Presentation

On
Experience with Breech-Lock Excahngers
At
IOCL, Mathura Refinery

Presented By
K.K. Chattopadhyay
Chief I nspection Manager
Mathura Refinery
I ndian Oil Corporation Limited
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Mathura Refinery - Green Refinery Clean Refinery
Introduction
Introduction

These are the exchangers with Breech-Lock Closure system.

First invented developed by Standard Oil Co. Of California. The first Breech-
lock exchanger came in service in 1966. The Rights of technology remain with
Chevron Research Company of California

Finds applications in refinery units operating at high pressure and temperature
with hydrogen rich streams such as Hydrocrackers & DHDT, Hydrotreaters, Gas
Compression, Ammonia Synthesis and Miscellaneous uses.

Advantages :
Reliable High Pressure Performance Sealing
Easy dismantling / Re-assembly for Inspection
Avoidance of High Stressed zones in Pressure parts.
In-service Sealing of Internal Gaskets.
Inspection Frequency - Once in 10 years or as per need basis.




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Breech-Lock Exchangers at Mathura Refinery





Sl No. Unit
Equipment
Tag no. Comm. in Opened on
1
DHDT
301-E01A
2005
Not opened since commissioning
2 301-E01B Not opened since commissioning
3 301-E01C Not opened since commissioning
4 301-E01D Not opened since commissioning
5 301-E01E July'07 and Oct'11
6 301-E01F Aug'08 and Oct'11
7
OHCU
7-E-1A
2000
July'09
8 7-E-1B July'09
9 7-E-4 Not opened since commissioning
DHDT Breech-Lock Exchangers 301-E-1 E/F opened twice to rectify minor leakage
during operation of these Reactor effluent Vs Feed exchangers. Leakage creates
difficulty in limiting S within specified 50 ppm in Effluent .
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07-E-1 A/B ((Reactor Effluent / HP Steam Generator) in OHCU

o The exchangers were opened after heat efficiency came down. The pre-heat
came down by 17 C. Fouling was suspected due to possible carryover of scales
from upstream.
o Job was awarded to M/S C R Asia.
o While opening the TLR (Threaded Lock ring), some seizing of threads was
suspected in top exchanger.
o After opening, it was observed that the ACME thread of TLR was damaged.
(Total 09 threads out of total 12 nos.).
o The corresponding threads of Shell channel was also found damaged (Outer 03
nos. of thread).
o As local repair was not possible, the exchanger shell was cut from bottom-side
nozzles (shell & tube nozzles) and sent to L&T, Powai.
o The TLR was replaced. The inner thread of Shell channel was repaired by
welding and machining.
o The exchanger shell was brought back and re-welded in its position. Job was
carried out by L&T.
o The diaphragms were found damaged and were replaced.
o Exchangers were tested and put back in operation.

o The jamming was attributed to gradual leakage thru diaphragm which washed away the
Anti-seizing compound between the threads
Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
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301-E-1 E/F (Reactor Feed vs Effluent) in DHDT

These two exchangers have leaked multiple times in operation. The leakage
occurred after Unit tripping or after emergency depressurization. The leakage is
from the diaphragms which separate the shell side & tube side products.

The Unit was commissioned in April 24, 2005.
The first leakage observed after 17 days after emergency S/D of the Unit. The
diaphragm was tightened externally.
Subsequently, additional tightening of diaphragm was done externally in Sept-05.
Tightening was again tried in Dec-06. But leakage rate increased.
In July-2007 S/D, the exchangers were opened, diaphragm changed.
In Sept 2008, the Exchanger was opened again and tested
In 2009 Jul-Aug Shutdown, attempt was made to open the exchangers. However,
some jamming of threads was suspected. The attempt was given up.
In Sept-2011, the exchangers were opened again. Diaphragms were found
damaged. Diaphragm of 301-E-1 F was changed. The diaphragm of 301-E-1E
was rectified and put back.
As on January, the exchangers are again suspected of leaking in service.

Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
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Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
RootCause of Leakage Problem

The issue of repeated leakage was taken up with Process licensor M/S AXENS

Salient Points
The leakage occurred/leakage rate increased only after tripping of Feed Pump or
after Emergency depressurization was carried out.

It was observed that in above cases, the Cold flow from Feed Pump 301-P-1 A/B
stops but Hot Effluent flow from Reactor does not stop. In absence of Cold
Feed flow, the temperature of tube side increases beyond the design
temperature.

The differential pressure between T/side and shell side also increases in such
cases.

The metallic diaphragm cannot retain its flatness as its strength decreases with
higher temperature.

There is also a possibility of Excessive temperatures lead to excessive
internal dilations and would most probably be the root cause of the
gasket deterioration and subsequent failure
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Equipment
Design
Temperature
Temp.
April 09
Emergency Temp.
May 09
E- 01 A TS 420 388 399
E-01 B TS 400 384 392
E- 01 CTS 370 379 385
E-01 D TS 340 374 377
E-01 E TS 300 365 370
E- 01-F TS 250 348 343
Equipment
Design
Temperature
Temp.
April 09
Emergency Temp.
May 09
E- 01-F SS 190 226 235
E-01 E SS 250 349 341
E-01 D SS 300 371 372
E- 01 C SS 340 376 377
E-01 B SS 370 382 386
E- 01 A SS 400 385 394
The Temperature
increases beyond the
design Temperature in
both shell and Tube
side.

The increase is more in
case of 301-E-1 E/F.

The data is from April
09 tripping taken from
PHD Server and
extrapolated as the
temp data goes beyond
the measuring scale of
the Temp. gauge
Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
The pressure on shell and tube side as well as the differential pressure
between these two sides remains within design range
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Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
90
110
130
150
170
190
210
230
250
270
290
310
330
350
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
T
e
m
p
.

Time, min
HX E-01 E E-01E TS In E-01E TS Out E-01E SS In E-01E SS Out
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Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
260
280
300
320
340
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
T
e
m
p
.

Time, min
HX E-01 F E-01F TS In E-01F TS Out E-01F SS In E-01F SS Out
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Remedial Measures Envisaged in Past

Process licensor had asked for some minor changes in operating methods to take
care during tripping of Feed pump or emergency Depressurization to lessen the
impact. Same has been done.



In addition, It was suggested to take the issue with the OEM to solve the issue.
Accordingly, the issue was taken up with L&T. However, no headway could be
made despite best efforts.











Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
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Present Experience

In 2011 Sept-Oct S/D, the two leakage prone exchangers 301-E-1 E & F were opened. The
experience gained in this shutdown is presented below :

Problem with Opening of the exchangers
Earlier, opening of Breech-lock exchangers used to
be a difficult job. However, with better understanding
and experience, this problem has been overcome.













Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
1. A square plate was welded with outer ring.
2. The TLR part was heated up to 300 C.
3. With use of special fixtures, the opening was
easy.
Square plate for welding with
outer ring
Special Fixtures for opening
TLR
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Present Experience

Observations :

1. No difficulty in opening. Mech. Maint is confident that they can do the job of
opening without aid from any external agency.
2. No damage to TLR / ACME thread etc. observed.
3. The Diaphragms were found distorted.
4. There was some FeS scale deposit in the shell side.
5. The shell side sealant strips were found damaged.
6. While inserting the bundle of 301-E-1 E, a small plate attached between baffle
plates became loose. It damaged the gasket face of shell. The repair was carried
out by L&T as per their detailed procedure.
7. The diaphragm of 301-E-1F was replaced with new one. The diaphragm of 301-E-
1E was re-used,
8. The testing procedure was followed as below
a) The shell side test - this is to check whether the gasket joint is ok or not.
b) After this test, the TLR was fixed.
c) This was followed by combined shell & Tube test at 1.33 times of design
pressure, keeping the differential pressure with the design limit.
d) This was followed by tube test.










Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
Mathura Refinery - Green Refinery Clean Refinery
Remedial Measures Envisaged in Past


On the shell side:
The recycle gas rate must be maximized on the shell side (no spill
back, compressor at full load).
The effluent air cooler must also be run at full capacity (No more temperature
control required).
On the tube side:
The last quench should be used to cool down as much as possible the effluent of
the second reactor to minimize the temperature excursions. It can be opened
wildly. The by-pass of the shell side of the exchanger E-02 (temperature control
of the stripper inlet temperature) must be minimized to evacuate as much as
possible of the duty through this exchanger.










Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
Mathura Refinery - Green Refinery Clean Refinery
Remedial Measures Envisaged in Past

Process licensor had asked for some minor changes in operating methods to take
care during tripping of Feed pump or emergency Depressurization to lessen the
impact.

On the shell side:
The recycle gas rate must be maximized on the shell side (no spill
back, compressor at full load).
The effluent air cooler must also be run at full capacity (No more temperature
control required).
On the tube side:
The last quench should be used to cool down as much as possible the effluent of
the second reactor to minimize the temperature excursions. It can be opened
wildly. The by-pass of the shell side of the exchanger E-02 (temperature control
of the stripper inlet temperature) must be minimized to evacuate as much as
possible of the duty through this exchanger.

In addition, It was suggested to take the issue with the OEM to solve the issue.
Accordingly, the issue was taken up with L&T. However, no headway could be
made despite best efforts.











Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
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Thank you
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Experiences with Breech-Lock exchangers at MR
In Case of deformation of Diaphragm, leakage will take place