KUWAIT NATIONAL PETROLEUM COMPANY

Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery

Stoichiometric Combustion CO Control

with
Laser Analyzer
in
CDU-03 Heater

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

Investigation Committee
March March
2018 2018
 Stoichiometric Combustion

Stoichiometric Combustion (Ideal Optimum Combustion) is when Hydrocarbon

fuel is broken up into atoms and each atom of Carbon and each atom of
Hydrogen is oxidized to CO2 and H2O respectively with nothing left over.

Slide 2
CO Control in CDU-03 Heater
March 2018
 Stoichiometric Combustion - Control Concept
Use combustion gas CO as the process variable
for combustion air control
via stack damper / forced draft (FD) damper

• As combustion air is reduced, oxygen becomes less

available to complete CO2 formation and trace CO remains.
+ CO
• By controlling on this trace amount of CO, the combustion is
automatically held as close to stoichiometric as practical.
• CO Control System immediately reacts to fuel changes or
upset conditions making the necessary damper adjustments.
Slide 3
CO Control in CDU-03 Heater
Nov-2017

March 2018
 CO Control of Process Heaters & Industrial Boilers
Method to Save Fuel and Reduce Emissions

1. Minimize Excess Air not

required for combustion.
2. Eliminate the BTUs used
to heat this Excess Air –
thus increase efficiency.
3. Obtain sustainable
Process Industrial
energy savings payback
Heater Boiler
½ to 2 yrs.
4. Using less fuel will
reduce emissions.

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 CO Control Strategy
Natural Draft Furnace

CO
QCL CO Analyzer

Actuator/ FD VFD
O2 Analyzer Plant
Draft Transmitter DCS

Tube skin temps

• Heater/ Boiler specific control strategy

• Natural Draft, Forced Draft, & Balanced Draft
• Plant tunable control – programmed in DCS
• Fail-safe complex loop control strategy

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 CO Control Concept
CO - O2 - NOx Emissions Relationship
1000 Control will automatically adjust to the
900 combustion conditions in the heater
800
NOx is reduced at a CO control area
greater rate due to NOx reduction with CO Control
700 the O2 starvation Technology (non-linear)
CO ppm

600 30

500 25
It doesn’t matter
what the O2 is.
400 20 NOx
ppm What matters is
300 15
combustibles!
200 10

100 5
CO Control Range
0 0
O2 % 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Excess Air % 0 2.7 5.6 8.6 11.7 15.0 18.5 22.2

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 CO Control – Superior to O2 Control
1. CO controls directly on the process variable of concern
Since CO is the precursor to combustibles,
controlling on CO assures no combustibles.
2. Light beam transverse measurement of CO
Measurement represents entire flue gas stream.
Not a point sample.
3. Fast analyzer response (< 0.5 sec)
Picks up changes in fuel BTU & firing rate immediately.
4. High sensitivity to process changes (0-1000 ppm)
Insures combustibles never occur.
5. Air-in leakage – insignificant with CO control
Tramp air produces a 20-50% error in O2 reading,
causing O2 control to move in an unsafe direction.
Not true with CO control.

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 CO vs O2
CO Control O2 Control

1. Primary measurement and precursor of 1. Secondary measurement assumes enough air

Combustibles. CO control assures none. for no Combustibles.
2. Across stack/ duct after flue gas mixing. 2. Single point sample in furnace.
3. Fast measurement ¼ sec. 3. Slow measurement 20 sec.
4. Full scale is 0.1% – Combustibles LEL is 4. Any combustibles reading is too slow and too
1-2% late.
5. Air dilution Not Problem insignificant CO 5. Any air dilution/ tramp air skews reading in
reading adjustment. unsafe direction Big Problem.
6. Measures fundamental spectral 6. Difficult measuring low O2 due to CO
absorption of CO – great for low levels. interference and weak signal.
7. No Calibration or Maintenance required. 7. High Calibration & Maintenance required.

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 The QCL SCA-7800
Stoichiometric Combustion Analyzer
Q

C L
Laser Detector Optical
Optical Window
Alignment
Mirror

QCL
Combustion Gas
Located across: from Burners Transmitter
• Stack
Located
• Flue Duct Power at Grade
• Top of furnace 115 Supply 115
VAC VAC

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 Transmitter
Q • Local readout
• Color LCD
C L
• Menu driven Screens:
Operating Info
Analyzer Diagnostics
Critical Faults
Analyzer Setup

Transmitter • 4-20 mA Outputs & Digital Relay Contacts

Signals to • A/I & D/I Available for Controller Logic
Unit DCS • Loop Power Available

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

10
March 2018
 Q
QCL Analyzer Design
C L
Three Measurements CO, CO2, H2O
Single Laser - Analyzer

Features: Benefits:
• Fast response – 240ms scan • No calibration – Inherent long term
sequence (4×/Sec.) stability
• Scans Fundamental Wavelengths
of CO, CO2, H2O
CO • No maintenance – no moving parts
• High ambient temperature operation
• Ratios Absorption Intensities to
• Plant air – window purge – blowers
Full Transmission
O2* optional
CO2 H2O

* U.S. Patent No. 7,414,726

 CO Control
Diagram

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018
 Fail Safe Design
Analyzer is fundamentally designed fail-safe
Q

L
• When CO signal is corrupted, a Critical Fault condition is produced
C
with a 3.2 mA (bad PV) signal transmitted to the DCS within 3 sec.
• Having CO present in the optical path and a zero reading, without
producing a fault (a Silent Failure) is not possible without a
complex failure (calculated to be a 50% chance in over 700 years).
• Critical Faults include:
− Loss of communication between Transmitter – Laser - Detector
− Detector not synchronized with Laser’s 240ms sequence
− Laser beam intensity (Full Transmission lines) below threshold
− Laser or Detector temperatures (6 total) outside acceptable ranges
− Power supply voltages outside acceptable ranges
− Analog and digital watchdog timeouts
− CO2 out of range
Slide 13
CO Control in CDU-03 Heater
Nov-2017

March 2018
 Analyzer Specifications
Q

C L
• Instrument Measurement Range: (Other ranges available)
CO 0 - 1000 ppm
CO2 2 - 15 %
H2O 2 - 20 %
O2 in combustion gas 0 - 18 % in selected applications
• Application Process Data :
Measurement Path-length 2 - 60 ft Other ranges available
Ambient Temperature - 40 - 165 oF
Flue Gas Temperature 200 - 1800 oF
• Response Time from Process Change:
CO < 0.5 sec
O2 in combustion gas < 10 sec
 Installations
CDU-03 Heater
Turnkey Installation
Two Cells / One stack
One QCL Analyzers
IPL (Independent Protection Layer) CO Control Analyzer

O2 Reduction on CO Control
Single (ZrO2) O2 analyzers
Average reading 3.2%
Typical 1.5-2 % O2 reduction
O2 Analyzer
 Transition from O2 to CO control

O2 Control
CO Control

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

16
March 2018
 The main Benefits achieved by implementing this technology are:

Description Natural Balanced

Draft Draft
1
Financial Benefit (US$/Annum) 610,000 641,000
2
Fuel Reduction, % 3.01 2.12
3
CO2 emission reduction, % 3.0 2.1
4
CO2 emission reduction, Tons/year 4555 4905
5
Improved Heater Efficiency, % 2.1 1.0

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

17
March 2018
 Payback Period

Project cost 400,000 $

Benefit Achieved ~ 620,000 $

Payback period ~ 7.7 months

Highly attractive investment.

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

18
March 2018
 Conclusion
Applying Analyzer and Control Technology,
CO
Energy Savings and Emission Reductions are Achieved
Lower Fuel Consumption
1-2% Efficiency improvement
Safely lower furnace O2
2-3% CO2 reduction

CO Control in CDU-03 Heater

March 2018