Urgent help needed; please have the moderator put this at the top! Is there acid inside the dried pipeline? Solve

After driving for over 5 months, I discovered yesterday that acid was leaking from the outlet of the fan……Based on the location of the leak, it can be inferred that the level of acid in the pipeline is at 300 mm. The height of the magnetic ring on the drying acid separator is 400 mm. The wire mesh foam trap was checked and there are no leaks. Too high gas velocity? I don’t think so, because our production volume has not even reached half of what was designed; due to raw material issues, we have been operating at sub-optimal capacity. . . . . I seek advice from experts! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

The fan should be behind the tower. Check whether the overall height of the packing meets the requirements, and also give close attention to the quality of the demister.

The demister has been checked and there are no issues. The height of the fillers is all within the designed range. The only thing is that the moisture level is a bit high, ranging from 0.1 to 0.15; it has never been below 0.1. I’m not sure if this is due to the moisture content ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

This is a common phenomenon when a sulfuric acid production system is just started up; there’s no need to panic. It can be confirmed that it’s dilute acid. You can measure its concentration – systems that have just been started up usually contain a large amount of water, and it’s not possible to maintain the acid at an appropriate concentration level right from the beginning of ignition. The situation will improve after about a week. For now, continue to operate the system by releasing the excess acid at the inlet of the exhaust fan, and pay attention to whether there are any leaks in the system. Also, check whether more acid is being generated at the fan inlet. By the way, what is the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the drying tower? It’s generally within 2-3 KPa. When checking the wire mesh demister, make sure it’s not wet – pay attention to its condition when the holes are opened; it should be dry under normal circumstances

The system has been in operation for over 5 months now. When checking the screen, it was slightly moist; the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet was 1.5 KP, and there was no leakage from the dry outlet to the fan inlet. I wonder if the thickness of the porcelain lining on the acid separator might be insufficient ?

The wire mesh in the drying tower operates on the principle of inertial collision; if the operating gas velocity is not within the designed range (for example, 80–120%), the demisting efficiency will significantly decrease.

Are you using structured packing or irregular saddles? If structured packing is used, more foam-catching magnetic rings should be added at the upper part.

We have experienced sulfuric acid accumulation before; the final analysis showed that severe acid buildup occurred in the dryer during the heating process, but it was not detected or addressed in time. After exceeding the critical point, there was no significant change in pressure.

It’s normal. Over time, as deposits accumulate, a small drain valve can be installed on the pipe to remove them regularly after it dries out.

“We’re not even halfway to reaching the designed production level yet,” hehe, could it be that the gas flow rate is too low?