SPARK 5

SPARK

Identity

AIChE SUSC

AIChE, Suez University Student Chapter (AIChE SUSC) was founded
in 2013 as a branch of AIChE International - the world’s leading
organization for chemical engineering professionals. It includes a
group of undergraduate students, aiming for the advancement of
academic learning techniques, and personal development systems,
trying to create links between the university and the industry.

SPARK

SPARK is our official technical magazine; it is one of the Chapter’s main
products. It is designed to cover all about the downstream sector with
its branches of refining, petrochemical, and gas.
An issue is published annually as a result of SPARK team efforts. Each
member of the team makes their mark in providing the magazine with
the most valuable content in the sector to enrich youth with technical
knowledge, and developing its format with new unique sections to
cover new special aspects.

Contents

Foreword 2
3
-Promoting Volunteerism
Ahmed El-Atar 13
14
-Any coffee is poured out here! 16
Shaimaa El-Halaby
28
Interviews 4 31
7 32
-Ms. Deborah Grubbe 10
-Mr. Hesham Noor-Eldin 12
-Mr. Gary Bowerbank
-Mr. Abdulrahman AlFadhel

Refining

-process notes
-Impulse
-New Technology

Petrochemical 22
24
-Impulse 26
-SparKollege
-New Technology

Gas

-Case Study
-New Technology
-SparKollege

-News 34
-Message 35
-A round around the world 36
-SPARK Team 38

Foreword

Ahmed El-Atar

AIChE SUSC President’9

Promoting Volunteerism

Student activities – especially Student Chapters - have an important impact on undergraduate
students’ characters and careers. To start your career -as a fresh graduate- you need many
important skills and non-technical knowledge besides technical knowledge. Of course, you
can learn some skills and non-technical knowledge by yourself, but you need to practice
them.

At AIChE SUSC (American Institute of Chemical Engineers – Suez University Student Chapter),
we provide our members and other students with many sessions to improve their skills and
non-technical knowledge. We provide technical courses and training in the field of Petroleum
Refining Engineering, Gas Processing and Petrochemicals for students, we also provide one
of the most powerful diplomas in the field all over Egypt, AIChE Refining Diploma for the fifth
year in a row.

In the current season, our vision is “Promoting Volunteerism”. Volunteerism can be divided
into two parts: Volunteering Work itself and Volunteers. If we want to promote volunteerism, we
should develop these two parts together. Volunteering work development can be achieved
by finding the smartest, quickest and most accurate way to do the needed job. Volunteers’
development can be achieved by improving both technical knowledge and non-technical
skills of the volunteers to be ready for after graduation life. We are really happy to introduce
our technical magazine “SPARK” -the fifth issue. This issue contains many useful sections
such as international and local interviews, case studies and many other topics.

Our Technical and Marketing segments -with the help of other segments- have done great
work and effort to launch this great issue of SPARK. I -as AIChE SUSC President- really want
to thank everyone of them especially Eng. Shymaa El-halaby, our Technical Manager, Eng.
Ahmed Seleem, our Technical Vice Manager and Eng. Basem Tarek, our Marketing Manager.
They -with their teams- really worked hard and paid much effort for this issue. I also want to
thank all the 175+ members that work hard to raise the name of AIChE SUSC up. Keep your
spirit up and keep working hard. Finally, I hope this magazine meets your expectations and
adds some value for you.

Ahmed Elatar

2 SPARK

Foreword

Shaimaa El-Halaby

SPARK CEO

Any coffee is poured
out here!

There are a variety of drinks around the world, each season has its own drinks, and each
time has a suitable drink. Selecting “COFFEE” as a drink we are familiar with, one of the best-
known virtues of coffee is its power to increase one’s power. Caffeine, one of the main active
ingredients, has a stimulating impact that assists to increase concentration and yield.

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” –
Maya Angelou
Being unique and different is part of what makes everyone of us special. You have to make
your mark on whatever you do wherever you are.
Make the effect of coffee the same as yours for any position you hold. Let everyone, realizing
your work, say “Any coffee is poured out here!”

Here again! My journey in AIChE SUSC started two years ago as a member of the great
magazine team, who worked on the third issue. Then, I took another step toward a higher
position in the fourth issue as the technical head, and now I am here again, but as the
magazine CEO and editor-in-chief.
It’s quite a thrill to hold such a position as to be responsible for the AIChE SUSC official
technical magazine; it comes with challenges and responsibilities. It has never been easy,
but it’s worth all the effort it took to end up like it looks to you right now.

You will touch the distinction of this issue, with its valuable content to keep up with your field,
which has new sections to provide you with other routes for identifying your field and being
in contact with your opportunities around the world. Don’t also forget to solve the puzzle, play
smart!

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision.” – Andrew Carnegie.
I would like to thank my team for their time, effort and eagerness to achieve our vision, which
is “Another stair for your knowledge ladder is available.”I also want to thank our technical
supporters, who provide us with these significant technical topics.

Finally, I hope this issue will match your expectations and you will find it both interesting and
informative.

Turn to page «38» and enjoy each page

Shaimaa El-Halaby

SPARK 3

Interview

Deborah L. Grubbe

Deborah Grubbe is Owner and President of Operations and Safety
Solutions, LLC. She is the former Vice President of Group Safety for BP
plc, which had its two safest years ever during her tenure.
Deborah is currently serving as an advisor to start-up companies in
Philadelphia and in London (Near-Miss Management, LLC and Future
Energy Partners, Ltd., respectively).
Deborah is the 2021 President of American Institute of Chemical
Engineers (AIChE) and is the former chair of the AIChE Institute for
Sustainability, where she led a global effort to establish a professional
credential.

Could you tell us about your journey in many people, both inside and outside of DuPont,
AIChE? at those meetings. I traveled a lot with my job
and I was involved in other activities outside of
My journey with AIChE started during my 2nd work like boating and water skiing, so I did not
year of my chemical engineering studies, when attend every AIChE meeting. However, the work
I joined AIChE as a student member at Purdue of professional networking is very different from
University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. I stayed social networks, and it is important that students
a student member of AIChE for all my years at do not get them confused and pay attention to
Purdue, and in fact, I have never dropped my both!
AIChE membership. There are some reasons
why that I will share later. About 15 years ago, I had an opportunity to run for the AIChE Board
I invested to become a Life Member of AIChE, of Directors in 2005, and decided to do it. I was
as I believe that our common technical society elected, and my thanks go to the many people
delivers more value to one’s career than can who voted for me. I had never held an office nor
possibly be fully understood until one is asked to any local volunteer position in AIChE; however, I
reflect and to think about its value. Bottom line, had been around it for decades. My time on the
the price of a full membership is very reasonable
and is quite cheap when one looks at the value
delivered over the course of one’s career.

After my undergraduate studies, I started
working with DuPont and then moved to the
UK for graduate studies at the University of
Cambridge. It was while living in the UK that I
realized the global potential of my profession
and that bound me to AIChE even more! By
the way, I am also a member and Fellow of the
IChemE in the UK, and I participate with them via
my Cambridge and BP connections! The world
is truly a small place!

When I moved back to the USA after Cambridge
I went back to work with DuPont. I moved from
my home in the Midwest to Delaware. I joined the
Delaware AIChE Professional Section and met

4 SPARK

Interview

Board helped me understand how I could now Identifying as AIChE president 2021,
begin to give back to my profession in ways that what kind of challenges did you face to
I was only beginning to learn. My focus when I am reach such a position? And how did you
on a board is always on the future. I see my job as overcome these challenges?
to assist the organization to take advantage of
new technology and to emphasize its strengths The only real challenge I had in running for the
as it grows. Board was to make sure that I could devote
the time to the role of President. Therefore, I
Right before I ran for the AIChE Board, I retired waited until my consulting business, which I
from DuPont to accept a really super job offer started after my time at BP, had begun to slow
from BP in London. Let’s just say it was an offer down a little bit. Being President of AIChE is like
that I could not refuse! I could not have moved a part-time job, and it takes about 20 hours per
to London at this time without the support of week. However, it is very satisfying to serve our
my husband, who is also an AIChE member, a profession, and I have enjoyed my Presidency.
former Board member, and who has been very
active in the AIChE Foundation. What plans did you put when holding
this position, and what steps had you
Between my Board service and my Presidential already taken to achieve these plans?
term, I was involved in the Institute for
Sustainability and helped to develop the My plans were simply to grow AIChE’s
Sustainability Credential. I was also involved in participation and partnerships with other
the AIChE Center for Ethical Practice, and was organizations and to move AIChE towards the
working to define this Center when I was asked future. Our Center for Hydrogen Safety and
to run for President. I also served on the CCPS the Institute for Learning and Innovation are
Advisory Board during my time at BP, and I am two of the key areas where I am supporting
now also an Emeritus Member of CCPS. AIChE AIChE growth. I also wanted to make sure that
is an important business for our profession. I thanked as many people as possible for their
contributions to AIChE, and so allow me to thank
all of you for your service – past, present and
future.

“Thanks to AIChE”, at what cases would
you mention these words?

Here are a few examples:
1-Thanks to AIChE, I was able to grow my
consulting business more quickly after my time
with BP.
2- Thanks to AIChE, I have learned about many
different aspects of Chemical Engineering that I
had not been exposed to.
3- Thanks to AIChE, I have been able to contribute
to a number of educational advisory teams in a
much more useful way.
4- Thanks to AIChE, I have been able and will
be able to contribute in a direct manner to the
forward progress of our profession.
5- Thanks to AIChE, I have been able to meet

SPARK 5

Interview

many chemical engineers who share my From your inspiring experience, could you give
passion for our profession.” us some of your hidden success factors you
acquired during your career journey?
Corona crisis is a great challenge, how has
this crisis affected the petroleum downstream a) “Networking” means helping others achieve
industry, in your opinion? And how did you their goals. Networking means giving, not taking.
manage AIChE during your presidency duration? You have to invest in your network before you
can earn the right to take from it.
The virus has caused some supply chain b) Never, never, never give up.
disruptions in all areas of the global economy; it c) A successful person recovers quickly and
is not limited to only the petroleum downstream learns from a failure.
industry. Our global logistics operations are d) Be true to what you stand for, realizing that
finely tuned to our general supply/demand people are looking for consistency over time.
signals, and any variation in supply or demand e) Actions really do mean more than words. Talk
will have ripple effects. When coupled with less. Listen more. Act properly.
political decisions or pronouncements of any f) Be smart around taking risks. When it really
sort, the signals may wildly oscillate. We are matters, take big ones.
seeing that right now, and I think it will continue g) Success comes from doing the hard work:
well into next year. day after day after day after day after day.

Life is not about you; it
is about what you do
for the larger whole.

“Future of petroleum downstream industry”. Kindly, which advices would you give to both
What are your expectations for it? students and fresh graduates in the field?

My personal belief is that the downstream a) Social networking is not professional
petroleum industry has a bright future. The networking. Don’t get them confused. Do both.
market will continue to grow as more developing b) Use AIChE to do your professional networking.
economies raise their standard of living. Yes, the c) Understand the advantages of role models,
alternatives markets will also continue to grow; coaches, mentors and sponsors. Everyone relies
however, the current state of alternatives is on knowledge and information gained by others.
not currently strong enough to render carbon- Make sure you get dialed in.
based fuel sources obsolete in the next 30 d) Realize that sponsorship is given and is never
years. We are going to need some inventions asked for. You can ruin an executive relationship
in electrical storage to cover the periods when by asking the executive for sponsorship. Allow
the winds do not blow and when the sun does the executive the good feeling that results from
not shine. We also need to work to reduce the giving you an opportunity!
greenhouse gas emissions all over the world. e) Do your homework before each business
interaction.
f) Consider your professors to be your first
chemical engineering colleagues. Make sure
you leave university with a good reputation.
g) Remember that our profession is global, but is
relatively tight. Mind your reputation with care.
h) Always attribute comments and ideas to
others by name; it is professional courtesy.

6 SPARK

Interview

Hesham Noor-Eldin

The previous chairman and CEO of MOPCO of the country were such as there were not
sufficient products and there was a shortage in
On November 4, 2021 most companies’ products, but we managed to
overcome these challenges.
First of all, we would like to thank you Mr. Hesham Noor-
Eldin for accepting our invitation. We are more than “The company is a success story with continuous
sure that this interview will be a great addition to our hard work”; these are your words about MOPCO.
magazine. So, Let’s start our conversation. How did you add your mark to this success?
And what are the factors that led to this success
Could you introduce yourself to our readers and today?
tell us about your career path until you became
MOPCO’s chairman? First, the success of the company depends on
the hard work of its people and their teamwork.
I am Hesham Noor-Eldin, the chairman of Our company has become a hundred percent
MOPCO and ENPC. I am a graduate of Ain Egyptian company thanks to the hard work of
Shams commerce College. I started my career people for a long time. Also, it has become the
in the petroleum authority in the foreign trade, highest fertilizer production company in Egypt;
then I became the Vice President of Petroleum the company gives a high percentage of its
Authority for foreign trade. After that, I achieved production to the
the position of president of Elab. And now, I have Egyptian farmer, and also exports the remaining
become the president of MOPCO. and fetches dollars.

To achieve this great position, you definitely To achieve this level, it’s
faced a lot of challenges. Would you mention the staff efforts and I am
these challenges? a member of this staff.

First, I was working in the marketing of crude The balance equation of success is good
oil and its products at the petroleum authority, management with great people with perfect
then I became a general manager. After that, I work. So, this integrated team work causes this
got into MIDOR, a refining company; I became success.
the vice president of this company. From here,
the special part of holding the production
companies came as I was in MIDOR. Then, I
moved to Elab and now I am here in MOPCO.
Challenges that happened in Egypt from 2011
until the president took over the presidency

SPARK 7

Interview

From one factory for Urea Production to MOPCO time, we think of the future by working on other
fertilizer production complex. From your point petrochemical activities and we currently work
of view, how the company has passed the on this principle.
challenges it encountered to be what it is now?

MOPCO was a refining company at its We should mention the success of MOPCO as the
beginning. There had been problems with its largest locally produced for urea fertilizers. In the
finance, so it changed its activity and became global market, what is the company’s activity?
a petrochemical company in Damietta that And how do you plan to expand this activity?
produced fertilizers. At this time, the company
was headquartered in Suez and it was a factory Globally, Egypt is the ninth country in fertilizer
(Factory No. 3). production, and the sixth in exportation; Egypt
has a good position in the fertilizer industry.
Agruim company in Damietta also worked on
fertilizer production. Its production is about seven million tons; two
millions of them are from our company, so
The revolution happened, and great problems MOPCO contributes to about a third of Egypt’s
in the environment with people existed, which production.
led to the company’s shutdown.
To expand our activities globally, we have a
When the problems were resolved, and marketing team that supervises all countries.
foreigners began to participate with a share of
%26, MOPCO took the two factories of Agruim, We export in required agricultural seasons
so it had three factories instead of one. to about all world countries; as Asia, Turkey,
Europe, and America.

From following these stories until now, MOPCO
has become a complex for the production
of fertilizers after its beginning with a single
factory.

From your words too,”there must be a clear vision
for the future.” As the company president, how
do you see the future of MOPCO? And could you
share with us some future plans?

The future is the future of fertilizers. We have
almost 50% production locally and 50% exported. In
the future, there will be a kind of increase in the
agricultural area, so the demand for fertilizers
will increase and thus the export quantity will
decrease.

The solution is increasing other factories, thus
maintaining the export quantity, which is the
basis of difficult currency.

We try to cover the country’s needs. At the same

8 SPARK

Interview

What are your expectations for the future of even if there is just a person, he is considered
petrochemical sector in Egypt? people.
To ensure that people perform their tasks well,
The petrochemical industry is an added value. then you should supervise them well. Hence, you
Egypt becomes no longer resorted to the sale of should have a tool to “follow up” their work. Here,
the ore at the petrochemical level but the sale we have a computer application that helps to
of the final product, benefiting from its added follow up.
value. If the following up is perfect, then any decision
taken will be right as it comes from people and
This is Egypt’s future, and it is the export of the their work.
added value. End of the text, all the story is the people
management system.
From your inspiring experience, would you give us
some hidden success factors that you acquired ..............................................................................................
during you career path?
Finally, could you give some tips for students and
My hidden factors of success are summarized new graduates in this field who are about to join
in “people”, who I work with. the career life?
If the people, working with you, carry out their
missions, you will succeed. So, if you want to The advice with a hundred percent is reading.
achieve progress, take care of people. Read in various sectors besides your basic
field. Read to have a general culture. Develop
Success always comes from human resources. your language. It is very important to have
It’s the factor of all the production process. For presentation skills such as Microsoft office,
example, if the marketing isn’t good, then the graphics, and so on, which is currently reached
final result will be unsatisfactory, and so on. Even easily. You have to make use of your life in
machines perform their functions by people, developing yourself.

Also, it is important to put plans for each day
and commit to doing what you planned for.

SPARK 9

Interview

Gary Bowerbank

Manager Gas Processing Technology

Gary has more than 20 years’ experience Gas Processing in both
Upstream and Downstream businesses. He is currently Manager
Gas Processing, supporting Europe, Middle East, Africa and
Americas. Prior to this, he has worked in various roles in Shell
Gas Processing supporting a wide range of activities including,
Process Lead for licensing projects, major Shell projects as well as
supporting operational assets in upstream and downstream. He
also spent 4.5 years fulfilling a number of roles in a joint venture
refinery. He graduated in 2001 from UMIST with a MEng in Chemical
Engineering and is a Chartered Engineer.

Could you tell us about your career journey? How did you overcome the challenges you faced
to get such a great position?

After graduating as Chemical Engineering from Sometimes, it often seems to be just down to
UMIST (now part of Manchester University), I luck, such as the right position opening at the
joined Shell in the Netherlands as a graduate right time, or a restructuring placing you in a role,
direct from University into Shell Global Solutions but it is of course more than that. You do need to
International (SGSi), the division of the company take the opportunities that present themselves,
that provides technical services, develops new grab them with both hands.
technology and delivers projects – now known
as Shell Projects and Technology (P&T). Some of the challenges I have faced include not
getting the position/promotion I was hoping for
After 4 years in SGSi working in the Gas Treating or getting poorer performance feedback than I
and Sulphur Recovery group, I wanted to get a felt I deserved – it happens to us all.
greater exposure to the operating environment
and was able to secure an assignment at a My strategy deal with this in a work setting has
Joint Venture Refinery in South Africa, where I always been the same, take some time to reflect
spent 4.5 years primarily looking after the Gas myself and confirm that I had given my best and
Treating units and Sulphur Recovery Units. that I am proud of what I had done (testing this
with some close colleagues is always a good
I then moved back into Shell P&T in India, where idea too).
I continued to work in the Gas Processing field
helping develop the relatively new office in India I then get on with the job, the job I still love after
coaching several junior engineers. During this more than 20 years.
assignment, I spent much of my time travelling
around Asia Pacific region supporting a wide Through your inspiring experience, would you give
range of assets and projects, before returning us some hidden success factors you acquired
to the Netherlands to take up my first team lead during your career journey?
role.
I always advise a mixture of patience and
Since then, I have been leading teams within determination to any young engineer. You
Gas Processing, supporting different elements need some patient to build up deep technical
of the Shell business from Licensing technology, knowledge, to gain confidence and credibility; it
operations support through to project is no use saying I have designed one Gas Treating
development. Unit and now I want to design something else –
you need to do things several times to

10 S P A R K

Interview

understand the intricacies and gain the depth my own area of experience such as producing

of understanding. affordable green hydrogen at large scale.

However, it is still important that you grasp Within my own area of Gas Processing, there
opportunities as they arise, you never know is a lot of focus on lowering the cost of CCUS,
when they would come up again. So, when there producing more efficient integrate line-ups for
is a chance to spend an assignment that will Blue Hydrogen and electrification of various
broaden and deepen your technical knowledge, processes.
take it. Even if it delays a promotion, believe me
the greater technical experience you have the There is also a growing demand to make
further you will go in the long run. sure the necessary purification technologies
are available for cleaning up products from
Your career is a marathon sustainable biomass processes and green
and not a sprint. Hydrogen.

“Every person can make a difference, and
every person should try”. As a person with a
great experience in volunteering work, do you
see you make a difference? And could you
share this difference with us?

In your opinion, what are your expectations for the I find giving time to couch junior engineers, even
future of gas sector? And what challenges may it those who do not report to me, a truly rewarding
face? experience. Time pressures do limit how much
if this I can do, but I would always encourage
The obvious challenge, which is a challenge people to make the time.
for society, is Climate Change and the need to
reduce CO2 (and methane emissions). Another area I have become involved in during
the last 5 years is Gas Processers Association
There will of course be a massive shift away (GPA) Europe (www.gpaeurope.com), a not-
from the fossil fuels, but while we go through the for-profit organisation that brings players of the
Energy Transition, there will still be a significant European gas industry together to do business
demand for Gas (having far lower CO2 intensity around technical stories. I became active initially
than coal or oil). due to business needs, but I felt that I could
really contribute to improve the organisation.
So, the specific challenge to the Gas Sector As a result, I am currently the Chairperson and
is to produce and utilise the natural gas with I am helping GPA Europe to navigate COVID
minimum emissions, which will increasingly and ensure it is there to support our industry for
include Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage decades to come.
(CCUS) as well as working with alternative fuel
sources such as biogas and Hydrogen (Blue Kindly, could you give some advices to engineers
and Green). who are in this field to have a successful career?

In brief please, what are the advanced technologies I would encourage people to be inquisitive, gain
in this field? solid technical grounding in your field, work hard,
but know when to take time out for yourself (find
The global challenge will need a wide range of your own work life balance) and most of all have
technology solutions, many of them way beyond fun. If you are not enjoying what you are doing,
then do something else.

SPARK 11

Interview

Abdulrahman AlFadhel

Manager of the Riyadh Refinery since 2013. He participated in more
than 50 international conferences in U.S, Europe, and Japan. He
headed two international conferences for refineries in 2016 and
2018. He is now a consultant at the Saudi society of engineers and
a consultant member in chemical engineering department – King
Saud University.

Could you tell us about your career path full of and conferences. I was honored to present a
accomplishments? scientific paper on the distinguished experience
in safety during the periodic maintenance
After graduating from high school in 1980, and work of the Riyadh Refinery. This is during the
while studying chemical engineering, I had the conference that is held in Okayama, Japan in
honor of receiving a scholarship from the Riyadh April 2019.
Refinery. I graduated in 1985 and worked in the
Riyadh Refinery where I rose in the career ladder My session was about (Success Factors for safe
until I was appointed as the manager of the T&I Execution in Oil Refineries).
Riyadh Refinery since 2012 and I am still there.
Figures from the conference held in Okayama, Japan in April 2019
What kind of challenges did you face during
your journey? And how did you overcome Do you think that volunteer work replaces the
these challenges? required experience in the labor market for
fresh graduates?
First, the alienation, where I was forced during
university studies away from my family, and They are complementary to each other. A fresh
I overcame that by creating friendships with graduate benefits from volunteerism. This
classmates in university housing. benefit is very useful for the fresh graduate
Second, studying in English at the university level, during the labor market work.
but I focused on strengthening my language by
studying English in the evening, reading novels, Kindly, could you give us some advice to
and watching English Films. engineers who are in this field to have a
successful career?
Form your inspiring experience, would you
give us some hidden success factors that you Being keen on seriousness, diligence, and
acquired during your career journey? sincerity in work, especially in the field, and
accompanying those with experience to speed
First point: seriousness, diligence, and sincerity up the acquisition of experience.
in work until you love your work and reach the
point of passion.
Second point: continuous motivation for
employees when they start taking administrative
positions to raise employee and refinery
productivity.

Volunteering work. Could you share with us
your journey in AIChE? And what is its role in
your successful career path?

I was honored to join AIChE. I was benefited from
all its services such as publications, courses,

12 S P A R K

Break

4-Changes in Mechanical Conditions of The
Equipment:

Damaged or plugged feed nozzles can lead
to coke formation due to poor atomization.
Damaged trays in the bottom of the main
column can lead to coke formation due to non-
uniform contact between liquid and vapors.

Coking/Fouling in Catalytic Crackers Troubleshooting Steps:

Catalytic crackers experience some degree of I-Avoid dead spots.
coking/fouling. Coke is found on the reactor II-Minimize heat losses from the reactor plenum
walls, cyclones, overhead vapor line and slurry and the transfer line.
bottoms pump around circuit. Coking becomes III-Improve the feed/catalyst mixing.
a problem when it impacts efficiency. IV-Follow proper start-up procedures.
V-The tube velocity in the bottom pump around
exchanger must be greater than 7 ft/sec.
VI-The main column tray liquid temperature
should be under 700oF and we should minimize
the level and residence time of hot liquid.
VII-We should use a continuous-cycle oil flush
into the bottom exchanger.
VIII-We should verify that no fresh feed enters
the main column.

Causes of Coking/Fouling:

1-Changes in Operating Parameters:

The operating conditions have a large effect
on the formation of coke. Coke grows where
there is a cold spot in the reactor system. Some
other factors that increase coke buildup are:
high fractionator bottom levels, lower riser
temperature and high residence time in the
reactor.

2-Changes in Catalyst Properties:

Catalysts with high rare earth content increase
hydrogen transfer reactions. Hydrogen transfer
reactions produce multi-stage aromatics.

3-Changes in Feedstock Properties:

If the feed contains asphaltene content and this
content is not converted in the riser. This can
lead to coking.

SPARK 13

Refining-Impulse

Adding Value to Crude oil
through Hydrocracking
Technologies

Dr. Marcio Wagner da Silva Introduction and Context

Dr. Marcio Wagner da Silva is Process Engineer One of the biggest challenges for the crude oil refining industry is raising the
and Project Manager focusing on Crude Oil profitability face to a scenario with environmental legislations increasingly
Refining Industry based in São José dos Campos, restrictive, which requires high costly processes and the volatility of the crude
Brazil. Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from barrel price. Regulations like IMO 2020 raised, even more, the pressure over
University of Maringa (UEM), Brazil and PhD. refiners with low bottom barrel conversion capacity once requires higher
in Chemical Engineering from University of capacity to add value to residual streams, especially related to sulfur content
Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Has extensive that was reduced from 3,5 % (in mass) to 0,5 %. Refiners with easy access to
experience in research, design and construction low sulfur crude oils present relative competitive advantage in this scenario.
to oil and gas industry including developing These players can rely on relatively low cost residue upgrading technologies
and coordinating projects to operational to produce the new marine fuel oil (Bunker) as carbon rejection technologies
improvements and debottlenecking to bottom (Solvent Deasphalting, Delayed Coking, etc.), but they are the minority in the
barrel units, moreover Dr. Marcio Wagner have market. The most part of the players needs to look for sources of low sulfur
MBA in Project Management from Federal crudes, that present higher cost putting under pressure his refining margins
University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), in Digital or look for deep bottom barrel conversion technologies to ensure more value
Transformation at PUC-RS, and is certified in addition to processed crude oils.
Business from Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV).

Hydrocracking Technologies streams, which can vary from Catalysts applied in hydrocracking
gas oils to residues that can processes can be amorphous
Hydrocracking applies the be converted into light and (alumina and silica-alumina)
hydrogen addition route to medium derivates, with high and crystallines (zeolites) and
improve the quality of residual value added. Among the feed have bifunctional characteristics,
streams and gives flexibility streams normally processed once the cracking reactions (in the
to refineries to processing in hydrocracking units are the acid sites) and hydrogenation
heavy oils. The Table 1 vacuum gas oils, Light Cycle Oil (in the metals sites) occurs
presents the main differences (LCO), decanted oil, coke gas simultaneously. The active
between hydrotreating and oils, etc. Some of these streams metals used to this process are
hydrocracking technologies. would be hard to process in normally Ni, Co, Mo and W in
Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units combination with noble metals
severe reaction conditions (FCCU) because of the high like Pt and Pd.
with temperatures that vary It’s necessary a synergic effect
between 300 to 480O C and contaminants content and the between the catalyst and the
pressures between 35 to 260 higher carbon residue, which hydrogen because the cracking
bar. These processing units can quickly deactivates the catalyst. reactions are exothermic and
process a large variety of feed In the hydrocracking process, the hydrogenation reactions are
the presence of hydrogen endothermic, so the reaction is
minimizes these effects. conducted under high partial
hydrogen pressures and the
temperature is controlled
in the minimum necessary
to convert the feed stream.
Despite this characteristic, the
hydrocracking global process
is exothermic, and the reaction
temperature control is normally
made through cold hydrogen
injection between the catalytic
beds.

14 S P A R K

Refining-Impulse

Ammonia (NH3), produced Figure 1 – Balance of the Brazilian Market of Lubricating Oils in the NH3 and H2S concentration
during the hydrotreating step, 2019 (Source: ANP, 2020) in the hydrocracking reactor.
has temporary effect reducing It’s important to consider
the activity of the acid sites, oil tends to lose market in the the feedstock quality to
mainly damaging the cracking next years. This fact tends to lead define the better residue
reactions. In some cases, the refiners to look for capital upgrading technology to the
the increase of ammonia investment aiming to sustain refining hardware, once the
concentration in the catalytic their competitiveness in the hydroprocessing of residual
bed is used like an operational lubricating market. Another side streams presents additional
variable to control the effect for lubricating producers challenges when compared
hydrocracking catalyst activity. based on solvent routes due with the treating of lighter
The application of hydrocracking to the competitiveness loss is streams, mainly due to
route to produce lubricating raising the imports to supply the higher contaminants
oils offers great competitive the internal market, leading content and residual carbon
advantage once the alternative to an external dependence of (RCR) related with the high
routes, based on solvent critical production input as concentration of resins and
extraction units are capable well as negative effects on the asphaltenes in the bottom
to produce only Group I and II balance of payments. barrel streams.
lubricanting oils that present The units with double stages and Among the Technologies which
falling demand. In downstream intermediate gas separation applies fixed bed reactors, it
markets without installed are applied when the feed can be highlighted the RHU
hydrocracking units, they can stream has high contaminant technology, licensed by Shell
face difficulties to meet the content (mainly nitrogen) and company, Hyvahl technology
market demand by high quality the refinery looks for the total developed by Axens and the
lubricants, an example is the conversion (to produce middle UnionFining Process, developed
Brazilian market. distillates), as presented in by UOP. Technologies that use
Figure 2. ebullated bed reactors and
Case study In this case, the catalytic continuum catalyst replacement
deactivation process is allow higher campaign period
The Brazilian domestic market minimized by the reduction in and higher conversion rates,
of paraffinic oils is supplied among these technologies
by two refineries that apply the most known are the H-Oil
the solvent route to produce technology developed by Axens
lubricating oils and waxes to a and the LC-Fining Process
variety of consumers like food by Chevron-Lummus. An
and cosmetic industries, among improvement is the slurry phase
others. The national lubricating reactors, which can achieve
production in 2019 was 3.5 conversions higher than 95 %.
million barrels, additionally, the
internal market is also supplied Figure 2 – Typical Arrangement for Two Stage Hydrocracking Units with Intermediate Gas Separation
by some importers, according
to data of Brazilian Petroleum Conclusion
Agency (ANP), the internal Even to refiners with access to low sulfur crudes, hydrocracking technologies can be attractive to ensure
consumption of lubricating better refining margins, despite the high capital investment, mainly considering the lubricants market that
reached 7.7 million barrels in tends to increasingly reduces the participation of Group I and II lubricating oils, forcing these players to install
2019. Figure 1 illustrates the hydrocracking units in the middle term.
composition of the Brazilian
market of lubricating oil in 2019.
Due to the accelerated
technological development,
especially in the automotive
market, the Group I lubricating

To be continued in Petrochemical Section. . .

SPARK 1155

Refining-New Technology

Novel Residue Fluid Catalytic
Cracking (RFCC) Technologies to

Maximize Refinery Profitability

Rafael Gonzalez Polynaphtha® oligomerization, how a robust combination of
among others. Atyrau Oil Refinery operating expertise, state-of-
Regional Marketing Manager, is continuously upgrading their the-art hardware and novel
EMEA, FCC. process units with state-of-the- catalyst technologies has
art technologies; for example, enabled Atyrau Oil Refinery’s
the refinery is currently working RFCC to achieve their ambitious
to modernize their TAME unit and conversion objectives while
adapt its product slate to IMO processing one of the most
2020 or use Axens’ Connect’In® challenging feedstocks found
platform for remote monitoring. worldwide.

Introduction Residue Fluid Catalytic Conversion Unit

Atyrau Oil Refinery, the oldest Atyrau Oil Refinery has selected
Axens to license the FCC
refinery in Kazakhstan, was built Alliance’s R2R™ technology to
convert heavy, high molecular
in 1945. It is currently operated by weight and metals content
feedstock into higher value
the state-owned KazMunayGas streams. This technology was
originally developed by Total
(KMG) and has successfully as a cost-effective, flexible and
reliable means to profit from
completed modernization, Figure 2 – Typical Arrangement for Two Stage Hydrocracking market opportunities at times
Units with Intermediate Gas Separation when it was crucial to leverage
adding a deep oil conversion the intrinsic potential of
residuum feedstocks. The FCC
refining complex that increased Almost every option under Alliance was able to overcome
the various challenges posed
the crude oil refining capacity up consideration involves upgrading by such feeds as exposed
above and always keep those
to 5.5 million tons per year and residue type feedstock through innovations up to date. In
particular, the Atyrau R2R™ unit
converted the site to the third an FCC unit to compete under is equipped with:

largest refinery in the country. current market conditions. • FIT G-Series®, which is the
best available resid feed
Atyrau Oil Refinery’s target Considering future demand injector technology, ensuring
appropriate feed distribution
is to produce an optimized for refined products, slow- to promote vapor-phase
cracking, thus resulting in low
combination between high to-flat growth is projected coke and dry gas make and
superior liquid selectivity, thus
value clean transportation fuels for transportation fuels over limiting the burden on WGC,
• MTC (Mix Temperature Control),
and specialty precursors for the decade, developing in ensuring riser temperature
control through quench to
chemicals production, such as parallel with the high-margins

benzene or paraxylene. Atyrau opportunities available in the

Oil Refinery has a very high petrochemical market.

complexity (the Nelson Index To be successful in such a

is 13.8), including a number of challenging scenario it is of

conversion units such as an R2R™ paramount importance to

resid fluid catalytic cracking unit develop strong partnerships

(licensed by Axens for the FCC between refiners and

Alliance), Alkyfining® for selective technology suppliers to ensure

AMPD/butadiene hydrogenation, maximum conversion, product

various hydrotreatments slate flexibility, and unit

including Prime-G+® for FCC availability, driving to the most

gasoline, etherification (TAME), profitable operations needed

Sulfrex® for LPG Sweetening and to stay competitive. This article

describes a successful case of

16 S P A R K

Refining-New Technology

increase the cat-to-oil ratio potential. In this stage, the In addition to the above, state-
and displace the equilibrium of-the-art thermal integration
between catalytic and thermal temperature is further elevated was developed specifically
cracking in order to achieve to accommodate changes in
better selectivities, which is less detrimental to feed composition as well as
• RS2™ riser termination device the different seasonal modes
offering high gas containment catalyst activity than other of operation required by KMG
in order to limit products while maintaining a high energy
degradation to light ends while solutions because water was efficiency throughout all those
being highly resilient to transient cases.
phases, removed with flue gas in the first
• Superior catalyst stripping with For the above reasons and owing
structured packing to preserve stage. Furthermore, in absence to a strong experience due to
the valuable hydrocarbon material over 40 designs performed on
and reduce the regeneration of water, the transformation feedstocks with ConCarbon
temperature at low stripping higher than 3wt%, the R2RTM
steam rates. of vanadium oxide to vanadic process provides yields
and performances that are
More importantly, the R2RTM oxide is largely impaired, which unmatched in the industry with
configuration incorporates a the flexibility to process a wide
two-stage catalyst regeneration once more limits the vanadium range of feedstocks – from gas
that minimizes catalyst oil through residue – in the same
deactivation in the presence mobility, thus inhibiting unit to meet multiple product
of metals to maintain higher scenarios (max distillate, max
activity with more metals on the noxious effects of this gasoline, or max light olefins).
the catalyst, thereby reducing
catalyst replacement costs. contaminant on catalyst. Finally, thanks to a robust design
The first regeneration stage in conjunction with a dedicated
operates in partial burn It is worth noting that the two- catalyst design, Atyrau Oil
mode. High hydrogen content stage scheme also rejects Refinery’s FCCU succeeds in
molecules are burnt in this a substantial portion of the ensuring catalyst circulation
stage, yielding water. The extent regeneration heat as CO in the and is delivering expected
of the regeneration is controlled first stage, thus removing the performances while processing
so as to limit the temperature necessity to install a catalyst high Fe content feeds.
elevation in presence of water, cooler at Atyrau despite the high
which would otherwise cause ConCarbon feedstock. This has Residue FCC Catalyst Design
high hydrothermal deactivation a direct and positive impact
of the catalyst. Moreover, in on unit costs and complexity of For a given residue-containing
absence of oxygen excess, operation as well as removing feedstock to be processed in
vanadium oxidation cannot a burden for maintenance. an FCCU, there is an optimized
occur. This is the first step in the CO is subsequently oxidized to set of operating conditions to
mobility cycle of this molecule, CO2 and noxious components maximize unit conversion for
which ultimately leads to are captured or neutralized to a given FCC hardware design.
collapse of the catalyst structure ensure full compliance with The mastery of such operating
and drastic reduction of its ability environmental norms. Axens variables handling as well as
to convert the longer molecules leverages the expertise of continuous improvements in
inherently present in FCC feeds. Heurtey Petrochem Solutions hardware technology enable
and various partnerships to refiners to push profitability up
The second regeneration stage systematically develop tailor- to the FCC unit or to downstream
operates in full burn mode so made, highly energy efficient process constraints. Nevertheless,
as to restore the full catalyst FCC flue gas treatments there is another variable that
abiding with the most stringent can significantly improve unit
regulations worldwide. In the
case of Atyrau Oil Refinery, a SCR
DeNOx, followed by a Flue Gas
Scrubber, was retained.

Figure 2. Typical R2R™ arrangement with dual regeneration
system

SPARK 17

Refining-New Technology

and reliability resulting in to reduce the harmful effects of
substantial economic benefits:
the FCC catalyst technology. Vanadium. This well-established
The main advantages of
catalyst technologies are: technology has shown excellent
1) wide flexibility to change
design to adapt performance Vanadium inhibition, as can
to objectives, 2) no need to stop
the unit as with major hardware be seen using cross-section
revamps, which enables
changes between planned SEM-EDX microscopy technique
MTAR dates, 3) minor costs only
involved and no capex needed (Figure Y) in contaminated Ecat
compared to high capex
investments, and 4) significant samples, which demonstrates
value creation for a refinery
with optimized catalyst system the co-existence of hot-spots
selection.
of RE and V, thus trapping the

V and preserving the zeolite

integrity.

3-Intracrystalline pore architecture

is optimized to enable large

molecules often encountered Figure X. XRD diffraction patterns of γ-Al2O3 with Ni, from no Ni
containing (black) up to maximum Ni content (green).
in a residual feedstock stream
Figure Z. Pore Size distribution (Å) of MIDAS®-optimized Resid
to enter the catalyst system catalyst and alternative Resid catalyst in the market.

and thus be cracked into Conclusions

smaller, higher value molecules. A combination of state-of-the-
art technologies using a three-
W. R Grace & Co. (Grace) proposed This open pore volume is a pronged approach – Atyrau Oil
Refinery’s outstanding expertise
a commercially well-proven characteristic signature of and operations management,
tailored FCC catalyst technology,
MIDAS® series catalyst MIDAS® catalyst systems, and it and the most advanced hardware
technology – enabled Atyrau Oil
specifically tailored for the improves molecular diffusivity Refinery to extract the maximum
profitability from the very
very adverse conditions of and pre-cracking of heavy challenging operation at their
RFCC unit. Thanks to the close
Atyrau Oil Refinery’s process - molecules that otherwise would partnership between different
parties, including the unit licensor
MIDAS®-350 technology. The interact only on the surface of (Axens) and the catalyst supplier
(Grace), it has been demonstrated
main characteristics of this the zeolitic part of the catalyst that multidisciplinary teams can
achieve excellent results and
catalyst are: and (in that case) hindering drive value for the refinery. The
combination of R2R™ with MIDAS®
both the extent and selectivity 350 catalyst delivered best in class
bottoms cracking functionality
1-High stability Zeolitetechnology of the monomolecular cracking while preserving superior metals
that yields superior activity tolerance, which is crucial to keep
retention and hydrothermal aimed at the zeolite section the maximum number of residual
stability while exhibiting low streams in the feedstock diet.
hydrogen-transfer selectivity to properly designed for residue
minimize undesired bimolecular
reactions as well as increased cracking. This is clearly observed
low value LPG and gasoline
linear paraffins. when comparing the pore size
2- Integration of Grace proprietary
metals traps, including Grace’s distribution (PoSD) of different
alumina-based matrix Ni
passivator and the rare-earth commercially available
based Vanadium trap (IVT).
Research has been conducted catalysts (Figure Z). The PoSD
using X-ray diffraction (XRD)
to demonstrate the interaction of MIDAS® catalyst exhibits a
between γ-Al2O3 and Ni. As can be
seen in Figure X, this interaction wide peak between 300-1000
is stronger with increasing
Ni concentration. Grace also Å, where molecular diffusion
employs an IVT trap technology
is much faster and in line with

typical heavy molecular size

contained in resid fractions.

Figure Y. SEM mapping for Rare Earth (RE) and Vanadium (V)
of a contaminated Ecat containing Grace’s IVT technology.

18 S P A R K

Refining-New Technology

Jim Moshi REFINERY OF THE FUTURE

General Manager
Honeywell UOP Middle East

Jim Moshi is General Manager of Honeywell UOP in
Middle East, a strategic business unit of Honeywell’s
Performance Materials and Technologies division.
UOP is a leading international supplier of process
technology, catalysts, engineered systems, and
technical and engineering services to the petroleum
refining, petrochemical, and gas processing
industries. The company has offices around the
globe, serving customers in more than 150 countries.

Prior to his current role, Jim served as Middle
East Sales Director for UOP’s Process Technology,
Catalyst & Equipment business.

Jim has been with Honeywell UOP for 30 years and
has held a variety of positions in Research and
Development, Service, Engineering, Technical Sales
and Commercialization & Technology Transfer.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in
Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois
at Chicago in 1989.

THE CASE FOR THE REFINERY OF THE FUTURE both product mix and investment to produce different product slates
priorities. In the near-term, rapidly- that offer greater profitability. In
For more than a century, UOP growing middle classes in high- the meantime, global demand
has been entrusted to advise growth economies will actually for petrochemicals is growing
its customers on ways to apply increase global demand for cleaner- 40% faster than gross domestic
new technologies to ensure burning transportation fuels. Many product, and several times
consistent profitability in the of those economies are actively faster than transportation fuels.
face of changing trends in the investing in domestic refining This demand is being driven
global oil & gas industry. These capacity using the most advanced by dozens of countries, led by
conversations begin years before technologies available. Refiners who China, India and Indonesia, while
our customers are prepared to currently export fuel products into by 2050 as many as 3 billion
make final investment decisions, these markets may one day find people will graduate into the
and they generate unique insight demand for those products being middle class. These economies
into the needs of the industry. met domestically. Millions of barrels will demand more synthetic
One of the greatest challenges of refining capacity are at risk of fibers, packaging, personal and
faced by the industry today is the being stranded, unless that capacity commercial vehicles, new food
need to make carefully-timed can be adapted or repurposed options, pharmaceuticals, and
investments to meet near-term to make new products for which billions of consumer durables.
demand growth for cleaner- demand is rising.
burning transportation fuels, In the longer term, as global A ROUTE TO LONG-TERM PROFITABILITY
in the presence of a broadly- demand for these fuels peaks –
forecasted longer-term levelling- probably in about 10-15 years – Faced with an outlook of longer-
off of global transportation fuels even refiners in markets where term declining demand for
demand. fuels are growing will be looking for transportation fuels, many of
This challenging outlook is affecting ways to manage their molecules today’s refiners will invest in assets
that are capable of producing

SPARK 19

Refining-New Technology

petrochemicals. Perhaps more petrochemicals, were considered for consumer products, protective
than any time in history, the highly integrated. Today, UOP food packaging, medical supplies,
need for significant upgrades is designing refineries that will communications equipment, and
in refining capabilities must be convert more than half their other items based on petrochemicals.
made with a clear view of the crude intake to petrochemicals, Refineries currently in construction
rapidly changing landscape of and we firmly believe that the benefit from the most current
demand for new products and day is within sight when we will technologyandconfigurations,and
the capacity to supply them. UOP design refineries capable of are designed to accommodate
developed the concept of the producing 100% petrochemicals. evolving demand patterns over the
“Refinery of the Future” to describe Refineries that are capable of coming decades. These modern
our philosophy that refineries, producing high percentages of refineries can produce fuels and
and related facilities, must be petrochemicals are likely to be petrochemical feedstocks with an
designed to accommodate the most consistently profitable. uplift of as much as $15 per barrel
evolutionary changes in product of oil. But when petrochemicals
slates while ensuring sustained THE BEST POSSIBLE PRODUCTION, EVERY DAY capacity is included, these same
competitiveness in terms of refineries can add an additional
overall cash cost of production, The Refinery of the Future is not a uplift of up to $30 per barrel –
capital efficiency, and the ability standard configuration or collection providing them with a bridge
to respond to both regulatory of technologies, but a stepwise toward even greater profitability.
changes and competitive threats. capital investment strategy for Rather than being divided into
In other words, the Refinery of capturing growth to ensure a traditional processing blocks, with
the Future must enable our refiner is the most economically heavy oil conversion followed in
customers to manage molecules efficient and profitable enterprise stages to treat lighter products,
for the greatest profitability in possible. It’s a pathway that is the Refinery of the Future looks
the near term, and at every unique to each refinery, accounting completely different when fuels
stage over the ensuing decades. for changing market conditions, production – and the need to meet
The Refinery of the Future will available feedstocks, new changing fuel blend specifications
be capable of upgrading crude technology, regulatory constraints, – is factored out. The amount of
oil into an increasingly higher and competition, with the goal of fractionation and compression,
proportion of petrochemicals and sustainable long-term profitability. the types of reactors, and the
clean fuels. It will provide refiners While fuels demand is essentially catalysts are tuned to serve new
a route to long-term profitability flat, global gross domestic product purposes. The Refinery of the
for crude-to-chemicals, using is growing by about 4 percent Future treats every molecule as a
increasingly “cost-advantaged” annually. This is driven mainly raw material that can be directed
feedstocks. Not long ago, by emerging economies, where to places where it can achieve far
refineries capable of converting hundreds of millions of people greater value. These new refineries
15% to 25% of their production into are experiencing newfound are now digitally connected to
prosperity and driving demand both manage the complexity of
the operation and enhance the
skills and capabilities of a rapidly

20 S P A R K

Refining-New Technology

changing and less experienced and petrochemicals operations a petrochemical complex when
workforce, thereby ensuring that because it is used to transfer compared to a refinery producing
the plant achieves it best possible heat, clean up streams, and as fuels.
production every day. a reactant. Water is increasingly As the shift from fuels to
is treated as a scarce resource petrochemicals continues to
THE SIX EFFICIENCIES in industrial applications, so we grow, carbon and hydrogen will
measure water efficiency not have very different roles. In precise
More effective conversion processes as a utility, but in a separate ratios to carbon, hydrogen will
can eliminate certain intermediate category to minimize freshwater graduate from sulfur removal
steps, thereby improving carbon and consumption across an entire to become a yield multiplier by
hydrogen efficiency simultaneously. facility. making carbon rejection processes
In addition, we can evaluate Carbon, hydrogen, utilities, emissions unnecessary. Refiners that are
the efficiency of the energy and water efficiency are primary sensitive to CO2 emissions will look
required to convert feedstocks

into the desired product slate factors to determine overall to new pathways for hydrogen
by measuring the efficiency of capital efficiency – in effect, to production, since traditional
utilities. Regulatory limits and the determine how effectively capital techniques such as steam reforming
influence of social investment investments are generating also co-produce large amounts of
on refinery emissions and their sustainable profit. All six criteria CO2. In the future, new processes,
effects on climate change may assist or contend with such as propane dehydrogenation,
also must be weighed. We can each other, but they can be will come into favor – not simply to
measure emissions efficiency used to balance the operational make propylene, but to generate
to maximize the conversion of goals of a facility with market hydrogenwithouttheCO2load.Taken
crude oil into more valuable demand, regulatory restrictions, together, the Six Efficiencies will
products, while generating the investor requirements, and any provide the economic scorecard
lowest net emissions footprint. other license to operate. The Six for achieving the Refinery of the
Water is essential to refinery Efficiencies look very different in Future.

SPARK 21

Petrochemical-Impulse

Synergy between Hydrocracking
and Steam Cracking Units –

Petrochemicals from Bottom Barrel
Streams

Dr. Marcio Wagner da Silva Figure 1 – Change in the Profile of Global Crude Oil Demand for alternatives that ensure
(Wood Mackenzie, 2019) survival and sustainability of the
Dr. Marcio Wagner da Silva is Process Engineer refining industry became constant
and Project Manager focusing on Crude Oil The improvement in fuel efficiency, by refiners and technology
Refining Industry based in São José dos Campos, growing market of electric vehicles developers. Due to his similarities,
Brazil. Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from tends to decline the participation better integration between refining
University of Maringa (UEM), Brazil and PhD. of transportation fuels in the and petrochemical production
in Chemical Engineering from University of global crude oil demand. New processes appears as an attractive
Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Has extensive technologies like additive alternative. According to Figure 2,
experience in research, design and construction manufacturing (3D printing) have the demand by petrochemicals
to oil and gas industry including developing the potential to produce great tends to rise in the next years and
and coordinating projects to operational impact to the transportation can be an attract way to refiners
improvements and debottlenecking to bottom demands, leading to even more keep his protagonism in the
barrel units, moreover Dr. Marcio Wagner have impact over the transportation market.
MBA in Project Management from Federal fuels demand. Furthermore, the
University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), in Digital higher availability of lighter crude According to data presented
Transformation at PUC-RS, and is certified in oils favors the oversupply of in Figure 2, it is expected a
Business from Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV). lighter derivatives that facilitate significant growth in the market
the production of petrochemicals of petrochemicals intermediates,
Introduction and Context against transportation fuels as and a refining hardware
well as the higher added value capable to maximize the yield
As described in the refining of petrochemicals in comparison of these derivatives can offer
section, the capacity to add with fuels. significant competitive advantage
value to the bottom barrel Facing these challenges, search through closer integration with
streams became a fundamental petrochemical assets and higher
competitive differential among value addition to processed crude
the refiners in the last years and oil.
the hydrocracking technologies This scenario requires even
is quoted as the most effective more conversion capacity in
residue upgrading route, despite the refining hardware as well
the relative high capital spending.
Despite be more frequently related Figure 2 – Growing Trend in the Demand by Petrochemical Intermediates (Deloitte, 2019)
to bottom barrel value addition Note: Bars represent total demand (million metric tons or MMT), circles represent total capacity (MMT).
and residue upgrading issues, the
hydrocracking technologies can
offer better conditions to closer
integration with petrochemical
assets though the improvement
of intermediates streams, an
interesting case is the synergy
of hydrocracking and naphtha
steam cracking units aiming to
maximize the petrochemicals
production in the refining hardware.
Recent forecasts indicate a trend
of reduction in transportation fuels
demand accompanied by the
growth of petrochemicals demand
as presented in Figure 1.

22 S P A R K

Petrochemical-Impulse

as profitable routes to convert Conclusion
these hydrocarbons into
petrochemicals in compliance The scenario faced by the players
with market demand, in this sense, of the downstream industry
hydrocracking technologies and requires even more competitive
their synergies with petrochemical capacity to ensure higher value
processes like steam cracking addition to the processed crude
can be an attractive route to oils, mainly considering the current
some refiners. trend of reduction in transportation
fuels demand followed by the
The Synergy between Hydrocracking and growing market of petrochemicals
Steam Cracking – Residue to Chemicals that requires a higher conversion
capacity in the refining hardware
As aforementioned, the In Figure 3, a slurry hydrocracking aiming to ensure higher yields of
unit is applied to achieve deep added value derivatives. In this
hydrocracking units are capable conversion of bottom barrel streams scenario, high integrated refining
while a diesel hydrocracking unit configurations based on residue
to improve the quality of bottom is applied to destroy diesel and upgrading and flexible refining
improve the yield of naphtha in technologies can be economically
barrel streams. The main the refining hardware, the light attractive, despite the high capital
naphtha is directed to steam investment and the hydrocracking
advantage of the integration cracking unit to produce olefins, unit can improve the offer of high
like ethylene and propylene while quality naphtha to steam cracking
between hydrocracking and the heavier fraction is pumped to units, allowing higher yields of light
a catalytic reforming unit where is olefins in the refining hardware
steam cracking units is the higher converted in light aromatics (BTX), and closer integration with
achieving high added value to the petrochemical assets, which is a
availability of feeds with better processed crude oil. It’s interesting relevant competitive advantage in
to observe the synergy between the current and short term scenario
crackability characteristics. deep hydrocracking (slurry) and of the downstream industry.
FCC units, where the residual
Bottom barrel streams tend stream from FCC is applied Despite the advantages, it’s
to concentrate aromatics as feed to the hydrocracking important to consider that
and polyaromatics compounds unit, raising the bottom barrel integrated processes lead to a
that present uneconomically conversion of the refinery. higher operational complexity,
performance in steam cracking Sometimes the hydrocracking however, given current and middle
units due the high yield of fuel oil and FCC technologies are faced term scenarios to refining industry, a
that presents low added value, by competitors technologies in better integration between refining
furthermore, the aromatics tends the refining hardware due to the and petrochemical processes is
to suffer condensation reaction similarities of feed streams that are fundamental to the economic
in the steam cracking furnaces, processed in these units. sustainability of the downstream
leading to high rates of coke Considering the great flexibility of industry.
deposition that reduces the deep hydrocracking technologies
operation lifecycle and raises the that are capable to convert feed The combination of adequate
operating costs. stream varying from gas oils to bottom barrel conversion
residue, an attractive alternative capacity and the maximization
Once cracking potential is better to improve the bottom barrel of petrochemicals in the refining
to paraffinic molecules, and the conversion capacity is to process hardware can offer a highlighted
hydrocracking technologies can in the hydrocracking units the competitive positioning in the
improve the H/C in the molecules uncracked residue in FCC unit current and future scenarios of
converting low added value aiming to improve the yield of high the downstream industry helping
bottom streams like vacuum added value derivatives in the the players to build an antifragile
gasoil to high quality naphtha, refining hardware, mainly middle profile in a highly competitive
kerosene, and diesel the synergy distillates like diesel and kerosene. market.
between hydrocracking and steam
cracking units can improve the yield
of petrochemical intermediates in
the refining hardware, an example
of refining configuration relying on
hydrocracking and steam cracking
units is presented in Figure 3.

SPARK 23

Petrochemical-SparKollege

High Performance Bimodal HDPE
Film for Advanced Applications

Ahmad Hammad Shoman Summary

Head of LLDPE/HDPE Technical Support People around the world consume approximately 95 million tons polyethylene
& Market Development at the Egyptian per annum; almost 50% of them (47.5 million tons per annum) is dedicated to
film and sheets applications. Using Bimodal HDPE Film can cut down this number
Ethylene and Derivatives Company to 33 million tons per annum. Bimodal HDPE Film is an optimum combination
(ETHYDCO) of high molecular weight, bimodal molecular weight distribution and density
that results in a product that has excellent bubble stability and film properties.
PE Main Applications Bimodal HDPE Film products have excellent processability, superior drawdown
and can produce thin films with down-gauging capability. Down-gauging means
thinner films that provide same performance as thicker ones. Key performance
properties of Bimodal HDPE Film include high tensile strength, high tear and dart
impact strength, retention of mechanical properties at low gauges and better
processability. Main applications of Bimodal HDPE Film are retail bags such as
Grocery / T-shirt bags and merchandise bags, food packaging as produce
bags and snack foods, non-food packaging as industrial liners and protective
film, trash bags and others. In conclusion, Bimodal HDPE Film is an advanced
technology that introduces film products that can provide high performance
with thinner films. This can save around 15 million tons per annum of polyethylene
all over the globe and lead us towards better cleaner world.

PE Types (Based on MWD)

MD/HDPE Film LLD/LDPE Film Pipe Extrusion Polyethylene contains lots of mole-
cules
with different chain length and Mwts

Injection Molding Blow Molding Roto-Molding & Others

Polyethylene demand worldwide in 2018 by application:

Global demand for polyethylene is 99,6 million metric tons in 2018 (*)

One method called GPC is used for
characterization of PE,
to know the molecular weight
distribution (MWD)

volume%(Portion)

Molecular Weight

(*) www.freedoniagroup.com (**) www.statista.com

24 SPARK

Petrochemical-SparKollege

Bimodal HDPE has higher viscosity at lower
shear rates, while same viscosity at higher
shear rates

The viscosity of the molten polymer
is affected by temperature & shear
rate

Bimodal HDPE: Definition & Characteristics As temperature is increased the Bimodal HDPE: Key Advantages
viscosity of the molten polymer
• It is a high molecular weight decreases •To down-gauge 20 to 30%
polyethylene with a bimodal or more and still maintain or
molecular weight distribution As the shear rate is increased, the improve mechanical properties
viscosity of the molten polymer compared with unimodal HDPE
• This results in a product that has decreases, this phenomenon is (This can save around 15 million
excellent processability, superior called “shear thinning“ tons per annum of polyethylene
drawdown and can produce all over the globe)
thin films with excellent properties Shear thinning permits easy •To produce commercial
flow through the extruder and die HDPE film products in existing
• 1st Fraction: to be avoided together with shape retention or production machines, without
sag resistance outside the die any major
• 2nd Fraction: Processability, restrictions or modifications
Protects fraction (4) from Bimodal HDPE: Key Performance Properties •To simplify the production,
Degradation reduce logistic costs and
•Excellent processability and improve production regularity
• 4th Fraction: Toughness & •To get HDPE film products
Strength, Reinforces fraction (2) down-gauging capability with balanced properties like
stiffness, creep resistance, heat
• 5th Fraction: Melt Strength, Bimodal Chart sealing,
Modify rheological behavior of impact and acceptable tear
the polymer melt. •Retention of mechanical resistance Bimodal Chart

•Bimodal MWD: combines good properties at low gauges
processability and good mechanical
strength • Excellent bubble stability when

producing thin films at high

extrusion rates

•High tensile strength, MD Tear

and Dart Impact strength

•Suitable for applications requiring

films < 10μm

Bimodal HDPE: Advanced applications

Shear Rheology

• Temperature & Shear rate air filled bags trash / garbage bags protective film
• Shear thinning Mulch film
•Materialswithbroad molecular
weight distribution will
“shear-thin” more readily
than materials with narrow
molecular weight distribution

greenhouse film geo-membrane film

SPARK 25

Petrochemical-New Technology

Co-feeding of renewables and
recyclates in the Fluid catalytic

cracking process

A short introduction to a promising evolutionary process.

Florian Knaus The utilization of versatile FCC Promising feedstocks which are
units, which many refineries currently shortlisted by global
Florian Knaus is working as a chemical- and already have in operation, to refiners include:
process engineer at ILF Consulting Engineers co-process vacuum gas oil • Syncrude derived from (mainly
since 2018. He is an alumni of an Austrian college (the standard feedstock for polyolefinic) plastic waste
for mechanical and plant engineering (similar to FCC units), syncrude (obtained In addition to the known climate
a BSc. program), holds a BSc. and an MSc. degree by pyrolization of various challenges, plastic waste
for chemical and process engineering from plastic wastes) and biogenic management is another major
the Technical University Vienna and is currently oil (e.g. used cooking oils) global challenge. To achieve
occupied by his PhD research on the same can contribute to reach future a zero pollution economy,
university in the field of fluid catalytic cracking defined decarbonization and unavoidable plastic waste
of renewable feedstocks and chemical plastic circular economy targets. needs to be recycled.
recycling. He has worked as a consultant for Current research focuses on In order to meet the required
companies such as OMV, PETROM, ENI, BOREALIS gaining knowledge how to obtain recycling targets, co-processing
and MOL, dealing with projects in process plants, high yields of valuable products offers an attractive alternative
oil and gas production facilities, tank farms and from heavier, more complex to thermal incineration. The
pipeline networks. and recycled feedstocks as well chemical recycling of plastic
as biogenic resources. waste also offers, apart from
What is fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)? ILFs role in this evolutionary energy conservation, financial
process towards co-feeding of opportunities. On average, each
Fluid catalytic cracking is one of renewables and recyclates is ton of recycled plastic saves
the most important conversion to gain expertise and to push 109 · 130 J, which is equivalent
processes used in modern oil the limits of the FCC process a to the energy content of 22
refineries. This process is used to little further. ILF is therefore co- barrels of oil. Fully recycling
convert very high-boiling, high- operating with the Technical the annual amount of plastic
molecular weight hydrocarbon University Vienna to test various waste would result in savings
fractions of crude oil into high- feedstocks on their impact on in global crude oil consumption
octane gasoline, basic materials product spectrums, by-products of approx. 109 · 3.5 bbl/a, which
for petrochemical industry and plant operability. The would correspond to a financial
(such as olefins and aromatics) research is mainly conducted potential of 176 billion US dollars
and other products, such as on a FCC pilot plant located at annually.
lubricants. the Technical University Vienna. A sample of syncrude derived
Since the first commercially Through this research ILF has from municipal plastic waste is
relevant fluid catalytic cracking a good market overview and depicted in the following figure.
(FCC) units started production works on the brink of industrial
in the 1940s, a lot has changed. developments.
Today’s FCC units not only
produce a significant amount
of gasoline, but also high yields
of petrochemicals, such as
ethene, propene, butene and
BTX aromatics. Combining the
imminent task of decarbonizing
refinery processes and the
challenge of integrating plastic
waste into a circular economy,
Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC)
offers substantial opportunities
for the petroleum industry.

26 S P A R K

Petrochemical-New Technology

•Syncrude derived from pyrolized of olefins and fuels. Unfortunately drastically to cover even very
these fatty acids are attached to low admixture rates. Current
biomass (e.g. wood, pulp, straw glycerol, an alcohol containing estimations indicate that up to 20
oxygen. High oxygen levels in FCC %wt co-feeding rate of renewables
and weeds) feedstocks promote the production to fossil feedstocks is feasible,
of water and carbon oxides, without taking syncrudes from
In order to have a noticeable bearing challenges for equipment plastic waste into account.
downstream of an FCC plant. Additionally to the mentioned
impact on decarbonization Three samples of biogenic oils challenges, issues with feedstock
(virgin canola oil, used cooking oil stability during storage and
efforts, all emission-friendly obtained by a municipal waste oil handling need to be resolved.
collection institution, used frying Water content and oxygenated
carbon sources need to fat) are depicted in the following organic compounds bear possible
figure. risks of corrosion on equipment
be exploited. New research, and product quality.
Drawbacks and challenges Focusing on flue gas emissions of
especially driven by the European the FCC unit, sufficient monitoring
Of course there are some systems need to monitor emissions
Commission via their Horizon challenges we need to overcome more closely and, if necessary, a
to optimize the product spectrum, gas cleaning unit has to be installed
framework, investigates the energy effciency and the service to cope with possible pollutants
life of the FCC catalyst. Feedstock such as chlorines or sulfur dioxides.
suitability of different syncrudes availability needs to be evaluated, On the upside is that all these
potential pre-treatment processes technologies and infrastructures
derived from biomass for co- need to be identified, tested and are readily available, given there
built. is an initial spark for a new way of
feeding into an FCC plant with Worldwide supply chains need to decarbonization and recycling.
be established. These challenges
very promising results. will be a tremendous effort for Outlook
the refining and petrochemical
Crucial for utilization of such a industry. One approach to reduce our
When it comes to syncrudes global carbon dioxide emissions
syncrude in an FCC plant is a derived from plastic wastes could be through the recycling of
and biomass, the collection and pre-used or renewable materials
sufficient hydrotreating step. This sorting of wastes is time and instead of using pristine crude oil
energy consuming. The pyrolysis for the new production of these
has to be conducted to improve process also requires energy, materials. That’s why whole industry
although most of it is produced by systems need to adapt to the new
their inherent instability and combusting fuel gases produced necessities that dictate our path to
by the pyrolysis unit itself. a more sustainable future. Increasing
tendency to re-polymerization Biogenic oil production and demand for petrochemical
infrastructure for collection of compounds and slowly decreasing
due to highly reactive oxygen used cooking oils need to improve demand for gasoline and diesel
define new challenges for fuel-
containing carbonyl groups. focused oil refineries. It seems
to be unavoidable that refinery
Another reason for operators will have to redefine their
business strategies and revamp
hydrotreatment is the removal of their process plants in order to
meet the goals set by authorities
sulfur and other contaminants. and society. Especially the path
towards a circular economy and a
These need to be removed net-zero emission strategy will be
challenging and co-feeding can
to protect equipment from help to reach these goals.

corrosion and catalysts from

fouling. Often such restrictions in

e.g. sulfur content are recorded

in specifications or standards.

A sample of syncrude derived

from biomass is depicted in the

following figure.

•Biogenic oils and used cooking
oils
Biogenic oils, such as vegetable
oils, animal fats and used cooking
oils are predestined as a substitute
for crude oil. The linearly built, highly
saturated fatty acids are a very
good feedstock for fluid catalytic
crackers producing high yields

SPARK 27

Gas-Case Study

Revamping of El Wastani Plant for
increasing its handling Capacity
and produce commercial propane

Sayed Ammar Introduction

Senior process/ process safety envy engineer at The present work aims to produce commercial propane by modification of the
El-Wastani. Certified assessor level-1 (OPITO) and existing liquefied petroleum gas unit (LPG). Such modification can be achieved
teaching assistant in American university in Egypt by adding de propanizer column to the plant.
with 13 years lecturing. A well-qualified senior
process safety engineer, with UK chartered status. Also, modification of the existing LPG plant of El-Wastani to able accommodates
200 MMSCFD capacities. Such modifications involve changes in the process and
equipment of the plant. An economic evaluation has been studied.

Case Study plant). The motivation to retrofit maximum capacity. Thus, there will
El-Wastani Petroleum Company an existing plant could be, for be thresholds in the plant capacity,
(WASCO) owns and operates example, to increase capacity, created by the limits in different
El Wastani network of wells and allow for different feed or product items of equipment. All equipment
gathering system in the Nile Delta specifications, reduce operating with capacity less than the threshold
area of Egypt. The gas stream costs, improve safety or reduce must be modified in some way,
from wells directed to a central environmental emissions. or the plant reconfigured, to
processing facility (CPF), located at One of the most common overcome the threshold. To
El Wastani-1 (EW1) well site. motivations is to increase capacity. overcome each threshold requires
When carrying out a retrofit, capital investment. As capacity is
The considered modification of El- whatever the motivation is, it is increased from the existing limit,
Wastani liquefied petroleum plant desirable to try to make as effective ultimately, it is likely that it will be
was proposed for two reasons. use as possible of the existing prohibitive for the investment
Initially, to increase propane equipment. to overcome one of the design
percentage recovery and also The main problem with this is thresholds. This is likely to become
to adopt the existing plant to that the design of the existing the design limit
accommodate high capacity equipment might not be ideally
of raw gas with the below suited to the new role that it will • Objective from Retrofitting the
composition. be put for. On the other hand, if Existing LPG Plant
equipment is reused, it will avoid
RETROFITTING THE EXISTING unnecessary investment in Two targets will be achieved from
PLANT TO MAXIMIZE THE LPG new equipment. Even if it is not retrofitting the existing LPG plant as
RECOVERY AND PRODUCE ideally suited to the new duty the following:
COMMERCIAL PROPANE (Option when carrying out a retrofit, the
ONE). connections between the items of 1-Producing commercial propane
equipment can be reconfigured, with propane recovery more
There are two situations that can perhaps adding new equipment than 90% ready for shipment to
be encountered in process design. where necessary. Alternatively, Egyptian market as an additional
The first is in the design of new plant if the existing equipment differs product from the existing LPG
or grass root design (Green plant) significantly from what is required plant.
In the second, the design is in the retrofit, then in addition to
carried out to modify an existing reconfiguring the connections 2-Increasing the butane recovery
plant in retrofit or revamp (brown between the equipment, the percentage from 80 to 99%
equipment itself can be modified.
As the capacity of the plant The block diagram illustrates
is increased, different items the unit operations which have
of equipment will reach their been modified or added during
retrofitting the existing LPG
plant (De-Propanizer column).

28 S P A R K

Gas-Case Study

As a result of the new wells
Explored or developed and
the drilling activities in Wastani
Company which leaded to
increase the number of production
gas wells from 20 to 35 wells and as
the company target is to increase
the total wells to 40 well with a
production of 220 MMSCD that
forces the management to direct
it is strategy to retrofit original
plant to accommodate the new
production quantities.

Figure (1): block diagram for modified El-Wastani Plant The intention to increase El-
Wastani plant capacity to
• Modeling the Proposed Plant evaporated to the top of the accommodate the increase in the
to Maximize the LPG Production tower. production over the plant designed
Accompanied with Propane capacity (160 MMSCFD feed gas)
Extraction Accordingly, LPG product from due to EL-Bassant and Azhar new
the top is maximized and the production wells. Also seeks ways
The same model for the retrofitted propane product from the top to maximize the production of LPG
plant has a great advantage to of the de-propanizer tower at the maximum plant capacity
maximize the LPG production decreased. (at 200 MMSCFD raw gases).
rate in case of the local market
demand increased. After performing the pre El-Wastani plant includes gas
mentioned changes, LPG processing facilities in addition to
Some changes in the de- production rate figure increased the necessary utilities and storage
propanizer tower operating from 164.8 to 274.4 ton/day with requirements. The plant is designed
conditions result in increasing in almost the same high butane to process the feed gas along
LPG production rate figure. recovery percentage (99%) with the associated condensate
and the propane production to produce sales gas, LPG and
For example, if the de-propanizer rate figure decreased from 186.1 stabilized condensate.
tower bottom reboiler temperature to 71.28 ton/day with propane
gradually decreased, more propane recovery percentage of 90%. The • Targets from Retrofitting the
fraction will be withdrawn from commercial propane has been Existing LPG Plant to accommodate
the de-propanizer tower to the produced to meet the pipe line and 200 MMSCFD
debutanizer tower where it is storage specifications.
Company target is to be able
• PART TWO: - DE-BOTTLE STUDY to process all the new raw gas
ON THE PLANT TO INCREASE quantities/ production through
CAPACITY TO REACH 200 MMSCFD the plant, on that basis during this
AND IMPROVE LPG RECOVERY. study a Detailed Study for each
skid on the plant to verify the design
margin in each equipment and
equipment capabilities to handle
the new gas quantity with the new
analysis.

SPARK 29

Gas-Case Study

• Perform adequacy checks for the at gas feed throughput of 200 A detailed list of the findings
following main process equipment’s: MMSCFD and the results of these presentment inside the thesis here
checks revealed the validation are the major findings.
○ Expanders and Compressors. to accommodate the plant
○ Pumps. facilities with 200 MMSCFD feed Gas/Gas Exchanger (E-15-01)
○ Air Coolers. gas at satisfactory conditions Gas Chiller (E-15-02)
○ Heat Exchangers. if considering the under Propane Sub-Cooler A (E-15-04)
○ Vessels. mentioned findings which Stabilizer Reboiler (H-30-01)
○ Towers. are partially resulted from the De-Ethanizer Reboiler (H-34-01)
○ TheEthyleneGlycolRegeneration original design of the plant: De-Butanizer Reboiler (H-35-01)

Package. Conclusion
○ The Cold Box (Thermal Check).

• Perform adequacy checks for all All results obtained from modeling the existing LPG plant and the
the process lines. new retrofitted plant using “Aspen HYSYS” process simulation
program.

Increasing the butane recovery Referring to previous speech, the following will be conducts:
percentage from 80 to 99% ready for
shipment to Egyptian market from • The current LPG production rate was increased using the new
the existing LPG plant retrofitted plant model as the butane recovery was increased
from 80 to 99.9%. Also the new commercial propane product,
The study showed that a great which has great value for the local market as a petrochemical
attention must be rectify to the feedstock, was added to the existing LPG plant and to the
following findings in order to ensure Egyptian market with high propane recovery percentage of
plant safe operation more than 90%.

• Modeling the Retrofitted Plant • The current LPG production rate was increased using the new
to Reach 200 MMSCFD Handling retrofitted plant model as the butane recovery was increased
Capacities. from 80 to 94.35%. Also the new company wells in bring to
production and the plant capacity reach to 200 MMSCFD.
The same model for the
retrofitted plant has a great • From the economic point of view, option one retrofitting
advantage to re-run the the existing LPG plant has a great economic value and high
module again with a higher gas, profitability as the new retrofitted plant has rapid return on
condensate and water rates, investment (ROI) as the total capital investment (TCI) will
checking every single pump, be paid back within 4.5 months. Also it has high net profit
vessel to extract the week point compared with the existing LPG plant, the disadvantage of the
in design. first option is the high capital cost needed to be spent for the
retrofitting 37 Million USD.
Adequacy checks for El-Wastani
plant have been performed • From the economic point of view, option two revamped
to evaluate El-Wastani plant the existing LPG plant has a great economic value and high
performance and bottleneck profitability as the new revamped plant has rapid return on
investment (ROI) as the total capital investment (TCI) will be
paid back within 5 months. Also it has high net profit compared
with the existing LPG plant, one of the advantages of revamping
the original plant to higher capacity with more LPG is the capital
cost needed to be spent for the retrofitting 10 Million USD.

30 S P A R K

Gas-New Technology

Enhanced Ethane Recovery by
Bottom Reflux

SIMULATION RESULTS C1/C2 ratio in NGL increased

Running a HYSYS simulation case from 0.03% to 2.3% by decreasing
for reducing NGL Demethanizer
bottom temperature revealed Demethanizer bottom temperature
that the molar flow of NGL from 48℉ to 39℉.
(at standard conditions) has
Ahmad Zaki increased from 504.3 MMSCFD
to 508.9 MMSCFD upon
Worked in Petrobel and Saudi Aramco for 16 years temperature reduction from
overseeing all facets of gas operations including 48.35℉ to 43.15℉ (see Figure1).
gas sweetening, dehydration and natural gas
liquefaction. Hands-on process engineering
professional with 16 years of extensive experience.
Participated in researches, engineering designs
and operations of pilot projects related to carbon
capture and sequestration, blue hydrogen and
stationary carbon capture from combined Rankin
cycles.

Adding an additional cooling duty to Figure 1
the Demethanizer by inserting a side
reflux to the column bottom section. THE ONLINE TEST C2 Recovery has consequently
This process change has led to
improving the column performance In normal operations, tray#1 increased from 95.2 to 95.5%
by 1.7% and generating a revenue of
$55MM/year. 24,482 lbm/hr stream is drawn alongwithC1/C2rationincrement.
Ordinarily, the Demethanizer
temperature gradient is controlled at 35℉ to cold box and re-join This is due to dissolving more C2
at the middle and the top sections
by the cold feed streams, while the the Demethanizer below tray#1 in the bottom section as a result
bottom section is being utilized as
a drum for maintaining the NGL at 47℉ while both bypass line of the cold reflux.
product level ahead of the pumps
however this operation mode is and auxiliary reboiler valve are Comparison between Simulation
allowing a portion of the bottom NGL
inventory to boil-off and giveaway normally closed. Results and Online Test Results is
with the overhead residue gas.
It’s proven that amending the shown in Table.
temperature of a Demethanizer
side stream from hot to cold As a result, NGL-1 Demethanizer
state and inserting it back to the
column bottom section results in bottom temperature was
enhancing the NGL recovery by 0.3%
and increasing the amount of NGL gradually decreased from 48.0℉
production by 5.3 MBD.
The results of this process to 37.0℉ and consequently NGL
modification were estimated via
running simulation software and bottom product C1/C2 ratio
performing online tests prior to field
implementation. has increased from 0.05% to

2.3%, flow rate has increased

by 1.5 MBD and C2 recovery has Table 1: Comparison between Simulation Results and
increased by 0.2%. Online Test Results

SPARK 31

Gas-SparKollege

A Crash Course on Sulfur &
Carbon Capturing Amine Units

Joaquim Tsu Introduction

Joaquim Tsu is a consulting engineer from Bryan Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are common
Research & Engineering (Singapore), LLC. He works closely air pollutants that must be removed in our oil & gas plants to
with his clients in Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia, meet product specifications and emissions regulations.
providing simulation support for their Oil & Gas projects, There are many methods to accomplish this task, but
with a focus on Amine Sweetening, Sulfur Recovery, Sour amine units are perhaps the most economical one, and is
Water Stripping, Caustic Treatment and Gas Processing. commonplace in almost every oil and gas facility. Examples of
its applications include:
How Amine Units Work
• Pipeline Gas sweetening to increase heating values and
meet sulfur specifications.
• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) liquid sweetening to meet
copper strip test requirements.
• Used alongside Refinery Hydrotreaters to remove sulfur
from naphtha, diesel, etc.
• CO2 removal to prevent dry ice formation in a Liquefied
Natural Gas (LNG) plant.
• Sulfur capture to feed a Sulfur Recovery Unit (SRU).
• Carbon capture for Blue Hydrogen or post-combustion flue
gas.

In this article, we will go over the basics of amine units, the
types of amine solvents and how you can select the best one
for the job.

Figure 1: Typical Amine Unit Process Flow Diagram on ProMax® limit thermal degradation due to 2-Secondary Amines – One “N-H”
high temperatures. bond – Less aggressive than primary
First, let us go through how they 6-Lean Amine Cooler – Absorption is amines and can be run at moderate
work. A typical amine unit process best at low temperatures strength. Common examples
flow diagram (PFD) can be found include DiEthanolAmine (DEA) and
in Figure 1 above. The key pieces Types of Amines DiIsoPropanolAmine(DIPA)
of equipment are:
1-Absorber – Lean amine enters Amines are classed into three Figure 4: Secondary Amine
through the top and washes sour categories, shown in Figure 2 below.
gases down, exiting the bottom The key difference between them is
as rich amine. the number of “N-H” bonds, which
2-Flash Drum – Releases plays a large role in amine chemistry.
small amounts of absorbed
hydrocarbons to reduce Figure 2: Main Categories of Amines 3-TertiaryAmines – No “N-H” bonds
fo am in g in the regenerator – Tends to be selective towards H2S
3-Lean/Rich Exchanger – Heat 1-Primary Amines – Two “N-H” bonds capture, can be run at high strength.
integration between cold rich – The most aggressive amines and Most popular tertiary amine is
amine and hot lean amine to corrosion is often a large concern for MethylDiEthanolAmine (MDEA).
reduce energy consumption. them. The most common example is
4-Regenerator – Applies heat to MonoEthanolAmine (MEA) Figure 5: Tertiary Amine Example
vaporize absorbed acid gases.
5-Regenerator Reboiler – Low Figure 3: Primary Amine Example These alkanolamines contribute
pressure steam is often used to to the majority of industrially
used amines. Their key functional
molecules are:

32 S P A R K

Gas-SparKollege

• N – Permits interactions with acid New Amines Selecting Amines
gases. Beyond the extremely prevalent Picking an amine for every unique
• OH – Increases water solubility amines like MEA, DEA and MDEA, application is not an easy task.
and reduces vapor pressure. new amines are always in Different feed gas compositions
Amine Chemistry development. Notable examples and pressures can drastically
Amines interact very differently include: change which amine is optimal.
with the two main acid gases, H2S The industry standard for selection
and CO2. • DiGlycolAmine® (DGA®) by the involves modelling the amine unit
For H2S, the main reactions are Huntsman Corporation, which in a simulator that has accurate
shown in Figure 6. H2S gas ionizes retains the aggressiveness of ionic properties like ProMax®. These
in water to produce H+ ions. The primary amines while having commercial simulators also tend
H+ is stabilized with the amine’s significantly reduced losses. to have a selection of proprietary
N molecule and this prevents the • AminoMethylPropanol (AMP) amines from large amine vendors
HS- or S2- from returning into the which is getting a lot of research for users to perform case studies
gaseous phase. attention as a low-pressure with. For example, you can simulate
carbon capture amine. many of Dow Inc.’s UCARSOL™,
Figure 6: H2S – Amine Reactions Huntsman’s JEFFTREAT® and Shell’s
Figure 8: Other Amine Examples Sulfinol® solvents in ProMax®.
For CO2, the key reactions are listed in However, there are some useful
Figure 7. Like H2S, CO2 can also ionize Amine Mixtures guidelines which you can use to
in water to form a H+ ion which is then Harnessing the properties of two narrow down your search:
stabilized by the amine. However, different amines is also possible by 1-Where possible, utilize amines that
unlike H2S, CO2’s ionization is a very mixing them together. A common can run at higher concentrations
slow reaction. example is mixing MEA or DEA with and loadings as this generally
The majority of CO2 capture is MDEA to increase CO2 removal reduces flow rate requirements
facilitated via the faster reactions 7.3 while maintaining the relatively low which reduces capital and
and 7.4, where the H bonded to the corrosiveness of the MDEA-only operating costs.
amine’s N is substituted for the COO- solvent. Typical values can be found in
from CO2. Additives Table 1 below:
As a result, tertiary amines like MDEA And finally, additions of small
without the N-H bond are unable to amounts of specific compounds Table 1: Typical Amine Design
participate in this reaction, which is can significantly enhance various
why they typically have significant amine properties. For example: 2-If less than 50% of the CO2 from
CO2 slip, as their only CO2 capture the feed must be removed, MDEA is
reaction is rate-limited by CO2 Figure 9: Amine Additive Examples often a good choice
ionization. 3-Low pressure CO2 removal
• Piperazine (PZ) – Added in small applications typically favor more
Figure 7: CO2 – Amine Reactions amounts (1 – 5 wt%) to MDEA, can aggressive amines like MEA and
improve its CO2 capture beyond DEA
Advances in Amines what even MEA can provide.
Amines have improved over the years, • Phosphoric Acid (H3PO4) – When Conclusion
primarily in 3 ways: New Amines, Amine added in small amounts (1 wt%)
Mixtures and Amine Additives. to amines, H3PO4 can significantly Amine units are a staple of most
improve regeneration. oil & gas plants and will play a
large role for carbon capture
Additives can also serve to reduce in the near future. As there
corrosivity (e.g. V2O5) or antioxidants is a wide variety of feed gas
that protect the amine from certain conditions and compositions,
types of degradation. understanding various amine’s
The majority of proprietary amines strengths and weaknesses and
in the market have their own secret learning how to simulate these
formulas which utilizes combinations units will be key for design and
of these 3 advancements. optimization.

SPARK 33

News

The largest polyethylene integration Luberef Reports Zero Work-Related BASF is accelerating the implementation
project in the world Incidents of its CO2 reduction targets

McDermott has signed a Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company- BASF is building its company
Luberef has achieved zero lost activities to reduce its CO2
Letter of Guarantee to deliver time incidents (LTI) and zero total emissions by 25% by 2030 and
recordable incident rate (TRIR). become climate neutral by
engineering and procurement Luberef Jeddah has completed 2050. The unit is called ‘‘Net
14.1-million-man hours and Zero Accelerator’’ is focused
for the ethylene cracker of Luberef Yanbu 15.6-million-man on accelerating projects to low
hours without an LTI. It’s a global CO2 production.
the Gas Chemical Complex achievement better than the
global average for the sector of 0.7 BASF will increase the speed
(GCC) project—the largest TRIR, reported by the international of implementation to make
Association of Oil and Gas Producers. an important contribution to
polyethylene integration To ensure that refinery safety is climate protection.
important, each department in
project in the world—with China the company meets at least once CO2-free technologies such as
a month, but the departments of methane pyrolysis. In addition
National Chemical Engineering operations and industrial security to these technologies, BASF has
meetseveraltimeseachmonth.They started projects in renewable
and Construction Corporation ensure that there are no medical energies. It made a contract
cases, motor vehicle accidents and with Vattenfall to get 49.5%
Seven, Ltd (CC7). no fires or spills at any refinery. stack in the Hollandse Kust Zuid
The company was honored in Saudi wind farm with a capacity of 1.5
This agreement follows Aramco’s 2021 President’s Affiliates gigawatts and 25-yr electricity
Excellence Award with a gold award supply contract to purchase
McDermott’s safe and for best performance in Health, Safety 186 megawatts of capacity
and Environment and a silver award from Oersted’s planned Borkum
successful delivery of the front for Most Improved Performance in Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm
Energy Intensity. in the German North Sea.
end engineering design (FEED) The company is one of the world’s
leading suppliers of high-quality The new project will start on
and early works phases of the base oil and it is the only base oil supplier January 1, 2022, with around 80
across the Middle East, East Africa, employees.
project. India, Pakistan, Singapore, and Europe.

The GCC project is owned by
Baltic Chemical Plant LLC, a
subsidiary of RusGazDobycha,
a partner of Gazprom, and is
located near Russia’s shores at
the Gulf of Finland. The plant will
be comprised of two ethylene
cracking trains with an annual
capacity of 1.4mn tons each.

Among the licensors involved
in the project are Lummus
Technology (ethylene), Univation
Technologies, LLC (polyethylene)
and Axens (alpha-olefins).

34 S P A R K

Message Message

Deborah Grubbe

I would like to encourage each of you who work on the magazine
to bring your talents to bear on any problem where a technical
and thoughtful mind can improve our world community. When
I was 10 years old, a teacher once told my class that each of
us was born with unique and very special talents or gifts. She
then stated that we bring honor to ourselves, to our families and
to our communities when we honestly work to develop and to
share our gifts. This thought has been a driving force in my life
and career, and I wish you the best on your life’s journey.

Joaquim Tsu

I believe the SPARK Magazine is a great contribution
to the Chemical Engineering community, providing a
free & easily accessible platform to share technical
knowledge to nurture the next generation of chemical
engineers and inspiring them to volunteer to do the
same for their future successors.

Marcio Wagner da Silva

Firstly, I would like to say thanks for the opportunity to contribute
with this excellent Magazine. My humble words for the readers
is Keep studying! Increasingly more we need to keep up dated
with the new technologies and processes in any area and the
Chemical Engineering is not different. Try always to make an
equilibrium between technical and management skills, the
current world don’t accept anymore essentially technical
professionals! Keep always prepared and carry on!”
Thanks again for the opportunity.

Abdulrahman AlFadhel

I am much honored to be part of SPARK
magazine. I am always waiting for it whenever it
is published to enjoy reading it and its articles.

Mohamed Sami 3355
Senior Manager at Honeywell UOP.

“The team at AIChE SUSC is doing a fantastic job
with their SPARK magazine. I am impressed with
the quality of their work and the value that they
bring to their readers. Looking forward to reading
the next issue of SPARK”.

SPARK

Interview A round around

I am Zahraa Ahmed, from Iraq/ • desalination and water treatment I am Ferdinand Gerry, chemical
Basra. I am in my forth stage • biochemistry commerce Engineering Undergraduate Student
in the department of chemical at Bandung Institute of Technology,
engineering and oil refining. The future vision of the chemical 2018. I am in my last year, from
and refinery department seeks Bandung, Indonesia.
Established in 2013-2014, the to graduate proficient engineers
chemical and refinery department than qualified to contribute variant Established in 1941, Chemical
is conferring a bachelor’s degree to projects in Iraq. Engineering at ITB is the oldest
its graduate. It tends to contribute chemical engineering higher
magnificently to the rapid growth of Although as a result of the situation education institution in Indonesia.
the chemical and oil industry sector of our country presented in lack of
inside Iraq and the region. employment opportunities besides Currently it hosts more than
the chemical factories absent, our 40 full-time faculty members,
Our department provides the role excludes in oil and gas refinery approximately 350 Undergraduate
local and international markets by jobs . students, 120 Master students,
worthy chemical engineers. The & 20 Doctoral students. The
scientific syllabuses were chosen I am Guillermo Alemán, from undergraduate program is currently
in a compatible manner with those Mexico. I am in my third year in the only such program accredited
approved worldwide as well as chemical engineering department. by ABET (USA) in Indonesia. The
alongside the governmental and curriculum comprises of a 4-year
private oil industry demands. Here, we study five years; first coursework.
year is like basic sciences such as
Here, some of our curricula: Calculus , Physics, and Chemistry. The first-year courses are focused
(principles of chemistry, calculus, on basic sciences, liberal arts, and
engineering mechanics, mass- Mining, energy generation, building principles of general engineering.
energy balance, engineering material, food industry, and
drawing, principles of process biotechnology are the areas where In the Industrial Internship,
design, fluid mechanics, a mass a chemical engineer can get a job students take 1 to 3 months of
transfer operation, chemical opportunity here in my country! residency in the industry to gain
reactors design, petroleum refining Mexico is the 15th country with the firsthand experience of real-life
engineering) as well as the university largest oil reserves. Nowadays we engineering practice. In the team
relies on the courses system. The have 8 refineries but like 6 months based Undergraduate Research,
studying and instructing language is ago, our president bought a big students learn to formulate & solve
English. refinery plant from the US. ‫‏ ‏‬ engineering problems through
literature survey & experimental
During the last academic stage, the The job opportunities depend on the work. The Plant Design Project
university is required to submit a region of Mexico. In the northern provides a rich, complex challenge
graduation project under mentoring region, you can find almost all the for students to apply the entire
and guiding of a professional industries. Here a chemical engineer Undergraduate coursework in the
supervisor. has like 1000 dollars per month and team-based design of a complex
Those who succeed passing our for fresh it may be 500 dollars . processing plant.
department are capable to produce Basically, as a chemical
in several fields such as: Talking about the central of engineering graduate, you can
• Oil and gas refinery southern region, there are few job work in government departments,
• Chemical and petrochemical opportunities. agencies, private companies,
i n d u st r y multinational companies, state-
• metal production like iron and So, the average salary of a chemE owned enterprises, and of course
aluminum in Mexico is 750 dollars per month. you can set up your own business.
• paper manufacturing
• medicine and nutriment industry Various industries and factories
related to industrial chemical
processes are closely related to
various Chemical Engineering
courses.

3636 S P A R K

d the world.. Interview

I am Farah Nasution, from We are having great time in our final IamAbdullahNabil, AssistantLecturer
Palembang, Indonesia. Oil and Gas year. During my studies, I have learned in the faculty of Petroleum and Mining
Process Engineer, in my fourth year. about crude oil in energy engineering Engineering – Suez University – Egypt
subject. I have studied it in the “Oil from 2018 till now. Operation and
Oil and Gas Process Engineering Refinery”. Process Engineer in TCI SANMAR
(Teknik Pengolahan Migas in Bahasa Petrochemical company – Port Said.
Indonesia) is one of five study There are a lot of job opportunities
programs in Polytechnic of Energy in chemical engineering field. As an Refining and Petrochemical Engineering
and Mineral (PEM) Akamigas Cepu. example; we can join Engro Fertilizer, Department
Fatima, Foji, Descon and so on after our
Oil and Gas Process Engineering is a graduation. About the nature of study
four-year degree program that equips Currently, it is ranked first among
students with an understanding of I am Klara Taleb, a 23-year-old the five departments in the college,
both engineering and oil and gas Lebanese girl with a big passion however prior to 2021, it was placed
process principles. for Engineering. second behind the drilling department.
The Refining and Petrochemical
It also develops proficiency in the In 2016, I was one of the students department essentially deals with crude
design, development, operation, and admitted to the Lebanese university oil or gas after it has been extracted
management of industrial processes. faculty of engineering 2-Roumieh. The from wells until derivatives of this crude
first 2 years of university are common are extracted for usage in other fields
There are four concentration/areas for all engineering degrees and some or chemical treatment is performed on
of interest in this study program; they of the courses were general chemistry, these derivatives. That is why you study
are Refinery, Laboratory, Utilities, analysis, thermodynamics, modern courses in college in order to be qualified
Fire & Safety. physics, electricity, and so on. to deal with crude oil in the manner that
we have described, therefore we will
The Chemical Engineering in Oil and After that, I chose to specialize move on to the next section, which is
Gas industry is the hot spot for job in Chemical and Petrochemical the department’s courses. Of course,
opportunities. It is one of the most Engineering and it was the best following the first year in college which
in-demand industries in Indonesia, decision I took. The courses I took in called preparatory year, you study in the
but it is unfortunate that nearly the last 3 years include mass transfer, department for four years.
every industry has been negatively heat transfer, petroleum technology,
affected by the pandemic, leaving applied hydraulics, reactors, polymers, A graduate of the Refining Department is
some companies no choice but to petroleum refining, plant design, and so like the Joker as he can work in a variety
layoff their employees and with the on. of fields. First of all is Refining Companies
pandemic the shift towards remote where he works as a petroleum refining
work or hybrid work models is For my final year project, I chose to engineer for companies such as Cairo
accelerating. Since vaccinations are work on sustainable materials and my Petroleum Refining and MIDOR. Also,
now available and the economy has topic was “Evaluation of conventional Gas processing companies where it
picked up, companies have started biodegradable hemp fibers”. is feasible to work with owners such
many construction activities and Unfortunately, the chemical and as Khalda, Petrobel, and Gapco.
even oil and gas projects have also petrochemical sector in Lebanon is not Companies in the chemical and
picked up. so developed yet, thus there are not petrochemical industries: an operation
many jobs offered, especially in the engineeroraprocessengineer.Thereare
I am Usama Najam from Pakistan ongoing time because of the economic chemical or petrochemical companies
and currently studying in UET situation. However, graduates of this such as SANMAR, Polypropylene, and
LAHORE, Chemical Engineering program usually work in different Galaxy for detergents, and fertilizers
department. companies such as food companies companies such as the Egyptian EHC
like Taaneyel, Bonjus, Pepsico, some for hydrocarbon, Nasr for fertilizers,
I am in my final year, and I’m doing my pharmaceutical companies like Benta, Abu Qir for fertilizers, and equivalent
project on plant design. We have four Serum, or petrol companies such as companies, and petrochemicals are, of
academic years in the departments. Total, Coral and so on. course, the future in the world.
I think the most important subjects A word to every student, believe in Drilling companies where he can work
are: mass transfer, heat transfer, yourself and go after your dreams! You as a mud engineer: This is critical on the
thermodynamics, fluid flow, transport may think it’s not easy and you won’t work site. He works in this industry as
phenomena, stoichiometry and so on. be able to get where you want, but a chemical or refining engineer, but he
In “UET”, the quality of education is with passion and dedication, you can must have taken a mud course, which
the best. They demand us to focus on achieve whatever you want. Just keep we have some basics about it in college.
technical as well as non-technical skills. going no matter how difficult it becomes. These courses are similar to basic mud
and advanced mud. Also, you may
SPA RK work in drilling companies as process
engineer, since drilling companies
require them on their sites.

3377

Interview
38 S P A R K

Crossword Puzzle Interview

play smart!

1- A market term that is defined as a 5
subset of pentanes plus.

2- A flow meter based on Bernoulli’s 4 8
principle. 2 6

3- Type of hydrocarbons used
as monomers in natural rubber
manufacturing.

4- An application of the integration 1 7
process in heat.
10 3
5- Organometallic compound used
as an anti-knock agent in gasoline 9
fuel.

6- Hazards cause large storage tanks
to collapse.

7- A developer of international
voluntary consensus standards.
ASTM.

8- A problem happens in a gasoline
engine when gasoline boils and forms
vapor in the fuel system.

9- A common term of LPG extracted
from refinery gases.

10-The identity of the chapter, which
produces SPARK magazine.

SPARK 39

Interview
40 S P A R K