Distillation control helps MOL cut energy costs by Euro1.2m a year

Dusseldorf, Germany – Oil & gas major MOL Group has reduced energy costs at its gas distillation plant in Algyõ, Hungary, by Euro1,200,000 per year following the implementation of process control technology from Emerson Process Management.

As part of an on-going energy saving initiative at the Algyõ plant, MOL upgraded the plant’s distributed control system to Emerson’s DeltaV process automation system. The system included embedded APC capabilities via Emerson’s SmartProcess Distillation Optimizer, which enables model predictive control for distillation columns.

Together these technologies have improved control and optimised performance gas fractionation section of the plant, which can process up to 12 million cubic metres of gas per day.

“Distillation columns are highly interactive, multivariable processes that are difficult to control,” said Attila Bodócs, production chief at MOL. “[The] distillation solution was customised for our application and was exactly what we needed.”

One of the reasons MOL selected the DeltaV system was that Emerson had engineered an advanced process control package for distillation columns using standard components in the DeltaV control system. In addition to simplifying implementation, this approach eased operator adoption of the advanced controls, said Emerson.

The Emerson distillation solution has been applied to five of the plant’s six gas distillation columns. Hot oil consumption has been reduced by 40%, and operational stability has improved as the process is automatically corrected for variations.

Operator workload has also been reduced since there is no longer the need to make the small manual adjustments previously necessary to keep the column operating at the product quality limits.