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Clean sweep
Improved decontamination process brings environmental benefits for Brazilian petrochemicals company
The cleaning process, or decontamination, is an important step at the start of a refinery unit or petrochemical plant shutdown. The hydrocarbons that collect inside columns and vessels need to be reduced to acceptable levels for maintenance staff to accomplish the necessary tasks during turnaround. Traditionally, a steam procedure is used. However, refiners and petrochemical plants are starting to see benefits from a chemical cleaning method in which emulsifying chemicals are circulated through the system, which results in more efficient removal of the hydrocarbons. Chemical cleaning is preferred to steaming in units where sludge-like deposits have accumulated during the run.
Petrochemical company Braskem SA has introduced a chemical procedure in place of traditional steam cleaning at the lower olefins unit of its plant in Camaçari, northeastern Brazil, with support from Shell Global Solutions. The fouling abatement and decontamination team at Shell Global Solutions developed a methodology for the chemical cleaning process; work included identifying the appropriate chemicals and dosage, and developing sampling procedures to analyse the level of hydrocarbons remaining in the unit.