Testing a process furnace

horst weyer und partner gmbh was commissioned by a company in the chemical industry that operates plants for the production and distillation of organic chemical compounds. Part of these plants are, among other things, process furnaces fired by various media. These are used, for example, as column reboilers or for preheating reactor feeds. Due to the high temperatures inside the furnaces, regular internal inspection is particularly important here. This was due for a furnace. How does the testing of a process furnace proceed? The weyer group proceeded as follows:

The first step involved the compilation and analysis of the following documents required from an operational and safety perspective:

• Flow diagrams of the oven
• Drawings of the stove
• Data sheets of the stove as well as all associated aggregates such as flue gas fan and air preheater
• Data sheets of the burners used
• Kiln operating data to create the kiln history (operating temperatures and pressures during previous kiln operation).
• Thermographic temperature measurements of the stovepipes carried out, if applicable.
• Conducted wall thickness measurements as a basis for the analysis of the corrosion / erosion behaviour

During a plant shutdown of our customer, the inspection and visual inspection of the kiln then took place. First, the condition and dimensions of the kiln pipes were checked. In doing so, the inspectors from the weyer group looked in particular for deposits, deformations or cracks that had appeared. The pipe hangers and holders were then inspected. In addition to checking for abrasion, close attention was also paid here to deposits and deformations.
The next step was to inspect the condition of the measuring equipment and the other metal parts in the furnace chamber that were exposed to heat. The furnace wall was checked for cracks and deformations and the brickwork for damaged areas. Last but not least, the movement of the control and maintenance flaps was checked.

The results meeting took place directly on site, and our client received the written results report in digital form about three weeks after the on-site meeting.

Do you have any questions or do you also need an examination? We will be happy to advise you:

Dr. Florian Merkel
weryer gruppe | horst weyer und partner
Tel.: +49 (0) 2421 – 69 09 11 35
E-Mail: f.merkel@weyer-gruppe.com