This session will cover KPIs and operating scenarios for partial burn FCC units, including the challenges and consequences of maloperation. Additionally, this session will focus on considerations taken to ensure safe operation of the CO Boiler. Attendees will come away with a fundamental understanding of the key principles and potential hazards associated with partial-burn operation.
Moderator:
Joe Colmone, Honeywell UOP
Speakers:
Luis Bougrat, W.R. Grace & Co.
Zach Word, Phillips 66
In this session, we will present a case study on wash water reliability, examining the critical role a well-designed water wash plays in maintaining the mechanical integrity of a system. We will also discuss lessons learned from investigations into excessive accelerated corrosion in an overhead system.
Check out the 2024 Summit Session Inspection and Reliability of Wash Water Systems https://safetyportal.afpm.org/
The oil refining process generates a significant volume of wastewater that contains a suite of challenging contaminants, from hydrocarbons to heavy metals and organic compounds. Oil production at a refinery relies on efficient and reliable wastewater treatment as it is impossible for the facility to operate without treating its effluent. Issues with the wastewater treatment systems can result in production limitations, as well as significant environmental impacts and violations. These systems can be complex, and they are sensitive to upset conditions due to poor feed quality, unexpected contaminants, or equipment breakdown.
This presentation will discuss a significant upset condition that impacted both the primary and secondary wastewater treatment system at a large West Coast refinery. We will present the processes that allowed for detection of the upset, and the steps taken by the operations group, technical team, and vendor support that helped maintain target production rates and avoid any environmental violations or impacts. The mitigation steps allowed for storage and post-upset treatment of the problematic effluent streams. The technical team evaluated options for treatment and environmental compliance, and the water treatment vendor supplied specialty biological treatment technology to get the system back online as quickly as possible. All of this contributed to a successful upset response and the implementation of best practices that can help all refineries facing a wastewater oil contamination.
Moderator:
Dan Harbs, Veolia
Speakers:
Angela Wharton, Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Kai Zhang, Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
In this session we will discuss in detail the continuous improvement in plant profitability achieved by having a holistic approach for advanced automation where applications such as procedural automation, Artificial Intelligence Plant Control (AIPC), control strategy in distributed control system and safety instrumented system all work together in harmony. AIPC, leveraging Reinforcement Learning (RL), offers a transformative approach to process plant optimization, addressing key limitations of traditional Model Predictive Control (MPC).
While MPC has been a cornerstone of advanced process control for decades, its reliance on linear models and manual tuning often struggles to effectively handle complex, nonlinear process dynamics, particularly in scenarios with frequent disturbances or changing operating conditions. AIPC overcomes these limitations by continuously learning and adapting to the plant's behavior. We will share our motivation to develop this product in-house and how easy it is to maintain the application and sustain the benefits by existing operations staff without the need of any AI or MPC expertise.
Participants will:
Understand the benefits of using AIPC over conventional MPC
Learn how Linde has successfully implemented AIPC on their Air Separation Units that include cryogenic distillation and very complex heat integration and recovery process.
Realize the importance of embracing this cutting-edge technology for improving profitability and safety of their plant and also for their personal and professional growth.
This presentation will discuss the role of benchmarking across refinery peer groups to assess energy inefficiencies and strengths, and will then explore how one refiner performed a deep dive into a major refinery process unit and realized a number of low cost/high value energy reduction opportunities for evaluation. Stepping beyond initial evaluation, with potential energy reductions quantified, road mapping is then explored as a tool used to help allocate resources to allow refiners to strategically move towards organizational energy and sustainability goals.