IntroductionReboilers are found throughout refineries and are critical to reliable plant operation. Reboilers are designed to operate with no liquid condensate level. Unintentional condensate flooding of reboilers results in a greater risk of corrosion since corrosion processes occur in the liquid phase. Uncontrolled corrosion can lead to reboiler failure and unplanned shutdown costing billions of dollars.
The Application
The customer is a fractionation plant which produces ethane and propane. The application, reboiler condensate level, is critical to the plant operations. Process conditions: The transmitter is mounted as a non–intrusive device, so pressures are of no consequence.
- Ambient temperature: –2 to 43 deg. C (28.4 to 109.4deg. F)
- Process temperature: 65 deg. C (149 deg. F)
- Process pressure: 22 barG
The condensate–pot level indicator was unreliable and insensitive to the variations in level–control– valve opening. Condensate–pot level control was poor, and the control valve had to be operated on manual. Finally this competitor transmitter failed and was replaced by the earlier generation magnetostrictive AT200 transmitter years ago. The customer is now looking to upgrade the measurement system.
The Solution
ABB offered the advanced next generation LMT series magnetostrictive transmitter for the level measurement. The LMT200 initially was added as a redundant measurement for ensuring the performance and reliability. The customer appreciated the advanced features including the Easy setup, built–in waveform and diagnostics capabilities of the LMT. This resulted in a higher confidence and switched the LMT measurement loop as the primary for the level control through the control system.
For more information contact Hile Controls of Alabama by visiting https://hilealabama.com or by calling 800-536-0269.
Reprinted with permission from ABB Measurement & Analytics.
