New breakthrough in online deblocking of water systems in MTO units

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New breakthrough in online deblocking of the water system in MTO units / Author/Source: Tianjin Petrochemical News / Date: 2021-12-02 / Clicks: 9 ——Cooling water detergent successfully developed and put into use. Recently, it was learned from Tianjin Ruide Sain New Materials Co., Ltd. that the newly developed cooling water detergent products along with the accompanying deblocking solutions can effectively address the operational issues associated with the cooling towers in UOP process MTO units, thereby ensuring reliable operation of these units. As a powerful complement to the scale-inhibiting and dispersing agents used in DMTO units, it fills the gap in online scale inhibition and blockage removal solutions for water systems in UOP process plants. To date, Red Sea has successfully overcome all operational challenges related to the water systems in mainstream MTO process units. It is reported that the scaling problem in the water systems of MTO industrial plants has long been a challenge hindering the long-term stable operation of these plants. Its process water system mainly consists of a quench tower system, a washing tower (separation tower) system, and related stripping systems. Since 2016, the scale-inhibiting and dispersing agent for wash towers developed by Tianjin Ruide Sain New Material Development Co., Ltd. has been widely used in the DMTO units of many domestic coal chemical enterprises as one of the effective solutions. This method not only reduces the production cost of the equipment but also ensures its stable, reliable, and efficient operation, thereby improving the economic benefits of the enterprise and effectively alleviating the operational pressures on DMTO process equipment. However, for the UOP process, the problem of blockage in the quench tower is more pronounced, and this has become the next challenge for the technicians at RedCeyon. Research has shown that after the UOP process unit has been in operation for a certain period of time, the circulation rate in various sections of the quench tower tends to decrease. As operation time progresses, the blockage becomes more severe, to the point where effective circulation can no longer be established, which severely affects the normal operation of the unit. Analysis shows that due to the cyclic use of quench water, trace amounts of catalyst powder and large-molecule organic substances accumulate in it. Under the catalytic effect of alkali addition, hard deposits that are difficult to remove easily form inside the tower. Conventional scale-inhibiting dispersants are not very effective in dealing with this issue. Additionally, because the temperature in the quench tower is high, the active components of these chemicals tend to decompose and become ineffective, making online cleaning quite challenging. To further ensure the \"safe, stable, long-lasting, efficient, and high-performance\" operation of customers’ equipment, the technicians at RedSain went to the sites in person to conduct thorough research. As a result, they developed the TRD-WT-71 emergency cooling water scale inhibitor series. This product represents an improved version of RedSain’s patented scale inhibition and dispersion agents; it incorporates specific polymer components designed to remove blockages. Composed of various dispersants, surface modifiers, and penetrants, it has the ability to remove scale and disperse it, while also altering the surface properties of catalysts, reducing their adsorption capacity, and passivating metal surfaces to minimize scale accumulation. This enables online scale inhibition and removal in emergency cooling towers. Based on years of experience in the application of MTO units, a corresponding application plan was developed, overcoming this technical challenge. Currently, this product and its associated solutions have been successfully applied in the Jutai Energy UOP process units. Jiutai Energy Co., Ltd.’s 600,000 tons per year coal-to-olefins plant, which utilizes UOP process technology, was completed and put into operation in 2019. Since the unit was restarted after maintenance in September 2021, the problem of blockage in the quench tower has become increasingly apparent. The circulation rate at the bottom dropped to around 239 t/h (design value: 388 t/h), while the circulation rate in the middle section dropped to around 235 t/h (design value: 574 t/h). Based on feedback from on-site use, one month after the implementation of the UOP process in Jiutai Energy’s facilities, the circulation rate in the middle section of the quench tower, where clogging was most severe, increased from less than 50% of the designed value to the standard designed level. This significantly reduced the operating pressures on the facility and ensured its stable operation; the performance of this solution was highly recognized by the staff working there. The successful application of quench water cleaning agents and the accompanying clogging removal solutions further validates RedSain’s corporate philosophy of \"delivering excellence to create value for our partners.\" It has achieved a new breakthrough for RedSun in the field of additives for MTO plants.