Reduce stress and increase throughput of reformer tubes

摘要

The design of primary reformer tubes is critical to ensure the good long-term operation of any syngas plant.The same is normally done according to API-530 standard for an average lifetime before creep rupture of approximately 100,000 h.Main parameters in the design are the maximum operating pressure,the design temperature and the creep rupture strength of the material used.The high operating temperature and pressure to which the primary reformer tubes are exposed mean that the reformer tubes are close to the metallurgical limits and therefore operate in what is commonly known as the"creep regime".This means that reformer tubes will suffer gradual plastic deformation,resulting in micro voids,which develop into large cracks with time in service.Due to these reasons it is mandatory to keep the technical conditions of reformer tubes in as much as possible better state.This extremely harsh condition are even more emphasized in the case that are reformer tubes fouled with various contamination material from both sides of reformer tubes.Fouling from different sources will cause poor design or operation of reformer tubes which can even more lead to premature tube failure.This is very costly in terms of tube replacement and lost production due to the downtime to replace failed reformer tubes.In order to reduce the risk of premature reformer tubes failure due to fouling effects and intensive firing to achieve the same operating conditions it is extremely advisable to keep reformer tubes in their original state during their complete predicted life time and even beyond.Application of regular cleaning procedure from both sides of reformer tubes,according to appropriate analysis will improve the technical conditions of the same bringing the safety margin against creep rupture behavior and extending significantly their predicted avarage lifetimes.Case studies will be presented to show the financial and energy savings benefits that an operator can realize when applying proprietary cleaning technology to their primary reformer tubes.