Process Gas Compressors in the Ethylene Plant: Fouling 101

he Process Gas Compressor (also known as the Cracked Gas or Charge Gas Compressor) is a key unit operation in the production of ethylene via the steam cracking process. It is a complex and expensive piece of equipment, and its operation often determines the run length of the unit – a compressor malfunction can result in the entire unit being shut down. Declining performance of the compressor can negatively impact energy consumption and carbon emissions, product yield, and throughput, can cause damage to the machine, or unplanned unit outage. To prevent these costs, ethylene producers have implemented a number of mitigation measures.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a primer on the various fouling mechanisms, mitigation of fouling, and monitoring of the compressor performance to minimize the impacts of fouling in the compressor and interstage coolers, thus improving reliability and profitability of the manufacturer.