Fuel Systems

NZRC IV-1

There are different direction fuel systems can take. This course is geared to provide
broad overview of most hydrocarbon fuel systems. It is oriented for refinery
personnel and addresses primary fuel system related concerns. The section will
cover fuel gas systems, fuel oil systems and hydrogen systems.

Hello, and welcome to this section.

1
 Fuel Systems – Introduction
„ Fuel Gas System
„ Fuel Oil System
„ Hydrogen System

NZRC IV-2

In this section we will be discussing fuel systems. This includes the fuel gas
system, the fuel oil system and hydrogen system. These systems are extremely
important to the refinery since energy efficiency will depend on them.

For example, if there is too much fuel gas the fuel gas would be flared which would
result in a loss of the refinery.

2
 Refinery Fuel System

„ Large consumer of thermal

energy in the form of
liquid and gaseous fuel
„ Refinery is also the
producer of its own fuels
„ Typically, the overall fuel
consumption excluding
imported power is
equivalent to about 5% of
crude oil feed

The refinery is a large consumer of thermal energy in the form of liquid and gaseous
fuels. In the course of processing the feedstock, the refinery is also the producer of
its own fuels. These fuels are gathered and redistributed by two systems, a fuel oil
system and a fuel gas system.

Fuel oil is circulated in order to prevent it from cooling and possibly solidifying in
some parts of the system. A hand operated globe valve on each cell fuel oil header
and at the end of the main supply header allows fuel oil to be returned to the fuel-oil
feet tanks.

Atomizing steam is supplied to each cell of heaters at 150 psig steam main. The
atomizing steam pressure to each cell is controlled by the pressure differential
control valves.

The PDCV valves maintain the atomizing steam at a preset differential pressure to
the fuel oil pressure to each cell. If the atomizing steam pressure falls below 42 psi,
individual automatic isolation valves are closed on the fuel oil flow to and from
each heater cell.

3
 Determine Which Users Require Fuel Gas

Heaters because of metallurgical reasons

„ Heaters requiring mandatory gas firing
– Platformer heaters
– Hydrocracker reactor heaters
„ Heaters which fuel gas is preferred
(100%)
– Naphtha hydroreactor charge
heaters
– Sulfur recovery unit – tail gas
incinerator
– Purge gas for flare/relief system

For the refinery, determine the estimated thermal energy consumption. Next,
determine which heaters require to be run exclusively on fuel gas for metallurgical
reasons, as well as preferred users for other reasons. The balance of the fuel gas
will be consumed at the other process heaters having dual fuel capability, as well as
the utility boilers.

4
 Elements of a Typical Refinery
Fuel Gas System

The above drawing shows the elements of a typical refinery fuel gas system. The
key elements include:

• LPG Vaporizer

• LPG Superheater

• Fuel Gas Drum

• Pressure controls to maintain system pressure

5
 Fuel Gas Header

„ Large number of off-

gasses enter the fuel
gas header from
different process units
„ Unstable fuel gas
header pressure is a
common problem in
refineries

NZRC IV-6

Fuel gas headers are used on virtually every refinery complex to manage the fuel
gas pool. A typical fuel gas header consists of both producers and consumers of
fuel gas, all connected to a common header. Fuel gas pressure has to be kept within
a safe range: Suppose the header pressure is too low and dropping. If nothing is
done,the pressure will eventually drop below the minimum safe limit, and several of
the major process units may shut down, potentially leading to a refinery shutdown.
In this case, make-up gas needs to be added to balance the volume in the drum and
return the pressure to setpoint, but this may well disturb the fuel gas heating value.

On the other hand, if more fuel gas enters the drum from the different process units
than what is consumed, pressure will rise. If this situation continues, eventually the
fuel gas flare valve will have to open in order to prevent the pressure from
exceeding maximum safety limits. It is highly undesirable to flare fuel gas due to
strict environmental regulations, and the economic losses caused by excessive
flaring.

In summary, fuel gas pressure has to be kept between minimum and maximum
limits in order to ensure safe operation of the refinery.

6
 Fuel Gas System

„ Collect process unit off gases

„ Distribute to meet needs of fired equipment and miscellaneous
equipment
„ Routed to a fuel gas knockout drum
„ Fuel gas knockout drum also to be located at group of heaters

The fuel gas system is designed to collect process unit off gas and distribute it to
meet the needs of fired equipment and miscellaneous users. All sources of gas are
routed to the fuel gas knockout drum which provides liquid knockout, mixing, and
capacitance. In addition, fuel gas knockout drums are provided at each group of
heaters and fuel gas piping leaving the knockout drums will be traced to prevent the
condensation of water.

• Calorimeter -- In general, an accurately metered amount of gas is burned

under carefully controlled conditions, and the energy released is used to heat
either water or air. From the temperature increase of this water or air, the
heating value is calculated.

• Gas Chromatography -- A gas chromatograph is used to separate the

components of natural gas. From this analysis, the heating values, specific
gravity, density and other properties can be calculated.

UOP typically uses a heater lead-lag system for combustion control of each fuel gas
heater. Normally, on the main refinery fuel gas line, a Wobbe Analyzer is installed
just downstream of the refinery fuel gas knockout drum. In most cases, this only is
an analyzer and does not control heater firing.

7
 Fuel Gas Header Pressure Control

(2a) High
pressure – dump
„ Fuel gas header to flare
pressure is (2b) Low
maintained in pressure – LPG
two ways vaporizer or
(1) Normally natural gas
the fuel pipeline
availability
control system
on boilers will
vary ratio of
gas/oil

The fuel gas header pressure will be controlled in two ways. During normal
operations, a fuel availability control system on the boilers will vary the ratio of
gas/oil firing to maintain a constant fuel gas system header pressure. If this system
can no longer maintain fuel system header pressure, additional actions will
commence. On high fuel gas pressure, excess fuel gas will be dumped to the flare.
On low fuel gas pressure, additional fuel gas will be obtained from the natural gas
pipeline or LPG vaporizer.

8
 Fired Heater Controls

„ Most fired heaters have coil

outlet temperature controllers
(COT)
„ COT controllers tries to keep
heater outlet temperature close
to set point
„ These are good for the process
units but causes upsets in the
fuel gas system

NZRC IV-9

Most furnaces have coil outlet temperature controllers (COT). These COT
controllers are trying to keep the furnace outlet temperature as close as possible to
the setpoint, in order to keep the process units stable. The regulatory design of the
furnaces is motivated by the fact that variability reduction will lead to stable unit
operation, maximizing economic benefit.

Unfortunately, these designs do not take into account what appears to be good for
the process units may not be best for the fuel gas system, and that an unstable fuel
gas system will dramatically impact the stability of every process unit around the
refinery.

9
 Coil Outlet Temperature Controllers

„ As quality and pressure of fuel

gas varies, the COT controllers
of all furnaces will try to
counteract this
„ If fuel gas heating value
decreases, the COT controllers
will open the fuel gas valves
„ This will drop the fuel gas
pressure
„ Therefore, more natural gas
needs to be imported

NZRC IV-10

Let us look at an example. As the quality and pressure of the fuel gas varies, the
COT controllers of all the heaters will try to counteract this. Suppose fuel gas
heating value has dropped. The COT controllers will open the fuel gas valves
supplying energy to the furnaces, increasing consumption, and drawing down the
pressure of the fuel gas header.

To resolve this situation, either make-up gas such as natural gas or LPG needs to be
added to increase the pressure, but often this comes at the cost of further upsetting
the fuel gas quality.

10
 Coil Outlet Temperature Controllers

„ Heaters COT controllers will

change fuel gas consumption in
order to compensate NHV
„ COT controllers unable to
maintain their set-point
„ This upsets various distillation
columns
„ Resulting propagation of these
disturbances eventually impacts
the cut-points of these columns
„ System is self-propagating

NZRC IV-11

As can be seen from this discussion, the furnace COT controllers will change fuel
gas consumption in order to compensate for the changing heating value, negatively
impacting the volume balance. The COT controllers unable to maintain their set
points. This upsets the various distillation columns in the process units downstream
from the furnaces.

The resulting propagation of these disturbances eventually impacts the cut-points of

these columns. This unfortunately results in changes to the quality and flow rate of
the off-gas streams leaving these distillation columns and entering the fuel gas
header. Unstable unit operation (because of unstable fuel gas pressure and quality)
eventually comes back into the fuel gas system via the off-gas stream, similar to a
recycle effect. The system is unfortunately self-propagating.

11
 Refinery Fuel Gas Balance

„ If natural gas is limited and

enrichment gas with high
NHV is added this will
dramatically increase NHV of
fuel gas
„ COT controllers will cut back
on consumption
„ This will upset the volume
balance and therefore cut back
on enrichment gas
„ Self-propagating cycle
instability

NZRC IV-12

This naturally occurring cycle gets even worse if we are limited in terms of the
amount of natural gas that we can put into the system, or if natural gas is not
available at all.

If enrichment gas with a high heating value has to be added to achieve the volume
balance, it will dramatically increase the heating value of the fuel gas, and the COT
controllers will cut back on consumption. This will upset the volume balance, and
we have to cut back on enrichment again. This leads to a self-propagating cycle,
and the system will often go from bad to worse, resulting in significant instability.

12
 Refinery Fuel Gas Balance

„ If Hydrogen enters the

fuel gas system and some
of the COT controllers
cannot hold set point due
to high pressure drop over
burners
„ Then cut throughput on
the process unit
„ Or added enrichment gas
to raise the fuel gas quality

NZRC IV-13

Under adverse conditions, a refinery can get into a situation where the fuel gas
quality is too low. For example, if hydrogen enters the system, and some or all of
the COT controllers cannot hold their set points, due to the pressure drop over the
burners going to high. Under these conditions, we have two options.

We can cut throughput on that particular unit which is usually very expensive, or we
can add enrichment gas to raise the fuel gas quality to the furnaces. This will
prevent the fuel gas valves on the various furnaces from opening fully, ensuring that
the COT control loops stay in control. The problem is that operators have no way of
knowing how much to cut the feed rate or how much enrichment gas to add, or for
how long

13
 LPG Addition to the Fuel Gas System

„ Blue line shows LPG Enrichment gas flowrate

„ Red line shows Fuel Gas NHV
NZRC IV-14

The above chart is actual data set spanning several hours from a refinery, showing
the addition of LPG enrichment gas under operator control (blue line), as well as
fuel gas quality.

The operator looking after LPG addition will typically get a request from one of the
unit operators, asking him to add LPG to get his furnace COT controllers back in
control. After adding LPG to the system, he will often forget to lower it.

Every time the FG pressure spiked, was an incident where the flare valve had to
open to reduce header pressure. Quite often, LPG addition was being used even
through the flare valve was open! This represents a very significant loss.

Also note that the LPG enrichment flow stays constant for long periods of time
(several hours), while the fuel gas quality is often higher than required.
Significantly lower LPG addition would have been sufficient to keep the fuel gas
quality above the minimum value. Of course, it is not possible for the operator
looking after the LPG system to monitor dozens of variables from across the entire
site.

14
 Fuel Gas Pressure Drops

„ Fuel Gas Pressure (in pink)

„ LPG enrichment Gas (in blue)
„ Fuel gas quality NHV (in red)

NZRC IV-15

There are normally constrains on the amount of natural gas that can be added to the
fuel gas system as make-up gas, either due to physical limits or due to contractual
constraints. If natural gas becomes constrained, and the operator has to add
enrichment gas for volume balancing in order to control pressure, the fuel as system
will be significantly disturbed.

In the plot above, an incident is shown where the fuel gas pressure (in pink) fell
away while natural gas was unavailable. The operator had to increase enrichment
gas (blue) and as a consequence, the fuel gas quality (in red) shot up.

This will often start a cycle that will impact the entire site. It is clear that volume
balancing and quality balancing are tightly related, and it is not possible to achieve
the one without the other. They go together.

15
 Refinery is Fuel Gas Long

Legend: Natural Gas Import (pink)

LPG Enrichment (red)
FG Density (blue)
FG Pressure (green) NZRC IV-16

In the example above, the refinery has become fuel gas long, meaning they are
producing more fuel gas than they are consuming. Several heaters were getting
constrained because the fuel gas quality (in blue) was getting tool low (1), and the
COT controllers were saturating with their fuel gas valves fully open. The operator
decided to add LPG (in red) to increase fuel gas quality (in blue). The natural gas
import (in pink) immediately drops down to zero, but this reduction was not enough
to prevent the header pressure (in green) from slowly trending upwards, as it is not
under control anymore. At time instant (2) the operator saw that flaring was
imminent, and he decided to cut LPG (red), but once again the heaters COT
controllers are not staying at setpoint anymore, leading to instabilities in those
process units. The unit operators now have to cut throughput on the process units to
regain control of the furnace outlet temperatures. Around 20 minutes later at time
instant (3), LPG is manually added again to help the heaters, and pressure starts to
rise again. At time instant (4), the flare valve open, and expensive LPG was being
added and lost through the flare system at the same time. Note that in this case, the
operator had enough time to decide what to do (around 20 minutes), but was
powerless, as he did not have sufficient degrees of freedom to resolve the conflict
between volume balancing and quality balancing. He could see that they were
eventually going to flare, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

16
 Fuel Gas during FCC Start-up

„ During FCC Start-up flaring was unavoidable

„ Bold red line is when FCC Unit started up

NZRC IV-17

Above is an example from a typical 100,000 bpsd refinery. One of the biggest
contributors to the fuel gas pool is the off-gas from the FCC unit. The graph
represents a 12-hour period of time. The bold red line indicates when the FCC start-
up commenced. The yellow line represents the calorific value of the fuel gas, while
the green line indicates header pressure. In just about all refineries, the FCC unit is
one of the biggest contributors to the fuel gas pool. As can be expected, when you
start up a major process unit like the FCC unit, all the additional fuel gas generated
introduces a considerable upset into the fuel gas system that affects both fuel gas
quality and pressure. Every time the header pressure reaches the maximum safe
operating limit, the flare valve will open, as indicated by the red circles. These
upsets are propagated through the fuel gas system to every other unit across the
refinery. The instabilities that develop in these units then kick the off-gas
production in all of these process units. This in turn causes the fuel gas system to
become even more disturbed, and these upsets cycle for 12 hours before the
operators finally managed to get the system stabilized. The refinery was flaring for
a total of 8 hours!

17
 Fuel Gas during FCC Start-up with
Fuel Gas Optimizer

NZRC IV-18

The above graph shows the same time scale of 12 hours, and the same scale is used
for the two trends. In this case, the FCC start-up was completed in less than 6
hours, and only two incidents occurred where flaring could not be prevented. In
total, flaring lasted for only 8 minutes, compared to 8 hours before.

Only during these two short incidents did our manipulated variables not have
enough range to prevent flaring. This is nothing short of a spectacular result – a 10x
reduction in flaring during FCC start-up.

18
 Fuel Gas Optimizers

NZRC IV-19

This represents a real data set collected from the same refinery. The fuel gas
calorific value is shown in blue, while the Fuel Gas Optimizer (FGO) on-status is
displayed in red. The FGO solution was turned on where the red line shows a step.
Note the heating value immediately stabilized. A variability reduction of more than
10x is achieved, making it possible for the first time to push the enrichment flow
way down and stabilize the calorific value as close as possible to the minimum
allowed value.

If we go below this low limit, the pressure drop across the burners in the furnaces
will become too high, and the furnace coil outlet temperature controllers will not be
able to remain at setpoint. Of course, if the calorific value varies too much, we
cannot afford to run this low, as the furnaces around the refinery will become
constrained too often and for too long.

19
 Fuel Gas Optimizer

„ FMC: Fuel Gas Manipulation Controllers

NZRC IV-20

Fuel gas optimizer is a non-linear dynamic optimizer that makes use of a full
dynamic first principal simulation of the fuel gas system, the major furnaces, and
the distillation columns the produce the larges off-gas streams. Fuel gas optimizer
is a layered design that enables high frequency execution. It optimizes and controls
across the entire complex.

20
 Fuel Gas Optimizer

„ Blue – Heater outlet temperature

„ Red – Fuel gas pressure
NZRC IV-21

Creating the space for different units to run reliably closer to their constraints.
Reduced variability in heater outlet temperatures allows for greater optimization
capacity in terms of moving the different process units around the refinery closer to
their true process limitations. The above two graphs show actual heater outlet
temperature (blue) and fuel gas pressure (red) from a refinery. The scales are the
same. Note the reduced variability in heater outlet temperature when the fuel gas
header volume/pressure is balanced. No PID temperature turning changes were
made.

21
 LPG Vaporizer

„ Facilitate start-up of fuel

gas system
„ Used to dispose of off-gas or
excess LPG
„ Used as a back-up fuel
source for the refinery
„ LPG typically has a higher
heat content than refinery
fuel gas

An LPG vaporizer is provided to facilitate startup and dispose of Off-Spec of excess

LPG. Off-Spec LPG or excess LPG will be used as a secondary fuel, using the LPG
vaporizer. Since LPG has a considerably higher heat content than refinery fuel gas
or natural gas, its exclusive use should be viewed with caution, because it may
affect burner operation.

22
 Fuel Gas Summary
NZRC IV-23

Heating Value
Natural gas, LPG, petroleum, and diesel are comprised mainly of hydrocarbons, the
molecules of which contain just carbon and hydrogen. When these fuels are burned,
the major products of combustion are carbon dioxide and water, together with the
nitrogen from the air. The water produced can be treated as either a vapor or liquid.
To go from liquid to vapor, heat is required, and this heat is called the latent heat of
vaporization. Similarly, to go from vapor to liquid, the latent heat of vaporization is
released.

Gross Heating Value

This is the energy released from complete combustion of a given amount of fuel
(usually either one cubic meter or one kilogram) and where the water produced is
considered liquid.

Net Heating Value

This is the energy released from complete combustion of a given amount of fuel
(usually either one cubic meter or one kilogram) and where the water produced is
considered vapor. The difference between the gross and net heating values is the
latent heat of vaporization associated with the water produced from the combustion.

Method of Determination
There are two methods used in the gas industry to measure heating values;
calorimeter and gas chromatography.

23
 Fuel Gas – Wobbe Index

„ Wobbe Index = Gross Heating Value/(Square

root of relative density)
– Used to compare the energy input into an appliance
with different composition fuel gases
– If two fuels have identical Wobbe Indices, then for a
given burner pressure, the energy input will also be
identical
NZRC IV-24

Wobbe Index Calculation Example

A natural gas with the following composition:
CH4 89.5 %, CO2 5.3 %, O2 0.2 %, N2 5.O %

Mean molecular mass use 16 for methane, 44 for carbon dioxide, 32 for oxygen and
28 for nitrogen.
Mean molecular weight = (89.5 x 16) + (5.3 x 44) + (0.2 x 32) + (5.0 x 28)
Mean molecular weight =18.11 kg/kmol

Mean molecular weight of air = 28.9 kg/kmol

Specific Gravity relative to air = (18.11/28.9)
Specific Gravity relative to air = 0.627

Calorific Value can be calculated from the known calorific values of the component
parts:
(methane 39.75 MJ m-3) all others components in this case do not contribute to the
calorific value.
CV = (39.75 x (89.5/100))
CV = 35.5 MJ m-3

Wobbe Index = (CV)/square root of (Specific Gravity relative to air)

Wobbe Index = 35.5/square root (0.627)
Wobbe Index = 44.82 MJ m-3

24
 V-Cone Technology

„ Advanced differential
pressure-type flowmeter
„ Originally developed for the
water industry
„ Traditional technique for
deriving flowrate by
measuring differential
pressure across an orifice
plate in straight run of pipe

NZRC IV-25

The V-Cone is an advanced differential pressure-type flowmeter, ideal for tight-fit

and retrofit installations. Employed in today's most challenging applications, it
offers users high accuracy and repeatability, extremely flexible installation and no
maintenance.

The installation flexibility of the V-Cone is due to its ability to condition the flow
prior to measurement. It has been employed successfully in oil and natural gas
production and distribution, process and facility control, and the municipal
water/wastewater sector.

With no moving parts to replace or maintain, the V-Cone offers long term
performance with low operating costs. In addition, the meter never needs
recalibration, so once installed, it can operate unattended for years. All these
benefits add up to a great flowmeter for your toughest and tightest applications,
when high accuracy and repeatability are a must.

25
 V-Cone Technology

„ Differential pressure is
created by a cone placed
in the center of the pipe.
„ The cone is shaped so that
it “flattens” the fluid
velocity profile in the pipe,
creating a more stable
signal across wide flow
downturns.
„ Flow rate is calculated by
the differential pressure

NZRC IV-26

•Differential pressure is created by a cone placed in the center of the pipe.

The cone is shaped so that it “flattens” the fluid velocity profile in the pipe,
creating a more stable signal across wide flow downturns. Flow rate is
calculated by measuring the difference between the pressure upstream of
the cone at the meter wall and the pressure downstream of the cone through
its center.

•The cone is shaped so that it “flattens” the fluid velocity profile in the pipe,
creating a more stable signal across wide flow downturns.

•Flow rate is calculated by measuring the difference between the pressure

upstream of the cone at the meter wall and the pressure downstream of the
cone through its center.

26
 V-Cone Technology
„ Accuracy of up to +/-0.5% of actual flow
„ Repeatability of +/-0.1%
„ Turndown of 10:1 typical, higher on
some applications
„ Standard beta range from 0.45 to 0.85
„ Low headloss Only 0-3 diameters
upstream and 0-1 diameters
downstream required
„ Sized and calibrated for customer
application
„ Canadian custody transfer approved
„ www.mccrometer.com
NZRC IV-27

V-Cone meter is manufactured and marketed by McCrometer of Hemet in

California. The V-Cone is installed at a number of refineries and chemical
processing plants.

V-cone technology relies on differential pressure measurement, it provides far

greater accuracy and can be installed in more locations in a refinery as it is less
restricted by the length of straight run of pipe required by conventional orifice
plates.

27
 Fuel Oil System
Simplified Flow Diagram

The above drawing shows a simplified flow diagram of a refinery fuel oil system.
The main components are:

• Fuel Oil Tanks

• Fuel Oil Tank Mixers

• Suction Strainers

• Fuel Oil Circulating Pumps

• Fuel Oil Heaters

• Discharge Strainers

28
 Viscosity

„ Heavy Oils Require Higher Temperatures to

Get Proper Viscosity
– Required Viscosity – 100 SSU (20 cS) Typical
„ Procedure to Determine Proper Fuel Oil
Temperature
– Obtain One Point Viscosity
at 100-130°F (38-54°C) for No. 2 Oils or
at 210°F (100°C) for No. 6 Oils
– Plot Point on Viscosity-Temperature Chart;
Draw Line Parallel to Other Lines
– Determine Proper Operating Temperature
for 20 cS (100 SSU)

NZRC IV-29

Viscosity is extremely important in the fuel oil system operation. Fired heaters
require the proper viscosity at the burner tips. Too high a viscosity will result in
poor atomization and potential plugging of the tips.

The required minimum viscosity at the burner tips is 20 cst. Therefore, the fuel oil
heater must raise the temperature about 10 C to give a lower viscosity since there
will be heat loss in the fuel oil piping going to the fired heaters.

29
 Fuel Oil Viscosity

NZRC IV-30

The above chart shows some typical fuel oil viscosities of oils at various
temperatures.

Fuel oil viscosity is extremely important since the burners normally require about
20 cst. Viscosity is the relative ease or difficulty with which an oil flows or is
pumped. Quantitatively, it is the time in seconds that it takes 60 cc of oil to flow
through a standard-size orifice at standard temperature. The Saybolt viscosimeter is
the instrument generally used for determining the viscosity of fuel oil in the
petroleum industry.

Since viscosity is a measure of flow characteristics, it is an important factor in the

design and operation of oil handling and burning equipment, the efficiency and
sizing of pumps pumping temperatures, and pipeline sizing.

The pour point of an oil is the lowest temperature at which it flow under standard
conditions.

30
 Fuel Oil Pressure

„ Design Should Be 70-90 psig

(5-6.3 kg/cm2g)
„ Too Low Pressure Can Result
in Poor Turndown
„ Poor Atomization
„ Plugging (Coke Formation) in
Oil Guns

NZRC IV-31

The fuel oil pressure is also critical and should be between 5 to 6.3 kg/cm2g.

Too low of a pressure can result in poor turndown of the fired heater. In addition
too low a pressure can result in poor atomization and potential plugging of the oil
guns.

31
 Fuel Oil System Design Considerations

„ Circulate 3x the amount

of fuel oil to be burned
„ Excess circulation
assures fuel oil will be
sent to burners at
adequate temperature
„ Fuel oil supply header is
typically 11.0 Kg/cm2G
at process unit battery
limit

The system is designed to circulate three times the amount of oil burner under
normal conditions, with the unburned oil returning to the fuel oil tank. This excess
circulation, as well as insulation and tracing of the fuel oil piping, assures that the
fuel oil will be at an adequate temperature at the burner. The fuel oil supply header
is typically designed to provide a pressure of 11.0 Kg/cm2G at the process unit
battery limit. Allowing for pressure drop through piping, heat exchanger, and
strainer results normally in a pump discharge pressure of 14.0 Kg/cm2G.

32
If You’re Burning H2 . . .
You’re Burning
Money!

NZRC IV-33

33
Manage Your H2 Assets

„ Why manage H2?

„ The H2 management problem

„ Leveraging process
knowledge and overall
refinery economics

„ Two examples of how

refiners made more money

NZRC IV-34

34
Why Manage Hydrogen?

„ Demand for low sulfur fuels

„ Lower aromatic gasoline
„ Reduce plant operating costs
„ Reduce need for new hydrogen
production capacity

Not the Whole Story

NZRC IV-35

35
The Rest of the Story

Increase Profit

In hydroprocessing units
„ Increase throughput
„ Increase catalyst life
„ Increase conversion
„ Increase product quality

NZRC IV-36

36
 The Importance of the H2 Network

Crude

NZRC IV-37

37
 The Importance of the H2 Network

Gasoline

Diesel
Crude
Jet Fuel

Fuel Oil, Coke

Heat H2 Power

NZRC IV-38

38
 The H2 Network Problem
H2 Plant
Cat.
Reformer

Kerosene
Hydrotreater

Membrane

Hydro-
cracker Kerosene Distillate
Hydrotreater 2 Hydrotreater Kerosene
Hydrotreater 1
Fuel

PSA
Resid
Desulfurization

NZRC IV-39

39
 H2 Network
Isom Fuel
HT 1
HT 2
Cat Reformer 1
HT 3

HT 4

HT 5 Fuel
H2 Plant 1
HT 7
HT 6

Cat Reformer 2 HT 8
Tailgas
Permeate
Membrane Fuel

HT 9 HT 10 Fuel
H2 Plant 2

HT 11

NZRC IV-40

40
 Process Recommendation
Isom Fuel
HT 1
HT 2
Cat Reformer 1
HT 3
Increased Reactor Purity
New Membrane Fuel
HT 4
Fuel
HT 5 Fuel
H2 Plant 1
HT 6 HT 7

Cat Reformer 2 HT 8
Nonpermeate
Permeate Fuel
Membrane
Increased Reactor Purity
HT 9 HT 10 Fuel
H2 Plant 2

HT 11

NZRC IV-41

41
 Customer Benefits

„ Increased distillate production

„ Maintained catalyst run length
„ Improved gross margin by $8.1 MM/yr
„ Simple payback << 1 year

NZRC IV-42

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 Methodology

Process
Changes
Network
Analysis

Hydrogen
Purification

NZRC IV-43

43
Conclusions

„ Complex problems require

innovative solutions
„ Leverage hydrogen asset

„ Stop burning money

NZRC IV-44

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 End Section

„ Next: Refinery Equipment Issues

„ Questions ?

NZRC IV-45

Any questions on the introduction. Our next section we will be discussing a high
level overview of equipment issues in the refinery.

45