Problems encountered in the butane stripping tower

Thread Content

There is severe polymer blockage in the heat exchanger at the top of the butane stripping tower; the cause is unknown. This tower has been in operation for over a decade. During previous maintenance tasks, only a small amount of polymer was found at the bottom of the heat exchanger. This year, in July and August, a new heat exchanger was installed; it’s almost identical to the original one, with the same operating conditions. After running for two or three days, at most a week, severe polymer blockage occurs at the first partition at the inlet of the heat exchanger. When the tower is inspected, the trays are clean, with no polymer present at all. It’s strange why there is so much polymer at the top Was it aggregated there or brought up? Another issue is the stripping tower; one side of its bottom section is severely corroded. It used to be 12 mm thick, but after inspection it is now only 7.4 mm thick. However, other parts of the tower are not problematic. Their temporary solution was to line that area with steel plates. It’s estimated that this tower will end up being in ruins if things continue like this. Why is only this area severely corroded? Could someone please give some advice on these two questions?