.

User Experience with Plan 54

Seal Flush System
2007

Presenters:
Michel Boutin: Machinery Engineer
Shell Scotford Refinery
Brad Hatton: Machinery Engineer
Shell Scotford Refinery

Definition Plan 54

Pressurized external barrier fluid system

supplying clean fluid to the seal
chamber. Circulation is by an external
pump or pressure source. Reservoir
pressure is greater than process
pressure being sealed.
API 682

Plan 54
AP I Plan 54
C lean
E xternal
S ource of
P ressurized
B arrier Fluid

Overview - Scotford

Barrier fluid system is common to many

pumps in the unit. (12 Pumps with 15
seals)
Finished product (ULSD) is the barrier
fluid.
Control the barrier fluid pressure at 140
kPag (20psig) above the stuffing box
pressure.

Overview (cont)
System pressure is maintained by a
main pressure control valve on the skid.
Pressure control to each pump is by a
local control valve.
Flow control is maintained by a
restriction orifice.
Cooling of barrier fluid is by an Air
Cooled Heat Exchanger

Skid Details

The barrier fluid skid consists of:

2 IMO screw pumps
Air Cooled Heat Exchanger
Duplex Filters
System reservoir

Pump Details

Each pump has a local Pressure

Reducing Valve (PRV) to drop the
header pressure
One PRV for each pair of pumps
Local Flow Indications to each seal.
Flow orifice located down stream of
each seal

Process P &ID

Typical Pump P&ID

Operating History
System was chemically cleaned and
flushed during commissioning
Used milk pads at each seal to check
for cleanliness
Found three failed seals upon start up
Flow indicators showed high flows and
one was leaking to grade

Reservoir Level History from Start-up

V2026 Barrier Fluid Reservoir
20V26CP2:LI20471.PNT
62.4870

100
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
03/05/2006 12:00:00 AM

224.96 days

10/16/2006 12:00:00 AM

Set points
Alarms were set on the flows to each
seal
High Flow was set@ 90% of instrument
range (2X Normal flow)
Low Flow was set @ value from Seal
Supplier
Low Pressure Alarm set at 70 kPag (10
psig) above stuffing box pressure.

Set Points (cont)

Differential Pressure across the filters

High Temp Alarm (50C)
High Pressure Alarm on Reservoir.
High and Low Level Alarm on Reservoir

Troubleshooting
Detecting small leaks on the inner seal
is next to impossible. Trending on the
flows helps but small leaks are not
detectable.
Leaks on the secondary seal will show
barrier fluid on the pump
Trouble shooting guide for Operations
was generated

Troubleshooting (cont)

Would need to systematically isolate the

spare pumps and trend the reservoir level
over a few days.
Since all seals leak in order to provide
lubrication we may not have a leak at all
Finished product (ULSD) is the barrier fluid
we are not contaminating the system

Learnings From Start-up

Flushing of the system took longer than
expected even though it was chemically
cleaned and under an N2 blanket during
construction.
Remaining water in the skid from the
OEM was frozen and only after the
system was started up did the ice thaw
releasing small debris into the piping.

Learnings (cont)
We did not flush through each seal and had
to install a temporary jump-over to avoid
flushing debris thru the seal.
The reservoir does not have a weir or baffle
plate. Suction to pumps is located on the
bottom. Future projects should have it on the
side or use a stand pipe inside.
No Source of heat for the fluid. Relying on the
heat generated by the seals.

Learnings (cont)

The piping run to each pump has a lot

of low points and high points. Should
be stream lined to push any vapour in
the piping up and though the seals.

First Major Failure

Operators have been making entries into the
logs that this system has been operating
poorly from Nov 21 Dec 5, 2006 during a
cold snap
December 5th, 2006 after an extended cold
snap, local ambient temperatures rose above
0oC
First indication of trouble was the loss of
system pressure the morning of Dec 5th.

First Major Failure (Cont)

IMO pump started to cavitate
Operators started the spare, believing
that the first pump failed.
Filter differentials on the skid were
erratic.
Barrier Fluid usage as indicated by the
level in the surge vessel had not been
the same as it had been in the past.

First Major Failure (Cont)

Fluid sample from the surge vessel was
the first indication that there was a large
amount of water in the system.
System contents was drained, and filled
at the same time to purge the system of
water.
Second pump quickly showed signs of
failed internals.

Reservoir Level Leading up to Failure

V2026Barrier FluidReservoir
20V26CP2:LI20471.PNT
61.8730

100
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
10/01/200612:00:00AM

70.04days

12/10/200612:00:00AM

System Pressure Failure Trend

Supply to Pumps
3000 100

20E14CP2:PC20411.MEAS
31.6277
kPag
20E14CP2:PC20411.OUT
0.0000
%
20E14CP2:PC20411.SPT
31.6277
kPag
20E14CP2:PDI20472.PNT
-0.1155
kPa

3000 100

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0
0
0
12/05/2006 12:00:00 AM
E2014 BARRIER COOLR TO HDR
E2014 BARRIER COOLR TO HDR
E2014 BARRIER COOLR TO HDR
S2022A/B BARRIER FILTERS

24.00 hours

12/06/2006 12:00:00 AM

System Pressure Failure Trend

Supply to Pumps
3000 100

20E14CP2:PC20411.MEAS
1408.6914

3000 100

2500

kPag
20E14CP2:PC20411.OUT

2000

0.0000
%
20E14CP2:PC20411.SPT
1408.6914
kPag
20E14CP2:PDI20472.PNT
6.1878
kPa

1500

1000

500

0
0
0
0
12/05/2006 8:00:00 AM
E2014 BARRIER COOLR TO HDR
E2014 BARRIER COOLR TO HDR
E2014 BARRIER COOLR TO HDR
S2022A/B BARRIER FILTERS

2.00 hours

12/05/2006 10:00:00 AM

First Major Failure (Cont)

Process Unit was shutdown, to preserve
critical equipment.
Two teams were set up. One to repair
and flush the system, the other to
investigate the failure.
Being a new unit, the system had
functional instrumentation

Major Findings from First Failure

One seal that was not designed for the full
Plan 54 system pressure
Failed one seal before the major incident.
Pump is in water service. Analysis showed it
had a reverse pressure event.
Failed another seal in water service. It had
been suspected a procedural error in
checking for leakage during the first event.

Major Findings
No way to tell when there is water in the
system.
No easy way to drain water from the
system.
Circulation pump selection is acceptable
for a clean system, but did not take in
account for off design conditions.
EHT was not considered in the project

Pump Seal Failure in Water Service

Pump Seal Failure in Water Service

Proposed Post Failure Changes

Installation of a water boot
Installation of a conductivity detector for
water
Proposed new pump to handle high
levels of water
Working to remove one water pump
from the system (H2S Levels)

Implemented Post Failure Changes

Developed Procedure to test individual

pump seals for integrity before start-up.
Complete spare pump now on the shelf.
PM plan to replace pump and inspect.
EHT being installed at low points.

Minor Failure in May 2007

Circulation Pump pressure started to fall, and

operators detected water in the system again.
Immediately started to conduct an online
flush of the system to save the second IMO
pump.
P-2005 (Sour Water from Driers) was
suspected leaking water into the Barrier Fluid
System, as the water was clean.

Minor Failure in May 2007

Removed seal from pump did not indicate a
failure of the seal.
Had the revelation that the barrier system
pressure was too low for the P-2005s
Pumps were rebuilt shortly after start-up, and
after the initial barrier pressure survey.
Stuffing box pressure was higher than the set
pressure for the barrier fluid.
Adjusted barrier pressure from 1250 kPa to
1800 kPa.

P2005A/B Sour water

2000 100 2000 0.6

20P05CP2:PC20551.MEAS
1801.4902
20P05CP2:PC20551.OUT
31.4801

0.6

1500

20P05CP2:PC20551.SPT
1800.0000
20P05CP2:FI20549.PNT
0.5514
20P05CP2:FI20554.PNT
0.4921

1000

500
0
0 0
0.3 0.3
05/14/2007 3:12:32.363 PM
P2005A/B BARRIER FLUID
P2005A/B BARRIER FLUID
P2005A/B BARRIER FLUID
P2005A BARRIER FLUID
P2005B BARRIER FLUID

7.04 days

05/21/2007 4:12:32.363 PM

Minor Failure in May 2007

After the set pressure change, no major

water excursions have occurred.

P-2008 Vacuum Pump Seals

ANSI style seal, limited stuffing box

size.
Moved to a TiC/SiC seal face
combination due to initial seal failures
during start-up.

August 29 30, 2007 Operation

Numerous Stop Starts on both pumps.
Started another rapid loss of level in the
surge drum, greater that what we have
seen in the past.
Barrier fluid flow was not that much
higher than what it was in the past.
Decided to swing to P-2008A and
isolate P-2008B

September 5, 2007 Operation

Isolated P-2008B and the level in the

surge drum stabilized.
Maintained operation of P-2008A

V2026 Barrier Fluid Reservoir

20V26CP2:LI20471.PNT
84.4665
%

100
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
0
08/28/2007 11:40:57.985 AM
V2026 BARRIER FLUID DRuM

14.04 days

09/11/2007 12:40:57.985 PM

P2008A/B Vacuum
1200 100

1200 0.5 0.5

20P08CP2:PC20561.M EAS
238.2031
kPag
20P08CP2:PC20561.OUT

1000

68.2035
%

800

20P08CP2:PC20561.SPT
232.0000
kPag
20P08CP2:FI20559.PNT

600
400

-0.0002
Am3/h
20P08CP2:FI20564.PNT
-0.0004

200
0
0
0
0.2 0.2
08/28/2007 11:44:26.677 AM
P2008A BARRIER
P2008A BARRIER
P2008A BARRIER
P2008B BARRIER

FLUID
FLUID
FLUID
FLUID

P2008A BARRIER FLUID

P2008A LIQ RINGRUN STAT
P2008B LIQ RINGRUN STAT

0
14.04 days

09/11/2007 12:44:26.677 PM

Am3/h
20P08CP2:XI20734.CIN
1
20P08CP2:XI20735.CIN
0

Present Operation of the Reservoir Level

V2026 Barrier Fluid Reservoir
20V26CP2:LI20471.PNT
65.7390

100
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
08/07/2007 12:00:00 AM

90.04 days

11/05/2007 12:00:00 AM

Present Water Status in the System.

We are still building water in the system

The rate of water build up is very slow.
The water is not sour, which indicates
possibly three sources of water.

October 11th Sample

October 29th Sample

Barrier Fluid Skid

Local Pump Control

Local Pump Control

Barrier Fluid Skid

EHT/Temp Wrap for Winter

EHT @ P-2014A

Flow Indication Setup

Orifice Location

Piping @ P-2005

Control Station @ P-2008

Flow Indication @ P-2008

Outlet Piping @ P-2008

Outlet Piping from V-2021

Temperature Bypass on Skid

IMO Pump Orientation

System Pressure Control Station

End of Presentation