Petrochemical complex digitalisation for

greater efficiency and emissions reduction

Concepts of automation and data exchange in manufacturing have propelled both upstream
and downstream sectors into the 4.0 world, gradually extending to petrochemical plants
Philippe Mège and Michel Molinier
Axens

N
umerous benefits are expected from digitalisation of digitalisation in an aromatics complex, where processes
transformation, including real-time business man- are inherently and strongly interconnected. Examples of
agement and associated efficiencies, minimised performance visualisation by various units of measure, alert
environmental impact, and improved sustainability and functions, optimisation tools, and performance prediction
safety. In petrochemical complexes, process licensors and are presented together with yields improvements and ensu-
catalyst suppliers play a key role in accompanying this trans- ing benefits in commercially operating plants. The impact
formation as they provide the digital tools complementing of digitalisation on GHG emission reduction is also detailed
their proprietary technologies, implement tailored users fea- and discussed. Finally, the coming digital twin approach for a
tures such as diagnostics and alerts, predictive functions and petrochemical plant is introduced.
improvement suggestions, as well as cybersecurity solutions
to ensure the confidentiality of their real-time exchanges Digitalisation for the petrochemical industry
with operators. Real-time business, real-time supply chain management and
Digitalisation options must come at a competitive cost to optimisation, production excellence, enhanced sustainability
ensure the benefits largely surpass the additional invest- and compliance, and reduced risk to personnel safety and
ment. Process unit remote monitoring by licensors and health were among the many expected benefits as industry
catalyst suppliers used to be a challenge due to the time lag 4.0 concepts caught up with the refining industry.1 These
between data collection, data submission, data interpreta- improvements are now extending to petrochemical plants,
tion and feedback transmission, and time zone differences. even if many chemical companies are still figuring out how
With real-time data display and exchange of operating sta- to apply digitalisation to their business in the most effective
tus viewgraphs for a unit or an entire complex, Axens is in an way.2 Process licensors are in a unique position to accom-
ideal position to assist operators in maximising the efficiency pany the digital transformation of petrochemical operations
of their processes, with benefits for both users and technol- as they:
ogy providers. • Master the processes they licence, hence are in the best
Against this backdrop, it benefits to show the advantages position to design digital tools for these processes

Light
naphtha Raffinate Benzene

Light
reformate Benz/tol
Full range Extraction CT Transalkylation
Naphtha fractionation
naphtha hydroteating NS
H2

Paraxylene

Reformer RS Separation Isomerisation

Heavy
naphtha

Liquid phase
isomerisation

CT XC
Heavy
reformate

HAR

Heavies

Figure 1 Example of aromatic complex block flow diagram

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• Explain to users the possibilities and benefits associated concurrent olefins make; further, the reformate splitter, as
with the digitalisation of their process units well as the extraction process, need to be able to accom-
• Supply cost-effective, user-friendly digital applications, modate such additional benzene product.
easy to implement in existing or new facilities • Paraxylene adsorption utilisation at near full capacity heav-
• Provide valuable functionalities, including plant overview ily depends on the proper operation of the upstream clay
and unit-by-unit performance tracking, real-time economic treater and/or selective hydrogenation unit.3 Meeting olefins
evaluation, alerting functions, support to the planning specification is critical for the C8 aromatics stream feeding
department, operator skills management features, and so on the paraxylene selective adsorption unit, and thus real-time
• Use real-time data analysis to communicate with end-users management of potential upsets in the olefins removal pro-
• Offer tailored calculations, solutions, and optimisation cess is essential in modern aromatic plants.
options, including the ability to monitor the performance of • In facilities where xylenes isomerisation is split between
closed-loop advanced process controls (APCs) and correct/ gas phase and liquid phase processes, energy consumption
readjust such APCs as needed is minimised when traffic through the liquid phase process is
• Regard and handle digital monitoring as a requisite for the maximised. However, xylene loop ethylbenzene concentra-
technologies they supply, as essential as online analysers, tion increases with traffic through the liquid phase process,
flowmeters, and thermocouples. which reduces the overall loop efficiency. Consequently,
Figure 1 shows an example of a modern aromatic complex energy consumption reduction, ethylbenzene conversion,
configuration. A naphtha stream is hydrotreated and split and overall loop efficiency require real-time optimisation.
into light naphtha (LN) and heavy naphtha (HN) streams, • The heavy aromatics column operation sets the nature and
with the latter feeding a continuous catalytic reformer (CCR). quantity of C9, C10 and possibly C11 aromatics that will feed
Benzene and toluene are extracted from the light reformate, the transalkylation process to produce additional xylenes
while the non-aromatics raffinate is typically directed to the and benzene. More heavy aromatics in the feed typically
refinery gasoline pool or used as steam cracking feed or fuel. means higher xylenes production per pass and a higher
The heavy reformate is sent to a xylene column where C8 ageing rate for the catalyst used in the transalkylation unit.
aromatics are collected overhead and feed a xylene loop for Higher xylenes and lower benzene production or vice versa
paraxylene separation, ethylbenzene conversion, and isomeri- impact paraxylene recovery as well as benzene fractionation.
sation of para-depleted xylenes. C9+ aromatics are collected • Feed selection affects all units in the aromatics plant. The
at the xylene column bottoms and further fractionated in a use of a process operating simulator (POS) for pre-screen-
heavy aromatics column. C9 and C10 aromatics are recovered ing of available naphtha streams allows overall complex
overhead of the heavy aromatics column and processed with simulation and prediction of product slate associated with
toluene in a transalkylation unit to produce additional benzene different feed scenarios. The POS is an essential planning
and xylenes, while C11+ aromatics are collected at the heavy tool for fast decision making to respond to PX production
aromatics column bottoms and typically exported as fuel oil. demand as needed.

Aromatics complex: interconnected processes Real-time digital performance monitoring cases

The aromatic complex constitutes a textbook case of inter- Nowadays, data densification techniques such as machine
connected processes. Below are a few examples of process learning enable the creation of soft sensors to compensate
changes influencing other processes: for lab analyses low frequency. Consequently, it is possible
• The naphtha splitter operation can be adjusted to retrieve to determine – with the same granularity as based on actual
more molecules from the LN stream and direct them via the process data – the compositions required for near real-time
HN stream to the CCR for additional benzene production. modelling. The following cases are from aromatic complexes
The CCR operation needs to be fine-tuned accordingly, not currently in operation.
only to maximise aromatic products but also to minimise For example, in the naphtha splitter, LN detailed carbon

Navigation

Alerts Reconciled MB Aromatic Yeild Maximisation Distillation Column Optimisation Messenger

Alerting Reconciled Yields Instantaneous Dashboard Columns Overview

Optimised Unit Performance Debutaniser

Normalisation
Optimiser Status Depentaniser

Normalised PKIs

SEND

General Performance

Unit Capacity Usage Reactor WAIT Material Balance ExReactor Yield : H2 ExReactor Yield : C5+ ExReactor Yield : Arom... ExReactor : Aromatics i... Reformate RON

wt% ˚C wt% wt% wt% wt% wt%

Figure 2 CCR in operation

16 PTQ Q3 2022 www.digitalrefining.com

 Daily Recommendations (-24H)

Recommended Process Conditions (-24H) Expected Performance Improvement (-24H)

WAIT Change [˚C] H2/HC Ratio Change [mol fr] Catalyst Circulation Rate Change [... Aromatic Yeild Delta [wt%] 24H Aromatic Production Delta (wt. basis) [ton]

Aromatic Yield Delta (wt. basis) Aromatic Yield Delta (wt. basis)
wt% kg/h

wt%
kg/h
wt%

wt% kg/h

wt%
kg/h
wt%

wt% kg/h

avg current avg current

Aromatic Yield Delta (wt%) Aromatic Production Delta (wt%)

Optimised Process Parameters Over Selected Time Period (indicated on the top right)

Aromatic Yield : Optimised vs. Operation Delta WAIT vs. Delta Aromatic Yield
wt% ˚C wt%

wt% ˚C wt%

wt% ˚C wt%

wt% ˚C wt%

wt% ˚C wt%

wt% ˚C wt%

wt% ˚C wt%

avg current avg current

ExReactor Yield: Aromatics (wt%) (calc.) Delta WAIT
Optomised Aromatic Yield Delta Aromatic Yield [Optimised - Measured] (right-y)

Figure 3 Optimiser targeting maximum aromatics production

breakdown can be continuously determined to estimate ‘odometer view’ mode. A separate screen displays the impact
the total naphtha feed TBP curve based on carbon PONA of the CCR operating conditions on the reformate splitter
composition. The splitter LN/HN operating cut point can be operation. A ‘what if’ tool calculates performance prediction
calculated, and a set of optimal conditions is proposed in as a function of a new set of operating parameters, allowing
real-time to operators in order to adjust the LN swing cut the operator to evaluate the impact of changes in feed com-
flow rates that can be directed to HN. position, temperature, pressure and so on the overall yields,
Aromatics are increased by maximising benzene precur- catalyst consumption, and heater duty and performance.
sors in the CCR unit inlet while checking continuously for Reducing plant production costs and energy consumption
potential bottlenecks in downstream units such as the aro- is achieved by implementing monitoring for equipment such
matic extraction unit. By applying this strategy in a 1 Mtpy as heaters or feed effluent exchangers. For instance, alerts in
paraxylene production complex, the achievable margin gain case of consumption anomalies will be triggered on the dif-
is estimated to be ~$4M/year, based on the incremental ferent dashboards, and calculated key performance indica-
value of LN conversion to benzene vs LN conversion to liq- tors (KPIs) are pinpointing where it is possible to improve the
uefied petroleum gas (LPG). efficiency of different assets while checking their integrity.
Figure 2 shows the real-time status of an operating CCR. Thanks to this permanent monitoring, traditional preven-
Actual figures have been masked for proprietary reasons, tive maintenance can be reduced considerably and correc-
but the process performance overview includes unit capac- tive maintenance almost eliminated, thereby significantly
ity usage, reactor temperature and pressure, hydrogen dropping associated costs. For example, tracking precisely
production, aromatics yield, FG/LPG ratio, material balance excess air at the arch provides insights for heater efficiency
calculation, and coke on spent catalyst, among many other optimisation; applied to CCR heaters, this enables an inlet
units of measure. process flow/total fuel gas flow ratio increase by a factor of
Alert functions attract the viewer’s attention to opera- +3%, decreasing CO2 emissions accordingly.
tion within design specifications (in green), outside design Monitoring the main KPIs enables unit troubleshooting
specifications but within operating constraints (in orange), by continuous comparison of actual and normalised per-
or outside operating constraints (in red). Each parameter formances, calculated based on reconciled data using high
can be viewed as a function of time – graph mode – or in an fidelity models supplied by the process licensor or catalyst

www.digitalrefining.com PTQ Q3 2022 17

 Norm NART

END OF CYCLE PROJECTION TOOL

Determine the remaining time for the Current Cycle. The deactivation slope/slope-uncertainty/Current NART/Target NART is editable by users

EDITABLE PARAMETERS CALCULATION OUTPUTS

cw
˚C
Deactivation Slope Remaining Cycle Length Max
Deactivation Slope Uncertainty Remaining Cycle Length
Current NART Remaining Cycle Length Min
Target NART

avg current equation

TransPlus Average Reactor Temperature
TransPlus Normalised Average Reactor Temperature
Regression TransPlus Normalised Average Reactor Temperature y* *x(months) + [ ].r2-0.122
TransPlus Normalised Days on Oil (righty)

NART Projection What-if Tool Cycle Prediction with NDOO

Run End of Cycle Projection

Historical Data
Calculation Done
Min.Est.Cycle Length
Est.Cycle Length
Max.Est.Cycle length

WIT Name TP NART Projection

NART (˚C)
NART PROJECTION INPUTS
Description Unit Min Max Base Case

Deactivation Slope ˚C/mo

Deactivation Slope Uncertai... %

Current NART ˚C
Normalised days on Oil (Months)
Target NART ˚C

Current NDOO mo

NART PROJECTION INPUTS Cycle Production with Actual Date

Description Unit Min Max Base Case

End of Cycle Projection with Actual Date
Current NART ˚C

Target NART ˚C
Historical Data
Deactivation Slope Uncertai... % Min.Est.Cycle Length
Est.Cycle Length
Deactivation Slope Min ˚C/mo
Max.Est.Cycle length

Figure 4 Transalkylation process in operation

supplier. In addition, an optimisation module targeting aro- circulation rate, for instance, to define the best set of operat-
matic yield maximisation can be set up (see Figure 3). The ing conditions.
optimiser will only search within the defined upper and The unit operator has access to daily recommendations
lower boundaries of the weight average inlet temperature, compared to the previous day, with associated expected
the hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon molar ratio, and the catalyst performance improvement. Applied to a 1 Mtpy paraxylene

Absorbers DP (Calculation)

11:11:02 11:11:04 11:11:06 11:11:08 11:11:10 11:11:12 11:11:14 11:11:16 11:11:18 11:11:20 11:11:22 11:11:24

Absorber A (Calculation) Absorber A (Measured) Absorber B (Calculation) Absorber B (Measured) STEP

Absorbers DP (Calculation) 12 Steps Shift

11:11:02 11:11:04 11:11:06 11:11:08 11:11:10 11:11:12 11:11:14 11:11:16 11:11:18 11:11:20 11:11:22 11:11:24

Absorber A (Calculation) Absorber A (Measured) Absorber B (Calc) 12 Steps Shift Absorber B (Measured) 12 Steps Shift STEP

Figure 5 Adsorption section in operation

18 PTQ Q3 2022 www.digitalrefining.com

 Component Flow

Component Flow

HA Splitter C10+ Product

Trans+ LP Purge Tol Column

Bz Column Bz Product

Net Gas
LPG
PX Product
Off Gas
Non-Aro.
Aromiser Feed C5 Cut Eluxyl
Xylene Splitter Xy Max
Morphylane Aromiser Ref. Splitter
Non-Aro
BZ
Tol
PX
MX
OX
EB
A9+
A8 (Detailed N/A)

Feed Summary Products Summary

A9+
A8 Net gas

Tol C5
Bz PX
Morph, Raffinate
PX LP Purge
Non-Aro Bz C10+
Bz LPG
Tol Fuel gas
A8 Bz
A9+ C5
Fuel gas
Net gas
LPG
C10+
Non-Aro LP Purge
Morph, Raffinate

Figure 6 Aromatics complex in operation

(PX) complex achieving ~1% product gain and based on by machine learning calculates the optimal tuning parame-
the regional PX-naphtha spread, this strategy increases the ters to achieve optimal recovery for a given purity, consider-
annual PX production by 10,000 tons/year, which represents ing the actual molecular sieve ageing and unit status. These
a net benefit of approximately $5M/year. The distillation continuous recommended adjustments represent a net gain
trains are also scrutinised in order to improve separation effi- of several $M/year for an aromatic complex with a capacity
ciency, hence minimising aromatic losses while optimising of 1 Mtpy paraxylene.
energy efficiency by adjusting operating parameters accord-
ing to real conditions rather than design conditions. Improved operation via real-time digital
Figure 4 shows the real-time status of a transalkylation performance monitoring: overall complex
unit. The process performance overview includes feed rate Figure 6 provides an overview of an aromatics facility in
and weight hourly space velocity, reactor temperature and operation. The operator can visualise the performance
pressure, hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon molar ratio, conversion aggregate of all processes (heavy naphtha reforming, ben-
per pass, benzene and xylenes yields, and material balance zene and toluene extraction, paraxylene recovery, xylenes
calculation, among others. Alert functions attract the viewer’s isomerisation, and aromatics transalkylation). Individual unit
attention to operation within design specifications (in green), capacities are displayed, as well as benzene and paraxylene
outside design specifications but within operating constraints production, purity and yields, by-products yields, and pie
(in orange), or outside operating constraints (in red). charts summarising molecular distribution in the feed and
The operator can also monitor the recovery of C9, C10 and the product.
C11 aromatics at the overhead and bottoms of the heavy An optimisation tool provides calculations of achievable
aromatics column, and apply changes as needed using the margins based on feed and product prices inputted by the
‘what if’ tool to calculate the impact of such changes on the user. Lastly, a Sankey diagram presents a view of streams
transalkylation process performance and output. A separate entering and leaving the complex, as well as inlets/effluents
tool projects the end of cycle for the transalkylation catalyst of processes and/or fractionation steps within the complex,
using models based on robust regression applied to histori- where the width of the lines representing the flows are pro-
cal data, allowing the plant to manage the catalyst remaining portional to the flow rates and dynamically grow or shrink as
useful life efficiently. operational changes take place.
A general performance survey with associated alerting
can also be set up for the paraxylene separation process. Digitalisation of commercial facility: reduced GHGs
Suboptimal adsorber tuning survey, zone effect tracking, State-of-the-art digitalisation efforts include tools calculat-
individual bed pressure drop calculation (see Figure 5), and ing the impact of operating conditions on CO2 emissions at
associated alerting are key indicators to always maintain the the plant scale to reflect increasing incentives and/or con-
desired level of paraxylene purity. An inferential model built straints to reduce GHG emissions. For instance, operational

www.digitalrefining.com PTQ Q3 2022 19

improvements such as octane optimisation in the catalytic licensor regarding key issues and optimisation options. At
reforming process as a function of pool requirement, or the same time, all calculations and parameters are directly
hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon molar ratio adjustment minimis- accessible to users and, therefore, no longer a topic for
ing energy consumption, will favour CO2 emission reduction. extended discussions.
In addition, decreased regeneration frequency achieved The next step for process licensors consists in providing
by operating parameters optimisation will extend catalyst a digital twin approach that will integrate all steps involved
life and thus reduce CO2 emissions associated with catalyst in the manufacturing block flow diagram and allow opera-
manufacturing. To correctly assess the CO2 emission impact tors to run dynamic simulations not based on design condi-
related to the operation of a process unit, it is necessary tions but derived from the existing conditions at the time the
to identify how overall plant operating conditions are fine- dynamic simulation is performed.
tuned to account for unit production target: In other words, the operator will be able to simulate the
• On extra fuel burnt at the plant level, and the carbon con- consequences of a change in temperature, a compressor
tent of this extra fuel shutdown or a valve opening or closing in real time, based
• On generation of utilities (steam, hydrogen, power) upon the plant condition at the time the OTS is being utilised.
• On fuel gas produced and consumed by the unit, both in The digital twin approach constitutes a materialisation of the
quantity and quality (carbon content) industry 4.0 concepts of predictability (“being prepared”) –
• On pure hydrogen recovered and on associated CO2 emis- and adaptability (“self-optimising”).4
sions avoided. In the US, nearly 30% of GHG emissions come from the
To be able to calculate this impact, it is therefore required industry, including indirect emissions from the sector’s elec-
to determine: tricity consumption.5 Consequently, regulations intended to
• Which energy source (fuel oil, fuel gas, electricity) can be reduce industrial emissions in general, and more specifically
used to cope with an increase or decrease in fuel demand at emissions from the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, are
the site level, as this is the key to linking any marginal duty to currently under evaluation. Even if digitalisation efforts in
CO2 emission variations chemical companies initially lagged the refining sector,6 the
• Which equipment is used to adjust steam balance in case digital transformation of the chemical industry is expected
of higher or lower demand, and what is the total CO2 emis- to play a crucial role in energy efficiency improvement and
sions associated with steam production (including boiling associated GHG emissions reduction.
feed water, turbine)
• What approach does the plant use to balance demand for References
power to supply any additional demand, and how does such 1 Agnihotri R, Hydrocarbon Processing, 31, Jul 2018.
additional supply affect the overall plant energy balance 2 Morse P, Hydrocarbon Processing, Jan 2019.
(cogeneration of steam, gas unbalance) 3 Claire F, A Cotte and M Molinier, Hydrocarbon Processing, Oct 2021.
• How the excess of hydrogen-rich gas from naphtha 4 Fraser M S, T Anastaselos and G V V Ravikumar, The disruption in oil
reforming is treated, especially the hydrogen part of it, as this and gas upstream business by industry 4.0, white paper, Infosys 2018.
has an impact on CO2 emissions 5 Controlling Industrial Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Center for Climate
• How the excess of hydrogen-rich gas from naphtha and Energy Solutions (c2es.org), consulted on 1 Mar 2022.
reforming is affecting SMR operating conditions at sites 6 Annunziata M, It takes an ecosystem: digital transformation in the
where an SMR is in operation. chemical industry, www.Forbes.com, Jan 2022.
Using all this information gathered in collaboration with
the plant and related data continuously collected, the process Philippe Mège is Head of Axens Digital Service Factory in its Digital
user can run what-if scenarios with the help of digital tools to Innovation Division. He has more than 20 years’ experience in gasoline
assess the impact of operating conditions on CO2 emissions. and petrochemical processes as a Chief Start-up advisor and Technical
Service Group Manager. He holds a PhD degree from the Université
Path forward Paris VI, France.
As can be seen, accumulated operational savings for all pro- Michel Molinier is a consultant with Axens North America for aromatics
cesses/separations/fractionations from the naphtha splitter technologies and other petrochemical processes. He has more than 20
to the production of paraxylene and benzene amount to tens years’ experience in the petrochemical industry and 30 years’ experience
of millions per year (in dollars) for a paraxylene complex of in heterogeneous catalysis. He has co-authored two book chapters, 30
≥1 Mtpy capacity. peer reviewed articles, and 25 US patents. He holds a MS degree in
Digitalisation is gradually becoming a seamless, integrated physical chemistry from the University of Bordeaux, France and a PhD in
part of the state-of-the-art technology offer for aromatic solid state chemistry from Philipps Universität Marburg, Germany.
plants. In addition to operational savings and maximised
production, work hours are reduced for both process licensor LINKS
and process user since i) communications are facilitated by
real-time data sharing and ii) user expertise is enhanced via More articles from: Axens
operator training simulator (OTS) and the ability for opera-
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tors to gain knowledge using what-if scenarios. Emissions Reduction
Knowledgeable users make the most of their exchanges Instrumentation, Automation and Process Control
with licensors’ technical assistance by contacting the process

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