Dual-Stripper Hydroprocessing Recovery with Common Overhead
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hydroprocessing recovery units are energy-intensive due to high temperature and pressure requirements, and existing designs inefficiencies lead to duplicative heating needs, increasing energy consumption and costs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a dual-stripper system where a cold stripper processes a cold hydroprocessing effluent stream and a hot stripper processes a hot hydroprocessing effluent stream, with the cold stripper bottoms bypassing the product fractionation heater and the hot stripper bottoms being heated for further processing, reducing the feed rate to the heater and decreasing energy usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single stripper is used to process both cold and hot hydroprocessing effluent streams, then the device complexity is reduced, but the energy consumption increases due to duplicative heating requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The single stripper is segmented into two separate strippers: a cold stripper for processing cold hydroprocessing effluent and a hot stripper for processing hot hydroprocessing effluent. This segmentation allows the cold stripper bottoms to bypass the product fractionation heater, eliminating duplicative heating and reducing overall energy consumption by approximately 40%
Solution Approach 2:
Different temperature pathways are created for different streams: the cold stripper produces a cold stripped stream that bypasses the heater, while the hot stripper produces a hot stripped stream that goes through the heater. This local differentiation optimizes energy usage by heating only the necessary stream
2Loss of energy
If a dual-stripper system is implemented with separate overhead recovery, then energy efficiency improves, but the device complexity and capital equipment expenses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The overhead vapor recovery systems of both the cold stripper and hot stripper are merged into a single common overhead recovery system. This consolidation reduces capital equipment expenses and simplifies the overall system while maintaining the energy efficiency benefits of the dual-stripper configuration
Solution Approach 2:
The common overhead recovery system serves both the cold stripper and hot stripper, performing multiple functions with a single system. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate equipment units needed and lowers capital investment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces fuel usage by approximately 40% in the product fractionation heater, decreases operational costs by $2.5 million annually, and lowers capital equipment expenses by $1.6 million, while maintaining efficient product separation and recovery.
Implementation Method 1
A relatively cold hydroprocessing effluent stream is stripped with stripping media in a cold stripper to provide a cold stripped stream and a cold vapor stream. A relatively hot hydroprocessing effluent stream is stripped with stripping media in a hot stripper to provide a hot stripped stream and a hot vapor stream.
Implementation Method 2
the cold vapor stream and the hot vapor stream are condensed in a condenser to provide a condensed overhead stream
Data Source
AI summary
A process is disclosed for recovering hydroprocessing effluent from a hydroprocessing unit utilizing a hot stripper and a cold stripper. The cold stripper and the hot stripper utilize a common overhead recovery apparatus.