What causes the falling of cone-bottom bricks in Texaco gasifiers?
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This post was last edited by GSP on 2010-5-26 09:30. This kind of incident has occurred multiple times in our factory; the exact cause is unknown. Whether it is due to the quality of the bricks themselves, issues in the brick-laying process, or problems with the manufacturing techniques that lead to these brick falls, we ask all Texaco experts to analyze it!
The bricks at the cone bottom are areas that tend to wear out easily; compared to the bricks in the cylindrical section, manufacturers generally need to replace them every one to two years, depending on the specific circumstances. All of the situations mentioned by the original poster could be potential causes for the drop. Currently, the gasification furnaces used by Texaco generally employ refractory bricks produced by two refractory material manufacturers in Luoyang. In terms of quality, these two manufacturers are quite reliable, having been in use in China for many years. Personally, the most likely reason is poor construction quality during furnace building. Additionally, it is necessary to check whether there are any differences between the structure during construction and the original Texaco design drawings, as well as the detailed design or construction drawings; if none exist, design-related issues can be ruled out.
This post was last edited by dddjie on 2010-5-26 at 10:47. I’m not sure which manufacturer you represent; if needed, I can help analyze whether there is an issue with the material itself. It would be best if you could provide me with the defective bricks, provided that you trust me to be objective and fair, as I work in the field of refractory bricks as well. :Objectively speaking, large-scale peeling is unlikely to be caused by a problem with the material itself. The manufacturing processes used by these three companies are highly advanced; the key lies in controlling the production process. Even if control is not perfect in certain areas, it’s not possible for the material to peel off as a whole. Of course, this is assuming that the material wasn’t made with substandard materials, haha. Personally, I think we need to look into aspects such as design, operation, and construction.
Is it related to the design position of the brick panels? Given that these problems have occurred on multiple occasions, the furnace construction team should be aware of the seriousness of the issue; cutting corners should not happen, and the quality of the furnaces built must be guaranteed ； As for the quality issues with the bricks, if one does not believe the objective and fair opinions given above, it is entirely possible to hire an inspection service; a mere 3,000 yuan will suffice to obtain a relatively fair assessment.
It seems that the person upstairs has sent all our materials to the quality inspection agency. Hehe; it appears that doing things honestly is indeed a virtue that should be upheld. P
Did it occur during the furnace heating process? Tempering may occur.
Thank you for the above reply! If quality issues during the furnace construction process are ruled out, is there a possibility that the manufacturing procedures could cause the cone-bottom bricks to fall off?
This post was last edited by qihuajingling on 2010-5-26 at 15:17. There is generally no problem with the bricks themselves; the main issue is likely related to the quality of furnace construction. Additionally, it is important to avoid sharp fluctuations in the temperature at the slag outlet during operation. In other words, it is necessary to maintain stability in the flow rate of the quenching water, as well as in the operating temperature, pressure, and liquid level of the gasification furnace, in order to minimize damage to the slag outlet.
It is mainly related to the operating procedures: frequent start-up and shutdowns, blockages at the slag outlet, excessive slag formation, high ash content in the coal used for gasification which leads to severe abrasion, improper adjustment of central oxygen levels that results in greater fluctuations in furnace temperature or a shift of the high-temperature zone downward. All these factors shorten the lifespan of the refractory bricks. Additionally, the temperature fluctuations cause stress changes that damage the grooves in the refractory bricks, leading to their detachment.
One more thing I would like the original poster to clarify: by “occurring multiple times,” what does that mean in terms of the frequency and over what period of time? Also, on which reactors did these occurrences take place? Only with this information can an analysis from the perspective of processes and operations be conducted
Please specify to the original poster the location where the conical-bottom bricks have fallen off, the number of bricks that have fallen, and the condition of the furnace bricks adjacent to those areas. It would be best to have picture explanations. Also, is the balance hole of the downcomer in your unit checked and cleared every time? How is quality controlled during furnace construction in your facility? Logically, each gap should be kept as small as possible, and the resulting space should be filled in with furnace bricks using a cutting machine. Unprofessional construction teams often make each gap a bit larger, so as to avoid the need to cut and fill the gaps with bricks; instead, they simply use refractory mortar. In this case, the cone-shaped structure at the bottom of such gaps will soon start to emerge from the brick joints, wear out over time, and eventually fall off.