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Process Simulation in Refineries Sampler 1
Process Simulation in Refineries Sampler 1
and
D D E
E
V
S E
P
Rearranging gives:
V
V 1 E
D
E
E
E
and substituting for D
E
leads to the following:
V V 1
D V
E
E P
S P
and
1
V V
1
D
E D
P E S
E
Ester Blend to Ship Flow Ratios
Methyl Ester Product Blend
V
E
/ V
P
Ship to Ester
Blend
Flow Ratio
% %
100 15 6.667 0.176
10 10.0 0.111
5 20.0 0.053
80 15 5.33 0.231
10 8.0 0.143
5 16.0 0.067
A process control system would set the blender flow ratios by entering the ME blend (V
E
) and Final
Product blend (V
P
). The ME blend flow (E+D
E
) required for a wild Ship Discharge flow (D
S
) is
calculated. The flow ratio controller would manipulate the ME flow to achieve the desired ratio.
In the simulation the blend actual ME component standard liquid volume fraction and the product ME
standard liquid volume fraction are set in the appropriate controllers.
D
E
E
D
S
V
E
V
P
D
E
+ E
D
S
+ D
E
+ E
26
Case R9.01 Biodiesel Blender Simulation
The physical property data used are shown. The ship diesel temperature can vary in the range 15C to
40C. Thermodynamics used were K- UNIFAC and L- Latent Heat.
Fluid Physical Property Data at 15C
Fluid
Density Viscosity
kg/m
3
cps
Diesel 807.15 2.78
Methyl Ester !00% 876.43 7.48
Methyl Ester 80% 864.74 5.72
The controllers are configured as shown:
The simulation results are in accordance with the theory developed above.
The maximum and minimum ester blend flowrates obtained are 230.7 and 42.1 m
3
/h.
27
Section 10
General Engineering Data
Contents
Units
Refinery Process Overview
Commercial Steel Pipe ANSI B36.10:1970 & BS 1600 Part 2: 1970
Typical Overall Heat Transfer Coefficients
Typical Fouling Resistance Coefficients
Heuristics for Process Equipment Design
Process Simulation Procedures and Convergence
References
1. Crane Co., Flow of Fluids Through Valves, Fittings and Pipes, Publication 410, 1988
Units
Volume
The basic measurement for crude oil liquid volume is referred to as a barrel (bbl). CHEMCAD unit
converter feature by selecting Fn f6 allows conversion between units as shown:
Gas Constant R
8.314 J/K-mol 1.986 Btu/R-lbmol 0.73 ft
3
atm/ R lb mol
API gravity formulae
API gravity (API ) of petroleum liquids is determined from specific gravity (SG) at 60F:
The specific gravity of petroleum liquids can be derived from the API gravity:
Heavy oil with a specific gravity of 1.0 (density water at 60F) has an API gravity of:
Crude oil is often measured in metric tons (1000kg). The number of barrels per metric ton for a given
crude oil based on its API gravity is calculated from:
Where 1 bbl = 0.159 m
3
A metric ton of West Texas Intermediate 39.6 API would contain about 7.6 barrels.
28
Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP)
A measure of gasoline volatility being defined as the absolute vapor pressure exerted by a liquid at
100F(37.8 C) as determined by the test method ASTM-D-323. The test method applies to volatile
crude oil and volatile non-viscous petroleum liquids.
Cetane Index
Based on the density and distillation range ASTM D86 of a hydrocarbon using two methods ASTM
D976 and D4737 (ISO 4264). Cetane index in some crude oil assays is often referred to as Cetane
calcule, while the cetane number is referred to as Cetane measure.
Aniline Point
Defined as the minimum temperature at which equal volumes of aniline and oil are miscible to give an
estimate of the content of aromatic compounds in the oil. The lower the aniline point, the greater is the
content of aromatic compounds.
VABP and MeABP
Petroleum fractions are cuts with specific boiling point ranges, API gravity and viscosity. Each cut can
be divided into narrow boiling fractions called pseudo-components where the average boiling point can
be estimated as either mid-boiling point or mid-percentage boiling point. The TBP curve is divided into
an arbitrary number of pseudo-components or narrow boiling cuts. Since the boiling range is small both
mid-points are close to each other and can be considered as the VABP or MeABP for that pseudo-
component.
Five different average boiling points can be estimated on the distillation curve. The volume average
boiling point (VABP) and the mean average boiling points (MeABP) are the most widely used.
VABP is calculated from the ASTM D86 distillation and is the average of the five boiling point
temperatures (F) at 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90% distilled:
MeABP is calculated from:
Where is given by:
MeABP (R) is used in the definition of the Watson K which is given by:
Factors
Note 1
Prefix Symbol
10
-12
E-12 pico p
10
-9
E-09 nano n
10
-6
E-06 micro
10-
3
E-03 milli m
10
-2
E-02 centi c
10
-1
E-01 deci d
10
1
E01 deca da
10
2
E02 hecto h
10
3
E03 kilo k
10
6
E06 mega M
Note 2
10
9
E09 giga G
10
12
E12 tera T
Note 1 Tip for setting power, make equal to number 0s so 0.00001 = 10
-5
and 100000 = 10
5
Note 2 Refinery industry practice sometimes uses MM to signify 10
6
29
30
Heuristics for Process Equipment Design
In modelling, Rules of Thumb or heuristics based on experience, are used for estimating many
parameters before more specific data is available.
Piping Design
Industry practice for initial design of piping systems is based on economic velocity or allowable pressure
drop P/100ft. Once detailed isometrics are available the design will be adjusted to satisfy local site
conditions.
Reasonable Velocities for Flow of Fluids through Pipes (Reference Crane 410M)
Service Conditions Fluid
Reasonable Velocities Pressure Drop
m/s ft/s kPa / m
Boiler Feed Water 2.4 to 4.6 8 to 15
Pump Suction & Drain Water 1.2 to 2.1 4 to 7
General Service
Liquids pumped
Non viscous
1.0 to 3.0 3.2 to 10 0.05
Heating Short Lines
Saturated Steam
0 to 1.7 bar
20 to 30 65 to 100
Process piping
Saturated Steam
>1.7 bar
30 to 60 100 to 200
Boiler and turbine leads
Superheated Steam
14 and up
30 to 100 100 to 325
Process piping Gases and Vapours 15 to 30 50 to 100 0.02%line pressure
Process piping Liquids gravity flow 0.05
Reasonable velocities based on pipe diameter
Process Plant Design, Backhurst Harker p235
Pump suction line for d in (d/6 + 1.3) ft/s d mm (d/500 + 0.4) m/s
Pump discharge line for d in (d/3 + 5) ft/s d mm (d/250 + 1.5) m/s
Steam or gas d in 20d ft/s d mm 0.24d m/s
Heuristics for process design
Reference W.D.Seader, J.D.Seider and D.R.Lewin, Process Design Principles are also given:
Liquid Pump suction (1.3 + d/6) ft/s 0.4 psi /100 ft
Liquid Pump discharge (5.0 + d/3) ft/s 2.0 psi /100 ft
Steam or gas (20d) ft/s 0.5 psi /100 ft
Air for combustion, unless otherwise stated, is at ISO conditions of 15C, 1.013 bar and 60% relative
humidity.
Air for compression is defined at Free Air Delivery(FAD) conditions of 20C, 1 bar and dry.
Pumps
Centrifugal pumps: single stage for 15-5000 gpm, 500 ft max head.
Centrifugal pumps: multistage for 20 11,000 gpm, 5500 ft max head.
Efficiency 45% at 100 gpm, 70% at 100 gpm and 80% at 10,000 gpm.
31
Process Simulation Procedures and Convergence
Steady state simulation proves the capability to achieve stable and reproducible operating conditions
with acceptable product purity, yield and cycle times to satisfy the commercial requirements and the
safety and environmental issues for the regulatory authorities.
A process simulation involves taking the input stream flow rates, compositions and thermodynamic
conditions, performing a series of iterative calculations as the streams are processed through Unit
Operations and recycles, finally leading to the output stream flow rates, compositions and
thermodynamic conditions.
The chart below shows the basic steps involved in setting up a steady simulation.
It is recommended that the SCDS UnitOp is used for building fully integrated models because it has a
greater number of connection points.
SCDS 1 and SCDS 21-24 icons are the most developed having built in dynamic vessels and control
loops. However for our initial exercise we will use SCDS Column 1 icon.
For refinery operations the Tower UnitOp is more suitable as it includes pump around and stripping
facilities.
The stage numbering convention in CHEMCAD is from top to bottom, 1 to N. A stage is considered the
space above a plate. If a condenser is present it is stage 1; if a reboiler is present it is stage N. To
model a column which has ten stages plus condenser and reboiler 12 stages (10+condenser+reboiler =
12) must be specified.
If a condenser is present, the feed must not enter stage 1, as that is the reboiler. Top stage feeds
should enter stage 2, the top stage (plate), if a condenser is present. Likewise, if a reboiler is present a
bottom plate feed is connected to stage (N-1), not stage N.
Typically the user has a product specification, mass fraction of a key component in either the bottoms or
tops, for a column design or to achieve with an existing column.
Converging a column model in simulation is similar to converging a column in the real world; it is difficult
to go directly to high purity separation. It is best to start with an easy target, such as reflux ratio and
bottoms flowrate. Once the column is converged to this simple specification, we tighten the
specifications toward the target specification. Use the following procedure:
Feeds
Recycles
Products
32
1. Set up the column: number of stages, condenser, reboiler, operating pressure.
2. Generate TPxy and RCM plots to verify that the target is thermodynamically feasible with the
selected VLE K model.
3. On the SPECIFICATIONS page, set loose specifications such as Reflux Ratio and
Bottoms Flowrate or Reboiler Heat Input.
4. Run the column and converge. Change the specifications if necessary.
5. Go to the CONVERGENCE page of the column dialog. Set the initial flag to 0 Reload Column
Profile. This setting instructs CHEMCAD to use the current converged profile as its starting
point (initial conditions) in iterative calculations.
6. On the SPECIFICATIONS page change to more tight specifications. Run the column.
If the column converges, tighten the specifications and run again. If the column fails to converge, do not
save the profile of the failed attempt. Relax the specifications and run the column again.
Repeat from step 5 until you reach the target.
Often, it is difficult to obtain the first convergence on a column. If the column is run with no condenser or
reboiler, one does not have the option of loose specifications. If the column has a condenser or
reboiler, relaxing specifications does not always help.
1. On the convergence page of the column dialog, specify estimates if you can make reasonable
estimates. Note that a bad guess will make the column more difficult to converge than no
estimate.
2. Remove non key components from the feed(s) to obtain the first convergence. Now set the
initial flag to 0 Reload Column Profile, return the other components, and run the unit again.
3. Specify a larger number of iterations on the convergence page of the column dialog. The
default is 50, but possibly 52 iterations will find the answer.
4. Try an alternate column model. If you are currently using the SCDS try the same separation
with a TOWER or vice versa. The two models use different mathematical models; often one will
find an answer in 10 iterations while the other is difficult to converge. It is not possible to obtain
different answers with the columns; the models are numerical methods to find a stable
composition profile.
5. Consider a partial condenser. If you have a condenser present but have a significant amount of
light ends, you may have difficulty converging the column. The default condenser type, total,
requires that no vapor leaves stage 1. If light ends are present, this may not be possible without
cryogenic temperatures. Changing condenser mode to partial allows the light ends gases to slip
past the condenser.