Process Optimization at Dow Chemical: Past and Future · PDF fileProcess Optimization at Dow Chemical: Past and Future John G. Pendergast Ravi Dixit Dave Vickery Matthias Schaefer

Process Optimization at Dow Chemical: Past and Future
John G. Pendergast
Ravi Dixit
Dave Vickery
Matthias Schaefer
The Dow Chemical Company
International Process Integration Conference
Gothenburg, Sweden March 2013
Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company

Outline
Dow Introduction
Company profile
Contributions and drivers
Historical Perspective
Where do we come from
Present Approach and Needs
Future Approach and Needs
Questions
ASEE: For External Release Page 2

The Dow Chemical Company
Diversified chemical company, harnessing the power of science and technology to improve living daily
Page 3
Founded
Midland, MI
1897
Acquired
Union Carbide
2000
Acquired
Rohm & Haas
2008
35 Countries
188 Sites
5000+ Products
50,000 WW Employees
60++ Billion Annual Sales
Unique perspective of commodity
landscape and specialty chemicals
Founded on brine chemistry 116 years
ago
Dow by the numbers
ASEE: For External Release

Starting Materials = Ethylene & Propylene
Current Dow Feedstock Utilization
Page 4 For External Release

Sustainability is Crucial to Our Success
Worlds largest (non-utility) industrial consumer of power and steam
Feedstock demand is 800,000 barrels/day
Leading innovator in cogeneration
Increased efficiency with reduced impact on the environment
Uses 20-40% less fuel
Self-generates ~75% of all power & steam
Operates over $6.2 billion in energy assets & supports $2.5 billion in JV assets
Operate our own Wastewater treatment
Operate our own waste treatment facilities
Freeport
Plaquemine
Stade
Terneuzen
St Charles
Operations
Fort
Saskatchewan
Dow Central
Germany
Bahia Blanca
All Other Sites
Tarragona
Seadrift
Aratu
Page 5 ASEE: For External Release
3,700 MW of electricity
required to operate
Dow plants
3,700 MW of electricity
Used by San Francisco,
San Diego, & Oakland
combined

Agrochemicals
Food supply
Urethanes and Styrofoam
Energy efficiency
Ion Exchange, Filmtec
Water purification
Solar Shingles
Powerhouse Solar Shingles
Renewable energy
Battery Materials
Energy storage
Some of our Contributions: Spanning Many Scales
Large Scale
Ethylene and polyethylene
Chlorine and caustic
Ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol
Specialty Scale
Metal organics, tri-methyl gallium, tri-methyl indium
OLED materials
Chemical mechanical planarization products,
photoresists

Large Integrated Manufacturing Sites
Plaquemine, U.S.A. Terneuzen, Netherlands
Stade, Germany Freeport, U.S.A.
Plant A
Plant B
Oyster
Creek
Stratton
Ridge

Historical Perspective
Business Optimization not a
new concept
This program was written in 1983 in a
simulation language written internally by
Dow . Language was DOWSIM
While the input seems arcane, the
concept has not changed optimize
profit!
This would handle 50 plants and 100
customers!

Historical Progression
Unit Operation Optimization
Sub-system Optimization
Finishing Train
Production Unit Optimization
Site Optimization
Constraints: Wastewater Treatment
Constraints: Power and Steam Production
Business Optimization
Make more Solution Polyethylene at the expense of Ethylene Glycol?
That decision is not necessarily static
Day 1
Present
1960s
Present
1980s
Present
1980s
Present
1990s
Present

Sub-systems Optimization
Much has been done, but much value still remains
Plants have a long life
20, 30, even 40 years not uncommon
Decisions made with 30 year old heuristics no longer relevant
Some Examples
Separations Sequencing
Reactive Separations
Process Intensification

Separation Sequencing
We have the tools and the techniques to
Generate all sequences Simple plus complex Heat integrated sequences
Use optimization tools to decide the best sequence
Our challenge
Use these tools to build new plants
Use these tools to find better sequences that fit our existing facilities
Extremely challenging but
very important

Reactive Distillation plus Dividing Wall Columns
C D
E
Heavies
Steam Integration
Recycle
C
D E
Heavies
A
Recycle
25% Capital Reduction
30% Energy Savings

Advanced Separations
EO NH3
NH3
FC
NH3
ColWC
MEA
Col
TEA
ColDEA
Col
MEA
DEA
AmineT
TEA 99Scrub
Treated
Water
Ammonia
Absorber
Reactor
EOA
Adiabatic
TWSTWR
Condensate
TWS
TWR
TWS
TWR
TWSTWR
G3412A/B
Water
Condensate
Condensate
NH3
Bullet
Ammonia
MEA
H2
D-441
MEA
G-440/442
G-181/182
NH3
FT
Com p
C-271
CO2
ColCom p.
WWTU EDA
Rxr
LP
Econ
NH3
SSWC
EDA
Col
PIP
ColPIP
MEA
Col
HFC
DETA
Col
HS
Col
AEEA
FC
AEEA
RC
DETA
TWS
TWR
HEAVIES
TWSTWR
Acid
TRT
Tnk
HCL
AEEA
TWS
TWR
From
Absorber
To
Absorber
To
Absorber
Current Design
NH3 EO
Ammonia
Reactor
EOA
Adiabatic
H2
A
F
C
Com
p.
Rxr
A
F
C
AmineT
TEA 99
DEA
WWTU
EDA
WCEDA
Col
CO2
Col
Water
PIP
MEA
DETA
DETA
Col
AEP/HEP
to HST
AEP /
HEP
Col
AEEA
AEEA
Col
NH3
SS
NH3
Column
Proposed
Design
13 Columns
Total
19 Columns
Total
Value $90MM NPV10 ~$70MM Capital,$20MM Energy
Separation sequencing and DWC

Reactive Distillation
Where applicable, one of the most powerful intensification techniques available
Reaction must take place at approximately the same conditions as the separation
Generally thought of as being applicable to reacting away azeotrope
Generally thought of as driving equilibrium limited reactions

Large Integrated Manufacturing Sites
Plaquemine, U.S.A. Terneuzen, Netherlands
Stade, Germany Freeport, U.S.A.
Plant A
Plant B
Oyster
Creek
Stratton
Ridge

DOW RESTRICTED - For internal use only
Plant Instrumentation
Multivariable Dynamic Process Control
Optimizer
Data for
display,
alarming,
accounting,
etc.
APC
AC&O
DCS
PID PID PID PID
PID
PID PID PID PID
Model-Predictive Controller
Closed-Loop Steady-state Optimization
Model-Predictive Controller
IP.21
Inferential Model
RTO

Which Processes Benefit Most from Advanced Control and Optimization
High production volume
High margin
High energy usage/integration
Frequent disturbances
Frequently-changing constraint scenarios
Ability to affect the production of by-products and co-products
Changing feed, product, and energy prices
Multiple raw material sources
Under-utilized flexibility, e.g.
Set-points that havent changed since startup
Operation by gut-feel or rules-of-thumb

Typical AC&O Benefits
1-5% capacity increase
As high as 20%
1-5% energy savings
0-1% yield improvement
Miscellaneous benefits
Fewer alarms & setpoint changes
Performance Monitoring of equipment using model parameters
What-if-cases to identify appropriate plant de-bottlenecking projects

New Realities
Water consumption
Historically, simulations have not even counted water
Large integrated sites consumption
Are we taking water from farms, urban areas?
Water is a precious commodity in some areas
Water cost
New facilities may need to optimize around water
Environmental constraints becoming more rigorous
Requests for zero liquid disch

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Process Optimization at Dow Chemical: Past and Future · PDF fileProcess Optimization at Dow Chemical: Past and Future John G. Pendergast Ravi Dixit Dave Vickery Matthias Schaefer