Refinery processes consist of many complex apparatuses involving both moving and static parts as well as interconnecting pipes, control mechanisms and electronics, mechanical and thermal stages, heat exchangers, waste and side product processing units, power ducts and many others. Bringing such a complicated unit online and ensuring its continued productivity requires substantial skill at anticipating, detecting and solving acute problems. Failure to identify and resolve these problems quickly can lead to lost production, off-spec product, equipment loss, and even catastrophic accidents. Therefore, the ability to troubleshoot refinery operations is one of the most valuable skills operations personnel can possess.
Typical refineries operate about 26 days of the month to cover costs. The remaining days in the month they operate to make a profit. If the process is down for five days, then the company cannot cover costs and no profit has been made. Engineers must quickly and successfully solve any troublesome problems that occur. Sometimes the problems occur during startup; sometimes, just after a maintenance turn-around; and sometimes unexpectedly during usual operation. A troubleshooting problem is one where something occurs that is unexpected to such an extent that it is perceived that some corrective action may be needed. The trouble usually occurs somewhere in a system that consists of various pieces of interacting equipment run by people.
Troubleshooting is the process used to diagnose the fault safely and efficiently, decide on corrective action and prevent the fault from reoccurring. Process engineering, especially troubleshooting, is different from most other branches of technology in another respect: It is not advancing very quickly. The principles of distillation, hydraulics, phase separation, and heat transfer, as they apply to process applications, have been well known for quite some time. The challenge in troubleshooting consists of untangling the influence that human error, mechanical failure, and corrosion have on these well-known principles. The aspect of the job that makes it so difficult is that most refinery problems are initiated by human error – a never-ending source of surprise.
Most Refinery troubles have a simple origin. However, this simple origin is clouded by false data, misconceptions, superficial observations, and third-hand reports. The error that most engineers often make is that they develop a theory, usually with process computer simulations, as to the cause of the malfunction. The theory is then reviewed with management and other technical personnel at a large meeting. If no one objects to the theory, it is accepted as the solution to the problem. Technical training is one tool that should be taken into the field to reveal the underlying problem, but confining the investigation to technical areas only will severely limit the chances of success.