Causes and symptoms of gas blockage in the reboiler at the bottom of the stripping tower
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This post was last edited by liaifeng on 2018-8-5 at 10:27. I’m having trouble getting steam to the reboiler at the bottom of my acidic water stripping tower; the temperature at the bottom of the tower cannot be adjusted. It seems there’s a gas blockage. What could be the cause and how can it be resolved? Thank you all for your help!
Is there a point where air can be released? Release the air, or turn on the vapor equilibrium line; alternatively, change the condensate drainage to an on-site system to see if that resolves the issue.
Possible reasons for the inability of steam to reach the reboiler: poor drainage of condensate water； Non-condensable gases cannot be removed
Let’s discharge it on-site to see if the temperature can rise; if it does, it means there is an obstruction in the condensate pipeline； If it still doesn’t work, it means steam isn’t being supplied; check if there are any issues with the steam pipeline or control valves.
1. Check whether the liquid level in the stripping tower is above the vapor inlet of the reboiler； 2. Check whether the liquid level is above the vapor outlet of the reboiler (different from point 1) ； 3. Check whether the steam and condensate flow in the reboiler is unobstructed ； 4. Verify whether the feed rate to the stripping tower exceeds the design capacity ；
A reboiler using thermal siphon effect, right? The reboiler is fouled, resulting in a reduced heat removal capacity and preventing an adequate amount of steam from entering. Clean the reboiler.
Taking all the above reasons into account, we should first consider the path for the condensate water; it must be sent out after heat exchange, and we need to check the backup pressure. It also involves the venting of the condensed water tank, low-point drainage, non-condensable gases, as well as monitoring the flow rate and heating capacity.