Experience in regulating the bed temperature of converter furnaces

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During normal operation, when the load of the converter is not adjusted significantly, the factors that primarily affect the furnace temperature of the converter are the gas composition and the flow rate of gas in the cold bypass line. The transformation reaction is an exothermic reaction; a high CO content in the process gas, along with more substances participating in the reaction, leads to a higher furnace temperature, while conversely, a lower furnace temperature results. The furnace temperature is adjusted by controlling the opening degree of the cold bypass valve (TV002), which in turn controls the amount of cold air supplied; more air leads to a lower furnace temperature, while less air results in a higher furnace temperature. The cold bypass line (TV002) is opened to a small degree; a large volume of gas passes through the heat exchanger (705E01), and after heat exchange, the inlet temperature to the converter increases, thereby raising the furnace temperature. When the shift converter experiences load reductions due to gasification issues or other problems in the downstream system, requiring significant adjustments in load, the factors that affect the temperature of the shift converter are only the space velocity and the volume of process gas reacting per unit volume of catalyst. If the volume of gas flowing through the shift converter increases from 80,000 cubic meters to 140,000 cubic meters, the space velocity becomes too high; as a result, a large amount of process gas does not have time to react and release heat, passing through the converter directly and carrying away some of its heat. This leads to a significant drop in the temperature at the inlet and outlet of the converter. If the gas flow continues to increase, it creates a vicious cycle that ultimately results in a temperature failure of the converter. At this point, it is necessary to gradually reduce the amount of gas entering the conversion furnace; once there is a tendency for the furnace temperature to rise, then it can be adjusted slowly to the normal temperature. Therefore, when adjusting the load of the shift converter, it is necessary to pay attention to the inlet temperature of the shift converter (TI002), ensuring that it remains above 260 degrees. When there are large fluctuations in the temperature of the shift converter, stop adjusting the load first; wait until the temperature stabilizes before making further adjustments.