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Tag: Weir

Plant Manager+

Rohit Khurana and Umesh Jainker of KBR presented a technical paper on this topic during the 2013 Asian Nitrogen + Syngas Conference. It can be found in the UreaKnowHow.com E-Library with the title: ”Replacing ammonia plant catalyst with maximum efficiency and lowest cost”. The paper addresses the importance of de-dusting catalyst beds before commissioning and the serious impacts on the plant if not performed thoroughly. Many ammonia plants have faced problems related to the plugging of exchangers, pipe choking, pressure drop increase of the downstream catalyst beds and separators or foaming in the CO 2 removal section which could be caused by the presence of catalyst dust. Most of these problems have led to either decrease in the efficiency of the plant or operation at lower throughputs. The paper presents the critical steps and procedures for proper dedusting of the catalyst beds before commissioning. In addition, the foaming problem in the CO 2 removal section associated with catalyst dust is discussed signifying the importance of cleaning the CO 2 removal system and solution. The role of filters in the CO 2 removal section was also emphasised.

Materials for pumps, valves, and piping in sulphuric acid service

Several highly corrosion resistant materials are available today for use in handling process fluids encountered in the production of concentrated sulphuric acid. These alloys, properly selected for the operating conditions, provide the benefits of long operating life under harsh operating conditions extending the period of uninterrupted production cycles and lowering the incidence of catastrophic equipment failure. In this article, M. J. Cooke of Weir Minerals discusses materials of construction for pumps, valves and piping used in the production of sulphuric acid.

Caustic scrubbing of molten sulphur vent streams

With increasing frequency, companies that have molten sulphur on site must put environmental controls on the vent streams from molten sulphur pits, storage tanks and loading operations. This article* describes the typical characteristics of molten sulphur vent gas streams as well as some of the important chemistry related to these systems in caustic scrubbers. Solids deposition issues observed in the field with caustic scrubbers operating on actual molten sulphur vent gas streams are presented. Design and operational strategies to mitigate plugging in molten sulphur vent gas scrubbers are also summarised in this article by D. J. Sachde, K. E. McIntush, D. L. Mamrosh , and C. M. Beitler of Trimeric Corporation.