Root Cause Analysis of Incidents during LTS Catalyst Reduction and Primary Reformer Coking Event

摘要

During a recent turnaround at Mosaic's St. James Ammonia Plant, a plant incident during the LTS reduction caused the pressure drop across the primary reformer to triple. Mosaic and Clariant Technical Services worked together to determine the cause of the primary reformer pressure drop increase and implement procedures to attempt salvaging the charge of reforming catalyst. This paper will discuss the troubleshooting that was completed, remedial action attempted, safety precautions taken following the shutdown to make sure the primary reformer and LTS were started back up safely, and lessons learned.