Liquid retention problem in the low-temperature methanol wash absorption tower
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Look at LIC41018 – the PV value shown there is 0, but in reality the liquid level has already exceeded 100%, which results in a NAN value being displayed. This kind of issue has also occurred with other manufacturers; the higher the load, the more severe the problem of liquid accumulation becomes. Is there any solution to this issue? Thank you all; what should be done?
The situation here isn’t as severe as what the original poster described; it’s probably a problem with the valves. Here, the valves are fully open 100%, yet the liquid level at the top continues to rise, so we don’t dare increase the washing volume too much.
It must be the same problem; is there any solution? Here, I’ve turned all the valves fully open, but the liquid level still doesn’t drop; I don’t know what to do
There must be a gas blockage in the pipeline; hasn’t your company installed an exhaust valve on this pipeline?
We’ve identified the problem: the hydraulic control valve is fine; it’s the large amount of dirt at the elbow in the pipeline leading to the CO2-rich methanol cooler that’s causing an obstruction on the cooler’s tube sheet, thereby hindering fluid flow. During this major maintenance, it was detected using an endoscope; it were rags and other items left over from previous repairs on the CO2-methanol cooler. You should also check them during your major maintenance.
You do such thorough work; we encounter similar situations here as well, but it doesn’t reach the full scale. Can this liquid level be used as a method to determine whether the heat exchanger is clogged?
I personally think it’s a bit far-fetched to use this liquid level as an indicator of blockage in the heat exchanger; it’s also possible that there is a problem inside the tower. In this case, no issues were found during the inspection of the tower interior, so we gradually looked for other possible causes.
I had the unit overhauled here this year, and I took it apart to check the heat exchanger; I found a lot of plastic sheets, gloves, beverage bottles, and so on inside. I managed to collect about one trash bin’s worth of waste only at the lower tube sheet area. Blind plates were installed on the pipe ends, so I’m not sure if there’s any more waste inside. I haven’t started operating the unit yet, so I don’t know what the results will be. Has the situation improved after you removed the waste from there?
There has been a significant improvement; now it’s no problem to increase the load. Previously, it didn’t even dare to operate under high load. You guys should be able to do it too, keep it up!