Algo8 AI Private Limited and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur have teamed up to create a data pipeline and machine learning model for heat exchangers in oil and petroleum refineries.
The chemical engineering department head and assistant professor, Pradip Kumar Tewari, and Angan Sengupta, together with a group of postgraduate students, are part of the research team from IIT Jodhpur which is offering advisory services for this project. Fouling of heat exchangers is a typical refinery occurrence. These units require routine maintenance, which can be done by completely shutting them down or by removing the unit from the network. These heat exchangers need to be maintained under regulated conditions according to a set timetable. For a wide range of chemical engineering process units in the industry, this problem requires a fundamental understanding of the applications of process engineering and data modelling approaches.
The research team has created a database model for the refineries’ heat exchanger networks’ control and planned maintenance. For pre-heat trains, the solutions offered include a thorough and validated predictive cleaning schedule, a graphical interface to various refinery units for control mechanisms, and cleaning and purging data quality that adheres to industry standards. The model can be used in petroleum and other related industries in addition to solving the issues with heat exchangers.
The project’s other main objectives include, among others, condition monitoring of heat exchanger trains, determining the impact of each heat exchanger unit on the network, developing a graphical user interface to show predicted outcomes and confirm the model’s accuracy, model-based improved asset availability with in-time warnings, and improved shutdown turn-around time.
Sengupta emphasised the project, saying: “This particular project depicts that contemporary chemical engineering, of which computation for establishing industry 4.0 is an integral part, has progressed significantly from traditional chemical engineering and is capable of meeting the new challenges of various process industries. IIT Jodhpur’s chemical engineering department is well-equipped for this purpose.
