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Free flowing
In-depth analysis helps Gothenburg refinery resolve fouling issues.
Management at the Gothenburg refinery in Sweden strive to maintain equipment in good condition. Replacing equipment is expensive and so maintaining reliability and availability can offer significant cost savings. More importantly, the cost of lost production when equipment is unavailable is a strong incentive to keep equipment well maintained. However, problems with fouling in the heat exchangers of the sour water strippers at the refinery meant that action was necessary.
Johanna Lindberg, Process Engineer, Gothenburg refinery, explains, “We were having issues with restricted flow into the units, which suggested a blockage. We had tried to flush the heat exchangers with high-pressure water, but that proved unsuccessful and the problem was becoming more severe. We were also experiencing problems with the desalter performance: the salt was not being removed from the crude oil in sufficient quantities and the chloride levels of the desalted crude were too high.”
Gothenburg refinery approached Shell Global Solutions for advice, and the organisation’s corrosion and fouling abatement specialists undertook a detailed investigation to identify the root causes. The team collected key information using tailored questionnaires before arriving on‑site to conduct a workshop with operating personnel.