By Edo Becker, Process Analytical Consultant for Specac Ltd
A petrochemical plant typically consists of many different reaction sections, including a reactor, flash tanks, distillation units, driers and many more. Although great strides have been made in recent years to simulate the operation and compositions of the various process streams, the most consistent benefits for process optimization are derived if regular analytical measurements are conducted on critical process streams within the unit.
The process stream can contain liquids, gases or even solids (catalyst particles, rust, dirt) and sometimes mixtures thereof. Due to these variable compositions, high pressures, temperatures and corrosivity, sampling these streams for measuring the contents off-line in a chemical laboratory on site is difficult, hazardous, and highly variable.
An eye into your process
You might already have established a regular off-line sampling routine to check the performance of your process plant, but are you sure that your off-line results are a true representation of what is going on in your process? As shown in the following example, the concentration of your valuable product might fluctuate in between your off-line measurements, giving you a false sense of security that your process is stable.
With decades of successful installations in industry, NIR spectroscopy is still the most cost effective and standard method of choice for the application of process analytical technology. In industrial organic chemistry most processes run at pressures of up to 100 bars and typically temperatures of up to 200 °C, sometimes even hotter.
Using NIR spectroscopy together with industry leading spectroscopic accessories from Specac allows you to measure even the most hazardous streams on-line and derive massive benefits in terms of process control, safety and through-put of your plant. For a continuous production plant any variations in the process should be avoided, whether these are pump or compressor speeds, flows, heater or the intermediate and final concentrations of critical components.
The availability of continuous data will allow you to derive benefits by moving the plant control closer to the specification limit, reducing quality margins and unnecessary give-aways. By further reducing the variations in your final product concentration the internal quality specifications for the customer can be optimised as your on-line NIR systems allow you operate a tighter quality control scheme.
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