Decarbonisation Technology - February 2022 Issue

Real-world examples of Scope 1 and 2 reductions

these areas will result in an incomplete picture of the asset’s potential improvement opportunities. For each of these layers, the examples are listed in Figure 2 – though not exhaustive, these areas should be the primary focal areas to brainstorm opportunities (Becht, 2021). For each element, a holistic review of the energy, process, reliability, and process safety considerations must be completed to first define if an opportunity is technically feasible. From that point, the capital cost estimates can be generated and project economics reviewed to determine economic feasibility. This last step is one of the most critical in the feasibility phase of the overall front end loading (FEL) process, as one is trying to avoid regret capital by making the right investment decision to meet production targets, reliability, Case Study 1: lowering access oxygen Becht’s fired heater division was asked to help a North American refiner address excess oxygen in its fired heater circuit to not only improve energy efficiency, but also maintain equipment integrity and processing capability. An internal assessment by the client identified over $300 k/yr in potential energy savings if the heaters could repeatedly achieve target oxygen values. Becht collaborated with the client to complete field walkdowns of the heaters to identify the root causes of non-optimal oxygen levels as well as addressing ‘bad actor’ conditions on some of the heaters. The collective team completed deep dive reviews of design and actual performance. By applying Becht’s advanced infrared (IR) technology (see Figure 4 ), the team was able to identify burner and tube coking issues that helped implement mitigations to improve overall heater performance. Through a combination of technical analysis, field experience, operator training, and focused mechanical changes, the team was able to reliably lower excess oxygen in all the targeted heaters, providing not only $500 k/yr of reduced energy, but also another $500 k/yr of margin capture through optimisation and decoke avoidance.

safety, and reduce carbon footprint. While traditional economic analysis will be the core of this decision point, a broader view is needed to provide the right information to the decision makers, not only those within the enterprise but also external investors and social stakeholders. To this point, Figure 3 summarises a broader approach to capital investment decision making that involves incorporating elements around technology risk, ESG considerations, and ability to exploit the asset under varying operating and pricing scenarios, as some examples. By combining traditional return on investment with non-economic metrics, the entity can make a more informed decision on the strategic options to meet the objectives and mandates of decarbonisation. As an example of BTU, a client was considering replacement of a crude preheat exchanger that was at end of life. The team completed the technical, mechanical, and performance analysis to review alternate bundle technologies and compared them to the ‘do nothing’ replacement-in-kind option. The application of helical baffles, along with upgraded metallurgy to allow for thinner tubes, resulted in a CO 2 reduction of 930 t/yr, a net energy improvement of 2 MMBtu/hr to the crude preheat train, a reduction in overall system pressure drop, and a benefit-to-cost ratio of over 25. Case Study 2: improving heat integration Becht leveraged the bundle technology upgrade (BTU) methodology to support a client in improving heat integration. Within most facilities, when heat exchanger bundles reach end of life, the exchangers are typically replaced with the existing design, due to incremental cost considerations, perceived challenges with alternate arrangements, or complexity and timing of management of change implications. However, these situations are ideal opportunities to examine the impact of alternate heat exchange technologies to improve heat recovery that can be used to either reduce energy usage from incremental fired assets or steam heating or improve process performance to increase product recovery, adjust unit operating conditions, and reduce fouling potential.