Kesler Engineering, Inc.

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Kesler Engineering, Inc.

• Fired Heater Sentinel

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Introduction to KEI

• KEI Established 1979 by Michael Kesler
• Co-Author of Lee-Kesler Correlation for
  Thermodynamic Properties of Mixtures
• Developed First Industry General Process
  Simulator (MW Kellogg -1958)
• Main Business
• Process Engineering
• Software Products
• Sophisticated highly focused models that work
  on-line with PI and ProcessBook
• KEI is Partly Owned by OSI Software

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Problem Statement

• Correct operation of fired heaters has a large
  impact on the profitability and safety of plants
• Information required for proper operation is
  obtainable from raw process data only with the
  aid of detailed models designed for real-time
  operations

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Coking and Scaling

• Process Fluids Are Heated to Thermal Stability
  Limits to Improve Product Quality and Unit
  Throughput.
• Exceeding Thermal Stability Limits Results in
  Coke Laydown (or Scaling). This is irreversible
  during operations.
• Coking and Scaling Result in High Tube Metal
  Temperature. Heater Duty Must Be Reduced to
  Eliminate Risk of Tube Rupture.

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Economics

• Over-All Process and Fired Side Efficiency
  Calculations
• Process Side Calculations Much More Accurate
• Requires Flash and Composition (obtained from
  reconstituted product specs and flows)
• Immediate Notification of Abnormal Situation
• Sensor Malfunction
• Inefficient Operation
• Equipment Failure

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Economics

• Calculation of Lost Due to Excess Air
• Calculation of Lost Due to Heater
  Flooding/Bogging
• Calculation of Lost Due to Capacity Reduction
  From Coking/Fouling
• Advice on Which Heater to Clean and When

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Heater Health

• Heater Health Baseline Obtained From Historical
  Data
• Pass by Pass Calculation and Monitoring of
• Duty
• Heat Flux
• Mean Metal Temperature
• Convection and Radiant Section Duty
• Coking Thickness

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Heater Health

• Indication of Coking Events
• Monitoring of Convection Section After-Burning
• Convection Section Fouling
• Long Term Ratio of Convection Section Heat Input
  to Total Heat Input
• Draft Limit at Arch, Stack Damper Open, Firing
  Within Historical Limits

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Safety

• Key is Calculation of Convection and Radiant
  Section Duties
• Requires Process Flash and Composition (obtained
  from reconstituted product specs and flows)
• Abnormally High Individual Pass Convection
  Section Duty Suggests Convection Section Seam
  Split
• Increase in COT (Duty Ratios Unchanged), Suggests
  Radiant Section Leak

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Implementation

• Easy to Use Setup Wizard
• Guides You Through Configuration and Selection of
  PI Tags
• Makes Intelligent Assumptions When Data or
  Instrumentation Is Not Available
• Detailed Knowledge of Heater Geometry and Burner
  Characteristics is Not Required
• Intuitive - Little or No Training Required

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Models COM Objects

• Use the same model for off-line what-if analysis
• Excel spreadsheets, VB applications
• Open equation model format permits flexible case
  studies
• How much fuel would be required if stack
  temperature was 550ºF?
• On-line case studies

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Fired Heater Sentinel - Value

• A 2 Increase In Efficiency For a 200 MM Btu/hr
  Heater Results in a Savings of US70,000/yr
• If Fired Heater Is the Plant Constraint, 1
  Increase in Heat Transfer (by Preventing Coking)
  Will Increase Throughput by 1
• Up to US1 Million/yr in Refining Margins for a
  100,000 BPD Refinery