FEATURED ARTICLES Innovation for Next-generation Energy

[ii] Distributed Power Supply Solutions

Upgrade Project for H-25 Gas
Turbine Generator at Yokkaichi
Complex of Tosoh Corporation
The H-25 Series is a range of industrial gas turbines previously devised by Hitachi for
use as distributed power supplies by domestic and overseas customers. Recently, the
company designed and delivered an H-25 gas turbine upgrade and system for effective
use of gas turbine exhaust gas in an ethylene production facility to Tosoh Corporation
for use at its Yokkaichi Complex. The system uses the excess byproduct gases generated
during the ethylene production process as fuel for the gas turbine. These gases were pre-
viously processed by a flare stack. By generating power, the system reduces the plant’s
input power, enabling significant energy savings, and has received a subsidy from the
Sustainable open Innovation Initiative. This article provides a detailed description of
the project management activities done by Hitachi in its role as main contractor over
the course of the project. Also presented is an overview of the highly reliable gas turbine
control equipment technologies that were used in the project.

Manabu Hamaguchi
Kensuke Takamori
Hideaki Horiguchi
Kento Takekoshi
Takuro Aoki

have greatly improved the facility’s utilization rate,

and have demonstrated ample energy savings over
1. Introduction the one-year period since operation began in February
2019, helping improve ethylene production efficiency
The ethylene production facility at Tosoh Corporation’s and receiving positive feedback from the customer.
Yokkaichi Complex previously generated power by This article presents the project management activi-
using the byproduct gases generated during the eth- ties done by Hitachi in its role as main contractor
ylene production process as fuel for its existing gas to adequately satisfy requirements for the completed
turbine (GT). But the existing GT was unreliable and project such as the processes, quality, and guaranteed
was shut down in 2011. performance values, as well as the H-25 GT and its
Hitachi responded by devising an upgrade to a control equipment. The project was selected for the
highly reliable GT, the H-25, with new control equip- FY2017 Subsidy to Support Businesses Engaged
ment that was supplied to Tosoh along with a system in Energy Use Rationalization provided by the
designed to save energy through the effective use of Sustainable open Innovation Initiative (SII).
heat generated from exhaust gas. These refinements

Hitachi Review Vol. 69, No. 4 510–511 103.

 Figure 1 — Conceptual Diagram of
Interconnection between GT Power
Naphtha cracking furnace
Generator and Naphtha Cracking Furnace
Exhaust Exhaust
GT exhaust gas is supplied to heat exchangers Decomposed gas Decomposed gas
and to a separate naphtha cracking furnace. A Naphtha Naphtha

Exchanger

Exchanger
Ethylene production

Ethylene production
portion of the byproduct gases generated by
the naphtha cracking furnace is used as GT fuel,
reducing flare stack gas and decreasing input Flare stack
power.
Burner Burner Backup fuel
(byproduct gases
from other processes)

Byproduct
FDF gases
(air for combustion) Other
process
Existing
GT fuel
Exhaust heat
exchanger
Exhaust
gas Intake
Boiler power
generator
Power
company grid
EMS G

Input power
DCS (existing) H-25 GT reduction
(33 MW rated output)

FDF: forced draft fan GT: gas turbine EMS: energy management system DCS: distributed control system G: generator

conceptual diagram of the interconnection between

2. New GT Power Generator the GT exhaust gas and naphtha cracking furnace.
Installation
3. Providing Robust Project
The ethylene production facility at Tosoh’s Yokkaichi Management
Complex previously supplied the air needed for com-
bustion to a naphtha cracking furnace through an 3. 1
existing forced draft fan (FDF). The new system sup- Use of H-25 Gas Turbine
plied by Hitachi uses a heat exchanger to exchange the The GT used for the project was an H-25 Series
air for combustion with the heat of the GT exhaust model (Type 32C) made by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power
gas. At the same time, GT exhaust gas is sent directly Systems, Ltd. (MHPS). It is a heavy-duty simple-
to another naphtha cracking furnace to achieve effec- cycle GT with a rated output of 33 MW and rated
tive waste heat recovery. speeds of 7,250/1,800 rpm. This type of GT was
Byproduct gases are collected in the existing gas deemed suitable for operation in connection with
header. They are used by equipment such as naphtha the ethylene production facility since H-25 Series
cracking furnace burners, and as GT fuel. When not models can be used as distributed power supplies and
used by the GT, byproduct gases are disposed of as have an ample operation track record at domestic and
flare stack waste. Byproduct gases from other pro- overseas sites.
cesses are also used as backup fuel. So the operation
of the GT power generator is mutually interconnected 3. 2
with the operation of the naphtha cracking furnace. Project Organization
The facility uses GT exhaust gas to supply the heat The GT, generator, and electrical panel used in the
quantity needed to operate the naphtha cracking fur- project were purchased from MHPS by main con-
nace. At the same time, the byproduct gases generated tractor Hitachi, which also organized the installation
by the naphtha cracking furnace are used as fuel for work. A Hitachi HIACS-MULTI system was used
operating the GT power generator. Figure 1 shows a as the GT control equipment.

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Figure 2 — Timeline of Project Processes

After the project order was received in October 2017, project meetings were held as needed to adjust the specifications during the design phase. Operation
then began on schedule in January 2019.

2017 2018 2019

May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Setting up Final fire
Order received on-site office Power safety Acceptance
GT O/B input inspection inspection
Pilot engineering Buried
conduit work
On-site work
Design engineering

Work planning
GT ignition
GT materials procurement
Project processes

GT assembly/lubricant unit manufacture Trial operation

SII subsidy
application GT parts manufacture
Auxiliary unit manufacture

Electrical panel manufacture

First project Third project Fifth project Sixth project Seventh project
meeting meeting meeting meeting meeting Project completion
Fourth project meeting
meeting
FY2017 SII Second FY2017 FY2018 SII
subsidy project acceptance subsidy FY2018 acceptance
awarded meeting inspection award inspection

O/B: on base SII: Sustainable open Innovation Initiative

The Power Generation Systems Division of Hitachi’s finalization. The engineering work was done in the
Energy Business Unit served as the project manager. following order: First, pilot engineering was done to
It organized the project team, and was responsible for organize the basic plans and specifications require-
the engineering processes, work processes, customer ment drawings for the foundation work. Next came
interaction, technologies, quality guidance, and costs. It detailed equipment design engineering, followed by
also worked closely with the Utility Solutions Division purchased item procurement engineering.
of Hitachi’s Industry & Distribution Business Unit, (2) Responding to customer comments
which handled the subsidy project. Figure 2 illustrates When creating drawings for approval, several
the processes done from the time the project order rounds of comments from the customer were received
was received, up to delivery. and applied to the drawings. When comments could
not be applied, ample explanations were provided
3. 3 repeatedly. A list of the responses made to customer
Managing the Project comments was kept, and concerns and solutions were
This section discusses the policies, risk assessment, managed along with the schedule. Several rounds of
handling, and challenges that typified the project’s follow-ups were also supplied to the customer to
advanced management activities. ensure rigorous schedule management.
(1) Engineering schedule (3) Fire Service Act compliance
When creating the engineering schedule, the pro- Since they handle hazardous materials, GT power
duction processes were devised by working backward generators in Japan must be applied for under the
from processes such as on-site work, work planning, provisions of the Fire Service Act. Several problems
and trial operation planning. The deadline for com- arose in connection with the interpretation of the
pleting drawings was used as the production start- Act, but the customer and Hitachi worked together
ing point. For drawings requiring customer approval to handle them and ultimately no time was lost in
(‘drawings for approval’), the production starting passing the inspections needed to put the equipment
point was the deadline for final approval and drawing into operation.

Hitachi Review Vol. 69, No. 4 512–513 105.

 (4) Advance work planning disasters thanks to the efforts and close collaboration
An installation work process chart (detailed major of the project members, who were given continuous
process chart) was created 6 months before the work monitoring and guidance by their employers and full-
began. Site installation work particulars such as crane time work safety representatives. There were 41,448
placement and worker crew inputs were carefully accident-free man-hours over 153 days. Figure 3
examined and incorporated into the plans. shows some scenes of the work being done on the
The sizes, weights, quantities, and shapes of the site, along with a three-dimensional (3D) model of
equipment and parts to be installed were very impor- the power generator.
tant elements when planning the installation work. (6) Trial operation planning
To guarantee installation work accuracy, all installed A plan for trial operation of the facility in connec-
equipment items and parts were listed, and materials tion with the ethylene production facility was studied
were managed by documenting properties such as in advance with the customer. Trial operation was suc-
the name, quantity, and packing type of each equip- cessfully completed by carrying out advanced adjust-
ment item and part. Delivery deadlines were also ment and operation procedures in collaboration with
set as specified in the site work schedule. The plant the customer. These procedures included items such
compared these deadlines to the available delivery as switching the FDF and GT exhaust gas, and sta-
dates, creating a deadline/delivery date management bilizing control of the exhaust gas cooling air volume.
chart by adjusting the delivery dates to match the The plant had noise concerns about the GT power
site deadlines. generator, but trial operation was completed without
While the work was being done, the equipment problems.
and parts delivered to the site were subjected to rigor- (7) Advance risk assessment
ous procedures for checking received items, planning A risk assessment incorporating the results of past
temporary storage locations, managing items brought projects was carried out at the start of the project.
into the site, and managing delivery. As a result, the About 40 items were extracted and response mea-
work was completed as initially anticipated without sures were devised for them. The suitability of the
missing or defective deliveries. response measures and the occurrence of unforeseen
(5) Work safety management risks were assessed and identified when the project
The work was completed without accidents or was completed.

Figure 3 — On-site Work Scenes and 3D

Model of Power Generator
An overland trailer being refilled from a transport
ship docked at Yokkaichi Port (top-left). Using a
550-metric-ton crane to lift the GT after its arrival
at the site (top-right). Using a 220-metric-ton
crane to lift and install the new GT exhaust duct
that will connect to the customer’s existing naph-
tha cracking furnaces (bottom-left). This three-
dimensional (3D) model of the power generator
was used to check in advance for possible pipe
obstructions or other problems with the on-site
installation work (bottom-right).

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monitoring functions when a single component fails.

4. Hitachi GT Control Equipment The three independent parallel systems are com-
Used by the Project posed of three sets of CPUs and PI/O units. They
are highly reliable systems that each perform input
4. 1 and calculation operations, and use the output
HIACS-MULTI System formats below.
The HIACS-MULTI system was used as the GT (1) Servo output (three-coil): Three separate outputs
control equipment for the project. HIACS-MULTI (2) Analog output: Intermediate value output
is a refined version of the Hitachi integrated auto- (3) Digital output: “2 out of 3” output
nomic control system (HIACS) that has been used When one of the systems fails, the configuration
extensively in power plants ranging from thermal to enables the remaining two systems to continue oper-
hydroelectric and nuclear facilities. HIACS-MULTI ating while maintaining the same highly reliable state.
is a highly economical power generation monitoring
and control system that improves reliability by using a 4. 3
triple control system. It has a compact design that con- Noise-resistant Design
solidates six panels’ worth of functions into three panels. Since the GT equipment is composed of many elec-
tronic parts, even minute levels of noise entering it can
4. 2 be amplified internally and create the risk of internal
Redundant Design circuit malfunctions. Hitachi responded by drawing
The GT control system uses a redundant configuration on the noise-resistant design expertise it has acquired
for components such as the central processing units as a control system vendor, to supply products with
(CPUs), process input/output (PI/O) units, speed the following anti-noise measures:
sensors, and hydraulic servo valve (see Figure 4). It has (1) Noise filters were installed on the primary side
a triple independent parallel system, and is designed (power input side) of electronic equipment, isolating
to be more reliable at countering the loss of control or it from the secondary side (control panel interior side).

Figure 4 — Triple Independent Parallel

System Circuit Configuration Example System A System B System C
Show here is the configuration used to con-
trol the GT. It is composed of three redun-
dant systems that each performs input, CPU
calculation and output operations individu- Triple independent
ally. This highly reliable system configura- parallel system
tion enables operation to continue when one
of the systems fails. PI/O unit

Speed sensors Hydraulic servo valve GT Generator

(three redundant (three-coil)
sensors)

: Signal flow
CPU: central processing unit PI/O: process input/output

Hitachi Review Vol. 69, No. 4 514–515 107.

 Figure 5 — HIACS-MULTI HMI and Maintenance Tool Screens
Shown here are the HIACS-MULTI’s human-machine interface (HMI) and maintenance tool screens. This system enables plant monitoring, operations,
and maintenance to be performed from a single PC.

(2) The wiring paths of low-voltage circuits and 4. 4

heavy-duty circuits were isolated, twisted pair cables Plant Condition Monitoring
were used, and shielded wires were used to thoroughly HIACS-MULTI provides centralized monitoring
ground components. from a single maintenance tool by integrating a main-
(3) Special cables with improved noise resistance were tenance tool function with a human-machine inter-
used for the cabling connecting the PI/O units and face (HMI) function. The maintenance tool function
terminal blocks. handles online monitoring, simulated input and tuning,
(4) Models with surge killer diodes designed to absorb while the HMI function is used for plant monitoring
surge by themselves were selected for relays and other and equipment operations (see Figure 5 and Figure 6).
equipment expected to generate noise.
5. Use of Subsidy to Support
Figure 6 — Control Equipment Room
Businesses Engaged in Energy
An operator using the HMI to operate the equipment from the mainte-
Use Rationalization
nance tool desk.
Application for consideration of the FY2017 Subsidy
to Support Businesses Engaged in Energy Use
Rationalization provided by the SII was submitted
for two aspects of the project—the peak power man-
agement work and the energy management work. An
annual managed peak power output of 24 GWh was
set by adding the 16 GWh managed power output
during peak time slots to the 8 GWh*1 managed power

*1 Energy management boosted managed power output to 7.6% of the plant total, a value
that more than satisfied the 2% requirement of the subsidy application.

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 FEATURED ARTICLES

Figure 7 — Control Processes

Performed by Hitachi’s Energy &
Task Atmospheric emission (flaring) of excess byproduct gases generated by production process Equipment Management Service
• Installing large byproduct gas-fueled GT Hitachi’s energy and equipment manage-
Outcomes • Using EMS to optimize production process and GT energy balance ment service measures the excess byprod-
• Reducing quantity of purchased power for power demand leveling time slots
uct gases generated by the production
process, and controls the GT by calculat-
EMS ing the maximum GT power generation
Think output obtained using these gases.
Calculate optimum balance for
Optimize energy balance of Calculate maximum GT
production process (minimize
power generation output
excess byproduct gases) process and power generator
Sense Act
Process data Power generation output control
Production process Utility facility
Outside air
temperature
Surplus gas Heat quantity used Byproduct gas heat GT fueled by byproduct
quantity in other Input power gases (30 MW class)
heat quantity in other processes processes

Use excess byproduct gases for fuel

Production process

Other production processes

output achieved by energy management. The energy generated by the ethylene production process as GT
management system (EMS) used was the energy and fuel. Since these gases are tied to the energy balance
equipment management service that Hitachi has reg- within the ethylene production process, there is a risk
istered as a system for the SII energy management of an energy balance breakdown in the process that
project. The service’s main features are: will prevent optimum operation if unsuitable fuel is
(1) Central management of various equipment types used for GT power generation. To ensure that the
(2) Analysis and use of gathered data energy lost to the flare stack is properly consumed
(3) Optimum equipment operation following fore- by the GT, the energy and equipment management
casts and plans service can calculate the energy balance in the pro-
The service’s functions were used to create the opti- cess to help increase the GT’s power output. The
mum operation logic for GTs fueled by byproduct operational data obtained between February 2019
gases (see Figure 7). (when operation began) and November 2019 shows
The GT power generator installed by the project that the peak power output reduction during the
is fueled by byproduct gases. The quantities and heat managed peak power time slots*2 rose to a total of
values of the generated byproduct gases vary accord- 32 GWh, already attaining the planned value of
ing to the properties and state of the naphtha used to 24 GWh (see Figure 8).
produce the ethylene. Previously, any excess byproduct
gases generated were processed by the plant’s flare
stack. The decision to use byproduct gases as GT 6. Future Business Areas
power generator fuel was reached by using Hitachi’s
energy and equipment management service to moni- Hitachi will continue to design and supply H-25
tor the measured heat values of byproduct gases emit- series industrial GTs suitable for use as distributed
ted to the atmosphere, and setting the likelihood of power supplies to domestic and overseas custom-
the need to handle variation by considering heat value ers. The power generator supplied will be tailored to
variation and usage state variation in other processes. customer facilities and needs, with a focus on highly
Conventional GT control systems assume that the energy-saving projects like the one described here.
fuel needed to generate power will be supplied. The Hitachi is confident that these activities will help
amount of fuel consumed is the amount correspond- provide the reduction in CO2 required by the world.
ing to the target power output.
*2 The hours between 8 am and 10 pm every day in the months of January, February, March,
The project’s system uses the byproduct gases July, August, September, and December.

Hitachi Review Vol. 69, No. 4 516–517 109.

 Figure 8 — Managed Power Output During
Peak Time Slots (Monthly Data) Managed power output during 2019 peak time slots

Managed power output (MWh)

Power supply quantity (MWh)
This bar chart shows the monthly data for man-

Cumulative quantity (MWh)

aged power output in 2019. As shown, the output 25,000 35,000
during peak managed power time slots was man- 30,000
aged to a significant extent. 20,000
25,000
15,000 20,000
10,000 15,000
10,000
5,000
5,000
0 0
Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov

Gas turbine power supply quantity (MWh) Managed power output during peak time slots (MWh)
Cumulative managed power output during peak time slots (MWh)

Figure 9 — Facility after Completion of Installation Work

Shown here are the delivered plant facility (left), the rear of the GT body (center), and the connection between the GT exhaust duct and the customer’s
facility (right).

Portion delivered
by Hitachi

Finally, Figure 9 shows the plant facility after comple- Kensuke Takamori
tion of the installation work done for the project. Thermal Power Engineering Department, Thermal
Power Division, Power Generation Systems Division,
Energy Business Unit, Hitachi, Ltd. Current work and
research: Design of basic plans for gas turbine power
7. Conclusions plants.

Hideaki Horiguchi
This article has looked at how Hitachi handled the Power Generation Control System Engineering
Department, Power Generation Control System
project management work done for a gas turbine Section, Control System Platform Division, Service &
power generator project. Hitachi will continue to Platform Business Unit, Hitachi, Ltd. Current work and
research: Design of control systems for power plants.
devise and implement effective project management
activities and supply highly reliable power genera-
Kento Takekoshi
tors that satisfy requirements in areas such as pro- Utility Solutions Department, Utility Solutions
Division, Industrial Solutions & Services Business
cesses, quality, and guaranteed performance values. Division, Industry & Distribution Business Unit,
This equipment will help save energy and improve Hitachi, Ltd. Current work and research: Consulting
for energy conservation.
customer production efficiency.

Takuro Aoki
Ethylene & Energy Production Department, Yokkaichi
Manufacturing Complex, Tosoh Corporation. Current
Authors work and research: Development of energy-saving
Manabu Hamaguchi technology in ethylene manufacturing plants.
Thermal Power Business Department, Thermal
Power Division, Power Generation Systems Division,
Energy Business Unit, Hitachi, Ltd. Current work and
research: Project management for gas turbine power
plants.

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