Trouble Shooting of Chemical Process Industry

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Trouble Shooting of CPI




What is Trouble?Deviation from Normal Plant Operation

Normal Plant Operation Abnormal Plant Operation

1.) Product Specs

a.) Composition NaOH (33%w/w) NaOH (32%w/w)

b.) Color White Yellowish

c.) Smell Sweetish Pungent






2.) Process Parameters

a.) Pressure 2.5 kg/cm2 (g) 2.4 kg/cm2 (g) (at Heat Exchanger Out)

b.) Temperature 105 oC 104 oC (Distillation Column Bottom)






3.) Material Consumption

a.) Raw Material ‘A’ 1.2 tons 1.3 tons (Per Ton of Product)

b.) Sulfuric Acid (98%w/w) 0.5 kgs 0.55 kgs (Per Ton of Product)






4.) Utility Consumption

a.) Steam 2.5 tons 2.6 tons (Per Ton of Product)

b.) Electricity 150 KWH 160 KWH (Per Ton of Product)






5.) Hardware

a.) Centrifugal Pump No Sound Sound like Gravel or Marbles

b.) Distillation Column No Vibration Vibration in Valve Tray

c.) Pipe Line No Leakage Liquid leaking from valve






6.) Miscellaneous

a.) Scaling of Condenser In pre-define limits Very High

b.) Pump Bearing Failure No Frequent

c.) Emergency Shut Downs No Frequent





Some troubles can be easily sensed by human senses like eyes, ears, etc. while other needs to be worked out




Typical Industrial Troubles• Not getting production plant capacity• Product quality is not acceptable• Utility consumption is higher than committed• Plant stoppages are frequent• Frequent breakdown of plant hardware• Plant require higher maintenance




Types of Troubles• Sitting over the problem and not aware about it• Knowingly sitting over the problem• Very much away from the problem• Keeping self away from the problem• Painted Problem or Concealed Problem• Artificially created problem




How to Identify Trouble?




How to Identify Trouble?oTop-Down Approach

• Identification by Top Management• Losses in Balance Sheet• Lower Production Rate from Annual Production Report

• Communicated up to Shop Floor Persons for Identification of exact trouble place




How to Identify Trouble?oBottom-Up Approach

• Sensed by Shop Floor Person• Pipe Line Leakage• Sound in Operating Pump

• Communicated to Higher Management Persons for working out severity of trouble for prioritizing activities




How to Identify Trouble?

For Effective Trouble Identification, maintain good communication channels between Top to Bottom/ Bottom to Top.




Shooting or Solving the TroubleWhat Shooting Requires?

• Clear View of Target (Trouble)

• Ability to Hit the Target (Solving the Trouble)





• Clear View of Target (Trouble) Far & Beyond

• Target from Far Distance• Unable to see target

• e.g. Pump vibration from outside of plant campus

• Target beyond Self Experience • Unable to differentiate between Normal & Abnormal

• e.g. Pump cavitation sound not experienced earlier

Experience to get more clarity of Trouble (Trouble is an Opportunity for Growth)





• Clear View of Target (Trouble)

Vision Power• Higher Knowledge Level• Despite far distance, trouble can be viewed well. • Distant symptoms are enough to view the trouble clearly by

higher level knowledge

Far & Beyond





• Ability to Hit the Target (Solving the Trouble) Skill Development by Routine Practice

• Fixed Target (Static Trouble) • Relatively easy to solve as trouble is well defined. • e.g. flow from Tank-1 to Tank-2 is not possible due to

insufficient elevation difference (Correct Elevation)

• Moving Target (Dynamic Trouble) • Set of Causes




Steps of Trouble Shooting1. Identify the Trouble

2. Take Preventive Action

3. Determine the Cause

4. Correct the Trouble

5. Return to Service





Engineering Approach for Trouble Identification

Troubled Area

Block Diagram






Troubled Area

Process Flow Diagram






Troubled Area

P & I Diagram






Troubled Area

Incorrect Type of ReducerIsometrics





2. Take Preventive Action If required, Stop the complete plant

Off Spec Product Produced Distillation Column Tray Vibrations

Or Stop a Section of the Plant Recovery Section only

Or Stop a Unit of the Section Stop Running Pump while operating with Standby Pump






3. Determine the Cause• Causes of Trouble Due to

• Material – Impure Input Materials

• Machine – Inadequate Preventive Maintenance

• Manpower – Untrained Operator






3. Determine the Cause• Causes of Trouble Entered During Stage of

• Plant Design – Wrong consideration of design parameters• Equipment Selection – Low Pump Head • Plant Erection – Wrong motor placement• Plant Operation – Valve is not fully open• Plant Maintenance – Placed Damaged Gasket








5. Return to Service




Any Trouble ?

Trouble Shooting of Chemical Process Industry

Engineering

Transcript of Trouble Shooting of Chemical Process Industry