Coking in the bottom reboiler of the pentane removal column in the gas separation unit
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The bottom reboiler of our gas separation unit’s pentane removal column suffers from coking every 2 to 3 months; it is necessary to replace the reboiler tube bundle, remove it, clean it, apply anti-corrosion treatment, and then put it back into use. It wasn’t like this before; then, I don’t know why, it started to happen every now and then.
Is it possible that the reboiler is leaking internally, or are there too many impurities in the components?
I wonder what the conditions for coking are? Is it due to low temperatures? Does the reboiler experience steam supply interruptions from time to time?
The temperature is fine; it’s heated with steam, continuously. Testing is currently being conducted on the coked material; it is estimated that this may be caused by impurities in the raw material components. There is no solution yet; it gets coked, and the tube bundle is replaced only when heat extraction becomes difficult. Cleaning, anti-corrosion measures – just the repair costs alone have already exceeded the budget!
This post was last edited by Global Travel on 2013-5-21 01:26. It’s likely that the high content of olefins is causing blockages in the polymer. The operating temperature should be reduced as much as possible. Add inhibitors, etc.
Why replace the tube bundle? Can’t it be cleaned directly?
After many years, I came up to take a look. Our company’s final solution was to shut down dewaxing tower L in order to save energy and reduce consumption. At the same time, the upstream unit controls the C5 content in the liquefied gas.
Give a thumbs up for the original poster’s persistence:hug: