Maximizing Refinery profits is usually done by running as hard as you can against refinery limits and relieving those limits whenever possible. Selecting the correct crudes preferentially producing the most valuable products and operating at full capacity continuously for as long as possible (typically 4-5 years for pacesetter refineries) is the usually key to maximizing profit. Solving PDEs is usually a much lower priority.

Dear Phil,

The complexity of the refining business grows every day with new markets, new feedstocks and new regulations. Additionally, refineries are facing declining profit margins. I think, to sustain their profitability, refineries must leverage process simulation technology and capabilities to achieve best-in-class operational excellence. I think advance process simulation could be more helpful towards the inclining profit margin. Couple of areas where it can use effectively to reduce the market burden.

1. Heat exchanger maintenance and monitoring-thorough simulation of heat exchanger operations within the broader process simulation model. The heat exchanger design tool must also simulate all major heat exchanger types used in the refining industry. Furthermore, the solution should allow process engineers to easily develop and integrate their heat exchangers’ simulation as part of the refinery flowsheet without leaving their familiar process simulation environment.

2. Column operations troubleshooting-an integrated process simulator that accurately simulates the thermal and hydraulic behavior of the column unit to provide enough information to support column operations. With the correct process simulation software, users can accurately simulate thermo-hydraulic functioning of columns based on their construction and operating conditions. As a result, they can better understand the columns’ behavior and avoid operational mishaps. Simulating the operation of the column in the broader setting of the overall process enables users to identify root causes of the problems and determine the optimal point of operation for the overall process unit.

3. Integrated refining and gas plant analysis-Refineries need a solution that meticulously simulates the entire gas plant including acid gas treatment units, sulfur recovery, tail gas units and flare systems together with the mainstream refining process units, such as distillation units and reactor units. Advanced simulation technology would provide the refiners enough confidence to push the levels of sour crudes closer to the limit the refinery can process while meeting regulations. Feed flexibility, capacity creep and operating expenditure optimization, enabled using integrated refining and gas plant process simulation, can save refiners millions each year in operating margins while ensuring maximum reliability and plant uptime. In addition, the rigorous simulation of the gas plant operation offers refineries visibility and the ability to better document their emission levels. This capability is valuable for boosting their profit margins.

4. Planning model update for refineries-The ideal option is to give refinery process engineers the ability to maintain the planning models with the help of advanced process simulation software that can offer a streamlined workflow to update the planning models, enabling frequent updates when the models become out of sync with the operating range of the refinery.

5. Refinery-wide process analysis-With an advanced integrated solution for process simulation and refinery planning, refineries can develop a refinery-wide process model out of their refinery-wide planning model in a relatively short period of time. The accuracy of the simulation model can be enhanced by selectively incorporating rigorous models of reactor units to the refinery-wide flowsheet.

Ashish