How to optimize the performance of Yokogawa pressure transmitter?

Yokogawa Chuanyi Factory is seeking to improve the energy efficiency of the whole steam system. They hope to reduce energy costs and carbon footprint, while improving the stability and reliability of the process.

Factory employees cooperate with industrial energy consultants to benchmark existing operations. The process includes staff interviews, data collection and observation. This input collection process is followed by data analysis, rigorous simulation and report generation.

For the petrochemical products produced in this factory, the mechanical power required to drive pumps, blowers and compressors and the steam required to heat various process streams consume a lot of energy.

Optimizing the control of steam system Because steam is produced in the cracking furnace, most of the steam is uncontrollable. Most of them are used for process heating and converted into mechanical energy of compressors, pumps and blowers.

The biggest loss comes from the turbine condenser. In order to minimize these losses, the best steam routing strategy is to maximize the flow of steam through the high-pressure section of the steam turbine. Because of the complexity of the steam system and the interactive control loop, it will lead to oscillation when running in automatic mode, so it is difficult to maximize the steam flow.

Due to the high shaft power requirement of compressor, the condenser loss of steam turbine cannot be completely eliminated, but the heat loss of unloading condenser can be almost completely avoided.

In view of these challenges and opportunities, the consulting team conducted a cost-benefit analysis and recommended the following actions:

Detailed evaluation of steam metering system.

Implement base control and instrument improvement.

Check, calibrate and repair (if necessary) all instruments related to the solution. In particular, check the measured values of turbine flow and pressure.

Install mass flowmeter for auxiliary boiler fuel

Linearize the valves of all discharge stations.

Verify whether the temperature control function of the discharge station is normal.

Implement coordinated multivariable model predictive controller (MPC) and optimization solution for steam system.

Implement energy management information system

By improving the control, optimization and energy information system, power plant staff can improve the overall operation reliability, reduce the intervention of operators in the control process, reduce energy costs, reduce emissions, and improve the overall understanding of energy consumption level.

The improvement of steam reliability will be realized by reducing process variability and reducing the wear and tear of steam system components. Coordinating these control measures can also better cope with large-scale process chaos and reduce the risk of chain trip. Improving the visibility of energy flow can also provide early warning of dirt and mechanical problems before unplanned downtime may occur.

Aiming at the measurement system, several conflicting, problematic or missing measurement points are determined. It is noted that there are gaps in the measuring system of Yokogawa Instrument, and the existing instruments that need to be corrected, including workshop inspection, calibration, maintenance and, in some cases, replacement.

Through the analysis and recommended solutions, the team determined the possibility that the natural gas consumed by the process would be reduced by more than 15%. The project has been approved and is in progress.