Abstract: The present invention is a method for detecting an abnormal event for process units of an ethylene processing system. The method compares the operation of the process units to a model developed by principal components analysis of normal operation for these units. If the difference between the operation of a process unit and the normal operation indicates an abnormal condition, then the cause of the abnormal condition is determined and corrected.

Abstract: Thousands of process and equipment measurements are gathered by the modern digital process control systems that are deployed in refineries and chemical plants. Several years of these data are historized in databases for analysis and reporting. These databases can be mined for the data patterns that occur during normal operation and those patterns used to determine when the process is behaving abnormally. These normal operating patterns are represented by sets of models. These models include simple engineering equations, which express known relationships that should be true during normal operations and multivariate statistical models based on a variation of principle component analysis. Equipment and process problems can be detected by comparing the data gathered on a minute by minute basis to predictions from these models of normal operation.