Case Study: Largest Chemical, Plastic and Refining Company achieves rapid identification of quench oil high-viscosity causes with Aspen Technology's Aspen ProMV

Multivariate Statistical Analysis Finds Cause of Quench Oil High-Viscosity Issue

The Largest Chemical, Plastic and Refining Company had been battling a persistent quench oil high‑viscosity problem at its PreFac distillation column since mid‑2017, forcing production slowdowns and reducing the effectiveness of energy recycling. The company engaged Aspen Technology and applied the Aspen ProMV Desktop (continuous) model to diagnose the root cause of the viscosity excursions.

Aspen Technology developed an Aspen ProMV offline continuous model that captured time lags and analyzed roughly 230 process and feed variables (expanded to ~1,175 with 1–5 day lags). Within weeks the model reduced the problem space to seven principal components and identified the top contributors—six LCO feed characteristics, two feed variables and seven process variables—clearly linking a specific LCO type to high viscosity. Aspen Technology’s solution also enabled what‑if optimization to predict worst‑ and best‑case viscosities, helping the customer negotiate or change LCO suppliers, avoid shutdowns and limit production losses.