1. Innovative Control and
Optimization of Fired Heaters
9-1229
Mark Brewer
Radu Iscovici

2. Agenda
Introductions (Presenter, Rompetrol, Emerson Team)
Control Objectives & APC Scope
Control Design, Implementation & Commissioning
Business Results
Summary

3. Presenter
Radu Iscovici
Head, Process Control Department at Rompetrol Refining
SA, Romania
In charge of:
profit increase through advanced regulatory controls
and advanced process control and optimization
techniques
safe and secure plant operation through safety
instrumented systems implementation;
data collection, transfer and processing into valuable
information for management through implementation
of IT industrial systems

4. Presenter
Mark Brewer
Senior Consultant
Emerson Process Management, Strategic Services
Group, UK
Advanced Control and Optimization Specialist

5. Project Execution
Project Team
Emerson
Emerson Romania
Strategic Services (UK)
AAT (US)
Rompetrol
Rompetrol DCS Engineer and Control Engineer
embedded as part of the execution team
This strategy ensures greater understanding of the
installed system thus developing on-site champions of the
APC technology
Any DCS configuration work carried out by Rompetrol
personnel

6. Rompetrol – An Overview
A leader in the regional oil industry
Rompetrol is a multinational company with activities
in 13 countries
Strong operational base in the Black Sea and
Mediterranean Sea region
The number and the complex nature of the projects
executed at a global level have turned Rompetrol
over time into the best known international brand
originating in Romania.
Co. Size: 9,000 Employees
Industry: Oil & Energy
Website: http://www.rompetrol.com

7. Constanta Refinery – A brief history
Built in the 1980’s by Petromidia, a Romanian
national owned company
Now owned by Rompetrol
Largest Romanian refinery (100,000 bbl/day)
Recently modernized with Emerson’s DeltaV DCS
Continuous drive to improve operational efficiency
through exploitation of new DCS functionality and
smart field instrumentation

8. Emerson Process Management
Strategic Services Group
UK Based (Middlesbrough)
Support for Europe. Middle East &
Africa
Consultancy in advanced control
and optimization
Process experts with 10 to 30
years experience (ex operating
companies)
Experienced project managers
Process-specific technical solutions
(oil & gas, refining, chemicals,
utilities)

9. CDU Plant
Gas
Naphtha
To Vacuum System
Steam
Kerosene
Steam
Lt Diesel
Steam
LVGO
Diesel
Steam
AGO
HVGO
Atmospheric
Steam
Tower
Crude Feed Steam
Residue
Fired Heaters
Fired Heater Vacuum
Tower

10. Introduction
2 fired Heaters in parallel
Each fired heater has 2 process passes
Control Objectives
– Good temperature control in outlet
– Good total flow control
– Optimization (minimise excess air)
Disturbances
– Feed inlet temperature and flow changes
– Fuel quality changes
Interactions
Constraint Avoidance

11. Solution: PredictPro® / SmartProcess®
Heater
Control total feed to target with allocation for up to 4
passes
Control outlet temperature to the desired target
Adjust inlet air and draft dampers to minimize excess
air
Combustion control including fuel/ air cross limiting
Stabilize heater against changes in fuel gas and feed
temperature
Operate within all heater constraints
PredictPro
CV MV (Manipulated
(Control Variables)
: :
Variables)
: :
LV
(Limit
Variables) :
:
DV
(Disturbance :
Variables)

12. Potential Problem
One heater has no automatic air flow control but we
need to minimise the excess air.
Soultion:
– Use process flow rate to change heat demand, which in turn
changes the fuel requirement allowing us to push the excess
air ratio to the optimum position.
– The second heater (which does have a variable speed drive
on its air fan), can then be used to control the total flow to
the downstream process.

13. Control Design
Control Variables
CO2 O2 Manipulated Variables
Constraint Variables
F T Disturbance Variables
F P T dT
T F
CO2 O2
Air P
F F T
Hot
Fuel
Cold Process
Gas
Process CV Feed
Feed
F P T dT
s
P
Note: Fixed air
Flow (manual F
Air
adjustment in field) Fuel CV
Gas

14. User Interface

15. Business Results
Annual Fuel Saving of Baseline Period APC Period
1/7/07 to 30/09/08 12/03/09 to 27/3/09
$100,000 Average Stack Oxygen 5.13% 4.41%
Average Efficiency (from US DoE table) 79.31% 79.65%
Heaters require less Typical fuel usage 2200 Nm3/h 2190.34 Nm3/h
manual actions
Typical fuel Saving 9.66 Nm3/h
Fuel Price 0.25 $/Nm3
Saving 2.37 $/h
Heaters can manage $21,000/year
load changes Baseline Period APC Period
automatically 1/7/07 to 30/09/08 12/03/09 to 27/3/09
Average Stack Oxygen 5.83% 3.81%
Heaters can now be Average Efficiency (from US DoE table) 76.05% 77.39%
Typical fuel usage 2200 Nm3/h 2161.99 Nm3/h
used to control Typical fuel Saving 38.01 Nm3/h
Atmospheric column Fuel Price
Saving
0.25 $/Nm3
9.34 $/h
in closed loop mode. $82,000/year

16. Summary
PredictPro to optimize heaters
Oxygen control without air flow
control!
Saving $100,000 per year

17. Question Time
Thank you for your attention!
Questions & Feedback

18. Where To Get More Information
Other, Related Sessions
– Inferential Analyses Enhances Benefits of PredictPro Controllers in
Crude Fractionation (9-1231)
– Dynamic Simulation of Fractionation Columns in PredictPro (9-1232)
– PredictPro Delivers Results at Rompetrol’s Constanta Refinery Crude
Fractionation Unit (9-1228)
More Information Available From:
Paul Dima
Emerson Process Management
Gara Herastrau 2-4, 5th Floor
Mark Brewer 020334 Bucharest
ROMANIA
Emerson Process Management
Eggleston Court, Startforth Road Tel +40 21 206 25 00
Middlesbrough Fax: +40 21 206 25 20
TS2 1PT paul.dima@emerson.com
UK
T 44 1642 773024
mark.brewer@emerson.com