Target the flows of your manifold

Use the Configuration Inspector to define the configuration of your manifold, and the ratios of material being separated into different destinations.

Warning: There must always be an active configuration. It may be necessary to split an active configuration in order to change the start or end date of a configuration and edit the configuration parameters for a limited duration (Changing Configuration Duration).

Where a manifold feeds multiple destinations, the flow to one or more of these destinations can be targeted during simulation. To target the flow to a destination, open the Configuration Inspector:

1. In the Properties section define the Control mode for each asset. You can choose among the following settings:

   • Sequential: Typically used when the destination is a tank. The manifold will divert the entire flow to the tank until the working maximum level is reached, then switch to the following destination. Note that, if the Respect check box is not selected, the working maximum constraint will be ignored, so the manifold will never switch to the following destination. You can also override the working max set for the tank by entering a new value in the Value column, with the corresponding UoM.

     If you have multiple destinations set to Sequential, the Order column shows the order in which flow is directed to each destination.

   • Simultaneous (Target): Multiple destinations are targeted at the same time. For this destination, set the target to the absolute flow value defined in the Value and UoM columns under the Control group.

   • Simultaneous (Ratio): Multiple destinations are targeted at the same time. The flow rate is calculated from the relative ratio across all ratio-based destinations

2. Enter appropriate Value for each destination, either as an absolute value or a ratio, and if necessary set the UoM.

   

Where a stream flow is being targeted, there must be at least one other stream left as a Ratio option. Where the flow to the manifold exceeds the targeted flow, the excess flow will be divided among the other outputs according to their ratios.

The following are a few examples:

• A manifold has two outputs; the FCC is targeted to 10 kbbl/d and the remainder goes to a tank. The input flow to the unit is 14 kbbl/d - 10 kbbl/d is sent to the FCC and 4 kbbl/d goes to the tank.

• A manifold has two outputs; the FCC is targeted to 10 kbbl/d and the remainder goes to a tank. The input flow to the unit is 8 kbbl/d - 8 kbbl/d is sent to the FCC and 0 kbbl/d goes to the tank.

• A manifold has three outputs; the hydrotreater is targeted to 5 kbbl/d, the penex to 6 kbbl/d and the remainder goes to a tank. The input flow to the unit is 12 kbbl/d - 5 kbbl/d goes to the hydrotreater, 6 kbbl/d to the penex and 1 kbbl/d to the tank.

• A manifold has three outputs; the hydrotreater is targeted to 5 kbbl/d, the penex to 6 kbbl/d and the remainder goes to a tank - the hydrotreater has a higher priority than the penex. The input flow to the unit is 10 kbbl/d - 5 kbbl/d goes to the hydrotreater, 5 kbbl/d to the penex and 0 kbbl/d to the tank.

• A manifold has three outputs; the hydrotreater is targeted to 6 kbbl/d, the penex and a tank have a ratio of 2:1. The input flow to the unit is 12 kbbl/d - 6 kbbl/d goes to the hydrotreater, 4 kbbl/d to the penex and 2 kbbl/d to the tank.

• A manifold has three outputs; the hydrotreater is targeted to 6 kbbl/d, the penex and a tank have a ratio of 2:1. The input flow to the unit is 6 kbbl/d - 6 kbbl/d goes to the hydrotreater, 0 kbbl/d to the penex and 0 kbbl/d to the tank.

You can insert columns displaying a manifold target in the Tabular pane.

The Default target columns lets you enter a target value. The Effective target columns are read only and display the target used in the simulation.

Effective target values may differ from the ones you set if the Blend feed manifold support optional feature is enabled, and a blend configuration for the manifold has taken precedence over the default configuration.

When inserting a column for a target rate you can also define the unit of measure you want to use, which can be different from the default unit of measure. The unit of measure you choose is also used in any Inspector where the manifold configuration is shown.

Resolve targeting conflicts

It's possible to have conflicting targets set in the manifold, and in a downstream distillation unit. For example, you may have set a target flow of 3 kbbl/d to a distillation unit feed in the manifold configuration, and a target flow of 5 kbbl/d in the configuration of the distillation unit itself. In this case, which setting takes precedence?

To resolve conflicting targets, open the Configuration Inspector. In the Targeting column group of the Properties pane, select the check box in the Allow column to allow targeting settings in the downstream unit configuration to control the flow of material. After the schedule is simulated again, the check box in the Controlled column becomes selected to indicate that the target setting in the downstream unit configuration has taken over.

If there is no targeting setting in a downstream unit, selecting or clearing the Allow check box has no effect.

The following images show the effects of different targeting and ratio settings in a manifold with three outputs (two tanks and one process unit).

In the following image, both tanks I109 and I115H are set to Sequential. Their working max values are respected and overridden to 200 kbbl. The simulation starts by diverting all flow to I109, because it has an Order value of 1, until its working maximum is reached. Then it switches to I115H, until its working maximum is also reached, and finally to the FCC Feed.

Note the icon next to the flow values in the tabular view, meaning that the corresponding activities are rule-generated (in this case, by the targeting rules of the manifold) and cannot be edited directly.

In the following image, all three destinations are set to Simultaneous (Ratios), with the FCC Feed taking half the whole flow, with the remainder split equally between the two tanks. Note how, in the tabular view, the two tanks have the same flow, and the flow to the FCC Feed is twice the flow to each tank, allowing for rounding errors.

In the following image, the FCC Feed destination is set to Simultaneous (Target), with a value of 8 kbbl/d. As you can see, this is reflected in the transfer value in the tabular view. The two tanks are set to Simultaneous (Ratio), with I115H receiving twice as much as I109. Again, you can verify in the tabular view that this is indeed what happens.

The last image, below, shows both the FCC Feed and the I109 tank destinations set to Simultaneous (Target), with flow values of 8 and 5 kbbl/d, respectively. The FCC Feed has higher priority, so it receives the entirety of its target flow. The I109 tank receives the remainder of the flow, which is now enough to reach the 5 kbbl/d target.

The I115H tank is set to Simultaneous (Ratio). Remember that it is not allowed to set all destinations to Simultaneous (Target), because there must be at least one destination to which any excess flow can be sent.

At first, no flow is directed to I115H because the other destinations consume all the available material. However, the I109 tank has a working maximum level overridden to 150 kbbl. Once this level is reached, flow to I109 stops and I115H starts receiving material.