WAO Reliability Improvements

The Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) system used for processing spent caustic at an Ethylene plant was plagued with extensive fouling. It required cleaning of the heat exchangers, piping, and the Wet Air Oxidation reactor at a certain frequency.

An analysis of the foulant was conducted, and improvements implemented accordingly to reduce the fouling. These have led to reduced frequency of cleaning, increased run-time, achieve design temperatures, and increased spent caustic through put to the WAO system. It has also led to a reduction in waste water generated from equipment preparation for cleaning.