Refinery Tower Inspections Discovering Problems and Solving Malfunctions

There are many possible causes for refinery tower malfunctions.  Our previous survey identified installation mishaps to be one of the top five causes of tower malfunctions. Such malfunctions lead to higher energy consumption, poor separation, instability, and loss capacity, all with negative economic impact. In some cases, a tower may cease to work causing a premature outage. Proper inspection following construction and during turnarounds is the best tool to identify installation mishaps and to correct them before they turn into malfunctions.  

This paper presents some case histories of refinery tower malfunctions caused by improper internal installation, inadequate inspection, and internal damage related to process operating conditions. Each case history will be presented with a simple description of related equipment, the problems observed during operation, the findings during inspection after shutdown, and how internals were tested and problems solved.