Detecting and identifying small leaks in heat exchangers can be an extremely difficult and time consuming task for many operators and plant personnel. Product quality, process efficiency and the time and cost associated with maintenance and potential shutdowns caused by a leaking vessel can have a significant and detrimental impact on production and process operating margins.   

There are a number of problems that can cause a loss of efficiency and lead to loss of production in a distillation column, including tray damage, flooding, weeping, and foaming. Gamma scan technology available from Tracerco can be utilised to locate the origin and/or severity of these problems. A Tru-Scan™ across the active area of a fractionation tray can provide hydraulic conditions and/or mechanical status of the active area, such as weeping and tray froth heights. FrothView™, a new methodology developed by Tracerco, provides a quantitative analysis of tray capacity as the total froth height on a tray that is measured using Tracerco's new detector technology and software interpretation.

In this latest blog post we will discuss how a Tru-Scan™ and FrothView™ technology was used to provide the % tray space to show the amount or percentage of available tray spacing that is occupied by froth or aerated liquid. Knowledge of the actual process conditions inside a vessel, provides engineers with the ability to make process adjustments accordingly. 

Improving process operating margins can be achieved by maximising production of higher value products and/or minimising production costs. It is important for plant engineers to know how much capacity is available in the trays in a distillation tower.  Gamma scanning is an established method used by many in the process industries as a qualitative tool to help troubleshoot distillation towers. Gamma scanning can be used to diagnose virtually any operating malfunction that can be identified by an observable change in density. This includes most mechanical, process or rate related problems such as tray damage, foaming, weeping and entrainment. By deploying new measurement detector technology and incorporating innovative analysis of gamma scanning data, plant engineers can now acc ss the all-important quantitative data about the capacity of distillation towers.