Cleaning coke deposits from process equipment
AssigneeChevron Phillips Chemical Company LP
InventorVincent dePaul McGahee
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Abstract
A method for cleaning a coke deposit from an internal surface of a process equipment, comprising removing at least a portion of the coke deposit from the internal surface using a flexible pig comprising a plurality of bristles, without damaging a metal protective layer of the internal surface of the process equipment. A flexible pig for cleaning a coke deposit from an internal surface of a process equipment without damaging a metal protective layer of the internal surface, comprising a flexible body formed of a polymeric material, and a plurality of bristles partially encapsulated by the polymeric material of the flexible body.
Claims21
A method for cleaning a coke deposit from an internal surface of a process equipment, the method comprising:
- propelling a flexible pig comprising a plurality of bristles and a flexible body through the process equipment, wherein the flexible pig is propelled by a fluid comprising an aqueous solution;
- and
- removing at least a portion of the coke deposit from the internal surface using the flexible pig, without damaging a metal protective layer of the internal surface of the process equipment,
- wherein the flexible body comprises a molded polymeric body comprising a polymeric material, wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of bristles extends into and is anchored by the polymeric material;
- wherein the molded polymeric body comprises an axial portion and a plurality of radial portions formed in spaced intervals along the axial portion;
- and,
- wherein a diameter of the axial portion is less than an outer diameter of each of the plurality of radial portions.
A method for cleaning a coke deposit from an internal surface of a process equipment, the method comprising:
- aromatizing hydrocarbons in an aromatization reactor system to produce an aromatization product, wherein the aromatization reactor system comprises a furnace having a plurality of furnace tubes disposed therein, wherein the internal surface of each of the plurality of furnace tubes has a metal protective layer comprising stannide disposed thereon, and wherein coke deposits are formed on the metal protective layer of the internal surface of one or more of the plurality of furnace tubes;
- halting the aromatizing;
- propelling a flexible pig comprising a plurality of bristles and a flexible body through the process equipment, wherein the flexible pig is propelled by a fluid comprising an aqueous solution, wherein the flexible body comprises a molded polymeric body comprising a polymeric material, wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of bristles extends into and is anchored by the polymeric material, wherein the molded polymeric body comprises an axial portion and a plurality of radial portions formed in spaced intervals along the axial portion, and wherein a diameter of the axial portion is less than an outer diameter of each of the plurality of radial portions;
- removing at least a portion of the coke deposit from the internal surface using the flexible pig, without damaging the metal protective layer of the internal surface of the furnace tubes;
- optionally inspecting one or more of the plurality of furnace tubes via video inspection or ultrasonic gauging;
- and
- resuming aromatization of hydrocarbons in the aromatization reactor system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.