Subject:
Re: Question on APC installation for Refinery facilities
Author:
Greg Martin
Date:
1/4/2010
A1. My personal favorite is the FCC, but the Crude Unit is also a good choice. A2. The reason for the FCC is that it is a major unit in terms of profitability; but it is also the most complex to control. At Shell Oil we did the FCCs first, in spite of the complexity. Actually, I believe we wanted the complexity, to show the benefits of MPC and optimization. The reason for the Crude Unit is that it is the front end of the refinery, and better control there has benefits in different downstream operations. It is also simpler to control, and there are many installations of APC on crude units from a wide variety of implementers and vendors. A3. In terms of refinery units, I would say the Crude Unit has the highest percentage of APC applications. Then FCC Unit, Coker, Hydrocracker, and Reformer. Note that I mention these in percentage, so that while there may not be a relatively large number of cokers, the percentage of them having APC is high. Also, note I mention the Hydrocracker, and not Hydrotreater. Hydrocracker has more than 10% conversion. It is complex to operate profitably, and APC helps there. For the Hydrotreater, it is relatively easy to operate profitably without APC. In terms of parts of process units, by far two-product distillation columns, such as in gas plants, have the highest percentage of APC. Followed by multi-pass heaters. For the corroborating data, you can get it from the Solomon APC Survey, if you have access to it.
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