Condenser Hot Vapor Bypass Control: Petrocontrol
Condenser Hot Vapor Bypass Control: Petrocontrol
By
Y. Zak Friedman, PhD
Principal Consultant
June 2008
34 East 30th Street, New York, NY 10016 • Tel: 212-481-6195 • Fax: 212-447-8756 •
[email protected]
Condenser hot vapor bypass control
What is the worst mistake? It is one that is repeated in practically every refinery, and yet
we haven’t managed to learn from it. I have chosen today to discuss the very simple
distillation column pressure control by partial flooding of the condenser. This method is
used often when the column overhead vapor is totally condensed into the accumulator.
This system of figure 1 works well and is easy to tune. Accumulator pressure is tuned
fairly tight, whereas the column pressure is tuned slowly, much like a level controller.
That makes sense because in response to a change in outlet valve position
uncondensed vapor keeps accumulating and the pressure acts like a pure integrator.
While these two control loops interact, they interact in such a way as to help each other.
When column pressure goes up the accumulator pressure controller would shut the
bypass and the column pressure controller would open the condenser outlet, and both
these actions go in the same direction of reducing the column pressure.
Next visit the “enhanced” system of figure 2, where the accumulator pressure controller
is replaced by a pressure difference controller. A minor DCS change with a very good
intention. In the configuration of figure 1, when the column pressure is to be changed the
operator must change the setpoints of both controllers. While these columns operate
day in and day out at constant pressure, there may be some seasonal changes, and the
configuration of figure 2 might save the operator one minute or so upon changing column
operating pressure. In any case, this is a tiny DCS change, so why not do it?
Because this tiny DCS modification creates a not-so-tiny change of loop interaction
pattern. In the previous configuration, upon an increase of column pressure the bypass
valve closes, but with this new figure 2 configuration, when column pressure goes up –
the bypass valve would open. IE, as the column pressure controller is trying to drain the
condenser the bypass control acts to increase accumulator pressure, preventing
condenser drainage. That interaction makes the control loops next to impossible to tune.
I must have seen at least a hundred figure 2 configurations and none of them worked.
Invariably the hot vapor bypass was operating manually, and the good intention of
avoiding the nuisance of changing two setpoints instead of one has caused a much
bigger nuisance of having to change the hot vapor bypass position manually, and
experiencing frequent pressure disturbances.
Figure 3 offers a way to “have the cake and eat it”. Use pressure difference for
controlling the hot vapor bypass, but instead of the actual column pressure use the
column pressure setpoint. Another tiny change of DCS structure will now restore the
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