On-demand air returns plant to operations

When you’re running a plant, a turnaround is often a major setback for schedules and profitability. If one unit has to shut down, it can create a domino effect with the rest of the supporting equipment – which in turns affects delivery. When a large Gulf Coast petrochemicals plant came up against this exact problem with their ethylene unit, they asked us find a way to get them back up and running. Our Aggreko Turnaround Services team had just the right experience to get this done.

Most, if not all, Olefins units require dry-outs when piping and vessels are opened for maintenance or TAR work. Nitrogen is the predominant, but not optimal, solution to this need; however, there are several issues in using nitrogen. Air is a more optimal solution. OFA must be used vs. IQ air because of potential damage to downstream equipment, sometimes including Desiccant dryers, plate and frame HXs and Cold Boxes, the instruments and piping cannot have any traces of oil once process is reintroduced.

The design, install and management of a complete turn-key solution to dry-out unit was delivered in a quicker timeframe with fewer issues and lower cost. As a result, not only was our client able to reduce the timeline of the turnaround, but they also saw a resumption of production quicker than expected. In total, they were able to gain 11 days of additional production.