Refinery Sour Water System
Separation technology advisory
Mitigating heat exchanger fouling in refinery sour water systems
Entrained hydrocarbons, emulsified oil, and suspended solids kept reaching the Sour Water Stripper feed heat exchangers despite conventional gravity separation, driving up differential pressure, cleaning shutdowns, and maintenance costs.
By removing suspended solids and hydrocarbon emulsions upstream of the exchanger, differential pressure stabilized almost immediately, progressive fouling was eliminated, hydrocarbon recovery increased, and downstream Sulphur Recovery Unit performance improved.