Cleaning of the catalyst tank in the catalytic unit
Thread Content
Have you cleaned the catalyst tank in your catalytic unit? The catalyst tank in my unit has been in use for 7 years without any cleaning; usually, it happens that the catalyst is not used up during maintenance, and it’s too troublesome to remove it from there
What needs to be cleaned? We’ve been using it for over a decade without ever cleaning it?
It seems there’s no need to clean this; it’s not a steam-based vacuum system after all – vacuum pumps are used instead, so there’s no risk of steam or sludge getting in. Moreover, during shutdown, all the balancing agents are transferred to the balancing agent tank and the waste catalyst tank, and these are needed later on. It’s not convenient to keep moving things back and forth. During normal operation, if the catalyst needs to be replaced, it can be opened for inspection. The main issue during inspection is that the small pieces of lining that have fallen off the regenerator are removed along with the catalyst and end up in the catalyst buffer tank, which affects both future catalyst additions and catalyst removal. The catalyst buffer tank has no special structure.
We still use steam evacuators here. What I mean is to check whether there are any items that might have been accidentally added inside, such as ropes or woven bags
Isn’t a catalyst cycle required every time operation starts? Its main purpose is to filter out catalyst waste!
We’ll still use vacuum cleaning; it’s been a long time since we last went in to clean it. It gets clogged often, so we plan to add a freshening agent and then clean it up soon
It’s not cleaning; it’s clearing. One opens the manhole and goes in, and when adding the catalyst, debris such as thread ends from bags may end up in the feeding area
Feeding hoppers usually have filters; a few thread ends are not a problem. When the fresh agent tank is empty or about to run out, the fresh agent can be poured into the balancing agent tank using a large feeding tube. If there is no issue with the cyclone inside the tank, there is no need to open the manhole for inspection.
The filters installed in the pipelines at the bottom of our catalyst tank can also get clogged, but in most cases it’s due to fragments of the lining
You mean the balance agent and the spent catalyst tank, right?