Blowdown/quench system operation

[sylviam48122827]

Anyone experiencing problems with keeping your blowdown/quench system air coolers unplugged during cold weather operation?  Are you using a steam/process gas purge in between drum cycles to prevent gasoil pluggage?

[antonio saura Cebrian]

with cold weather or not these finfan are going to get clogged/plugged with wax, when the temperature is below 350 F, we have implemented a routine procedure to avoid these plugging or to kept operational
to determine which are blocked, it’s as simple as going to the field and touch the box heads, the procedure is at the stage of stripping / cooling to the blowdown, we turn off a bay, we close the louver and we put the heat exchanger (steam coiler), we do this routinely to all finfan everyday

we do it this procedure in all our coker and operate very well

best regards

[Claus Graf]

In a coker that I worked some years ago, cold weather was 65 F. Like espana2005, we had steam coils under the finfan coils (without louvers) to prevent plugging.
 
Regards
 
CG

[Jeff Lewellen]

Thank-you for your replies.  However, our issues occur in the 10 F range.  Closed louvers and steam coils have not always been adequate, and we have resorted to keeping a steam flow through the tubes between drum cycles.  It’s affective, but increases steam usage and generates additional sour water.

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