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Cost efficiency, and high production yield and product quality depend on tight refinery process control. Process analytics is central to unit operations, so in-line analytical sensor efficiency is critical.
This collection of application notes covers four important refinery process control measurements.
pH control in crude tower overhead: The atmospheric distillation of crude oil is one of the main steps in petroleum refining. Various salts and substantial amounts of water in the crude feed can impact the process and cause corrosion in process equipment if not countered properly. The column condenser is most vulnerable to corrosive conditions, so neutralization in the crude overhead via tight pH control is imperative.
pH control in sour water stripping: Refineries must adhere to strict sulfur management which requires hydrogen sulfide (and other dissolved gases) removal from sour water. Steam stripping of sour water is only partly effective as contaminants don't only exist in gaseous form. Compounds in their ionic state may remain in the water, so to increase stripping efficiency it is important to force these components into their gas form. This is where pH control plays a major role.
pH control in amine sweetening: Amine sweetening is a common process to remove carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide from syngas. Efficient refinery process control relies on maintaining the quality of the amine solution fed to the absorber along with proper adjustment of the steam feed to the amine stripper. Controlling the process via the measurements from two pH measurement points ensures sweetening is effective and that money is not being wasted.
Gas measurement in refineries: Gas measurements in fluidized catalytic cracking unit catalytic regeneration and flue gases are indispensable for ensuring efficient and safe operation. But most gas analysis technologies are unreliable due to the extreme process conditions. This application note looks at a gas measurement technology that tolerates the conditions and measures directly in the process to deliver instant measurements.
