ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF KNOCK OUT DRUMS BY FEED DISTRIBUTOR DESIGNED WITH CFD ASSISTANCE

Authors

  • E. B. QUADRO
  • L.L. N. GUARIEIRO

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52292/j.laar.2016.348

Keywords:

Computational Fluid Dynamics, feed distributor, Knock Out Drum, liquid entrainment, Residence Time Distribution

Abstract

The big difference between maximum and minimum up flow velocity in a fuel gas Knock Out Drum (without feed distributor) explains the poor performance of this industrial equipment. The up flow fluid velocity profile was determined with CFD assistance for two models of feed distributors. The highest up flow velocity was reduced from 5.1 m/s to 1.9 m/s for the proposed feed distributor. Calculations have showed the capacity of the feed distributor to reduce the maximum droplet diameter carried by the fuel gas from 1,532 μm to 675 μm. This device was built and installed in an industrial equipment. The Residence Time Distribution (RTD) was measured by analyzing the response to a tracer pulse injection. The RTD data has confirmed the improvement of flow uniformity inside the Knock Out Drum. Besides, the maintenance team feedback has confirmed the reduction of 58% of burner’s failure rate relative to the previous value.

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Published

2016-10-31

Issue

Vol. 46 No. 4 (2016): Latin American Applied Research

Section

Chemical Engineering

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