(119b) Maximizing Smr Furnace Capacity without Compromising Tube Wall Integrity

Temperature measurement and monitoring is key to performance and safety, especially during the potentially dangerous startup process. As a result of exposure to the high temperature, the tubes inside a primary reformer furnace operate close to their metallurgy temperature limits.

This paper will discuss how tubeskin thermocouples can help improve IR scanning results in steam methane reformers as verified in the Wika R&D process unit. Differentiating between the radiation emitted by the target tube and the surrounding hot surfaces, temperature loss at the viewing port and the inability to reach target tube due to SMR geometry are just a few of the challenges operators face when using IR scanning for measuring tube temperature. Tube skin temperature estimation can be highly inaccurate without an accurate reference temperature for fine-tuning emissivity.

We will cover why continuous tube temperature monitoring is critical during startup and what is the cost of inaccuracy while we go over a case study about how tubeskin temperature monitoring can help operators reach furnace full capacity without compromising tube integrity.

Finally, we will discuss the results of the patent-pending new generation tubeskin thermocouples developed in Wika’s R&D center with even higher accuracy and simplified one-step installation ideal for SMR furnace tubes.