Control philosophy

MRPL Phase III Refinery Project, Hydrogen Generation Unit

Overall control principle

The plant is equipped with
– A large number of instruments connected to a central DCS-system
– A number of automatic control loops
– Passive alarm system
– Trip system

The operator have to carry out certain control actions

2oo3 – Two out of Three Voting

Three input signals
– Three healthy signals treated by suitable algorithm e.g. “middle of three” to
provide resulting signal
– Two healthy signals produce average result
– Only one healthy signal will result in trip

High degree of safety and availability provided by 2oo3

– Applied for a number of measurements to ESD system
– In this plant separate transmitter is used for control.

1
Main operator adjustments
Manual mode
– Plant load: Adjust process gas feed flow to feed/steam mixing point
– S/C: Adjust steam flow to feed/steam mixing point. Steam to carbon is then calculated (S/C = 2.5)
– Recycle H2 flow: Keep flow of 0.2 Nm3/kg naphtha feed and 0.04 Nm3/kg natural gas feed set
by feed/ H2 ratio controller

– Combustion air flow: Specify the combustion air flow so the excess air is ~10%. Oxygen
content in flue gas 1.7-1.8 vol% dry.

– Fuel gas firing: Specify the fired duty… adjust to get the desired reformer outlet temp.

LTM mode
– The load and temperature management system enables control of the capacity of the hydrogen
plant through manipulation of only a single parameter, 'plant capacity'.
– In order to enable plant control from this single parameter, the following process variables are
controlled:
- Hydrocarbon feed flow
- Process steam flow
- Reformer firing
- Air flow to burners

Naphtha surge drum Control

Control
• •Pressure
Pressureininsurge
surgedrum
drumisiscontrolled
controlledby:by:
−Fuelgas
−Fuel gasforforstripping
strippingoff-gas
off-gasisissent
senttotofuel
fuel
system
system
−Venttotoflare
−Vent flare

Control
Control
• •Naphtha
Naphthafeed
feedflow
flowisiscontrolled
controlledby:
by:
−Levelininnaphtha
−Level naphthasurge
surgedrum
drum

Naphtha feed pump

Control
Control
• •Pressure
Pressured/s
d/sthe
theHDS
HDSsection
sectioncontrols
controlsthe
thenaphtha
naphtha
flow.
flow.

Control:
Control:
• •Low
Lowlevel
levelininnaphtha
naphthasurge
surgedrum
drumtrips
tripsthe
thenaphtha
naphtha
feedpump.
feed pump.

2
Process feed vaporizer

Control
Control
• •Steam
Steampressure
pressureisiscontrolled
controlledby:
by:
−Outlettemperature
−Outlet temperatureofofprocess
processfeed.feed.
−Normallypressure
−Normally pressurecontrol
controlisisfully
fullyopen
open
heatingthe
heating theprocess
processfeed
feedas
asmuch
muchas aspossible
possible

Control
Control
• •Recycle
Recyclehydrogen
hydrogenflow
flowisiscontrolled
controlledby:
by:
−RequiredHH/HC
−Required 2/HCratio
ratioaccording
accordingtotofeed
feed
2

Process feed preheater

Control
Control
• •Outlet
Outlettemperature
temperatureisiscontrolled
controlledby:
by:
−HPsteam
−HP steamflow.
flow.

Control
Control
• •HP
HPsuperheated
superheatedsteam
steamtemperature
temperatureisiscontrolled
controlled
by:
by:
−Quenchwater
−Quench waterflow.
flow.Only
Onlyininuse
useduring
duringstart-
start-
up.
up.

Desulphurization

Control
Control
• •The
Thepressure
pressured/sd/sthe
theHDS
HDSreactor
reactorcontrol
controlthe
the
naphthaflow
naphtha flowtotothe
theHDS
HDSsection
sectionororvent
venttotothe
theflare
flare
system/condensation
system/ condensationofofnaphtha
naphtha
• •The
Themanual
manualbypass
bypassofofthethevent
ventvalve
valveisisonly
onlyused
used
during start-up when recycling with N2 (minimize
during start-up when recycling with N2 (minimize
pressure drop)
pressure drop)

3
Feed and steam mixing point

Control
Control
• •PG
PGisiscontrolled
controlledby
byFIC-323017
FIC-323017
• •PS
PSisiscontrolled
controlledby
byspecifying
specifyingS/C
S/C(S/C=2.5)
(S/C=2.5)only
onlyininLTM
LTMmode,
mode,otherwise
otherwisemanual
manualinput
inputofofflow
flow
• •PS
PSbypass
bypass(protection
(protectionsteam):
steam):Equipped
Equippedwith
withAL
ALtotoensure
ensureflow
flowatatnormal
normaloperation
operation
• •Emergency
EmergencyH2: H2:Added
Addedinincase
caseofofIS-1
IS-1

Description
Description
• •InInPG
PGbypass
bypassflow
flowisismeasured
measuredbybyvortex
vortex(velocity
(velocitybased)
based)and
andby
byorifice
orifice(∆P
(∆P
Reformertrip
Reformer trip(IS-1)
(IS-1)isisactivated
activatedby:
by: based).Ratio
Ratiobetween
betweenthese
thesetwo
twocan
canbe
beused
usedtotocalculate
calculatethe
themolecular
molecularweight
weight
based).
• •Low
LowPG
PGflow
flow
• •Low
LowPS
PSflow
flow
• •Low
LowS/HC
S/HC

Prereformer

Control
Control
• •Inlet
Inlettemperature
temperatureisiscontrolled
controlledby
by
• •Quench
Quenchofofthe
theprocess
processsteam
steam(automatic)
(automatic)
• •Firing
Firingpattern
patterninintubular
tubularreformer
reformer(manual):
(manual):Adjust
Adjusttotokeep
keepquench
quench
controlvalve
control valvewithin
withinoperation
operationrange
range

Flue gas WHS - bottom

Controlof
Control ofcombustion
combustionair air
• •Combustion
Combustionair airflow
flowisiscontrolled
controlledby:by:
• •Speed
Speedofofthethecombustion
combustionair airfan
fan
• •The
Thesuction
suctionairairdamper
damper(normally
(normallyfullyfullyopen)
open)
• The speed of the combustion
• The speed of the combustion air airfan
fanisiscontrolled
controlledbybyaahigh
highselector
selectorofof
• Combustion air pressure
• Combustion air pressure d/s the d/s theair
airpreheaters
preheaters(normally
(normallydominating
dominatingunder
under
start-up)
start-up)
• Combustion air flow controller: get a manual set-point (normally
• Combustion air flow controller: get a manual set-point (normally dominating dominating
under normal operation). LTM provides set point automatically when it isisinin
under normal operation). LTM provides set point automatically when it
operation.
operation.
• •The
Thecombustion
combustionair airflow
flowmust
mustbe becontrolled
controlledas:as:
• •Give
Giveminmin10%
10%excess
excessair air(1.7~1.8
(1.7~1.8dry dryvol%
vol%O2
O2ininflue
fluegas).
gas).Should
Shouldbe
behigher
higher
atatreduced
reducedcapacity
capacity

Controlof
Control offlue
fluegas
gasininWHS
WHS
• •Flue
Fluegas
gasflow
flowisiscontrolled
controlledby:
by:
• •Speed
Speedofofflue
fluegas
gasfan
fan
• The suction flue gas
• The suction flue gas damperdamper(normally
(normallyfully
fullyopen)
open)
• The speed of the flue gas fan isiscontrolled
• The speed of the flue gas fan controlledby
bythe
thepressure
pressureininthe
thetop
topofofWHS
WHS

4
Tubular reformer Control
Control
• •Pressure:
Pressure:Pressure
Pressureinintop
topofofWHS
WHS
controlsthe
controls thespeed
speedofofthe
theflue
fluegas
gasfan
fan
• •False
Falseair
airdampers
dampersopenopenautomatically
automatically
duringIS-1
during IS-1trip.
trip.They
Theycan
canalso
alsobe
beused
used
to control draft during start-up.
to control draft during start-up.

Description
Description
• •Pressure
Pressureisiskept
keptslightly
slightlybelow
below
atmosphericpressure
atmospheric pressure

Tubular reformer

Control
Control
• •The
Thereformer
reformerbottom
bottomtemperature
temperatureisismainly
mainlycontrolled
controlled
bythe
by theamount
amountofoffuel
fuelgas
gasfiring
firing
• •Tube
Tubewall
walltemperature
temperatureisiscontrolled
controlledby
byfiring
firingprofile.
profile.

Steam generation
Control
Control
• •No
Notemperature
temperaturecontrol
controlover
overWHB
WHB
• •BFW
BFWflow
flowisiscontrolled
controlledby
byaa3-element
3-elementcontrol
controlthat
that
include
include
•Level
•Level
•Steamflow
•Steam flow
•BFWflow
•BFW flow
• •Pressure
Pressurecontrol
controlisisdone
doneatatthe
thesteam
steamexport
exportvalve
valve
adjustingsteam
adjusting steamexport.
export.

5
 Control
Control
Process gas cooling • •Temperature
Temperature
• •Temperature
TemperatureinletinletMTS
MTScontrol
controlthe
thebypass
bypassover
overthe
the
1stBFW
1st BFWpreheater
preheater
• •The
TheBFW
BFWsplit
splitbetween
betweenthe
the1st
1stand
andthethe2nd
2ndBFW
BFW
preheaterisiscontrolled
preheater controlledsuch
suchthat
thatthe
thetemperature
temperature
d/s the two exchangers is identical
d/s the two exchangers is identical
• •The
Thetemperature
temperatureofofthetheBFW
BFWinlet
inletthe
thesteam
steamdrum
drum
isiscontrolled
controlledbybythe
thebypass
bypassover
overthe
the3rd
3rdBFW
BFW
preheater
preheater
• •Flow
Flow
• •Level
Levelininthe
thesteam
steamdrum
drumcontrols
controlsthe theBFW
BFWflow
flow

Description
Description
• •Process
Processgas
gasisiscooled
cooledbefore
beforeand
andafter
afterthe
theMTS
MTS

MT shift & LT shift

Control
Control
• •Inlet
Inlettemperature
temperatureofofMTS:
MTS:Controlled
Controlledbybythe
thebypass
bypass
overthe
over the1st
1stBFW
BFWpreheater
preheater
• •Inlet
Inlettemperature
temperatureofofLTS:
LTS:Controlled
Controlledby
bythe
thebypass
bypass
overthe
over the2nd
2ndBFW
BFWpreheater
preheater

Gas cooling and separation

Control
Control
• •Pressure:
Pressure:InIncase
caseofofIS-1
IS-1the
thereforming
reformingsection
sectionisisdepressurized
depressurizedthrough
through
USV-323012and
USV-323012 andPV-323140
PV-323140
• •Temperature
TemperatureofofDMW
DMWinletinletthe
thedeaerator
deaeratorisiscontrolled
controlledby
bythe
thebypass
bypass
overthe
over theDMW
DMWpreheater
preheater

6
PSA
Description
Description
• •Separate
SeparateH2
H2from
fromother
othercomponents
componentsininthe
thesyngas
syngas

Control
Control
• •All
Alloff-gas
off-gasisisnormally
normallysent senttotothe
theburners.
burners.Flow Flow
controllerisisused
controller usedtotodamp
dampfluctuations
fluctuationsofof thetheoff-gas
off-gas
flow.IfIfoff
flow. offgas
gaspressure
pressuregets getstotohigh
highthe
theoff-gas
off-gasisis
eithervented
either ventedtotoflare
flare(if(ifpressure
pressureininflare
flareisislower
lowerthan
than
theoff
the offgasgaspressure)
pressure)ororsent senttotoatmosphere.
atmosphere.
• •PIC
PICatatHH2export
2
exportvalve
valvecontrols
controlsthe
thepressure
pressureininthe the
reforming
reforming section.
section.

Fuel vaporization
Control
Control
• •Steam
Steampressure
pressuremay
maybe bemanually
manuallyadjusted
adjusted
totocontrol
controlthe
theoutlet
outlettemperature.
temperature.During
During
normaloperation
normal operationititshould
shouldbe
befull
fullopen
opentoto
utilize the steam fully.
utilize the steam fully.

Description
Description
• •Naphtha
Naphthaisisvaporized
vaporizedby
byuse
useofofsaturated
saturatedsteam
steam

Fuel control Description

Description
• •Fuel
Fuelsupply
supplymay
maybe beeither
either
-Naphtha
-Naphtha
-Fuelgas
-Fuel gasfrom
fromBLBL
• •Flow
Flowofofnaphtha/fuel
naphtha/fuelgas/natural
gas/naturalgasgas
controlsthe
controls thetotal
totalheat
heatinput
inputtotothe
the
reformer.Total
reformer. Totalfired
firedduty
dutyisisspecified
specified
ininFIC-323055
FIC-323055

7
Fuel control
• •InIncase
caseofofIS-3,
IS-3,PSA
PSAtrip
tripororIS-10/11
IS-10/11fuel
fuelcontrol
controlwill
will
bebeswitched
switchedtotoprocess
processgas
gasfiring.
firing.

HP steam system
• •Steam
Steamdrumdrumpressure
pressureisiscontrolled
controlledby
byPV-323241
PV-323241A, A,
steamexport
steam exportvalve
valve
• •PV-323242,
PV-323242,PV-323291
PV-323291and andHV-323056
HV-323056are areused
usedfor
for
steamimport
steam importduring
duringstart-up
start-up
• •dP
dPfor
forprocess
processsteam
steamexport
exportquench
quenchstation
stationgives
gives
signaltotoBFW
signal BFWpump
pumpturbine
turbine

LP steam system
• •LP
LPsteam
steamfrom
fromturbines
turbinesisisquenced
quencedand
andexported.
exported.
Excesssteam
Excess steamwill
willbe
bevented
ventedtotoatmosphere
atmospherethrough
through
PV-323251
PV-323251

8
N2 start up circuit for HDS section

Description
Description
• •N2
N2circuit
circuitfor
forheating
heatingthe
theHDS
HDSsection
section
• •Any
Anyvented
ventednaphtha
naphthaisiscondensed
condensedininthe
theair
aircooler
cooler
andreturned
and returnedtotothe
thenaphtha
naphthasurgesurgedrum
drum
• •Hydrogen
Hydrogenisisvented
ventedtotoflare.
flare.

Control
Control
• •Pressure
Pressurecontrols
controlseither
eitherthe
thenitrogen
nitrogenblanketing
blanketingoror
thevent
the venttotothe
theflare
flare

N2 start up circuit for shift section

Description
Description
• •N2
N2circuit
circuitfor
forheating
heatingreformer
reformersection
sectionand
and
heating/reducingMT-shift
heating/reducing MT-shift

Lownitrogen
Low nitrogenflow
flowduring
duringheating
heatingofofthe
thereformers
reformerswill
will
tripIS-1
trip IS-1totoavoid
avoidoverheating
overheatingofoftubes.
tubes.REMEMBER
REMEMBER
TOBYPASS
TO BYPASSINPUT INPUTTOTOIS-1
IS-1BEFORE
BEFORESTEAM STEAM
INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.

Deaerator

Control
Control
• •Pressure
Pressure- -isiscontrolled
controlledby:
by:
•Bypassover
•Bypass overDMW
DMWpreheater
preheater(0-50%)
(0-50%)
•LP-steamaddition
•LP-steam additionform
formheader
header(50-100%)
(50-100%)

• •IfIfPPincreases
increases
CloseLP-steam
Close LP-steamaddition
addition……ififnot
notenough
enough
DecreaseDMW
Decrease DMWinlet
inlettemperature
temperature

• •Level
Levelininthe
thedeaerator
deaeratorcontrol
controlthe
theDMW
DMWfeed
feedflow.
flow.
Duringinitial
During initialpart
partofofstart-up
start-upthe
thedeaerator
deaeratorwill
willbebe
controlledby
controlled bydirect
directlevel
levelcontrol.
control.

9
Process condensate stripper

• •Pressure
Pressureofofthe
thestripper
stripperisisfloating
floatingwith
withthe
thereformer
reformer
pressure.
pressure.
• •Steam
Steamaddition
additionfor
forstripping
strippingisisthrough
throughsimple
simpleflow
flow
control.
control.

Methanol surge drum

• •Pressure
Pressureisismaintained
maintainedbybynitrogen
nitrogenblanketing.
blanketing.
• •Methanol
Methanolpump
pumpisisrunning
runningcontinuously
continuouslyininrecycle.
recycle.
Flowtotomix-point
Flow mix-pointisiscontrolled
controlledbybyclosing
closingrecycle
recycle
valve
valve

BFW pump Control

Control
• •The
Thespeed
speedofofthe
theturbine
turbineisiscontrolled
controlledby
by
thepressure
the pressuredrop
dropover
overthe
theBFWBFWcontrol
control
valveu/s
valve u/sthe
thesteam
steamdrumdrumandandpressure
pressure
differencebetween
difference betweenexport
exportsteam
steamandand
quenchwater
quench waterpressure
pressurethrough
throughhighhigh
selector.
selector.
• •The
Thepumps
pumpsare aretripped
trippedinincase
caseofoflow
low
levelininthe
level thedeaerator.
deaerator.

10
 H2 recycle compressor

Description
Description
•IfPSA
•If PSAtrips
tripsprocess
processgas gas
willautomatically
will automaticallysubstitute
substitutethe
the
hydrogenrecycle
hydrogen recycle
•Incase
•In caseofoftrip
tripofofthe
thecompressor
compressor
emergencyhydrogen
emergency hydrogenisisimported
importedfrom
from
BLthrough
BL throughUV-323031.
UV-323031.

Control
Control
•H2recycle
•H2 recycleflow
flowisisdetermined
determinedby by
flow-controlleron
flow-controller ond/s
d/sconsumers.
consumers.Kick
Kick
backwill
back willrecycle
recyclethe thedifference
difference
betweenthe
between thed/s
d/sflow
flowrequirement
requirementand
and
theconstant
the constantflowflowgiven
givenbybythe
the
compressor
compressor

DMDS unit
Description
Description
•Increasethe
•Increase theSSininthe
thefeed
feedtotothe
thehydrogenator
hydrogenatorwhich
whichisisneeded
neededinin
thefollowing
the followingsituations
situations
•Presulphuridation
•Presulphuridation
•Whenoperating
•When operatingononvery
verylow
lowsulphur
sulphurfeed
feed

11