Gasoline hydrogenation plant
Just before the maintenance shutdown of the petrol hydrogenation plant at NAK 3 at SABIC in Geleen, Altena Industrial Cleaning assisted SABIC operators in emptying, cleaning and degassing the unit. Part of the installation was degassed by evaporating the hydrocarbons and expelling them with steam.
"During the steaming process, we took gas samples from each system every hour or every two hours, which were then analysed immediately in the mobile laboratory vehicle. The laboratory vehicle was set up at the edge of the unit specifically for this purpose."
Many petrochemical installations are steamed for a predetermined number of hours, based on experience that the unit is likely to be ready for opening. Altena Industrial Cleaning has a better alternative for this. "By measuring the various products during steaming, you can monitor exactly what is happening, allowing deviations to be corrected immediately and ensuring that steaming is always as effective as possible. Thanks to the measurements, you know when you are done. This allows you to focus on those systems that are still dirty. It also prevents unnecessary prolonged steaming of systems that are already clean. An additional advantage is that more attention is paid to draining, checking the line-ups and preventing recontamination. This way of working guarantees the end result (clean systems) and a shorter turnaround time. At SABIC, we also measured for mercury. This enabled us to prevent unexpected mercury release during maintenance work in the shutdown.
"Altena Cleaning's decontamination assistance activities are aimed at making decontamination more effective. The installations can be opened more safely and quickly, leaving more time for production and reducing the amount of industrial cleaning work required during the turnaround."