Situation: A cat cracker was operating at 80% of capacity due to a stuck slide valve, resulting in loss of 10,000 bbl of gasoline per day.
Operating Conditions: The service was hydrocarbon gases operating at 1200ºF and15 psig. The flue gas duct to be tapped was 92" in diameter with 3/8" carbon steel wall, 2" refractory and 1" of hex mesh-reinforced abrasion resistant refractory
Solution: Team designed and built nozzles for the duct, then tapped the 92" flue gas duct and installed hot taps under operating conditions to by-pass the stuck slide valve. The unit returned to 100% capacity.
