REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
in VGO quality. As coke formation increas-
es, the column cross-sectional area drops.
This increases the vapour velocity
through the packing which increases
residue entrainment. The VGO metals and
microcarbon content increases. Eventually,
wash bed coking decreases HVGO yield
and increases the microcarbon and metals
content of the HVGO.
Eventually, a shutdown is required.
Often, the design of the wash section is con-
sidered a trivial item. There are several hun-
dreds of packed wash zones in service;
therefore, many engineering contractors,
equipment vendors, and operating compa-
nies consider this a standard packing appli-
cation. Many vacuum units operate with
flash zone temperatures less than 382˚C
(720˚F). Additionally, many vacuum units
process very low metals crude oil.
These wash sections require 1m (3ft) of
grid to produce good quality HVGO. The
bulk of refinery vacuum units still operate
at low temperature, so coking is unlikely.
Vacuum units processing low metals crude
oils at 593˚C (1100˚F) cutpoints or higher
have flash zone temperatures of 404-419˚C
(760-785˚F). These units require only 1-
1.3m (3-4ft) of grid to produce acceptable
quality gasoil because the oil contains low
contaminants.
The efficiency of 1-1.3m of grid is less
than a theoretical stage. However, if the
crude oil has low volatile metals then a
short bed of grid is preferable because it is
difficult to coke.
Many refiners are increasing operating
temperatures and processing crude oils with
high metals content. Processing
Venezuelan, Columbian, Mexican and
other high metals crude oils at moderate to
high VGO yields require operating flash
zone temperatures of 399-418˚C (750-
785˚F). The gasoil produced with 1m of grid
is very poor. These vacuum columns
require a wash bed with 1.8-2m (6-8ft) of
packing to reduce the VGO contaminants.
These packed beds will coke if the mini-
mum liquid rate is not maintained. Low liq-
uid rate increases the oil residence time.
Process and equipment design issues sur-
rounding the wash section are complex.
Many of the assumptions made when mod-
elling and evaluating the process equipment
are incorrect and these assumptions con-
tribute to wash zone coking. Coking of
wash zone packing is caused by inaccurate
feed characterisation, poor process model-
ling, and equipment design errors.
A packed bed requires some minimum
quantity of liquid to avoid coking if the tem-
perature and residence time is high enough
to form coke. Process models will quickly
calculate a wash oil flow rate (liquid to the
distributor above the packing) for a targeted
overflash.
Overflash is defined as the quantity of oil
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
DIESEL PA
DIESEL/LVGO
FRACTIONATION
LVGO PA
LVGO/MVGO
FRACTIONATION
MVGO PA
MVGO/HVGO
FRACTIONATION
WASH
REDUCED
CRUDE
5 imum liquid rate (overflash) to avoid coking
4 depends on transfer line flow regime, vapour
3 distribution, quantity of residue entrainment
2
1
STEAM
Figure 6 Vacuum column internal coking
vaporised in the flash zone that is returned
to the flash zone as liquid. Overflash is the
liquid that prevents the bed from coking.
The lower the overflash, the higher the
HVGO product yield. Maximum VGO yield
dictates minimum overflash. However, con-
tinuously operating at minimum overflash
rate without coking is difficult.
Often, the vacuum unit is modelled
assuming the liquid and vapour in the flash
zone are in equilibrium. This assumption
determines the vapour composition and
temperature to the wash bed. For a given
amount of wash oil flow rate, the vapour
temperature and composition entering the
wash section packing have a large impact
on the overflash rate.
The dry-out rate (wash oil flow/overflash
flow) is calculated assuming the flash zone
is an equilibrium stage and one theoretical
stage in the wash zone is about 3 to 1. In
reality, the flash zone is not an equilibrium
stage, therefore the dry-out rate is much
higher than the 3 to 1 calculated for a single
stage. For instance, if the actual dry-out rate
is 6 to 1 rather than 3 to 1, then the wash
oil flow rate will need to be doubled for the
same overflash. Wash oil flow rates on sev-
eral units have had to be increased by over
100 per cent of design flow rate to avoid
EJECTOR
DIESEL
LVGO
MVGO
HVGO
COKE
FORMATION
COKE FORMATION
VACUUM
RESIDUE
coking. Calculating the minimum liquid rate
to avoid coking is difficult with 1.8-2.0m of
packing. Residue entrainment in the vapour
from the flash zone wets the bottom of the
packed bed. The middle of the bed is where
coke formation begins (Figure 7). Process
flow sheet models assume the vacuum col-
umn flash zone and wash zone perfor-
mance operates per an ideal equilibrium
stage. Rigorous distillation models assume
uniform liquid and vapour distribution in
the column.
Large diameter vacuum column flash
zones with feeds entering at 90-120m/sec
(300-400ft/sec) with poor liquid and vapour
contacting are not ideal equilibrium stages.
Vapour/liquid equilibrium may exist at the
heater tube outlet, but it does not exist in
the transfer line or flash zone. Vapour into
the wash section is not uniformly distrib-
uted across the column cross-section.
Liquid distribution to the wash bed is not
ideal.
Computer models assume everything is
ideal. Therefore, the models calculate liquid
rates to the wash section packing that are
too low to avoid coking. Low liquid rate to
the packing causes high oil residence time in
the middle of the packed bed. This causes
coke formation in the packing. The true min-
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
“Often, non-ideal
equipment performance
can be modelled if the user
understands equipment
basics and the model’s
underlying assumptions.
When a vacuum unit must
be shut down it is rarely the
computer model that
identifies the problem.
Generally, it is a person with
knowledge of equipment
performance who solves it”
from the flash zone, packing type, packed
bed depth, and liquid distribution.
The vacuum column wash zone mini-
mum flow rate is also highly dependent on
a number of specific equipment design
issues. Simple statements that the mini-
mum liquid rate to avoid coking is
0.12m3/hr-m2 (0.05gpm/ft2) of cross-section-
al area have no practical significance.
Inadequate wash zone liquid rate is one
of the primary causes of coking. Revamps
that produce high VGO yields for a 6 to 18
month period are not successful revamps.
The lower the wash oil flow rate, the higher
the VGO yield for a given vacuum unit
design. However, there is a minimum wash
rate where the oil residence time in the pack-
ing increases and coke formation begins.
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
Coke formation begins in the section of
the bed where the oil residence time is high-
est, although the temperature is not the
highest. Coking typically occurs in the mid-
dle of the packed bed (Figure 8). Rarely is
coke observed on the bottom of the wash
oil packing.
The collector tray below the wash bed
cokes due to high liquid residence time.
High liquid residence time results from
either the tray design or operating with
high liquid level on the tray. Collector tray
oil residence time must be kept to a mini-
mum. Some vacuum units operate at flash
zone temperatures of 418˚C (785˚F) with-
out any coking on the collector tray while
others have coking problems at much
lower temperatures.
Many vacuum towers have stripping
trays below the feed. Stripping trays help
yield incremental VGO by reducing the par-
tial pressure of the oil. Properly designed
trays work well, while improperly designed
trays will coke. High liquid residence time
WASH
OIL
WASH LIQUID
REVAPORIZES
LAYERS OF GRID
COKE
FORMATION
ENTRAINMENT
“WETS” BOTTOM
OF GRID BED
FEED FLASH
ZONE
RESIDUE
ENTRAINMENT
90 - 120 M/SEC
(300 - 400 FT/SEC)
Figure 7 Wash section “dry-out”
results in coke formation on the outside and
in a few cases, on the inside of the down-
comer.
Some designers have put vacuum residue
quench to the top tray to reduce or elimi-
nate coking. However, the quench reduces
or eliminates the benefit of the stripping
trays. Using vacuum residue quench to the
top stripping tray to reduce oil temperature
is treating the symptom not the problem.
Equipment design details are important.
Stripping sections must be sized properly,
otherwise localized oil residence time will
be high. Additionally, oversized trays have
stagnant liquid zones and very low hole
area. Properly designed stripping trays will
not coke.
Scott W. Golden is a chemical engineer with
Process Consulting Services, Inc., Houston,
Texas. The company provides revamp and
field trouble-shooting for the refinery indus-
try worldwide.
Figure 8 Grid coking - middle of bed
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
Troubleshooting vacuum
unit revamps
While vacuum unit revamps attempt to increase vacuum gasoil yield, the
refining industry is pushing the intervals between turnarounds to four or
five years. To achieve target intervals between turnarounds at higher
operating temperatures, vacuum unit process equipment must be designed
for low residence time
Scott W. Golden
Process Consulting Services Inc
R
evamps of crude or lube vacuum elevated temperatures have had problems.
units to increase the yield of vacuum Proper equipment design is essential to
gasoil product (VGO) rely on accu- achieve a four or five year run at tempera-
rate feed characterisation, process model- tures above 390˚C (735˚F). Often, the tem-
ling, and equipment design to meet the peratures in the fired heater and distillation
processing objectives. Successful revamps equipment exceed the thermal stability of
the oil.
require the economic objectives to be
realised over the planned run length. Fired heater tube, wash zone packing,
However, many revamps do not meet the collector tray, and stripping section tray cok-
planned run length because the unit must ing are the primary causes of unscheduled
shut down to make equipment repairs. shutdowns. Oil residence time must be kept
Improving VGO yield requires a higher to a minimum to meet both high operating
operating temperature at the heater outlet, temperatures and extended unit run length.
within the heater, in the transfer line, and in The emphasis in this article is on equip-
the column. This increases the oil coking ment design and its impact on coke forma-
tendency and the probability of equipment tion. Feed characterisation is discussed
failure. Many refiners anticipate run lengths because it affects equipment design and
of four to five years while attempting to operation. Accurate feed characterisation is
increase operating temperatures. This essential to correctly calculate VGO yield
requires careful consideration of feed char- and properly design the equipment. System
acterisation, process modelling, and equip- pressure and its impact on operating tem-
ment design. If these elements of a vacuum perature is briefly reviewed. Vacuum unit
unit revamp are faulty, then anticipated run fired heater and column internal coking
lenghts will not be achieved. problems are discussed in some detail.
Historically, vacuum units have operated
at flash zone conditions of 385˚C (725˚F) or Vacuum gasoil yield
less, whereas some refiners are attempting Feed composition and system pressure
to operate at 418˚C (785˚F) today. A few are A vacuum unit consists of a fired heater,
successful, but many refiners operating at transfer line, column and internals, and
ejector system (Figure 1).
Heat is added to the feed to
vaporise the oil. Increasing
heater outlet temperature or
reducing operating pressure
will increase the amount of
oil vaporised.
Steam can be added to
STEAM
the system to increase oil
vaporisation. Ultimately, oil
temperature and residence
time must be controlled so
that the thermal stability of
STEAM the oil is not exceeded. For a
given oil residence time,
there is a temperature at
which the oil will begin to
Figure 1 Major process equipment and system pressure profile crack. When the oil cracks,
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
gas and coke are made. The rate of cracking
(time and temperature) must be kept suffi-
ciently low so that VGO yields and product
quality are maintained over the run length.
The vacuum unit recovers 343-595˚C
(650-1100˚F+) VGO boiling range material
of adequate quality for downstream pro-
cessing. Vacuum gasoil is used as feed to a
hydrocracker or fluid catalytic cracking
(FCC) unit. Oil composition and system
pressure affect oil residence time. Coking is
a function of equipment operating tempera-
ture and oil residence time. Equipment
design affects both these parameters. For
example, when revamping a unit from light
crude of 0.825-0.865 specific gravity (32˚-
40˚ API gravity) to heavy crude of 0.887-
0.922 specific gravity (22˚-28˚ API) gravity,
the oil residence time in the heater changes.
The heater tube design must be capable of
handling these changes.
The vacuum heater tube size and tran-
sition locations are selected based on the
vaporisation profile of the feed. A light
crude will vaporise sooner in the heater;
therefore, the radiant section tube layout
is selected to minimise oil residence time
and oil temperature for this crude. When
heavier oil is processed in the same
heater, the oil residence time increases
because the heavy oil vaporisation profile
is different.
Increased oil residence time can cause
coke formation in the heater tubes, thereby
increasing the tube metal temperature.
Once the maximum tube metal temperature
is reached, the heater must be shutdown to
remove the coke.
Vacuum unit feed composition
Vacuum unit feed composition establishes
how much recoverable VGO is available,
the approximate quality of an incremental
oil, and the equipment performance.
Proper vacuum unit feed true boiling
point (TBP), specific (or API) gravity, molec-
ular weight, and contaminants distribution
curves are essential for analysing VGO

yield and quality problems. The TBP curve
determines the available VGO product.
The feed contaminants distribution deter-
mines the product contaminants for a
given VGO yield and unit equipment per-
formance.
Vacuum unit feed is composed of thou-
sands of large molecules of unknown
chemical composition. The large number
of molecules must be reduced to a reason-
able number of pseudocomponents for
process and equipment modelling.
Pseudocomponent properties are deter-
mined by performing various laboratory
tests on the feed. These tests are used to
generate sufficient data to develop accurate
TBP, specific gravity, and contaminants dis-
tribution curves. Measuring accurate vacu-
um unit feed TBP and contaminants’
distribution curves is not a trivial task.
Developing a vacuum unit feed gravity
and contaminants distribution curve
requires the feed sample be fractioned into
smaller cuts. First, the sample is fractioned
into 30-40 individual distillate cuts. The
number of cuts depends on the specifics of
the troubleshooting task. The lighter portion
of the feed is fractionated in a potstill
(ASTM D5236) up to the cracking limit.
The cracking limit will vary by crude
type; however, typical temperatures will be
equivalent to a 560-582˚C (1040-1080˚F)
VGO cutpoint. The potstill residue is then
fractioned into 10-15 more slices by a con-
tinuous flash vaporiser (CFV). The CFV can
reach 635-650˚C (1175-1200˚F) cutpoint
equivalents. This ensures feed characterisa-
tion of the heaviest volatile oil present in
the vacuum column flash zone.
Vacuum unit feed TBP distillations can
be directly measured or synthesised by
back-blending the products from the unit.
Product flow rates, specific gravity, and dis-
tillation properties are required. The vacu-
um unit feed TBP curve can also be
generated from the measured potstill and
CFV temperature, pressure data, and indi-
vidual cut volumes.
Additionally, the feed and product distil-
lation curves are analysed by high tempera-
ture simulated distillation (HTSD). A
comparison of the measured feed TBP (by
both HTSD and ASTM D5236/CFV meth-
ods) and synthesised feed TBP curves will
show good agreement if the data are accu-
rate.
Specific gravity and contaminants are
measured for the individual cuts from the
potstill and CFV. Contaminants properties
normally include microcarbon and metals.
Historically, concarbon (ASTM D189) has
been used. The concarbon test has poor
repeatability. Microcarbon (ASTM D4530)
should be used because the test repeatabili-
ty is better than concarbon.
Metals should be determined by ICPAES
because of accuracy and repeatability. The
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
measured properties of each cut can be
input to a process model and used to pre-
dict VGO properties at varying unit design
parameters. The laboratory contaminants
data must be corrected for the individual
cuts TBP distillation overlap. Otherwise,
contaminants prediction will be high.
Pseudocomponent molecular weight is
an important physical property. Average
molecular weight can be measured on the
laboratory distillate cuts. Typically, molecu-
lar weight is calculated from the normal
boiling point and the average specific gravi-
ty of each pseudocomponent. Molecular
weight can be calculated by several meth-
ods. However, the methods can give dra-
matically different results. The method by
Altgelt and Boduszynski is recommended.
The equation is shown below:
AEBP3
MW = 140+(3.4*10-7)(_______) (1)
SG2.5
where
MW = Molecular weight
AEBP = Normal boiling point
SG = Specific gravity
After the feed is characterised correctly,
the major equipment can be evaluated.
Vacuum gasoil yield and major equipment
evaluation require an accurate heating-
cooling curve. The feed heating-cooling
curve is generated by an appropriate VLE
method, using the data curves developed
from the lab tests.
Pseudocomponent normal boiling point,
specific gravity, and molecular weight are
the minimum data required to generate a
heating-cooling curve. If these properties
are incorrect, then the heating-cooling curve
will not be accurate. Pseudocomponent
molecular weight determines the vapour
(and mixed phase) density which is an
essential component of the heater tube and
transfer line sizing. The heater tube sizing
and size transition locations and the trans-
fer line two-phase flow are constrained by
two-phase flow sonic velocity.
Sonic velocity constraints can determine
heater and transfer line operating pressure.
Heater tube and transfer line pressure will
increase to lower the mixed phase velocity
as sonic velocity is approached. Higher
heater outlet operating pressure increases
the temperature required to meet the target-
ed VGO yield. Therefore, detailed equip-
ment performance assessments require
accurate feed characterisation.
System pressure profile
System pressure profile affects operating
temperature, therefore it is important when
evaluating coking problems. The system
pressure profile is a function of the fired
heater, transfer line, vacuum column and
vacuum ejector equipment operation
(shown in Figure 1).
Revamps generally balance the major
equipment limitations and the ideal design
considerations to meet the VGO and run-
length targets. Revamps are challenging
because they must deal with existing equip-
ment design. Existing equipment and a
revamp’s objectives determine the required
equipment modifications. However, invest-
ment limits always constrain the decision-
making process.
System pressure affects the equipment
operation. Lower column operating pressure
requires a larger column cross-sectional area
to process a given amount of VGO. In many
revamps, the ejector system design inlet
pressure is based on an existing column
diameter limitation. Once the overhead pres-
sure is selected, the pressure drop through
the column determines the flash zone pres-
sure. The pressure (oil partial pressure) and
the flash zone temperature set the amount of
oil vaporised. The transfer line pressure drop
sets the heater outlet conditions.
For a given vacuum column feed compo-
sition, the flash zone pressure and heater out-
let operating temperature and pressure (oil
partial pressure) determine the VGO yield.
Maximum vacuum unit heater outlet
temperature is limited to 420-432˚C (790-
810˚F) for a low residence time heater. Oil
thermal stability determines the maximum
heater outlet temperature. Ultimately sys-
tem pressure profiles affect equipment oper-
ating temperature and residence time.
Therefore, pressure profiles affect equip-
ment coking.
Equipment performance
Equipment design must reflect the specific
operating conditions and the targeted run
length. VGO yield and quality targets influ-
ence the equipment design. Higher VGO
yields require higher operating tempera-
tures. Typically, vacuum unit revamps push
the process equipment performance to the
oil thermal stability limit. Often, equipment
designs that work at lower operating tem-
perature will coke under more severe condi-
tions. Attention to detail is essential at high
operating temperatures.
The computer age has brought ease-of-
use process models which produce num-
bers (accurate or not) that are used for
equipment modelling and design. Many of
these equipment models make simplistic
assumptions to predict equipment perfor-
mance. Fired heater and column equipment
rarely operate per the model assumptions.
Models are engineering tools used to pre-
dict actual equipment performance.
Interpreting equipment model results must
consider a model’s underlying assumptions.
Often, non-ideal equipment performance
can be modelled if the user understands
equipment basics and the model’s underly-
ing assumptions. When a vacuum unit
must be shut down it is rarely the computer
model that identifies the problem.
Generally, it is a person with knowledge of
equipment performance who solves it. The
examples shown below have occurred many
times and they highlight non-ideal equip-
ment performance.
Fired heater tube coking
Many refinery vacuum heaters have prob-
lems with coke formation in the tubes. In
order to achieve maximum VGO yields, the
heater temperature is often raised to the lim-
its of oil stability. Coke formation is caused
by temperature and oil residence time.
Thermal cracking occurs in the oil film along
the inside of the heater tube (Figure 2).
Heater oil residence time is set by the tube
size, number of passes and the feed vapori-
sation profile.
The pressure at the outlet of a vacuum
heater is very low. Oil begins vaporising as it
flows through the radiant section and
absorbs heat. A vacuum heater is designed
with several tube diameters in the radiant
section (Figure 3). The proper heater tube
size transitions are determined from the feed
heating-cooling curve, system pressure pro-
file, heat flux profile, sonic velocity con-
straints, and mass flux considerations.
The size transition location must be
selected carefully to minimise residence
time, avoid higher operating pressure due to
sonic velocity limitation, and limit the peak
oil film temperature.
Many heater design and operating para-
meters affect the oil film temperature.
Therefore, a thorough understanding of
heater basics is required to determine oil
film temperature.
A four tube-pass single cell heater is
shown in Figure 4. Ideally, a multi-pass
heater will have equal heat absorption per
pass. High heat absorption in a single
heater pass can cause high oil film tempera-
ture, excessive rates of coke formation, and
high tube metal temperatures. The tube lay-
out has a large impact on the individual
pass flux rates. Fired heater radiant section
heat flux rate is defined as the quantity of
heat absorbed per unit of tube outside sur-
face area.
Qabsorbed
Heat flux = A__________ (2)
outside tube area
(Units = kW/m2 or Btu/hr-ft2)
Average radiant section heat flux is often
used as a measure of heater performance.
The average fired heater radiant section heat
flux is defined as the total radiant section
absorbed duty divided by the total radiant
section outside tube area. If the heater is
designed properly each heater pass will
absorb the same amount of heat.
Heat transfer in the radiant section of a
fired heater occurs because of temperature
difference between the hot flue gas and the
oil flowing through the tubes. The oil flowing
in the tubes moves the heat from the oil film
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
average flux heater tube is over 76kW/m2
FLUID FILM - LOWER VELOCITY DUE TO (24000Btu/hr-ft2). The calculated peak film
1.0 1.0
TUBE WALL FRICTION
temperatures in the upper and lower passes
VACUUM VACUUM
UNIT 1.0 1.0 UNIT are 432˚C (810˚F) and 468˚C (875˚F),
FEED FEED respectively. The coking was caused by
high oil film temperatures and high oil resi-
BULK FLUID dence time in the lower two passes.
FLUE
GAS Figure 5 shows a modified heater tube
790 790
HEATER HEATER layout that balances heater pass flux rates,
PASS PASS assuming the other heater design parame-
TEMPERATURE 790
GRADIENT
OUTLETS 790 OUTLETS ters remain the same. Each pass enters the
bottom of the heater and exits the top. The
806˚F heater tubes are “wrapped”, therefore, the
TUBE WALL individual pass heat flux differences are
PEAK FILM 760˚F small due to flue gas temperature and flame
TEMPERATURE radiation differences.
The flue gas and oil temperature differ-
ence for each heater tube is approximately
the same because of the tube layout.
Revamping the heater to this flow arrange-
Figure 2 Oil film temperature ment eliminates coking. Understanding
Temperature ˚F basic heater performance is the key to fixing
this problem, not computer modelling skills.
Vacuum column internals coking
HEATER Coke formation on vacuum column inter-
FIRE BOX Relative flow rate nals is the most common cause of VGO
yield loss, poor VGO quality, and unsched-
14” uled unit shutdowns. There are many
10” 8”
6” potential causes of coke formation.
TRANSFER LINE However, for a given operating temperature,
Figure 5 “Wrapped” heater tube layout it is oil residence time that must be con-
trolled.
flowing along the tube wall to the bulk fluid heater modelling showed an average radi- Coking can occur in the packing, on the
stream due to convection (mixing). The ant section heat flux rate of 28kW/m 2 collector tray below the packing, or in the
faster the oil (and possibly steam) in the (9000Btu/hr-ft2). stripping section below the feed (Figure 6).
Figure 3 Vacuum heater tube size transitions: 6in to 10in tube moves, the lower the oil film tempera- This flux rate is acceptable for many vac- Several refiners have had annual shut-
ture for a given bulk oil temperature. uum unit heaters. However, this heater had downs to replace the wash section packing.
The radiant section heat flux rate at any chronic coking problems requiring shut- The root-cause of coking must be identified
1.0 1.07 given point in the heater is controlled by the downs every two years to remove the coke to fix the problem; otherwise, coking will
VACUUM VACUUM temperature difference between the hot gas layer. The upper two passes outlet tempera- continue. Simple fixes like changing the
UNIT 1.48 1.41 UNIT (and flame radiation) and the oil in the tube, tures are 409˚C (769˚F) and the lower two packing type, replacing a spray header with
FEED FEED
assuming no coke formation. The higher the passes are approximately 427˚C (800˚F). a gravity distributor, changing the quantity
temperature difference between the hot flue The upper two heater passes have low oil of packing, or implementing a more
gas and the cold oil, the higher the rate of flow and low outlet temperatures. The lower advanced control system have been tried
heat transfer. two passes have high flow and high outlet with varying success. Controlling oil resi-
The flue gas temperature in the radiant temperature. The heater has severe heat dence time on the column internals is
section of a heater varies from the heater flux imbalance. important at elevated temperature.
floor to the top of the radiant section Individual heater pass heat flux varia- Understanding the practical issues of min-
(bridgewall). Therefore, multiple tube pass tions show up as flow rate differences, out- imising residence time is the key to elimi-
PASS PASS heaters are subject to radiant section heat let temperature differences, or both. The nating coke formation.
#4 #2 flux imbalances because the heat distribu- design of this heater utilised a stacked The wash zone removes entrained
tion in the firebox is not uniform. The arrangement for the passes. One pass is residue from the flash zone vapour and pro-
769 769 HEATER author’s experience is that individual pass located in the top half of the radiant section vides some fractionation of the heavy vacu-
HEATER
PASS PASS heat flux imbalances are very common. It is and the other is on the bottom. Heat flux um gasoil. The fractionation requirements
OUTLETS OUTLETS the flue gas temperature variation (and variations are large due to burner configura- depend on crude oil type, VGO yield target,
800 800
flame radiation) across the radiant section tion and tube layout. and product quality. Typically, a wash zone
that causes the heat flux imbalances A rigorous fired heater model was used to consists of a packed bed, spray header or
between tube passes. Flux imbalances determine the cause of heater tube coking. gravity flow trough type liquid distributors,
Temperature ˚F
PASS PASS cause oil film temperature differences The standard model structure was modified and a collector tray below the packing.
#3 #1
between the passes, which result in the to determine heat flux rates and oil film tem- Coking in the wash zone occurs either in
tube pass with the highest heat flux rate peratures in the upper and the lower passes. the packing itself or on the collector tray
having coking problems. The lower and upper passes have average under the packed bed. Initially, coke forma-
Relative flow rate
Monitoring only radiant section average heat flux rates of 41 and 16kW/m2 (13000 tion in the packed bed reduces heavy vacu-
heat flux is not a good indicator of heater and 5000Btu/hr-ft2) respectively. The aver- um gasoil (HVGO) yield due to increased
performance. Figure 4 shows the relative oil age heat flux rate for one of the tubes on the wash zone packing pressure drop. This rais-
flow rates and the outlet temperature from lower passes is over 14000Btu/hr-ft2. es the flash zone pressure which lowers
Figure 4 Heater pass flow rates and temperatures the individual heater passes. Rigorous The peak flux that occurs on the highest VGO yield without any measurable change
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.

yield and quality problems. The TBP curve
determines the available VGO product.
The feed contaminants distribution deter-
mines the product contaminants for a
given VGO yield and unit equipment per-
formance.
Vacuum unit feed is composed of thou-
sands of large molecules of unknown
chemical composition. The large number
of molecules must be reduced to a reason-
able number of pseudocomponents for
process and equipment modelling.
Pseudocomponent properties are deter-
mined by performing various laboratory
tests on the feed. These tests are used to
generate sufficient data to develop accurate
TBP, specific gravity, and contaminants dis-
tribution curves. Measuring accurate vacu-
um unit feed TBP and contaminants’
distribution curves is not a trivial task.
Developing a vacuum unit feed gravity
and contaminants distribution curve
requires the feed sample be fractioned into
smaller cuts. First, the sample is fractioned
into 30-40 individual distillate cuts. The
number of cuts depends on the specifics of
the troubleshooting task. The lighter portion
of the feed is fractionated in a potstill
(ASTM D5236) up to the cracking limit.
The cracking limit will vary by crude
type; however, typical temperatures will be
equivalent to a 560-582˚C (1040-1080˚F)
VGO cutpoint. The potstill residue is then
fractioned into 10-15 more slices by a con-
tinuous flash vaporiser (CFV). The CFV can
reach 635-650˚C (1175-1200˚F) cutpoint
equivalents. This ensures feed characterisa-
tion of the heaviest volatile oil present in
the vacuum column flash zone.
Vacuum unit feed TBP distillations can
be directly measured or synthesised by
back-blending the products from the unit.
Product flow rates, specific gravity, and dis-
tillation properties are required. The vacu-
um unit feed TBP curve can also be
generated from the measured potstill and
CFV temperature, pressure data, and indi-
vidual cut volumes.
Additionally, the feed and product distil-
lation curves are analysed by high tempera-
ture simulated distillation (HTSD). A
comparison of the measured feed TBP (by
both HTSD and ASTM D5236/CFV meth-
ods) and synthesised feed TBP curves will
show good agreement if the data are accu-
rate.
Specific gravity and contaminants are
measured for the individual cuts from the
potstill and CFV. Contaminants properties
normally include microcarbon and metals.
Historically, concarbon (ASTM D189) has
been used. The concarbon test has poor
repeatability. Microcarbon (ASTM D4530)
should be used because the test repeatabili-
ty is better than concarbon.
Metals should be determined by ICPAES
because of accuracy and repeatability. The
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
measured properties of each cut can be
input to a process model and used to pre-
dict VGO properties at varying unit design
parameters. The laboratory contaminants
data must be corrected for the individual
cuts TBP distillation overlap. Otherwise,
contaminants prediction will be high.
Pseudocomponent molecular weight is
an important physical property. Average
molecular weight can be measured on the
laboratory distillate cuts. Typically, molecu-
lar weight is calculated from the normal
boiling point and the average specific gravi-
ty of each pseudocomponent. Molecular
weight can be calculated by several meth-
ods. However, the methods can give dra-
matically different results. The method by
Altgelt and Boduszynski is recommended.
The equation is shown below:
AEBP3
MW = 140+(3.4*10-7)(_______) (1)
SG2.5
where
MW = Molecular weight
AEBP = Normal boiling point
SG = Specific gravity
After the feed is characterised correctly,
the major equipment can be evaluated.
Vacuum gasoil yield and major equipment
evaluation require an accurate heating-
cooling curve. The feed heating-cooling
curve is generated by an appropriate VLE
method, using the data curves developed
from the lab tests.
Pseudocomponent normal boiling point,
specific gravity, and molecular weight are
the minimum data required to generate a
heating-cooling curve. If these properties
are incorrect, then the heating-cooling curve
will not be accurate. Pseudocomponent
molecular weight determines the vapour
(and mixed phase) density which is an
essential component of the heater tube and
transfer line sizing. The heater tube sizing
and size transition locations and the trans-
fer line two-phase flow are constrained by
two-phase flow sonic velocity.
Sonic velocity constraints can determine
heater and transfer line operating pressure.
Heater tube and transfer line pressure will
increase to lower the mixed phase velocity
as sonic velocity is approached. Higher
heater outlet operating pressure increases
the temperature required to meet the target-
ed VGO yield. Therefore, detailed equip-
ment performance assessments require
accurate feed characterisation.
System pressure profile
System pressure profile affects operating
temperature, therefore it is important when
evaluating coking problems. The system
pressure profile is a function of the fired
heater, transfer line, vacuum column and
vacuum ejector equipment operation
(shown in Figure 1).
Revamps generally balance the major
equipment limitations and the ideal design
considerations to meet the VGO and run-
length targets. Revamps are challenging
because they must deal with existing equip-
ment design. Existing equipment and a
revamp’s objectives determine the required
equipment modifications. However, invest-
ment limits always constrain the decision-
making process.
System pressure affects the equipment
operation. Lower column operating pressure
requires a larger column cross-sectional area
to process a given amount of VGO. In many
revamps, the ejector system design inlet
pressure is based on an existing column
diameter limitation. Once the overhead pres-
sure is selected, the pressure drop through
the column determines the flash zone pres-
sure. The pressure (oil partial pressure) and
the flash zone temperature set the amount of
oil vaporised. The transfer line pressure drop
sets the heater outlet conditions.
For a given vacuum column feed compo-
sition, the flash zone pressure and heater out-
let operating temperature and pressure (oil
partial pressure) determine the VGO yield.
Maximum vacuum unit heater outlet
temperature is limited to 420-432˚C (790-
810˚F) for a low residence time heater. Oil
thermal stability determines the maximum
heater outlet temperature. Ultimately sys-
tem pressure profiles affect equipment oper-
ating temperature and residence time.
Therefore, pressure profiles affect equip-
ment coking.
Equipment performance
Equipment design must reflect the specific
operating conditions and the targeted run
length. VGO yield and quality targets influ-
ence the equipment design. Higher VGO
yields require higher operating tempera-
tures. Typically, vacuum unit revamps push
the process equipment performance to the
oil thermal stability limit. Often, equipment
designs that work at lower operating tem-
perature will coke under more severe condi-
tions. Attention to detail is essential at high
operating temperatures.
The computer age has brought ease-of-
use process models which produce num-
bers (accurate or not) that are used for
equipment modelling and design. Many of
these equipment models make simplistic
assumptions to predict equipment perfor-
mance. Fired heater and column equipment
rarely operate per the model assumptions.
Models are engineering tools used to pre-
dict actual equipment performance.
Interpreting equipment model results must
consider a model’s underlying assumptions.
Often, non-ideal equipment performance
can be modelled if the user understands
equipment basics and the model’s underly-
ing assumptions. When a vacuum unit
must be shut down it is rarely the computer
model that identifies the problem.
Generally, it is a person with knowledge of
equipment performance who solves it. The
examples shown below have occurred many
times and they highlight non-ideal equip-
ment performance.
Fired heater tube coking
Many refinery vacuum heaters have prob-
lems with coke formation in the tubes. In
order to achieve maximum VGO yields, the
heater temperature is often raised to the lim-
its of oil stability. Coke formation is caused
by temperature and oil residence time.
Thermal cracking occurs in the oil film along
the inside of the heater tube (Figure 2).
Heater oil residence time is set by the tube
size, number of passes and the feed vapori-
sation profile.
The pressure at the outlet of a vacuum
heater is very low. Oil begins vaporising as it
flows through the radiant section and
absorbs heat. A vacuum heater is designed
with several tube diameters in the radiant
section (Figure 3). The proper heater tube
size transitions are determined from the feed
heating-cooling curve, system pressure pro-
file, heat flux profile, sonic velocity con-
straints, and mass flux considerations.
The size transition location must be
selected carefully to minimise residence
time, avoid higher operating pressure due to
sonic velocity limitation, and limit the peak
oil film temperature.
Many heater design and operating para-
meters affect the oil film temperature.
Therefore, a thorough understanding of
heater basics is required to determine oil
film temperature.
A four tube-pass single cell heater is
shown in Figure 4. Ideally, a multi-pass
heater will have equal heat absorption per
pass. High heat absorption in a single
heater pass can cause high oil film tempera-
ture, excessive rates of coke formation, and
high tube metal temperatures. The tube lay-
out has a large impact on the individual
pass flux rates. Fired heater radiant section
heat flux rate is defined as the quantity of
heat absorbed per unit of tube outside sur-
face area.
Qabsorbed
Heat flux = A__________ (2)
outside tube area
(Units = kW/m2 or Btu/hr-ft2)
Average radiant section heat flux is often
used as a measure of heater performance.
The average fired heater radiant section heat
flux is defined as the total radiant section
absorbed duty divided by the total radiant
section outside tube area. If the heater is
designed properly each heater pass will
absorb the same amount of heat.
Heat transfer in the radiant section of a
fired heater occurs because of temperature
difference between the hot flue gas and the
oil flowing through the tubes. The oil flowing
in the tubes moves the heat from the oil film
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
average flux heater tube is over 76kW/m2
FLUID FILM - LOWER VELOCITY DUE TO (24000Btu/hr-ft2). The calculated peak film
1.0 1.0
TUBE WALL FRICTION
temperatures in the upper and lower passes
VACUUM VACUUM
UNIT 1.0 1.0 UNIT are 432˚C (810˚F) and 468˚C (875˚F),
FEED FEED respectively. The coking was caused by
high oil film temperatures and high oil resi-
BULK FLUID dence time in the lower two passes.
FLUE
GAS Figure 5 shows a modified heater tube
790 790
HEATER HEATER layout that balances heater pass flux rates,
PASS PASS assuming the other heater design parame-
TEMPERATURE 790
GRADIENT
OUTLETS 790 OUTLETS ters remain the same. Each pass enters the
bottom of the heater and exits the top. The
806˚F heater tubes are “wrapped”, therefore, the
TUBE WALL individual pass heat flux differences are
PEAK FILM 760˚F small due to flue gas temperature and flame
TEMPERATURE radiation differences.
The flue gas and oil temperature differ-
ence for each heater tube is approximately
the same because of the tube layout.
Revamping the heater to this flow arrange-
Figure 2 Oil film temperature ment eliminates coking. Understanding
Temperature ˚F basic heater performance is the key to fixing
this problem, not computer modelling skills.
Vacuum column internals coking
HEATER Coke formation on vacuum column inter-
FIRE BOX Relative flow rate nals is the most common cause of VGO
yield loss, poor VGO quality, and unsched-
14” uled unit shutdowns. There are many
10” 8”
6” potential causes of coke formation.
TRANSFER LINE However, for a given operating temperature,
Figure 5 “Wrapped” heater tube layout it is oil residence time that must be con-
trolled.
flowing along the tube wall to the bulk fluid heater modelling showed an average radi- Coking can occur in the packing, on the
stream due to convection (mixing). The ant section heat flux rate of 28kW/m 2 collector tray below the packing, or in the
faster the oil (and possibly steam) in the (9000Btu/hr-ft2). stripping section below the feed (Figure 6).
Figure 3 Vacuum heater tube size transitions: 6in to 10in tube moves, the lower the oil film tempera- This flux rate is acceptable for many vac- Several refiners have had annual shut-
ture for a given bulk oil temperature. uum unit heaters. However, this heater had downs to replace the wash section packing.
The radiant section heat flux rate at any chronic coking problems requiring shut- The root-cause of coking must be identified
1.0 1.07 given point in the heater is controlled by the downs every two years to remove the coke to fix the problem; otherwise, coking will
VACUUM VACUUM temperature difference between the hot gas layer. The upper two passes outlet tempera- continue. Simple fixes like changing the
UNIT 1.48 1.41 UNIT (and flame radiation) and the oil in the tube, tures are 409˚C (769˚F) and the lower two packing type, replacing a spray header with
FEED FEED
assuming no coke formation. The higher the passes are approximately 427˚C (800˚F). a gravity distributor, changing the quantity
temperature difference between the hot flue The upper two heater passes have low oil of packing, or implementing a more
gas and the cold oil, the higher the rate of flow and low outlet temperatures. The lower advanced control system have been tried
heat transfer. two passes have high flow and high outlet with varying success. Controlling oil resi-
The flue gas temperature in the radiant temperature. The heater has severe heat dence time on the column internals is
section of a heater varies from the heater flux imbalance. important at elevated temperature.
floor to the top of the radiant section Individual heater pass heat flux varia- Understanding the practical issues of min-
(bridgewall). Therefore, multiple tube pass tions show up as flow rate differences, out- imising residence time is the key to elimi-
PASS PASS heaters are subject to radiant section heat let temperature differences, or both. The nating coke formation.
#4 #2 flux imbalances because the heat distribu- design of this heater utilised a stacked The wash zone removes entrained
tion in the firebox is not uniform. The arrangement for the passes. One pass is residue from the flash zone vapour and pro-
769 769 HEATER author’s experience is that individual pass located in the top half of the radiant section vides some fractionation of the heavy vacu-
HEATER
PASS PASS heat flux imbalances are very common. It is and the other is on the bottom. Heat flux um gasoil. The fractionation requirements
OUTLETS OUTLETS the flue gas temperature variation (and variations are large due to burner configura- depend on crude oil type, VGO yield target,
800 800
flame radiation) across the radiant section tion and tube layout. and product quality. Typically, a wash zone
that causes the heat flux imbalances A rigorous fired heater model was used to consists of a packed bed, spray header or
between tube passes. Flux imbalances determine the cause of heater tube coking. gravity flow trough type liquid distributors,
Temperature ˚F
PASS PASS cause oil film temperature differences The standard model structure was modified and a collector tray below the packing.
#3 #1
between the passes, which result in the to determine heat flux rates and oil film tem- Coking in the wash zone occurs either in
tube pass with the highest heat flux rate peratures in the upper and the lower passes. the packing itself or on the collector tray
having coking problems. The lower and upper passes have average under the packed bed. Initially, coke forma-
Relative flow rate
Monitoring only radiant section average heat flux rates of 41 and 16kW/m2 (13000 tion in the packed bed reduces heavy vacu-
heat flux is not a good indicator of heater and 5000Btu/hr-ft2) respectively. The aver- um gasoil (HVGO) yield due to increased
performance. Figure 4 shows the relative oil age heat flux rate for one of the tubes on the wash zone packing pressure drop. This rais-
flow rates and the outlet temperature from lower passes is over 14000Btu/hr-ft2. es the flash zone pressure which lowers
Figure 4 Heater pass flow rates and temperatures the individual heater passes. Rigorous The peak flux that occurs on the highest VGO yield without any measurable change
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.

yield and quality problems. The TBP curve
determines the available VGO product.
The feed contaminants distribution deter-
mines the product contaminants for a
given VGO yield and unit equipment per-
formance.
Vacuum unit feed is composed of thou-
sands of large molecules of unknown
chemical composition. The large number
of molecules must be reduced to a reason-
able number of pseudocomponents for
process and equipment modelling.
Pseudocomponent properties are deter-
mined by performing various laboratory
tests on the feed. These tests are used to
generate sufficient data to develop accurate
TBP, specific gravity, and contaminants dis-
tribution curves. Measuring accurate vacu-
um unit feed TBP and contaminants’
distribution curves is not a trivial task.
Developing a vacuum unit feed gravity
and contaminants distribution curve
requires the feed sample be fractioned into
smaller cuts. First, the sample is fractioned
into 30-40 individual distillate cuts. The
number of cuts depends on the specifics of
the troubleshooting task. The lighter portion
of the feed is fractionated in a potstill
(ASTM D5236) up to the cracking limit.
The cracking limit will vary by crude
type; however, typical temperatures will be
equivalent to a 560-582˚C (1040-1080˚F)
VGO cutpoint. The potstill residue is then
fractioned into 10-15 more slices by a con-
tinuous flash vaporiser (CFV). The CFV can
reach 635-650˚C (1175-1200˚F) cutpoint
equivalents. This ensures feed characterisa-
tion of the heaviest volatile oil present in
the vacuum column flash zone.
Vacuum unit feed TBP distillations can
be directly measured or synthesised by
back-blending the products from the unit.
Product flow rates, specific gravity, and dis-
tillation properties are required. The vacu-
um unit feed TBP curve can also be
generated from the measured potstill and
CFV temperature, pressure data, and indi-
vidual cut volumes.
Additionally, the feed and product distil-
lation curves are analysed by high tempera-
ture simulated distillation (HTSD). A
comparison of the measured feed TBP (by
both HTSD and ASTM D5236/CFV meth-
ods) and synthesised feed TBP curves will
show good agreement if the data are accu-
rate.
Specific gravity and contaminants are
measured for the individual cuts from the
potstill and CFV. Contaminants properties
normally include microcarbon and metals.
Historically, concarbon (ASTM D189) has
been used. The concarbon test has poor
repeatability. Microcarbon (ASTM D4530)
should be used because the test repeatabili-
ty is better than concarbon.
Metals should be determined by ICPAES
because of accuracy and repeatability. The
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
measured properties of each cut can be
input to a process model and used to pre-
dict VGO properties at varying unit design
parameters. The laboratory contaminants
data must be corrected for the individual
cuts TBP distillation overlap. Otherwise,
contaminants prediction will be high.
Pseudocomponent molecular weight is
an important physical property. Average
molecular weight can be measured on the
laboratory distillate cuts. Typically, molecu-
lar weight is calculated from the normal
boiling point and the average specific gravi-
ty of each pseudocomponent. Molecular
weight can be calculated by several meth-
ods. However, the methods can give dra-
matically different results. The method by
Altgelt and Boduszynski is recommended.
The equation is shown below:
AEBP3
MW = 140+(3.4*10-7)(_______) (1)
SG2.5
where
MW = Molecular weight
AEBP = Normal boiling point
SG = Specific gravity
After the feed is characterised correctly,
the major equipment can be evaluated.
Vacuum gasoil yield and major equipment
evaluation require an accurate heating-
cooling curve. The feed heating-cooling
curve is generated by an appropriate VLE
method, using the data curves developed
from the lab tests.
Pseudocomponent normal boiling point,
specific gravity, and molecular weight are
the minimum data required to generate a
heating-cooling curve. If these properties
are incorrect, then the heating-cooling curve
will not be accurate. Pseudocomponent
molecular weight determines the vapour
(and mixed phase) density which is an
essential component of the heater tube and
transfer line sizing. The heater tube sizing
and size transition locations and the trans-
fer line two-phase flow are constrained by
two-phase flow sonic velocity.
Sonic velocity constraints can determine
heater and transfer line operating pressure.
Heater tube and transfer line pressure will
increase to lower the mixed phase velocity
as sonic velocity is approached. Higher
heater outlet operating pressure increases
the temperature required to meet the target-
ed VGO yield. Therefore, detailed equip-
ment performance assessments require
accurate feed characterisation.
System pressure profile
System pressure profile affects operating
temperature, therefore it is important when
evaluating coking problems. The system
pressure profile is a function of the fired
heater, transfer line, vacuum column and
vacuum ejector equipment operation
(shown in Figure 1).
Revamps generally balance the major
equipment limitations and the ideal design
considerations to meet the VGO and run-
length targets. Revamps are challenging
because they must deal with existing equip-
ment design. Existing equipment and a
revamp’s objectives determine the required
equipment modifications. However, invest-
ment limits always constrain the decision-
making process.
System pressure affects the equipment
operation. Lower column operating pressure
requires a larger column cross-sectional area
to process a given amount of VGO. In many
revamps, the ejector system design inlet
pressure is based on an existing column
diameter limitation. Once the overhead pres-
sure is selected, the pressure drop through
the column determines the flash zone pres-
sure. The pressure (oil partial pressure) and
the flash zone temperature set the amount of
oil vaporised. The transfer line pressure drop
sets the heater outlet conditions.
For a given vacuum column feed compo-
sition, the flash zone pressure and heater out-
let operating temperature and pressure (oil
partial pressure) determine the VGO yield.
Maximum vacuum unit heater outlet
temperature is limited to 420-432˚C (790-
810˚F) for a low residence time heater. Oil
thermal stability determines the maximum
heater outlet temperature. Ultimately sys-
tem pressure profiles affect equipment oper-
ating temperature and residence time.
Therefore, pressure profiles affect equip-
ment coking.
Equipment performance
Equipment design must reflect the specific
operating conditions and the targeted run
length. VGO yield and quality targets influ-
ence the equipment design. Higher VGO
yields require higher operating tempera-
tures. Typically, vacuum unit revamps push
the process equipment performance to the
oil thermal stability limit. Often, equipment
designs that work at lower operating tem-
perature will coke under more severe condi-
tions. Attention to detail is essential at high
operating temperatures.
The computer age has brought ease-of-
use process models which produce num-
bers (accurate or not) that are used for
equipment modelling and design. Many of
these equipment models make simplistic
assumptions to predict equipment perfor-
mance. Fired heater and column equipment
rarely operate per the model assumptions.
Models are engineering tools used to pre-
dict actual equipment performance.
Interpreting equipment model results must
consider a model’s underlying assumptions.
Often, non-ideal equipment performance
can be modelled if the user understands
equipment basics and the model’s underly-
ing assumptions. When a vacuum unit
must be shut down it is rarely the computer
model that identifies the problem.
Generally, it is a person with knowledge of
equipment performance who solves it. The
examples shown below have occurred many
times and they highlight non-ideal equip-
ment performance.
Fired heater tube coking
Many refinery vacuum heaters have prob-
lems with coke formation in the tubes. In
order to achieve maximum VGO yields, the
heater temperature is often raised to the lim-
its of oil stability. Coke formation is caused
by temperature and oil residence time.
Thermal cracking occurs in the oil film along
the inside of the heater tube (Figure 2).
Heater oil residence time is set by the tube
size, number of passes and the feed vapori-
sation profile.
The pressure at the outlet of a vacuum
heater is very low. Oil begins vaporising as it
flows through the radiant section and
absorbs heat. A vacuum heater is designed
with several tube diameters in the radiant
section (Figure 3). The proper heater tube
size transitions are determined from the feed
heating-cooling curve, system pressure pro-
file, heat flux profile, sonic velocity con-
straints, and mass flux considerations.
The size transition location must be
selected carefully to minimise residence
time, avoid higher operating pressure due to
sonic velocity limitation, and limit the peak
oil film temperature.
Many heater design and operating para-
meters affect the oil film temperature.
Therefore, a thorough understanding of
heater basics is required to determine oil
film temperature.
A four tube-pass single cell heater is
shown in Figure 4. Ideally, a multi-pass
heater will have equal heat absorption per
pass. High heat absorption in a single
heater pass can cause high oil film tempera-
ture, excessive rates of coke formation, and
high tube metal temperatures. The tube lay-
out has a large impact on the individual
pass flux rates. Fired heater radiant section
heat flux rate is defined as the quantity of
heat absorbed per unit of tube outside sur-
face area.
Qabsorbed
Heat flux = A__________ (2)
outside tube area
(Units = kW/m2 or Btu/hr-ft2)
Average radiant section heat flux is often
used as a measure of heater performance.
The average fired heater radiant section heat
flux is defined as the total radiant section
absorbed duty divided by the total radiant
section outside tube area. If the heater is
designed properly each heater pass will
absorb the same amount of heat.
Heat transfer in the radiant section of a
fired heater occurs because of temperature
difference between the hot flue gas and the
oil flowing through the tubes. The oil flowing
in the tubes moves the heat from the oil film
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
average flux heater tube is over 76kW/m2
FLUID FILM - LOWER VELOCITY DUE TO (24000Btu/hr-ft2). The calculated peak film
1.0 1.0
TUBE WALL FRICTION
temperatures in the upper and lower passes
VACUUM VACUUM
UNIT 1.0 1.0 UNIT are 432˚C (810˚F) and 468˚C (875˚F),
FEED FEED respectively. The coking was caused by
high oil film temperatures and high oil resi-
BULK FLUID dence time in the lower two passes.
FLUE
GAS Figure 5 shows a modified heater tube
790 790
HEATER HEATER layout that balances heater pass flux rates,
PASS PASS assuming the other heater design parame-
TEMPERATURE 790
GRADIENT
OUTLETS 790 OUTLETS ters remain the same. Each pass enters the
bottom of the heater and exits the top. The
806˚F heater tubes are “wrapped”, therefore, the
TUBE WALL individual pass heat flux differences are
PEAK FILM 760˚F small due to flue gas temperature and flame
TEMPERATURE radiation differences.
The flue gas and oil temperature differ-
ence for each heater tube is approximately
the same because of the tube layout.
Revamping the heater to this flow arrange-
Figure 2 Oil film temperature ment eliminates coking. Understanding
Temperature ˚F basic heater performance is the key to fixing
this problem, not computer modelling skills.
Vacuum column internals coking
HEATER Coke formation on vacuum column inter-
FIRE BOX Relative flow rate nals is the most common cause of VGO
yield loss, poor VGO quality, and unsched-
14” uled unit shutdowns. There are many
10” 8”
6” potential causes of coke formation.
TRANSFER LINE However, for a given operating temperature,
Figure 5 “Wrapped” heater tube layout it is oil residence time that must be con-
trolled.
flowing along the tube wall to the bulk fluid heater modelling showed an average radi- Coking can occur in the packing, on the
stream due to convection (mixing). The ant section heat flux rate of 28kW/m 2 collector tray below the packing, or in the
faster the oil (and possibly steam) in the (9000Btu/hr-ft2). stripping section below the feed (Figure 6).
Figure 3 Vacuum heater tube size transitions: 6in to 10in tube moves, the lower the oil film tempera- This flux rate is acceptable for many vac- Several refiners have had annual shut-
ture for a given bulk oil temperature. uum unit heaters. However, this heater had downs to replace the wash section packing.
The radiant section heat flux rate at any chronic coking problems requiring shut- The root-cause of coking must be identified
1.0 1.07 given point in the heater is controlled by the downs every two years to remove the coke to fix the problem; otherwise, coking will
VACUUM VACUUM temperature difference between the hot gas layer. The upper two passes outlet tempera- continue. Simple fixes like changing the
UNIT 1.48 1.41 UNIT (and flame radiation) and the oil in the tube, tures are 409˚C (769˚F) and the lower two packing type, replacing a spray header with
FEED FEED
assuming no coke formation. The higher the passes are approximately 427˚C (800˚F). a gravity distributor, changing the quantity
temperature difference between the hot flue The upper two heater passes have low oil of packing, or implementing a more
gas and the cold oil, the higher the rate of flow and low outlet temperatures. The lower advanced control system have been tried
heat transfer. two passes have high flow and high outlet with varying success. Controlling oil resi-
The flue gas temperature in the radiant temperature. The heater has severe heat dence time on the column internals is
section of a heater varies from the heater flux imbalance. important at elevated temperature.
floor to the top of the radiant section Individual heater pass heat flux varia- Understanding the practical issues of min-
(bridgewall). Therefore, multiple tube pass tions show up as flow rate differences, out- imising residence time is the key to elimi-
PASS PASS heaters are subject to radiant section heat let temperature differences, or both. The nating coke formation.
#4 #2 flux imbalances because the heat distribu- design of this heater utilised a stacked The wash zone removes entrained
tion in the firebox is not uniform. The arrangement for the passes. One pass is residue from the flash zone vapour and pro-
769 769 HEATER author’s experience is that individual pass located in the top half of the radiant section vides some fractionation of the heavy vacu-
HEATER
PASS PASS heat flux imbalances are very common. It is and the other is on the bottom. Heat flux um gasoil. The fractionation requirements
OUTLETS OUTLETS the flue gas temperature variation (and variations are large due to burner configura- depend on crude oil type, VGO yield target,
800 800
flame radiation) across the radiant section tion and tube layout. and product quality. Typically, a wash zone
that causes the heat flux imbalances A rigorous fired heater model was used to consists of a packed bed, spray header or
between tube passes. Flux imbalances determine the cause of heater tube coking. gravity flow trough type liquid distributors,
Temperature ˚F
PASS PASS cause oil film temperature differences The standard model structure was modified and a collector tray below the packing.
#3 #1
between the passes, which result in the to determine heat flux rates and oil film tem- Coking in the wash zone occurs either in
tube pass with the highest heat flux rate peratures in the upper and the lower passes. the packing itself or on the collector tray
having coking problems. The lower and upper passes have average under the packed bed. Initially, coke forma-
Relative flow rate
Monitoring only radiant section average heat flux rates of 41 and 16kW/m2 (13000 tion in the packed bed reduces heavy vacu-
heat flux is not a good indicator of heater and 5000Btu/hr-ft2) respectively. The aver- um gasoil (HVGO) yield due to increased
performance. Figure 4 shows the relative oil age heat flux rate for one of the tubes on the wash zone packing pressure drop. This rais-
flow rates and the outlet temperature from lower passes is over 14000Btu/hr-ft2. es the flash zone pressure which lowers
Figure 4 Heater pass flow rates and temperatures the individual heater passes. Rigorous The peak flux that occurs on the highest VGO yield without any measurable change
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.

in VGO quality. As coke formation increas-
es, the column cross-sectional area drops.
This increases the vapour velocity
through the packing which increases
residue entrainment. The VGO metals and
microcarbon content increases. Eventually,
wash bed coking decreases HVGO yield
and increases the microcarbon and metals
content of the HVGO.
Eventually, a shutdown is required.
Often, the design of the wash section is con-
sidered a trivial item. There are several hun-
dreds of packed wash zones in service;
therefore, many engineering contractors,
equipment vendors, and operating compa-
nies consider this a standard packing appli-
cation. Many vacuum units operate with
flash zone temperatures less than 382˚C
(720˚F). Additionally, many vacuum units
process very low metals crude oil.
These wash sections require 1m (3ft) of
grid to produce good quality HVGO. The
bulk of refinery vacuum units still operate
at low temperature, so coking is unlikely.
Vacuum units processing low metals crude
oils at 593˚C (1100˚F) cutpoints or higher
have flash zone temperatures of 404-419˚C
(760-785˚F). These units require only 1-
1.3m (3-4ft) of grid to produce acceptable
quality gasoil because the oil contains low
contaminants.
The efficiency of 1-1.3m of grid is less
than a theoretical stage. However, if the
crude oil has low volatile metals then a
short bed of grid is preferable because it is
difficult to coke.
Many refiners are increasing operating
temperatures and processing crude oils with
high metals content. Processing
Venezuelan, Columbian, Mexican and
other high metals crude oils at moderate to
high VGO yields require operating flash
zone temperatures of 399-418˚C (750-
785˚F). The gasoil produced with 1m of grid
is very poor. These vacuum columns
require a wash bed with 1.8-2m (6-8ft) of
packing to reduce the VGO contaminants.
These packed beds will coke if the mini-
mum liquid rate is not maintained. Low liq-
uid rate increases the oil residence time.
Process and equipment design issues sur-
rounding the wash section are complex.
Many of the assumptions made when mod-
elling and evaluating the process equipment
are incorrect and these assumptions con-
tribute to wash zone coking. Coking of
wash zone packing is caused by inaccurate
feed characterisation, poor process model-
ling, and equipment design errors.
A packed bed requires some minimum
quantity of liquid to avoid coking if the tem-
perature and residence time is high enough
to form coke. Process models will quickly
calculate a wash oil flow rate (liquid to the
distributor above the packing) for a targeted
overflash.
Overflash is defined as the quantity of oil
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
DIESEL PA
DIESEL/LVGO
FRACTIONATION
LVGO PA
LVGO/MVGO
FRACTIONATION
MVGO PA
MVGO/HVGO
FRACTIONATION
WASH
REDUCED
CRUDE
5 imum liquid rate (overflash) to avoid coking
4 depends on transfer line flow regime, vapour
3 distribution, quantity of residue entrainment
2
1
STEAM
Figure 6 Vacuum column internal coking
vaporised in the flash zone that is returned
to the flash zone as liquid. Overflash is the
liquid that prevents the bed from coking.
The lower the overflash, the higher the
HVGO product yield. Maximum VGO yield
dictates minimum overflash. However, con-
tinuously operating at minimum overflash
rate without coking is difficult.
Often, the vacuum unit is modelled
assuming the liquid and vapour in the flash
zone are in equilibrium. This assumption
determines the vapour composition and
temperature to the wash bed. For a given
amount of wash oil flow rate, the vapour
temperature and composition entering the
wash section packing have a large impact
on the overflash rate.
The dry-out rate (wash oil flow/overflash
flow) is calculated assuming the flash zone
is an equilibrium stage and one theoretical
stage in the wash zone is about 3 to 1. In
reality, the flash zone is not an equilibrium
stage, therefore the dry-out rate is much
higher than the 3 to 1 calculated for a single
stage. For instance, if the actual dry-out rate
is 6 to 1 rather than 3 to 1, then the wash
oil flow rate will need to be doubled for the
same overflash. Wash oil flow rates on sev-
eral units have had to be increased by over
100 per cent of design flow rate to avoid
EJECTOR
DIESEL
LVGO
MVGO
HVGO
COKE
FORMATION
COKE FORMATION
VACUUM
RESIDUE
coking. Calculating the minimum liquid rate
to avoid coking is difficult with 1.8-2.0m of
packing. Residue entrainment in the vapour
from the flash zone wets the bottom of the
packed bed. The middle of the bed is where
coke formation begins (Figure 7). Process
flow sheet models assume the vacuum col-
umn flash zone and wash zone perfor-
mance operates per an ideal equilibrium
stage. Rigorous distillation models assume
uniform liquid and vapour distribution in
the column.
Large diameter vacuum column flash
zones with feeds entering at 90-120m/sec
(300-400ft/sec) with poor liquid and vapour
contacting are not ideal equilibrium stages.
Vapour/liquid equilibrium may exist at the
heater tube outlet, but it does not exist in
the transfer line or flash zone. Vapour into
the wash section is not uniformly distrib-
uted across the column cross-section.
Liquid distribution to the wash bed is not
ideal.
Computer models assume everything is
ideal. Therefore, the models calculate liquid
rates to the wash section packing that are
too low to avoid coking. Low liquid rate to
the packing causes high oil residence time in
the middle of the packed bed. This causes
coke formation in the packing. The true min-
“Often, non-ideal
equipment performance
can be modelled if the user
understands equipment
basics and the model’s
underlying assumptions.
When a vacuum unit must
be shut down it is rarely the
computer model that
identifies the problem.
Generally, it is a person with
knowledge of equipment
performance who solves it”
from the flash zone, packing type, packed
bed depth, and liquid distribution.
The vacuum column wash zone mini-
mum flow rate is also highly dependent on
a number of specific equipment design
issues. Simple statements that the mini-
mum liquid rate to avoid coking is
0.12m3/hr-m2 (0.05gpm/ft2) of cross-section-
al area have no practical significance.
Inadequate wash zone liquid rate is one
of the primary causes of coking. Revamps
that produce high VGO yields for a 6 to 18
month period are not successful revamps.
The lower the wash oil flow rate, the higher
the VGO yield for a given vacuum unit
design. However, there is a minimum wash
rate where the oil residence time in the pack-
ing increases and coke formation begins.
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
Coke formation begins in the section of
the bed where the oil residence time is high-
est, although the temperature is not the
highest. Coking typically occurs in the mid-
dle of the packed bed (Figure 8). Rarely is
coke observed on the bottom of the wash
oil packing.
The collector tray below the wash bed
cokes due to high liquid residence time.
High liquid residence time results from
either the tray design or operating with
high liquid level on the tray. Collector tray
oil residence time must be kept to a mini-
mum. Some vacuum units operate at flash
zone temperatures of 418˚C (785˚F) with-
out any coking on the collector tray while
others have coking problems at much
lower temperatures.
Many vacuum towers have stripping
trays below the feed. Stripping trays help
yield incremental VGO by reducing the par-
tial pressure of the oil. Properly designed
trays work well, while improperly designed
trays will coke. High liquid residence time
WASH
OIL
WASH LIQUID
REVAPORIZES
LAYERS OF GRID
COKE
FORMATION
ENTRAINMENT
“WETS” BOTTOM
OF GRID BED
FEED FLASH
ZONE
RESIDUE
ENTRAINMENT
90 - 120 M/SEC
(300 - 400 FT/SEC)
Figure 7 Wash section “dry-out”
results in coke formation on the outside and
in a few cases, on the inside of the down-
comer.
Some designers have put vacuum residue
quench to the top tray to reduce or elimi-
nate coking. However, the quench reduces
or eliminates the benefit of the stripping
trays. Using vacuum residue quench to the
top stripping tray to reduce oil temperature
is treating the symptom not the problem.
Equipment design details are important.
Stripping sections must be sized properly,
otherwise localized oil residence time will
be high. Additionally, oversized trays have
stagnant liquid zones and very low hole
area. Properly designed stripping trays will
not coke.
Scott W. Golden is a chemical engineer with
Process Consulting Services, Inc., Houston,
Texas. The company provides revamp and
field trouble-shooting for the refinery indus-
try worldwide.
Figure 8 Grid coking - middle of bed
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
Troubleshooting vacuum
unit revamps
While vacuum unit revamps attempt to increase vacuum gasoil yield, the
refining industry is pushing the intervals between turnarounds to four or
five years. To achieve target intervals between turnarounds at higher
operating temperatures, vacuum unit process equipment must be designed
for low residence time
Scott W. Golden
Process Consulting Services Inc
R
evamps of crude or lube vacuum elevated temperatures have had problems.
units to increase the yield of vacuum Proper equipment design is essential to
gasoil product (VGO) rely on accu- achieve a four or five year run at tempera-
rate feed characterisation, process model- tures above 390˚C (735˚F). Often, the tem-
ling, and equipment design to meet the peratures in the fired heater and distillation
processing objectives. Successful revamps equipment exceed the thermal stability of
the oil.
require the economic objectives to be
realised over the planned run length. Fired heater tube, wash zone packing,
However, many revamps do not meet the collector tray, and stripping section tray cok-
planned run length because the unit must ing are the primary causes of unscheduled
shut down to make equipment repairs. shutdowns. Oil residence time must be kept
Improving VGO yield requires a higher to a minimum to meet both high operating
operating temperature at the heater outlet, temperatures and extended unit run length.
within the heater, in the transfer line, and in The emphasis in this article is on equip-
the column. This increases the oil coking ment design and its impact on coke forma-
tendency and the probability of equipment tion. Feed characterisation is discussed
failure. Many refiners anticipate run lengths because it affects equipment design and
of four to five years while attempting to operation. Accurate feed characterisation is
increase operating temperatures. This essential to correctly calculate VGO yield
requires careful consideration of feed char- and properly design the equipment. System
acterisation, process modelling, and equip- pressure and its impact on operating tem-
ment design. If these elements of a vacuum perature is briefly reviewed. Vacuum unit
unit revamp are faulty, then anticipated run fired heater and column internal coking
lenghts will not be achieved. problems are discussed in some detail.
Historically, vacuum units have operated
at flash zone conditions of 385˚C (725˚F) or Vacuum gasoil yield
less, whereas some refiners are attempting Feed composition and system pressure
to operate at 418˚C (785˚F) today. A few are A vacuum unit consists of a fired heater,
successful, but many refiners operating at transfer line, column and internals, and
ejector system (Figure 1).
Heat is added to the feed to
vaporise the oil. Increasing
heater outlet temperature or
reducing operating pressure
will increase the amount of
oil vaporised.
Steam can be added to
STEAM
the system to increase oil
vaporisation. Ultimately, oil
temperature and residence
time must be controlled so
that the thermal stability of
STEAM the oil is not exceeded. For a
given oil residence time,
there is a temperature at
which the oil will begin to
Figure 1 Major process equipment and system pressure profile crack. When the oil cracks,
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
gas and coke are made. The rate of cracking
(time and temperature) must be kept suffi-
ciently low so that VGO yields and product
quality are maintained over the run length.
The vacuum unit recovers 343-595˚C
(650-1100˚F+) VGO boiling range material
of adequate quality for downstream pro-
cessing. Vacuum gasoil is used as feed to a
hydrocracker or fluid catalytic cracking
(FCC) unit. Oil composition and system
pressure affect oil residence time. Coking is
a function of equipment operating tempera-
ture and oil residence time. Equipment
design affects both these parameters. For
example, when revamping a unit from light
crude of 0.825-0.865 specific gravity (32˚-
40˚ API gravity) to heavy crude of 0.887-
0.922 specific gravity (22˚-28˚ API) gravity,
the oil residence time in the heater changes.
The heater tube design must be capable of
handling these changes.
The vacuum heater tube size and tran-
sition locations are selected based on the
vaporisation profile of the feed. A light
crude will vaporise sooner in the heater;
therefore, the radiant section tube layout
is selected to minimise oil residence time
and oil temperature for this crude. When
heavier oil is processed in the same
heater, the oil residence time increases
because the heavy oil vaporisation profile
is different.
Increased oil residence time can cause
coke formation in the heater tubes, thereby
increasing the tube metal temperature.
Once the maximum tube metal temperature
is reached, the heater must be shutdown to
remove the coke.
Vacuum unit feed composition
Vacuum unit feed composition establishes
how much recoverable VGO is available,
the approximate quality of an incremental
oil, and the equipment performance.
Proper vacuum unit feed true boiling
point (TBP), specific (or API) gravity, molec-
ular weight, and contaminants distribution
curves are essential for analysing VGO

in VGO quality. As coke formation increas-
es, the column cross-sectional area drops.
This increases the vapour velocity
through the packing which increases
residue entrainment. The VGO metals and
microcarbon content increases. Eventually,
wash bed coking decreases HVGO yield
and increases the microcarbon and metals
content of the HVGO.
Eventually, a shutdown is required.
Often, the design of the wash section is con-
sidered a trivial item. There are several hun-
dreds of packed wash zones in service;
therefore, many engineering contractors,
equipment vendors, and operating compa-
nies consider this a standard packing appli-
cation. Many vacuum units operate with
flash zone temperatures less than 382˚C
(720˚F). Additionally, many vacuum units
process very low metals crude oil.
These wash sections require 1m (3ft) of
grid to produce good quality HVGO. The
bulk of refinery vacuum units still operate
at low temperature, so coking is unlikely.
Vacuum units processing low metals crude
oils at 593˚C (1100˚F) cutpoints or higher
have flash zone temperatures of 404-419˚C
(760-785˚F). These units require only 1-
1.3m (3-4ft) of grid to produce acceptable
quality gasoil because the oil contains low
contaminants.
The efficiency of 1-1.3m of grid is less
than a theoretical stage. However, if the
crude oil has low volatile metals then a
short bed of grid is preferable because it is
difficult to coke.
Many refiners are increasing operating
temperatures and processing crude oils with
high metals content. Processing
Venezuelan, Columbian, Mexican and
other high metals crude oils at moderate to
high VGO yields require operating flash
zone temperatures of 399-418˚C (750-
785˚F). The gasoil produced with 1m of grid
is very poor. These vacuum columns
require a wash bed with 1.8-2m (6-8ft) of
packing to reduce the VGO contaminants.
These packed beds will coke if the mini-
mum liquid rate is not maintained. Low liq-
uid rate increases the oil residence time.
Process and equipment design issues sur-
rounding the wash section are complex.
Many of the assumptions made when mod-
elling and evaluating the process equipment
are incorrect and these assumptions con-
tribute to wash zone coking. Coking of
wash zone packing is caused by inaccurate
feed characterisation, poor process model-
ling, and equipment design errors.
A packed bed requires some minimum
quantity of liquid to avoid coking if the tem-
perature and residence time is high enough
to form coke. Process models will quickly
calculate a wash oil flow rate (liquid to the
distributor above the packing) for a targeted
overflash.
Overflash is defined as the quantity of oil
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
DIESEL PA
DIESEL/LVGO
FRACTIONATION
LVGO PA
LVGO/MVGO
FRACTIONATION
MVGO PA
MVGO/HVGO
FRACTIONATION
WASH
REDUCED
CRUDE
5 imum liquid rate (overflash) to avoid coking
4 depends on transfer line flow regime, vapour
3 distribution, quantity of residue entrainment
2
1
STEAM
Figure 6 Vacuum column internal coking
vaporised in the flash zone that is returned
to the flash zone as liquid. Overflash is the
liquid that prevents the bed from coking.
The lower the overflash, the higher the
HVGO product yield. Maximum VGO yield
dictates minimum overflash. However, con-
tinuously operating at minimum overflash
rate without coking is difficult.
Often, the vacuum unit is modelled
assuming the liquid and vapour in the flash
zone are in equilibrium. This assumption
determines the vapour composition and
temperature to the wash bed. For a given
amount of wash oil flow rate, the vapour
temperature and composition entering the
wash section packing have a large impact
on the overflash rate.
The dry-out rate (wash oil flow/overflash
flow) is calculated assuming the flash zone
is an equilibrium stage and one theoretical
stage in the wash zone is about 3 to 1. In
reality, the flash zone is not an equilibrium
stage, therefore the dry-out rate is much
higher than the 3 to 1 calculated for a single
stage. For instance, if the actual dry-out rate
is 6 to 1 rather than 3 to 1, then the wash
oil flow rate will need to be doubled for the
same overflash. Wash oil flow rates on sev-
eral units have had to be increased by over
100 per cent of design flow rate to avoid
EJECTOR
DIESEL
LVGO
MVGO
HVGO
COKE
FORMATION
COKE FORMATION
VACUUM
RESIDUE
coking. Calculating the minimum liquid rate
to avoid coking is difficult with 1.8-2.0m of
packing. Residue entrainment in the vapour
from the flash zone wets the bottom of the
packed bed. The middle of the bed is where
coke formation begins (Figure 7). Process
flow sheet models assume the vacuum col-
umn flash zone and wash zone perfor-
mance operates per an ideal equilibrium
stage. Rigorous distillation models assume
uniform liquid and vapour distribution in
the column.
Large diameter vacuum column flash
zones with feeds entering at 90-120m/sec
(300-400ft/sec) with poor liquid and vapour
contacting are not ideal equilibrium stages.
Vapour/liquid equilibrium may exist at the
heater tube outlet, but it does not exist in
the transfer line or flash zone. Vapour into
the wash section is not uniformly distrib-
uted across the column cross-section.
Liquid distribution to the wash bed is not
ideal.
Computer models assume everything is
ideal. Therefore, the models calculate liquid
rates to the wash section packing that are
too low to avoid coking. Low liquid rate to
the packing causes high oil residence time in
the middle of the packed bed. This causes
coke formation in the packing. The true min-
“Often, non-ideal
equipment performance
can be modelled if the user
understands equipment
basics and the model’s
underlying assumptions.
When a vacuum unit must
be shut down it is rarely the
computer model that
identifies the problem.
Generally, it is a person with
knowledge of equipment
performance who solves it”
from the flash zone, packing type, packed
bed depth, and liquid distribution.
The vacuum column wash zone mini-
mum flow rate is also highly dependent on
a number of specific equipment design
issues. Simple statements that the mini-
mum liquid rate to avoid coking is
0.12m3/hr-m2 (0.05gpm/ft2) of cross-section-
al area have no practical significance.
Inadequate wash zone liquid rate is one
of the primary causes of coking. Revamps
that produce high VGO yields for a 6 to 18
month period are not successful revamps.
The lower the wash oil flow rate, the higher
the VGO yield for a given vacuum unit
design. However, there is a minimum wash
rate where the oil residence time in the pack-
ing increases and coke formation begins.
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
Coke formation begins in the section of
the bed where the oil residence time is high-
est, although the temperature is not the
highest. Coking typically occurs in the mid-
dle of the packed bed (Figure 8). Rarely is
coke observed on the bottom of the wash
oil packing.
The collector tray below the wash bed
cokes due to high liquid residence time.
High liquid residence time results from
either the tray design or operating with
high liquid level on the tray. Collector tray
oil residence time must be kept to a mini-
mum. Some vacuum units operate at flash
zone temperatures of 418˚C (785˚F) with-
out any coking on the collector tray while
others have coking problems at much
lower temperatures.
Many vacuum towers have stripping
trays below the feed. Stripping trays help
yield incremental VGO by reducing the par-
tial pressure of the oil. Properly designed
trays work well, while improperly designed
trays will coke. High liquid residence time
WASH
OIL
WASH LIQUID
REVAPORIZES
LAYERS OF GRID
COKE
FORMATION
ENTRAINMENT
“WETS” BOTTOM
OF GRID BED
FEED FLASH
ZONE
RESIDUE
ENTRAINMENT
90 - 120 M/SEC
(300 - 400 FT/SEC)
Figure 7 Wash section “dry-out”
results in coke formation on the outside and
in a few cases, on the inside of the down-
comer.
Some designers have put vacuum residue
quench to the top tray to reduce or elimi-
nate coking. However, the quench reduces
or eliminates the benefit of the stripping
trays. Using vacuum residue quench to the
top stripping tray to reduce oil temperature
is treating the symptom not the problem.
Equipment design details are important.
Stripping sections must be sized properly,
otherwise localized oil residence time will
be high. Additionally, oversized trays have
stagnant liquid zones and very low hole
area. Properly designed stripping trays will
not coke.
Scott W. Golden is a chemical engineer with
Process Consulting Services, Inc., Houston,
Texas. The company provides revamp and
field trouble-shooting for the refinery indus-
try worldwide.
Figure 8 Grid coking - middle of bed
REVAMPS AND SHUTDOWNS
Troubleshooting vacuum
unit revamps
While vacuum unit revamps attempt to increase vacuum gasoil yield, the
refining industry is pushing the intervals between turnarounds to four or
five years. To achieve target intervals between turnarounds at higher
operating temperatures, vacuum unit process equipment must be designed
for low residence time
Scott W. Golden
Process Consulting Services Inc
R
evamps of crude or lube vacuum elevated temperatures have had problems.
units to increase the yield of vacuum Proper equipment design is essential to
gasoil product (VGO) rely on accu- achieve a four or five year run at tempera-
rate feed characterisation, process model- tures above 390˚C (735˚F). Often, the tem-
ling, and equipment design to meet the peratures in the fired heater and distillation
processing objectives. Successful revamps equipment exceed the thermal stability of
the oil.
require the economic objectives to be
realised over the planned run length. Fired heater tube, wash zone packing,
However, many revamps do not meet the collector tray, and stripping section tray cok-
planned run length because the unit must ing are the primary causes of unscheduled
shut down to make equipment repairs. shutdowns. Oil residence time must be kept
Improving VGO yield requires a higher to a minimum to meet both high operating
operating temperature at the heater outlet, temperatures and extended unit run length.
within the heater, in the transfer line, and in The emphasis in this article is on equip-
the column. This increases the oil coking ment design and its impact on coke forma-
tendency and the probability of equipment tion. Feed characterisation is discussed
failure. Many refiners anticipate run lengths because it affects equipment design and
of four to five years while attempting to operation. Accurate feed characterisation is
increase operating temperatures. This essential to correctly calculate VGO yield
requires careful consideration of feed char- and properly design the equipment. System
acterisation, process modelling, and equip- pressure and its impact on operating tem-
ment design. If these elements of a vacuum perature is briefly reviewed. Vacuum unit
unit revamp are faulty, then anticipated run fired heater and column internal coking
lenghts will not be achieved. problems are discussed in some detail.
Historically, vacuum units have operated
at flash zone conditions of 385˚C (725˚F) or Vacuum gasoil yield
less, whereas some refiners are attempting Feed composition and system pressure
to operate at 418˚C (785˚F) today. A few are A vacuum unit consists of a fired heater,
successful, but many refiners operating at transfer line, column and internals, and
ejector system (Figure 1).
Heat is added to the feed to
vaporise the oil. Increasing
heater outlet temperature or
reducing operating pressure
will increase the amount of
oil vaporised.
Steam can be added to
STEAM
the system to increase oil
vaporisation. Ultimately, oil
temperature and residence
time must be controlled so
that the thermal stability of
STEAM the oil is not exceeded. For a
given oil residence time,
there is a temperature at
which the oil will begin to
Figure 1 Major process equipment and system pressure profile crack. When the oil cracks,
Reprinted from PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY QUARTERLY ® Summer 1998 issue, pgs. 107-113.
gas and coke are made. The rate of cracking
(time and temperature) must be kept suffi-
ciently low so that VGO yields and product
quality are maintained over the run length.
The vacuum unit recovers 343-595˚C
(650-1100˚F+) VGO boiling range material
of adequate quality for downstream pro-
cessing. Vacuum gasoil is used as feed to a
hydrocracker or fluid catalytic cracking
(FCC) unit. Oil composition and system
pressure affect oil residence time. Coking is
a function of equipment operating tempera-
ture and oil residence time. Equipment
design affects both these parameters. For
example, when revamping a unit from light
crude of 0.825-0.865 specific gravity (32˚-
40˚ API gravity) to heavy crude of 0.887-
0.922 specific gravity (22˚-28˚ API) gravity,
the oil residence time in the heater changes.
The heater tube design must be capable of
handling these changes.
The vacuum heater tube size and tran-
sition locations are selected based on the
vaporisation profile of the feed. A light
crude will vaporise sooner in the heater;
therefore, the radiant section tube layout
is selected to minimise oil residence time
and oil temperature for this crude. When
heavier oil is processed in the same
heater, the oil residence time increases
because the heavy oil vaporisation profile
is different.
Increased oil residence time can cause
coke formation in the heater tubes, thereby
increasing the tube metal temperature.
Once the maximum tube metal temperature
is reached, the heater must be shutdown to
remove the coke.
Vacuum unit feed composition
Vacuum unit feed composition establishes
how much recoverable VGO is available,
the approximate quality of an incremental
oil, and the equipment performance.
Proper vacuum unit feed true boiling
point (TBP), specific (or API) gravity, molec-
ular weight, and contaminants distribution
curves are essential for analysing VGO