UOP FCC Emergency Interlock System

Refining

Refining
The UOP FCC Emergency Interlock System is a protec- 쮿 Refinery power loss
tion system designed to automate the required operator 쮿 Pump failures
actions during an abnormal event affecting the catalyst 쮿 Cooling water failure
sections of a fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) unit.
쮿 Instrument air failure
These abnormal events require immediate and precise
쮿 Main air blower failure
operator action. Given the nature of human response to
emergencies, it is possible that the operator will either 쮿 Slide valve failure
delay action or make an error in judgment. These abnor- 쮿 Other equipment failures
mal events may result in major equipment damage, long
down time and/or lost production. UOP FCC EIS design
To protect the FCC unit from an array of problems, UOP
Background
developed the UOP FCC Emergency Interlock System
The FCC process employs a fluidized catalyst system (EIS). The UOP FCC EIS is an independent protection
that converts straight-run atmospheric gas oil, vacuum layer for the FCC process, following the requirements
oils and other side products into high octane gasoline, of ANSI/ISA S84.01 (Application of Safety Instrumented
light fuel oils and olefin-rich light gases. Systems for the Process Industries). The system also
The FCC process offers the refiner a reliable, long-run conforms to API Recommended Practice 554 (Process
operation; a wide array of products; a high-quality gaso- Instrumentation and Control).
line with a relatively high octane number; and a method Today’s safety standards recognize the benefit of fault-
for converting various feed stocks to gasoline. tolerant, redundant, programmable electronic systems.
The combination of high yield, high octane and low cost The protection layer model, recently recognized by the
makes the FCC process a key contributor to a refinery’s US and international standards agencies (including
overall gasoline production strategy. OSHA), maximizes the availability and reliability in the
interlock system design.
Application
Availability is a measure of a system’s success – the
The proper implementation of a robust interlock system system does what it needs to do, when it is asked to do
can assist the refiner with the automated shutdown of the it. The lack of availability means that a system may not
catalyst section of the FCC unit. This automation avoids trip when asked to trip, that is, failures can be hidden or
major equipment damage while placing the FCC unit in a unknown. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) not
condition suitable for rapid re-start after an abnormal event. designed for safety / critical applications are susceptible
UOP provides a unique interlock system, integrating to high incidences of covert failures.
UOP expertise, the use of fault-tolerant, redundant,
Reliability, or percentage of on-stream time, is a measure
programmable electronic systems and process transmit-
of safe system effectiveness. A lack of reliability causes
ters (supplied by others) to automate the shutdown of
unnecessary trips.
the FCC unit.
Unnecessary trips cause downtime and lost profits!
Abnormal events
To achieve the reliability and availability levels desired,
Although the FCC process is a long running, low cost,
a system must use both fault-tolerant systems and
reliable process to operate, emergency situations may
multiple processors with self-diagnostics.
occur requiring the unit to be shutdown. These events
are referred to as abnormal events. Some of the more The UOP FCC EIS uses a TÜV-rated, fault-tolerant,
typical abnormal events are: triple-redundant, self-diagnostic safety PLC.
UOP FCC Emergency Interlock System 2

A high level of safety availability and reliability is Economics

achieved through the use of either two out of three There is continuous debate in the industry regarding the
(2oo3) voting or two out of two with diagnostics (2oo3D) cost versus use issue. Some refiners consider the idea
for process variable inputs, and the use of the fault- of spending more than a few thousand dollars on a
tolerant PLC. safety system unacceptable. However, when the cost
versus the potential savings is examined, a refiner with
The UOP FCC EIS monitors the following process an FCC unit cannot afford to be without a UOP FCC
variables: EIS. For example, a 40,000 barrel per day FCC unit
쮿 Air to regenerator flow operating with a $4 / barrel of feed uplift has a daily
쮿 Feed to riser flow margin of $160,000. Should an abnormal event occur,
쮿 Reactor temperature causing the unit to shutdown, the refiner not only loses
production time, but also product. Recovery from an
쮿 Slide valve pressure differential
abnormal event can typically require from 8 to 24 hours.
쮿 Spent catalyst stripper level
쮿 Direct-fired air heater outlet temperature Based on these calculations, the UOP FCC EIS
provides the refiner complete payback in approximately
쮿 Other inputs as required
one day of shutdown. Further savings may be realized
To monitor these process variables, the UOP FCC EIS when a refiner considers the potential equipment damage
is designed to integrate with the Basic Process Control and profitability loss that may occur in the downstream
System (BPCS), as well as other process and equip- process units.
ment interlock systems. Failures of the BPCS will not
interfere with the function of the UOP FCC EIS. UOP experience
UOP has installed over 150 programmable electronic
UOP FCC EIS functions systems on various processes throughout the world.
The UOP FCC EIS is designed to perform the following
basic functions during an abnormal event: Scope of supply
쮿 Stop catalyst circulation The typical UOP FCC EIS is supplied as a complete
쮿 Clear the reactor riser package consisting of:
쮿 Remove hydrocarbon feed from the reactor 쮿 Programmable Electronic Protection System –
쮿 Place the regenerator and reactor system into a consisting of a logic solver, I/O modules, and
safe condition to permit a fast, safe re-start. communication modules with hardware and
software specifically designed for use in process
While the system neither removes the responsibility protection applications.
of the operator from verifying that the system has per- 쮿 DCS Communication Interface – for one-way
formed properly, nor prevents the operator from initiating communication between the refiner’s distributed
a shutdown manually, if so desired, it does provide the control system and the programmable electronic
safety integrity level consistent with the previously protection system.
mentioned industrial standards.
쮿 Commissioning Spare Parts – for the commissioning
The system is designed to facilitate rapid re-starts. The of the control system.
operator need not bypass process inputs in order to 쮿 Project Orientation Meeting – held at the contractor/
perform proper FCC unit re-starts. refiner’s site by the actual UOP project engineer
to discuss project details and review project
parameters.
The UOP FCC EIS is thoroughly tested prior to shipment
to site. A process simulator is used to mimic the cus-
tomer’s field inputs and outputs. Component burn-in is
provided to detect nascent failures. The system arrives
onsite, ready for service.
UOP FCC Emergency Interlock System 3

Full product support

쮿 Commissioning Service - A staff of field service
specialists is available to inspect installation and
commission the UOP FCC EIS. Their expertise
assures that the control system is on-stream and
working as soon as possible.
쮿 Operating Spare Parts and Service - Spare parts
are maintained in inventory for prompt delivery. If
on-site technical service is needed, our specialists
are available for troubleshooting and repair.
쮿 Training - Complete informal operation and mainte-
nance training is provided on-site at time of start-up.
For more information
For more information, contact your local UOP
representative or our Des Plaines sales office:

e-mail: [email protected]
fax: +1-847-391-2253
phone: +1-847-391-2000

UOP LLC
25 East Algonquin Road
© 2007 UOP LLC. All rights reserved.
Des Plaines, IL 60017-5017 The information in this document should not be construed as a representation for
which UOP assumes legal responsibility, or an authorization or recommendation
U.S.A. to practice a patented invention without a license.
www.uop.com UOP 4523-43 1107