(187b) Kettle Reboiler Circuit Troubleshooting

Mark Cavett, Anand Vennavelli, Chao Wang,Ken McCarley, Tony Cai^*

Fractionation Research, Inc.

424 S. Squires St.

Stillwater, OK 74074

ABSTRACT

Reboilers are responsible for many operational problems experienced in distillation and absorption columns in the chemical processing industry. Employed in a commercial size distillation research facility, Fractionation Research, Inc (FRI) kettle reboiler circuits operate under a wide range of process conditions and various physical properties. This makes their operation more challenging. In this paper, operational challenges and problems encountered with the kettle reboiler circuits will be described and discussed. The troubleshooting process and solutions to the operational problems will be presented.

Key Words: Distillation, reboiler, hydraulics, troubleshooting

*Corresponding author. E-mail: cai@fri.org , Phone: 1-405-385-0354, Fax: 1-405-385-0357