How to protect stainless steel furnace tubes during major maintenance periods
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Our company is about to enter the major maintenance phase. The combined unit has been in operation for three years. We have two heating furnace tubes in this unit that are made of stainless steel. The fuel used during operation is a by-product of the refinery, with a sulfur content of 10–50 PPM. Is it necessary to carry out cleaning using poly-sulfuric acid?
Keep the temperature inside the pipe above 140 degrees
If possible, hot air can be used for heating to prevent corrosion by polysulfuric acid after shutdown
The sulfur content is not high; alkali washing is probably not necessary for the outside, while nitrogen protection can be used for the inside
The inner wall of the furnace tube is protected with nitrogen, while whether the outer wall needs to be neutralized and cleaned depends on the fuel used in your heating furnace. On my end, a weak alkaline solution is used for surface dust removal through spraying and neutralization.