Safety instrumented systems used at Petrobras’ refineries
Petróleo Brasileiro SA ( Petrobras ) has selected Invensys Process Systems’ Triconex TMR (triple modular redundant) technology for safety instrumented systems applications at the Duque de Caxias refinery in Rio de Janeiro state (Reduc) and the Paulinia refinery in Sao Paulo state (Replan) in Brazil.
The refineries, which are among the largest in the Petrobras system, will each employ multiple Tricon safety systems in their cracking units. The emergency shutdown systems are being installed as part of a refinery modernization program. The new systems are replacing existing relay panels, and were selected to simplify maintenance, and to provide increased asset availability, safety and efficiency.
Invensys Process Systems Brazil will also provide services, including configuration, testing, commissioning, start-up and training. In addition, for the Paulinia refinery, Invensys is providing basic and detailed engineering services throughout the safety systems project. The Invensys solutions were selected due to the reliability and inherent high availability of the Triconex TMR design, as well as extensive Invensys support dedicated to Petrobras, Invensys says.
Duque de Caxias Refinery has installed capacity of 242,000 barrels per day, and produces lubricants, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, bunker oil, as part of a line of 52 different products. Paulinia Refinery has installed capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, producing mainly diesel, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, coke, asphalt and turpentine.
Triconex TMRa technology employs three isolated, parallel control systems and extensive diagnostics integrated into one system. Two-out-of-three voting is said to provide high-integrity, error-free, uninterrupted process operation. TMR architecture eliminates any single point of failure and enables on-line maintenance, on-line programming downloads, self-calibration, and fault localization.
The leader in the Brazilian hydrocarbons sector, Petrobras, founded in 1953, has been expanding its operations to become an international energy company and a leader in Latin America.
Search on Petrobras atop www.controleng.com for more on other projects there.
Richard Phelps, senior editor, Control Engineering
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