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Field Experience With The Blasch VectorWall Reaction Furnace Checkerwall PTQ Q1 2014
Field Experience With The Blasch VectorWall Reaction Furnace Checkerwall PTQ Q1 2014
Field Experience With The Blasch VectorWall Reaction Furnace Checkerwall PTQ Q1 2014
checker wall
A new design of Claus furnace checker wall delivers improved mechanical performance and process flow
characteristics
D
epending on the licensor, of brick on either side to lock it in. The could improve mixing in the furnace,
there are a number of interlocking nature of the blocks makes we could improve efficiency, but soon
different architectures that provisions for expansion management learned that they are all inter related,
may be placed in the Claus straightforward and effective. The and we ended up learning a lot more
furnace to influence openings in the blocks are round, so about residence time, residence time
performance. Each has its pros and that any portion of the block not distribution, and plug flow vs stirred
cons. Regardless of design, mechanical directly supported by other blocks is in tank design along the way.
stability has tradition- ally been the form of an arch, and, as such, has A vectoring hood was developed that
problematic. greater mechanical stability than a flat would fit into the outlet ends of the
Blasch was tasked to develop a span. existing blocks, and could be oriented
checker wall that would be easy to Over the next several years, as and secured in the field in such a way
install, mechanically stable under all
conditions, allow for design with time, temperature as to redirect, or ‘vector’, the
downstream flow allowing each
varying degrees of open area, and could
incorporate the use of an integral
and turbulence were individual block in the assembly to
contribute to the creation of the overall
manway, if desired. Concerns at this
point were strictly mechanical; there
the variables that desired flow.
The vortex was initially selected
were no requests for mixing or flow played the largest because it was felt that this
management. The goal was simply to configuration made the best use of the
put in a checker wall that could survive roles on the process furnace volume and created a flow
a campaign intact.
The result was the Blasch HexWallTM constituents, pattern that yielded a long path length
with a very tight residence time
checker wall. The blocks are designed the stability and durability of the distribution. This variation of the
to be stacked dry and are mechanically checker walls was proven out, some HexWall checker wall was christened
engaged through a series of tabs and operators, who previously spent their the VectorWallTM.
slots, so the wall is quite stable, even time rebuilding walls, began to There are now nearly two dozen
when several meters in diameter. No question what they were actually VectorWalls installed worldwide, as
mortar is used between the blocks, designed to do — other than remain well as approximately 100 of the earlier
allowing the assembly to accommodate standing for an entire campaign. HexWalls. Highlighted below is a pair of
the thermally driven expansion and After considerable consultation with VectorWall installations where it was
contraction that comes with reaction process licensors, engineering possible to contrast stability related
chamber operation. The blocks may companies, end users, and details from before and after the
also be reused. miscellaneous stakeholders, it became installation.
The initial checker wall blocks were apparent that almost everyone agreed
designed to be 9in wide, the same as a that some combination of time, Field experience with the
row of bricks in the hotface. As larger temperature and turbulence were the
variables that played the largest roles VectorWall checker wall:
furnaces were encountered, additional
designs utilizing longer blocks were on the process constituents. That mechanical
developed so as to retain a reasonable makes sense, as the ‘three Ts’ of One of the larger diameter VectorWalls
aspect ratio of wall width to height. The reaction kinetics, and their effects on done to date is installed in Saudi
largest walls (>5m) utilize 18in wide process efficiency, are well Aramco’s Berri Gas Plant, in its SRU200.
blocks. documented. This portion of the article is excerpted
The walls may either be erected into Blasch was determined to find a way from a paper written by Mossaed Al-
a slot in the existing lining, or installed to use the HexWall checker wall to Awwad, Heat Transfer Engineer for the
against the hot face brick with a course influence these parameters. We Aramco Consulting Services
selected turbulence, thinking that if we Department (CSD). Blasch gratefully
LP
Knockout Steam Steam
drum drum
gas
Air Thermal
oxidiser
Sulphur
Where x is = 1, 2, 3...
H2S + NH3
Zone (I) Zone (II)
Retrofit
In light of the above problems, CPC
decided to revamp the furnace in May
2012. The revamp included installing a
new insulation refractory for the entire
furnace and replacing the checker wall
Figure 7: Flue gas temperatures before and after revamping
with a Blasch VectorWall. Figure 6
shows a picture of the VectorWall
during installation. It was built against
the insulating layer using high alumina
bricks as foundation wedges backfilled
with tight castable.
Results
Figure 7 compares the furnace
temperatures before and after the
revamp. It can be seen that after the
revamp, the Zone I temperature
increased to approximately 1400°C.
However, the Zone II temperature
decreased about 200°C to below
1000°C.
The higher Zone I temperature was
beneficial not only to the conversion of
hydrogen sulphide but also to the
destruction of ammonia in the acid gas.
It is believed that after the revamp
more ammonia was converted to N2 in
Zone I and less was carried into Zone II Figure 8: Comparison of acid gas processed
for oxidation. Thus, the Zone II
temperature was reduced.
Figure 8 compares the foul sour gas
processing rate. The amount of the acid
gas processed was increased about
30% to 2000 m3/hr. In addition, no
more furnace vibrations were
observed.
Figure 9 compares the sulphur yield.
After the revamp, the average amount
of sulphur produced increased from
approximately 105 t/d to about 120
t/d. This can be attributed to the
increased amount of acid gas processed
in the furnace.