(207a) Gamma Scanning of a Kettle Vapor Line

As of May of 2011, FRI’s Stillwater, Oklahoma, low pressure kettle reboiler contains two 6-inch windows.   This affords an excellent view of the boiling action inside this industrial-size exchanger.   This also allows heat exchange researchers to see entrained liquid entering the overhead vapor product nozzle, when rates become excessive.  FRI’s low pressure distillation column includes windows exactly opposite the nozzle that brings vapor from the kettle reboiler.  Again, researchers can see the entrainment that issues from the reboiler.  Tracerco engineers joined FRI engineers on-site at FRI’s Stillwater facility to see if gamma scanning of the reboiler vapor return piping would allow quantification of the visually-observed entrainment rates.  Radiation sources and detectors were positioned in two different places on the vapor piping.  Detector data were used to calculate the amount of entrained liquid in the piping.  The calculated values matched the visual observations very well.  This presentation describes the qualitative and quantitative results.  Video footage will be shown.