champions gate, florida 2008 npra q&a and technology forum

Omni Orlando Resortat ChampionsGateChampions Gate, FloridaOctober 5 – 8, 2008

Champions Gate, Florida

2008 NPRA Q&A and Technology Forum

Sunday October 5, 2008

2:00 pm – 8:00 pm Registration Rotunda6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Reception Golf Course Commons

Monday October 6, 2008

7:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration Rotunda8:00 am – 9:00 am Keynote Address National AB9:00 am – 9:30 am Plant Automation:

Opening Keynote National D9:00 am – 12:30 pm • Hydroprocessing Q&A National AB

• Energy Management Principles & Practices (P&P) National C

9:30 am – 12:30 pm Plant Automation: Plant-to-Business Interoperability National D

10:00 am – 10:30 am Coffee Break Ballroom Commons12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch International I, II1:30 pm – 5:00 pm • Plant Automation:

Emerging Technologies National D• FCC Q&A National AB• Hydroprocessing P&P National C

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Refreshment Break Ballroom Commons

Tuesday October 7, 2008

7:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration Rotunda8:00 am – 8:30 am Lifetime Service Awards National AB8:30 am – 5:00 pm Cyber Security Roundtable International III8:30 am – 12:30 pm • Plant Automation:

Fundamentals of a Business Process National D• Crude & Vacuum Distillation and

Coking Q&A National AB• FCC P&P National C

10:00 am – 10:30 am Coffee Break Ballroom Commons12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch International I, II1:30 pm – 5:00 pm • Plant Automation:

Real-Time Value Chain Management and Optimization National D

• Gasoline Processes Q&A National AB• Crude & Vacuum Distillation and

Coking P&P National C3:00 pm – 3:30 pm Refreshment Break Ballroom Commons

Wednesday October 8, 2008

7:00 am – 11:00 am Registration Rotunda7:00 am – 7:30 am Coffee & Rolls Rotunda7:30 am – 9:00 am Plant Automation:

The Next Generation Control Room National D7:30 am – 11:00 am Gasoline Processes P&P National C9:00 am – 9:30 am Coffee Break Ballroom Commons9:30 am – 11:00 am Plant Automation:

Concluding Keynote National D

Schedule of EventsTable of Contents

1 Introduction

2 Session Information

2 Sponsors

3 Keynote Address

4 Monday Sessions

6 Peter G. Andrews Lifetime Service Awards Presentation

7 Tuesday Sessions

12 Wednesday Sessions

13 Concluding Keynote

14 Q&A Panelists

18 NPRA Committees

19 Questions 1 - 20

20 Questions 21 - 27







28 Affiliate Directory

Cover photo courtesy ofValero Energy.

2008 NPRA Q&A and Technology Forum

The 2008 NPRA Q&A and Technology Forumaddresses real problems and challenges that youface at your facility and will help you sort throughpotential solutions as you discuss them with panelistsand other attendees. Today’s competitive refiningenvironment requires attention to process safety,superior technology, innovation, and excellence inoperations. The shared knowledge of the refiners,petrochemical producers, catalyst and chemicalssuppliers, plant automation specialists, processlicensors, engineering firms, and other industryexperts at the Q&A and Technology Forum keepsyou moving in the right direction as you optimizeyour plant’s operation.

The 2008 Q&A and Technology Forum program will emphasize process safety and its primaryimportance in plant operations and design. Eachsession will include questions or presentations onproven practices for improving process safety.

The Q&A and Technology Forum program has fourmajor components: Q&A Sessions will have panels of industry expertsfrom refining companies and technology providerswho will respond to questions and engage atten-dees in a discussion of today’s tough issues;

Principles & Practices (P&P) Sessions whichcorrespond to and complement the Q&A sessions,will focus on practical issues, the fundamentals ofgood operations, and the elimination of persistentproblems. The P&P sessions will be ideal for opera-tions superintendents, process engineers and otherswho can benefit from a training session that isfocused on practical issues. The topics for 2008 are:Crude & Vacuum Distillation and Coking Gasoline ProcessesFluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Hydroprocessing Energy Management

October 5 - 8, 2008

Plant Automation & Decision Support (PADS)sessions will provide plant automation and infor-mation technology professionals a comprehensiveprogram on the latest developments in this rapidlyevolving field. The PADS sessions are for attendeeswhose responsibilities overlap between processengineering, unit operations, process control, andplanning. This “conference within a conference”will have its own program and will provide a comprehensive array of topics for plant automationprofessionals; and

Cyber Security Roundtable is tailored to thespecific information technology and control system network security needs for the refiningand petrochemical industries. The Roundtable will address topics considered by NPRA members to be top priorities in cyber security including: compliance, risk assessment and employee education. This one-day Roundtable will be held on Tuesday, October 7, and is open to all conference registrants.

Attendees will be able to attend any of the Q&A,Plant Automation, P&P, or Cyber Security sessions.You will have more program choices and be ableto structure your own ‘personal’ program from thediverse elements available in the different sessions.

There will be one keynote session for all attendeeson Monday and the hospitality suites will be opento every attendee.

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Cyber Security RoundtablePlant Automation &Decision Support

Session Information

For the second year the Q&A andTechnology Forum will host the NPRACyber Security Roundtable. Unlike othercyber security seminars, this roundtableis tailored to the specific needs of the ITand DCS personnel in the refining andpetrochemical industries.

Topics include:Dealing with Compliance IssuesWireless Devices’ Impact on CyberSecurityInsider Threats

In addition to illustrating the top cybersecruity issues, this roundtable will showwhich tools are available today for the ITand DCS personnel in the refining andpetrochemical industry.

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Sponsors

Q&A Screening MeetingShaw Energy & Chemicals

Q&A Panel MeetingPCS

Opening Reception SponsorsAlbemarle CorporationBJ ServicesDurathermGulf Chemical & Metallurgical Corp.Intertek PARCJohnson Matthey Catalysts/TracercoKBC Advanced TechnologiesProSys, Inc.

Hospitality BrochureBASF Catalysts LLC

Monday Morning Coffee BreakAspen Technology

Monday Afternoon Refreshment BreakGrace Davison/ART

Tuesday Morning Coffee BreakSotecia Ideas & Technology

Tuesday Afternoon Refreshment BreakCB&I

Electronic Session CountersBaker Petrolite

Conference BagsGrace Davison/ART

Show DailyHydrocarbon Processing

NPRA also thanks our media supporters:FUEL, Hydrocarbon Engineering,Hydrocarbon Processing, Oil and GasJournal, and PTQ

The Plant Automation & Decision SupportSessions are designed by operating companies for operating companies andare ideal for those individuals who areresponsible for plant automation, processcontrol, planning and scheduling, information technology, and modeling/simulation.

Conference registrants will be able toattend any session of their choosing in the Plant Automation or Q&A programs.

There will be 5 separate sessions, and anopening and closing keynote: Opening KeynotePlant-to-Business InteroperabilityEmerging TechnologiesFundamentals of a Business ProcessReal-Time Value Chain Management and OptimizationThe Next Generation Control RoomConcluding Keynote

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Principles & PracticesSessions

Questions & Answers

Session Information

The Principles & Practices (P&P) sessionsare discussion-oriented sessions, primarilydesigned for the engineer whose overalloperating experience is less than 20 years.The P&P sessions will complement theinformation exchange that occurs in theQ&A sessions. Each of the sessions willaddress the fundamentals of good operation and the foundational principlesfor the technologies that are commonlyemployed. These sessions will usuallyhave short presentations followed by atime where attendees can ask furtherquestions or present their own particularproblems and benefit from the collectiveexperience of the other attendees. The 5 P&P sessions address:

Crude & vacuum distillation and cokingtopics such as: safety; desalting; vacuumdistillation; heat exchanger networks;coke drums; coker operations; expan-sions; and turnaround cycles.Gasoline topics such as: learnings fromLPG accidents; troubleshooting alkylationunits; detection of CCR regenerator plugging; pentanes disposition; andfuture gasoline regulations. Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) topicssuch as: reactor start-up safety; increasingdiesel production, flareless start-ups, andpacesetter best practices. Hydroprocessing topics such as: inertentry; shutdowns; feed effects and fouling; and compressor reliability.Energy Management topics such as: acorporate energy management process;a refinery energy program; crude preheatenergy management; saving energythrough enhanced automation; and hightemperature furnace fouling.

Industry experts from refining companiesand other technology specialists willrespond to the selected questions andthen engage the attendees in a discussionof the relevant issues. The questions forthe Q&A panel are organized into fourOperations & Technology sessions:

Crude & vacuum distillation and coking(safety; maximizing distillate yield; vacuumtower wash bed coking; coker vaporemissions and drum life; and utility systems);Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) (safety;catalyst selection; yield predictions; KPIs;hydrogen blistering; and main air blowercapacity);Gasoline processes (safety, corrosion in alkylation units, benzene conversion in isomerization units, aromatics recovery,iron contamination in reformers, and optimization);Hydroprocessing (process safety,emergency depressurization, ultra-lowsulfur kerosene, catalyst regeneration/reactivation, ULSD, hydrocracking)

In the course of responding, the panelistswill address:Safety and Environmental Performance –Protecting our co-workers, neighbors, andfacilities is our first priority.Operations – Common (and uncommon) operational problems and how to solvethem.Technology – Identifying the best technol-ogy and applying it appropriately toimprove the bottom line.

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Keynote Address

8:00 am – 9:00 am National AB

MondayOctober 6, 2008

Blake EskewVice President, Purvin & Gertz, Inc.

Hydroprocessing Q&A

9:00 am – 12:30 pmNational AB

PanelistsMax Lawrence, Shell Global SolutionsCharles Olsen, Advanced Refining

TechnologiesGeorge Papoutsis, CITGO PetroleumDave Rapavi, HOVENSASteven Souers, ChevronEdwin Yuh, UOP

See page 19 for questions.

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PresiderSteve Williams, Aspen Technology

Keynote“RAVE – Working Smarter in a 3D Virtual World”Costantino Lanza, INOVx SolutionsKevyn Renner, Chevron Global

Manufacturing

Bottom to Top Real-Time Accountingand Performance MeasuresMartin Turk, Hydrocarbon Solutions, andPeter Martin, Invensys Process Systems

Refiners have been searching for valuethat can be generated by integratingplant-wide enterprise systems with mini-mal success. Perhaps the problem is theabnormal focus on integration rather thanon solving new and unique value-gener-ating business problems. Many executiveshave expressed considerable concernover the lack of financial visibility into production assets. A new value-generatingapproach to measuring both operationaland financial business performance inreal time that starts with the plant andmoves up through the enterprise hasproven to provide greater visibility toexecutives. But more than this it has alsoproven to be able to empower frontlinethrough management personnel to beable to drive significant performanceimprovements. This paper will present thebasics of this bottom up approach andprovide examples of how it has led tosignificant performance increases inoperating plants.

Plant Automation & Decision Support: Plant-to-Business Interoperability

9:00 am – 12:30 pmNational D

A Network and Linear ProgrammingBased Approach for Analyzing theRefinery Tank Adequacy SystemSumeet Desai and Dong Dong,

M3 Technology

This presentation will attempt to analyzewhether the existing refinery tanks areadequate to handle the unstable crudesupply and demand fluctuations. M3used a network based approach tomodel to complex and dynamic refineryprocesses and found that the modelshows useful insights on the crude buying policy, net profit impact, and average tank utilization.

MOM/DSS with SOA FlavorHamdy Noureldien, Saudi Aramco

In this presentation, Saudi Aramco willgive an overview of their approachtowards SOA that capitalized on the published ISA 95 standard to define theMOM business model (Maintenance,Regulatory Compliance, Inventory,Operation, Production and Quality). SOAwas used to identify reusable oil & gasservices and to build the required SOAreference architecture and infrastructureto accommodate and facilitate theseservices. This presentation details thesteps that Saudi Aramco took to start theSOA initiative, from evaluation to pilotingdifferent SOA technologies.


Refining Operation Information SystemZane Barham, Suresh Vaidyanathan and

Denise Gilbert, ConocoPhillips

In 2006, ConocoPhillips set a strategy toroll-out a Refinery Operations InformationSystem (OIS) across its worldwide refiningassets. It is currently 50% through thatroll-out process. A key objective of thisroll-out has been to maximize the valuedelivered from its various information system assets including process histori-ans, electronic logbooks, operating targets, alarm management systems, lab systems, operator document systems,plant maintenance, and safety trackingsystems. ConocoPhillips selected AspenTechnology’s Role-Based Visualizationtechnology to provide an open web-based visualization platform to developand deliver a solution. This presentationwill highlight the advantages of this typeof system with some examples, and provide some insight into experiencesfrom the roll-out including training needs,maintenance requirements, etc.

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PresidersDan Kennedy, Pasadena RefiningLarry Kremer, Baker Petrolite

Corporate Energy Management ProcessFernando Oliveira, Petrobras

Refiners have to improve product qualitieswhile processing more heavy and highacid crude oils and coping with naturalgas supply issues, more stringent environmental regulations, and intense concern regarding future climate changeregulations. PETROBRAS will presenttheir current Energy ManagementProcess, its main objectives, its difficulties,and the big challenges to improve theirrefineries’ Energy Intensity Indices (EII),while competing for capital with necessaryinvestments in E&P to develop productionfrom new oil fields.

Refinery Energy ProgramLee Wells, LyondellBasell

This session will detail how theLyondellBasell Houston Refinery puttogether its energy team and then begangenerating ideas for improving energyperformance. The discussion will includethe selection of KPIs, their benchmarkingstrategy, the steps taken to address thebasics of steam traps, insulation,air/nitrogen leaks, steam header balanc-ing, and future steps of energy assess-ment and strategy development.

Energy Management Principles & Practices

9:00 am – 12:30 pmNational C

Three Types of Industry Energy ProgramsGregg McAteer and Brad Mason,

Nalco Energy ServicesTBD, Emerson Process ManagementTBD, Baker Petrolite

Crude Preheat Energy Management –The results from preheat monitoring in aNorth American refinery since 2004 willbe discussed.How to Save Energy Through Enhanced Automation –Case studies of the ways that automation,advanced automation and asset management can save energy in process plants.Refinery Heater Fouling ControlMinimizes Excess Energy Consumption – One way to minimize energy consumption(and emissions) is by controlling furnacefouling and coking.

Summary and Conclusions –What Can You Do Today to ManageEnergy Costs?Bruce Wright, Baker Petrolite

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PresiderKevyn Renner, Chevron Global

Manufacturing

In-line Laboratory and Real TimeQuality ManagementMarc Valleur, Technip France

The presentation shall focus on practicalapplications of Near Infrared spectroscopyto enable efficient decision support systems, such as crude TBP for swings transients minimization, blending indicesfor in-line certification of gasoline andmiddle distillates, and quality manage-ment of very heavy streams. Recent projects shall be taken as examples toillustrate the concept of an in-line laboratory.

Development and Operation of NextGeneration Automation System forStandardized, Efficient OperationsFred Woolfrey, Yokogawa Corporation

of America

Plant control systems require interventionby resourceful operators when plant conditions change dramatically. Operatorexpertise is lost as older operators retire, making it difficult to maintain thesame operation levels. Non-automatedequipment requires coordinated operations with field operators, but theoperational expertise of field operators is also declining due to retirement.Development of a hybrid automation system combining operational know-howof board operators with control systemswill help avoid potential losses as theseexperienced personnel retire.

Continued on next page.

Plant Automation & Decision Support: Emerging Technologies

1:30 pm – 5:00 pm National D

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FCC Q&A

1:30 pm – 5:00 pm National AB

PanelistsKevin Burton, HOVENSAScott Flathouse, ConocoPhillipsEdward MacNeel, Aspen TechnologyJeffery Oberlin, Albemarle CatalystsRama Rao, Lummus TechnologyBryan Stephens, Western Refining


PresidersDavid Brossard, ChevronSteve Mayo, Albemarle Catalysts

Safety Topic – Inert EntryGary Everett and Dave Wilkins,

LyondellBasell

Safe and Effective Shutdowns Chris O’Connor, Chevron

Thorough planning and strict adherenceto safe work practices are key to safeand cost-effective shutdowns.

Feed Effects and FoulingSteve Mayo, Albemarle Catalysts

Maximum return on investment forhydroprocessing catalyst expendituresnecessitates that catalyst activity be themain factor limiting cycle length. It is notuncommon, however, to find cases wherepressure drop buildup and/or catalystfouling limit cycle length. These problemscan, in many cases, be traced to charac-teristics and components of the feedstock.Proper hydrotreater operation, feedstockpreparation and catalyst selection arekey to minimizing these effects and maximizing hydrotreater performanceand cycle length. This presentation willreview common feedstock effects onhydrotreater performance. Cycle limitingeffects from feedstock on pressure dropand catalyst deactivation by poisoningand fouling will be examined.

Compressor ReliabilityTBD, Shell Global Solutions

Hydroprocessing Principles & Practices

1:30 pm – 5:00 pmNational C

TuesdayOctober 7, 2008

The Peter G. Andrews Lifetime ServiceAward honors members who have madelong lasting contributions to the valueand vitality of the NPRA Q&A Meeting.Recipients of this award have served as Q&A Panelists, screening committeemembers, and, most importantly, activeparticipants in the dialogue that is fundamental to the meeting. During their careers, the recipients have demonstrated a willingness to pass ontheir knowledge and expertise to futuregenerations in this forum, have made significant contributions to the meeting’squality, and have emphasized the impor-tance of sharing knowledge in makingcontinuous improvements.

2008 NPRA Q&A Peter G. Andrews Lifetime Service Awards

8:00 am – 8:30 amNational AB

Lawrence LewChevron

Glenn LioliosDuPont™ STRATCO®

Elizabeth MetteeGrace Davison

Extending Process AutomationThrough Wireless TechnologiesCraig McClure, Honeywell

Innovative refineries are taking advantageof wireless technology to enable bothsensing and Wi-Fi applications throughouttheir plant. Plant-wide wireless coverageenhances applications currently in useand provides an infrastructure for growthto meet demands of tomorrow’s refineries.Hear case studies and examples fromseveral key refining companies.

Advanced Diagnostics: Four Stepsto Better Decision MakingBill Zhou and Andrew Klosinski, Emerson

Process Management

Virtually all dynamic processes have distinctive noise profiles. Applying bestpractices with new diagnostic capabilitiesfound in HART Pressure Transmittersallows users to receive actionable information for better decision making in the plant.

DCS Migration PanelTBD

Plant Automation & Decision Support: Emerging Technologies



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Lessons Learned from NERCCompliance InitiativesAndrea Gay, CA, Inc.Michael Sanchez, Sirius Solutions

The growth in regulatory oversight isaffecting all industries, especiallyPetrochemical and Refining. CFATS fromthe Department of Homeland Security isone of the latest regulatory mandates andis already having its impact on companies’compliance activities. Can thePetrochemical and Refinery industrylearn from the experience of other indus-tries in an effort to minimize the effortsrequired to comply? Can lessons learnedfrom the Electric Industry and NERC’sCyber Security Regulations be of use?The answer is a resounding, “Yes!”There’s nothing like a little experience,whether it’s yours or someone else’s, tohelp ease the compliance effort.

Using Historians to Aggregate andCorrelate Security Events and Detect Cyber AttacksDale Peterson, Digital Bond, Inc.

Control system historians aggregateprocess data and some can correlatethese data to assist with maintenanceand key performance indicators. Thisworkshop will show how these sameaggregation and correlation capabilitiesin historians can be used to detect cyberattacks on control systems.

Combining Biometric Multi-FactorAuthentication with Certificates forSecure User Log On John Petze, Privaris, Inc.

One of the weaknesses present in manyIT environments is the use of passwordsfor user authentication. Passwords havebeen shown to be easily compromised,insecure and costly to manage.

In order to enhance security and respondto increased regulatory pressure, manyorganizations are looking to multi-factorauthentication approaches to confirm theidentity of the user. These approachescan help increase security of user logon,but often come with significant impact onIT resources and workload which limitstheir areas of applicability. This presenta-tion will look at some of the most commonmodes of multi-factor authentication for IT applications and their impact on ITinfrastructure.

DHS – Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center(HITRAC) Cyber Security UpdateKristin E. Esbeck, Department of

Homeland Security-HITRAC

Addressing Risk in Process EnvironmentsRyan Wakeham, NetSPI

This presentation will discuss methods forassessing and mitigating risk in processenvironments.

Cyber Security Roundtable

8:30 am – 5:00 pmInternational III

The Increasing Emergence of WirelessDevices and Cyber Security issuesArising in the Refining andPetrochemical Industry Garrett Schmidt, Phoenix Contact

The design and implementation of a wireless system in an industrial applicationhas some very important criterion, espe-cially regarding reliability and security.These topics will be addressed in anobjective format, focusing on the differentwireless technologies that are availableand suitable for industrial environments.

Insider Threats –The Greatest Challenge Winston Krone and Pat Markham,

SafirRosetti

Attention to the Cyber Security Threatfacing members of the NPRA has previously focused on protecting comput-er networks from external threats whichmight disrupt business operations orharm physical assets.

However, SafirRosetti/Global Operationshas seen a need to reassess insiderthreats as the increasingly important vulnerability in Cyber Security Threats.While physical damage/business disrup-tion caused by malicious activity or accidents/weather has been quantifiedand studied in terms of insurance risksand disaster recovery, the potential liabilitycaused by the loss or misuse of confi-dential data is not fully appreciated.

Rapid Response to Cyber Security ThreatsTim Helming, Watchguard

Technologies, Inc.

PresiderRich Bowman, TOTAL Petrochemicals USA

Managing Hydrocarbon Losses: What You Don’t Know Really Affects the Bottom Line!Patrick Truesdale, Emerson Process

Management

Production accounting for a refinery orpetrochemical plant is a complex mixtureof business processes: Stock, custody,yield and utility plus even environmental(GHG) accounting. In today’s economicenvironment, poor measurements, prac-tices and control can result in significantfinancial as well as legal (i.e. environmen-tal, Sarbanes-Oxley, Customs andExcise) impacts.

Daily Production Accounting atFrontier’s Cheyenne RefineryTina Geyer, Frontier Refining Inc.Marcela Brina, Soteica LLC

This presentation will describe FrontierCheyenne’s yield accountant experienceusing the S-TMS Production AccountingSystem on a daily basis since 2003. The presentation will describe manyaspects of the daily operation of the systemin the refinery, what errors are typicallyfound and how S-TMS helps to find them.It will also describe how the model ismaintained and how the model is adaptedto plant changes. In addition, it will touchon the implementation stage of the tool atthe site.

Model Based Performance Monitoring John Righi, ExxonMobil Research &

Engineering Co.

Model Based Performance Monitoringenables engineers to monitor andimprove the performance of their processunit area. Using the many capabilities oftoday’s commercial simulation/monitoring technology to deliver these monitoringapplications is a way of effectively developing and deploying to engineersworld-wide.

Your Process Using Normal Operation DataHank Brittain, Top Control Inc.

Eliminate the guesswork in control tuningand process optimization by analyzingand tuning control performance inclosed-loop conditions without breakingopen loops. This paper will demonstratethat with the right tools, it is possible tooptimize your process without disturbingproduction and without need for opera-tors to change mode, change set point,or bump the controller output.

Plant Automation & Decision Support: Fundamentals of a Business Process

8:30 am – 12:30 pm National D


Squeezing the Sulfur out of the DieselClint Dolby, LyondellBasell IndustriesKhanh Nguyen, PCN Global Solutions

As the LyondellBasell Refinery in Houstonretrofitted two hydrotreaters for ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) in 2006 it wasrecognized that manually controlling sulfur at the new spec (8 ppm) would bechallenging. This paper will detail the project, its execution, the application,and the lessons learned. The controllerstill performs well although a couple ofmodel changes have been required dueto changes in catalysts.

On-line Optimization of an AromaticsPlant in a Petrochemicals ComplexLee Turpin, Turpin Consulting Nan Ye, Applied Manufacturing

TechnologiesWoo Jo Lee, Samsung Total

Petrochemicals

This presentation will describe themethodology used to create the businessplan, define the optimization problem,and implement an on-line optimizationsolution. The presentation will include discussions of the economic risks andopportunities in a chemical complex purchasing feed stocks on the open market as opposed to a plant integratedwith a refining complex.

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PresidersRik Miller, ConocoPhillipsSherard McIntosh, KBR

Safety Topic: Preventing Reactor VaporLine Light-off During StartupBill Wilson, BP

Coke deposits in the FCC reactor andreactor overhead vapor line can ignite asthe unit is heated prior to start-up. Thiscan lead to unsafe conditions, aborting thestart-up, and potential equipment damage.This brief session will discuss preventive,early detection and corrective measuresto address this risk.

How Can We Increase DieselProduction from the FCC?Joe McLean, BASF CatalystsHarvey McQuiston, Shaw Stone &

WebsterGeorge Curtin, Sunoco

Current product economics which favorproduction of diesel over gasoline haveled refiners to maximize middle distillate(LCO) production from the FCC to helpboost the overall refinery diesel output.This workshop will cover feedstock, operating conditions, and catalyst effectson FCC operations in refineries wishing tomaximize diesel production. FCC designoptions for increasing middle distillateyield and impacts on other refinery unitoperations will be discussed. The presen-tation will include operating results fromseveral refineries and industry bench-marking data showing ranges of resultswhich are currently being achieved.

FCC Principles & Practices

8:30 am – 12:30 pmNational C

Crude & Vacuum Distillation and Coking Q&A

8:30 am – 12:30 pmNational AB

PanelistsDennis Haynes, Nalco Energy ServicesEric Hutchins, Process Consulting

ServicesMitchell Moloney, ExxonMobil Research

& EngineeringCharles Ross, Frontier Refining Todd Sandifer, Marathon Petroleum Prithviraj Sur, Indian Oil


Achieving Flareless FCC StartupsDavid Brosten, Shell Global SolutionsNeal Cammy, UOP

FCC units have traditionally requiredsome amount of flaring during startup.Due to community impact, environmentalregulations, reduction in lost product anda variety of other reasons, achieving a“flareless” startup is becoming requiredfor most refiners. This P&P session willdefine what a “flareless” startup reallymeans, and how to implement it on bothnew and existing units. Startup proce-dures for the FCC catalyst, fractionationand gas concentration sections will bebriefly reviewed to highlight those areasthat affect flaring during startup. Both“best practice” and realistic compromiseswill be discussed.

FCC Trends and Best Practices fromthe 2006 Solomon Fuels StudyKevin Proops, Solomon Associates

Solomon Associates conducts its FuelsRefinery Performance Analysis every 2 years, most recently in 2006. This presentation will review trends and “BestPractices” related to the FCC. Topics tobe covered include yield benchmarking,catalyst makeup, maintenance costtrends, unit availability, and turnaroundcost, interval and duration trends.


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PresiderKevin Sitton, ConocoPhillips Craig Winslow, GE

Coker UtilizationMatthew Biery, ConocoPhillips

The trend of running increasingly heaviercrudes, and more unconventional feedssuch as oil sand bitumen, requiresincreasingly higher utilization of theDelayed Coker. This discussion willexamine coker utilization with respect tomaximum daily capacity of equipmentand reliability of operation. Maximumcapacity of the coker unit will be relatedto the capacity limit of several majorpieces of coker equipment. Overall performance and reliability of the cokerunit will be examined, including slow-downs or downtime imposed on thecoker unit by other refinery processesand by the coker unit equipment.

Crude, Vacuum and Delayed CokerUnits – Trends and Best Practices Kevin Proops, Solomon Associates

Review of selected data from the 2006Solomon North and South AmericanFuels Study.Mechanical and operational availability;Turnaround intervals and durations;Impact of turnaround interval on unitmaintenance cost;Process data, including crude preheattemperature vs. preheat train surfacearea, heater stack temperatures and oxygen, flash zone temperatures andpressures, and reported vacuum bottomscutpoint;Coke yield vs. feed concarbon.

Crude & VacuumDistillation and Coking Principles & Practices

1:30 pm – 5:00 pmNational C

Design Practices for Optimum VacuumTower PerformanceTrung Quan, Koch-Glitsch

The session will focus on current designpractices to maximize the performanceand reliability of the vacuum tower. Keytopics that should be considered duringevaluation of the vacuum tower shouldinclude packing selection, vapor feeddistribution, wash bed design and oper-ating variables, and upset protection.Careful attention to good design practicesduring a project will help ensure that performance and reliability goals aremet. These same concepts can alsohelp the unit engineer better understandand optimize the operation of existingtowers.

Refinery Corrosion, Organic AcidStructure, and Athabasca BitumenHeather Dettman, CANMET Energy

Technology Centre Nana Li and Jingli Luo, University of Alberta

Total sulphur content (measured by elemental analyses) and total acid content(measured by total acid number (TAN))have not been found to correlate well with corrosivity.

A fundamental study of the relationshipsof molecular structures of sulphur andorganic acid compounds to refinery corrosivity is being perfomed. To understand acid species, the corrosivityof homologous series of organic acidswith respect to temperature and vacuum

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are being assessed in a test unit that simulates corrosion found in vacuum distillation towers. The orgranic acidsfrom globally-sourced heavy crude oilsand bitumen including Athabasca bitumenare being isolated and characterized.Petroleum corrositivity in terms of differenttypes of organic acids will be discussed.

Solving Opportunity Crude Treatment ChallengesHarold Eggert, GE

This presentation will discuss industryexperiences and subsequent “BestPractices” that have been developedover the past several years, to helprefineries process heavy opportunitycrudes in a cost effective manner. Heavy,more viscous crudes create unique operating challenges that can increasefuel usage, create environmental compli-ance issues, and increase corrosion incrude fractionator overhead condensingsystems. Education and adoption of“Best Practices” can help optimize theimproved profit position that these crudescan provide a refiner.

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PresiderCraig Harclerode, OSIsoft

Planning and Scheduling Integrationinto Suncor’s Project CornerstoneDean Trierwiler, Haverly Systems, Inc.

Recently, the Canadian Oilsands producerand refiner, Suncor Energy, completed a project, codename: Cornerstone,designed to transform their businessthrough a major investment in people,processes, and technology. Improvementsin planning and scheduling software tech-nology and its dissemination throughoutthe corporation were a key vision of theproject. Suncor partnered with HaverlySystems to make this vision a reality. Thispaper will review the overall planning and scheduling technology goals ofCornerstone and how they were met.

Refinery Production PlanningOptimization with Integrated SupplyChain Management Naveen Kumar Gupta andKumud Kumar Jain, Indian Oil

Corporation Limited

This paper describes the businessprocess re-engineering enablingIntegrated Supply Chain Managementthrough collaborative multi-layer demandforecast process, matching supply chainplanning, improved crude procurementand retro-analysis through feedbackprocess.

Plant Automation & Decision Support: Real-Time Value Chain Managementand Optimization


Dealing with Crude Supply ProblemsRequires Quick, Accurate Scheduling DecisionsRobert Hutchings and Dong Dong,

M3 Technology

Planning and scheduling teams are challenged to optimize the operation of arefinery over a 30 day period to maximizethe value of widely varying crudes whilemeeting contractual gasoline deliveryrates and specifications at controlledprices. This paper presents the results of case studies which illustrate the valueto be derived from modeling the refineryin a scheduling system that enables optimal crude blending and simultaneous,multi-blend optimization of gasoline overapproximately 30-day time horizon andthat produces actual daily blend scheduleand recipes.

Refinery Supply Chain Management ChallengesCraig McClure, Honeywell

Refiners have been searching for valuethat can be generated by integrating theirsupply chains through enterprise systemswith minimal success. Perhaps the mainproblem is the misled focus on reducingcosts (an earlier corporate objective) toenabling growth (current objective). Butrecent implementations suggest anotherkey problem – insufficient trustworthinessof the supply chain management solu-tion, which appears to be caused by aset of challenges, including insufficientaccuracy to handle a client-driven supplychain. This paper will present the basicsof this growth-driven approach and howto mitigate these challenges, and provideexamples of how it has led to significantperformance increases in operatingrefineries.

Automating Terminals, The Refinery Cash RegisterPete Sharpe, Emerson Process

Management

Tank farms and terminals represent thepoint of sale (POS) for a refinery, withstringent custody transfer, quality controland documentation requirements.Inevitably, terminal automation meanssignificant integration with corporate ERPsystems, from sales orders to materialmovements, inventory control and qualitycertification. As refiners push productioncapacity, logistics constraints in the tankfarm and terminals can often preventachieving desired performance, causeextra demurrage costs and result in product contamination incidents. Thispaper will utilize a number of industryexamples to illustrate what supply chainintegration means for terminals and thevalue some companies have achieved.

Gasoline Processes Q&A

1:30 pm – 5:00 pmNational AB

PanelistsRichard Grubb, ChevronAllen Kaiser, Delek Refining John Metka, Jr., SunocoMichael Newton, Roddey Engineering

ServicesJavier Quintana, Valero Energy Joe Zmich, UOP


12

WednesdayOctober 8, 2008

PresiderConstantine Lau, Yokogawa Corporation

Next Generation Control Room:“In the Moment” Situational AwarenessDrives Better DecisionsKevyn Renner, Chevron Global

Manufacturing

The next generation control room will provide a collaborative work environmentfor operations to make better decisionsbased on much enhanced SituationalAwareness. This presentation focuses on the underlying technologies that arehelping to provide a contextual view ofthe operating plant, deriving actionable information from multiple data sourcesand thereby laying a foundation for aproactive/predictive operating philosophywhere “in the moment” situational aware-ness impacts safety, reliability and overallperformance.

Gain Working Knowledge of theOperating System: Addressing aCritical Outcome of the Aging WorkforceEddie Habibi, PAS

Increased global competition within theprocessing industry has forced processautomation suppliers and engineeringcompanies to take steps to streamlinetheir operations and differentiate theiroperation. For the most part, the toolsand work processes in the automationspace have been established over twodecades ago and present significantopportunity for improvement. PAS hasworked as an agent of change with several vendors to revise the workprocesses with an advanced toolset virtually eliminating paper-based docu-mentation, automating configuration error-checking, and most importantly,enabling remote collaboration betweenvendor locations, as well as vendors and their customers. This presentationreviews the benefits of changing the workprocesses and deliverables such thattoday’s infrastructure is used to drivedown costs, tighten schedules, andreduce project risks. The presentationincludes examples and actual case studies and is a must-see for every processing company engaged or soon-to-be-engaged in any automation work.

Plant Automation & Decision Support:The Next Generation Control Room

7:30 am – 9:00 amNational D

Best Practices for Management andTraining in an Era of Skills DepletionMaurice Wilkins, Yokogawa Corporation

Manufacturing industry is faced with animpending crisis. There is an approachingmass exodus of skills from industry dueto “Baby Boomer” retirements, with fewyoung people wanting to take up thegauntlet. This paper identifies best prac-tices that major companies are using torecruit new employees, train and retainexisting employees and ensure that workis being done in a safe and timely way. It looks at tools being used to enableoperations and management staff to have more visibility across the plant andenterprise and the impact that these willhave on the control room of the future.

13

PresidersWayne Woodard, Valero Energy Lee Turpin, Turpin Consulting, a division

of T-Squared Technologies, Inc.

Safety Topic: LPG PracticesChris McDowell, Tesoro Petroleum

This safety topic presents refiners withissues related to LPG practices in refineries. The presentation will include a brief review of LPG-related incidents in refineries and their impact on refineryoperations. Attendees will discuss whereincidents occur and possible causes.LPG handling issues that may not beaddressed in routine refinery safety practices will be covered.

Reforming TechnologyWayne Woodard, Valero EnergyAlexander Sabitov, UOP

The process indicators commonly used by the industry may not be sufficient toidentify CCR screen plugging in a timelymanner. This presentation emphasizesthe importance of using peak carbonanalysis for the regenerated catalyst.Increased use of the peak carbon conceptwill improve catalyst life and continuouscatalytic reforming unit reliability.

Gasoline Processes Principles & Practices

7:30 am – 11:00 amNational C

Plant Automation & Decision Support:Concluding Keynote

9:30 am – 11:00 amNational D

PresiderBlake Larsen, Western Refining

Paradigms – Changing Models forOperator Interface DesignDavid A. Strobhar, Beville Engineering, Inc.

The paradigms or models that underliemuch of the design of operator interfacesare either invalid or will be soon withadvances in technology and automation.The impact of abandoning these paradigmson display design, workstation layout, andconsole staffing will be discussed.

WednesdayOctober 8, 2008

Alkylation TechnologyRandy Peterson, DuPont™STRATCO®

Richard Doss, CITGO PetroleumTBD, UOP

The alkylation principles and practicessession will address troubleshootingproblems in both sulfuric acid and HFalkylation units. Identifying symptoms anddetermining root causes of problems willbe emphasized for both technologies

Gasoline BlendingScott Sayles, KBC Advanced Techologies

The principles and practices session ongasoline blending will be a review ofrefiners’ options for pentanes dispositionin future gasoline blending. As ethanolblending increases, high vapor pressurepentanes will be backed out of the gasoline pool and will need to find a new ‘home’ in the refinery’s operations.

RegulationsTerry Higgins, Hart Downstream

Energy Services

The presentation will provide an overviewof pending gasoline/biofuel requirementsand their impacts on gasoline blending.The primary focus will be on MSAT II(benzene regulation) and the RenewableFuel Standard. The overview will alsoinclude an outlook for new regulatory ini-tiatives (lower RVP, aromatics and sulfur).

Kevin Burton is a Section Manager in theTechnical Services Department for HOVENSA LLC in St. Croix, US VirginIslands. He oversees the process engineers in the Deep ConversionComplex who are responsible for providingtechnical support to the FCC, Dimersol,alkylation, sulfuric acid regeneration, delayed coker, sulfurrecovery, and Wastewater units. Kevin has 17 years experiencein the refining and chemical industries. He has held variousroles in process engineering, project engineering, technicalsales and service, and management with Mobil Oil, GRACEDearborn, and HOVENSA LLC.

Kevin holds a BS in Chemistry and a MS in ChemicalEngineering from Michigan Technological University.

Scott Flathouse is a Process EngineeringTeam Leader at ConocoPhillips’ refinery inBorger, TX. His current areas of responsi-bilities include supervision of process engineers in the FCC, alkylation,hydrodesulfurization, and sulfur recoveryunits. His previous experience at theBorger refinery includes: FCC process engineering and operations support, and energy management including process engineering support for steam, fuel gas, and water systems.Prior to working for ConocoPhillips, Scott worked at CelaneseChemicals in a variety of roles, including process control engineering for distillation operations and production engineeringfor coal-fired boilers and power cogeneration systems.

Scott received BSChE and MSChE degrees from Texas TechUniversity.

Richard Grubb has worked forChevron since 1993. Prior to Chevron,he served in the U.S. Navy and workedfor Dow Chemicals. From 1993 to 1998,he worked in Technology Marketing forthe Hydroprocessing Team and primarilyprovided technical service, catalystmanagement, and new plant proposals for resid processes.From 1998 to present, he has worked in the PascagoulaRefinery on the Reformer Project, paraxylene unit, RDS unit, and hydrogen plants. Currently he is the Senior ProcessEngineer assigned to Reforming, NHT, Chemicals, and Hydrogen.

Rick graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in1993 with a BSChE.

Dennis Haynes is an Industry TechnicalConsultant for Nalco Company, EnergyServices Division, Sugar Land, Texas. He is responsible for technical support,program development and applicationoptimization for the company’s refineryprocess chemical programs used incrude management. He has experience in refineries in NorthAmerica, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Dennis holds a BSc degree from the University of BritishColumbia and has over 16 years of experience in the hydrocarbonprocessing industry.

Eric Hutchins is a Chemical Engineer forProcess Consulting Services, Inc. specializing in revamp design servicesfor the refining industry. Eric has morethan 22 years experience in refining withextensive knowledge of the majority ofrefining processes. His responsibilities atProcess Consulting Services include process design, equipment evaluation, unit field performance evaluations and identifying process equipment modifications that improve unitoperability, reliability, and profitability. Prior to his work withProcess Consulting Services, Eric held a number of positionswith HOVENSA/HOVIC in St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, mostrecently Vice President of Technology. In this role, Eric had functional responsibility for diverse groups including TechnicalServices, Quality Control, Applications Engineering, DesignEngineering, Management Information Systems (MIS),Inspection, and a Strategic Reliability Department.

Eric holds a BSChE from the University of New Mexico.

Allen Kaiser currently serves as theProcess Engineering Group Lead forDelek Refining’s facility in Tyler, Texas. He is responsible for directing the short-and medium-term efforts of the process engineering and technical support staff inthe refinery. In addition, Allen has primaryprocess engineering responsibility for the FCCU and sulfuricacid alkylation units. Prior to Delek, Allen worked as a ProcessEngineer and Technical Services Supervisor for CoffeyvilleResources in Coffeyville, Kansas. During his time there, he performed daily process support and was involved in capitalimprovement projects for the crude, vacuum, hydrotreating, catalytic reforming and isomerization, FCCU, and HF acid alkylation units.

Allen holds a BSChE and a MSChE from Texas Tech University.

14

NPRA Q&A Panelists

Mitchell Moloney is the Delayed CokerBest Practices Network Leader forExxonMobil Research & Engineering in Fairfax, VA. Mitchell has 30 years combined experience with both Exxonand Mobil. His previous experienceincludes: Facilities Design Engineer,Process Engineer and Resid Upgrading Specialist, DelayedCoking and Visbreaker Specialist.

Mitchell holds a BSChE from Princeton University.

Michael Newton is Sr. Vice President forRoddey Engineering Services where heis involved in the monitoring of operationsfor many fixed-bed reformers,hydrotreaters, and crude units. He alsohas extensive experience in fixed-bedreformer catalyst regeneration. Michael isa licensed Professional Engineer and has been involved in theprocess design or revamp of hydrotreaters and fixed-bedreformers.

Michael graduated from Louisiana Tech University with aBSChE.

Jeffery Oberlin is the FCC TechnicalService Manager of the Americas atAlbemarle Corporation. He started hiscareer with Amoco Oil Company in theCatalysis division of Research andDevelopment. After nine years at Amoco,ultimately working in the FCC testing andtechnical service department, Jeff moved to a technical service engineer position with Akzo Nobel, currentlyknown as Albemarle Corporation, and has over 10 years experi-ence at Albemarle.

Jeff holds a BSChE degree from Purdue University.

Charles Olsen is the WorldwideTechnical Services Manager for ART. He has over 20 years of experience inhydroprocessing and has held a varietyof technical service, research and techni-cal management positions in Chevronand Grace Davison before joiningAdvanced Refining Technologies.

Charles holds a BSChE from the University of Minnesota, andMSChE and Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from the Universityof Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

Max Lawrence is HydroprocessingAdvisor for Shell Global Solutions inHouston, TX. His responsibilities includedelivering technical support to a variety ofhydroprocessing units in the SOPUS andMOTIVA refineries and providing ProcessEngineering consulting services to ShellGS third party clients. Max started his career with FluorEngineering Companies as a Process Engineer. After more than20 years, including multi-year international and domesticassignments, Max retuned to Houston to work for Akzo Nobel in their catalyst marketing organization providing sales andtechnical support to users of hydroprocessing and FCC catalysts.

Max holds BS and MSChE degrees from Rice University.

Edward MacNeel, a Principal Advisor withAspen Technology, is Aspen Tech’sadvanced process control (APC) bestpractice leader with experience in over 50FCC’s worldwide. He has over 30 years ofexperience in refining and chemicals invarious roles including process engineering,technical support to operations, start-up support, processdesign, process control support to process engineers, projectleadership in numerous APC FCC projects worldwide, and technical management. He worked for Shell Oil Company atseveral US locations and for Royal Dutch Shell, The Hague. He joined DMCC in 1992 which then merged with Aspen Techin 1996.

Ed holds BSChE and Chemistry degrees from the University ofCalifornia, Santa Barbara and completed all MSChE coursework at LSU.

John Metka is a Lead Technical ServicesEngineer for Sunoco’s Northeast RefiningComplex. The Technical Services groupconsists of unit process engineers who areresponsible for supporting SunocoNortheast refining operations throughprocess unit monitoring, optimization, trou-bleshooting, and small project development. John has experi-ence in reforming, alkylation, isomerization, hydroprocessing,petrochemicals and process design. John has worked in thepetroleum industry for more than 16 years. He has served invarious technical services, operations, process design andprocess development roles for Sunoco and Foster Wheeler USA Corp.

John holds BSChE and MSChE degrees from Tufts University.

15

NPRA Q&A Panelists

16

George Papoutsis has been with CITGOsince 2001 and is currently the ProcessTechnical Manager at CITGO’s CorpusChristi, TX Refinery. George started withCITGO as a Process Engineer in thePetrochemicals Area and later held severalpositions in the Business Planning andOptimization Group. George’s career began 18 years ago inUOP’s career development program as a DevelopmentEngineer in Riverside, IL. He then spent five years in UOP’sField Operating Services Department as a Technical Advisorand Chief Technical Advisor, providing international as well aslocal technical service and support in both fuels and petro-chemical technologies. He also spent a few years performingprocess and project work in the Light Fuels, Olefins andDerivatives Department.

George received his BSChE from Northeastern University.

Javier Quintana is the Director ofReforming, Isomerization and AromaticsTechnologies at Valero Energy Corporation,and has been involved in developing andimplementing Valero’s MTBE phase-outstrategy, and providing technology supportto Valero’s naphtha assets. He is aTechnology Advisor in Valero’s Strategic Development andTechnology Group. Javier’s primary responsibilities includedeveloping capital projects in support of Valero’s strategicobjectives, including MSAT II regulatory compliance projectsand further integration into aromatics production. Prior to joiningValero, Javier worked with UOP LLC for 22 years,

Javier holds a BSChE from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute andMBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School ofManagement.

Rama Rao is a Principal ProcessEngineer at Lummus Technology, a CB&ICompany, Houston. He is presently work-ing in the area of FCC process design,development and technical services. He has over 15 years of experience inthis field.

Before joining Lummus Technology last year, Rama was working for Reliance Industries Limited where he was responsiblefor optimization and troubleshooting of 200 KBPSD FCC unitthat was maximizing propylene production.

Prior to Reliance, he worked for 13 years with Research andDevelopment Center of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC),India and was involved with R&D activities related to the FCCTechnology and providing technical services to a number ofIOC FCC units. He is the co-inventor of the Indmax FCCprocess developed by IOC R&D center for converting heavyfeeds to light olefins. He was involved with the design and commercialization of the first Indmax FCC unit and he hasabout 8 patents and 17 publications/papers to his credit.

Rama has a MSChE from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur,India.

David Rapavi is a Supervisor in theTechnical Services Department for HOVENSA LLC in St. Croix, US VirginIslands. He oversees the process engineering group in the Base RefineryComplex which is responsible for provid-ing technical support to the crude units,vacuum units, hydrotreaters, reformers, Sulfolane unit, and utilities. David has 11 years experience in the refining and chemical industries. He has held various roles in process engineering, project engineering, operations, and managementwith the Nepera Chemical Company, Inc. and HOVENSA LLC.

David holds a BSChE and a MSChE from the New JerseyInstitute of Technology.

NPRA Q&A Panelists

Bryan Stephens is the Director ofOperations and Process Services forWestern Refining in Yorktown, VA. His previous assignment with Western wasthe position of Operations Director at theirEl Paso Refinery. Before joining Western,he worked for Valero Energy in severalroles including Director of Engineering and Director ofOperations at the Texas City Refinery. Prior to his Valero experience, he worked for several other companies includingMobil Oil and Murphy Oil in process engineering, economicsand planning, and operations.

Bryan has a BSChE from the University of Mississippi and anMBA from Louisiana State University.

Edwin Yuh is a Senior HydroprocessingSpecialist in the Process Technology andEquipment group for UOP. Since joiningUOP in 1979, Edwin has had assignmentsin Research & Development, FieldOperating Services and OperatingTechnical Services. In his current position,he is responsible for providing technical support to UOPhydroprocessing units including establishing operating proce-dures, home office support for checkout and commissioning ofnew and revamped hydroprocessing units, troubleshooting andtraining. Edwin also provides support to UOP’s engineering,research and project sales activities.

Edwin holds a BSChE from Columbia University and a MSChEfrom Northwestern University.

Joe Zmich is Senior Manager of theGasoline Technologies Service & SalesSupport department in the Catalysts,Adsorbents, & Specialties SBU of UOPLLC. He manages the group responsiblefor providing technical support to UOPlicensees in all aspects of naphthahydrotreating, Platforming, and isomerization technologies providing advice to improve profitability through operating conditions, feedstock processing, hardware change recommen-dations, monitoring conditions, unit performance reporting, catalyst selection, troubleshooting, turnaround support, andregeneration.

Joe holds a BSChE from Purdue University.

NPRA Q&A Panelists

Chuck Ross is the Process EngineeringManager for Frontier Refining Inc. inCheyenne, Wyoming where he supervisesa team of engineers providing processdesigns for capital projects and refineryoperations technical support. Prior to joining Frontier in 2005, he held a numberof process engineering positions including those with RoddeyEngineering Services, Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura Refinery,Williams’ Alaska North Pole Refinery, and Sinclair Refining inSinclair, Wyoming.

Chuck earned a BSChE from the University of Wyoming and aMSChE from Oklahoma State University.

Todd Sandifer is the Technical ServicesManager at Marathon’s CatlettsburgRefinery. He is responsible for the ProcessEngineering, Process Design, and ProcessControls groups. Todd has 18 years experience in process engineering, strategicplanning, operations area management,and planning and economics management.

Todd holds a BSChE from Mississippi State University.

Steven Souers is the HydrocrackingNetwork Team Leader for Chevron wherehe is responsible for developing the annualbusiness plan and focusing network teammembers on delivery of results and techni-cal expertise for Chevron’s worldwidehydrocracking operations. Steve spentmost of his first 10 years in the corporate Hydroprocessinggroup providing technical support and services to Chevronfacilities and licensees before transferring in 1987 to the PortArthur refinery where he held a variety of assignments inTechnical and Operations. In 1995 Steve transferred to thePascagoula refinery as the resident expert in hydroprocessingwhere he provides technical expertise for two hydrocrackersand six hydrotreaters. He has been serving as Chevron’sHydrocracking Network Team Leader since 2004. Steve hasworked for Chevron for over 30 years.

Steve holds a BSChE from the University of Illinois and is a registered professional engineer in Texas and Mississippi.

17

NPRA Committees

NPRA Q&A Screening CommitteeThe Q&A Screening Committee is a forum whereNPRA members can discuss operations in therefining and petrochemical industries with specialemphasis on process technology. The Q&AScreening Committee and panelists met on June23-25 in Austin, TX, where the Committee selected98 questions deemed most interesting and benefi-cial to the conference from those submitted. If yousubmitted questions which are not adequatelycovered by the selected questions, you may stillpresent them from the floor during the appropriatesession of the Q&A session. The following aremembers of the 2008 Screening Committee:

Matthew Baebler, Tesoro CorporationVito Bavaro, Shell Global Soluntions U.S.David Brosten, Shell Global Solutions U.S.Tim Campbell, Axens North AmericaRobert Carpenter, GE Bill Cates, Hunt Refining CompanyKen Chlapik, Johnson Matthey CatalystsGeri D’Angelo, Advanced Refining TechnologiesLarry Denk, Aggreko, LLCGary Everett, Houston Refining, LP Mike Facker, Western Refining CompanyCJ Farley, Astron International, Inc.Jon Finch, Flying J Inc.Ray Fletcher, Albemarle CorporationAngelo Furfaro, UOP LLCStephen Haik, Motiva Enterprises LLCTerrence Higgins, Hart Energy Publishing, LPDavid Hunt, Grace DavisonEric Hutchins, Process Consulting Services Inc.Jeff Johns, Chevron CorporationCheryl Joyal, BP p.l.c.Mark Keim, Coffeyville Resources LLCDaniel Kennedy, Pasadena Refining System, Inc.Garry Kirker, Valero Energy CorporationLawrence Kremer, Baker Petrolite CorporationLarry Lacijan, UOP LLCJerry Lane, BP p.l.c.Charles LeRoyWarren Letzsch, Shaw Energy & ChemicalLarry Lew, Chevron CorporationGlenn Liolios, DuPont™ STRATCO®

Sam Lordo, Nalco Energy ServicesSonny Loudon, CITGO Petroleum CorporationBob Ludolph, Sunoco Inc.Ron Marrelli, Holly Refining & MarketingSteve Mayo, Albemarle CorporationChris McDowell, Tesoro CorporationSherard McIntosh, KBRBrad McKain, Marathon Petroleum CompanyJoseph McLean, BASF CatalystsHarvey McQuiston, Shaw Energy & ChemicalDavid Mendrek, Murphy Oil USA, Inc.Rik Miller, ConocoPhillipsPaul Moote, Sinclair Oil CorporationBrian Moyse, Haldor Topsoe A/SDonald Mulraney, CB&I

Mart Nieskens, Shell Global Solutions U.S.Fernando Oliveira, PetrobrasKenneth Peccatiello, Valero Energy CorporationRoger Pelham, Pelham ConsultingRandy Peterson, DuPont™ STRATCO®Ron Pinaire, Flint Hills Resources, LLCKevin Proops, Solomon AssociatesJavier Quintana, Valero Energy CorporationKerry Rock, CDTechBob Roddey, Roddey Engineering Services, Inc.Gene Roundtree, ExxonMobil Research &

Engineering CompanyGlen Scheirer, ExxonMobil Research &

Engineering CompanyKevin Sitton, ConocoPhillipsJeff Spearman, Barnes and Click, Inc.Bryan Stephens, Western Refining CompanyBrent Stratton, Valero Energy CorporationRussell Strong, Champion Technologies Inc.Ralph Thompson, Chevron CorporationMichael Toole, United Refining CompanySal Torrisi, Criterion Catalysts & Technologies, USALee Turpin, Turpin ConsultingKeith Whitt, Shell Global Solutions U.S.Bill Wilson, BP Products North AmericaCraig Winslow, GEWayne Woodard, Valero Energy CorporationJeff Hazle, NPRA

NPRA Plant Automation &Decision Support Committeeand Associate MembersBlake Larsen*, Western Refining Company

Chair

Craig Acuff, Valero Energy Corporation Darrell Bond, Celanese Ltd.Paul Bonner, Honeywell Process SolutionsRichard M. Bowman*, TOTAL Petrochemicals

USA, Inc.Dennis L. Cima, Chevron CorporationSteven P. Elwart, Ergon, Inc.Tom Garvin, SAICEddie Habibi, Plant Automation Services, Inc.Craig Harclerode*, OSIsoftPhillip F. Hodges, Pasadena Refining System, Inc.Constantine Lau*, YokogawaBlaine McIntyre, Matrikon, Inc.Vibhor Mehrotra, Bechtel CorporationKevin Renner*, Chevron CorporationKurt Rickard, LyondellBasell IndustriesShane Scoles, Coffeyville Resources LLCRene Stramwasser, CITGODouglas C. White, Emerson Process SolutionsSteve Williams*, Aspen Technologies Inc. Maurice McBride, NPRADan Strachan, NPRA

*denotes Plant Automation Program Committee Members

NPRA Manufacturing CommitteeRick Leicht, National Cooperative Refinery Assoc.

Chair

Ernest Cagle, Murphy Oil USA, Inc.Vice Chair

BN Bankapur, Indian Oil CorporationEric Bluth, BPAl Cabodi, U.S. Oil & Refining Co.Jay Churchill, ConocoPhillipsJoe Coco, Flint Hills ResourcesSteve Cousins, Lion Oil CompanyAlan Davis, Chevron CorporationTim Dick, Motiva EnterprisesKen Dillard, Ergon RefiningJoel Elstein, Flying J Inc.David Foster, Alon USAGary Fuller, Holly CorportationJim Gillingham, Valero Energy CorporationJoseph Hagmann, Placid Refining CompanyRobert Haugen, Coffeyville Resources LLCFred Hill Jr., Marathon Petroleum Company LLCSteve Jackson, Hunt Refining CompanyRobert Kent, CITGO Petroleum CorporationPat Kimmet, CHS Inc.Patrick Lavergne, LyondellBasell IndustriesRoger Lyle, Sunoco Inc.Rich Mendel, Afton Chemicals CorporationPaul Moote, Sinclair Oil CorporationBill Schlesing, Pasadena Refining System, Inc.Stephen Smiejan, Hess CorporationJim Stump, Frontier El Dorado Refining CompanyNina Thornton, Total Petrochemicals USA, Inc.Frank Wheeler, Tesoro CorporationJeff Hazle, NPRAMaurice McBride, NPRA

Cyber Security Subcommittee Steven P. Elwart, Ergon, Inc.

Chair

Thomas Culling, ChevronHoward Hess, Sinclair Oil CorporationBob Huba, Emerson Process SolutionsRick Kaun, Matrikon Inc.Sean Kujawa, Shell Global Solutions USBlake Larsen, Western Refining CompanyConstantine Lau, YokogawaJohan Nye, ExxonMobil Research &

Engineering Company Bryan Owen, OSlsoftErnie Rakaczky, Invensys Systems, Inc.Paul Sheth, Holly CorporationBC Spear, BP WhitingLoren Uden, LyondellBasell IndustriesMarc Westbrock, Flint Hills Resources LLC

18

19

Hydroprocessing

Safety1. What are your experiences taking

reactor effluent samples? What safetyissues do you consider when takingsamples? What do you consider to bebest practices?

2. Do you re-evaluate your unit operatingprocedures at regular intervals? Howoften? What principles/standards arethese procedures reviewed against?

3. Have you experienced an uncon-trolled exotherm in a hydrotreaterwhen processing coker naphtha, lightor heavy coker gas oil, or streamsderived from synthetic crudes?Describe this event. What was damaged as a result of thisexotherm? What are the remedies to avoid a re-occurrence?

4. What level of change in feed qualityor product specification would triggera management of change (MOC)?

5. What measures do you recommendto ensure that personnel are notexposed to hazardous materials suchas nickel carbonyl, Ni(CO)4, orarsenic-contaminated dust duringand after reactor shutdown?

6. What are the conditions that requireactivating a high rate depressuriza-tion on a hydrocracker? With regardto temperatures, which is the govern-ing value, rate of change or absolutelevel? If voting logic is used, how is itimplemented?

Process7. What best practices do you recom-

mend for ensuring reliable levelmeasurements in the cold high pressure separator? Please commenton shielded taps, magnetic float indicators, radar detectors, and others.

8. Is ultra-low sulfur kerosene (ULSK),i.e. with less than 15 ppm sulfur, suit-able for the jet fuel/kerosene pool? If not, what are the issues? Are therenew operational issues that arisewhen operating a jet/kerosene unit inULSK mode? Have you encounteredany problems when switching fromconventional jet/kerosene to ULSKoperation and back?

9. Synthetic Canadian crudes are ofincreasing importance in the U.S.Have there been significant issueswhen processing Canadian crude-derived feedstocks? Specifically, arethere any known catalyst foulingmechanisms, deactivation, and/orproduct quality issues?

Catalyst10. Catalyst Supply/Availability Update –

Panel and Audience Comments

11. Large quantities of spent ultra-lowsulfur diesel (ULSD) catalyst will soonbe coming available. What are theoptions for reuse? How successfulhas regeneration, rejuvenation, orreactivation of Type II sites been?

12. What specific variables guide yourselection of catalyst type for ULSKproduction?

ULSD13. What technologies are available for

finding leaks in feed/effluentexchangers and what are the detec-tion levels? Is seal welding of tubesrequired to prevent significant leaks?

14. For ULSD units, what product specifi-cations besides sulfur content (e.g.API uplift, cetane number, cetaneindex, endpoint shift, aromatics, or others) govern unit operation? For these product properties, what magnitude of improvement have you experienced?

15. What are the causes of off-spec colorproblems at end of run (EOR)? Howdoes EOR operation affect otherproduct properties, yields, and hydrogen consumption? What uniqueor novel approaches have you usedto overcome these problems?

16. Comment on the use of additives,dewaxing catalyst and associatedoperating conditions, or feed man-agement to address ULSD cold flowproperties.

17. What are the issues associated withco-processing naphtha and distillatein the same unit with the objective of simultaneously producing ULSDand reformer feed? Comment on fractionation strategies, EOR con-straints, contaminant issues (e.g. silica, arsenic, nitrogen), or other considerations.

18. What are you doing to maximizediesel production? Comment onstrategies such as feed diet, conver-sion, and fractionation techniques.

19. What reactor temperature strategiesare you using for multi-bed ULSDreactors?

20. What operational changes arerequired to produce full-boiling rangeULSD directly from the FCC pre-treatunit? Please describe your operatingexperiences (for audience).

Q&A and Technology Forum:Questions 1 – 20

20

Technology21. What fuel specification changes do

you anticipate for kerosene, diesel,and fuel oil?

22. Describe your experiences with vari-able frequency (VF) electric driversfor recycle compressors and com-pare them to steam turbine drivers.What are the advantages of eachtype of driver?

23. What is your experience with andacceptance of high efficiency plateexchangers in high pressurehydrotreating service?

24. New regulations on reducing total sulfur levels in refinery fuel gas pres-ent what challenges for conventionaltreating processes such as mercaptanextraction, amine, etc.? Whathydroprocessing technologies canreduce sulfur to less than 40 ppm asrequired by the California SouthCoast Air Quality ManagementDistrict (SCAQMD) regulations?

Hydrocracking25. If you want to maximize diesel pro-

duction, what vacuum gas oil (VGO)hydrocracking unit configuration doyou recommend for maximizing conversion to diesel? What are thetechnical hurdles? Alternatively, canyou maximize distillate yield just witha catalyst change? What are thestrategic considerations and potentialpitfalls of converting from naphtha todiesel-selective operation?

26. What catalytic solutions are availablefor cold flow property improvement in a high conversion and/or mildhydrocracker?

27. What technologies are available toupgrade light cycle oil (LCO) and/orheavy cycle oil (HCO) in hydrocrack-ers? What are the processing condi-tions for these feeds (catalyst type,hydrogen partial pressure, tempera-ture and/or pressure)? What productyields and product qualities have yourealized?


Notes

21

FCC

Safety28. Following a shutdown from a power

or utility loss, what are your generalguidelines and recommended practices for:

• Unloading coked or oil-soaked catalyst from the reactor;

• Unloading partially regenerated catalyst from the regenerator?

29. What start-up precautions do youtake to avoid water vapor over-pres-sure events in the slurry circuit of themain fractionator bottoms?

30. What are the benefits of reactor vaporline sampling and what safety issueshave to be considered?

Catalyst31. For refiners who do not have in-house

catalyst evaluation capabilities, howare catalyst selections made?Discuss: frequency of evaluations,use of testing results from catalystsuppliers or third party laboratories,back-to-back unit trials, and catalystchange post-audit practices.

32. When would you consider using acatalyst additive to address fluidizationproblems?

33. How much gasoline sulfur reductioncan be achieved with the use of addi-tives? Have you seen sulfur reductionin the LCO fraction? How well dothese additives perform? Where does the sulfur end up?

Environmental34. On some older FCC units’ designs,

relief valves on the reactor and main fractionator discharged to the atmosphere.

• What are the current design practices?• What are the drivers and economic

implications of modifying an oldersystem to be consistent with thesecurrent design practices?

Process Technology35. What is the minimum information with

regard to feed properties required topredict FCC yields?

36. What are the key parameters thatdetermine coking and fouling tenden-cies of the main fractionator bottomscircuit? How have you established thetarget values for these key parame-ters? What are typical values for thesekey parameters?

37. What are the typical sulfur contents ofFCC products for various FCC feedtypes and sulfur levels?

38. How often do you evaluate upgradingthe FCC’s process technology versusa maintenance-only turnaround? Is this considered every turnaroundcycle?

39. What energy key performance indicators (KPIs) do you monitor for the FCC?

40. What are the options for increasingcapacity of the main air blower?

Reliability41. Both blinds and valves have been

used to isolate the reactor from themain fractionator. What has been your experience with each?

42. The use of hydrogen induced cracking(HIC) resistant carbon steel has successfully mitigated hydrogen blistering and wet H2S cracking overthe last few years. We have been running about six years without anyinternal surface blistering. What future inspection requirements shouldbe put in place? How often shouldthe equipment be inspected andwhich inspection practice should be followed?

43. What methods and best practices do you recommend for on-line clean-ing of equipment in flue gas service(e.g. flue gas coolers, boilers, SCRs,ESPs, etc.)?

44. What type(s) of isolation valves doyou use for the wet gas compressor?How are they actuated?

45. What is an acceptable range for wt%ash in the main column bottoms circuit, what values are typical, andwhat is the significance of particlesize distribution (PSD)? What types of slurry pumps have proven reliablein this service?

46. What are the key parameters thatinfluence your company’s philosophyregarding replacement of refractory in a coking environment? Are theseparameters different for cast, gunned,or packed refractories? Discussrecent developments in refractory that improve refractory service life in coking environments.

47. For refiners who operate reactor strippers with structured packing,describe the mechanical condition of this equipment when inspectedduring turnarounds. Were any repairsor changes required?


22

Crude & Vacuum Distillation & Coking

Safety48. What precautions do you take when

sampling hot streams such asreduced crude or streams which contain high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide?

49. How do you maintain availability andreliability of coke drum relief valves?What inspection frequency and mitigation strategies are adequate to minimize accumulation of coke in the relief valve inlets?

Desalting50. What are some of the issues with

respect to desalting bitumen-derivedcrude? Specifically, discuss BS&Wand salt, and methods to enhancetheir removal.

51. List the sources that you use fordesalter wash water and the advan-tages and disadvantages of eachwater source.

Atmospheric Distillation52. How do you design hot-end crude

preheat exchangers (crude vs. gasoilor resid) that stay clean betweenturnarounds? What fouling factors arecalculated in these services for well-designed exchangers? Is crude oiltypically on the tube or shell side?What were the important design criteria: high velocity/pressure drop;unconventional exchanger types (spiral or twisted tube bundles); orsomething else?

53. What are you doing to mitigate theimpacts of processing bitumen-derived crudes on preheat train fouling, furnace operation, and fractionation performance?

54. Given current diesel margins, howare you modifying crude and vacuumtower operation to maximize distillateyields and minimize “650°F minus”give away to FCC feed? Discuss theimpact on atmospheric gas oil (AGO)and vacuum gas oil (VGO) recovery.

55. When maximizing distillate produc-tion, the temperature profile in theatmospheric crude tower changes.How do you determine a lower limitfor the overhead temperature? Whatcriteria are most important? What doyou do to mitigate salt deposition andcorrosion inside the tower and underexternal insulation?

56. What practices do you employ, bothoperational and mechanical, to limitor avoid liquid carryover in the over-head of the atmospheric crude tower?

57. Traditionally, total acid number (TAN)has been used to indicate the corro-sion potential of crude oils and prod-uct streams. What other indicatorsare you using and what operatingwindows, with and without chemicaltreatment, have you established forthese indicators?

58. The old rule of thumb for gas velocitythrough air cooled fin fans of 20 fpswas a limit specifically for hydroc-rackers. What is the allowable gasvelocity through fin fans in other wetservices such as crude units andcokers? How did you determine thislimit and how do you monitor it?

59. How is jet fuel processed downstreamof the crude unit? If it is caustic treat-ed, have you experienced color orlow conductivity issues? Is therepotential for stratification in the finished product tank?

Vacuum Distillation60. What are some proven design prac-

tices and operating guidelines to minimize vacuum tower wash bedcoking? What are the most reliablemethods for calculating the true overflash in the vacuum tower?

61. What types of instrumentation, analysis, and controls are needed for monitoring the vacuum tower washbed to ensure maximum run lengthsand yields?

62. What are some common causes forreduced vacuum system perform-ance? Wax? Elemental sulfur? Whatdo you do to predict, detect, and prevent performance degradation?


23

Coking63. What crude and/or resid properties

and plant operating parameters predict delayed coke quality, e.g.volatile combustible material, shotcoke, Hargrove Index, or others?

64. What operating practices have youused to minimize vapor emissions(i.e., light hydrocarbons) when open-ing coke drums to the atmosphere?

65. How do you predict whether adelayed coker drum has hot spots or is ready for a blowout?

66. What are your current experienceswith coke drum life and how do youmeasure and monitor their condition?What on-line inspection techniquesdo you use? What improvementshave been made to coke drumdesign and what techniques are usedto replace them? What parametersare specified for drum cycle manage-ment to optimize unit production anddrum life?


Utilities67. Recovery of heat from overhead

condensing systems is typically limitedby temperature difference and avail-able cold sinks. A good sink is treated,demineralized water to feed water todeaerators. Discuss:

• Current temperature of deaeratorfeed water.

• Experience with existing waste heatrecovery systems to preheat deaera-tor feed water.

• Economic payouts to further increasedeaerator feed water temperature byrecovering heat from overhead condensing systems.

• Rebalancing the steam system to utilizesteam backed out of the deaerators.

68. If you were adding new boilers to therefinery, what boiler design criteriawould you consider and how do theyrelate to water quality requirements?What quality measurement do youuse and what water preparationprocess would you recommend, e.g.,softener, reverse osmosis (RO), demineralizer, etc.?

69. How do you evaluate and control the risk of Legionnaires’ disease inyour facility?

Notes

24

Gasoline Processes

Safety70. How frequently do you have fires on

reformer reactor flanges? What bolt-ing techniques and gasket types doyou use to prevent leaks? What otherfixes, such as flange resurfacing,have you employed? Do you usesteam rings as a temporary fix?

71. Is your company planning to installmodified HF acid capability (usage of a volatility suppressing additive)?What are the incentives for doingthis? What alternatives have you considered?

Alkylation72. What feed contaminants can lead to

metal corrosion in both sulfuric acidand HF alkylation units? What operat-ing conditions promote corrosion?What do you do to reduce corrosionand/or remove contaminants?

73. Does alkylate volume yield decreaseif T90 increases? Have you quantifiedthe costs and benefits of reducingT90 by changing reaction conditions?

74. Have you experienced a shortage ofKOH supply for your HF alkylationunit? Are you concerned about KOHavailability? What are your alterna-tives if KOH is unavailable?

75. The butane stream from a catalyticpolymerization (cat poly) unit whichcontains 69% isobutane, 14%butylenes, and 17% normal butanewould appear to be an excellent alkylation unit feedstock, especially if isobutane is in short supply. In thecase where the cat poly unit usessolid phosphoric acid (SPA) catalyst,what are the consequences of havingtrace amounts of phosphoric acid inthe alkylation feed? Do you have arule of thumb for estimating theincrease in acid consumption basedon phosphoric acid concentration inthe feed? Are you aware of any refinerwhich has fed a cat poly butanestream to an alkylation unit?

76. The regeneration of feed dryers/sulfurguard beds on butane isomerizationunits generates a butane slop stream.Will processing this butane slop streamin an HF or sulfuric acid alkylationunit cause any problems? If so, what else may be done with this slop stream?

77. What is your experience with coolingwater exchangers in an HF alkylationunit? How long do you go betweencleanings? Do you have a specialwater treatment program for coolingtowers dedicated to the alkylation unit?

78. For HF alkylation units, have youchanged your criteria for materialsgiven the low availability of low carbon/non-recycled steel? Are you heat treating welds? Can youcontrol Brinell Hardness with weldingprocedures? For small bore pipe, doyou recommend using flanges orthreaded pipe?

Blending79. It has been reported that di-isobuty-

lene (isooctene) causes a stabilityproblem when blended in gasoline.Do you have experience blending di-isobutylene in gasoline and, if so,were there stability or other problems?


25

Isomerization80. Where in the isomerization reactor

catalyst bed does the hydrogenationof benzene (exothermic) occur? Howdoes this affect the other isomeriza-tion reactions? What concentration ofbenzene in the isomerization feed isacceptable?

81. Has the optimum feed for light naph-tha isomerization units changed giventhat: 1) ethanol blending reduces theoctane value of other blendstocks; 2) the demand for premium gasolineis down; and 3) ethanol blendingincreases RVP compliance costs? Are you removing pentane from theisomerization unit feed stream orshutting down the unit? Or, are theunits still valuable for isomerizing nor-mal hexane and saturating benzene?

82. In light of coming benzene regulations,are you using (or planning to use) the isomerization unit for benzeneconversion? How does this affect isomerization catalyst performanceand unit operation? How does thisaffect the gasoline pool? How doesbenzene saturation in an isomerizationunit compare to a dedicated benzenesaturation reactor/catalyst?


Petrochemicals83. Since Sulfolane-based aromatic

recovery units are experiencing corrosion related problems, are therealternative solvents available? Whatare the advantages and disadvan-tages of these alternatives?

84. What is your experience with cleaningmulti-upcomer trays in aromaticsextraction service? What cleaningmethods are most effective?

85. Olefins that are formed in the catalyticreforming process must be removedor converted when the reformate isprocessed in an aromatics extractionunit. Historically, what unit operationshave been used to remove/convertthe olefins in the reformate? Are thereany good alternatives to clay treating?How do the alternatives compare toclay treating with respect to capitalcost, maintenance, operating cost,environmental impact, and effective-ness of olefin removal? What can youdo in the reformer to reduce olefinproduction?

Notes

26

NotesQ&A and Tecnology Forum:Questions 86 – 98

Catalytic Reforming86. The reformer’s feed properties can be

affected when the refinery is maximiz-ing refinery diesel yield. How do thesechanges to reformer feed affect performance with respect to C5+yield, hydrogen production, cyclelength, and economics?

87. Iron contamination of CCR, cyclic,and semi-regen reformer catalyst is a common problem. What level ofiron concentration typically justifiescatalyst replacement due to poor catalyst performance?

88. What is your experience with feedside fouling on combinedfeed/effluent (CFE) exchangers?What is the foulant? How often do youclean them and what cleaning tech-niques do you use? On Texas Towers(vertical shell & tube exchangers),how do you extract the bundle fromthe shell if it gets stuck?

89. What are the typical problem areasfor CCR catalyst circulation loops?What are the most reliable valvetypes? How frequently do you conductfines surveys and what is a reasonablerange for fines make?

90. What determines the minimum feedrate for a fixed bed reformer?What process indicators would tellyou that the feedrate is too low?

91. In a catalytic reformer with a givenpressure, severity, and feed quality(N+2A), what are the major factorsthat determine the C5+ yield? Howdo you optimize yield? Have youquantified the impact of pentaneand/or hexane content in the feed?

92. What criteria do you use to determineend of run (EOR) catalyst life for aCCR? How many regeneration cycleshave you achieved between catalystreplacements?

93. On a CCR, what causes the regener-ator chlorination zone to plug offbefore the regeneration zone?

94. In monitoring catalytic reformer operation, how often do you performa feed/product analysis and whatanalytical methods do you use? Howoften do you perform a mass balanceand what is the acceptable mass balance closure? What is a typicalmass balance closure?

95. How often do you perform CCR andcyclic reformer turnarounds? Whatdetermines the turnaround interval?What actions can you take to extendthe turnaround cycle?

96. How do you manage sulfur in thefeed to a catalytic reformer? What isthe minimum allowable sulfur for CCR,semi-regen, and cyclic reformerfeeds? What are your sampling frequencies and allowable ranges?What is your experience with carbur-ization and/or metal-catalyzed coking?

97. What technologies and adsorbentsare you using for net hydrogen offgas chloride traps and what operat-ing problems have you experienced?What are the criteria for changing outthe adsorbents and how often are thebeds changed?

98. What metallurgy are you using formesh pads in reformer compressorsuction knockout drums? How oftenare the mesh pads inspected andhow often are they replaced? Are thesame criteria used for mesh pads inproduct separators?

27

Notes

28

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