Gas turbine compressor blade fouling mechanisms fouling of compressor blades is an important mechanism leading to performance deterioration in gas turbines over time. Effect of steam and carbon dioxide on naphtha cracking to. This also matches the high temp on stage 5d low mol wt gas causes high temp. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Our experience in crack gas applications allows flexibility in engineering compressor and driver configurations. Sep 29, 2015 this paper deals with the study carried out on fouling and corrosion problems in an aero gas turbine engine which operates from coastal environment. American institute of chemical engineers new search for. Ethylene unit cracked gas compressor case studies on fouling visagaran visvalingam presenter cyron anthony soyza sew nyit tong karl kolmetz. Process considerations for cracked gas compressor selection. Cracked gas compressor wash oil reactor resources offers a full line of compressor wash oils for ethylene producers. This course provides comprehensive coverage of ethylene technology with special emphasis on process operation, control, and troubleshooting. Fouling of compressor blades is an important mechanism leading to performance deterioration in gas turbines over time. Various parameters responsible for such problems are presented in the paper which causes deterioration in performance and leads to failure of the components. Compressor wash oil new fracturing and drilling technologies are continuously increasing the shale gas capacity, offering both opportunities and challenges to the ethylene industry.
Productsservices for cracked gas compressors gas compressors and gas compressor systems 320 companies gas compressors and gas compressor systems pressurize and circulate gas through a process, enhance conditions for chemical reactions, provide inert gas for safety or control systems, recover and recompress process gas, and maintain. The cracked gas compressor cgc is the most critical unit in an ethylene plant and several types of contaminates can often foul the. Since hydrogen is consumed by the chemical reactions, a makeup compressor supplies additional hydrogen to the loop. Olefins plant cracked gas compressors frequently foul, resulting in loss of efficiency that increases energy consumption, and may threaten. Sulfiding services reactor resources sulfiding services. Adequate wash oil selection and antifoulant injection enables cracker extension of cracked gas compressor run lengths by reducing the amount of polymer fouling.
Fouling high gas recycle rates reduce energy waste and optimize antisurge valve use by leveraging re liable, realtime intelligence about asset health and your process. A brief and simplified overview of the ethylene manufacturing process is explained here so that better insight. Reduce energy waste and optimize antisurge valve use by leveraging reliable, realtime intelligence about. In some cases, fouling cannot be prevented with the existing compressor. This rising availability has the potential to reduce operational costs but goes hand in hand with fouling issues and an increased need for compressor wash oils. A multistage centrifugal compressor may require many impellers and diffusers between the inlet and the discharge flange to meet the head requirement of the process designers stage. This can be due to leaking interstage seals or compressor freeradical polymer fouling on the compressor blades and diffuser typically the 2. This paper provides a comprehensive practical treatment of the causes, effects, and control of fouling. Pdf ethylene producers conference proceedings index free. The inevitable compressor blade fouling by the crackedgas process leads to a blade imbalance that causes excess vibration and compressor trip. Cracked gas from the furnaces is compressed by the charge gas compressor. At this point, a root cause analysis rca team was assembled and edif era was awarded. Cracking furnace system is the starting and the most critical sector of an ethylene plant where heavier components are cracked into lighter products, such as ethylene, propylene, and etc.
Gas turbine compressor blade fouling mechanisms pipeline. Overview this handson, highlyinteractive course includes various practical sessions and exercises. Blade fouling also causes energy efficiency losses as great as 1%. This is the accumulation and adhesion of dirt and sediment on the compressor blade which contributes between 70 to 85% of gas turbine performance loss. Compressor rotor failure due to fouling turbomachinery. Feed points available at the suction piping injection spray atomizers enhance distribution increased wash oil injection rate to 34% vol. Compressor suction and discharge valve fouling refining. Quality monitoring existent gums quantity monitoring dp. Compressor strings can include two to four compressor bodies in addition to the specified driver.
Olefins plant cracker gas compressor fouling digital refining. During the production, coking can adversely affect the manufacturing performance, such that furnaces have to be decoked for some controlled time. Olefins plant cracked gas compressor fouling tutorial aiche. Compressor is close to or on the surge line and pressure fluctuations occur on stage 5 and stage 4 and then reflected back all the way to stage 1. Elfghi malaysiajapan international institute of technology, universiti teknologi malaysia, jalan semarak, 54100 kuala lumpur, malaysia. Initial efficiency loss does not increase costs significantly if there is adequate turbine capacity. A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. We have experienced a recurring valve fouling of the suction and discharge valves of our recycle gas compressors due to sludge deposition. Actual compressor perform ance monitoring of deviation in design and actual efficiency. The gas from the final separator flows to a hydrogen sulfide h 2 s scrubber where liquid amines are used to remove the h 2 s from the recycle gas. Prevention and control procedures for fouling and corrosion are also highlighted. The cracked gas compressor is usually driven by an extraction type steam turbine, using high pressure live steam and extracting steam to the plants medium.
Fouling reduces turbine air mass flow capacity, compressor pressure ratio and overall gas turbine efficiency. Initial efficiency loss does not increase costs significantly if there is. Centrifugal compressors are employed in ethylene plants because they can handle very large volumes and are very robust, allowing for continuous operation in critical services. Olefins compressors reliability performance epc survey results rashmi k. Fouling in a cracked gas compressor can negatively affect plant economics. Fouling is the most important performance degradation factor, so it is necessary to accurately predict the effect of fouling on engine performance. Overview of cracked gas compressor fouling theories and. Charge gas compression and caustic wash ethylene introduction in ethylene production, the feedstock, usually naphtha or ethane, initially is cracked to produce the desired ethylene, and other useful by.
Recycle compressor an overview sciencedirect topics. The cracked gas is rapid quenched to stop the degradation of the olefins and coke formation. The cracked gas compressor is a multisection centrifugal compressor, with 4 or 5 stages of compression required to bring the cracked gas pressure up to the desired value of approx. The 108 ethylene plants polled in the survey, which are responsible for 62% of the worlds production, named compressor fouling as the second most frequent cause for compressor failure. The unit was rebuilt but failed again on commissioning. Optimize crackedgas compressors with smartautomation. The course provides an excellent opportunity to develop a working knowledge that can promote efficient, reliable, and trouble. Fluid catalytic cracker an overview sciencedirect topics. This paper develops a new performance calculation method of fouled multistage axial flow compressor based on experiment result and operating data. Note that water injection is used quite regularly in ethylene unit cracked gas compressors to reduce gas temperature.
Gas compressor failure investigation project overview during the commissioning of a gas plant extension project, a reciprocating compressor failed catastrophically causing a small hydrocarbon release. We had a 5 stage centrifugal, 50 kpa suction to about 4000 kpa discharge with interstage cooling. Compressor suction and discharge valve fouling posted in refining, hydrocarbons, oil, and gas. In the field of gas screw technology, atlas copco are innovative pioneers. Ethylene plant cracked gas compressor fouling by sheri snider, nalco company april 2006. From singlestage air blowers to 100mw multibody crackedgas compressors, the principle of operation is the same. The new performance calculation method of fouled axial flow. Ethylene unit cracked gas compressor case studies on fouling. To control the build up of polymers on cracked gas compressor turbines, seals, intercoolers, and heat exchangers, wash oils are typically injected into ethylene crackers on a continuous basis. The cracked gas compressor cgc is the most critical unit in an ethylene plant and several types of contaminates can often foul the compressor flow path, causing deterioration in performance and significantly losses in plant production. Introduction nalco company has been monitoring and treating process gas compressors in ethylene plants for more than 15 years. In the previous research, it is very difficult to accurately model the fouled axial flow compressor. The effect of compressor fouling is a drop in airflow, pressure ratio, and compressor efficiency, resulting in a rematching of the gas turbine and compressor and a drop in power output and thermal efficiency. The degradation was slow initially but accelerated with time, and the compressor efficiency dropped from 65% new to 35% failure.
Cracked gas compressor fouling and anti fouling technologies by pallavi baddam ethylene plant capacities in recent decades have increased and are now around 2. Optimize crackedgas compressors with smartautomation technology. I am currently troubleshooting a problem here at our plant regarding our diesel hds. Fouling and corrosion in an aero gas turbine compressor. A common example is a multistage crackedgas compressor a threestage compressor on the process flow diagram may have as many as 12 compressor stages. Improve compressor reliability with advanced chemical. This presentation covers ethylene unit cracked gas compressor case studies on fouling. Multistage centrifugal compressor fouling evaluation at high.
The challenge an ethylene plants most critical pieces of equipment are its cracked gas compressor and turbine. This paper provides an overview of process gas compressor fouling including economics, locations, mechanisms, control methods, and. From that point, the cracked gas went through a caustic scrubber to remove traces of co2 before it was dried we used mol sieves and started down the cold train and then the. Problem in crack gas compressor start up chemical plant. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor compressors are similar to pumps. Cracked gas compressor fouling causes and mitigation applied chair. Figure 1 typical crack gas compressor mitsubishi in addition to downtime, there can also be production losses due to the crack gas compressor operating inefficiently over a long period of time.
Effect of steam and carbon dioxide on naphtha cracking to mitigate cracked gas compressor fouling, coke accumulation and energy resources ramadan a. Gas from the scrubber enters the inlet of the recycle compressor. Since launching the first screw compressor to market over 60 years ago, atlas copco designed the first portable screw compressor model, the first truckmounted screw compressors and the first oilfree screw compressor. Fouling is caused by the adherence of particles to airfoils and annulus surfaces. The cracked gas compressor cgc is the critical system in modern.