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Submitted Chris Haslego, Nov 21 2011 11:21 AM | Last updated Nov 21 2011 01:29 PM




Category: Refining
Question: What are some effective methods of locating coke plugging in a crude vacuum heater?
Keywords: coke,plugging,crude,vacuum,heater,detecting
Answer: If the heater is still online then blockage can be detected by using a thermal imaging camera (the blockage will be causing a localized hot spot). If the heater is offline then radiography should certainly detect the blockage, but a conventional technique could take a long time to cover all the tubes. Flash radiography would be quicker. Try a visual inspection and simple hammer test if the tubes are accessible. An experienced inspector should be able to detect the blockage quickly, either from evidence of overheating or the sound of the tube under hammer test. The presense of the blockage can then be confirmed with radiography before cutting the tube. An alternative if the tubes are inaccessible could be to inject low pressure steam into the tubes and use an infra-red camera to monitor tube temperatures. The blockage might show up as a cool spot.


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