2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

A Novel Laboratory-Scale Pilot Plant Study

Presented at Innovations in Experiments and Modeling

Flushing oil pipelines during product changeovers is a crucial procedure within lube oil processing facilities, essential for ensuring the final product's quality and purity. However, this process often results in significant financial losses due to the mixing of different products, and it reduces product yield as the commingled oil cannot be packaged as a high value pure product. To address these challenges, an innovative approach to optimize this process is required. Previous attempts to study and improve this process at industrial plants were found to be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and disruptive to plant operations. Conducting these studies at the plant required substantial changes to operating procedures and resulted in excessive downtime. To overcome these issues, a laboratory-scale pilot plant was designed and constructed specifically for studying and optimizing the flushing process of the industrial plant.
The pilot plant aims to comprehensively investigate lube oil properties, pipeline operations, and flushing processes in the lube oil industry. It allows for the examination of the mixing of residual oil with flushing oil in a pipeline system while maintaining a 1/5 scale-down ratio of the industrial plant's geometry. The flow rates in the pilot plant are carefully matched to the Reynolds numbers of the industrial plant, ensuring accurate simulation. One notable advantage of the pilot plant is the ability to vary the oil flow rate using a positive displacement pump with a variable speed drive. This flexibility enables the study of flows with identical Reynolds numbers to the industrial plant and explores an extended operating range. This capability is supported by previous studies .(Scoffoni et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2011) The pilot plant also allows us to examine alternative equipment configurations that have the potential to reduce the amount of oil wasted.
The pilot plant is also employs an online continuous viscometer. This viscometer is unique in that it doesn’t require a probe or a bypass line that could interfere with the flow and trap additional oil. This device enables the exact determination of the minimum flush volume for each change over.
The goal of the pilot plant is to obtain data that can be used to predict the the flushing volume needed in the product changeover. To compare the pilot plant results to the industrial, a dimensionless residence time distribution analysis was conducted (Fogler, 2016). This analysis provides insights into process efficiency and the duration at which materials remain within the pipeline system. We were able validate through the residence time distribution studies that the pilot plant simulates the industrial plant.
In conducting this pilot-plant study students gain valuable experience and expertise in
• Viscosity measurement; both online and offline using ASTM standard methods
• Positive displacement pump operation
• Introduction to residence time distributions in an easy to understand step change used in industry
• Perform RTD calculations using actual data
The results obtained from this pilot plant offer valuable data used in the development of flushing model as it simulates the industrial plants from the residence time studies. The pilot plant serves as a valuable tool for studying the flushing of oil pipelines during product changeovers for different combination of oils. This innovative approach aids in model validation and process optimization, leading to increased efficiency and improved product quality. Importantly, it reduces the need for excessive operator time and plant visits, providing a cost-effective and efficient solution for studying and optimizing the flushing operation.

Authors

Dr. Robert P. Hesketh http://orcid.org/0009-0009-9860-6417 Rowan University [biography]

Robert Hesketh is a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University. He received his B.S. in 1982 from the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in 1987. After his Ph.D. he conducted research at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Hesketh has demonstrated an enthusiasm for engineering education and has contributed to the improvement of engineering education in many ways. Robert is a highly motivated professor in both undergraduate and graduate education and has received 12 education and 2 research awards. He has made major contributions in laboratory methods that demonstrate chemical engineering practice and principles. These highly visual and effective experiments, the most notable using the vehicle of a coffeemaker, are used to introduce engineering design and science to university and pre-college students. This work has been presented at national meetings, workshops and published in journals and proceedings
Mr. Barnabas Gao Rowan University [biography]

Barnabas Gao is a passionate chemical engineer currently pursuing his PhD at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. His research is centered around mathematical modeling, process design and optimization, with the integration of machine learning and high-performance computing to innovate and improve process efficiencies.
Dr. Kirti M Yenkie http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-8044-0369 Rowan University [biography]

Dr. Kirti M. Yenkie is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University and has more than 13 years of experience in Process Systems Engineering area with applications focusing on environmental remediation and healthcare. Her expertise includes mathematical modeling, optimization, process design, simulation, technoeconomics and life cycle assessment. She teaches Process Control, Thermodynamics, and Process Optimization courses at Rowan University and leads the Sustainable Design and Systems Medicine lab (https://yenkiekm.com). Her teaching methodology to incorporate computational tools for explaining theoretical concepts led to her selection as one of the 20 Outstanding Young Chemical Engineering Educators by CACHE (Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering) Committee in 2019. Her ongoing research on machine learning, solvent recovery, optimizing lube-oil operations, and water utilities energy and asset management are funded by the USEPA, ExxonMobil, AstraZeneca, Atlantic County Utilities Authority and American Water. She won the 2022 AIChE Environmental Division Early Career Award for her contributions to solving challenging environmental chemical engineering problems. She also won the 2023 AIChE-Delaware Valley Section Outstanding Faculty Award. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), M. Tech (Chem. Engg.) from IIT Bombay and B. Tech (Chem. Engg.) from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur. She has postdoctoral research experiences from University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Delaware. Her PhD work on IVF (in-vitro fertilization) hormonal dosing policy prediction was awarded the Best Research on Women and Gender studies at UIC. She is an active member of the AIChE and currently serves on the Executive Committees of the AIChE-Environmental Division, Sustainable Engineering Forum, and the Academic Subcommittee of the AIChE-Delaware Valley Section.
Miss Swapana Subbarao Jerpoth Rowan University [biography]

Swapana S. Jerpoth received her B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from Priyadarshini Institute of Engineering and Technology, India in 2017, and her M.Tech degree in Petrochemical Engineering from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, India in 2019. S
Mr. David Anthony Theuma Rowan University [biography]

I am a recent chemical engineering graduate of Rowan University looking for employment in the chemical manufacturing, project engineering, or engineering consulting industries.
Sean Curtis Rowan University
Michael Fracchiolla Rowan University
Dr. C. Stewart Slater Rowan University [biography]

C. Stewart Slater is a professor of chemical engineering and founding chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at Rowan University. He has an extensive research and teaching background in separation process technology with a particular focus on membra
Dr. Mariano Javier Savelski Rowan University [biography]

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Chemical Engineering
Steven Roth Rowan University [biography]

Rising fourth year chemical engineering student with interest in going for a Ph.D.
Emma Marie Padros Rowan University [biography]

Rising senior year chemical engineering student. Currently interested in the process engineering field. On campus I am a part of the D3 women's swim team.

Download paper (2.41 MB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session