2013 Honeywell Users Group Europe, Middle East and Africa

Richard Salliss & Rakesh Mehta

New Approach to Refinery Crude Switch Optimization
using Profit Suite and Unisim
1
 Introduction

• New Approach to Refinery Crude Switch Optimization

– Integrated approach using Profit Controller & Unisim
• Crude Switch and APC applications
• Crude Switch Optimizer
– Solution Approach
– Application Deployment
• Results & Future Directions

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 Crude Switch and APC Applications

• Global uncertainties in crude pricing and availability

and product demand
• Refineries processes crudes of varying types and
compositions
• Advanced Process Control (APC) implementation is
very common in Crude Distillation unit (CDU)
– APC strategies are designed for a fixed set of crudes
• During crude switch, CDU product properties change
drastically depending on the crude type
• Crude Switch affect the APC performance and can
drastically reduce the benefits

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 Crude Switch and APC Applications

• During crude switch, accurate and reliable inferentials

for product properties are not available
• Soft Sensors predictions for product qualities are way
OFF and hence poor control performance
• APC applications are turned OFF during a crude switch
– Throughput reduction and off-spec products
– Can extend up to 6-8 hours depending on type of crude switch
• Crude switch is a transient control problem affecting
CDU operation

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 Crude Distillation Unit – Control Overview
• CDU is a highly complex interactive unit with more
constraints to honor than variables to adjust
• APC Objectives
– Maximize Products
– Meet product specifications
– Minimize Fuel Gas
• Constraints:
– ASTM 90% Cut Points – Naphtha, Kerosene, Gas Oil
– Flash Point – Heavy Naphtha, Kerosene, Jet Fuel
– Overhead Condenser duty, Overflash, etc

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 APC in Crude Distillation Unit

Top Temperature
TC PC
Control

Condenser
Duty Calculation

FC TI

TI

Pumparound FC
Duty Control

Steam FC CVs

TI

RMPC
Steam FC CV:
TI Product cutpoints CVs Sidestream
Product qualities Cutpoint
Pumparound FC Overflash Calculations
Duty Control Tower flooding
Steam FC Valve positions
MV:
Tower pressure
CVs Product
Top temperature
Property
Furnace COT
TI Calculations
Product flowrates
Steam Pumparound
FC duties
FC Feedrate AI
Steam

TC MVs
LC
Non-linear
Level Control
FC
FC Furnace
Duty Control

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 What happens in CDU during Crude Switch?

• Crudes are characterized by True Boiling Point curve

(TBP) that determine the product yield
• Product draw temperature determines the product cut
point temperatures and thus quality
• Change in TBP curve occurs as the new crude hits the
column
• This alters temperature profile in the column and product
cut points used to infer product quality
• TBP curve of the actual crude processed changes
continuously; difficult to calculate the product properties
• As a result, APC is switched OFF during crude switch!

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 Crude TBP Curve during Switchover
TEMPERATURE

0 %VOLUME 100

Crude TBP Curve changes drastically!

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 Existing Solution for handling Crude Switch
• Use rigorous equations to estimate a linear TBP curve
using heat balance and temperature profile of the column.
• Naphtha cutpoint and flashzone cutpoint fix the TBP curve

Drawbacks:
• Straight line approximation leads to some error in TBP
calculation
• May not be so accurate when going from very heavy to
very light crudes or vice versa
• Does not considers mass balance, pumparounds and
fractionation effects

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 Crude Switch Optimizer Solution (1)
• A rigorous simulation model in Unisim Design based on
first principles
– Calculate crude product properties during crude switch based on
actual crude composition
• Unisim Socket Bridge to integrate offline Unisim Design
with online Profit Controller
– Extract the inferential properties from Unisim model and provides
to Profit Controller
– Automate execution of Unisim model in every execution of Profit
Controller
• Crude Switch Optimizer Toolkit is "plugged on" to Crude
Unit Profit Controllers

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 Crude Switch Optimizer - Workflow
First Principle Model
Vapor Liquid Equilibrium

Mass Balance

Energy Balance

Component Balance

Property Calculations
USD Socket Unisim Design Model
Bridge

Crude Feed
Selection
Crude Switch Optimizer Toolkit
Crude 1

Crude 2

Crude 3
Profit Profit Profit Profit
Controller 1 Controller 2 Controller 3 Controller n

Crude N

Crude Switch Optimizer Workflow

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 Crude Switch Optimizer Solution (2)
• Operator selects the Crude type being processed and
switched over, ‘Mixed' crude being one of the options
• Crude Switch Optimizer coordinates the USD Socket for
crude type and Unisim model to be invoked
• Profit Controller provides column operating conditions
(Flows, Temperatures, Pressures) to Unisim model
• Unisim model calculates accurate product properties
based on column conditions and actual crude mix
• Profit Controller runs based on accurate inferential for
provided by Unisim model
• Since based on First Principles, robust enough to work
through crude switches for any crude types

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 CDU Unisim Design model
• Rigorous model based on Thermodynamics
• Unisim Crude Oil Characterization module for TBP curve

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 Unisim - Crude Product TBP Curves
• Utility for calculating TBP Curves and Crude and Product
properties

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 Unisim – Databook
• Databook is connection to USD Socket
• Define Input & Output Process Data Tables

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 Unisim Socket Workflow
• Socket for real time data transfer between Unisim model
and Profit Suite

Profit
Controller

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 Unisim Socket in Profit Suite
• Executes at same interval as Profit Controller in URT
• Invokes and executes the Unisim model

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 Unisim Socket in Profit Suite
• Input Values are passed to USD model

• Output Values are received from USD model

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 CDU Profit Controller with Crude Switch

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 Inferentials in Crude Switch Optimizer

Manual

Reduction in Crude Switch Transition Time

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 LGO Draw Flow in Crude Switch

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 Benefits of Crude Switch Optimizer
• Cuts the crude switch time by half or more (6-8 hours to
2-4 hours)
• Reduction in give-away on key product qualities
• Push to maximum constraints and maintains high
throughput
• Typically over $1-2m/year extra benefits from APC
• Robust enough to work through crude switch for any
crude type
• Can handle new crude types and changes in crude
composition
• Benefits are more significant for refineries that processes
diverse crude types
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 Future Work
• Current application uses Unisim Socket “Simulation”
mode for Inferentials
• Extend Unisim Socket for other Execution Modes:
– Gain Extraction:
• Online Gain Update
– Optimization:
• Crude Pricing based optimization
– Data Reconciliation:
• Online data reconciliation & Optimization

• Can be used in other Refinery applications

– FCC Reactor Yield calculations
• Beta Sites !
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