Gas cooling, chemical injection, slurry backflush, defoaming, de-superheating, quenching, neutralizing amine, wash water, ... There are countless challenging spray processes in petrochemical and refining industries. In this blogpost we go over some of these typical processes and how we can help to optimize your operations.

1. Optimizing wash water corrosion control in hydroprocessing units

Scrubbing chlorides from the effluent vapor is a typical challenge in petrochemical and refining industries.

Most installations use standard conventional spray nozzles or even quills with no spray nozzles at all. Both of these solutions cause most of the water to end up on the walls of the pipes and entering the REAC in an asymmetrical distribution.

BEST PRACTICE:

Efficient wash water injection maximizes the surface area of the injected water, in turn this maximizes the chloride scrubbing potential. The result is better contact with the chlorides and a more uniform distribution of the wash water through the piping system and REAC inlets.

With the FloMax® Hydrogen we have developed a two-fluid spray nozzle that uses a slipstream of makeup hydrogen as a secondary fluid in a two-fluid spray nozzle. The specially engineered and patented spray nozzle has been developed specifically for use in hydroprocessing units.

2. Neutralizing amine, H2S scavenging & chemical injection

Quills and single-fluid hydraulic nozzle injectors don't provide the performance you need for neutralizing amine, H2S scavenging and chemical injection. Additionally, they have a high operating cost and cause frequent downtime.

To face these issues we have developed the FloMax® S01 Steam Atomizing Retractable Injectors.

FloMax® S Steam Atomizing Nozzle Benefits:

• • Very small droplets ensure volatilization and dispersion when the fluid exits the nozzles thanks to our multi-stage atomization process.
• • Liquid distribution in the process stream is improved thanks to tight drop size control.
• • Consistent injection rates are ensured thanks to controlled atomization.
• • Wear points are minimized and nozzle life is extended because of an optimized internal passage design.
• • Easily match design requirements thanks to our wide range of available materials.

FloMax® S01 Retractable Injector Benefits:

• • Minimal injector installation and removal time limits manual labor.
• • Injectors can be retracted easily from a catwalk to improve worker safety.

3. Superior mixing and atomization for torch oil, slurry backflush, quench, and other similar injection operations

The OptiMax injector ensures quick vaporization by producing a uniform spray pattern. A unique, patented atomization process is used to mix steam with the oil, hydrocarbons or chemicals. Prior to injection this process ensures thorough mixing of the steam and fluid. The mixed fluid that exits the injector consists of small drops in a uniform spray pattern.

BENEFITS:

• • The effectiveness of the chemical reaction is optimized by thoroughly mixing the fluid and uniform spray coverage
• • Quicker reaction in the process stream because of fast vaporization of the hydrocarbon 
• • More operating flexibility thanks to better control of drop size over a wide flow rate range
• • Long wear life thanks to a durable, dependable design
• • Uses available plant steam instead of costly compressed air – better for the environment and the bottom line 

4. Optimizing your processes to meet your efficiency and sustainability targets

Our large selection of fixed and retractable spray injectors, lances and quills are at your disposal to help you reach your goals in any of these petrochemical processes:

• Defoaming • Steam quench • Torch oil • Wash water • Slurry backflush • Regenerator bypass
• Feed injection • Glycol / Chemical Injection • Gas cooling or quenching • Tank mixing • De-Superheating  SNCR and SCR NOx Control

We are uniquely qualified to supply the delivery equipment if your operation requires the addition of a liquid or gas to a process stream.  Commonly referred to as lances, quills, spray injectors and guns, this equipment is instrumental in achieving the desired cooling, mixing, quenching, washing, humidifying, gas conditioning and/or chemical reaction. A breakdown in any of these processes can potentially damage downstream equipment, wall wetting, refractory cracking, duct corrosion, premature furnace/tower failure and unscheduled outages.

5. Optimizing spray nozzle selection and placement through spray analysis & research services

We can help you to discover new ways to apply fluids, cool gasses and nozzle placement. Our dedicated spray lab is equipped with the latest advanced testing equipment and modeling services:

• • Spray droplet characterization
• • Fluid Mechanics
• • Spray Diagnostics
• • Prototyping
• • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
• • Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI)

Our experienced engineers, specialists in spray technology, understand when to rely on our proprietary data or conduct additional testing in the lab to ensure the required level of accuracy.

If you would like to learn more about how we can help to optimize your challenging processes be sure to contact your local spray expert.