Glycol drying is a critical step in the purification process when impurities harmful to MEG specifications are removed and purged in an aqueous waste stream. In the absence of the availability of an online analyzer, glycol breakthrough (in the case of overtreatment) or plant upset can go undetected by the plant operators, leading to high COD in the wastewater effluent and MEG product loss. To prevent such consequences the plant typically settles on operation at higher reflux rates in the column, resulting in higher energy consumption.
SD’s SciDigital DryOpt® is a multifunctional optimization tool. In Mitigation Mode, a soft sensor will detect glycol carryover in real time and advise of an optimum reflux rate. Such functionality can be utilized for plant upsets and upstream fluctuations. During stable operation, Preventive Mode will employ an advanced algorithm to perform a predictive optimization calculation based on upstream parameters to identify preventive measures against glycol carryover. In Optimization Mode, the algorithm will analyze the column operating data to conduct dynamic optimization of column steam consumption. The highly versatile model ensures stable product quality with no consequence to the plant’s effluent footprint or energy consumption.
