Case Studies Reveal Common Design, Equipment Errors in Revamps
SUMMARY
Revamps of the product recovery section of fluid catalytic cracking units (FCCUs) are common. Failure to thoroughly evaluate the existing process flow scheme and equipment design often results in unit operating problems after a revamp.
TEXT
This first of two articles discusses FCC revamps and describes a common revamp and its associated problems and solutions. The second article covers two additional revamp situations. The examples of FCC revamps illustrate how fundamental errors in process system design or equipment resulted in performance that did not meet the stated objectives. The examples illustrate recurring problems for refiners in main fractionator and gas plant revamps.
The intent of each revamp was to increase the equipment capacity in order to increase recovery of light products. In each case, the revamp had operating problems after start-up.