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New Views Inside Steam Reformers
Peter Farnell
Reforming Technology manager
Johnson Matthey
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Introduction
Effective monitoring is time and money well spent
Addresses five areas of plant performance
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Introduction
Variety of techniques
available for surveys Simple regular tube shoot
Reformer survey
Optical Pyrometer
Gold Cup contact thermocouple
Thermal Imager
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Potential reformer issues
Poisoning
Carbon formation
Tube failure and replacement
Fluegas maldistribution
Burner problems
Refractory and tunnel damage
Corrosion
Combustion air maldistribution
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What is a reformer survey?
Accurate assessment of reformer performance
Measurement and correction
of tube temperatures
Inspection of reformer
Plant data collection and
reconciliation
PERFORM/CATPER
Detailed simulation
REFORM
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What is a reformer survey?
Statistical and graphical analysis of TWT
Benchmarking against other reformers
Troubleshoot operational issues
Cold zone
Hot zone
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Reformer survey techniques
Optical pyrometer measurements
Gold cup TWT measurements
Thermal imager measurements of radiant box
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Each reformer survey technique has its own unique use
The following presentation seeks to explain where each can be
deployed for greatest benefit
Reformer survey techniques
Tool Tube wall
temperature
measurement
Background
correction
required
Time for
survey
Video images
Optical
Pyrometer
Yes - Point Yes Medium No
Gold Cup Contact
Thermocouple
Yes - Point No Slow No
Thermal Imager Yes - Universal Yes Fast Yes
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Importance of tube wall temperature
measurement
Accurate measurement is vital
TWT history impacts tube life
Inaccurate TWT reading
If high, may artificially limit plant rate
If low, tube life shorter than expected
Tube L
ife,
years
850 1560
900 1650
950 1740
1000 1830
0.1
0.2
0.5
1
2
5
10
20 Design
Temperature, C, F
+ 20C
+ 36F
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Thermal Imager
Near Infrared (NIR) thermal imaging camera, set to measure at 1m
wavelength
Images are captured at 15 fps
Camera has a long probe and fish eye lens
Captures video from inside the furnace, with temperature data
recorded from all points in the image
Software easy to interrogate to analyse visually the reformer
condition
First used for reformer survey in 2011.
90
60
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Thermal imager
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Thermal imager demonstration
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Consistency Challenges
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Thermal imager demonstration
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New Views - Hidden Tube
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New Views Hidden Hot Spot
Limited Vision
Row A
south end
Full Vision
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Case study 1: Thermal imager
Customer had identified varying colours of tubes in the
reformer
Previously had ruptured tubes
Corporate mandated to either shutdown and change
out catalyst or validate that tube temperatures are not
exceeding design temperatures for planned turnaround
in 1 year.
Thermal imager deployed to give greatest insight both
for record purposes and to document tube colours.
Results
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Case 1: Results
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Case 1: Results
Row 7 Row 8
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Case study 1: Results
No temperatures could be found that exceeded the
design tube temperature
Allowed customer to continue running for an
additional year
Additionally with survey it was found that the box
was significantly imbalanced
Corrections were made to allow operation of the
furnace much more efficiently.
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Start of hot bands
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Conclusions
Powerful techniques to resolve reformer problems
Focussed on solving specific issues
Tailored to the needs of the operator
Johnson Matthey has a tools for every reformer problem
Measurement tools
giving new views Thermal Imager offers greater insight
Analysis and Modelling tools
to understand problems and develop solutions
Were here to help you maximize your asset performance
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New Views Inside Steam Reformers
Peter Farnell
Reforming Technology manager
Johnson Matthey
