Location: BP Chemicals, Grangemouth, Scotland
Product: PAS-230 Acoustic Cleaners
Principle: Primasonics International Limited (UK)

Problem: Material Building up on Heat Exchange Surfaces, Heat Exchanger cleaning

Primasonics were first contacted by Derek Turner to help in resolving heat exchanger cleaning problems in their nine ethylene cracking furnaces. There was a mixture of combustion products and fine catalytic powder material building up on heat exchange surfaces and reducing the efficiency of both the units and boiler. They had previously used fixed and retractable steam soot blowers but found these unreliable and only a partially effective heat exchanger cleaning solution to the material build up problem.

A Primasonics engineer visited the site to assess this application and working with BP engineers selected the mounting position for the appropriate model of acoustic cleaners that would best solve the heat exchanger cleaning problem. Primasonics then provided a quotation for a full system along with detailed information on mountings and all electrical and compressed air requirements.

The Solution

During BP Chemicals scheduled shut down for maintenance, BP engineers installed two PAS-230 Primasonics Acoustic Cleaners into each tower to combat the material building up on heat exchange surfaces. Primasonics staff were present at this time to provide expert advice on the installation and commissioning of the equipment.

The Result

For well over ten years now the acoustic cleaners have provided trouble free removal and prevention of the material building up on heat exchange surfaces ensuring they run efficiently and unscheduled shutdowns for maintenance purposes no longer occur.