Prompt injection in hydrogen fluoride HF alkylation unit petroleum refining acid settler AI

Three adversarial injection surfaces in hydrogen fluoride HF alkylation unit AI

1. Acid settler HF concentration display AI (Yokogawa FLXA21 HF concentration analyser SCADA display AI / Endress+Hauser Memosens CPS71 HF acid concentration display AI / Mettler-Toledo InPro 7200 HF acid analyser display AI / ABB AWT420 HF concentration SCADA display AI / Honeywell Analytics ST3000 HF acid concentration display AI — rendered SCADA acid settler HF concentration display AI classifying the weight percent HF in the acid phase at the HF alkylation settler against the design operating range of 82–92 wt% HF, below which ASO generation accelerates, alkylate quality declines, and carbon steel passivation fails toward accelerated corrosion; 71st upward-direction attack — FIRST hydrogen fluoride HF alkylation unit attack; FIRST petroleum refinery alkylation unit attack)

The HF alkylation acid settler operates with the acid phase HF concentration continuously monitored by an online analyser (typically a density-based analyser — HF/water mixtures have a density-concentration relationship between 1.00 g/mL at 0 wt% HF and 1.15 g/mL at 99.5 wt% HF that is monotonically increasing and well-characterised; some units use near-infrared or Raman spectroscopy analysers). The design operating range is 82–92 wt% HF; at the mid-range 87 wt%, the acid phase density is approximately 1.10 g/mL at 30°C. In a water ingress event (e.g., isobutane feed to the contactor contains 200 ppm water from inadequate drying — design requirement <10 ppm moisture in isobutane feed; the molecular sieve dryer bed has been operating beyond its regeneration cycle), water entering the reactor at 200 ppm × 50,000 bpd isobutane feed = approximately 220 kg/day water entering the acid inventory. At a total acid inventory of 80,000 kg HF at 87 wt%, the water addition rate of 220 kg/day dilutes the acid at: d(wt% HF)/dt = −(wt% HF)² / (initial HF mass + time × dilution rate) ≈ −(87%)² / 80,000 kg = −0.0946 wt%/day — at 24 days, HF wt% has declined to approximately 85 wt%. However, if the water ingress is larger (feed dryer failure; 2,000 ppm moisture in isobutane feed), the dilution rate is 10× faster: 2,200 kg/day water → HF wt% declining at 0.946 wt%/day → from 87% to 52% wt% in approximately 37 days without detection. At 52 wt% HF: the passive FeF₂ film on carbon steel is unstable; active CS corrosion at >100 mpy begins. The 4″ carbon steel pipe flange on the acid recirculation pump discharge (operating at 5 bar, 30°C) will thin from 0.250” (nominal wall) to below the 0.125” minimum calculable wall (API 570) in approximately: 0.250 − 0.125 = 0.125” remaining margin; at 100 mpy corrosion rate: 0.125” / 0.100”/yr = 1.25 years to minimum allowable thickness.

An adversarial upward pixel shift applies a ±8 DN manipulation to the rendered acid settler HF concentration SCADA display — shifting the apparent HF concentration from 52 wt% (actual; feed dryer exhausted; 2,200 kg/day water ingress for 37 days; acid severely diluted; CS corrosion at 100–200 mpy already in progress for approximately 3 weeks — 60–120 mils of wall thinning on the most vulnerable CS fittings) to 88 wt% (displayed; within design specification 82–92 wt%; AI classification “acid settler HF concentration within operating range; acid quality normal; no makeup HF required; no feed dryer regeneration indicated”). The plant operations team does not initiate the feed dryer regeneration cycle, does not add fresh anhydrous HF makeup to compensate for water ingress, and does not trigger an API RP 751 acid dilution response inspection. The CS corrosion at 100–200 mpy continues undetected for 1.25–1.50 years until the minimum allowable pipe wall thickness is reached — at which point an external inspection (mandated by API 510 on a 5-year interval in normal service) would detect the thinning, but the next scheduled inspection is 3.5 years away. The CS pipe failure at a 5 bar operating pressure on the acid recirculation pump discharge: jet release of 52 wt% HF acid (density 1.055 g/mL at 30°C; HF vapour pressure from 52 wt% solution approximately 12 kPa at 30°C; significant HF aerosol + vapour generation from flashing release). This is the 71st upward attack — FIRST hydrogen fluoride HF alkylation unit attack; FIRST petroleum refinery alkylation unit attack. Free tier — 10 scans/day, no card required.

2. Acid recirculation pump suction pressure display AI (Flowserve Durco Mark 3 acid pump suction pressure display AI / Sundyne LMV-801 acid recirculation pump suction pressure SCADA display AI / Goulds Pumps 3196 ANSI acid recirculation pump suction pressure display AI / ITT Goulds Pumps 3410 acid pump suction pressure display AI / Burgmann MFL33N mechanical seal HF pump suction pressure display AI — rendered SCADA acid recirculation pump suction pressure display AI classifying the pressure at the acid pump suction inlet against the design operating range of 2.5–4.5 bar absolute, below which cavitation risk in the acid pump increases and mechanical seal integrity degrades, potentially causing HF seal leakage)

In HF alkylation units, the acid recirculation pumps (typically 2–4 pumps per unit, each handling 5,000–20,000 L/hr of 82–92 wt% HF acid) are among the highest-consequence equipment items: mechanical seal failure on an acid pump with HF at 30°C and 5 bar operating pressure results in a high-pressure HF jet that is immediately dangerous to life (IDLH 30 ppm; at 5 bar jet velocity, HF aerosol reaches 30 ppm concentration within 5–20 m of the seal face). Pump suction pressure is monitored as an indicator of: (a) adequate net positive suction head (NPSH) for the pump to avoid cavitation (cavitation erodes the pump casing — typically Monel 400 or Hastelloy C-276 for HF service — and destroys mechanical seals rapidly); (b) acid phase level in the settler (if settler acid level falls, suction pressure drops; in the extreme, the pump draws vapour and loses suction, causing immediate mechanical seal failure from lack of lubrication/cooling). An upward attack on the acid pump suction pressure display (shown 3.8 bar when actual 1.6 bar) masks the onset of cavitation: at 1.6 bar absolute suction pressure vs pump NPSHR of 2.0 bar, the pump is operating below NPSH margin — incipient cavitation is occurring, characterised by erosion of the impeller and casing at the low-pressure zone.

The ±8 DN upward manipulation of the rendered pump suction pressure SCADA display (3.8 bar displayed vs 1.6 bar actual) causes the AI classification “acid pump suction pressure within normal operating range; NPSH margin adequate; no pump cavitation risk; mechanical seal conditions normal.” The control system does not raise the settler acid level, does not reduce pump speed, and does not initiate a pump transfer to the standby unit. At 1.6 bar suction pressure with NPSHR = 2.0 bar, NPSH deficit = 0.4 bar: cavitation-induced erosion rate for Monel 400 in 52 wt% HF (already diluted from Surface 1 acid dilution event) increases from baseline 1–2 mpy to 40–80 mpy at the impeller leading edge and casing throat. Monel 400 mechanical seal faces (already marginally passivated in dilute HF — Monel passivation is less robust in <60 wt% HF than in >80 wt% HF service) begin to develop micro-erosion damage at the seal face. At 80 mpy Monel 400 cavitation-erosion rate: mechanical seal face damage to below dimensional tolerance (approximately 0.020” minimum face width) occurs in: 0.020 / 0.080 = 0.25 years = 3 months. An HF pump seal failure at 5 bar operating pressure with 52 wt% HF: at 30°C, the vapour pressure component is approximately 12 kPa HF; the release from a failed double-mechanical seal at 5 bar + pump impeller throw creates a conical HF vapour/aerosol plume that reaches IDLH 30 ppm at 15–30 m from the pump — encompassing the entire alkylation unit structure. The compound Surface 1 (acid dilution masked) + Surface 2 (pump cavitation masked) attack creates two simultaneous progressive failure mechanisms — one at the carbon steel pipe wall (1.25–1.5 year timeline) and one at the pump mechanical seal (3-month timeline) — with the pump seal likely failing first and triggering the atmospheric HF release event. Free tier — 10 scans/day, no card required.

3. HF acid inventory storage tank level display AI (Yokogawa EJA120A differential pressure level transmitter HF acid storage tank display AI / Emerson Rosemount 3051S DP level transmitter HF storage tank display AI / Endress+Hauser FMB70 pressure level transmitter HF acid tank display AI / VEGA VEGABAR 82 pressure transmitter HF acid inventory display AI / ABB 2600T pressure transmitter HF acid storage level SCADA display AI — rendered SCADA HF acid storage tank level display AI classifying the liquid level (and therefore acid inventory) in the HF acid makeup/surge storage tank against the design operating range indicating adequate HF makeup inventory for demand-side acid compensation events)

HF alkylation units operate with an HF acid makeup/surge storage tank (typically 5,000–20,000 L capacity; Monel 400 or carbon steel at >70 wt% HF — design HF concentration >99 wt% in the makeup tank to keep inventory concentrated before blending with recycle acid) that: (a) supplies fresh HF to compensate for acid consumption (reaction of HF with trace water and olefins forms fluoride salts and ASO; HF consumption approximately 0.05–0.15 lb HF/gallon alkylate); (b) provides the acid inventory buffer for emergency “acid dump” into the acid catch system during emergency shutdown events. An adversarial upward pixel shift of the HF makeup tank level display (shown 78% when actual 18%) masks an ongoing acid inventory depletion that has occurred over 6 weeks as the acid addition rate was suppressed (pump P-101A control valve CV-112 sticking at 10% open instead of 60% design open — HF makeup feed rate 180 kg/day vs design 950 kg/day). At 18% actual level in a 12,000 L tank (density 1.15 g/mL at 99 wt%): actual HF inventory = 18% × 12,000 × 1.15 = 2,484 kg. At design consumption 0.1 lb HF/gallon alkylate × 50,000 bpd = 0.1 × (50,000 × 42) / 7.48 kg HF/day = 280 kg/day HF consumption: 2,484 / 280 = 8.9 days of HF makeup inventory remaining — below the 30-day emergency reserve target. Additionally, if the main acid settler HF concentration is declining from the Surface 1 water ingress event, the emergency acid dump volume (acid dump → drain vessel → neutralisation — mandated in API RP 751 emergency depressuring procedure) may be insufficient: at 18% tank level (2,484 kg HF) vs design emergency dump volume 5,000 kg concentrated HF — the emergency dump system is 50% short of design inventory.

The ±8 DN upward pixel shift of the rendered HF acid makeup tank level SCADA display (78% displayed vs 18% actual) causes the AI to classify “HF acid inventory within normal operating range; adequate emergency reserve; no HF makeup requisition needed.” Operations does not investigate the stuck control valve CV-112, does not place a maintenance work order to repair the makeup pump and valve, and does not requisition an HF delivery from the HF supplier (Solvay Specialty Polymers; Mexichem Fluor [now Orbia]) to replenish the depleted inventory. After the 8.9 days of remaining HF consumption at design rate, the acid settler HF concentration decline (from Surface 1 water ingress) accelerates because there is no concentrated HF makeup to compensate: the acid dilutes faster, the ASO generation rate increases (with dilute acid; ASO [C₂–C₃₅ olefin polymers dissolved in the acid phase] grows from 5–8 wt% at 87 wt% HF to 15–25 wt% at 52 wt% HF), and alkylate product quality (RON) declines from 96 to 88 — triggering a product quality exceedance before the safety event. The combined triple-surface attack (acid concentration dilution + pump cavitation onset + makeup inventory depletion) creates a compounding system degradation trajectory that results in: emergency acid dump system with 50% deficit on required inventory → limited emergency response options → atmospheric HF release of higher consequence than single-barrier failure scenario. Free tier — 10 scans/day, no card required.

Integration: hydrogen fluoride HF alkylation unit AI with Glyphward pre-scan gate

Glyphward integrates as a pre-scan gate at every rendered-image ingestion boundary in the HF alkylation unit AI pipeline — before the acid settler HF concentration AI processes rendered SCADA analyser display images, before the acid recirculation pump suction pressure AI processes rendered SCADA pressure display images, and before the HF acid inventory storage tank level AI processes rendered SCADA level display images. Threshold 40 for HF alkylation unit AI reflects: counterintuitive dilute-HF corrosion of CS at 100–500 mpy (not recognised without HF concentration monitoring; unlike most corrosion threats that increase with acid concentration, HF dilution INCREASES CS corrosion rate by a factor of 10–50×); NIOSH IDLH 30 ppm (severe pulmonary oedema + systemic fluorosis); ACGIH TLV-C 0.5 ppm (essentially zero chronic tolerance); systemic fluorosis mechanism (HF penetrates intact skin without immediate visible burn — delayed presentation allows workers to underestimate exposure dose — calcium sequestration by fluoride ion causes hypocalcaemia and cardiac arrhythmia at <2% total body surface area HF burn); EPA RMP worst-case HF alkylation unit toxic endpoints 1–10 miles; approximately 50 HF alkylation units in North America each with 20,000–100,000 kg HF inventory (50–200× PSM TQ).

import asyncio, base64, hashlib
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from enum import StrEnum, auto
from typing import Any
import httpx

GLYPHWARD_API = "https://api.glyphward.com/v1/scan"
GLYPHWARD_KEY = "gw_prod_***"

# HF alkylation unit AI contexts: threshold 40
# OSHA PSM TQ 1,000 lbs HF (>=50 wt%); IDLH 30 ppm; TLV-C 0.5 ppm.
# 71st upward attack: HF acid settler concentration 88 wt% shown when 52 wt% actual.
HF_ALKYLATION_THRESHOLD = 40

class HFAlkylationContext(StrEnum):
    ACID_SETTLER_HF_CONCENTRATION = auto()   # Acid settler HF wt% (71st upward attack)
    ACID_PUMP_SUCTION_PRESSURE    = auto()   # Acid recirculation pump suction pressure
    HF_INVENTORY_TANK_LEVEL       = auto()   # HF makeup/surge storage tank level

async def scan_hf_alkylation_frame(
    frame_b64: str,
    context: HFAlkylationContext,
    refinery_id: str,
    instrument_tag: str,
) -> dict[str, Any]:
    payload = {
        "image_b64": frame_b64,
        "context": context,
        "refinery_id": refinery_id,
        "instrument_tag": instrument_tag,
        "scan_ts": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
        "image_hash": hashlib.sha256(base64.b64decode(frame_b64)).hexdigest(),
    }
    async with httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=4.0) as client:
        r = await client.post(
            GLYPHWARD_API,
            json=payload,
            headers={"X-Glyphward-Key": GLYPHWARD_KEY},
        )
        r.raise_for_status()
        return r.json()

async def pre_scan_gate_hf_alkylation(
    frame_b64: str,
    context: HFAlkylationContext,
    refinery_id: str,
    instrument_tag: str,
) -> None:
    result = await scan_hf_alkylation_frame(
        frame_b64, context, refinery_id, instrument_tag
    )
    if result["adversarial_score"] >= HF_ALKYLATION_THRESHOLD:
        raise AdversarialHFAlkylationImageError(
            f"Adversarial injection detected in {context} (score {result['adversarial_score']}) "
            f"at refinery {refinery_id} instrument {instrument_tag}. "
            "Frame withheld from HF alkylation unit AI pipeline."
        )

class AdversarialHFAlkylationImageError(RuntimeError):
    pass