Becht staff include over ten senior materials experts with expertise in applications including power, refinining, petrochemical and chemical facilities, and materials including metals, coatings and linings, and nonmetals such as refractories, thermoplastics (e.g., high density polyethylene) and reinforced thermosetting resins (e.g., fiberglass). Our services include material selection, establishing operating envelopes for equipment, failure analysis, remaining life assessment, and establishing deterioration mechanisms and their associated probabilities for risk based inspection and development of equipment reliability plans. We are experts in modifications to existing chemical processes to alleviate and control corrosion that allows continued operation of existing equipment. We are experts in the equipment requirements for processing corrosive crudes (e.g. high TAN crudes such as Doba crude) as well as material applications for high temperature services such as steam cracking furnaces and furnaces to produce synthesis gas.
Introduction This is an update to our previous blog on cracking of refinery hydroprocessing REACs made of duplex stainless steel: View Original Post 2205 DSS (UNS S31803 or S32205) has been used in refinery hydroprocessing unit reactor effluent air coolers (REACs) since the mid 1980’s (1). 2205 was selected due to its good resistance to ammonium […]
The first two articles of this series provided a methodical approach to identifying a chloride problem in a hydroprocessing unit, determining the size of the problem, and narrowing it down to a likely source or sources. This final article addresses approaches to dealing with various sources. Step 4 – Managing the Chlorides Now that you […]
The first article of this series introduced the symptoms of a chloride problem in a hydroprocessing unit. In this article, we will explore how to interpret the symptoms by determining how much chloride-containing material we are looking for and identifying the possible or likely source(s) for this amount of material, embodied in Steps 2 and […]
Introduction This series of three articles explores the impacts chlorides may have on hydroprocessing units (hydrotreaters and hydrocrackers). It provides a methodical approach to identifying the typical effects that point toward chlorides, the sources of chlorides in process feed streams, chloride-induced failure mechanisms, methods for identifying chlorides, strategies for chloride control, and a step-by-step process […]
INTRODUCTION A refinery or chemical plant Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity (FEMI) program consists of eight basic categories or “Pillars” that are fundamental to achieve FEMI excellence. While every refinery or chemical plant has some form of these Pillars in place, they are often inadequately implemented or have significant gaps in the key elements that make […]
Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs) are a key component of a world class mechanical integrity program. IOWs are not a new concept, as they have been around in different forms for many years. However, with the publication of the first edition of API RP 584, Integrity Operating Windows, in 2014 and the more recent first edition […]
This blog is the first part of a 3-blog series. To view the rest of the story click HERE for Part 2 and Here for Part 3. Part 1: History Thirty years ago, Grade 91 (9Cr-1Mo-V) steel was hailed as the savior of the power generation industry [1]; now it’s behavior has been described as […]
Read Part 1 Part 2: Type IV Cracking and Inspectability The current concerns with Grade 91 are fundamentally and firmly rooted in inspectability of Type IV damage; while sensitivity of the material can be managed (see for example [1]), Type IV cracking is perhaps the Achilles heel of Grade 91. At a high level, the […]
Read Part 1 or Read Part 2 Part 3: Allowable Stresses While inspectability has been at the center of recent concerns, other issues such as chemistry control, ductility and excessive oxidation have also come under scrutiny. Perhaps most interesting is that while all of the preceding concerns have been debated, it has also been found […]
In the past ten years, there have been a few oil storage tank annular plate failures due to soil side corrosion and fatigue loading (filling and emptying) which has led to large spills. The corrosion tends to be localized in a groove fashion and the size of the flaw could vary from 3 feet to […]
