Abstract
Process industries such as Oil, Gas and Petrochemical plants have boilers as part of the steam generating system. A boiler is a complex and critical piece of equipment and its reliability is crucial to the entire plants operation. Several components of boiler play a major role in contributing to its reliability and performance. Of these, boiler tubes are considered, the most vulnerable component to corrosion in steam generating units.
The corrosion concerns and the failure mode of boiler tubes can sometimes be unique to a plant and the control of corrosion is made a challenging task due to several variables including the make-up water chemistry, contaminants in the return steam condensate and effectiveness of the treatment program. Therefore, periodic inspections, assessments and timely remedial actions are required to ensure safe and reliable operation.
This paper outlines the practical experience associated with the operations of high pressure boilers in a gas processing plants perspective. The topics addressed in this paper include: various modes of failures, successful deployment of advanced nondestructive examination (NDE) technology to evaluate the magnitude of impact, a comprehensive boiler condition assessment program, and the ongoing efforts to enhance safety and reliability of boiler operation.
