Twelfth Stamicarbon

Urea Symposium 2012

Roundtable Paper 2.1

Short delivery to replace an unreliable HP Scrubber

Author:
Alex Scheerder, Manager Mechanical Engineering & Inspection
Stamicarbon BV, the Netherlands
Table of contents Page

Abstract ............................................................................................................. 1
1. Case history of leak in HP Scrubber .................................................................... 1
1.1 First plant stop February 2010 ...................................................................... 3
1.2 Second plant stop May 1st, 2010 ................................................................... 3
1.3 Third plant shutdown November 2010 ........................................................... 4
1.4 Forth shut down February 2011 .................................................................... 5
2. Challenges for manufacturing the new HP Scrubber with short delivery time ........... 6
2.1 Success factors to meet this very tight time schedule ...................................... 6
2.2 Airfreight delivery ...................................................................................... 7
3. Discussion and conclusions................................................................................ 8

All technical and other information contained herein is based on general Stamicarbon
experience and within this limit is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, no
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Abstract

In a Stamicarbon 1800 mtpd Urea CO2 stripping plant, commissioned in 1993 a leak
was observed in the HP Scrubber 2-E203 by means of a small increase of the
conductivity in the closed cooling water system (CCW). The HP Scrubber is equipped
with 316 L UG heat exchanger tubes (BC.01 according Stamicarbon Specification A4-
18005). The presence of ammonia in the CCW indicated a leak from tube side (process
side) to the shell side (cooling water side). In contrary to the frequent cases of chloride
stress corrosion cracks (Cl - SCC) observed in HP Carbamate Condensers, Cl - SCC cracks
are seldom observed in HP Scrubbers.
The integrity of the said HP Scrubber was compromised, since it was not possible to
pinpoint and repair the leak. It was decided by plant management to replace the HP
Scrubber as soon as possible. Schoeller Bleckmann Nitec (SBN) in Austria was awarded
the contract to supply a new HP Scrubber with a delivery time of only 8 months.
Normally a delivery time of 10 to 12 months is anticipated. In order to meet this very
short delivery time, SBN and Stamicarbon teamed-up to speed up the engineering and
fabrication work. HP Scrubber was transported from Austria to the Middle East by
airfreight.
In this contribution the difficulty to locate a small leak is described as well as the key
issues to manufacture the new HP Scrubber within such short delivery time.

1. Case history of leak in HP Scrubber

During a planned turnaround in October 2009 it was advised to plug 27 tubes due to
corrosion of the heat exchanger tubes (wall thinning due to carbamate corrosion at
process side). After only two months of operations on December 24th, 2009 an increase
in pH and conductivity was observed in the Closed Cooling Water system of the HP
Scrubber 2-E203, see figure 1.

Conductivity raising Trend

Normal operating value <25 Us/cm
Chart printed on 26-01-2010
condutivity
Individual
150

100

50

Figure 1: Conductivity increase in CCW system.

1.
Since also ammonia was found in the CCW system, it was concluded that the leak must
be located in the HP Scrubber 2-E203, see figure 2. A leak in the 2-E-310 can be ruled
out, since the process side in this vessel is operated under vacuum conditions.

Make up from V-909

2-E-203
SCRUBBER
2-E-310

2-E-107

2-P-201A/B

Figure 2: Leak is located in HP Scrubber 2-E203.

The presence of ammonia in the CCW system indicates a leak from tube (process) side,
whereby several leak scenarios can be identified:
1) A leaking tube due to a material defect
2) A leaking tube due to general wall thinning by carbamate corrosion at process side
3) A leak in one of the plug welds; welding defect
4) A leak in one of the tube-to-tubesheet welds;
5) A Stress Corrosion Crack (SCC by chloride contamination) from cooling water side
in the tubes in the tubesheet area

Scenario 3, 4 and 5 poses a serious risk for corrosion of the c-steel tubesheet and thus
the structural integrity of the HP Scrubber.
Despite the fact that the leak is estimated to be very small (concentration ammonia is
in the range of 45 ppm) it was decided to stop the plant and to locate and repair the
leak in order to restore the structural reliability of the HP Scrubber.

2.
1.1 First plant stop February 2010
Initially scenario 3 was anticipated as the root cause of the leakage, since a hydrostatic
test on shell side revealed two leaking plugs welds, see picture 1 and 2.

After the repair of the leaking plug welds the plant was started up again on March 05th,
2010. The tubesheet was inspected for corrosion cavities and was not affected.
Unfortunately, immediately after start-up ammonia was observed again in the CCW as
well as an increase in conductivity. Since the leak indication was small it was decided to
run the plant under close control of the conductivity and ammonia content.

1.2 Second plant stop May 1st, 2010

On May 1st the plant was stopped again in order to search for the leak, since the leak
indication was no longer visible. This could indicate a blockage of the leak and therefore
increased risk for corrosion of the c-steel tubesheet.
During this stop an extensive investigation was carried out to find the leak such as:
Ammonia leak test
Eddy Current test for Cl- SCC
Pressure test with CO2
Helium leak test

The Ammonia leak test (pressurizing the shell side with 2 bar ammonia) did not reveal
a leak indication.
The Eddy Current inspection revealed indications pointing in the direction of Chloride
stress corrosion cracking of the heat exchanger tubes, which makes scenario 5 more
likely.
A CO2 pressure test on the tube side (150 bar) indicated a small leak; however the leak
could not be pinpointed. For this purpose a helium leak test was conducted, which was
however not conclusive.
Several tubes were indicated as suspicious and based on the helium leak test and eddy
current test it was decided to plug additional 32 tubes.
After start up on May 15th initially no leak indication was observed; however on May
23rd again a leak was indicated. Again plant management decided to operate the plant
under close control of the leak and to replace this vessel by a new one.
3.
SBN was awarded the contract in September 2010. Since the integrity of the vessel is
not assured anymore, a short delivery time was agreed upon of only eight months.
Furthermore the new HP Scrubber was specified in Safurex material, since Safurex is
not vulnerable for chloride stress corrosion. Since the replacement was not identical,
this puts an even greater challenge to Stamicarbon and SBN with respect to the agreed
delivery time.

1.3 Third plant shutdown November 2010

In November the rupture disk on cooling water side of the HP Scrubber ruptured forcing
the plant to shut down. One tube appeared to be ruptured. Also the carbon steel
tubesheet around the ruptured tube was corroded, see picture 3.

Picture 3: corrosion of c-steel tubesheet

For investigation purposes one tube was pulled from the bundle. The cavity was
assessed by a strength calculation and the strength was still within the code
requirements. No repairs were needed. The tube hole was plugged.

Metallographic examination of the pulled tube, confirmed the presence of Chloride

Stress Corrosion Cracks (confirming scenario 5), see picture 4.

4.
Picture 4: Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracks in heat exchanger tube of the HP Scrubber.

After start up of the plant in November 2010, again a small leak was observed. The
plant was operated until February 2011 because again a steep increase in conductivity
was observed.

1.4 Forth shut down February 2011

Inspection revealed four leaking tubes which were all plugged. After start up again a
leak indication was observed and the HP Scrubber was finally replaced in May 2011.

5.
2. Challenges for manufacturing the new HP Scrubber with short delivery time

Schoeller Bleckmann Nitec in Austria was awarded the contract to manufacture a new
HP Scrubber, which was not an exact copy of the original, since the new HP Scrubber
should be constructed in Safurex. The contract was awarded September 1st, 2010 and
the contractual delivery date was only 8 months.
SBN in collaboration with Stamicarbon succeeded to deliver the new HP Scrubber on
site at May 4, 2011, meeting the original challenging delivery date. The HP Scrubber
was delivered ex works on April 29 and was transported by airfreight from Linz airport
on May 2nd. The total empty weight of the HP Scrubber was 66 tons, shipping weight
including transport frame was 75 tons.

2.1 Success factors to meet this very tight time schedule

In order to speed up the engineering and fabrication, SBN and Stamicarbon teamed-up.
Sufficient capacity for engineering and fabrication was made available at SBN as well as
inspection resources at Stamicarbon to address the critical situation of the existing HP
Scrubber.
An early work agreement between SBN and Stamicarbon was in place for engineering
and inspection in order to start immediately. SBN had critical material including
Safurex on stock or was made available with expedited delivery.
The approval of the engineering drawings by client, Stamicarbon and code authorities
was done in shortest possible time. In this way critical materials could be ordered at an
earliest possible date. Important in this respect was the possibility to make special
arrangements for critical materials with key suppliers.
Sub contracted work at sub-suppliers facilities was closely expedited by SBN.
The standard fabrication sequence was changed to allow parallel fabrication of the heat
exchanger part and the top hemispherical channel. This required a special procedure for
post weld heat treatment (PWHT) of the closing seam between the top tube sheet and
the bottom hemispherical head.
The execution of the necessary welding procedure qualifications for the weld overlay,
tube-to-tube sheet welding was started immediately in close cooperation with
Stamicarbon. Corrosion tests of the welded samples were given priority in the
Stamicarbon test laboratory.
The fabrication of this HP Scrubber was given priority in the workshop (A priority),
which had also an impact on the schedule of other projects. Critical steps are amongst
others; the tubesheet overlay welding, drilling of the holes in the tubesheets, tube-to-
tubesheet welding and testing. Stamicarbon prioritized all hold and witness points by
having an inspector available at all times.

6.
2.2 Airfreight delivery
Due to the worsening condition of the existing HP Scrubber, it was decided to airfreight
the new HP Scrubber to site. This decision was taken two month ahead of delivery date
since it became necessary to book the aircraft with this lead time! The weight and
dimensions of the HP Scrubber can only be handled by ANTONOV airplanes. Two types
are available, the ANOTOV 124 (max. load 120 tons) and the ANTONOV 225 (max. load
250 tons). In the actual case, the ANTONOV 124 was the right choice. The forwarder
PANALPINA has a direct cooperation with ANTONOV AIRLINES, a meeting was held with
all concerned parties and the flight had to be booked for May 2 nd, ex Linz airport.
A transportation slide with all necessary lashing points was designed by ANTONOV and
manufactured by SBN.
Loading of the HP Scrubber to the airplane was done on May 2nd, starting in the
morning. Two mobile cranes were necessary to lift the HP Scrubber with the transport
frame onto the airplane loading ramp (part of the ANTONOV equipment).

Picture 5 and 6: loading of the HP Scrubber in ANTONOV at Linz airport on May 2nd.

Picture 7 and 8: loading of the HP Scrubber continue

7.
The cargo was pulled by electrical hoists into the airplane hull and lashed by the
airplanes crew. The plane took off on the same day in the late afternoon. After a
refueling stop in Bulgaria, the ANTONOV arrived in the Middle East the next day.

Picture 9: arrival at site on May 4th.

3. Discussion and conclusions

Small cracks due to chloride stress corrosion can affect the structural integrity of critical
high pressure urea equipment such as a HP Scrubber. Chloride stress corrosion cracking
is seldom observed in HP Scrubbers, but in the said case most probably the steam
condensate supplied to the CCW was contaminated with chlorides. When and where this
happened could not be traced back.
To Stamicarbon experiences, a small leak due to Chloride Stress Corrosion cracking in
heat exchanger tubes can normally be pinpointed in order to take the proper repair
actions. However, this example shows that this is not always the case. When a leak
cannot be pinpointed, the integrity of the vessel is at stake and the only correct
decision is to replace the equipment. In this particular case, replacement should be
done as soon as possible, since the unexpected shut downs were not acceptable.
Schoeller Bleckmann Nitec was awarded this challenging contract to deliver on site a
new HP Scrubber within 8 months.
SBN succeeded to meet this short delivery date in close cooperation with all parties
involved.
Due to the very tight delivery, SBN had no buffer time to compensate for unforeseen
repairs or repeating of tests. A perfect planning of all steps of fabrication and a flawless
manufacturing was necessary to meet the foreseen transport date ex works. After a
small delay in the starting activities, the fabrication was running exactly as planned. To
achieve this SBN teamed-up with Stamicarbon. Not only planning is important, but also
good communication between all related parties is a must. This was achieved by daily
project meetings.
The new HP Scrubber is in operation without any problems since commissioning.

Safurex is a registered of AB Sandvik Steel.

8.