CCC White Paper

Eliminate Wet-Gas Flaring During Cat Cracker Start-Up

Improve startup efficiency, eliminate flare losses, and achieve substantial cost savings with an advanced compressor control system.

Wet-gas flaring during cat cracker start-up is a common but costly issue at many refineries. Traditional compressor control systems struggle to maintain stability at low flow rates, leading to extended flaring, lost product, and delayed gas plant operations.

This white paper details how Marathon Petroleum’s Robinson refinery overcame these challenges with an advanced compressor control system from CCC. By enabling the wet-gas compressor to operate safely at low flow rates, the new system eliminated the need for flaring during start-up, improved operational reliability, and reduced turbine steam consumption by 10%.

Results include saving an estimated $60,000 per start-up event, accelerating compressor readiness by 12 hours, and achieving a total projected savings of $232,000 in the first year of operation. The paper also discusses how improvements in antisurge control, loop decoupling strategies, and process stability enhancements enabled safer, faster, and more efficient cat cracker start-ups.

If you're looking to reduce flare emissions, lower operational costs, and enhance start-up reliability, this white paper offers actionable insights.