Steps Required for Debottlenecking Study

[asade]

Dear All,

I am tasked to undertake a debottlenecking study for a 30,000 BFLD flow station, to confirm if it can handle an increment of 10-15,000 BLPD. What are the procedures or steps that I should follow to undertake this preliminary study?

Thanks for your anticipated cooperation

I am what I am by His grace

 

[MatthewL]

asade,

Start out with a simple block diagram of the equipment/process. For each piece of equipment or piping, determine the maximum rated throughput. Each one that is less than your desired 40,000-45,000 BLPD (barrel liquid per day?) will need to be examined for replacement or additional equipment in parallel to handle the additional load. If the equipment was sized properly in the first place, you probably don't have an additional 30-50% capacity available. If you can get your hands on it, check out the original project file that installed the equipment. It should have the original design capacity in the project description. If you can't meet that and there haven't been any changes to the equipment, find the piece(s) that are underperforming and repair/replace them. If this is a true debottlenecking study, you likely don't have any capital to spend, but you may be able to get maintenance dollars if you can show that pump XYZ is running 20% below capacity due to impeller damage. Also, check with the operators if available. Many times they can let you know that your predecessor tried something similar 10 years ago, and only got a headache out of it (not to mention a bunch of pissed off operators). Good luck!

Regards,

Matt

Quality, quantity, cost. Pick two.

 

[asade]

Thank you MatthewL
I would revert back my result.

I am what I am by His grace

 

[MortenA]

One more suggestion: Make a spreadsheet with all your components, valves etc. Write down design capacity (or any other relevant design parameter), current value and future value. Then add a collum for remarks if your design capacity is insufficient and perhaps a collumn for mitigating actions. This is a usefull way of keeping track and presenting your debottlenecking findings.

 

[racookpe1978]

Finally, after "de-bottle-necking" successfully (when you have identified the most limiting component (a vale, pump (or set of pumps), a pipeline, or a vessel), change that component to the required size (plus a safety margin according to whatever design guidelines your company requires) .... Then do the process AGAIN using the new flowrates and throughput allowed by that new component.

You will always another "surprise" part or pipe or vessel that must also be replaced.

 

[LittleInch]

Also don't forget all your utilities - water, air, and probably most important electrical power. Look at any other connected downstream system to see if you're going to overload that from your increased flow, even if it's officially outside your plant boundary as no one is going to be happy with you if you don't bring it up at some point.

I can't see a system which has been properly designed for 30,000 actually handling up to 50% more flow without some serious modifications or accelerated wear. Unless it has been significantly over designed, something will suffer, be it increased pressure drop, quality of the separation or operating costs, often in a non linear fashion.

Recently some clients I knew ordered two more "identical" trains with nameplate of 100 MMSCFD. Their existing ones built 10-15 years ago could run happily at 110 so they though the new one would do the same thing. However the new ones could only get to 100.8 before maxing out on amps of the motors as they had designed it right to the limit, but it did the nameplate capacity so there was nothing they could do about it.

My motto: Learn something new every day

Also: There's usually a good reason why everyone does it that way