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Home / Case Studies / Petrochemical & Refineries
Case Studies
TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Scan - Location of Damaged Spindle Identified
A major refiner requested Tracerco to perform a TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Scan on a 30” isolation valve to identify the location of a suspected spindle breakage. The work included determining the gate position by use of gamma-ray transmission....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - On-Line Diagnosis Shortens Unit Downtime
While monitoring the contamination levels in treated waste gas lines at a nitric acid plant, it was discovered that impurities (which should have been removed by the catalysts) were running high. This could either be due to a leaking feed/effluent exchanger, or to channelling in the catalyst bed....more
TruTec™ Scanning Services - TRU-SCAN®
The vacuum distillation column in a refinery was having trouble producing low metal content fuel oil when processing certain feeds. As a result, it was proving difficult to operate various downstream processes, since they were designed for low metal content.
Demister Pad Causes Fuel Oil Contamination
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Flow Study - The Use of a Tracer Technique to Measure Flow Maldistribution
On a major chemical plant, a newly installed waste-heat boiler was suffering recurrent tube failure with the consequent unscheduled shutdowns. Feed-water was supplied to the boiler from a header arrangement....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Ammonia Converter Passing Bypass Valve
Temperature measurements and chemical analysis of the gas at the exit of an ammonia converter showed that abnormalities were occurring. These could have been formed from:-...more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Leak Detection on a Distillation Column Reboiler System
Tracerco were recently requested by a major European petrochemical company to both identify and quantify the extent of a leak that was suspected of coming from a reboiler system on a distillation column, as it was effecting the overall efficiency of the separation chain....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Residence Study - Residence Time Study Boosts Yield
In the manufacture of a chemical intermediate, several streams are mixed together in a stirred tank reactor. The incoming streams are first intimately mixed using several; mixing nozzles. Excessive time in the reactor will generate more by-product resulting in a lower product yield....more
 TRACERCO™ Level Gauge - Solution to Polyethylene Overflow Problem
A leading manufacturer of low-density polyethylene (L.D.P.E.) in South Africa recently upgraded its No. 1 polyethylene plant. Production on this extremely high-pressure plant has been increased by approximately 50%. This was achieved without increasing the size of major vessels....more
TruTec™ Scanning Services – TRU-SCAN® / Tru-Grid™ Scan
A distillation column on a large oil refinery in the United Kingdom was having a number of processing issues.
Identification of Packed Bed Damage
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Determining Evidence of Gas By-passing through IS Reactor
A TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Leak Study was employed to look for evidence of any process gas by-passing through the Intermediate Shift Reactor (ISR), or gas leaking through the ISR by-pass valve and to identify a cause for this effect on a chemical plant in India....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Leaking Valve Pinpoints Material Loss
A tank farm distribution manifold was used to route various materials from tanks to different columns in the refinery. A discrepancy was found between the measured flowrate to one of the columns, the rate indicated by tank level gauges and the flow to the tank...more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Leaking Waster Heat Boilers Pinpointed
In the manufacture of ammonia, the process gas from the primary reformer is adiabatically reformed in the secondary reformer. The hot process gas exiting the secondary reformer is then used to generate steam in three waste heat boilers....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Residence Study - Measurement of Bypassing in a Feed/Effluent Exchanger
A frequently encountered problem on refineries is the decision as to whether or not poor conversion in a catalytic refining unit is due to a leak in an associated feed/effluent heat exchanger (which is an inexpensive repair) or due to catalyst deterioration....more
TruTec™ Scanning Services – Tru-Grid™ Scan and TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Flow Study
The pressure drop occurring throughout the packed bed section of the column was higher than the design pressure and samples had been taken down stream of the section which indicated there was poor mass transfer occurring in this zone of the column
Operational Problem within Packed Bed Section of Separation Column
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - On-Line Detection of Leaks for Better Shut Down Scheduling
Inter-stream leakage is a commonly occurring problem on all types of process plant. A typical situation is where water contamination of the liquid product from a distillation unit may originate either from a leakage in the reboiler or from a water leakage in one of the product condensers....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Flow Study - The Use of Radioisotope Tracer Measurements to Optimize the Operating Cycle of Steam Turbine
A steam turbine was used to compress gas prior to the reaction section of an ethylene oxide plant. The flow of process gas to the reactor was measured by an installed flow meter, with an output signal from the flow meter fed back to a control valve on the inlet steam line to the turbine....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Distribution Study - Vapour Distribution Determines Cause of Lost Efficiency
To meet tightened product specifications modifications were made to a key column in a fractionation train. These modifications included repacking the 3 existing packed beds and installing new distributor trays, along with a newly designed deflector plate at the inlet of the vapour return....more
TruTec™ Scanning Services – Tru-Grid™ Scan
One of the separation steps in the manufacture of a speciality chemical involves removal of impurities in a nitrogen stripper. To accomplish this, the feed is introduced onto the distributor tray of a packed bed column.
Dislodged Tray, Flooded Packing Found Without a Shutdown
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TruTec™ Scanning Services – TRU-SCAN®
Tracerco helped to diagnose the cause of poor tower performance which resulted in a shorter than expected shutdown and eliminated the need to order costly trays. Following a unit power failure, the column was not able to make even marginal specification product at the desired rates.
Determining the Cause of Poor Tower Performance
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TruTec™ Scanning Services – TRU-SCAN® / TruTec™ Pipe Scan
The reboiler on a splitter column was experiencing problems on a major petrochemical refinery within Western Europe. The pressure drop across the bottom section of the distillation column was surging periodically and problems were occurring around the temperature of the reboiler.
Reboiler Feed Blockage
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Flow Study - Accurate Knowledge of Flow Essential for Energy Audit
Carrying out energy audits in a plant always highlights problems, and it is on these occasions that accurate knowledge of flowrates is essential. In this particular ammonia plant, it was necessary to determine the flow in some unmeasured streams as well as verify some existing flow meters....more
 TRACERCO™ - Smart Density Gauge - Determining Coke Thickness in a FCCU
In large scale continuous operating plant optimisation of operating conditions can lead to significant increases in productivity and a reduction in operating costs. This certainly applies to Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU's)....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Source of Water in Product Stream Identified
Process engineers were baffled by a dramatic increase in the water concentration in their ethylene glycol product stream. They sought the help of Tracerco to pinpoint the source of the problem....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - FCCU Study - Operating Problems Identified
A fluidised catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) had a problem producing and maintaining an even fluidisation of catalyst and gas between the catalyst regenerator and the reactor. This fluidisation was accomplished by arrays of nozzles along the standpipe from the regenerator and along the catalyst riser to the reactor....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Distribution Study - Technique Identifies Design Flaw
In the development of a new reactor design for a speciality chemical process, engineers spent considerable time debating methods for the rapid mixing of the reactants and the subsequent flow distribution throughout the reactor....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Leak Test of Underground Naptha Lines
The Tracerco Diagnostics Leak study technology has a wide range of applications as an on-line inspection tool to determine leakage. These include items such as Reboilers and Condensers, passing valves, Ammonia Converters, Vent systems and from underground pipelines....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Confirming Source of Leakage within Heat Exchanger
The Tracerco Diagnostics Leak Study technology has a proven track record in successfully identifying and confirming the source of leakage within banks of heat exchangers. A recent example of the use of this powerful inspection tool was a project we undertook for a major UK refinery....more
TruTec™ Scanning Services
The TRU-SCAN®/Tru-Grid™ Scan technology has, for over 50 years been used by major oil and chemical companies around the world. It has successfully identified operational limitations, internal damage and blockages in most types of distillation and absorption towers. It has also assisted in commissioning and pre-shutdown planning.
Base Line Scans Used to Monitor Polymer Build-up
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TRU-SCAN®
The use of gamma ray technology to rapidly identify operational or design problems within distillation towers is well proven. For tray towers it is usual to perform a scan on the “active” tray area of the tray deck, which can be repeated if the trays are more than one ”pass”. (i.e. side-centre downcomers)
Distillation TRU-SCAN®
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Helium Leak Study - Leak Test Studies on Various Heat Exchangers
An experienced team of Tracerco technologists recently carried out a large number of leak test studies on various heat exchangers on a customers site, a major fine chemicals manufacturer....more
 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - MUI - Corrosion Under Insulation
"An increasing problem on vessels and pipelines within chemical and refinery units is the “invisible menace”, more commonly known as “corrosion under insulation”.When this occurs unseen erosion of the pipe or vessel wall takes place ultimately leading to either an operational stoppage or at worse a catastrophic failure of the unit.
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Distribution study - Excess Carryover from a Packed Bed Tower
The examination of packed bed towers by gamma ray scanning is well established but does not always clearly identify the operational problem. A recent project for a major LNG supplier who was experiencing excess carryover from a packed bed tower clearly showed the benefits of the use of tracer technology over gamma scans when applied to packed bed towers...more
TruTec™ Scanning Services – Tru-Grid™ Scan / Tru-CAT™ Scan
Maldistribution was suspected in a packed bed of a Main Fractionator, on a major European FCC unit. A TRU-SCAN®/Tru-Grid™ Scan was used to investigate the transfer/parting box arrangement immediately above the bed. In addition, a TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Tomography scan was performed towards the top of the bed to supplement the traditional tower scan, in an attempt to locate any areas of maldistribution within the bed.
Maldistribution Suspected in a Packed Bed
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TruTec™ Scanning Services – TRU-SCAN®
A major customer in Europe was experiencing severe operational problems with a Quench Tower on one of its Olefines units. A sudden surge on the tower had damaged an indefinite number of trays in the lower section.
Quench Tower Experiencing Operational Problems
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Leak Detection on a Distillation Column
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Separator Study - Carryover Study on Gas Plant
An oil and gas producer recently carried out some major internal modifications on two separation vessels in an attempt to reduce the liquid carryover associated with its gas production unit. To assess how successful the modifications to the internals were, the customer requested Tracerco carry out a TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Separator study to measure precisely how much liquid, condensate and glycol, was being carried over from each vessel....more
TruTec™ Scanning Services – TruTec™ Neutron Backscatter / TRACERCO Diagnostics™ Separator Study
A major petrochemical facility believed that the exit nozzles at the bottom of an oil / water separation vessel were becoming choked or restricted by deposits, which in turn was affecting the whole production chain.
Deposit Measurement in Oil/Water Knockout Vessel
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TruTec™ Scanning Services - TRU-SCAN®/Tru-Grid™ Scan
Examination of bed for maldistribution
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 TRACERCO Diagnostics™ - Leak Study - Leak from Naptha Stream
A client in Germany was experiencing symptoms of leakage across a tubed heat exchanger. The suspected leak was from a Naphtha stream, feeding a reactor system, into the product stream exiting the system (see Figure 1). This was causing the formation of out of specification product and low yields...more
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