Synthetic water cooler exposure
Thread Content
The interstage cooler 671E002 of our company’s synthetic compressors has a process gas flowing through its tube side (H2: 72%, N2: 25%, NH3: 3%). The normal operating pressure is around 12.6 MPa, with inlet and outlet temperatures of 50/24°C. The shell side is filled with circulating water; the normal operating pressure here is 0.4 MPa, with inlet and outlet temperatures of 26/40°C. Currently, a large number of bubbles are emerging from the return water monitoring port of the circulating water system; it is almost certain that there is a leak in the heat exchanger tubes. The burst pressure of the rupture disc on the equipment itself is 1.05 MPa. If this tube ruptures, could it cause syngas containing water to impact the vent pipe, resulting in a large amount of water and gas hitting that vent pipe and potentially leading to its failure?
I believe that if a pipe rupture occurs, some of the circulating water will be carried away by the syngas in an instant. However, since the pressure of the circulating water is 0.4 MPa, once the leaked gas carries away the water at the upper level, the circulating water should be prevented from being carried away by the leaked gas. Moreover, the pressure will drop rapidly after the rupture, so it won’t happen that a large amount of water is carried away by the syngas, resulting in a water hammer accident. What do the seniors think about this matter?
Additional note: After the rupture disc of this cooler fails, a vent pipe is connected; this vent pipe leads to a vent tank equipped with a washing function. Vent pipes from other devices also lead to this vent tank.
The presence of a large number of bubbles indicates a significant leak; it’s all syngas, and it’s very dangerous if it escapes through the vent pipes. A leak will first cause air to enter the water side, and may even stop the circulation of water, severely affecting the cooling effect of the water cooler. In such a case, it is recommended to stop the vehicle and address the leak.