Optimization

Operations-focused assessment for short-to-intermediate term improvements

The refining and petrochemical industries are more global, competitive and complex than before and sometimes quick solutions are needed to meet changing demands or regulations. Our Tactical Technology-Integrated Profitability Solutions (TIPS) provide an operations-focused assessment of your refinery’s existing assets to make short-to-intermediate term improvements.  You develop the knowledge to quickly streamline processes, improve throughput and improve profitability with little to no up-front investment.

Optimize Your Hydrogen Network

ASH has successfully led more than 50 hydrogen management projects in the past 15 years. Our proven, four-stepHydrogen Management Services begin with a thorough analysis of your refinery’s hydrogen balance to determine minimum requirements and to identify areas for improvement.

Following the analysis, we examine your refinery’s hydrogen purification units to identify hidden profit potential. We help sustain your benefits through ASH’s H₂ network model, which allows ongoing optimization and analysis

Save on Energy Costs & Reduce Emissions

There are multiple opportunities for energy savings and emissions reduction across your operation.  With our experience and advanced process technology, ASH Process Solutions Energy and CO₂Management Solutions can help your capture hidden savings by optimizing your operation’s energy efficiency.

With a thorough analysis of your refinery, we can determine opportunities for improvedoperation and control, improved heat recovery, utilities optimization, and better hydrogen and fuel gas management.  For many customers, these solutions enhance throughput, improve product quality, maximize equipment performance and increase annual profit by millions.

Once energy optimization has been realized, we employ technology solutions to sustain the benefits and even increase performance over time.

Benchmark and Improve Your Process Units

ASH uses proprietary tools to compare the critical processes of your operation to industry benchmarks and determine areas for improvement such as: throughput, yields, operational practices, process technology implementation and catalyst loadings.

Using your historic data, ASH creates a virtual model of your plant and key equipment, which allows us to consider the technical limits of your equipment as we test various configurations. The outcome is solutions that help you unlock the value of existing process technology, increase capacity for higher-margin products, reduce bottlenecks, and integrate idle units into the flow scheme and more.

Long-term solutions for optimal configuration and output

The refining industry continues to evolve, resulting in constant change in the desired product mix and specifications, and crude availability and characteristics. There has also been pressure to improve efficiency and operate more cleanly.  To ensure optimal configuration and output from your plant, planning 5-10 years in advance is essential. Our Strategic Technology-Integrated Profitability Solutions (TIPS) apply our understanding of refinery operations to help you develop long-term solutions and a vision for the future.

Enhance Your Configuration

ASH’s configuration studies allow you to evaluate and configure your refinery’s shift to higher value products, new crude slate options, increased diesel production and more.

Our configuration studies use state-of-the-art Linear Program (LP) modeling skills, proprietary process models, and quantitative risk and decision-analysis techniques to develop configuration plans that enable you to maximize profitability while minimizing investment risk.  ASH can help analyze and improve your existing LP to obtain optimum predictions of unit capabilities and effectively evaluate processing options and conditions.  Our process is well-proven, with over 100 studies successfully completed over the past decade.

Whatever the scope, our studies explore a range of possible options to determine the best fit for your business objectives, existing equipment and environment.

Engineering Scoping

ASH has experience analyzing existing operating units and creating options for revamps with the objective of “sweating” the operational assets.

We do this by engaging our process and equipment experts in studies of varying complexities, consistent with your business goals.  Our engineering and technical services experts will outline an array of ASH engineering study options for you to determine those most appropriate for your refinery.