Questions regarding the safe disassembly of distillation towers
Thread Content
This post was last edited by FallenAngel_BQWW on 2019-5-9 at 10:30. One of our distillation towers is scheduled to be taken apart for maintenance, but there may still be catalysts with high activity remaining inside the tower; these could catch fire upon contact with air during the disassembly process. The exact amount of such materials is not known. We want to soak it directly in water, but the amount of water is quite large. Do any of you have any good suggestions on how to handle this?
Please, the People’s Liberation Army, fire a shell to destroy it – is that possible? :lol.
We have replaced the catalysts used in the solvent oil hydrogenation process before, and when operations were carried out, sparks were generated frequently, with smoke or even open flames appearing. Your estimate is pretty close; water should work fine. But will you clean it from the top or add material from the bottom? You use water to soak it in a tower, right? Not much water is needed; the cost of that little amount of water is far less than the cost of any safety incidents. Anyway, since you’re not going to use this catalyst anymore, it doesn’t matter if it’s soaked in water. It is necessary to ensure safety in confined spaces, be careful to avoid accidents caused by spontaneous combustion, and take proper preventive and emergency measures. Finally, the catalyst that has been removed should be promptly packaged to prevent spontaneous combustion.
It is planned to introduce water from the top of the tower, so that the entire tower is submerged in water. Mainly because during the disassembly process, water from the materials will definitely contaminate the site environment, and residues may remain on the tower walls. Is it possible to use a steam displacement tower?
I feel that the safety of steam purging must be higher than that of soaking in water.
By steaming or boiling, the oil and gas are vaporized, ensuring that no explosive mixtures of oil and gas remain; using water bubbles in combination makes it even safer.