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Scenario · Technical Services and Environment

Debottleneck the solvent recovery column through management of change

You are a process engineer in Technical Services and Environment.

Advanced5 to 6 hours8 tasks
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The situation

What has happened

The solvent recovery column is limited to about 85 percent of nameplate feed rate because the reboiler reaches its steam duty limit before the column floods. Customers are being turned away and used solvent is stockpiling in T-310. MOC-26-034 proposes a feed preheater using low pressure steam and a bypass tie-in on the feed line, which will require a hot work permit for the tie-in. The change affects the column heat balance, the relief case, the safe operating limits and the emergency shutdown logic. The reflux pump trip and the six minute limit excursion on 2 September are still under investigation. Ingrid Solberg wants the performance analysis and the complete management of change request, with the hazard assessment and the pre-implementation actions, before the permit for the tie-in can be issued.

Your brief. Analyse the column performance data to confirm the bottleneck, evaluate the preheater and bypass option against alternatives, complete the management of change request with a hazard assessment and an assessment of the effect on safety case control measures and safe operating limits, and define the pre-implementation actions and the pre-start-up safety review.
Read the work request in your inbox
Tasks

Deliverables

  • Column performance analysis with bottleneck confirmed
  • Heat balance and capacity estimate with assumptions
  • Alternatives evaluation
  • Completed management of change request with hazard assessment
  • Pre-implementation action list and register update

Documents to use

Systems to use

Management of Change Register

Tracks every management of change request from submission to close-out including temporary changes, overrides and their expiry dates.

Control Room Shift Log

Records every operating event, batch, reading, sample result, override and handover from the control room and the field for each shift.

Permit and Isolation Register

Tracks every permit to work, isolation certificate and blind from request to close-out and records permit audits.

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

Current on training.gov.au for the Chemical, Hydrocarbons and Refining as at 10 September 2026.

PMAOPS601Debottleneck plant
PMAOPS600Modify plant
PMAOPS500Optimise production systems
PMAOPS511Determine energy transfer loads
PMASUP540Analyse equipment performance
PMAWHS502Contribute to safety case

Qualifications

PMA50116Diploma of Process Plant Technology
PMA60116Advanced Diploma of Process Plant Technology
Assessor notes

What to look for

Evidence guide

The bottleneck must be confirmed from data, not asserted, and the heat balance must show its assumptions. Look for genuine alternatives evaluated, a hazard assessment that covers relief, materials, trips and the shutdown logic, every affected safety case control measure and safe operating limit identified, and pre-implementation actions that would stop the permit being issued until they are closed. The recommendation must be conditional on the change process, not on schedule pressure.

The student's evidence summary lists every record they created or changed in the systems named above, their notes and the tasks they ticked. Verify it against the deliverables and your own assessment tool.