Chemical Engineering
Mostafa Jafari; Amirhossein Khalili-Garakani
Abstract
In Iran, power plants use liquid fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO) or mazut to prevent disruption in power generation. The high percentage of sulfur compounds in HFO and the lack of efforts to remove it, causing significant damage to the environment. The purpose of this research is performing a techno-economic ...
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In Iran, power plants use liquid fuels such as heavy fuel oil (HFO) or mazut to prevent disruption in power generation. The high percentage of sulfur compounds in HFO and the lack of efforts to remove it, causing significant damage to the environment. The purpose of this research is performing a techno-economic analysis on the Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) process of HFO. The results showed that for removing 85% of sulfur compounds from HFO with a volume flow rate of 250 m3/h that includes 3.5% wt sulfur compounds, the total capital investment and the net production cost are 308.9 million US$ and 114.5 million US$/year, respectively. Besides, the sensitivity analysis indicates that with a 100% increase in the catalyst loading, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO will be decreased by 15% more. Also, 6.4% and 32% will add to the total capital investment and net production cost, respectively. With a 100% increase in the gas to oil ratio, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO will be decreased by 15.3% more. Also, 43.8% and 6% will be added to the total capital investment and net production cost, respectively. With a 100% increase in the pressure of the HDS process, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO will be reduced by 20.75% more. Also, 43% and 6.75% will be added to the total capital investment and net production cost, respectively. Ultimately, with a 100% increase in the inlet temperature of beds, the mass percentage of sulfur compounds in the HFO will be reduced by 5% more. Among the effective operational parameters, hydrogen consumption has the greatest impact on net production cost and payback period, and the pressure of the Hydrodesulfurization process has the greatest impact on increasing the total capital investment of the process.
Petroleum Engineering
Mostafa Jafari; Mohammad shahab Deljoo; Ali Vatani
Abstract
Today, one of the challenging issues all over the world is the appropriate use of flare gases in oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. Burning flare gases having high heating value results in economic losses and the pollution of the environment. There are several methods to use flare gases; the heat ...
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Today, one of the challenging issues all over the world is the appropriate use of flare gases in oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. Burning flare gases having high heating value results in economic losses and the pollution of the environment. There are several methods to use flare gases; the heat and power generation, the production of valuable fuels, or the separation of more precious components are examples of these methods. In this study, a polygeneration system is designed and simulated for the coproduction of power, steam, methanol, H2, and CO2 from the flare gases in South Pars and Assaluyeh gas fields. The polygeneration system has advantages such as reducing greenhouse gases and the coproduction and sales of energy-related products. The polygeneration system for converting flare gases to energy and various products includes an acid gas removal unit, a synthesis gas production unit, a methanol synthesis unit, a hydrogen purification unit, a combined heat and power generation unit, and a CO2 capture unit. The purpose of this study is to conduct an economic evaluation of the polygeneration system and obtain the total capital cost, the operating profit, and the payback period of this process. The simulation results show that using 9690 kg/h of flare gases produces 8133 kg/h methanol, 653.7 kg/h hydrogen, 46950 kg/h nitrogen, 9103 kg/h CO2, 109850 kg/h medium-pressure steam, and 3.7 MW power. The economic evaluation results show that in the polygeneration system, the total raw material cost and the total utilities consumption cost are $193.8 and $1859.5 per hour respectively, and the total product sales and the total utility sales are $12941.8 and $2243.5 per hour respectively; also, the operating profit is $13132 per hour. Also, the equipment cost, the installation cost, the total capital cost, and the total operating cost are $29.7 million per year, $39.2 million per year, $71 million per year, and $27.9 million per year respectively; finally, the payback period is 1.5 years.