Customer Profile

Valero
Company
Energy Corporation
Name
Crude
Petroleum
Oil Production
Refining

Challenge:

Valero Implements APC Solution

to Manage Stock Switches,
Reducing Product Downgrades
by $400M per Year
Leading refiner deploys Aspen DMCplus and realizes a
seventy-five percent improvement in time to complete stock
switches, increasing the units charge rate by ten percent.

Improve
Copy.... the efficiency and
consistency of stock switches on
Solution:
the furfural unit
Copy...
Solution:
Benefits:
Aspen DMCplus for improved
Copy..
management of stock switches
Copy..
Benefits:
Copy..
Improve productivity by 75
percent, switching all stocks
Copy..
within a two-hour window
Copy..
Reduce product downgrades by
more than $400M/year

North Americas largest independent petroleum refiner and marketer

based in San Antonio, Texas, Valero Energy Corporation supplies fuel
and products via 15 refineries and ten ethanol plants stretching from

Increase unit charge rate by 10

percent

California to Canada to the Caribbean.

Eliminate under-carry or carryover during stock switches

Valero observed a number of problems with the way stock switches

Maintain unit operations within

environmental limits

were managed in the Paulsboro refinery complex furfural unit. This

particular unit manages six different stock numbers, 30 different switch
combinations per crude type, and more than four different crude types
with stock switches occurring one to two times per week per unit.
To improve the efficiency and consistency of stock switches at the
furfural unit, Valero turned to Aspen DMCplus. In addition to gaining
greater control of stock switches, the company wanted to improve the
units overall profitability and stability. Aspen DMCplus met their
objectives, reducing product downgrades by more than $400M per year
and delivering more stable operations overall.

Inconsistency Deters Overall Profitability and Stability

Valero lacked a consistent method for switching stocks. The time required to
complete a switch varied considerably from stock to stock and operator to
operator. Slow stock switches led to degraded product quality due to unstable
operations, which in turn reduced profitability. The complexity of managing
the switches also created an issue for new board operators.

Saving Time and Improving Profitability with Aspen DMCplus

Valero selected Aspen DMCplus to address these challenges. In addition to
improving switch management, Aspen DMCplus enables Valero to improve
the units overall profitability, as well as to increase the units charge rate by
10 percent, provide greater O2 control of raffinate and extract heaters, and
reduce transition and stop time during switches. In addition, Valero was able
to reduce product downgrades by more $400M per year.

About AspenTech
About AspenTech
AspenTech is a leading supplier of
AspenTech is a leading supplier of
software that optimizes process
software that optimizes process
manufacturing including oil and
manufacturing including oil and
gas, petroleum, chemicals, pharmagas, petroleum, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other industries that
ceuticals and other industries that
manufacture and produce products
manufacture and produce products
from a chemical process. With intefrom a chemical process. With integrated aspenONE solutions, process
grated aspenONE solutions, process
manufacturers can implement best
manufacturers can implement best
practices for optimizing their enginpractices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing and supply
eering, manufacturing and supply
chain operations. As a result,
chain operations. As a result,
AspenTech customers are better able
AspenTech customers are better able
to increase capacity, improve marto increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs and become more
gins, reduce costs and become more
energy efficient. To see how the
energy efficient. To see how the
worlds leading process manufacturworlds leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve
ers rely on AspenTech to achieve
their operational excellence goals,
their operational excellence goals,
visit www.aspentech.com.
visit www.aspentech.com.

Worldwide Headquarters

Before and after charts show the difference when implementing

Aspen DMCplus during stock switches.
The solution also enables Valero to improve the units stability by improving

Aspen Technology, Inc.

200 Wheeler Road
Burlington, MA 01803
phone: +1-781-221-6400
fax: +1-781-221-6410
info@aspentech.com

control of the RDC interface level, predicting and reacting to level changes,
and correcting changes due to disturbances.
Aspen DMCplus facilitated significant productivity improvement in the time
required to complete stock switches. In fact, all stock switches under Aspen
DMCplus control are now completed within two hours rather than the average

EMEA Headquarters
AspenTech Ltd.
C1, Reading Intl Business Park
Basingstoke Road
Reading, Berkshire
RG2 6DT United Kingdom

with no under-carry or carry-over during stock switches.

phone: +44-(0)-1189-226400
fax: +44-(0)-1189-226401
ATE_info@aspentech.com

Additional Benefits Deliver Further Value

APAC Headquarters

of eight hours. And easier switching by operators leads to consistent results

In addition to shortening the switch time, Valero also improved control of the
heater firing duty, enabling them to maintain unit operations within environmental limits. Aspen DMCplus allows Valero to push charge rates closer to
limits without violating constraints, significantly reducing the standard
deviation of fired heater operation.
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2266-35-0211

AspenTech (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

3rd Floor, North Wing
Zhe Da Wang Xin Building
2966 Jin Ke Road
Zhangjiang High-Tech Zone
Pudong, Shanghai
201203, China
phone: +86-21-5137-5000
fax: +86-21-5137-5100
apac_marketing@aspentech.com