Seeking advice on the pressure difference in a hydrogenation reactor?
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I would like to ask what the maximum allowable pressure difference in a hydrogenation reactor is generally? Is it 0.5 MPa? What is the basis? How to reduce the reactor pressure difference while maintaining normal production?
Excessive pressure difference increases the load on the compressor, raises the operating costs of the equipment, and is also detrimental to safe production.
The pressure difference in a hydrogenation reactor includes the pressure difference due to internal components and the pressure difference within the bed layers; the specific value of this pressure difference depends on the number of bed layers present. The pressure difference gradually increases over time; reduce it in order to minimize coking, and install a filter upstream
It seems that once a pressure difference is created, it’s difficult to reduce it through manual intervention
The total pressure drop shall not exceed 0.5 MPa, and that of a single bed layer shall not exceed 0.3 MPa
The pressure difference in the reactor cannot be determined so simply. Depending on the arrangement of the catalyst bed in the reactor, it can be classified as axial-type or radial-type; in the axial-type, the pressure difference may increase significantly as one moves along the direction of the bed, whereas in the radial-type, the pressure difference changes little. For very large reactors, radial distribution is now being used more and more often.
By system pressure difference, do you usually mean the pressure at the inlet and outlet of the recycle hydrogen compressor?
The reactor pressure difference is normally kept below 0.4 MPa.
The increase in reactor pressure difference is mainly caused by fouling at the top. During normal operation, it is essential to ensure that the feed oil filter functions properly, that the temperature of the heater is well controlled to avoid overheating, and that there are no significant fluctuations in system pressure. In case of an emergency, it is crucial to control the rate of pressure release in order to prevent the catalyst from being damaged. An increase in pressure drop not only raises energy consumption but also shortens the operational cycle of the plant