TODAY'S REFINERY

REFINING DETAILS NOTEBO'OK

THERMAL CRACKING 2 Delayed Coking

Today's Refinery - November 1997

$ 10.00 per copy

Thermal Cracking 2 Delayed Coking

by: Richard Klick and Art Gardner

Delayed coker equipment is currently being improved as noted in Today's Refinery October 1996 Thermal Cracking Delayed Coking Notebook, which discussed feedstocks for anode, needle and fuel grades of coke, fuel coker design and coke drum designs. This notebook is a continuation and discusses coke drum. structure systems, coker heaters, coker fractionator, coke handling systems,

. blowdown systems. coke drum life considerations and piping.

COKE DRUM STRUCTURE SYSTEMS: Safety and labor concerns resulted in simple top unheading devices using smaller manways. Fieldexperienced reduced-diameter bottom manways have transformed a drum. closure device into a bottom-head and telescoping-chute system operating in a difficult work environment through remote manipulation. While this system ensures unheading operation safety, automatic unbolting and an advanced closure device can be added. As a result of the first bottom unheading system operating successfully for one year, systems, which eliminate the use of drum connections without compromising mechanical robustness, are in fabrication for eight drum pairs. Many new cokers are fitted with motor operated four-way ball type switch valves in place of manually operated plug type switch valves. Totally enclosed and ventilated coke cutting operator's station is located on the top deck. An operator station providing a shielded view of the remote head lowering and chute raising can be located on the unheading deck with an emergency escape route behind the station to be used in the event of coke and water breakthrough during unheading.

COKE DRUM STRUCTURE VALVES: All valves necessary for switching heater transfer lines between drums, such as coke drum steam. out, water quench drain manifold and associated valving, are located on one deck with (1) inlet piping to a pair of coke drums being symmetrical, (2) the switch

valve being at the center of the valve grouping and (3) coke drum isolation valves being physically located on the same side as the respective drum. Isolation valves are located in close proximity of the switch valve for (1) operator verification of proper valve being closed/open, (2) operator efficiency and (3) minimum volume of piping that needs to be purged between the switch valve and the block valve. All valves necessary for coke drum vapor lines to the fractionator and blowdown systems, such as valves for (1) isolating lines prior to opening a drum. for decoking, (2) switching overhead lines from one drum. to another and (3) manifold for switching vapor line from the fractionator to the blowdown system, are located on one deck above the valves for switching heater transfer lines between drums. The convenience of locating these valves on the same level as the switching valves is over-ridden by the requirements that (1) coke drum vapor lines to the fractionator and vapor lines to the blow down system must be sloped with no pockets in which liquid can rest and (2) after switch valves have been installed, there is not enough room to install additional valves on a level.

COKE DRUM STRUCTURE CUTTING DECK:

The uppermost operating platform deck at the top of the coke drum is for coke cutting after a drum has been completely quenched and isolated. The top, usually 36 inch diameter. flange can be removed for hydraulic decoking by high pressure water directed. through a cutting nozzle mounted on a drill steam pipe lower end which enters the drum via an overhead drill derrick. A shelter located on the cutting deck protects the operator against coke drum eruptions and has the following features: (1) necessary controls and control panel for coke cutting operations, (2) positioned on the cutting deck side of the coke pit or pad with a port for viewing coke coming from the chute and or containing closed circuit television for viewing coke cutting, (3) totally enclosed to protect operator from coke drum eruptions, (4) enclosed safety escape lanes for

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emergency egress to stairway, (5) safety glass windows for viewing drill stem coke cutting and (6) adequate positive ventilation providing fresh air with heating in cold climates. Coke drum pressure safety valves (PSV) and atmospheric vent line valving are located on the cutting deck. PSV are installed directly on coke drums, because piping is prone to coke buildup. Vent lines are fitted with silencers.

COKER HEATERS: Minimizing piping length between heater and coke drum minimizes (1) residence time of the heater eflluent in piping and thus minimizes potential for premature coking in the transfer line which is most critical when dealing with difficult feedstocks and (2) need for expansion loops which become a consideration due to thermal expansion at typical operating temperatures of 930 F. Two types of coker heaters are available for standard and difficult feedstocks. The standard coker heater normally provides one year run lengths by maintaining high tube velocities, optimal flux rates, steam injection points and independently controlled and fired passes. To remove premature coking from operating upsets and overfiring at high capacity without shutting down the furnace for air steam decoking, on-line spalling can be performed in one tube pass at a time on properly equipped heaters, while not significantly reducing throughput. During the last 8 years, this technology has been fitted to 12 commercial delayed coking units, in some cases extending heater run lengths beyond the traditional one year even when the heater had been fired more than 50% beyond its original design. Difficult feedstocks are processed by shorter in-tube residence times and firing on two sides of the tubes to reduce peak flux rates over one tube-side firing. As a result, the heater is (1) less prone to coking than the standard type. (2) slightly more expensive than the standard type. (3) useful on sensitive. very heavy or unstable feedstocks, (4) attractive where very long furnace run lengths are required and (5) beneficial on small furnaces which may not be adaptable to on-line spalling technology. The ill'st commercial delayed coking unit of this type has operated successfully for one year on a very difficult feedstock. New designs use 9 Chrome metallurgy heater tubes which cost about the same as standard 9 Cr. tubes but permit operating at 100 F higher tube skin temperature.

COKER FRACTIONATOR: Liquid yields are maximized by minimizing coke drum operating pressure, coke drum vapor piping pressure drop and amount of recycle. Minimizing vapor pressure drop by increasing pipe diameter becomes expensive because alloy piping and alloy specialty valves are used. Minimizing pipe length and direction changes in vapor piping makes cleaning out coke deposits easier for mechanical or hydraulic decoking equipment.

COKER FRACTIONATOR - RECYCLE REDUCTION: Recycle reduction has been stimulated by improved coker economics and has required fractionator design and operational changes. New fuel grade cokers and retrofitted existing cokers have demonstrated effective operations with 5% or less recycle by employing (1) a fractionator spray chamber wash zone consisting of a spray header instead of wash zone trays with shed baffies located well below the resultant spray chamber so that wash zone heat and mass transfer take place without benefits from packing or internals that might coke during an upset, (2) improved control of overhead line quench on differential temperature permitting wash oil turndown rates as low as 25% of design and (3) minor tower modifications to segregate the colder liquid pool of feed in the fractionator bottom from the overhead vapors to reduce unwanted gas oil condensation thereby holding recycle to a controllable minimum. Some zero recycle cokers actually operate at 2% to 4% recycle when considering condensation caused by a minimum overhead line quench oil, wash zone reflux of wash oil and heat losses. Where recycle is reduced to zero because the liquid in the coke drum overhead line revaporizes and the fractionator is deliberately operated without benefit of wash oil, excessive coke deposits in the coke drum overhead line and on the fractionator baffles producing heavy coker gas oil (HCGO) with much higher carbon residue and nickel plus vanadium metals content. A true zero recycle design condenses most of the HCGO by an inline quench upstream of the fractionator and withdraws HCGO product from the fractionator bottom requiring a separate vessel as the heater surge drum but significantly reducing the fractionator size. Filters remove entrained coke from HCGO product.

COKER FRACTIONATOR - UNSTEADY FEED:

Coker fractionator unsteady feed differs from other black oil distillation towers because the coking cycle inherent in drum switching produces the feed. Stable operation and a quick return to steady state following drum switches are important to stable fractionator operation. The effect of a coke drum switch on fractionator operation can be minimized by performing the following operating procedures: (1) raise fractionator draw pan levels to 100% slowly over a half to one hour before coke drum switching. (2) switch between drums over ten minutes, (3) slowly reduce pump around and product flows to 75% to 80% of normal flows prior to the coke drum switch, (4) raise the outlet temperature of the coking coil to maintain heat input to the fractionator at as close to normal as possible and (5) reduce or eliminate the coke drum overhead line quench.

COKE HANDLING SYSTEMS: Of the four basic types of coke dewatering and handling systems (1) direct discharge into railcars. (2) discharge onto grade level concrete pad with fines sedimentation in an adjacent maze, (3) discharge into below grade pit with water cleanup in mazes and (4) totally enclosed systems for absolute minimum environmental impact, direct loading of railcars is least frequently used in new designs because longer cutting times and frequent fines-laden-water spills require manpower for jockeying railcars and spill cleanup that the three other types do not require. The pad system is used in coker units smaller than 18,000 B/SD and uses a front end loader to remove cut coke. The pit system is used in larger coker units and employs a overhead clamshell bucket to remove coke. While fines removal from sedimentation mazes has traditionally been done by the coke removing device. such as front end loader or bridge crane, new designs employ specialty slurry/sludge pumps to move settled fines over sieve bends from either flat or sloped mazes. Water flows from mazes over a weir discharging into a sump containing special vertical water pumps that return clear water to the decoking water storage tank. Fines carryover into the sump is minimized by an underflow weir at the discharge end of the maze. Hydraulic systems are provided in the water storage tank to remove settled coke fines as the final clarification device before jet pump suction. Operators can determine coke fine level within the water storage

tank by feeling the outside of the tank because water is relatively warmer than coke fines. Where open designs are not environmentally acceptable, totally enclosed systems are installed.

TOTALLY ENCLOSED SYSTEMS: In enclosed systems a crusher reduces coke size before water and coke fall into a dewatering bin from which water is decanted by special internals and reused. Remaining water is drained through drainage internals and clarified before being reused. Then crushed coke is discharged into a closed conveyor system. Enclosed systems have been built using either' (1) a gravity flow system in which the coke drum is located in the structure above the dewatering bin or (2) a slurry pump system in which the coke drum and dewatering bin are located at grade level with an enclosed sluice and pump at the bottom of the coke drum so that the pump after water is added to the sluice moves the coke-water slurry to the top of the dewatering bin. Water decanted from the dewatering bin is recycled to the sluice without pumping.

PIT OR PAD?: Dumping coke into a pit or pad provides residence time for the coke to dewater prior to further downstream handling or processing. Pit arrangements have the following advantages: (1) consumes less real estate, (2) reduces operator exposure to coke dust by not using a front end loader, (3) an overhead bucket can be used to remove coke even while coke is being discharged from an adjacent drum while front end loader operation is unsafe and (4) pit arrangement usually results in lower coke drum structure elevation. Off setting these advantages is the usual lower cost of a pad arrangement.

COKE DEWATERING: The ultimate purpose of the pit or pad is not to store green coke but to dewater it for eight to twelve hours. Inadequately drained coke may exceed the buyer's water specification and during crushing can contributes a fine wet powder that can lead to material handling equipment mechanical problems. Draining time for the bridge crane that initially unloads the top layer is not as important as for the front end loader that typically starts removing coke at the bottom of the pile. Separating coke fines from water can be cost effective in a maze system that minimizes mechani-

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cal equipment with (1) pad operation fines chamber that accepts water which has filtered through the coke pile, (2) series flow settling chambers for clarifying water, (3) underflow/overflow baftles with a sump chamber from which clarified water is pumped out and (4) a storage tank which accepts clarified water and contains a blowdown system for intermittent purging of fines carryover which settles in the tank.. Fines removal efficiency is improved by reducing the amount of fines, which is possible by increasing coke cutting speed. While fines typically are removed from the maze by either a bridge crane or a front end loader, an improved system consists of a traveling maze pump and wet screen that recycles both water and fines to the pad and through the wet screen where fines are removed.

COKE PIT AND PAD SIZING: Coke handling facility sizing will determine the basic coke drum structure height. Coke stacking efficiency will determine the coke chute height, which is the lowest point on the coke structure. It is desirable to hold more than one day of coke production on the pit or pad to avoid shutdowns due to handling equipment breakdowns and to have flexibility to outload coke on week days or on day shifts. Water from the delayed coker, whether process, coke cutting or rain water, should not be allowed to enter the ground water, public waterways, storm water drains or wastewater systems without treatment

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BLOWDOWN SYSTEM: The blowdown system recovers vapors from steaming out and quenching the coke drum after completing the coking cycle. When coke drum pressure safety valves (PSV) discharge into the blowdown system. the PSV discharge piping pressure drop should be.minimiaed to (1) maintain a reasonable and economical coke drum PSV set pressure and' (~) mb-1jmi~thermal stress in the high temPerature~ cYclically operating coke drum blowdown piping through which PSV discharge. Blowdown condenser air coolers are sensitive to loads induced upon the inlet nozzles from piping thermal expansion requiring operator access which is convenient if air coolers are installed adjacent to the coke structure so that access can be gained from the coke structure operating platforms without having to leave the coke

structure.

PIPING: Special areas of piping engineering associated with delayed coker piping are (1) piping stress analysis and pipe support engineering consideration of thermal expansion caused by high operating temperatures and cyclic operating conditions in piping around coke drums, (2) special consideration for piping subject to coke deposition and (3) valving considerations that locate valves close to the drum to which they are connected such that they appear to be associated with the drum near which they are located. The most complex system is the coke drum overhead vapor piping attached to the top of coke drums and are subject to: (1) coke drum thermal growth, (2) coke drum 'banana effect" which is drum bending of about 8 inches to 10 inches in any horizontal direction and according to operators happens in varying degrees of severity and regularly on some cokers that can occur if uneven drum wall quenching takes place due to quench water channeling to one side of the drum, (3) most severe cyclical operation on coke drum inlet and overhead piping such that the piping pairs are subject to the alternate hot, during coking, and cold, during quenchingldecoking, operation of any pair of drums and (4) a different set of operating conditions during startup as coke drums undergo commissioning and decommissioning typically every 24 hours. Analysis complexity is compounded when there is more than one pair of drums, because the lines are manifolded together and analyzed as one system. Part of the coke drum design process is to perform a finite element stress analysis of the top heads to check for localized overstressing from piping loads. nozzles attachments, . thermal and dead weight loads and horizontal and

vertical drum movement. Valving and steam purge requirements on feed and overhead piping

.. are ... considered for unheading drums during each cycle to remove coke such that there is positive and tight shutoff of connecting process lines. Common practice of using plug valve with steam purging of the seating surfaces is being replaced with ball valves. because steam purges on plug valves must be kept open and directed to the correct location to keep valving and piping from becoming inoperable.

COKE DRUM CRACKING: Common coke drum problems are: (1) cracking and or radial distortion at support skirt and drum shell junctions. (2) shell distortion and (3) internal cladding surfaces and shell plate cracking. When water quenching reduces drum shell temperature rapidly and incoming feed increases drum shell temperature rapidly. skirt temperatures change slowly such that temperature gradients produce stresses that reverse every cycle and can be relatively high. Continually reversing high stresses can eventually cause shell and or attachment weld cracking through thermal fatigue. A computer program has been developed to simulate coking and quenching cycles and any skirt/shell geometry determining impacts of shorter preheats. faster quenches and other cyclic changes. Insufficient preheat will reduce drum life due to rapid drum heating shortly after switching. Because most coke drums crack circumferentially, they almost always are associated with a circumferential shell weld and often run along the heat affected zone tending to occur at shell thickness changes and thickness discontinuities. While longitudinal temperature gradients produced during water quenching is the driving force for cladding and base metal cracking, corrosion and fatigue may combine to produce common coke drum cracks.

DRUM DISTORTION AND LIFE EXTENSION:

Two types of distortion in older coke drums are localized bulging of up to several inches, which can protude either in or out of the drum, and slow but steady radial drum shell growth resulting from ther.auU stress dUrDng quenching combined with internal pressure. Cracks often appear in the shell near localized bulges which are thought to be caused by (1) local areas of overpressure when a hot spot is encountered during coke cutting, resulting in an explosive pocket. (2) hot spots during quench forming high localized thermal stresses or (3) local fires in the coke bed, that may flare up when exposed to air after unheading, cause local areas of severe overheating. To extend drum shell life (1) smooth weld transitions should be made especially at skirt to head junctions, (2) weld transition proflles be used between different thicknesses in excess of 3/1 taper. (3) a portion of the outside and inside skirt be insulated and provided with a

hot box to mirurmze thermal gradients. (4) a smooth weld profile be used for all interior and exterior welds, (5) all welds be ground to a profile of the base material. (6) several skin thermocouples be placed on the shell near the skirt attachment to provide temperature gradient measurements for operator use in developing quenching rates, (7) external attachments be minimized as they are potential stress risers and (8) insulation rings be segmented so as not to form a continuous external restraint around the drum exterior.

DRUM LIFE SIMULATION: AND REDUCING BLOWBACKS:. Because coke drum life is dependent on stresses that can be dynamically simulated to show drum thermal gradients and are imposed during coke quenching, a procedure for minimizing eruptions of steam and coke particles can minimize drum stress and increase drum life. The concept relies on programmed logic and feedback from multiple drum wall skin thermocouples placed to provide thermal gradient information at the critical drum wall/skirt junction. Blowbacks can be mitigated by the following techniques: (1) maintain adequate steam flow during drum switch to prevent internal coke bed passage closures which could impact quench water flow. (2) slow down quench rate, (3) completely quench coke beds by controlling the level through the use of a high level detector, (4) reduce cutting water flow to the drill stem when a warning rumble is heard and (5) reduce cutting water flow promptly when coke drum movement at the cutting deck exceeds preset measures.

Richard Klick, who manages heavy oils processing technology, can be contacted at:

Foster Wheeler USA Corporation, Perryville Corporate Park, Clinton. New Jersey

08809-4000

(908) 730-5003 (voice). (908) 730-5418 (fax).

Zero Recycle Coking

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Coker Size Incremental Annual
Product Revenue
12,OCXJ BPSO $682,OCXJ
20,CXJO BPSO $1,136OCXJ
35,CXXl BPSD $1 ,98B,CXXl
50,OCXJ BPSD $2,840,OCXJ Ultra-Low Recycle Operation Impact on Yields and Revenue

Product Low Recycle Ultra-Low Product Value Incremental
Operation Recycle Value$/B8L
[TPR=1.10] Operation Coker
[TPR=1,05) Charge
Dry Gas. 5.59LV%FOE 5.24LV%FOE $2/MMBTU -0.044
MixedlPG 8.79Lv% B.32LV% $O.30/gal -0.059
Total Uquids 72.20LV% 73.79Lv% $O.40/gal +0_267
Coke 30.06Wt% 28.69Wt% $O.OITon O.CXXl
Total +0.164 Coking Pressure Impact on Yields, Revenue and Costs

Drum Coking Pressure
Product Value 15 psig 20 psig 25 psig 30 psig
Fuel Gas - 89 FOEB/SO - 42 FOEB/SD Base 39 FOES/SO
Coker LPG -108 BPSD - 50 BPSD Base 43 BPSD
Coker Uquids 393 BPSD 186 BPSD Base - 171 BPSD
Fuel Coke - 58 BPSD - 27 BPSO Base 24 BPSO
Incremental Product Revenue, $/Year @ 35,000 BPSD Feed
Fuel Gas $2/MMBTU ($388,845) ($183,500) Base $170,393
Coker LPG $0.30/gal [$471,857) ($218,453) Base $187,869
Coker Uquids $0.4o/gal $2,289,382 $1,083,524 Base ($996.143)
Fuel Coke $O.o/Ton $0 $0 Base $0
Subtotal $1,42B,680 $681,571 Base ($637,881 )
Differential Capital Costs
Compressor $68,590 $32,561 Base [$104,353)
Coke Drums ($127,629) ($95,055) Base $712,902
Fractionator $71,503 $0 Base ($25,541 )
Other $19,536 $4,494 Base $5,992
Subtotal $32,000 ($58,000) Base $589,000
Differential Annual Utility Costs
Power $0.05/KWH $306,814 $118,081 Base [$124,010]
1 50psig steam $4.55/1000# ($55,600) ($23,604) Base $22.667
600 psig steam $4.62/1OCXJ# ($98,912) ($48,456) Base $45,652
Subtotal $152,302 $45,022 Base ($55,691)