Project 40309
Thermal Oxidizer Troubleshooting
A chemical manufacturer has high operating costs, numerous shutdowns and safety incidents from the operation of their thermal oxidizer.
Industrial Energy Engineering analyzed the thermal oxidizer operating conditions, shutdown trip reports and design criteria. We discovered that since the product mix has changed dramatically over the past 20 years the current organic load to the oxidizer is less than 5% of the design load. This causes the unit to operated in an unstable range resulting in frequent shutdowns as well as low oxygen conditions that cause flames in the stack. A plan was developed which included new setpoints for some of the oxidizer controls.
The client hired a field crew from the manufacturer to reprogram the unit. This corrective programming resulted in a significant reduction in downtime and an improvement in unit safety.
