9th September 2010 17:06
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Benchmarking Heat Exchanger Performance on a Petrochemicals Complex.
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Problem Statement
It was known on the petrochemicals complex that certain heat exchangers and heat transfer trains, handling essentially the same fluids, operated at different levels of performance. This resulted in lower than expected plant production rates. |
Improvement Approach
The approach was to identify the key performance parameters and variables on the heat exchangers which were giving the expected levels of performance and benchmarking these against those heat exchangers which were under performing. |
Benefits
The potential benefits of improving the under performing heat exchangers would be an increase in production capacity of around 10 - 15% per annum, which represented increased revenue of around 5-8 million euros per annum. |
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Company Contact Information
DRD Consultants
Design Research & Dev Co Ltd, 1 Belasis Court, Belasis Hall Tech Park, Billingham TS23 4AZ UK
Tel.
+44 (0)1642 566900, Fax. +44 (0)1642 566665
E-mail
info@ChemEngJobs.co.uk
www.ChemEngJobs.co.uk
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After significant investment had been made by the company in additional plant and equipment to increase production capacity to satisfy market demand the levels of anticipated production were not being achieved.
In this case the company had previous experience of operating this type of process and heat exchange equipment and knew that the expected level of performance was not being achieved, but did not know the reason why.
If the situation was allowed to continue this would have resulted in a loss of market share and a significant short fall in the return on investment.
In this particular case the company had the advantage that it already operated similar equipment and knew it was under achieving, however, other companies who are unfamiliar with this type of equipment may not have been able to identify the problem area so easily.
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Benchmarking was carried out by collecting data from the equipment the company was already operating sucessfully. This data was then compared with similar data and information from the new equipment that was under performing. The initial data from the instrumentation on each heat exchanger train revealed a few discrepancies, but nothing that explained the significant 10 -15% difference in performance between what were essentially the same pieces of equipment and operating conditions.
Further benchmarking analysis was carried out using heat exchanger modelling techniques and other published data that confirmed the performance of the heat exchanger train was significantly under performing by about 20%. Further analysis of the problem showed that the reason was due to preferential flow across one section of the train due to higher pressure drops down one part of the pipework section. The pipework was modified and a flow control system installed to balance the flow through both parts of the heat exchanger train and 100% plant capacity was then achieved. |
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The benefits of this work through both benchmarking and modelling was to help identify what were likely to be the key variables and parameters affecting plant performance. As a result the root cause of the problem was identified and appropriate action taken to solve the problem. The pay back period was approximately 4 months.
Had the problem not been resolved, this would have resulted in more serious consequences due to the significantly lower return on investment than originally anticipated and potential loss of market share.
As a result of the work there was a better understanding of this part of the process and any future improvements can be modelled with confidence before committing to future investment. |
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