Cleaning Ethylene Radiant Furnace Tubes

Introduction

$6m Capex Avoided

Following a fire at a major European ethylene producer, Tube Tech were able to inspect and unblock all radiant tubes avoiding costly replacement.

The Challenge

No cutting of bends was needed.
Externally all tubes were inspected with thermal imaging.
Fouling was a mixture of dense hydro-wax and fractured hard coke creating complete blockages.
Coil integrity inspection took 30 minutes per coil.

The Solution

Bespoke decoking equipment avoided cutting of radiant tubes.
Steerable equipment negotiated all bends and “Y” junctions.
All coke and water was removed from the radiant tubes to near bare metal.
Nitrogen was used to seal tubes prior to re-starting after remedial work was complete.

Tube Tech & Client Comment

Christian Chanel, International Sales: “Needless to say, the client was ecstatic by not having to replace all the costly radiant tubes, saving an impressive 7 figure sum.

Process Engineer – Energy Specialist: “I have to say it was very quick and (Tube Tech) were very well prepared. Their scope was to unblock three radiant coils of two types (2xGK6 and 1xSRTIII). They did it in excellent way and on top of which they cleaned 6 TLEs (transfer line exchangers). We were so impressed with their novel approach that we want to cooperate with Tube Tech on other cleaning projects.”