Furnace Tubes (USX/TLX) Cleaned in Record Time

Combined high pressure water jetting, rotary mechanical de-scaling and ultrasonics systems

Summary

A European polyethylene manufacturing site required a de-coke of their USX /TLX furnace tubes to as near to 100% as possible. Tube Tech had solved other heat exchanger cleaning challenges on their site and Tube Tech was called again, as local water jetting contractors could only ever cleaned to about 60% , failing to achieve suitable cleanliness leaving uneven coke on the walls of the furnace tube.

Challenge

• Previous contractors used high pressure water jetting to clean the TLX / USX furnace tubes but scale always remained leaving a “key” for fouling to build up again
• Previous contractors had taken 6 shifts to de-coke the 12 x 6” >1.5”  USX/TLX furnace tubes.
• Client required a bare metal finish with simultaneous inspection to ensure maximum heat transfer.
• Tubes were fouled with hard furnace coke. The changing internal diameter meant that studded pigging was not an option. Steam air decoking also had not worked to the clients satisfaction.

Solution

• Tube Tech assured that furnace tube decoking could be completed within 2 shifts.
• A semi automated decoking system, WysperJet, would remove the coke in a uniform manner and within record time.
• The Furnace tube decoking system combined a “3 in 1” system including high pressure water jetting, rotary mechanical de-scaling and Ultra Sonics. All systems de-coking at the same time.
• Tube Tech removed the hard coke deposits from inside the USX / TLX furnace tubes with only 2 passes down each furnace tube.
• Furnace tube decoking was completed within the 2 shifts quoted.
• Tube Tech always mobilise 4 different Furnace Tube De-coking technologies to cover all eventualities.

Tube Tech comment

Mike Watson, Managing Director:  “We appreciated the importance of a uniform clean when decoking furnace tubes and have first hand experience of using traditional 1000 and 2500 bar water pressure which in many cases is not enough to de-coke the layers of coke within the tubes. Our WysperJet™ furnace decoking system combines 3 systems in one cleaning head in other words what one system doesn’t remove, the next system will. This decoking system ensures 100% tube heat transfer surface area is cleaned.”

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