Troubleshoot reboilers by neutron backscatter

In response to a reboiler bottleneck at Quantum's ethylene plant, drawing engineers met to work on the problem. Boilup is controlled by varying condensate levels in the reboilers; the lower the level, the greater the surface area available for condensation. In general, condensate levels should...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical Engineering 1995-09, Vol.102 (9), p.145-145
Main Authors: Kister, Henry, Pathak, Harry, Korst, Mike, Strangmeier, David, Carlson, Ron
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Boilers
Case studies
Chemical engineering
Condensation
Heat transfer
Methods
Trouble shooting
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In response to a reboiler bottleneck at Quantum's ethylene plant, drawing engineers met to work on the problem. Boilup is controlled by varying condensate levels in the reboilers; the lower the level, the greater the surface area available for condensation. In general, condensate levels should indicate how much additional heat transfer capacity is available. Neutron backscatter is a non-invasive technique for level sensing. It uses a probe containing a source of "fast," high-energy neutrons and a detector that is sensitive to "slow," low-energy neutrons. Neutron backscatter results were consistent with measurements garnered from each of these other methods, and it was concluded that neutron backscatter can reliably measure condensate levels in refrigerated reboilers.
ISSN:0009-2460
1945-368X