(30d) Revamp with Koch-Glitsch PRO® Valve Trays Doubles Run Length on Caustic Absorber
AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety
2022
2022 Spring Meeting and 18th Global Congress on Process Safety Proceedings
Topical 8: Distillation
Distillation Symposium 2022:Mass Transfer in 21st Century-- Honors Session for Dr. Izak Nieuwoudt (Invited Talks)
Monday, April 11, 2022 - 3:30pm to 4:00pm
A newly commissioned olefins plant that catalytically cracked a light Fischer-Tropsch derived olefins stream, was bottlenecked by the run length in the plantsâ acid gas removal section. An extensive sampling campaign and lab bench scale work identified Aldol condensation polymerisation to be the root cause of the fouling. Extensive research efforts were directed at reducing the reactive components in the feed gas, and optimising the fouling inhibitor dosing chemicals and rates. These resulted in maximum run lengths of between 450 to 600 days on the caustic absorber before it had to be shut down for cleaning. Replacing the original sieve trays in the column with PRO® Valve trays increased run length to more than a 1000 days. This study shows that while it is important to understand the fouling chemistry and the additives that can prevent or reduce the fouling rates, of equal importance is the installation of the correct column internals to minimise the inevitable build-up of fouling material.