catalyst and is the most effective route to increasing gaso-line available. It is the most active form of BASF’s gasoline maximization technology. Converter is based on BASF’s DMS technol-ogy platform:
• Maximizes gasoline yield• Maximizes bottoms upgrading• Best coke selectivity – lowest coke
make per unit activity• Highest TSA = 410 m2/g.In one example of a commercial trial,
Converter replaced 20% of the base cata-lyst and increased gasoline by 3.5% and decreased slurry by 4.5% compared to the base catalyst. Converter significantly improved the bottoms upgrading and pro-vided the additional gasoline and LPG required by the refiner.
In summary, Co-catalysts like HDUltra and Converter offer significant economic benefit to refiners, providing the fastest unit response to rapidly changing economics through product flexibility. ■
Co-catalysts
Additives Catalysts
FIG. 1. Co-catalysts are a new product category that provide a refiner with flexibility.
Source - EIA
1/7/
2008
-30
-20
0
10
20
Ultr
a-lo
w-s
ulfu
r die
sel m
inus
RFG
, ¢/g
al
30
40
50
60
2/6/
2008
3/7/
2008
4/6/
2008
5/6/
2008
6/5/
2008
7/5/
2008
8/4/
2008
9/3/
2008
10/3
/200
8
11/2
/200
8
12/2
/200
8
1/1/
2009
1/31
/200
9
3/2/
2009
4/1/
2009
FIG. 2. Diesel and gasoline relative price volatility in 2008.
InvitationHaldor Topsøe hospitality suite
We are pleased to invite you to attend Session B on Wednesday 10 November 2009 15:30 where Topsøe will present the paper
Novel hydrotreating technology for production of green dieselPlease also join us in our hospitality suite for informal talks with Topsøe specialists in hydroprocessing and hydrogen production.
W W W. T O P S O E . C O M
Europe’s consumers pay ‘startling differences’ for energy. Depending on where an elec-tricity or gas customer lives in Europe, the price for electricity can be around 300% that of another country, according to a new monthly price index for that region (www.vaasaett.com). The data reveal that both for electricity and gas, end-user prices have decreased constantly across EU15 member states since January 2009. Electricity customers in Copenhagen pay by far the highest prices within the capital cities of the EU15, around a third higher than Berlin, the next most expensive city. Customers in Helsinki and Athens get to outlay the least. For gas, Stockholm customers pay the highest prices—over 50% higher than in the next most expensive cities: Copenhagen, Berlin and Rome. Gas customers in London pay less than in any other capital city.
the art of science
Imagination, innovation and discovery—inspired by experience. As the global leader in technology solutions for the petroleum
refinery industry since 1914, UOP understands what it takes to
help our customers achieve and sustain success. Today, with
the support of our new parent company, Honeywell, we reaffirm
our commitment to leadership in customer satisfaction and
innovation. From equipment design and consulting to process
technology and products like high-performance catalysts and adsorbents, UOP is the one
global company that can consistently add value to your project.
Process Technology Catalysts Adsorbents Performance Equipment Profitability Consulting
UOP LLC, 25 East Algonquin Road, Des Plaines, IL 60017-5017, USA phone: +1-847-391-2000 fax: +1-847-391-2253 www.uop.com ©2009 UOP LLC. All Rights Reserved.
6 ERTC Annual Meeting 9/10 November 2009
Your Company + KBC Produces NextGen Performancen
We collaborate with our clients to create unique solutions to their specific challenges. Some of these challenges may include:
For 30 years, KBC consultants have provided independent advice and expertise to enable leading companies in the global energy business and other processing industries manage risk and achieve dramatic performance improvements.
For more information on how KBC can help you achieve
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Strategic Challenges Effective Business Strategy/Decisions Increased Return on Investments Enhanced Returns on Acquisitions/Divestitures Reduced Risk (Strategic, Capital, Other)
Market Challenges Enhanced Yields Effective Responses to Crude/Feedstock and Product Markets Improved Financial Performance Market Risk Management
Operating Challenges Improved Organisational Effectiveness Reduced Maintenance Costs Improved Energy Efficiency Behaviour-based Reliability/Performance Improved Safety Performance Operational Risk Management
Environmental Challenges Reduced Emissions Enhanced Compliance
huge amount of oil and product in storage.It’s a profitable game for the traders,
who’ve made a high-stakes game out of a market that’s now more or less stuck in contango, meaning that forward prices are higher than spot market prices today.
Traders buy at spot prices distressed by the high stock levels and sell the forward curve. With storage costs in some of the supertankers contracted this year at around $4.50 per tonne per month, there have been tidy profits for companies using the futures market to lock in forward sales at prices up to $14 per tonne per month higher than spot prices (but currently around half that).
It’s not only independent traders like Vitol that are involved, some oil companies have separated out ventures from the mother corporation to create specific ‘contango com-panies.’ These can take on large exposure to the volatile crude market without putting up the credit costs of the entire operation.
And then there’s the banks. I know none of us needs another reason to leave their fan club, but the banks are staffing up and stocking up today to profit from the carry market that is currently decimating refining margins.
With companies like Morgan Stanley already very active, most recently JP Mor-gan has signalled its intention to get serious about using floating storage to play the con-tango or carry market. It’s staffing up with oil traders in the US market to do what’s already been a feature of the Northwest European market for more than a year.
Essentially underwritten by taxpayers and with almost free credit from the central banks, bank oil traders are in a privileged position to take on exposure to the oil market. As out-right prices of crude and heating oil rise, the cost of borrowing to finance a contango posi-tion becomes more and more significant. If you can reduce risk and gain access to very
cheap borrowing then playing this oil market starts to look like easy money.
But it’s less easy on the European refining industry.
“Once you’ve established the contango, it takes a long time to get out of it,” says one of the wilier oil company traders. “Because the overhang of product has a dampening effect on prompt prices, it’s rather self-reinforcing,” he said.
Essentially, he says, production has to slow almost to a halt in order that the avail-able demand has a chance to take on the huge stockpiles.
It’s a turn in the market that has hefty impli-cations. At a recent meeting on oil economics, JBC Energy told attendees that 2.8 million b/d of refining capacity needs to close by 2020.
In the run up to refining’s 2004–2007 golden age, analysts often spoke about a geo-political “fear premium” in oil. Now, they say, it’s a “hope premium” – things can only get better, recovery’s around the corner and that’s where the premium should be.
But as the world moves beyond OECD peak demand in 2005, the problem is that Europe’s “hope” could well turn out to be more a matter of Eastern promise.
“When the rebound comes in demand growth,” David Martin of the International Energy Agency told me, “it’s in China, India and the Middle East where they are all build-ing new capacity, so the drop in Europe is unlikely to be temporary.”
I asked a guy running a company that plays the carry market by storing oil in mountains for his advice to refiners.
“Margins are going to be bleak,” he said. “Just try and sit it out.”
Tim Lloyd Wright is Hydrocarbon Process-ing’s European Editor and a markets specialist for Oil Price Information Service. He lives in Sweden where he is chairman of a local climate change initiative in the island community of Donsö. ■
all of this new capacity will come to fruition due to project risk and funding issues. Some current projects are delaying completion and/or startup in response to the excess capacity and low demand situation. Other upgrad-ing projects will add 6.5 million bpd of new capacity. New capacity stresses the existing supply/demand situation; present demand for petroleum-based products is about 2 mil-lion bpd below 2008 levels.
As part of the recovery process, some existing refining capacity will be rational-ized. A recent report by Purvin & Gertz esti-
mates that 3.7 million bpd of existing capac-ity will be shed as refiners find opportunities to improve profitability and performance. Most cuts will be by Organization for Eco-nomic Development (OECD) nations and the Caribbean refining industry.
Looking forward, 2010 will be the “bounce back” year for the HPI. New project announcements declined but did not evaporate in 2009. However, we should expect a more disciplined spend-ing approach by major companies to trim costs across the entire value chain of their products and manufacturing centers in the future. The bonus from this downturn has
been a decline in construction, material, catalyst, energy and equipment costs. Mid-2008 project costs were rapidly increasing in response to high demand by ongoing HPI construction activity.
In 2010, the HPI’s capital, maintenance and operating budgets are expected to total $210.3 billion, according to the latest fore-cast from Hydrocarbon Processing’s HPI Mar-ketData Book 2010 (to be released in Decem-ber 2009). Capital spending is projected at $53.8 billion; maintenance spending should reach $61.8 billion, a $2.7 billion increase; and operating spending is projected to be $94.7 billion, as shown in Table 1.
Although HPI companies are using cost containment measures, they are still spend-ing more money for new plants, and for retrofitting and substantially expanding existing ones to:
• Introduce more ethanol and biodiesel into the fuel supply
• In the US, companies are adding capacity to handle the synbit from Canadian oil sands as part of energy/supply security options
• Eliminate plant conditions that pose health and safety risks
• Consider process changes to meet potential climate change mandates now under consideration for refining operations and transportation fuel combustion
• Reduce emissions and energy require-ments through better operating practices
• Upgrade refineries to handle heavier and sourer crude oil to improve profit margins
• Integrate process unit, plant and enter-prise operations
• Produce “cleaner” fuels• Increase utilization and uptime through
better process control• Improve the security of plant and com-
pany operations.Growing support to control carbon
dioxide emissions as part of climate change policy will affect the operation of refiner-ies and petrochemical facilities as well as the usage of transportation fuels. Not all nations are at the same level of developing and implementing control measures and legislation. However, the threat of invasive control measurest and fuel specifications will affect future investments in existing and new refining capacity. In short, 2010 should be better than 2009. ■
TABLE 1. 2010 Worldwide HPI total spending by budget
Type U.S. O.U.S. Worldwide
Capital $9,300,000,000 $44,500,000,000 $53,800,000,000
Maintenance 15,000,000,000 46,800,000,000 61,800,000,000
Operating 28,890,000,000 65,820,000,000 94,710,000,000
Total $53,190,000,000 $157,120,000,000 $210,310,000,000
US
gaso
line
and
crud
e oi
l pric
es, ¢
/gal Forecast
04080
120160200240280320360400440480
Jan 2005 Jan 2006 Jan 2007 Jan 2008 Jan 2009 Jan 2010
Retail regular gasolineWholesale gasolineCrude oil
Source: Short-Term Energy Outlook, August 2009
Retail price includes state and federal taxes
FIG. 2. Gasoline and crude oil prices in the US—2005 to 2010.
Trillion continued from page 1
Trillion continued from page 1
© 2008 Criterion Catalysts & Technologies L.P. (cri845_1008)
www.criterioncatalysts.com
Travel with us, and you’re always on the road to innovation.
T H E C L E A N F U E L S T E A M
8 ERTC Annual Meeting 9/10 November 2009
GE Power & Water, Water & Process Technologies has been the first to introduce chemical treatment programs to prevent fouling in visbreaking units; one of those programs has been running continuously since 1981.
This article describes the way the control of coke deposition with a GE program has helped a European refinery in its efforts to progressively improve the operation of its visbreaking unit, by decreasing the yield of low value fuel oil and increasing the yield of lighter and more valuable products.
Visbreaking process. The primary vis-breaking reactions occur by a free radical mechanism at temperatures of 400 - 500 °C. The key role is played by the bond strength in the molecules; therefore, an increase in the content of alkanes and aro-matic hydrocarbons with long side chains results in higher yields of gases and light components. Conversely, a high content of stable polynuclear asphaltenes increases the yield of the cracked residue.
Secondary reactions include condensa-tion and polymerization of intermediate compounds.
The reactions between the polycon-densed aromatic nuclei and primary poly-
meric compounds are responsible for asphalthenes formation and coke deposition on the equipment.
The primary reactions result in the destruction of the solvation shell of asphaltenes and their association; this leads to coke deposition on the equipment.
Flocculation of asphalthenes imposes a limit to the maximum achievable conver-sion, unless their solvation in the produced fuel oil is maintained through the use of a cutter-stock (flux oil) with a high content of high boiling aromatic hydrocarbons, such as LCO.
This is what occurs in the refinery of the case, therefore making it possible to operate with a very high severity.
GE’s chemistries have also demonstrated to be effective in stabilizing asphalthenes.
In any case high severity operation is lim-ited by coke deposition onto the equipment, leaving to the refinery the choice between
reducing conversion and yields or shorten-ing the cycle.
GE has a long-lasting experience in controlling fouling in visbreaking units and this case demonstrates the effectiveness of its technology.
The case of the refinery. The refinery presently processes approximately 7.5 mil-lions tons of crude oil per year.
Fig. 1 illustrates a simplified process scheme of its all-coil visbreaking.
The main goal of the visbreaking in the refinery is to reduce the viscosity of the feed, typically in the range 200–600 sec at 80°C, so limiting the amount of cutter-stock required to get a final fuel oil having the required viscosity.
Without visbreaking the required amount of cutter-stock would be approximately 40 % of the feed; with visbreaking the cutter-
stock is reduced to 10–15 %.The two cracking furnaces, P-2 and P-3,
allow a great flexibility in the operation. With one running furnace the charge rate is in the range 100–150 t/h, with two furnaces 150–210 t/h.
In order to increase the profitability of the unit the refinery has progressively pro-cessed heavier feed-stocks
• Vacuum residue, from West Siberia and Arlan – Chekmagush crudes (see Table 1)
• Asphalt from the deasphalting unit from West Siberian crude (Table 2)
Asphalt from West Siberian oil contains less light and medium aromatic hydrocar-bons, but a higher amount of heavy aromatic hydrocarbons. The interaction of heavy
Six years of success in a visbreaking unit - lesson learnedCooperation between a European refinery and GEI. SALIKHOV, V. SANGIORGIO, GE Power & Water, Water & Process Technologies
Viscosity of feed and of fluxed residue, September 1997 to August 2005
Feed
rela
tive
visc
osity
at 8
0°C,
sec
.
Resi
due
visc
osity
at 1
00 °
C, °
F
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Feed viscosityResidue viscosity
Programdesigned
Programstarted
Apr-
04Ju
n-04
Aug-
04Oc
t-04
Dec-
04Fe
b-05
Apr-
05Ju
n-05
Aug-
05
Dec-
02Fe
b-03
Apr-
03Ju
n-03
Aug-
03Oc
t-03
Dec-
03Fe
b-04
Jul-9
7Se
p-97
Feb-
02Ap
r-02
Jun-
02Au
g-02
Oct-
02
FIG. 2. Viscosity of feed and of fluxed residue, September 1997 to August 2005.
Feed200 t/h
Gas 3.5 t/h
Naphta12 t/h
Fuel oil 208 t/h
K1
K2
K3
K4
K5
A1
E19Cutterstock26 t/h
Gasoil 4.5 t/h
P1P2
P3
FIG. 1. An illustration of a simplified process scheme of a European refinery’s all-coil visbreaking.
TABLE 1. Evolution of feed to visbreaking
Before 1995 1996–1998 1998–2005
Density at 20°C, kg/m3 989–998 999–1013 –
Rel visc. at 80 °C, sec 34 87–108 160–250–400
fraction boiling < 500 °C 39.0–44.4 ~34.2 12.0–23.0
Asphaltene content, wt% 5.30–6.05 5.99–6.02 –
TABLE 2. Feedstocks characterization
Vacuum residue from Asphalt from Arlan-Chekmagush West Siberian
Density at 20 °C, kg/m3 1003 1012 1017 1020 1010
Coke value, wt % 15.6 18.0 17.1 15.9 17.4
Type content, wt %
paraffin and naphthene 21.4 12.5 12.0 6.2 9.8
aromatic: 32.4 46.8 49.6 49.2 51.7
incl. light 10.4 7.8 6.8 5.4 6.6
medium 6.6 17.2 32.4 7.1 8.7
heavy 15.4 21.8 4.5 36.7 36.4
tars 38.2 29.0 34.6 33.7 23.3
asphaltenes 10.4 11.7 10.5 10.9 15.2
Johnson Matthey Catalysts offer a range of specialist,high performance products and services for refineries.
www.jmcatalysts.com/refineriesUKTel +44 (0)1642 553601Fax +44 (0)1642 522542
USATel +1 630 268 6300Fax +1 630 268 979
Activate your potential
9/10 November 2009 ERTC Annual Meeting 9
poly-aromatic hydrocarbons with primary tars and asphaltenes may lead to destabiliza-tion and coke formation.
Asphalt from West Siberian oils contains 2 to 3 times less paraffin and naphthene hydrocarbons than the Arlan – Chekma-gush vacuum residue and therefore is highly thermally stable. Thus, the use of asphalt as a visbreaking feedstock component decreases the process efficiency at a given temperature. But raising the temperature of the light ther-mal cracking undoubtedly entails a more pronounced coke deposition.
It became evident that further increase in feedstock to the visbreaker was impos-sible without inhibition of amorphous coke formation in the reaction-and-heating coil of the furnaces.
With a furnace outlet temperature in the range 465–475 °C heavy coke deposition in the cracking furnaces was leading to forced decoking even as frequently as every 3–4 months. Refinery was also struggling to keep a turn-around cycle of one year.
Coke deposition typically showed up in increased pressure drops in the cracking furnaces.
When the inlet pressure reached approxi-mately 33–35kg/cm2 (0.40–0.45 relative units in the flow normalized graphs below), decoking was necessary.
Additionally the severity of the operation was not enough to ensure a low requirement of cutter-stock. With the heavier feed, as much as 25 % flux oil was required.
At the beginning of 2003 GE was asked to propose a chemical treatment program, with the objective of operating the unit without unscheduled shutdown for furnace decoking. Design data and current opera-tional data were given as a basis for the pro-posal. No information was available about the forecasted operation with progressively heavier feedstock.
GE recommended a program based on its Thermoflo chemistry.
When the chemical treatment program was implemented at the end of the sum-mer 2003, it was immediately clear that an adjustment to it was needed.
Subsequently, after adjusting the chemi-cal treatment, the unit operated without unplanned decoking until the end of Spring 2004.
First lesson: a chemical treatment program cannot be designed on paper but must be created on-the run. After the general turnaround (Quarter 3, 2004) the program was re-started and the unit operated without any problem related to coke deposition up to July 2005, when a general refinery turnaround occurred. How-ever, fouling status could allow two addi-tional months of operation.
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show some typical oper-ating parameters comparing the untreated run with the run started in October 2004 (data are available up to May 2005).
Fig. 5 shows charge rate and pressure drop illustrating a regular operation of fur-naces during the treated period.
Average furnace outlet temperature was 6 °C higher in P2 (478 °C vs. 472°C) and 10 °C higher in P3 (479°C vs. 469 °C), as shown in Fig. 6.
Despite the heavier feed (585 vs. 313 seconds), cutter-stock requirement was sig-nificantly lower (9.5 % vs. 14.2% of feed) so reducing the fuel oil production of approxi-mately 10 t/h
Maintenance work was reduced too. During the maintenance of July 2005 only 5 drums of coke were disposed compared to a prior experience of several trucks.
Further developments. The common increased knowledge of the potential of the unit and of the chemical program have led both the refinery and GE to always set new and more challenging goals. Heavier feed-stock has been progressively processed and dosage of chemical has been continuously adjusted, modifying both the quantity and the injection locations on the basis of the acquired experience. Thanks to that, the runs have been of 15 and 18 months, respec-tively, with the quantity of asphalt increased well over 40 % and the reaction temperature over 495 °C.
In the spring of 2008 a new challeng-ing target has been set, i.e. a two year run. Refinery and GE engineers have therefore gone through a detailed review of the accu-
mulated experience to identify the possible bottlenecks that could potentially arm the achievement of that. K4 especially was found to be critical and a dedicate injection point of Thermoflo was installed in front of it.
The operation control of the unit has been further improved by the use of the GE Visbreaking Fouling Monitoring (VFM) tool. Through a quick and easy test, this piece of equipment allows to detect the den-sity of potentially fouling particles in the
feed and in the residue (Fig. 7).
Second lesson: increased profitabil-ity is achieved through long-term service and setting more challeng-ing operating targets. Two other refin-eries belonging to the same oil group are now also applying the GE program on their visbreaker units, one all-coil and one soaker type, and the results are fully confirming the positive ones of the first refinery. ■
FIG. 7. GE’s Visbreaking Fouling Monitoring tool allows for the detection of the density of potentially fouling particles.
FIG. 4. Some typical operating parameters comparing the untreated run with the run started in October 2004 (data are available up to May 2005).
FIG. 5. Charge rate and pressure drop illustrating a regular operation of furnaces during the treated period.
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210
UntreatedTreated
UntreatedTreated
P2 charge rate t/h
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
80
100
120
140
160
180
200P3 charge rate t/h
FIG. 3. Some typical operating parameters comparing the untreated run with the run started in October 2004 (data are available up to May 2005).
FIG. 6. Average furnace outlet temperature was 6°C higher in P2 (478°C vs. 472°C) and 10°C higher in P3 (479°C vs. 469°C.
UntreatedTreated
UntreatedTreated
Cutter-stock amount
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Feed relative viscosity @ 80 °C
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210
%
UntreatedTreated
UntreatedTreated
P2 furnace outlet temperature
450
455
460
465
470
475
480
485
490P3 furnace outlet temperature °C
450
455
460
465
470
475
480
485
490
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210
P2 normalized pressure drops - relative units
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
UntreatedTreatedExpon. (untreated)Expon. (treated)
P3 normalized pressure drops - relative units UntreatedTreatedExpon. (untreated)Expon. (treated)
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210
10 ERTC Annual Meeting 9/10 November 2009
News in brief
ERTC Partners ProgramHIGHLIGHTS OF BERLINFULL-DAY TOUR WITH LUNCHTuesday 10 November
We start the day by touring “The Highlights of Berlin.” Your partners will see the landmarks that defi ne Germany’s reborn capital city, including Old Prussian Boulevard “Unter den Linden;” Brandenburg Gate; Government Quarter along the River Spree; Berlin’s Central
Park “Tiergarten;” Bellevue Palace; Victory Column; Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church; and New cul-tural center “Potsdamer Platz.”
Before lunch we will visit the inside of Berlin Cathedral on Museum Island in the Mitte bor-ough. Then it’s on to the world famous Käfer Restaurant, on the roof of the Reichstag right next to the cupola. From the dining room we can look out over a 180º view
of what used to be known as East Berlin, as we sample some tradi-tional “Berliner” fare in a delicious two-course lunch.
Berlin’s face is defined by its striking architecture, contrasts between “old” and “new” cities and the sheer speed of develop-ment. This is a city going places fast. We will spend our afternoon visiting key architectural points in the city, including Friedrichstr,
Gendarmenmarkt, Alexanderplatz, Potsdamer Platz, the government quarter and the new embassy quar-ter. Dress code: Please wear com-fortable shoes and warm clothes for the walking part of the tours. And please bring an umbrella, just in case it rains! For more informa-tion and to register for the partners program, please contact Saffa Khan ([email protected]).
Satam merges with Meci Countum, the holding of the
Satam sas company, completed the purchase of Meci sas which is a significant acquisition in the frame-work of a build-up strategy that aims to create a major player on the oil and gas market. Based in Issoudun, France, Meci (with a €10m turnover) is a specialist in liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon custody transfer mea-surement. The company has strong engineering expertise in the man-agement of gas and petrol flow as well as in automation and supervi-sory systems.
Through the Meci acquisition, Countum adds to the Satam offer-the French leader in industrial and custody transfer energy flow measurement – solutions address-ing large depot management and energy operations including logis-tics solutions and stocking of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
The Countum group as it now stands includes France operations in Roissy, Falaise and Issoudun, and intends to open Satam’s inter-national commercial network to Meci. With 130 partners and a turn-over of over €22m, the new group is positioned well in this market. Mr. Vincent Beranger, the Countum president, is delighted with this industrial connection that will allow both entities to join all their respec-tive knowledge and potential in synergy. Through a joint sales force they will now be able to have a more internationally based strategy. The industry principals will now be able to see Countum as offering a com-plete solution that covers all their requirements in flow management, with a very wide range of products and solutions.
Siemens to supply compressor solution for coal-to-urea production
Siemens Energy has received an order from Vietnam for the supply of an air compressor train. Purchaser is Air Liquide Engineering South Asia. The compressor train will be deployed in a coal-to-urea produc-tion plant, which will be owned by the Vietnam National Chemical Corp. (Vinachem). The coal gasifi-cation plant is located in Ninh Bin approximately 80 kilometers south of Hanoi and is scheduled to start operation in 2011. The order volume is approximately €8 million. ■
1Source: Data is supplied by publisher’s internal system, EMS, average of issues sent January 15, 2008, to August 15, 2008.
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12 ERTC Annual Meeting 9/10 November 2009
Refiner avoids unscheduled turnaround by applying hydrotreater reactor bed iron sulfide dispersantD. RODRÍGUEZ, Compañía Española de Petróleos, S.A. (CEPSA), Aromatics Plant, Spain; C. MARTÍN, J. CASTELLANO,Baker Hughes Incorporated, Spain
A European refinery (CEPSA Gibraltar-San Roque) recently suffered reactor bed pressure drop problems in a Unionfining* unit. The root cause was initially thought to be inorganic fouling material, specifically, iron sul-fide (FeS) deposits. The pressure drop (dP) across the reactor bed was higher than the previous runs. To avoid an unscheduled shutdown of the unit, CEPSA asked Baker Hughes to collabo-rate on a feasible solution. BAKER PETRO-LITE’S BPR34160 FeS dispersant additive was injected to modify the structure of FeS deposits, thereby reducing the reactor bed dP. Two treatments were required in order to achieve the objective, which was a total dP reduction of 2.0 kg/cm2.
Unionfining reactor background.The naphtha Unionf in ing uni t
hydrotreats heavy naphtha from crude units, removing sulfur compounds, nitro-gen, oxygen, metals, olefins and halides. The hydrotreated naphtha goes to two catalytic reformers, R-56 and RZ-100. Therefore, any unscheduled shutdown of the Union-fining unit has a critical impact on refinery operations.
The seventh Unionfining unit catalyst
cycle (the period between two consecutive catalyst bed screenings) began in July 2008. Table 1 shows the cycle durations and final dPs since the present catalyst has been used.
The catalyst, which was loaded for the first time in 1994, has not been regenerated since then, far exceeding the catalyst provider’s guaranteed four years without regeneration.
The typical catalyst loading includes both inert pills and 3/16” rings, which are crucial to the gradual reduction of pressure through-out the reactor, smoother increase of pressure drop, and longer change-out cycles.
The reason is that inert pills and rings have a void fraction of 60% and 55%, respectively, while the void fraction of the catalyst is 40%. This gradual decrease in the void fractions in the reactor also helps to gradually retain particles or impurities in
the feed.During the last shutdown
(July 2008), the 3/16" rings came out of the reactor as fines, prob-ably due to the loss of mechani-cal integrity over the years. Since there was no way to replace them with new ones, they were replaced with 20 drums of pre-sulfided catalyst.
According to the catalyst pro-vider, 3/16” rings form a critical layer, limiting the increase of
pressure drop in the reactor. Therefore, with-out the presence of the rings, a higher rate of pressure drop increase is expected, which is exactly what happened (Figure 1).
Additive solutions for reactor dP problems. When the pressure drop across the reactor became an issue, an urgent solu-tion was needed to avoid the unscheduled shutdown of the unit. CEPSA led an inves-tigation into the potential cause and pos-sible solutions to the fouling problem. Baker Hughes was contacted and told about the problem. It was suggested that BPR34160 additive be used, which can reduce the pressure drop in hydrodesulfurization unit reactors, provided that the pressure drop is caused by iron sulfide particles, a corrosion by-product that is a typical reactor bed con-taminant.
The BAKER PETROLITE reactor bed dispersant additive has proven effective in temporarily reducing the pressure drop across hydrodesulfurizer and hydrocracker reactor beds and significantly increasing reactor run lengths. It also has some effect on coke fines recently deposited on top of the catalyst bed so it contributes additional control of pressure drop when upstream coker upsets occur.
It was necessary to use an injection point as close as possible to the reactor inlet and downstream of the furnace where unvapor-
ized product could not pool in the process piping. Final location access was through the high differential pressure gauge of the reactor where high pressure and temperature are present. In order to assure safety require-ments due to the hazardous injection point, CEPSA conducted X-rays to confirm that the wall thickness was adequate for the job and installed a check valve, pressure gauge, and quick-closing valve in the provisional injection point. A special pneumatic pump was used and its design was consistent with the high flow rate and high pressure needed following all safety standards.
No more than 400 liters of chemical, diluted with naphtha, were needed to achieve the targeted dP reduction. Both treatments were carried out in less than eight hours.
Excellent results without negative impact. Fig. 2 shows the dP reduction obtained with the first treatment, which provided the equivalent of two extra months of hydrotreater operation. The second treat-ment allowed the refinery to reach its sched-uled shutdown (one extra month) without incurring any additional expenses.
CEPSA collected samples of hydrotreated naphtha from the splitter during the treat-ment. No contamination with nitrogen or sulfur compounds was detected in the Plat-forming* unit feed. In addition, there were no changes in operational parameters, �T, nor hydrogen production in the Platforming unit reactors, or changes in temperatures in the Unionfining unit reactor.
CEPSA also extracted samples of the recycle gas periodically, and the H2S content was checked, indicating normal trace levels were present during the reactor dispersant chemical trial. ■
* BAKER PETROLITE is a trademark of Baker Hughes Incorporated.* Unionfining, Platforming, R-56 and RZ-100, are trademarks of UOP LLC.
TABLE 1. P-V1 Unionfining unit reactor history
Cycle Delta P before Number Days Shutdown (kg/cm2)
1 613 – Skimming
2 213 – Screening No 1
3 1,151 6.0 Screening No 2
4 1,045 8.2 Screening No 3
5 496 5.9 Screening No 4
6 1,617 7.5 Screening No 5
7 218* 6.9* –
* Provisional data of the current cycle until the date of the injection (24 Feb 2009)
Evolution of pressure drop in reactor
12
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Oct-
03De
c-03
Feb-
04Ap
r-04
Jun-
04Au
g-04
Oct-
04De
c-04
Feb-
05Ap
r-05
Jun-
05Au
g-05
Oct-
05De
c-05
Feb-
06Ap
r-06
Jun-
06Au
g-06
Oct-
06De
c-06
Feb-
07Ap
r-07
Jun-
07Au
g-07
Oct-
07De
c-07
Feb-
08Ap
r-08
Jun-
08Ju
l-08
Sep-
08No
v-08
Jan-
09M
ar-0
9M
ay-0
9Ju
l-09
Pres
sure
dro
p, K
g/cm
2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Feed
rate
, m3 /d
DP reactorFeed rate
FIG. 1. Rate of reactor dP increases with no inert rings.
Pressure drop during injection
11.5
12.0
12.5
13.0
13.5
14.0
14.5
15.0
15.5
16.0
23-2
19:
12
23-2
21:
36
24-2
0:0
0
24-2
2:2
4
24-2
4:4
8
24-2
7:1
2
24-2
9:3
6
24-2
12:
0024
-2 1
4:24
24-2
16:
48
24-2
19:
12
24-2
21:
36
25-2
0:0
0
25-2
2:2
4
25-2
4:4
8
25-2
7:1
2
25-2
9:3
6
25-2
12:
00
25-2
14:
24
25-2
16:
48
25-2
19:
12
25-2
21:
36
26-2
0:0
0
26-2
2:2
4
26-2
4:4
8
26-2
7:1
2
26-2
9:3
6
Syst
em p
ress
ure
drop
, Kg/
cm2
0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.05.56.06.57.0
Reac
tor p
ress
ure
drop
, Kg/
cm2
System pressure dropNormalized system pressure dropReactor pressure dropNormalized reactor pressure drop
Additiveinjection
FIG. 2. Reactor dP decrease using iron sulfide dispersant.
The world’s largest national oil compa-nies (NOCs) and super majors are planning on delivering over $375 billion of ambitious investments through the down cycle, despite ongoing concerns about the oil demand out-look, according to a new analysis from Ernst & Young (www.ey.com).
The report calculates that the largest NOCs are on course to invest over $275 bil-lion in developing their businesses at home and abroad in 2009. Almost 70% of total investment is forecast to come from NOCs in Asia and South America.
“Companies are wary of finding them-selves in a position where they have to play catch-up on investment when the upturn materializes,” says Andy Brogan, author of the report.
The economic slowdown, a dramatic fall in oil prices and investors’ flight from risk have left many reserve-rich state-owned
oil and gas companies less able to finance projects with surplus cash flows. The capital expenditure of NOCs in Africa, CIS and the Middle East is a fraction of that of their Asian and South American counterparts. The report calculated that the NOCs of Africa announced $21 billion of investment this year, compared to $36 billion for the CIS and $29 billion for the Middle East.
When the NOCs had easy access to capi-tal, they were in a position to dictate terms with their international oil company (IOC) partners. “IOCs with sufficient liquidity will be able to offer potential partners not only technological and operational expertise but also access to much needed capital,” accord-ing to Mr. Brogan. However, he notes that any renewed appetite from NOCs for IOC participation will be short-lived. “And, there-fore, opportunities available now should not be wasted.”
NOCs forge ahead with investments
DuPont and Veolia introduce DV Clean Technologies, a new
refinery emissions reduction technology that allows refiners
to maximize sulphur content in cracker feeds and enables
high-sulphur fuel oil consumption on site. SO2 emissions
are converted to reusable gypsum, providing a no-waste
solution while meeting air emissions regulations.
Refiners will find that this breakthrough emissions reduction
technology can be brought online with minimal capital
investment supported by a full-service package—all adding
up to improved margins and greater profitability for refiners.
dvcleantechnologies.com
Visit us at ERTC Booth #13 Attend our ERTC seminar on November 10“Improving Refinery Margins & Meeting Air Emissions Targets”
Turn emissions into a competitive advantage
Copyright © 2009 DuPont and Veolia Water. The DuPont Oval Logo is a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Photographs and graphics used with permission from the DuPont™ Belco® and Veolia Environment Photo Library.
14 ERTC Annual Meeting 9/10 November 2009
Day 1 – 9th November 2009, Monday14:00 Registration17:00 Hospitality suites open
Day 2 – 10th November 2009, Tuesday08:00 Registration08:30 Regulatory update and challenges facing refineries
• Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)—what's being put in place• ETS and how this will affect European refining• Applications of emissions trading directive• Benchmarking issues
Isabelle Muller, General Secretary, EUROPIA
09:10 Cost cutting as the old/new name of the refining game
Alois Virag, Senior Vice President, Head of Group Excellence, OMV
09:50 Coffee break and opportunity to visit the hospitality suites
Session ADieselization—challenges and solutions
Session BBiofuels, emissions and environmental issues
Session CRefining operations and safety
10:40 Chairman's opening remarks Chairman's opening remarks Chairman's opening remarks
10:50 Dealing with dieselization
FOSTER WHEELER
Improving refinery margins and
meeting air emission targets
DV CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES
Asset maximisation—achieve consistent
and complete results with substantial
savings
Speaker to be confirmed
11:20 Dieselization of the world—how to
increase diesel yield in a refinery
SUD CHEMIE
Operating refineries in a CO2 emission
constrained world
KBC PROCESS TECHNOLOGY LTD
Ras Tanura Hydrocracker trouble-shooting
exercise
CRI CRITERION and SAUDI ARAMCO
11:50 Developments on how FCC
additives can enhance diesel
production
INTERCAT
Alternative work-practice for
controlling VOC's fugitive emissions
from leaks in refineries
SARAS
Improve operator performance through
the application of human factors
HUMAN CENTERED SOLUTIONS
12:20 Lunch and opportunity to visit the hospitality suites13:40 Increasing diesel production from
the refinery FCC
CDTECH
Betting on science: Disruptive
technologies in transport fuels
ACCENTURE
Immersive virtual plant simulation—A
3D gaming approach to improve refinery
reliability, safety and performance
INVENSYS (IOM)
14:10 Dieselization in Europe—flexible
solutions for diesel production
SHELL
Heavy duty gas turbines: The prime
movers of choice for the Russian
power industry
GE ENERGY
Process safety management
DNV
14:40 Coffee break and opportunity to visit the hospitality suites15:10 Novel FCC LCO maximisation
techniques
CHEVRON
Green gasoline volatility prediction: to
prepare or to predict?
ENVANTAGE
Safety forum—closed-door workshop
Chairman: Alois Virag, Senior Vice
President, Head of Group Excellence, OMV
Note: The Safety Forum is only open to senior refinery managers and entrance will be permitted by invitation only. This forum is not open to suppliers. If you would like to make an application to attend the forum please contact [email protected] are limited.
15:40 Increasing LCO production in the
FCC unit
GRACE DAVISON
Novel hydrotreating technology for
production of green diesel
HALDOR TOPSOE
16:10 Catalyst solutions to maximise
transportation fuels from the Fluid
Catalytic Cracking Unit
ALBEMARLE
Green olefins—exploiting biomass as
a source of olefins production
NEXANT
16:40 Emerging from the downturn; a new environment for refining
Roberto Ulivieri, Managing Consultant, PURVIN AND GERTZ
Judita Feketeova, Head of Advanced Applications Group, SLOVNAFT
17:10 End of day 2 and hospitality suites re-open
20:00 Gala dinner hosted by Global Technology Forum
ERTC Schedule
3400 BissonnetSuite 130Houston, Texas 77005USA
Ph: [1] (713) 665-7046Fx: [1] (713) [email protected]
PROCESSCONSULTINGSERVICES,INC.
crudes means that refinery units musthave the flexibility to handle heavy,viscous, dirty crudes that increasinglythreaten to dominate markets. Andflexibility must extend to products aswell as crudes, for refinery productdemand has become more and moresubject to violent economic and polit-ical swings. Thus refiners must havethe greatest flexibility in determiningyields of naphtha, jet fuel, diesel andvacuum gas oil products.
Rather than a single point processmodel, the crude/vacuum unit designmust provide continuous flexibility tooperate reliably over long periods oftime. Simply meeting the processguarantee 90 days after start-up isvery different than having a unit stilloperating well after 5 years. Sadly fewrefiners actually achieve this—nomatter all the slick presentations byengineers in business suits!
Why DoManyCrude/VacuumUnits PerformPoorly?In many cases it’s because the origi-nal design was based more on virtualthan actual reality. There is no ques-tion: computer simulations have a keyrole to play but it’s equally true thatprocess design needs to be based onwhat works in the field and not on theideals of the process simulator. Norshould the designer simply base theequipment selection on vendor-statedperformance. The design engineerneeds to have actual refinery processengineering experience, not justexpertise in office-based modeling.Refinery hands-on experience teaches
that fouling, corrosion, asphalteneprecipitation, crude variability, andcrude thermal instability, and manyother non-ideals are the reality. Theo-retical outputs of process or equip-ment models are not. In this era ofslick colorful PowerPoint® presenta-tions by well-spoken engineers inSaville Row suits, it’s no wonder thatunits don’t work. Shouldn’t engineerswearing Nomex® coveralls who haveworked with operators and taken fieldmeasurements be accorded greatercredibility?
Today more than ever before this isimportant. Gone are the days when arefiner could rely on uninterruptedsupplies of light, sweet, easy-to-process crudes. In troubled timesfierce global competition for premium
If you want to explore these issues intechnical detail ask for TechnicalPapers 267 and 268.
Always a Step Ahead!
• High Performance Gasoline• High Performance Diesel• Propylene Purifi cation• Aromatics• Poison Guards• Hydrogen Production• Synthetic Fuel
Süd-Chemie – your partner to defi ne the future of catalytic technologies!
With Catalysts for:
SÜD-CHEMIErefi [email protected]
www.sud-chemie.com
SC_Anzeige ERTC Berlin_10.75x14.5inch_F01.indd 1 06.10.2009 13:53:37 UhrProzessfarbe CyanProzessfarbe MagentaProzessfarbe GelbProzessfarbe Schwarz
