(40d) Furnace Quench Oil Fire

In March of 2005, one of Eastman Chemical Company's steam crackers experienced a loss of boiler feedwater flow due to failure of a spare pump to automatically come on-line when one of the on-line pumps experienced a control failure. As a result, boiler feedwater flow to the furnace transfer line exchangers was lost, and furnaces began to automatically shut down due to low steam drum levels. During the furnace shutdowns, a tube failure occurred in an oil-quenched furnace, and, due to a failure of the quench oil injection temperature control valves to seal off oil flow to the furnace, a significant quench oil fire occurred in the furnace, causing damage to the furnace. This paper will review the investigation into this event, the root causes found,and the corrective actions implemented to prevent recurrence of significant oil fires in furnaces when a tube failure occurs.