Mass Transfer Equipments - Random Tower Packing, Structured Tower Packing, Tower Internals, Tower Trays

Case Studies

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Revamp of Paraffin & Recovery Columns in Linear Alkyl Benzene Unit

Clients: THREE major Petrochemical companies in India

v Columns: Paraffin and Recovery columns

v Prior conditions:

· Low efficiency of Paraffin column

· LAB slippage through bottom of recovery column as high as 15%

· Acid color index 30-35 and sometimes even reached 60.

· Type of packing used: Metal Pall Rings.

v KEVIN’s contribution:

· To improve performance of column by replacing efficient internals and packings

v Activities Included:

· Selection of Medal Pak for better performance

· Design of new internals

· Manufacture and supply

· Supervision of installation

v Results guaranteed and successfully achieved…

ü LAB slippage < 5% from Recovery column bottom.

ü Paraffin column capacity increased > 20%

Reduction in overhead vapor temperature of the Paraffin column from 130⁰ C to 80⁰ C

Design of Direct Contact Cooler and Vaporization Cooler

Client: British Oxygen Company (India) Ltd.

v Columns: Direct Contact Cooler (DCC) & Vaporization Cooler

v Design Constraints:

· Difference in adiabatic Gas and liquid outlet temperatures if very high shall lead to fog formation.

· Lower tower efficiency and hazardous conditions due to fog formation in the DCC column.

v Main design criteria: optimization of the system in terms of water flow rate and temperature of process vapors. Selection of high performance packings and designing efficient internals.

v Activities included

· Heat transfer calculations

· Selection of Omni Pak type of high performance packing

· Hydraulic design of columns and internals

· Mechanical design

· Manufacture and supply of packing and internals

· Supervision of installation

v Results achieved

ü Columns are operating under satisfying conditions since last one year.

ü Other Steel plants are planning for similar systems due to the satisfactory operation of the columns.

Revamp of Wash Trays for Syngas Scrubber

Client: Fertilizer company located in Gujarat (India)

v Column: Syngas Scrubber used for removal of soot.

v Prior Conditions:

· Existing trays dislodged during high start-up pressure of 6 bars

v KEVIN’s Contribution:

New trays designed with additional features such as

· Sure cleats

· Stiffener angles on the integral beam

· Lock nuts etc...

New trays designed with long impingement plates over sieve holes

v Results achieved

ü Problem of dislodgement solved permanently

ü Improvement in column performance

Lower soot and condensate in outlet gases

Revamp of Phosgene Absorber

Client: Petrochemical company, Gujarat (India)

v Column: Phosgene absorber (Toluene di-isocyanate plant)

v Existing sieve trays were terribly corroded and required replacement every six months

v Activities involved:

· Identification of the problem

· Hydraulic study of the existing trays

· Design, manufacture and supply of new trays

v Results with new trays:

ü Jet flood and pressure drop brought under control.

ü Bottom temperature reduced

ü Corrosion level reduced

ü Performance of column improved

ü Installation in minimal shut down time

ü Repeat order received for second train

ü Satisfactory operation since last three years

Design of Tail Gas Scrubber

Client: M/s. UHDE India Ltd.

v End User: Fertilizer Company, Andhra Pradesh (India)

v Columns: Twin II Stage Tail Gas Scrubbers (NP/NPK plant)

v Design Criteria:

· Designing an optimum system namely, packed bed and demister section to handle 280,000 m³/hr of gas to be scrubbed and reduce water entrainment

v Activities involved:

· Process design of absorber

· Hydraulic and mechanical design of internals-

· Selection of Omni Pak type of high performance packing

· Manufacture and supply of packings and internals

v Results guaranteed and achieved:

ü 85% removal of ammonia and dust

ü 75% removal of fluorine

Repeat order received from UHDE

Revamp of Fatty Acid Distillation Column

Revamp and redesign of Fatty Acid Distillation column.

v The purpose of redesign was to make the column multipurpose in use to be operated in campaigns.

Removal of C₆-C₁₀ fatty acids from Coconut Oil fatty acids with C₁₂ fatty acid < 1% at top & C₁₀ < 1% in bottom.

Pure C₁₂-C₁₄ fatty acids with C₁₀ < 0.8% & C₁₆ <1%.

v Prior Conditions:

· Existing Random packing and old internals were not giving required purity

· Utility consumption was very high.

v KEVIN’s Contribution:

· To enhance capacity, obtain the required purity and reduce energy consumption.

v Activities involved:

· Selecting suitable ME II Structured packing

· Designing high-performance internals.

v Results Achieved:

ü Removal of C₁₂ fatty acid < 1% at top achieved.

ü Reduced utility consumption by 20%

ü Increased column capacity by 10%

Revamp of CO2 Absorber & Regenerator

Client: Fertilizer Company, Mumbai (India)

v Prior Conditions:

· Existing system gave high-pressure drop and large CO₂ slip (~1200 ppm) at absorber top.

· This led to increased load on Methanator and larger purge streams from NH₃ loop.

v KEVIN’s Contribution:

· Selecting suitable packing to obtain reduced pressure drop

· Design internals to result higher capacity and efficiency

v Activities involved:

· Design of new absorber and regenerator

· Adequacy check of new internals

· Manufacture and supply of Medal Pak packing

v Results guaranteed and achieved:

ü CO₂ slip from absorber decreased to < 400 ppm

ü Steam consumption in regenerator decreased by about 10%

Recovery of Phenyl Acetic Acid by LLE

Client: Pharmaceutical Company, Mumbai (India)

v Design Criteria:

· Recover maximum possible amount of PAA

· Reduce PAA content in the effluent.

v KEVIN’s Contribution:

· System design for recovery of Phenyl acetic acid

· Design of liquid-liquid extraction column

· Hydraulic and mechanical design of LLE internals

v Activities involved:

· Process Design of LLE column

· Hydraulic and Mechanical Design of LLE column internals

· Manufacture and supply of Medal Pak packing.

v Results achieved:

· 90% recovery of PAA

· Load on ETP substantially decreased

Recovery of Nitrobenzene from Effluent Stream

Client: Petrochemical company, Gujarat (India)

v Project: Recovery of Nitrobenzene from effluent stream

v Design Criteria:

· Reduce COD of the effluent stream.

· Recover maximum possible amount of NB

v KEVIN’s Contribution:

· Suggested a steam stripper

· A stripper of 1000 mm (5.4 ft.) diameter with 20 sieve trays was designed for the system

v Results Guaranteed and Achieved:

ü About 300 kg of NB could be recovered/day

Drastic reduction in COD of the effluent

Revamp of CO2 Absorber for removal of Liquid Vortexing

Client: A fertilizer company in South India

v Prior Conditions:

· Gas carryover and liquid vortexing problems in the bottom of their CO₂ absorber column.

· This problem led to problems with the pumping of liquid to regenerator.

v KEVIN’s Contribution:

· Suggested a shallow packed bed just above the liquid outlet.

v Activities involved:

· A 600 mm deep bed of Medal Pak was installed

· Support plate was made so as to accommodate various nozzles protruding in col.

v Results Guaranteed and Achieved:

ü The problem was solved satisfactorily

Reduction in energy consumption and load to the pump

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