(158c) TLE Water Quality: Leveraging Cross-Organizational Collaboration to Improve Chemistry Control and Increase Steam System Reliability

A Transfer Line Exchanger (TLE) is used to rapidly cool steam cracking furnace effluent while generating high pressure steam. Due to extreme conditions present in the TLE’s and potential for challenging water circulation, the TLE’s often experience steam drum chemistry reliability issues. Poor steam drum chemistry can lead to furnace equipment damage and downstream turbomachinery issues, ranging from inefficient operation to potential ethylene cracker shutdown. Therefore, maintaining TLE water chemistry control is a vital component of overall ethylene plant reliability.

Water chemistry quality control can be complex due to shared ownership and responsibility within an operating organization and with a water chemistry partner. Building a successful partnership relies on having standard, agreed upon quality control practices, effective collaboration, and clear communication between teams.

This presentation intends to discuss, with a case study, how cross organizational troubleshooting can be leveraged to improve TLE reliability through tightened chemistry control and efficient, collaborative response to upset events.