Software development for simulation of reformer furnace zamaniyan, akbar. Catalyst tube failure topfired reformer arch burners heat catalystfilled tubes for steam methane reforming. Aiga 095 16 mechanical integrity of syngas outlet systems. In 1959, we received our first patent for our reforming furnace technology, based. Information about the openaccess article materials for reformer furnace tubes. As will be seen later, the heat content of the hot.
However, upon closer examination primary reforming involves a combination of many differing processes. Catalytic reformer, a unit in an oil refinery that reforms lighter hydrocarbons into higher octane molecules and hydrogen. The startup was almost totally manual modern plants have automatic startups. Within the high nickel alloy range of materials are a set designed for use at high temperature. In recent years, a number of reformer furnace operators. Furthermore, the primary steam reformer is the most expensive single item of capital expenditure, and is the dominant energy consumer in the plant. The prereformer tubes are transverse to the flow of flue gas from the radiant section. Lower energy consumption lower investment costs primary reformer with flue gas waste heat recovery system is eliminated. The overheating problem could be partially solved by adjusting the opening areas at the bottom tunnels.
Page 1 steam reforming of natural gas at petroleum refining facilities is the predominant means of producing hydrogen in the chemical process industries cpi. Reformer and heater tubes temperature accuracy comparing practical infrared techniques. Investigation of the heat efficiency of a primary reformer. Temperature indicators ti1, ti2, ti3, and ti4 are provided on both streams in and out of the combustion air pre. Steam reforming takes place in a steam reformer furnace. This publication presents a baseline for safe reformer header system operation. Photos 1 through 6 detail some of the damage to the reformer furnace.
Improving reformer efficiency and safety through better. Investigation of the heat efficiency of a primary reformer at an. Therefore, steam reformer furnace combustion safety is fundamental to the. Af subjected to metallographic examination, hot tensile. Pdf process simulation of natural gas steam reforming. We have many years experience in the fabrication and welding of these alloys, such as alloy 800ht that is commonly specified for the manufacture of reformer furnace headers, tubes and pigtails. Psm lessons from a major reformer furnace failure icheme. A steamhydrocarbon reformer employing a convectionheated prereformer is disclosed. A tubular reformer furnace is provided with refractory lined outlet headers, inlet headers may be lined said headers being external to the furnace box in order to eliminate excessive thermal growth of the headers, and relatively small diameter unlined tubing is provided for connecting the inlet header with the tubes in order to absorb the differential thermal. The sidefired reformer has multiple radiant wall burners along both side walls and one row of reformer tubes in the middle of the box. Because hydrogen needs within various sectors of the cpi are at their highest levels in history, and are continuing to grow, an understanding of this method of hydrogen production and purification can be useful. A hydrogen reformer furnace at a refinery was shutdown for maintenance to remove and cap the inlet and outlet headers of some radiant tubes that had previously developed hot spots and been isolated by externally pinching them off at the inlet.
Extending the reformer failurefree operating cycle is. The startup and shutdown of the reformer can create transitional periods of in. Pdf catalytic reformer furnaces steam reformers produce hydrogenrich gas by cracking natural. Software development for simulation of reformer furnace. Reformer furnace outlet systems 6 methane slip in the 5. Pdf short duration overheating in a steam reformer. The following overview provides basic information necessary for a proper understanding of the problem of heat transfer. The iron ore pellets that are charged into the reduction shaft through feed pipes, are reduced to metallic iron by the reduction gas in counterflow, are discharged and finally.
The heat to the reformer tubes is emitted from the radiant walls. Each reformer tube has a feed inlet at its lower end, an outlet at its upper end, and a catalyst containment zone disposed intermediate its upper and lower ends and contains a charge of a particulate steam reforming catalyst which is insufficient to fill completely the catalyst containment zone. Increase performance provides fired process solutions for petrochemical refineries. Pdf performance and life assessment of reformer tubes in. The furnace is usually a large refractory lined box with gas burners heating many catalyst filled tubes that carry the feed natural gas and steam. Thus, based on a calculated reformer heat duty of 50 mmkcalhr, the reformer is sized to contain 230 catalyst tubes with 4 inner diameter and a length of 35. The supply scope and responsibilities of vendor, erector and owner are defined hereafter. The reformer tubes are full of nickel catalyst, which triggers a reaction causing the methane in natural gas to.
Temperature balancing in steam methane reforming furnace via an. Heat balance fired process solutions steam reformer. In recent years, lots of research has been done on effective usage of natural gas. This burner produces a freestanding flame and is used in.
Investigation of the heat efficiency of a primary reformer at an ammonia plant in indonesia pontus norell department of chemistry and chemical engineering chalmers university of technology abstract the nitrogen fertilizer urea, produced from ammonia, is important for indonesian agriculture. Material requisition hydrogen steam reformer furnace 1. Therefore, this section is included as an introduction chapter, we can say as a refresher. Reformer furnace with internal recirculation haldor.
This is particularly troublesome in a roof or crown of a furnace or kiln. Temperature distribution across the furnace in vr facilit y. The borescope is installed through the furnace wall in front of the tubes within the chamber. Reformer component management after an overheating incident that resulted in tube failures a significant overheating incident occurred in csbps reformer in may 2011, after 12 years of operation. Performance and life assessment of reformer tubes in petrochemical industries. This material requisition is intended for the supply of the hydrogen steam reformer furnaces. Reformer and cracker furnaces harbisonwalker international. The prereformer achieves 1020% of the total reforming load, and can be. A steam reforming furnace has a plurality of substantially vertical reformer tubes. The prereformer comprises catalystfilled tubes disposed in the transition section between the radiant and convection sections. The furnace is where the process of liberating hydrogen from natural gas and steam begins. The gas and steam mixture travels down into reformer tubes that hang in vertical rows surrounded by gas burners that heat the mixture. Tearing will often occur at the anchors, resulting in loss of support for the layer.
A hydrogen reformer furnace is used to convert natural gas into hydrogen through a series of catalytic reactions. The setup of tubes and burners in reformer furnace with upper a and lateral b heating system and temperature distribution along the tube length c 9 the final result of the degradation of the properties of the tube during its operation is the formation of a longitudinal crack. Tgm system clearly detected localized hot spots caused by a carbon accumulation hot banding event resulting. Air preheat solutions, steam reformer expansion, monitor combustion, low nox burner modification and air heater modification. Heat is provided by up to 84 gas burners which heat up the furnace space.
Prior to the incident, the reformer was restarted after a hot trip and the furnace was inadvertently restarted using a cold restart procedure. Burners for reformers and cracking furnaces sciencedirect. The reaction normally takes place inside tubes that are packed with a solid catalyst to support the reaction. Steam reformer a unit for converting natural gas into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Some applications, including some reformer and cracking furnace designs, require a flat or fanshaped flame due to the close proximity of process tubes or due to the fact that the burner is fired along a wall or across the floor. Therefore, steam reformer furnace combustion safety is fundamental to the overall safe operation of these large scale hydrogen plants. Software development for simulation of reformer furnace ijcce. The steam reformer in the simplest terms is a heat exchanger, transferring heat from the hot fluegas to the cooler process gas within the tubes. The steam flow enters the hot catalyst filled tube through the inlet pigtail and would be.
Passing through these tubes, the mixture of top gas and natural gas is reformed to produce reductant gas consisting of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Methane reformer a unit for producing hydrogen from methane. The assessment of damage in reformer furnaces is an important factor in determining their remaining safe life. The reactants are fed and circulated inside the tubes. From the primary reformer, the primary outlet stream is. Reformer component management after an overheating. The main advantage is the uniform heat distribution and the very good heat input control. Maximizing the efficiency of the production process while minimizing system downtime and safety issues is a primary concern for plant operators. At the ammonia plant large amount of hydrogen is required. A reformer furnace having a cylindrical shell with an open outlet end in bottom of the shell, and a burner surrounded by a wall spaced apart the burner arranged within the shell and spaced apart from inner wall surface of the shell, thereby defining a reformer chamber between the burner wall and inner surface of the shell and a combustion chamber within the wall.
The steam reformer represents the core operating unit of most large scale hydrogen production facilities. Volume 6 paper h012 in advanced creep failure of h. This can be visualized by a probability density function pdf. This publication provides a technical basis that can be used to present a common viewpoint to government and regulatory authorities, ensuring proper application of rules and regulations. Both the primary steam reformer and ethane cracker furnace carry out a basic function in which they use a catalytic reaction to convert feedstock into a desired hydrocarbon fluid. Terraced wall furnace, methanesteam reforming, software, reformer, furnace. Steam reformer tubes looked normal nearly 3x as much fuel going to burners than there should have been high calorific value fuel added an extra 15% heat release first tubes rupture high furnace pressure trip bypassed oxygen in flue gas dropped to zero flames seen from peep holes normal furnace pressure visual inspection revealed white hot. Inspection of steam reformers and catalyst tubes with infrared thermography. Harbisonwalker international provides tailored solutions for refractory linings to ensure that steam methane reformers and cracker furnaces have the highest thermal insulation for reliable, energy efficient operation and total performance of the process.
Modern techniques for optimization of primary reformer. The reformer furnace is provided with several hundreds of reformer tubes filled with nickel catalyst. Portion of the furnace in which the heat is transferred to the tubes, primarily by. Hydrogen reformer tubes ruptured during startup hydrogen. Reformer furnace pdf directfired steam hydrocarbon reforming furnace is the workhorse of gas production. Klm technology group project engineering standard process design of furnaces project standards and specifications page 3 of 33 rev. The setup of tubes and burners in reformer furnace with upper a and lateral b heating system and temperature distribution along the tube length c 9. Absolute protection now available oscar olatte bd energy systems, llc houston, texas usa. The heat required for the reaction is supplied by a flame produced by burning a fuel. The combustion process in the furnace provides the heat to maintain the chemical reaction inside the catalyst tubes.
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