Multivariate statistical approaches for an early detection of foaming in a refinery SCOT unit

The formation of foam in amine units is an issue that plant operators and field personnel are confronted with on a regular basis. The inability to take proper actions in due time may result in plant downtime and increased emissions. Steep rises in differential pressure indicate foam formation, and are monitored manually in practice. Antifoaming agent is added in order to reduce foaming, but this is usually carried out under time pressure. Hence, plant operating authorities have expressed a strong interest in a data-driven solution capable of providing an early warning against foaming. The classical univariate alarm associated with differential pressure can be ineffective for foaming detection due to high misdetection rates and its lateness of detection. Modern univariate approaches based on pattern recognition techniques may not be suitable either for an early detection, as no universally distinctive features of differential pressure are observed prior to foaming in the present study. In this contribution, the multivariate statistical process monitoring approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to the early detection of foaming in a continuously operated Shell Claus Off-gas Treating (SCOT) unit of a major refinery in Germany. The results are extended to facilitate fully automated and adaptive modeling based on exponentially weighted recursive principal component analysis (EWRPCA).