Refinery Facilities Research Articles

A framework for semi-automatically identifying fully occluded objects in 3D models: Towards comprehensive construction design review in virtual reality

Virtual Reality (VR)-based construction design review applications have shown potential to enhance user performance in many research projects and experiments. Currently, visualizing occluded objects in VR is a challenge, and this function is indispensable for construction design review and coordination. This paper proposes an occlusion detection framework that semi-automatically identifies occluded objects in 3D construction models. The framework determines the visibility status of an object by converting the object to a point cloud and comparing the point cloud to the virtual laser scanning result of the original model. It exports models that are interoperable with VR development software so that visualization effects can be easily employed to occluded objects. The authors validated the framework using two building information models. The algorithm achieved a recall rate of 90.30% and a precision rate of 75.05% in a gasoline refinery facility model. It reached a higher 98.06% recall rate and a 97.53% precision rate in an academic building model. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing a semi-automatic occlusion detection framework and validating that point cloud-based algorithms are appropriate for this classification task.

Temporal changes in the extractability, bioaccessibility and biodegradation of target hydrocarbons in soils from former refinery facilities

This study investigated the extractability, bioaccessibility and biodegradation of 14C-phenanthrene and 14C-octacosane in two soils from former oil refinery facilities over 341 days. The impact of biostimulation and bioaugmentation treatments was also evaluated. At 0, 31, 62, 124 and 341 days, the loss and extractability (using dichloromethane, methanol:water and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD)) of the 14C-hydrocarbons were measured. Further at each time point, the mineralisation of the 14C-hydrocarbons was measured respirometrically under the different conditions. In general, extractions with methanol: water and HPCD were similar for both hydrocarbons in the different treatments; however, these values were less that those measured with DCM. Overall, significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) amounts of 14C-phenanthrene were lost, readily extracted and mineralised in the soils, with treatments having little impact upon the degradation of this hydrocarbon over 341 days. Conversely, bioaugmentation significantly increased the loss of 14C-octacosane residues from soils and sustained degradation after 31 days. Surprisingly, HPCD and methanol:water both under-predicted the extent to which the contaminants were degraded at each time point. Determining the likelihood of effective biodegradation by the stimulation of indigenous microorganisms or through bioaugmentation needs to be assessed by both chemical and biological measurements of bioaccessibility, rather than just by that which is totally extractable from soil. However, soils which have high loadings of organic matter and/or organic contaminants may prevent accurate assessment of contaminant bioaccessibility, as measured by HPCD.

Methylsiloxanes in petroleum refinery facility: Their sources, emissions, environmental distributions and occupational exposure

High concentrations (1.08 ng/g-3.61 mg/g) of methylsiloxanes, including cyclic analogs [octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6)], and linear analogs with 3–14 silicon atoms (L3-L14), have been detected in crude oil, additives and petroleum products from one petroleum refinery facility in China. Overall, the total mass load of Σmethylsiloxanes (1320 kg/day) in crude oil and additives was 1.5 times higher than that in petroleum products (857 kg/day), indicating their potential emissions in this facility, which were further confirmed by the find of their obvious emission through exhaust-gas (89.4 kg/day) and wastewater (4.70 kg/day). Σmethylsiloxanes emission from exhaust-gas discharge outlets of deep catalytic cracking units (60.6 kg/day) took up 68% of their total emission from all gas outlets. Overall, Σmethylsiloxanes in air (17.1–743 μg/m3) and soil samples [311 ng/g dw (dry weight) − 34.2 μg/g dw] from this facility were up to four orders of magnitude greater than those from surrounding areas, and plasma concentrations of Σmethylsiloxanes in current workers from this facility (7.4–609 ng/mL) were up to two orders of magnitude larger than those from reference group (<LOQ-21.2 ng/mL). Furthermore, concentration ratios (0.09–0.58) of total cyclic methylsiloxanes to their hepatic metabolites for workers were 2.3–17 times lower than those (1.32–1.56) for reference group, indicating that refinery workers may be exposed to more unknown methylsiloxane analogs than general population.

Various risks and safety analysis to reduce fire in oil refinery plant

It is quite hazardous to produce the final product of oil or gas in a petrochemical refinery plant due to its flammable or combustible and explosive materials. Small mistakes can cause massive damage to life, property, pollution, injury, ecosystem, and business by fire. The entire system is challenging to manage. Therefore, fire risk assessment and forecasting are necessary to overcome personal, environmental, and refinery plants’ hazard situations. There have been four main threats in any refinery facility: electrical, mechanical, civil, and chemical issues, maximum cases its result burning. This research aimed to study and assess fire risk in the refinery plant by using a multi-stage early warning system and reducing the fire. The fire hazard safety layer technique would be used for our petrochemical process. Some equipment is set in place to forecast the danger and execution before and after it happens. Geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS) are some techniques for fire incidents tracking. Flame detectors, heat detectors, and gas detectors are used to maintain good contact in the entire risk analyzer portion. Various techniques and monitoring have been proposed to operate the plant efficiently and safely, like controlling, predicting, and pre-warning strategic planning.

Структурная оптимизация эксергетическим пинч-анализом

Structural optimization is an important tool in the power system design process. This paper contains general principles of structural optimization in thermal power and an algorithm of developing interconnection between heat exchangers. As an example, pinch and exergy analysis for energy efficient design of a crude oil refinery facility was performed. The pinch and exergy analysis counts qualitative and quantitative parameters of thermal processes. This method showed a lack of energy efficiency in a given example and losses of exergy which can be potentially utilized in a manufacturing process.

Renewable diesel via solventless and hydrogen-free catalytic deoxygenation of palm fatty acid distillate

This work involved the utilization of a byproduct from the palm oil refining process as reaction feedstock in a solventless and hydrogen-free catalytic deoxygenation (DO) over NiO–ZnO catalyst in producing diesel-like hydrocarbons as advanced biofuels. The catalyst supporter was synthesized using coprecipitation methods to form highly crystalline meso-macrostructured ZnO particles. The catalyst support was wet-impregnated with different loadings (wt %) of NiO to prepare the NiO–ZnO catalyst. X-ray diffraction patterns verified the persistence of good crystallinity and phase purity of the support, with fine NiO crystallites of size 14–22 nm. Synthesized NiO–ZnO catalysts demonstrated Type IV isotherm with H3 hysteresis loop with mesoporous-macroporous properties. The Brønsted and Lewis acidic sites of NiO–ZnO offer a synergy effect between the active site and catalyst supporter. Both N2 adsorption isotherm and electron microscopy analysis revealed the increase of the crystallite size of the catalyst by increase the NiO loadings. The catalytic activity of the NiO–ZnO catalyst was tested in a semi-batch reactor at 350 °C for 2 h in N2 atmospheric. The oxygenated compounds of palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) have been successfully removed to form linear hydrocarbons as green diesel compounds. The synergistic effect between NiO and ZnO significantly enhanced the catalytic activity for substrate DO. The hydrocarbons product yield reached 83.4%, with a diesel range (C11–C17) selectivity of 86.0%. The green diesel, which contains diesel-range hydrocarbons, is suitable as an alternative fuel product for vehicle engine usage. It is possible to be upscaled and compatible with the existed petrochemical refinery facilities. Hence, this is a promising work could be an economic potential and give value added to the palm oil byproduct sectors.

Determination of optimum cut-off grade of an open-pit metalliferous deposit under various limiting conditions using a linearly advancing algorithm derived from dynamic programming

In the process of planning an open-pit, the determination of optimum cut-off grade plays a vital role. The classical approach of Lane's algorithm yields infinitely many solutions when the metal price is very high and mining, milling and refining costs are low. This problem has been addressed through a new algorithm. This study deals with the optimization of cut-off grade of a real-life case study of an open-pit copper mine in India considering fixed annual production of mine, mill and refinery facilities. However, the optimization ignores uncertainty in input parameters. The optimization has been carried out with the objective of maximizing the discounted total profit in terms of Net Present Value (NPV). As the process of determination of optimum cut-off grade of the deposit is dependent on many parameters which can suitably be addressed using a linearly advancing algorithm derived from dynamic programming approach. Considering a precision of 0.01% in the grade interval, the optimum cut-off grades, the amount of metal produced per ton and the NPV have been evaluated. Accordingly, the optimum cut-off grade of the Malanjkhand copper deposit has been found to be 0.32% amounting to a maximum NPV of ₹ 12123 million. The calculation reveals that the life of mine is 37.5 years and the average mill head grade optimises to 1.12%. The results also reveal that the present value of net cash-flow increases in the initial years, reaches a maximum value at a certain mid-life time and then declines with the depletion of the reserve. The NPV finally reaches a zero value at the end of mine life corroborating the general trend as seen in other mining organisations.

Numerical analysis of performances of passive fire protections in processing facilities

The oil and gas industry have developed and advanced rapidly over the past few decades and the use of a fire protection system (FPS) in this industry is inevitable. A fire protection system assists in preventing fire occurrence as well as mitigating the consequences of a fire. An FPS can be categorised as active, passive and/or inherent. Effectiveness and performance of FPS relies heavily on the combination of various fire protection systems. Among these fire risk reduction strategies, passive fire protection (PFP) system is one of the most common strategies applied to mitigating fire impact. However, a comparative effectiveness analysis of various PFP systems has not been performed before despite their wide applications. This study presents a numerical assessment of performances of various commonly used PFP materials in oil and gas refinery facilities to determine their effectiveness in preventing fire escalation. Maximum Credible Accident Scenario (MCAS) methodology is used to obtain the three most credible fire scenarios among 27 fire scenarios and they are simulated using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software. This study considered 1 cm and 10 cm thickness of PFP. The obtained results are used for the effectiveness analysis of various PFP materials based on maximum heat flux received by equipment and equipment wall temperature. The study revealed that cementitious material and cellular glass have better performance than other considered PFPs in preventing the temperature rise of equipment when exposed to hydrocarbon fires. This study will provide a key insight into PFP selection and optimisation to mitigate fire impact and prevention of fire escalation.

Evaluation of the Variation in the Level of Compliance of Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC)

This study evaluates the level of compliance of Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) to United Nation Environmental Safety Standard for effluent Management. Waste water samples were collected from eight sampling points within the study area which comprised of the following: effluent sample before treatment, effluent sample after treatment, KRPC effluent discharge point, a point downstream after the refinery facility, and 4km downstream after the refinery facility. The data collected were subjected to Laboratory analysis in the Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority Laboratory. The results generated from laboratory analysis were then subjected to statistical analysis which included ANOVA and Plots of mean variation. Research findings revealed that most of the parameters measured show a significant variation between the sampling points and within the months. The plots of mean variation on the other hand show that the concentration of these parameters varies progressively with distance from the point of the refinery facility. The following recommendations would minimize the load of pollutants on Romi River; the activities of other industries in Romi-Rido environs should be critically identified and assessed; and there is a need for the National bodies entitled with the role of assessing the activities of industries to develop a form of sanctioning against any industry that refuses to adhere to the standard environmental protection legislation, among others.

Modeling and Efficiency Optimization of Steam Boilers by Employing Neural Networks and Response-Surface Method (RSM)

Boiler efficiency is called to some extent of total thermal energy which can be recovered from the fuel. Boiler efficiency losses are due to four major factors: Dry gas flux, the latent heat of steam in the flue gas, the combustion loss or the loss of unburned fuel, and radiation and convection losses. In this research, the thermal behavior of boilers in gas refinery facilities is studied and their efficiency and their losses are calculated. The main part of this research is comprised of analyzing the effect of various parameters on efficiency such as excess air, fuel moisture, air humidity, fuel and air temperature, the temperature of combustion gases, and thermal value of the fuel. Based on the obtained results, it is possible to analyze and make recommendations for optimizing boilers in the gas refinery complex using response-surface method (RSM).

Material Flow Based Power Demand Modeling of an Oil Refinery Process for Optimal Energy Management

Oil refining is an energy-intensive industry, that is often equipped with different types of distributed generation (DG) resources. Optimal energy management of the refinery's load and its DG resources, under dynamic electricity pricing, improves electricity consumption behavior of the facility and hence reduces its energy costs. An energy management system (EMS) model is proposed in this paper for minimizing electricity consumption costs of an oil refinery facility considering on-site cogeneration capability. The energy management is based on power demand modeling of the oil refinery process. A joint electrical–thermal model is used for the cogeneration units to account for the electricity and steam production. The developed EMS model is also used as part of a demand response strategy to illustrate the impact of EMS decisions on distribution system operations.

Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil as a Fuel from Waste Materials

Biofuels have become an integral part of everyday life in modern society. Bioethanol and fatty acid methyl esters are a common part of both the production of gasoline and diesel fuels. Also, pressure on replacing fossil fuels with bio-components is constantly growing. Waste vegetable fats can replace biodiesel. Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) seems to be a better alternative. This fuel has a higher oxidation stability for storage purposes, a lower temperature of loss of filterability for the winter time, a lower boiling point for cold starts, and more. Viscosity, density, cold filter plugging point of fuel blend, and flash point have been measured to confirm that a fuel from HVO is so close to a fuel standard that it is possible to use it in engines without modification. The objective of this article is to show the properties of different fuels with and without HVO admixtures and to prove the suitability of using HVO compared to FAME. HVO can also be prepared from waste materials, and no major modifications of existing refinery facilities are required. No technology in either investment or engine adaptation of fuel oils is needed in fuel processing.

Resource budget for workface planning in industrial-construction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel analytical approach for workface planning practice in industrial-construction sector such that the construction work package (CWP) resource budget can be sufficiently planned for delivering possible field installation work package (FIWP) schedules with work uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The relationship between CWP resource budget and FIWP schedules is first elucidated based on workface planning practice. The literature of work packaging, workface planning and project scheduling is reviewed. A novel analytical approach is then developed to quantify CWP resource budget based on a probability theory, in consideration of the probability of occurrence of feasible FIWP schedules formulated based on a resource scheduling approach. The results of case studies given by the new approach are cross validated by using simulation and optimization techniques. Findings The new analytical approach can assist workface planning by quantifying the expected CWP resource budget to deliver the FIWP work scope with certain activities that are planned at project level and with uncertain activities that are found at workface level. Practical implications The new analytical approach helps project and workface planners to reliably deploy CWP resource budget for delivering FIWP schedules instead of guessing the budget based on experience. An industrial-construction project for upgrading oil-sands refinery facility is used to show the practical implications. Originality/value This research develops a new analytical approach for workface planning practice to determine sufficient CWP resource budget for delivering feasible FIWP schedules with work uncertainty.

Thermal dissociation of sulfur species: Analyzing variations in corrosivity of different condensate feedstock

Traditionally, total sulfur content of a crude or condensate feedstock introduced to atmospheric distillation units in a refinery has been used as a measure to predict the high temperature corrosivity of these feeds. Such predictions were also utilized to decide on selection of materials of construction for refinery facilities processing condensate, and many chronic problems, sometimes leading to failure of materials have been reported. In reality, in addition to the total sulfur content, it is important to conduct a profiling of the distribution of the various types of sulfur components in the condensate or crude oil. A pilot plant, mimicking the thermal conditions in a condensate preheat train, was utilized to generate trends of H2S generation under various process conditions. The experimental variables included temperature, pressure, condensate feed rates, and sweep gas flow rates. Yields of H2S generation for the different conditions have been trended for the parametric studies. Such trends were compared for two different condensate feedstock, as a fundamental step towards understanding why different condensate feedstock exhibit significantly different pattern of H2S generation, and hence different corrosivity under similar high temperature processing conditions. Chromatograms of all sulfur containing species, as well as key types of sulfur-containing species have been presented to demonstrate why the H2S yield patterns can vary among different condensates.

3D Reconstruction of Oil Refinery Buildings Using a Depth Camera

We propose a method for fast three-dimensional reconstruction of oil refinery buildings and facilities using photography with the help of an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) and a depth sensor for depth image classification. We propose two workflows for object reconstruction for different applications. To use the depth sensors, we have developed a method combining the Structure from Motion (SfM) method for determining the structure of an object from imaging of motion in passive vision mode and the Structural Light (LS) method or Time-of-Flight (ToF) method in active (illuminated) vision mode. With low costs, the SfM method combined with a depth sensor let us obtain images large-scale objects at high speed, where the number of calculations is significantly reduced, the efficiency of 3D reconstruction is improved, and the uncertainty in determining the object parameters is not more than a few centimeters.

Mass balance and behavior of mercury in oil refinery facilities

This study aims to provide the mass balance of mercury and an assessment of anthropogenic mercury release into the air, water, wastes, and products from two oil refinery plants in Korea. The mercury concentrations in input streams (crude oil and condensates) and output streams (petroleum products and by-products, such as fly ash, sludge and waste water, and flue gas) were measured at two representative oil refineries. After normalizing the measured data at low recovery rates, facility A was found to release the most mercury through products, sludge, and air at 77.9%, 8.3%, and 8% respectively, and facility B released the most mercury through products, sludge, and air at 44.8%, 37.6%, and 11.1% respectively. The average national emission factor of mercury into the air from oil refineries was estimated at 0.12 mg-Hg ton−1 input product. The average mass distribution factors of mercury by oil refinery processes into petroleum products, by-products, and the air was 61.35%, 29.08%, and 9.56%, respectively.

Respirator use and its impact on particulate matter exposure in aluminum manufacturing facilities.

Objectives As part of a large epidemiologic study of particulate health effect, this study aimed to report respirator use among total particulate matter (TPM) samples collected in a major aluminum manufacturing company from 1966‒2013 and evaluate the impact of respirator-use adjustment on exposure estimation. Methods Descriptive analyses were performed to evaluate respirator use across facilities and by facility type and job. Protection factors were applied to TPM measurements for recorded respirator use. Estimated TPM exposure for each job ‒ before and after respirator-use adjustment ‒ were compared to assess the impact of adjustment on exposure estimation. Results Respirator use was noted for 37% of 12 402 full-shift personal TPM samples. Measured TPM concentration ranged from less than detectable to 8220 mg/m3, with arithmetic mean, median and standard deviation being 10.6, 0.87 and 130 mg/m 3, respectively. Respirators were used more often in smelting facilities (52% of TPM measurements) than in fabricating (17%) or refinery facilities (28%) (P<0.01). Sixty-two percent of jobs in smelting facilities were subject to respirator-use adjustment, whereas it was 20% and 70% in fabricating and refinery facilities, respectively. Applying protection factors to TPM measurements significantly reduced estimated job mean TPM exposures and changed exposure categories in these facilities, with larger impact in smelting than fabricating facilities. Conclusions Respirator use varied by time, facility and job. Adjusting respirator use resulted in differential impact in smelting and fabricating facilities, which will need to be incorporated into ongoing epidemiologic studies accordingly.

Bacterial Bioreporter-Based Mercury and Phenanthrene Assessment in Yangtze River Delta Soils of China.

Genetically engineered bacterial whole-cell bioreporters were deployed to investigate bioavailable mercury (b-Hg) and phenanthrene (b-PHE). Characterized by high sensitivity and specificity in aqueous solutions, the bioreporter system could detect in amended soils the concentrations of b-Hg and b-PHE in the ranges of 19.6 to 111.6 and 21.5 to 110.9 μg kg, respectively. The sensitivity of the system allowed for the combined analysis of b-Hg and b-PHE from real environmental samples. Therefore, soil samples from three large refinery facilities were tested, and the results from the instrumental analysis strongly correlated with the ones obtained with the bioreporter method. Large-scale and fast screening of soil contamination across the Yangtze River Delta in Eastern China was conducted. More than 36% of the samples contained b-Hg, whereas the fractions of b-PHE were below the detection limit for all the samples. These results indicated a higher toxicity and more hazardous condition for Hg contamination than for PHE. Population densities and airborne 10-μm particulate matter (PM10) concentrations were used as parameters for comparison with the spatial distribution of the b-Hg and b-PHE fractions. The results revealed that the bioreporters could offer a rapid and cost-efficient method to test soil samples from contaminated areas and provide a screening tool for environmental risk assessment.

Global strategic level supply planning of materials critical to clean energy technologies – A case study on indium

Many clean energy technologies depend on some rare materials, and significant concerns about the sufficient supply of these materials have been raised recently. Most of the rare materials are so called by-product materials, and thus their supplies heavily rely on the demand of base metals. This study develops a generic mixed integer linear programming to investigate global strategic level capacity and production planning for both base and by-product materials. Other decisions relevant to capacity expansions and productions are also considered. The model is demonstrated using indium as a case study. Indium is a key material needed by two emerging clean energy applications, copper indium gallium selenide photovoltaics and light-emitting diode lighting. Supply of indium exclusively depends on primary zinc production, and concerns have been raised on whether there will be sufficient supply to support widespread applications of these two technologies. Capacity expansions of indium refinery facilities can be the first solution to overcome its supply risk. All the decisions included in the model are numerically analyzed. Sensitivity of all the parameters to the total cost are also studied. Indium content in the ore, inflation rates, and discount rates are found to have significant impact on the total cost.

An integrated decision support model for selecting the most feasible crane at heavy construction sites

Abstract Heavy industrial projects, especially oil refinery facilities, consist of numerous components such as modules and vessels, which are large, heavy, and long objects. The successful completion of these projects requires precise planning and selection of safe and efficient single- and/or tandem crane lifts, which are strongly influenced by the crane types and models used. Thus, selecting not only the best crane type and model, but also the most efficient crane operation among alternatives, can result in productivity and safety improvements. In this respect, this paper proposes an integrated decision support model which designs, simulates, and evaluates potential crane operations in accordance with feasible crane types and models based on equipment, cost, site, and environmental aspects of the project. The proposed methodology consists of two components: (1) 3D-based crane selection simulation, which enhances the process of crane selection by not only accurately verifying and identifying engineering factors, but also analyzing feasibility (procedures) of tandem and single-crane operations, from crane installation to lift completion and disassembly of the crane configuration, in a 3D environment; and (2) a crane selection matrix which calculates the crane evaluation scores by measuring various factors of each feasible crane against the project criteria and constraints. The methodology is tested in a case study in order to illustrate its effectiveness.