Cleaning procedure for a plate heat exchanger derived from data analysis based on recurrent neural networks

William Vargas Silva earned his degree in electromechanical engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander and an MSc degree in maintenance management. Silva has 19 yr of experience in the operation and engineering of static and rotative equipment. Since 2017, he has been applying artificial intelligence models to advanced operational analysis. The author can be reached at William.vargass1@ecopetrol.com.co.

Domingo Antonio Escalante Salazar earned his degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander and an MBA from Inalde Business School, Colombia. He has 30 yr of experience in the oil and gas industry in operations and management in the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries. Today, he is a Senior Advisor specializing in operational excellence and the circular economy in petroleum refining and petrochemistry. The author can be reached at Domingo.escalante@ecopetrol.com.co.

Luis Javier Hoyos Marín earned his degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Nacional, Colombia, and a PhD from Université Claude Bernard, Lyon I, France. Dr. Marín has 29 yr of experience, and works as an R&D Senior Engineer at the Technology and Innovation Center of Ecopetrol, specializing in topics like complex process modeling and advanced recycling. The author can be reached at Luis.hoyos@ecopetrol.com.co.

Ernesto Gomez Cabarcas earned his degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander, Colombia, and has 27 yr of operations and management experience in the oil and gas, petroleum refining and petrochemical industries. He now serves as the Head of Ecopetrol’s petroleum refining and petrochemistry long-term planning. The author can be reached at Ernesto.gomez@ecopetrol.co.co.