Startup, shutdown and control of refinery packed fractionators

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Hydrocarbon Processing

OSTI ID:131812

Hartman, E L; Williams, S D; Hanson, D W ^[1]

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1. Glitsch, Inc., Dallas, TX (United States)

Full economic benefits from revamping refinery main fractionators with packing can only be realized when attention is given to the startup, shutdown and control aspects of the project. There are subtle details to be addressed in all of these aspects, and thoroughness is required on the part of design engineers and operating personnel. Familiarizing and retraining operators is a must in these projects. Small mistakes or overlooking such details can result in costly problems for the refiner. The article focuses on significant operational issues refiners face when converting fractionators from trays to packing. Three main tower examples included here are atmospheric crude towers, vacuum crude towers and fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) main fractionators.

• OSTI ID: 131812
• Journal Information: Hydrocarbon Processing, Journal Name: Hydrocarbon Processing Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 74; ISSN HYPRAX; ISSN 0018-8190
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
CATALYTIC CRACKING
COKE
DISTILLATION
EXTRACTION APPARATUSES
FLOW BLOCKAGE
FRACTIONATION
LEVEL INDICATORS
MITIGATION
MODIFICATIONS
PACKINGS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
PROCESS CONTROL
SHUTDOWN
START-UP
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
WATER VAPOR