Pemex
Assembly Line
Debottlenecking Takes A Broader View
AspenTech’s strategy is to seek more innovative and lower-cost debottlenecking solutions by looking at the system in a broader way, considering whole plant operation from a process and energy point of view as opposed to addressing each bottleneck in isolation.
One such case study involves a 39,000-tonne/yr Reliance Industries’ acrylonitrile plant in India. Here, AspenTech’s modeling tool, Aspen Plus, was used to develop a steady-state model of the total plant in an effort to address a number of processing challenges. The simulation so far has spurred a 50% reduction in hydrogen cyanide emissions, a 75% decrease in effluent color and a 15% increase in acetonitrile concentration. An ongoing study at the same site also might lead to a cut in flare losses that currently are running the equivalent of about $22,500/yr.
Another project spotlighted at the conference involves cryogenic unit number one at Pemex’s Ciudad Pemex gas processing plant in Mexico. It had been operating at an efficiency of 76.72% for C2+, well below its originally designed capability of 81.94%. Once updated to reflect the plant’s current operating conditions, the Aspen Plus model pinpointed low efficiency in a heat transfer unit. Adjusting that unit gave a production improvement worth $7.6 million/yr.