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through design
Quality-controlled replacement of carbon steel with Duplex 2205 for revamps
can increase the service life and reliability of the REAC in the high-pressure loop
I
n hydroprocessing units, the reac- Background cases where the resulting NH4HS
tor effluent cooler (REAC) is one In the hydroprocessing industry, was between 3-8 wt%, polysulphide
of the most vital pieces of equip- the REAC is one of the most injection was a very cost-effective
ment, and any hindrance to its important components in the solution for the continued use of
smooth operation immediately high-pressure recycle gas loop. It carbon steel (especially for
impacts the whole high-pressure typically provides the final cooling revamps). However, over time, the
loop. Older REAC designs used solution before separating the persistent plugging/operation
carbon steel, but these required low vapour (recycle gas) from the oil problems, frequency of inspection
concentrations of ammonium bisul- effluent and the sour water. The and the foul smell of the polysul-
phide and/or polysulphide sulphide outlet temperature directly impacts phide liquid greatly diminished its
injection together with frequent and recycle gas molecular weight as use. Increasingly sour feeds
thorough inspections. As feeds in larger hydrocarbon molecules drop demanded more corrosion-resistant
most heavy oil hydroprocessing out of the vapour phase. The same materials such as nickel-based
service have become more laden mechanism also affects the hydro- Alloys 625, 800 and 825. Capable of
with sulphur and nitrogen, the gen partial pressure, which directly handling up to 15 wt% NH4HS,
concentrations of ammonium bisul- impacts reactor catalyst life. The Alloy 825s corrosion resistance is
phide with economic levels of water importance of this piece of normally matched by an equally
injection have risen to a point where high-pressure equipment cannot be hefty price tag. As the cost of mate-
carbon steel tubes have routinely overstated. However, operating rials continued to rise, a more
been substituted by alloy tubing. under high pressures and low economical alternative with compa-
Duplex 2205 and Alloy 825 are temperatures can bring a host of rable protection against corrosion
used, with the former being very issues into the equation, not the was sought.
popular because it is relatively less least of which includes ammonium Duplex stainless steels are often
expensive. Initially, there were bisulphide (NH4HS) and ammo- successfully used in these systems
several problems associated with nium chloride (NH4Cl) precipitation because they offer advantages from
Duplex 2205, which were a result of (leading to pressure drop build-up), both the ferritic and austenitic
poor fabrication techniques. These corrosion and/or erosion-corrosion. stainless steel families. They are
included a rapid cooling rate asso- Some refiners have also experi- often cost effective due to their
ciated with thick header boxes, enced cracking in REAC welds, higher strength and reduced alloy
which could result in high ferrite leading to fires, and loss of both element content compared to other
and thus poor corrosion resistance; time and money. higher alloys (up to one-third the
welding of thick tubes to tube Tube metallurgy has a huge cost of Alloy 825). However, since
sheets with joint leaks; and lack of impact on a REACs life expec- these materials consist of dual-
control of welding, resulting in tancy. Materials currently used in phase microstructure, heat-treating,
high hardness and thus susceptibil- REAC systems include carbon steel, fabrication and welding techniques
ity to sulphide stress cracking. Type 400 series stainless steels, need to be carefully reviewed and
Many of these initial problems Type 300 series stainless steels, monitored to assure that the
seem to have been overcome. duplex stainless steel Alloys 3RE60 balanced microstructure is not
However, problems persist around and 2205, Alloy 800, Alloy 825, compromised. In the past, Duplex
the REAC, primarily because of a Alloy 625 and Alloy C-276. Early 3RE60 was used, but it had inferior
lack of attention to detail and not refiners used carbon steel and this corrosion resistance and toughness
adhering to licensor specifications. was found to be effective with at the welds (it is no longer availa-
In this article, we will illustrate real NH4HS concentrations up to 3 wt%. ble). The most commonly used
REAC problems from recent As sour opportunity crudes became grade today is Duplex 2205.
projects and consider the remedies available, the resulting NH4HS Early implementations of duplex
that were recommended. crept up into the double digits. In REACs failed to show significant
ogrt