There is a leak at the flange on the first-stage tower wall of the vacuum distillation tower, allowing large amounts of air to enter – how to handle this urgently?

Dear sea friends, please consider this issue carefully. Perhaps people haven’t encountered such incidents before.

1. First, determine the properties of the material inside the pressure reduction tower to see if it is flammable or explosive. 2. Temperature should be the key factor; reduce it quickly. 3. When reducing the vacuum level, inert gases such as nitrogen can be introduced.

First, nitrogen must be introduced; second, the gas flow must be maintained; third, the load must be reduced, and then the system should be shut down.

First, introduce an inert gas—nitrogen; second, keep the gas flowing; third, reduce the load; fourth, carry out shutdown procedures.

Once, a leak in the pressure reduction transfer line at a related facility caused a fire; during the emergency shutdown, vacuum was removed too quickly, resulting in the pressure reduction tower becoming under positive pressure for a short period. A large amount of hot oil spilled out from the leak site in the transfer line, which intensified the fire. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out an emergency shutdown and remove vacuum from the unit in such situations, but when there is a leak in the pressure reduction system, it is essential to control the speed at which vacuum is removed.

Air leakage can lead to explosions, which is very dangerous; therefore, the vacuum must be broken as soon as possible and the system adjusted to operate under positive pressure. .

The reduced-pressure atmospheric furnace is shut down, and nitrogen or steam is introduced.

Why hasn’t anyone mentioned stopping the feed and the reflux?

1. Just inject steam back to break the vacuum (positive pressure is reached quickly). 2. Reduce the vacuum level by one stage at the pressure-reduction stations, at stages two and three. 3. Reduce the temperature and output of the unit (it’s sufficient to shut down the two furnaces directly; keep only the pilot lights running). 4. Gradually stop the reflux flow and increase the outward delivery. 5. If you’re the team leader, just order an immediate shutdown in an emergency. What’s the harm if it’s a mistake? You can simply restart the furnace later (the furnace is already hot, making it easier to ignite it). It’s better than allowing a major accident to occur. At most, the supervisor will have to explain to higher authorities that the team leader ordered the shutdown; after all, it’s normal for a less experienced team leader to panic when faced with a problem. They might scold you a bit at most. If you handle things correctly, then you can just wait for a promotion