Effective Reliability and Safety Management of Steam Reformer Tubes

Introduction

Steam reformer tubes are a key component in Ammonia, Methanol, and Hydrogen plants and can have high potential consequences in cases of in-service failure on both business interruption and safety. Reformer tubes operate within the creep range and thus, their useful life is finite and highly dependent on operating conditions. This makes the application of effective integrity management practices critical. An effective tube integrity management program should incorporate the following elements: monitoring, inspection, data analysis, remaining life assessment, and control of human factors.

This article presents a comprehensive integrity management program for catalyst tubes, including the following:

• Description of the main types and components of steam reformers, and their functions and operating principles.
• Case histories of previous failures and production loss due to mistakes in design, operation, or inspection of steam reformers.
• Description of the design basis of catalyst tubes.
• Description of the main damage mechanisms and failure modes that affect catalyst tubes.
• Proposed integrity management program for catalyst tubes based on inspection and monitoring of the tubes; process parameters monitoring and control; safe operation; early detection of tube leak; focus and ownership; and documentation & recordkeeping.
• Description of the appropriate inspection techniques for the early detection of the damage mechanisms.
• Online tube skin temperature measurements depicting the differences between the most common techniques and the main measurement aspects and pitfalls.
• Requirements of process parameters monitoring and control to maintain the catalyst tube within acceptable operating conditions.
• Early identification and detection of tube leaks before secondary damages in adjacent tubes.
• Catalyst tube fitness-for-service and retirement//replacement criteria.
• Focus and ownership to control human factors, which are a critical aspect of maintaining catalyst tube integrity.

Steam Reformers