Automatic roof covering machine for coke tower tops in coking plants
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For the automatic roof closing machines used in the carbon towers of coking units, a recent incident at a refinery saw such a machine malfunction and cause the tower where coke was being produced to be opened, resulting in oil and gas leakage and a fire. Please discuss preventive measures; could the installation of interlock devices help prevent such accidents?
The automatic roof covering machine is fully automated; it operates via the controls on the electrical panel and relies on a hydraulic system to carry out the automation process
Effective preventive mechanisms should be established: 1. Before opening the roof, the team leader in charge of coke removal must confirm which tower requires coke removal; 2. The power supply for the roof-opening mechanism must come from the control room. By ensuring these two points, it is possible to basically prevent the wrong roof from being opened
The typical approach nowadays is to use the carbon tower pressure and temperature signals transmitted by the DCS as interlocks to control the power supply to the top drive mechanism
The key is a sense of responsibility and double-checking; temperature and pressure interlocks can sometimes be unreliable. Additionally, the fact that many coking removal systems are operated by external personnel also poses a risk.
The key is to have a strong sense of responsibility; the tower that experiences normal coking should be taller than one that has been processed. As long as you are a little more careful, there will be no problem. It would be better if DCS control could be implemented, but the more advanced the equipment, the more problems and potential risks it is likely to have. Before we switched to the automatic roof-lifting machine, it just required more physical effort; after the switch, it stopped working properly right away. Especially in winter, even with the hydraulic pressure set to 28 MPa, it won’t open. Just feeling helpless.
I think if the top cover of the reactor tower is opened, a fire will definitely occur; the best thing to do in such a situation is to close the top cover immediately. Moreover, opening the top cover of the reactor tower is mainly a matter of lack of responsibility. This post was last edited by zhenghemqx on 2008-10-26 at 16:14.]
Chain reactions can be increased, for example through temperature and pressure. Temperature is probably the most reliable method, except that the temperature in the decoking tower is relatively low, which is something everyone knows. Generally speaking, the process also requires that it be avoided to start the tower when the temperature exceeds 80 degrees (although keeping it below 100 degrees is a good option). This should be easy to implement. Additionally, manual third-level verification measures can also be added. Second exercise, first exercise, squad leader
An automatic roof-closing machine – that’s great, a real blessing for those working in the coking industry. It’s a shame that it’s difficult to implement in the old equipment I’m working with. Moreover, for a coke tower, fully automatic operation is probably not a good idea.
It’s a matter of responsibility – isn’t such a mistake rather silly? Even the best automated equipment can have problems when operated in this way
An automatic cover machine is essentially a coke-clearing gate valve equipped with a hydraulic control system; this valve is opened or closed based on control signals sent from the DCS or ESD systems. However, these control signals must be reliable, otherwise the situations mentioned above can occur. I agree with everyone’s view that no matter how advanced the control system is, it still depends on the workers’ sense of responsibility: victory: