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The working fluid cooler of the pressure booster pump in the vacuum tower top system is severely clogged and has been shut down; what is the cause of this?
The corrosion here is already severe; haven’t you taken any anti-corrosion measures? With you all being here, it was only a matter of time.....
Is this the working fluid cooler for the liquid ring pump? If the tube bundle carries working fluid, it is necessary to perform regular replacement or maintain a low level of replacement over time; otherwise, the impurities present in the non-condensable gas at the top of the column will deposit when the flow rate through the tube bundle is low. The specific composition of these impurities needs to be determined by analyzing both the working fluid and the non-condensable gas at the top of the column. (If the tube bundle uses circulating water, then the water is not clean.)
Figure 1 appears to show the formation of scale caused by a corrosion inhibitor; a sample can be taken and tested for water solubility at room temperature – if it is soluble in water, it is likely that the corrosion inhibitor is the cause! Corrosion inhibitors tend to clog at high temperatures, and we have experienced blockages caused by corrosion inhibitors in our atmospheric pressure tower tops!
It seems to be coolant cooling issue; the coolant side is blocked. Analyze the properties of the coolant – did it get blocked at the start of operation? Is there solid crystallization in the working fluid or does it crystallize when cooled?
The cooling water is dirty; this condenser needs to be taken apart and cleaned every 6 months, with a pipe-cleaning tool being used to clean each copper tube.
This shouldn’t be the cooling water section; the working medium has solidified
Could you provide detailed information on the location of the equipment within the process, as well as parameters such as the composition of the medium, flow rate, and temperature?
The circulating cooling water contains many impurities; check the water quality and the effectiveness of the water treatment
It’s the working fluid side, not the circulating water side