31-05-2012

IHS announces SmartPM, the next generation in pre-heat train simulation software for refineries

Solution helps oil refiners operate more efficiently and evaluate mitigation solutions for dirty pre-heat train heat-exchangers, a common source of industrial carbon emissions and costly down-time

IHS the leading global source of information and analytics, has released SmartPM (Smart Predictive Maintenance), the first commercially available, advanced thermo-hydraulic simulation software tool that enables oil refinery operators to better manage and reduce maintenance, avoid throughput reductions, improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and  operating costs.

“The impact of dirty or ‘fouled’ equipment in refineries is a major economic and environmental problem worldwide,” said Simon Pugh, head of IHS ESDU. “Global costs associated with fouling of refinery pre-heat trains are estimated to be approximately $4.5 billion annually, in addition to many millions of tons of additional carbon emissions. By mitigating the effects of fouling in refinery pre-heat train heat exchangers, it is estimated that operators could save up to 10 percent of refinery energy costs and emissions.”

Heat exchangers heat crude oil so that it can be distilled, separated and processed into products such as diesel, kerosene, gasoline and heating oil. During the heating process, deposits such as asphaltenes attach to the hot metal surfaces on the heat exchangers and create insulating layers and eventually blockages. This causes a drop in pre-heat train energy efficiency, meaning additional expensive fuel is required to heat the crude to distillation temperatures. The dirty or ‘fouled’ heat exchangers can result in a decrease in the refinery’s crude throughput, cutting production and increasing its carbon emissions.

Said Pugh:“Fouling to the refinery is like cholesterol to the human heart. All crudes contain impurities and dirt particles, and the tubes in these exchangers become clogged. As a result, throughput or processing efficiencies plummet. Refinery fouling is a significant and costly problem for refiners, and as emissions regulations continue to tighten and refinery margins continue to be weak, it is essential for operators to reduce their downtime, maintenance costs and emissions, while increasing their output.”

According to Pugh, up to 2.5 percent of all oil production is burned in refinery crude heaters, which translates into millions of barrels of lost global production annually. Of this ‘lost production,’ approximately 10 percent of this fuel burn is to make up for lost efficiency due to fouling. “More importantly, there is the environmental cost — burning one ton of hydrocarbon releases approximately 2.5 tons to 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2),” Pugh said. “In addition, up to 10 percent of a refinery’s entire CO2 emissions can be due to heat-exchanger fouling. These impacts were an impetus for the UK government to provide a 2.3 million pound research investment to address crude fouling, a project for which IHS was the technology transfer partner.”

“Most refineries know what pre-heat train fouling is costing them — the financial losses can be tremendous,” Pugh added. “A chief process engineer at a U.K. refinery estimated fouling costs of (U.S.) $3 million to $4 million per year in lost throughput due to firing constraints alone. Another refinery in Europe was able to reduce its downtime for cleaning by 10 days a year using SmartPM methods, which translates to about three percent of extra production. Even at modest refinery margins, the revenue improvement is huge.”

Said Pugh, “This is the future for refineries — we’re helping our clients understand how to predict fouling, which gives them greater control over their production output and costs, as well as the ability to better manage emissions and safety issues associated with maintenance work.”

IHS combines the latest industry-leading research with refinery experience to provide tools such as SmartPM, as well as insight and research on best practices to aid engineers in the design, retrofitting and maintenance of refining equipment. IHS works with leading experts from the majority of the oil super-majors and leading researchers to develop strategies and tools to solve fouling problems for the benefit of all refineries.

In addition to its smart technology tools for process optimization, IHS offers services and energy efficiency studies for oil and gas customers.