Corrosion of the tube bundle in the hot water heat exchanger for catalytic overhead circulation of heavy oil in petrochemical industries
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The image below shows the corrosion of the tube bundle in the hot water heat exchanger for the recycle oil at the top of the distillation tower in a petrochemical company’s heavy oil catalytic unit; the medium inside the shell is gasoline, while hot water flows through the tubes.
The heat exchanger tube bundle is corroded, mainly because hot water flows through the tube side while gasoline flows through the shell side. The hot water side is prone to oxygen corrosion and chloride corrosion, while the gasoline side may be corroded by acidic substances such as hydrogen sulfide. It is recommended to check the chloride content and pH level of the water quality, as well as the sulfur content in the gasoline, and to consider upgrading the materials or adding corrosion inhibitors. .