IN THIS APPLICATION BRIEF, YOU WILL DISCOVER
- The challenge facing a North American refinery operator with several heavy-walled hydrotreater reactors
- How Akselos’ engineering simulation technology helped improve the efficiency of the asset
Simulation Technology: Increasing Refinery Uptime Through Faster Hydrotreater Startup
MORE ABOUT THIS APPLICATION BRIEF
Oil refineries usually have several heavy-walled hydrotreater reactors. These vessels are built to operate at high temperatures and pressure. As a result, they are susceptible to brittle fractures, which can have catastrophic consequences.
An operator in North America suspected they could speed up the heat up and cool down processes to avoid unnecessary downtime.
To help, we undertook a structural analysis of the reactor, taking in data from 23 temperature sensors. Our simulation software provided actionable information to adjust the startup and cooldown speed. The result was a significant downtime reduction and a longer reactor life.
