< PreviousTypically, the refi nery heat sources are powered by fuel, or diesel oil, in a direct burning process. An eco-friendly approach and opportunity to comply with the global emissions regulations is to consider investing in an exhaust fl ue gas treatment complex – scrubbing units for the SNOX emissions, carbon capture unit and fi lters for fi ne particles. Main energy consumers at a refi nery are fuel (heaters) – 74%-78% of total refi nery consumption; steam generation (HpS, MpS and LpS) – 18%-20% of total refi nery consumption; and electricity (motors, tools, lighting) – 4%-6% of total refi nery consumption. For example, increased plant capacity implies a proportional increase in raw material and resource consumption for production, but certain methods have resulted in a 10%-20% reduction in costs compared to the linear growth option (depending on the cost item). To improve energy effi ciency of technological processes, the project included: heating of fuel gas before feeding it into the furnaces, in order to reduce fuel consumption; using heat from fl ue gases to pre-heat raw materials in the convective part of the furnace; use of heat from visbreaking products to pre-heat raw materials and fuel gas, and to generate low-pressure steam; and speed-controlled electric motors for air- cooling units. The use of secondary energy resources (steam, or heat of flue gases) is the criterion, which characterises the used technology as energy-saving. A plant’s energy efficiency is determined by a rational conduct of the technological process, which is carried out on the basis of the modern technology with use of instrumentation and control devices, centralised management, and high qualification of the operating personnel. The principle is that the unit using the heat of the cracking residue produces low- pressure steam that is superheated in the furnace super heater at the expense of the heat of fl ue gases and is further used to evaporate hydrogen sulphide from the cracking residue, and the excess of low pressure steam is transferred to the plant network. Reduced energy costs are achieved by controlling energy consumption, and improving the power factor. The energy effi ciency calculations for a fi red heater are very similar to that of a steam boiler. Since many processes uses some type of a fi red heater, they present many opportunities for optimisation over an entire process facility. Factors that can impact boiler efficiency There are many factors that can impact boiler effi ciency. Most of these factors also apply to fi red heaters: (i) fl ue gas temperature – function of fuel type, lower fl ue gas temperature means higher effi ciency, dew point can be a limitation; (ii) excess air – too much air will require more heat, typical burner setup → 10% for gas and 15% for fuel oil; (iii) radiation and convection – function of ambient conditions and insulation condition; (iv) boiler blowdown – excessive blowdown is a major contributor ineffi ciency, normal blowdown energy loss 3%-5%, up to 80% heat can be recovered from blowdown; (v) ambient temperature – combustion air entering the boiler, 4°C change → 1% boiler effi ciency; (vi) fuel specifi cation – some of the hydrogen content of fuel goes to water consuming energy to vaporise the water during combustion, C:H ratio of fuel gas is important, increase in H2 content → increase in water → lower fuel effi ciency, methane: CH4+2O2 → CO2+2H2O+heat, ethane: 2C2H6+7O2 → 4CO2+6H2O+heat; and (vii) other boiler/furnace losses include – radiation losses from openings (furnace inspection doors), cold air infi ltration into the furnace (through small openings, faulty gaskets), tube scaling (dissolved solids causing scaling on water tubes, frequent conductivity testing of boiler water required to reduce scaling potential, eff ective boiler EURO PETROLEUM CONSULTANTS Last resort is to fully electrify the fi red heaters, in order to revamp them to electric heaters. In terms of emissions, this is the most promising way to decarbonise the refi nery heat production. (Image for illustration only) Energy effi ciency and sustainability in a crude oil refi nery In the fi rst part of this article, published in this magazine in June 2021, we discussed the importance of fi nding the weak energy effi ciency spots in a crude oil refi nery. In this second part, we will explore how these challenges can be resolved further by adapting different approaches, comment Ekaterina Kalinenko and Miro Cavkov 10 Opinion Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.comequipment – scrubbers, CCS and fi lters – then the overall emission equations can be considered better for the environment, then such confi gurations can work in our favour. As the fi red heaters, the power plants can also be revamped to work on cleaner fuels such as LNG. This is a true example of the current energy transformation and energy transition possibilities. Reducing energy losses A fundamental part on reducing energy losses is through the proper insulation of the units and piping. Sometimes in a refinery, the haze is visible with a bare eye, but the silent losses are not. Good news is that we live in an advanced technological world, so the modern tools such as thermal cameras and ultrasonic non-destructive methods are available to help the refinery staff to identify precisely from where the losses are coming from. Considering that the above mentioned conditions for improvement are achieved, it is time for process technology improvements – better production technology means shorter reaction time, which by itself means reduced energy consumption, therefore lesser overall emissions. Additional power generation and heat recovery can be achieved in the following ways: (i) open cycle power plants (OCPP); (ii) cogeneration – combined cycle power plants (CCPP), combined heat and power plants (CHP); and (iii) trigeneration – combined heat, power and refrigeration plants. It is important to ensure that the effi ciency of power generation units are as best as can be economically achieved within the specifi c application considering the cost of fuel, blowdown), lack, or badly insulated water, steam and gas piping. Improved energy efficiency through heat regeneration Another available option for improved energy effi ciency is heat regeneration. Regeneration uses a pair of burners, which cycle to alternately heat the combustion air, or recover and store the heat from the furnace exhaust gases. When one regenerative burner is fi ring, the other is exhausting the furnace gases. Exhaust gases pass through the regenerative burner body and into a media case, which contains refractory material. The refractory media is heated by the exhaust gases, thus recovering and storing energy from the fl ue products. When the media bed is fully heated, the fi ring regenerative burner is turned off and begins to exhaust the fl ue products. The regenerative burner with the hot media bed then begins fi ring. Combustion air passes through the media bed and is heated by the hot refractory. Air pre- heat temperatures within 150°C-260°C of the furnace are achieved resulting in exceptionally high thermal effi ciency. Compared to a standard furnace, fuel effi ciency will increase by about 30%. At the same time, it is possible to achieve near 50% reduction in NOx emissions. The advantages are: combustion effi ciency improvement; increased production from existing facilities; reduced CO2 and CO emissions; lower NOx emissions; and smaller furnaces in new installations. Regenerative burners off er various advantages in energy effi ciency. The combustion effi ciency is vastly improved due to the increased air temperature. It also lowers the combustion temperature, leading to lower NOx production, which is good for the environment. The higher air inlet temperature ensures complete combustion. Therefore, the CO and CO2 emissions in the fl ue gas are reduced. Finally, the higher effi ciency burners allow for smaller furnaces in new installations. Requirements are: even distribution of the heat input – numerous parallel process passes (heat supply to any pass must be guaranteed), avoiding hot spots (overheated coil areas reduce furnace run length); heat input effi ciency, environmental constraints – NOx, CO; operability – remote controlled operation (switches from/to hot steam standby, controlled shutdown, high turndown ratio required). Return on capital investments in energy efficiency At present, basic energy prices in certain regions are still below European levels, which explains the low return on capital investments in energy effi ciency. For example, it is estimated that in Europe it makes sense to replace with a more effi cient furnace at around 75% effi ciency, while in Russia the break-even point for investments is at around 65% effi ciency. In case the above confi gurations are not giving the desired results, then the solution could be more drastic – to revamp the heaters to run on cleaner fuels. One of the alternative cleaner fuels available is natural gas, which is gaining popularity in refi neries in the form of LNG deliveries and local regasifi cation stations. The confi guration natural gas + scrubbers + CCS + fi ne particles fi lters is one of the available routes for increased refi nery decarbonisation through energy effi ciency. Last resort is to fully electrify the fi red heaters, in order to revamp them to electric heaters. In terms of emissions, this is the most promising way to decarbonise the refi nery heat production. However, here comes the question: Does this solve the environmental issue? Locally, defi nitely yes – no fl ue gases around the refi nery, less emissions. On a global scale – it depends on the electricity power source. If a particular refi nery gets its energy supplies from an ERP, which is transmitting energy generated by a coal-fed power plant, this should not be considered as a complete decarbonisation route. On the other hand, if the particular power plant has solved its environmental issues by investing in the same type of Higher effi ciency burners allow for smaller furnaces in new installations. 11Opinion Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.comEkaterina Kalinenko is director, consulting, and Miro Cavkov is technical advisor at Euro Petroleum Consultants, which is a technical oil and gas consultancy with offi ces in Dubai, London, Moscow, Sofi a, and Kuala Lumpur, as well as organisers of leading conferences world- wide, including Energy & Sustainability Forum (ESF) – a new high-level forum designed to support the discussions and development of a sustain- able energy future in which the downstream industry plays a leading role. ESF MENA is taking place during 24-26 October 2021 in the UAE. For more information, please visit esfmena.europetro.com. the availability of utilities, the possibility of providing heat, or even refrigeration to adjacent facilities. In terms of energy effi ciency and the cost of operation, it is also becoming important to consider the amount of CO2 being released to atmosphere. We will discuss open cycle power plants, consider cogeneration plants where heat is recovered from the exhaust gases, either as power, or steam, that can be fed to steam users and also trigeneration facilities where the heat remaining in the exhaust gases after the cogeneration step is used in absorption cycle refrigeration cycles to provide for example chilled water for air conditioning, or process duties. The simplest and lowest capital option is to install an open cycle gas turbine, or gas engine to drive a turbine and generate power. In this confi guration, the hot exhaust gases are directly vented to atmosphere normally at around 600°C. All the energy required to heat the gas to 600°C is therefore lost. In this type of confi guration, the thermal effi ciency is only around 35%. In some more modern turbines, it is possible to achieve somewhat higher open cycle effi ciencies. The advantage of this confi guration is that the plant can start- up very quickly and can operate automatically with minimal operator attendance. Open cycle power plants are used in remote location where utilities like water, steam and cooling water is not available. Open cycle power plant loads can also be increased and decreased relatively quickly as the power demand varies. In comparison with cogeneration and trigeneration units, open cycle plants have the lowest capital cost but the highest fuel consumption per unit of power produced. Heat recovery steam generator For a higher effi ciency closed cycle power plants can be considered. In these plants, the exhaust gas at 600°C is used to generate steam at high pressure while the gas is cooled typically to 200°C. The steam is generated in a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and expanded through a steam turbine to generate additional power. The outlet steam is condensed, normally in air coolers and recycled to the HRSG. These plants are much more complex to operate because of the additional steam and condensate systems. The load on these plants also cannot be changed rapidly as the temperature variations causes stresses in the HRSG and this could lead to early failure of these units. Compared to open cycle plants with an effi ciency of 35% closed cycle plants can achieve effi ciencies of 60%-65%. In general, the increased capital costs is easily rewarded by the fuel savings. In base load power plants (steady operation) closed cycle power plants are the norm. If steam is required at a nearby facility, it may be more economical to supply the steam generated by the HRSG to such a facility. The operation of the plant is slightly more complex than a closed cycle plant because the steam requirements from the adjacent facility needs to be taken into account. There may for example be periods when there is no demand for steam, but power still needs to be generated. The design of the plant needs to consider such eventualities. Because the steam is directly used rather than expanded in a steam turbine, the overall thermal effi ciency of the plant is greater. This type of plant is called a CHP plant. The overall efficiency of a power plant can be further increased by generating chilled water, or another cold utility by installing an absorption refrigeration loop downstream of the HRSG. In such a case, the overall thermal efficiency can be increased to above 90%. The capital cost of such a plant can become prohibitive and careful analysis of the business case is required to ensure that such a configuration will be economical. The plant operation is even more complex as the demand from three independent systems needs to be managed. A comprehensive operational improvement programme at a refi nery is formed in three main stages: (i) Identifying the lagging performance of the best refi neries and identifying the main areas for improvement. Typically, three to four areas of operational improvement account for about 80% of a refi nery’s fi nancial potential. (ii) Identify the main levers for closing the gap with the best refi neries. A complete set of improvement actions should be identifi ed for each priority area. (iii) Formulate a detailed list of technical actions (including economic impact assessment, timing and who is responsible for implementation). In conclusion An important outcome of implementing a holistic (integrated) approach is sustainable transformation. When ‘tangible’ results are achieved, employees will have an incentive to identify opportunities for further improvement on a continuous basis. An energy efficient scenario in the oil and gas industry would significantly improve operational and financial efficiency. Medium-sized companies will be able to save up to $50-$70mn per year through resource-effi cient technologies and will create a holistic database through benchmarking and case studies so that the experience can then be applied to other assets within the company. Improving effi ciency should be seen as an ongoing challenge for the company. If this approach is taken, companies will have the opportunity to maintain and strengthen their own position in the markets. Heat transfer from coil to process gas inside the coil can be improved by internal fi ns. 12 Opinion Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.comThe Covid-19 pandemic redefi ned the role of leadership in business and governance. It highlighted like never before that ‘leadership matters, and signifi cantly more so in a crisis’. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), companies run by high performing CEOs generate shareholder returns more than 20 points higher. BCG also found that the CEOs that successfully led their company through the pandemic were those who acted early, led with empathy and purpose, focused on a long-term approach to strategy, and improved their Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics. To discuss the role of leadership in pursuing growth, GPCA convened its inaugural Leaders Forum on 16 June in Dubai, where industry leaders came together from diff erent parts of the region and globally to share insights into how they individually addressed the challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the ways in which they can collectively build resilience. The forum provided an opportunity for horizon scanning into the developments of the next 12 months and strategising for a more resilient future. In this comment piece, I will explore some of the highlights from the sessions and summarise the valuable insights that captured my attention. The role of leadership in the pandemic The chemical industry in the GCC and globally was particularly hard hit by the pandemic. However, when the world needed its products the most, it successfully met surging global demand. It guaranteed supplies of critical materials and ensured most supply chains were not greatly disrupted. Chemical companies ensured that healthcare industries were provided with PPE and critical medical equipment. They continued to produce agri-nutrients, enabling sustainable food production, preservation and transportation, all while protecting its people from the pandemic. This was in no small part thanks to the astute leadership of chemical industry executives who led their organisations out of the crisis and responded with agility and speed. The lessons learned Beyond leadership, the pandemic emphasised the power of collaboration, without which neither the distribution of vaccines nor a global economic recovery would have been possible. This has further highlighted the need to work with policymakers in the region to ensure the needs of the industry are met. The pandemic also accelerated a number of trends that were already under way. Embracing digitalisation was a key imperative during the pandemic, as it demonstrated its potential to transform the chemical industry’s global competitiveness. Today, it is simply no longer optional. A focus on sustainability, innovation, the energy transition, lowering emissions and the circular economy – are all issues that came at the forefront of the industry over the last 18 months. Formulating key partnerships with peers (e.g., SABIC-BASF-Linde’s announcement of their collaboration) across the sector will enable the industry to transition into a zero emissions future. This issue requires the attention of the board and demands pioneering leadership to lead the way forward. Closing the loop on chemical production will require a continued focus on recycling, making progress on product design with circularity in mind and integrating capabilities downstream. To deliver on society’s expectations, the industry would need to focus on developing sustainable products, fulfi l its ESG targets, and achieve greater transparency. Thriving in the new reality The GCC’s chemical industry is on a path to recovery in line with positive economic expectations. However, the path to a more prosperous future will not come without its challenges. Rebuilding the industry post pandemic will demand bold leadership that recognises and adapts to the new dynamics and trends that are emerging in the new reality. Companies will need to adopt strategic vision and the ability to learn fast. We must not stop collaborating, especially now, when we are closer than ever before to combatting the virus. We must improve our organisational eff ectiveness and seek ways to raise effi ciency. The move to supply chain localisation is another trend that is here to stay. It may have higher costs in the short-term but will translate into self-suffi ciency and reduced costs in the long run. Therefore, we must continue to pursue it. Finally, the need to drive greater customer and supplier intimacy across the region is more important than ever. This will help us win the fi ght against the virus and shape a better future. Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun is secretary general of the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA). Set up in March 2006, the GPCA is a dedicated non-profi t association, serving its members with industry data and information sources. GPCA Role of leadership in post pandemic recovery Strong, purpose-led leadership is what defi ned success from failure in our fi ght against the pandemic – a fi ght that the industry had to lead on many fronts, the repercussions of which it is still dealing with and will continue to face in the years to come, comments Dr Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun Closing the loop on chemical production will require a continued focus on recycling, making progress on product design with circularity in mind and integrating capabilities downstream. To deliver on society’s expectations, the industry would need to focus on developing sustainable products, fulfi l its ESG targets, and achieve greater transparency. 13Opinion Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com14 www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com Cover Story Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.comTHE FUTURE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT Honeywell is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include control technologies for industry, globally. Honeywell technologies help manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make the world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. “Honeywell has a long history of improving our own environmental and sustainability profile while providing innovative products and services that improve our customers’ profiles as well,” says Norm Gilsdorf, vice president, global high growth regions, and president for Honeywell Russia and Customs Union, and Honeywell ASEAN WORDS: MARTIN MENACHERY 15 www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com Cover Story Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.comToday, sustainability has become central to business operations, emerging as an essential element of a successful strategy. CEOs are discovering that sustainability and profi tability have become synonymous ideas, making sustainably managed companies increasingly attractive to investors and customers. Honeywell provides integrated solutions for energy transition and decarbonisation. As a technology provider, Honeywell provides a proven, step-by-step framework to help organisations achieve their sustainability targets. There are six steps in this framework: baseline – understanding where the organisation is, what it is consuming, and where it is coming from; the target – defining where the organisation wants to be, and by when; build the organisation’s walk – identifying key initiatives to meet the organisation’s targets within a timeline; walk the walk – committing to the project, securing the funding, and executing the plan; continuously measure – demon- strating auditable progress; and monitor – mitigating the risk to sustain the level of performance. Honeywell has a long history of improving its own environmental and sustainability profi le while providing innovative products and services that improve its customers’ profi les as well. The company will continue to invest in its plants and in new technologies that will reduce Honeywell’s carbon footprint and contribute signifi cantly to the global eff orts to mitigate climate change. Middle Eastern nations have invested in solutions that support long-term sustaina- bility visions and goals. Honeywell actively collaborates with governments and organisations in the Middle East to help them achieve their sustainability goals. “Our operations are really taken this to heart. We are now more than 90% reduced in our greenhouse gas intensity and almost 70% more energy efficient than when we started. It is sort of virtuous cycle of taking a comprehensive approach to sustainability, engaging our workforce, finding projects and getting them executed, and the results have been impressive,” says Norm Gilsdorf, vice president, global high growth regions, and president for Honeywell Russia and Customs Union, and Honeywell ASEAN. “At Honeywell, we believe the future is what we make it. When it comes to sustaining the environment, these words ring true. We Honeywell Ecofi ning solutions enable refi neries and airlines to reduce GHG emissions and meet compliance requirements with lower capital outlays. (Image for illustration only) 16 Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com Cover StoryEnterprise Performance Management is a digital transformation solution that meets strategic, operational and fi nancial goals by optimising across processes, operations, people and assets at an enterprise level,” explains Gilsdorf. The Honeywell Forge portfolio includes several products that enable process simulation, corrosion advisement, blending & movement, advanced process controls (APCs), plant-wide optimisation and more. Products like UniSim Design’s modelling and monitoring capabilities allow industrial plants and carbon capture facilities to achieve sustainability goals by managing energy inputs more effi ciently and enabling the core operations of carbon capture site. “As a technology provider, Honeywell supports clean energy strategy through our technologies for renewable energy storage and controls, renewable fuels, advanced plastic recycling, carbon capture and hydrogen economy, and industrial autonomous operations,” Gilsdorf observes. Decarbonisation is a keystone of any successful sustainability strategy. This is done through the reduction, or elimination of GHG emissions, usually with a focus on Scope 1 and 2 emissions. In just the past fi ve years, the Honeywell Sustainability Suite has helped more than 700 organisations signifi cantly reduce GHG emissions, in sectors ranging from education and government to healthcare, commercial, industrial and transportation. UOP provides process and separation technologies with the capacity to capture and sequester up to 33 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Honeywell Forge solution for all need to work together toward this common purpose – everyone can make a diff erence,” Gilsdorf adds. Commitment to carbon neutrality in facilities and operations Honeywell has pledged to be carbon neutral in the company facilities and operations by 2035. In addition, about 50% of its R&D budget for new products goes towards technology and innovations that improve environmental and social outcomes Large enterprises around the world consistently lack top-to-bottom visibi- lity into how their operations are performing, and most lack the ability to derive business intelligence from their disparate data sources. Their existing systems are disjointed and have shortcomings that slow growth and cut into profitability. “Honeywell Forge “Honeywell UOP Ecofi ning™ converts waste vegetable oils, animal fats and biocrops into drop- in renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel. This technology is easily adaptable using existing hydroprocessing assets to convert a mix of renewable feeds to fi nished fuels. Ecofi ning solutions enable refi neries and airlines to reduce GHG emissions and meet compliance requirements with lower capital outlays.” 700 organisations In just the past fi ve years, the Honeywell Sustainability Suite has helped more than 700 organisations signifi cantly reduce GHG emissions. FACT BOX 17 Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com Cover StoryCCS operation uses thermodynamic models for CO2 emissions in operations, transport, and injection. Improving environmental outcomes across the energy industry Making products safer for people and the planet is systematically considered at the design stage of all Honeywell products and solutions. “As Honey well businesses invent new tools and solutions, we take deliberate, strategic steps to improve each innovation’s eco-efficiency,” claims Gilsdorf. “We evaluate new products by gauging their potential to reduce the use of natural resources during manufacturing and distri- bution; increase the energy effi ciency of the product itself, or because of its use; and reduce production waste,” Gilsdorf elaborates. Other important elements measured before introducing new Honeywell products are identifying opportunities for product reuse and recycling; utilising recycled, or renewable materials; reducing and eliminating classifi ed toxic, or hazardous materials; and utilising more effi cient packaging. UOP technologies convert waste plastics to a recyclable polymer oil that replaces crude oil with a sustainable, next- generation drop-in feed to produce petrochemicals and plastics, and thereby creates a new profi t stream for waste management companies by assigning an economic value to waste plastics. Development of process technologies to produce biofuels Honeywell’s UOP Ecofining ™ process tech-nology converts renewable feed- stocks into Honeywell Green Diesel and Honeywell Green Jet Fuel, which are chemically identical to fuels produced from petroleum. “Honeywell UOP Ecofi ning cconverts waste vegetable oils, animal fats and biocrops into drop-in renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel. This technology is easily adaptable using existing hydroprocessing assets to convert a mix of renewable feeds to fi nished fuels. Ecofi ning solutions enable refi neries and airlines to reduce GHG emissions and meet compliance requirements with lower capital outlays,” states Gilsdorf. The oil and gas industry is unpredictable; so plant operators should have contingency plans for any scenario. With this in mind, Flint Hills Resources, a refi ning, chemicals, polymers, and biofuels company in Wichita, Kansas, US, is using the Process Reliability Advisor service of Honeywell Connected Plant for round-the-clock monitoring of its CCR Platforming unit, which produces transportation fuels. This cloud-based service draws on UOP’s extensive process knowledge to enable customers to close performance gaps by using big data analytics and machine learning. Real-time operating data is run through a variety of scenario models such as cause-and-eff ect relationships to give opera- tors a glimpse of the future. “As a technology provider, Honeywell supports clean energy strategies through our technologies for renewable energy storage and controls, renewable fuels, advanced plastic recycling, carbon capture and hydrogen economy, and industrial autonomous operations.” Norm Gilsdorf, vice president, global high growth regions, and president for Honeywell Russia and Customs Union, and Honeywell ASEAN 18 Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com Cover StoryHoneywell Process Solutions (HPS) off ers a full suite of technologies for injecting hydrogen into transmission lines and distributing hydrogen to residential and industrial customers, using existing natural gas networks. HPS designs and manufactures the complete hydrogen combustion system, including fuel train supplies and burner management systems, and SaaS-based solutions that optimise process systems. Current and future role of Honeywell solutions Heavy industry continues to be one of the most significant contributors to man- made carbon emissions that some scientific research implicates as a primary cause for climate change. Several governments are working with companies to capture carbon emissions during production. European govern- ments are developing onshore terminals to receive liquefied CO2 from industrial capture sites. The terminals process and deliver liquefi ed CO2 by pipeline to an off shore storage location under the ocean for permanent storage. Some of these projects will be critical drivers in helping Europe meet its ambition of carbon neutrality by 2050 through the scaling up of CO2 capture across the continent. Honeywell software helps make some of the world’s largest industrial facilities safer and more effi cient. Honeywell aims to use the extensibility of the company’s UniSim Design, a part of Honeywell Forge Process Simulation suite, in three key areas to complement their proprietary software. UniSim Design will be used to create steady-state and dynamic models through the appropriate selection of thermodynamics properties, feed compositions, operating conditions and control operations. “The solution will enable engineers to estimate energy consumption and emissions in order to calculate energy for equipment, native molecular balance capabilities and thermodynamic models for CO2 compression, pipeline transport and de-pressuring,” comments Gilsdorf. The software leverages digital twin technology – digital replications of processes – which is used to simulate complex processes and analyse scenarios to determine optimal operating conditions. “Honeywell Forge UniSim Design will allow engineers to monitor plant assets and key operational processes in real- time to ensure safer operations, by comparing their current conditions to the prediction models of the solution, and understand any performance deltas,” Gilsdorf concludes. This Honeywell service can provide early detection and mitigation of performance issues before they become costly, and that is a big deal for Flint Hills Resources, which has a combined crude oil processing capacity of more than 60,000bpd. Replacing natural gas with hydrogen Green hydrogen projects are moving from pilot to industrial scale. Time to market, cost effi ciencies and assured safety are the key challenges to hydrogen economy. Honeywell can play a signifi cant role in addressing these challenges through the company’s core software off erings. Honeywell’s Enterprise Performance Management provides comprehensive software solution for hydrogen to reduce CAPEX and OPEX. UOP technologies in acid gas removal and purifi cation enable blue hydrogen production from natural gas with more than a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions, compared to conventional grey hydrogen, which does not include carbon capture. “In green hydrogen production, Honeywell Forge solution for enterprise performance management and industrial autonomous operations, facilitates plant design optimisation and cost estimation, asset monitoring and predictive maintenance,” Gilsdorf informs. Honeywell software helps make some of the world’s largest industrial facilities safer and more effi cient. (Image for illustration only) 19 Refi ning & Petrochemicals Middle East July 2021www.refi ningandpetrochemicalsme.com Cover StoryNext >