Reactor Bypass - Abnormal Modes of Operation Case Study

The Challenge

A large U.S. company in the oil and gas industry needed to evaluate their protective relief systems in a unit of abnormal operation in which a reactor in a two-stage reactor system was to be bypassed. The client wanted to have the capabilities to safely bypass either of the reactors while not having to shut down the entire unit. The red-line piping and instrumentation diagrams needed to be used to identify and evaluate any new potential overpressure scenarios created by the new piping infrastructure for bypassing the reactors. The client also had heat and material balances in Aspen Hysys files, which utilized a large quantity of pseudo components.

Our Approach

To evaluate two abnormal modes of operation, the team used our Process Safety Office^® SuperChems™ software to update the current relief device documentation for bypassing either one of the two reactors. ioMosaic also identified any new deficiencies created by the abnormal operation and provided engineering solutions to address those deficiencies. During the analysis, the team also utilized in-house high-performance computers to handle the computationally intensive pseudo components without making compromises to the mixture compositions.

The Benefits

ioMosaic delivered solutions that empowered the client to confidently bypass either reactor without unit shutdown, safeguarding continuous operations. Furthermore, the team's effective mitigation strategies for new operational challenges ensured high client satisfaction and, crucially, provided a pathway for future maintenance on either reactor without costly unit shutdowns, protecting their profitability.

 

Learn More

Our mission is to help you protect your people, your plant, your stakeholder value and our planet. To learn more about how we can help you manage risk, call us at 1.844.ioMosaic.