ABSTRACT

Air Separation Unit (ASU plant) produces cryogenic gases Oxygen, Nitrogen and Argon from air.
The plant is designed to produce 23 tons Oxygen 2.3 tons Nitrogen and 900kg Argon for every
twenty four hours, during standard production. Currently the plant is not meeting these
standards and is operating at a production efficiency of 60 percent or less. Many factors affect
production efficiency such as ingress of impurities, leakages, failure of cooling system and
failure of any plant support systems. Currently the cooling tower is operating below 20 percent
efficiency thereby reducing plant production output significantly. The aim of the project is to
improve production efficiency by optimizing the underperforming cooling tower. The methods
used to collect data involve data collection by questionnaires, lab tests, observation and
investigation of the tower by troubleshooting to known parameters that reduce tower
efficiency. Results from the project showed that the fill of the tower was heavily corroded and
scaled also……….reduced the tower efficiency. By fixing these problems plant efficiency should
increase. The project gives platform for continual improvement of the plant. If all
recommendations are done and the plant still does not reach optimum conditions it means
there is need to look into other plant sections eliminating the cooling system.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

 Investigate factors that cause underperformance of the cooling system.

 Investigate if the factors that cause underperformance are on our system
 Suggest solutions that can improve the cooling system.
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION

To justify the project of improving the cooling system, the cooling tower efficiency for the
month of April is calculated below. The expected temperatures from the tower and the actual
temperatures are shown in table value. The monetary value of the loss incurred if the plant is
not working at optimum conditions is also given below.

1. Cooling tower efficiency

𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒
Efficiency = x100
(𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒+𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐ℎ)

Range= cooling tower in –cooling water outlet temperature

Approach =cooling tower outlet cold temperature-ambient wet bulb temperature

date Cooling Cooling Wet range approach Tower Daily LIN

tower bulb efficiency oxygen
Tower produced
out temp produced
in

1/4/18 42 39 15.8 3 23.2 11.5 18781 0

2/4/18 41 39 16.2 2 22.8 8.0 17101 600

3/4/18 42 39 17.3 3 21.7 12.2 19455 0

4/4/18 42 39 17.3 3 21.7 12.2 18607 0

5/4/18 41 39 18.0 2 21.0 8.7 18424 0

6/4/18 41 39 18.7 2 20.3 9.0 17767 0

7/4/18 41 39 18.2 2 20.8 8.8 16295 0

8/4/18 41 38 18.3 3 19.7 13.8 15285 0

9/4/18 41 39 17.2 2 21.8 8.4 16974 0

10/4/18 41 39 18.1 2 20.9 8.7 18083 0

11/4/18 41 39 18.0 2 21.0 8.7 13961 3003

12/4/18 42 40 14.8 2 25.2 7.4 11513 4004

13/4/18 41 39 16.4 2 22.6 8.1 8525 6246

14/4/18 42 40 17.6 2 22.4 8.3 8050 8409

15/4/18 42 40 16.0 2 24.0 7.7 8461 5005

16/4/18 41 40 14.6 1 25.4 3.8 14311 3322

17/4/18 41 39 16.2 2 22.8 8.0 17176 0

18/4/18 41 39 15.8 2 23.2 7.9 13037 0

19/4/18 41 39 16.2 2 22.8 8.0 15535 0

20/4/18 41 39 14.6 2 24.4 8.2 13820 0

21/4/18 41 39 17.1 2 21.9 8.4 3862 0

22/4/18 41 39 17.6 2 21.4 8.5 8093 0

23/4/18 40 39 15.7 1 23.3 4.1 10922 0

24/4/18 40 39 12.8 1 26.2 3.7 13986 0

25/4/18 40 39 7.3 1 31.7 3.2 14636 0

26/4/18 40 38 14.0 2 24.0 7.7 14219 0

27/4/18 40 38 13.7 2 24.3 7.6 13820 0

28/4/18 41 39 14.7 2 24.3 7.6 14608 0

29/4/18 41 38 14.8 3 23.2 12.9 13195 0

30/4/18 41 38 3 12138 0
Cooling tower efficiency ranges from 3.8 % to 12.8 percent which is less than fifty percent
hence the need to investigate the tower.

2. Current cooling tower temperatures compared to expected cooling temperatures.

Open loop closed loop

Heat
Cooling tower Plant process
exchanger

expected Actual (average for

month of April)
Cooling tower in 35 41
Cooling tower out 25 39
From HE to process 25
From process to HE 45

3. Estimated loss experienced per annum in terms of monetary value if plant is not operating at
optimum conditions.

Oxygen

From the month of April from the table above the average daily production of Oxygen is 16897

The standard amount of Oxygen expected to be produced per day is 23 tons

The loss in production per day is 23000-16897= 6103

The loss per annum in kilograms is 6103 X 365 days=2 227 595
The Current cost of bulk oxygen per kg is $ 0.89

Estimated loss per year in terms of monetary value is

2 227 595 X $0.89 =$1 982 559.55

Nitrogen

From the month of April from the table above the average daily production of Nitrogen is 1019

The standard amount of Nitrogen expected to be produced per day is 2.3 tons

The loss in production per day is 2.3-1.019=1.281

The loss per annum in kilograms is 1281*365 days=467565

The Current cost of bulk nitrogen per kg is $ 2

Estimated loss per year in terms of monetary value is

2 X 467565=935130

Argon

Currently there is no argon production

BACKGROUND THEORY

The ASPEN P 600 plant is an air separation unit that separates ambient air into liquid products
Oxygen, Nitrogen and Argon. At optimum conditions during standard production the plant is
expected to produce 23 tons liquid Oxygen ,2.3 tons liquid Nitrogen and 900kg Argon. There are
three different modes of production standard production, maximum oxygen production and
maximum oxygen and nitrogen production. Maximum oxygen production means more oxygen
product that surpasses the 23 tons of standard production. The current condition of the plant is
that at maximum oxygen production the plant is producing around 16 tons or less.

The process of producing liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon production involves sucking of air
through the Feed Air compressor inlet filter where filtration of air begins in the process of
removing impurities that either have a plugging effect, corrosive effect or can cause explosion.
From the filters, the air enters the compressor where the pressure is boosted. From the FAC the
air enters the chiller where the air is chilled by a refrigeration system causing the water vapor
to condense. The air free of the vapor moves to the active adsorption beds which removes
impurities such as carbon dioxide and any remaining moisture. The air then flows to the main
heat exchanger where air is cooled to optimum temperature for air separation process. The air
then enters the columns where distillation occurs and liquid products are formed.

Production efficiency is affected by many factors such as failure of support systems such as
cooling water system which affects efficiency of many plant machinery, adsorption beds which
lead to moisture, carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon ingress. Clogged inlet filters, system leaks,
failure of refrigeration system, plant operator incompetency also affect production efficiency.

Failure of the adsorption beds means carbon dioxide ingress occurs. Carbon dioxide has a
plugging effect on the plant. Carbon dioxide should always be below 2 ppm. The carbon dioxide
analyzer after the adsorption beds is currently reading below 1 ppm to show that there is no
carbon dioxide ingress and the adsorption beds are functioning well.

Moisture ingress is another factor that affects plant production. Moisture ingress results from
malfunction of the chiller and adsorption beds. The adsorption beds are currently working
effectively as shown by its capability to remove carbon dioxide. A plant thaw was recently done
to remove any moisture in the plant. Plant thaws are done twice per year. Plant thawing
involves applying heat to the columns and necessary support equipment in order to melt ice
and improve plant efficiency.

Clogged filters at the inlet also affect plant efficiency. If the filters are clogged it means some of
the impurities will be able to pass through to the process. Clogged filters also reduce air into
the process. The specification on the differential pressure gauge that shows clogged filters is 2
but the current differential pressure gauge reading is 0.2.

System gas leaks and lube oil also affect plant efficiency. The state of lube oil determines how
efficient the plant equipment will run. Lube oil is present in all plant compressors. System gas
loss means loss of product and raw materials thus decreasing the output. During the plant
shutdown in February maintenance was done on plant. Oil was changed and is due for changing
in August thus the quality of the oil is still in good condition. Leak detection tests where done
also during maintenance thus we can assume no leakages are occurring.

Cooling is used for various reasons in the plant. It is used in after coolers of the Feed Air
Compressor and Nitrogen Recycle compressors to cool air (FAC)and nitrogen(NRC) after
compression to remove heat of compression. Cooling water is also used in the cooler after the
turbine booster to remove heat of compression. Cooling water is used in the chiller
refrigeration unit. Machinery have oil lubrication system that requires cooling. Efficient cooling
enhances the working of machinery also optimizing the plant. All this cooling is provided by
cascade cooling system.

The Cascade cooling system consists of two independent cooling loops- open loop system and
closed loop system. The open loop system and the closed loop system are linked by a plate heat
exchanger. Heat is absorbed from the plant through the closed loop system and then
transferred to the open loop system at the heat exchanger. The open loop system then rejects
heat to the atmosphere via a round staged induced draught cooling tower.
There are two plate heat exchangers that alternate to be used. The current cooling tower
efficiency is below 25 percent and water with high temperature is circulating within the plant
affecting all the above-mentioned stages reducing plant efficiency.

METHODOLOGY

Components of the cooling system include the cooling tower, plate heat exchanger, pipes and
water softener.

The methods that will be used to gather data includes questionnaires and observation and
analysis

1. Data collection by questionnaire- the questionnaire is going to be given to plant

operators who have been working in the plant for many years to give their perspective
of what is causing the plants underperformance. The purpose of the questionnaire is
also to ascertain if for sure plant underperformance is linked to cooling system.
2. The second step is to research possible causes of decrease cooling tower efficiency that
may affect our type of tower
3. The third stage is to investigate if any factors researched in part 2 are present in our
system (trouble shooting the system)
4. Take corrective measure on system
 ASU PLANT PERFOMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE
You are invited to participate in the ASU plant optimization project. The project is to try and
optimize the plant by addressing problems associated with the plant cooling system. In this
survey five people who work directly with the plant will be asked to complete questions about
the ASU plant.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There are no foreseeable risks
associated with this project and it is important for us to learn your opinion. If you feel
uncomfortable answering any questions you are free to withdraw survey at any point.

Thank you very much for your time and support

Please circle the correct answer

Q1.How well do you know the ASU plant

A. Good

B. Average

C. Poorly

Q2.Is the plant performing to 100 percent its capacity

A. Yes

B. No

Q3.To what extent do you think that the efficiency of the plant is related to the cooling system
A. Greater (above 50%)

B. Lesser (less than 50%)

C. there is no relationship
Q4.In your opinion is plant machinery being affected by the cooling system

A. Yes

B. No

Q5.Is there need to design a new cooling system and purchase new equipment

A. Yes

B. No

C. Not all components need to be replaced

Q6.Which plant equipment or machinery is /are underperforming. You are free to select more
than one option on this question

A. Chiller D. Adsorption beds

B. Turbines E. Columns

C.NRC F. Heat Exchangers

Q5.What are the other factors that you may suspect to cause plant underperformance

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Q8.What is your suggestion or comments to help optimize the ASU plant

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THE END
FACTORS THAT CAUSE COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY TO DECREASE

FACTOR PROBLEM OR DIFFICULTY RESULTING FROM

THE FACTOR
Scaling (scaling of joints of fill pack) Lack of cooling hence increase in
temperatures owing to increased temperature
range
Water quality i.e. TDS, Conductivity, Hardness If water quality is not maintained it may lead
to corrosion and scaling. Affects COC and
make up water requirements.
Incorrect angle of axial fan blades Increases electrical load
Uneven operation of spray nozzles Causes drift/ carry-over of water outside the
unit
Blockage of the fill pack Causes drift/ carry-over of water outside the
unit
Defective or displaced droplet eliminators Causes drift/ carry-over of water outside the
unit
Excessive circulating water flow Causes drift/ carry-over of water outside the
unit
Float valve not at correct level Causes water loss from basins
Lack of equalizing connections Causes water loss from basins
Water flow below the design valve Lack of cooling hence increase in
temperatures owing to increased temperature
range
Irregular air flow or lack of air Lack of cooling hence increase in
temperatures owing to increased temperature
range
Recycling of humid discharge air Lack of cooling hence increase in
temperatures owing to increased temperature
 range
Blocked spray nozzles or blocked spray tubes Lack of cooling hence increase in
or jammed sprinklers temperatures owing to increased temperature
range
Intake of hot air from other sources Lack of cooling hence increase in
temperatures owing to increased temperature
range
Fills chocked or coated Rise in water temperature and deviations from
expected temperature range
Load Higher than design Rise in water temperature and deviations from
expected temperature range
Water by passing fills Rise in water temperature and deviations from
expected temperature range
Air flow below specified flow Rise in water temperature
Filters and pipes chocked or clogged Low water flow rate
Pump small Low water rate