Operating problems

Catalyst recovery is a major operational problem because rhodium is a cosdy noble metal and every trace must be recovered for an economic process. Several methods have been patented (44—46). The catalyst is often reactivated by heating in the presence of an alcohol. In another technique, water is added to the homogeneous catalyst solution so that the rhodium compounds precipitate. Another way to separate rhodium involves a two-phase Hquid such as the immiscible mixture of octane or cyclohexane and aliphatic alcohols having 4—8 carbon atoms. In a typical instance, the carbonylation reactor is operated so the desired products and other low boiling materials are flash-distilled. The reacting mixture itself may be boiled, or a sidestream can be distilled, returning the heavy ends to the reactor. In either case, the heavier materials tend to accumulate. A part of these materials is separated, then concentrated to leave only the heaviest residues, and treated with the immiscible Hquid pair. The rhodium precipitates and is taken up in anhydride for recycling. 

National Stone Mssociation, Washington, D.C., proceedings of conventions on operating problems and discussions, 1946—1993. 

Desalting is a water-washing operation performed at the production field and at the refinery site for additional cmde oil cleanup. If the petroleum from the separators contains water and dirt, water washing can remove much of the water-soluble minerals and entrained soflds. If these cmde oil contaminants are not removed, they can cause operating problems duting refinery processiag, such as equipment plugging and corrosion as well as catalyst deactivation. 

Flooded refrigeration systems are a version of the closed-cycle design that may reduce operating problems in some appHcations. In flooded systems, the refrigerant is circulated to heat exchangers or evaporators by a pump. Figure 11 shows the flooded cycle, which can employ any of the simple or compound closed-refrigeration cycles. 

Since membrane fording could quickly render the system inefficient, very careful and thorough feedwater pretreatment similar to that described in the section on RO, is required. Some pretreatment needs, and operational problems of scaling are diminished in the electro dialysis reversal (EDR) process, in which the electric current flow direction is periodically (eg, 3—4 times/h) reversed, with simultaneous switching of the water-flow connections. This also reverses the salt concentration buildup at the membrane and electrode surfaces, and prevents concentrations that cause the precipitation of salts and scale deposition. A schematic and photograph of a typical ED plant ate shown in Eigure 16. 

These systems, commercially known as Tberminol VP or Dowtherm A, differ from steam in some key areas which can result in operating problems unless handled properly in design (14). The low pressure—high temperature operation means that the AT/AP ratio at saturation is quite high for example, at 315°C the ratio is 25 times that of steam. This means that a pressure drop that would be nominal in a steam system (10 kPa (0.1 atm)), can not be tolerated if precise temperature control is needed. 

One operational problem with analog alarms is that noise in the variable can cause multiple alarms whenever its value approaches a limit. This can be avoided by defining a deadband on the alarm. For example, a high alarm would be processed as follows ... 

Process operators are expected to be exercising normal surveillance of the process. Therefore, alarms are not appropriate for situations known to the operator either through previous alarms or through normal process sui veillance. The sleeping operator problem can Be addressed by far more effective means than tne alarm system. 

Air Recirculation Recirculation of air which has been heated as it crosses the tube bundle provides the best means of preventing operating problems due to low-temperature inlet air. Internal recirculation is the movement of air within a bay so that the heated air which has crossed the bundle is directed by a fan with reverse flow across another part of the bundle. Wind skirts and louvers are generally provided to minimize the entiy of low-temperature air from the surroundings. Contained internal recirculation uses louvers within the bay to control the flow of warm air in the bay as illustrated in Fig. 11-47. Note that low-temperature inlet air has access to the tube bundle. 

Control of an evaporator requires more than proper instrumentation. Operator logs snould reflect changes in basic characteristics, as by use of pseuao heat-transfer coefficients, which can detect obstructions to heat flow, hence to capacity. These are merely the ratio of any convenient measure of heat flow to the temperature drop across each effect. Dilution by wash and seal water should be monitored since it absorbs evaporative capacity. Detailed tests, routine measurements, and operating problems are covered more fuUy in Testing Procedure for Evaporators (loc. cit.) and by Standiford [Chem. Eng. Prog., 58(11), 80 (1962)]. 

HAZOP (Knowlton, 1989 Lees, 1980 CPQRA, 1989, pp. 419-422). HAZOP stands for hazard and operability studies. This is a set of formal hazard identification and elimination procedures designed to identify hazards to people, process plants, and the environment. The techniques aim to stimulate in a systematic way the imagination of designers and people who operate plants or eqmpment so they can identify potenti hazards. In effect, HAZOP studies make the assumption that a hazard or operating problem can arise when there is a deviation from the design or operating intention. Corrective actions can then be made before a real accident occurs. 

Measurement Selection The identification of which measurements to make is an often overlooked aspect of plant-performance analysis. The end use of the data interpretation must be understood (i.e., the purpose for which the data, the parameters, or the resultant model will be used). For example, building a mathematical model of the process to explore other regions of operation is an end use. Another is to use the data to troubleshoot an operating problem. The level of data accuracy, the amount of data, and the sophistication of the interpretation depends upon the accuracy with which the result of the analysis needs to oe known. Daily measurements to a great extent and special plant measurements to a lesser extent are rarelv planned with the end use in mind. The result is typically too little data of too low accuracy or an inordinate amount with the resultant misuse in resources. 

Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) A systematic qualitative technique to identify process hazards and potential operating problems using a series of guide words to study process deviations. 

---