Fuzzy logic methods in assessing the transport and warehouse complexes functioning quality

In most sectors of the national economy, technical facilities are represented by unloading devices that extract bulk cargo from the freight rolling stock, store it for a certain time, and ship it to a similar or other type of transport. Objects intended for the implementation of the stages of loading, unloading, and various storage periods, including bulk cargos, are commonly referred to by the broad scientific community as transport and warehouse complexes (TWC). Most operations performed in the TWC are the movement of goods (internal movements, receiving or sending goods by various modes of transport. The authors clarified the concept of "transport and warehouse complex" - it is an element of the transport network of the region, providing communication of external transport systems of the regions and performing the functions of converting the cargo flow of the region into the cargo flow sent by the region. On the one hand, they perform functions of transshipment points in relation to deep (economic) warehouses, and on the other – the functions of storage facilities. Their primary purpose is determined and depends on a large number of factors, including: the size of the direct service area, the ratio of the design capacity of the warehouse to the volumes of deliveries and the use of bulk cargo, as well as the condition of roads in the serviced area, the uniformity of the receipt of bulk cargo and the availability of vehicles for their delivery to the consumer.

Cost-Efficient De-Bottlenecking of Produced Water Treatment Systems through the Application of a Single Technology, Eliminating the Need for Hydrocyclones and Degassing Drums

Traditionally, produced water from production separators is handled by multiple steps and different technologies in order to meet the required quality for either discharge or reinjection of the water. The development of the latest Compact Flotation Unit (CFU) technology has unlocked the potential for savings on cost, complexity, footprint and weight for the produced water treatment system. The developed CFU technology has proven applicable through field testing as a single treatment technology for reducing Oil-in-Water (OiW) content directly from tie-in at separator and still meet stringent requirements for outlet OiW quality. Field tests were conducted with inlet OiW concentration ranging from 200-2000 ppm, achieving results in the range 2.5 to 21 ppm only with a two-stage latest generation CFU. Compared to a traditional produced water system setup consisting of de-oiling hydrocyclones and a horizontal degassing vessel, the savings in footprint and operational weight is estimated to 54 % and 53 % respectively utilizing a two-stage CFU for a system with a design capacity of 76.000 BWPD. Furthermore, the development of the latest generation CFU technology has enabled the retrofit concept, incorporating the developed CFU internals into existing gravity separation based produced water vessels, converting them to more efficient flotation vessels with increased capacity. For brownfield and debottlenecking applications, operators are challenged by increasing water cut from maturing wells, and as a result exceeding the facilities design capacity for produced water treatment. This challenge is often further reinforced by increasingly stricter environmental legislation for OiW content for discharge or re-injection. The retrofit concept will offer a highly cost-, footprint- and weight-efficient solutions to these challenges utilizing existing vessels. Benefits of the retrofit concept: Bring proven and unique performance of the technology to other produced water separation vessels helping the operators improve the separation efficiency and increase throughput while meeting discharge requirementsShort execution time compared to installation of new process equipmentLow cost compared to installation of new process equipmentUtilization of existing equipment saves valuable footprint.

Enhance the Plant Operating Capacity - Maximize the Revenue/Asset Utilization

To explore the opportunity for maximum utilization for a Sales Gas Compression Facility (SGCF) in line with ADNOC strategy to enhance profitability and asset utilization. A technical study was conducted to increase the processing capacity up to 133% of its design limit by utilizing the available design margins. This was to identify the potential bottlenecks in the facility and suggest debottlenecking options (if bottlenecks are there). The Technical study covered the following activities: Simulation: Process simulation was performed and H&MB (Heat and Material Balance) was generatd. Engineering: Compressor adequacy checks on increased plant throughputs. Static Equipment rating and adequacy checks performed with the concurrence of original equipment menufacturerers. Line sizing adequacy checks and detailed evaluation of the piping. Adequacy check for In-line instruments like control valves, flow elements/transmitters (Note 1) Relief, blowdown and flare system adequacy check. Utilities adequacy checks. Risk assessment workshop was conducted before the capacity test run. Preparation of Test Run procedure before the actual test run. Actual plant capacity test run to verify the study findings. Note 1: Adequacy check of thermowells had been peformed separately prior to the study. It had already been established that the thermowells were adequate for the increased plant throughputs. The study has concluded the following observations for processing 133% of the design capacity Theoratically, the Sales Gas Compression Plant is adequate to handle the sales gas throughput up to 600 MMSCFD (2 running machines) considering the facts that Sales Gas Compressor suction pressure must always be kept at 32 barg through close monitoring by the operaters.If compressor suction pressure starts dropping below 32 barg, the study outcome would no more valid and the plant throughput would be reduced back to the original design capacity of 450 MMSCFD. Moreover, it was recommended to perform a field test run to validate the study outcome by following the Manageement of Change Procedure as applicable. Based on the successful 48 hours test run, it was established that the facility could handle the increased plant throughput of 600 MMSCFD by following the instructions given in the adequacy study.

Book review: Devesh Kapur and Madhav Khosla (Eds.), Regulation in India: Design, Capacity, Performance

Devesh Kapur and Madhav Khosla (Eds.), Regulation in India: Design, Capacity, Performance (New Delhi: Bloomsbury, 2019), 407 pp. ₹739. ISBN 978-93-88630-66-5.

Low Cost Solution to Increase the C2 & C3 Product Recovery from LNG Feed

An operating methane/ethane recovery plant from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) feed was facing limitations to process design throughput due to a variation in operating parameter of LNG feed. About 92% of design capacity of LNG feed is only being processed as flooding is observed inside the Demethanizer column, eventually leading to tripping of the plant. The limitations in the throughput has direct implication on the revenue as lesser throughput reduces the product generation. Various field trials were attempted within the existing setup to increase the throughput to the plant, however the throughout could not be increased. Operating an LNG plant is comparatively complex due to its unique characteristics, as even one degree change in the temperature has effect on the liquid vaporization. To achieve the design feed throughput rate, as a permanent solution, the temperature of the feed before entering the demethanizer column has to be increased. Various locations for increasing the temperature in the plant were studied in this paper. The identification of location for preheating plays an important role in the costing. For every one degree Celsius increase in the feed temperature, the duty of the exchanger increases three folds. This paper explains the low cost solutions to increase the throughput to the plant, thereby increasing the product generation of C2, C3 products from LNG feed prior to regasification.

Proposition of Design Capacity of Borehole Heat Exchangers for Use in the Schematic-Design Stage

This study proposes a simple ground heat exchanger design capacity that is applicable in the schematic-design stage for several configurations used for borehole heat exchangers (BHEs). Three configurations—single, compact, and irregular types—were selected, and the heat transfer rate per unit BHE was calculated considering heat interference. In a case study with a typical configuration and general range of ground thermal conductivity, the BHE heat transfer rate of the compact configuration decreased owing to heat interference as the number of BHEs increased. However, with respect to the irregular configuration, the heat transfer rate increased as the same number increased. This was attributed to the relatively large increment rate of the distance between the boreholes in the irregular configurations, making the heat recovery factor more dominant than the heat interference. The results show that the average heat transfer rate values per BHE applicable to each configuration type in the schematic-design stage were 12.1 kW for the single configuration, 5.8 kW for the compact type, and 10.3 kW for the irregular configuration. However, owing to the large range of results for each case study, the error needs to be reduced by maximally utilizing the information available at the schematic-design stage.

Stability Analysis on the Long-Term Operation of the Horizontal Salt Rock Underground Storage

The construction of the vertical cavern in the salt dome deposit can meet the requirements of both storage capacity and tightness. However, if the vertical cavern is still used as the design shape of the salt rock underground storage in the layered salt rock deposit, the high design capacity cannot be guaranteed while the tightness is satisfied. In this case, the use of a large-span horizontal cavern as the design shape of the salt rock storage can not only effectively increase the design capacity of the storage, but also solve the problems such as the stability and tightness of the storage during the operation period by improving the structural form and working mode. Based on this, the ellipsoid-shaped horizontal salt rock underground storage is taken as an example, and a single-cavern horizontal salt rock underground storage model with different diameter-to-height ratios is established by using FLAC3D software. The change law of vertical and horizontal displacements, volume loss rate, and plastic zone distribution of salt rock storage changing with the diameter-to-height ratio are studied, and the optimal diameter-to-height ratio is determined. And then the long-term operation process of the double-cavern horizontal salt rock underground storage under the optimal diameter-to-height ratio is simulated, and the optimal pillar width is obtained.