An essential part of any refiner's maintenance programme is the cleaning of equipment either for inspection or prior to recommissioning. Time and cost are major factors in determining maximum turnaround efficiency.

Chemical cleaning has been practised for years using basic inorganic chemicals as cleaning agents with varying degrees of success. Some fouling deposits are barely affected by inorganics at time- or cost-effective rates. The need to develop new applications of hitherto unused organic compounds became paramount.

It has been found that recirculated, heated mixtures of aromatic hydrocarbons and proprietary organic dispersants effectively remove a variety of hydrocarbon-related foulants at the same time meeting the maintenance department's demands of reduced time and cost and equal or better safety.

Environmentally-safe disposal of spent materials is reduced or eliminated by reprocessing, slop oil handling or acceptability in waste water processing.

Subject
Costs, Water, Materials, Chemical cleaning, Solvents, Coke, Equipment, Health, safety, and environment, Towers, Deposit corrosion, Hydrocarbons, Cleaning, Oil
© 1984 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1984
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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