LUMMUS DIGITAL
Proof Points.
HPCL
Turning residue into margin.
$2.5/bbl
LC-MAX® GRM uplift
Equivalent to ~$275M annual value at 110 KBPD capacity.
+10%
Distillate yield gain
$1–2M/yr
Phase 2 digital upside
The challenge
- High startup & safety risk during pre-startup and feed cut-in
- Fragmented visibility across critical LC-MAX® process systems
- Inconsistent catalyst, inventory and mass-balance tracking
- Limited visibility into early feed characterisation and yield estimates
- Manual, time-intensive readiness and performance calculations
- Cross-functional misalignment during a critical startup phase
The LC-MAX® Digital Suite, deployed in two phases. Phase 1: a production-ready digital foundation live before feed cut-in — integrating real-time plant data with proprietary licensor process models, delivering a unified operational view and automating critical engineering calculations.
Phase 2 builds on this foundation with advanced hybrid models combining first-principles knowledge with data-driven learning, driving ongoing optimisation in yields, energy performance, and operational efficiency.
- System production-ready before feed cut-in
- 2,000+ automated calculations every 2 hours
- Real-time monitoring of catalyst health, reactors, hydrogen systems
- Trade-offs (yield vs. energy) quantified before each decision
- Single, trusted operational view from pre-startup through stabilised operation
The challenge
400
Reinventing hydrocracker performance.
A 400,000 bpd full-conversion refinery set out to strengthen hydrocracker reliability, preserve catalyst health, and improve energy efficiency — under tight operating windows, at high severity, and with limited real-time visibility into unit health.
By deploying Lummus Digital’s integrated performance monitoring and advisory platform, the operator delivered measurable gains across unit stability, energy recovery and catalyst lifecycle — establishing a scalable digital foundation for continuous, sustained performance improvement.
$4M+/yr
Annual value identified
2–3mo
Catalyst cycle extension
Through earlier detection of thermal excursions and WABT drift — deferring $15–25M in reload costs.
2–3%
Energy efficiency improvement
Across critical heat exchange and fired-heater equipment.
The challenge
- Limited real-time visibility into hydrocracker and reactor health
- Delayed detection of catalyst degradation and thermal issues
- 2–5% throughput gap vs. design from hidden constraints
- Excess energy consumption — $3–5M/year in recoverable value
- Each day of unplanned downtime = $1–2M in lost margin
An integrated digital performance-monitoring and advisory platform purpose-built for hydrocracker operations. Real-time data from control, historian and engineering systems consolidated into a single operational view — supported by advanced engineering models and normalised KPIs.
150+ structured KPIs unified from disparate systems. Threshold-based and predictive alerts. Centralised dashboards for operators, engineers, and management on a single shared view.
- 40–60% faster issue detection — hours, not days
- Improved reactor stability through early WABT detection
- 60–70% reduction in manual reporting effort
- Better asset utilisation through constraint visibility
- Scalable foundation for AI APC and predictive maintenance
