Emerson Exchange 365

At the Pemex Miguel Hidalgo Refinery in Tula de Allende, Hidalgo, Mexico, a catalytic unit with more than 100 aging control valves and other instrumentation was subject to continuous failure, low performance, and unscheduled shutdowns. Due to leakage, cavitation, noise and flashing, valve maintenance costs were high. But without any record of valve behavior or visibility into mechanical health, plant operators had no way of knowing which valves needed replacing until a breakdown occurred.

With control valve failure estimated to cause production losses of US$93,000 within just 8 hours of unplanned downtime, it was critical for the refinery to find a solution.

On Tuesday Geovanni Velazquez of Pemex and Emerson’s Arturo Ovando explained to Emerson Exchange attendees how they solved the problem with upgraded valves, smart wireless, and a predictive maintenance strategy.

After locating the original sizing specifications for the existing valves, most of which were 15-20 years old, the team determined that re-engineering was needed to upgrade materials and trims. Along with installing 28 new Fisher control valves, an additional 64 valves were repaired and replaced.  

To gain visibility into valve health and performance, Velazquez and Ovando added Smart Wireless THUM Adapters, wireless gateways, and the Fisher FIELDVUE DVC6200 Digital Valve Controller with advanced diagnostics. AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager software was used to configure and monitor the digital valve controller. Fisher ValveLink software was then connected to AMS Suite for real time condition data from the field devices.

“Upgrading to a smart wireless network does more than save on hardwiring costs and reduce commissioning time,” said Ovando. “It also lowers operation and maintenance costs while increasing availability. Instead of reacting to unforeseen events and making emergency repairs, plant personnel can focus on condition monitoring and prevention.” 

“We’ve made a transition from reactive to predictive maintenance,” added Velazquez. “Now we get valuable information that we did not have before. This allows us to anticipate possible failures and schedule spare parts in advance, which helps in preventing unplanned shutdowns.”

By refocusing resources solely on maintenance issues where action is required, the team estimates a  savings of US$150,000 per year at the refinery. Based on the operational and business results at Miguel Hidalgo, Pemex anticipates replicating the solution for at least 80 more control valves at its Primaria II, Combinada I, Hidros I and Hidros II plants in the near future.

“Making good use of wireless technology with advanced diagnostics for control valves provides considerable savings and a quick return on investment,” said Velazquez. “Predictive maintenance gives us the ability to improve availability and efficiency while lowering maintenance costs. Because of increased reliability, these improvements have a direct impact on profits.”