Balanced Distillation Equipment Design for Crude Distillation Units

Fouling tendency is a critical issue in crude distillation units and should not be overlooked when designing crude distillation columns. Corrosion tendency can influence fouling issues as well. Since fouling resistance has an inverse relationship to efficiency in distillation equipment design, optimizing equipment design between fouling resistance and efficiency requirement must be precise. Poor application know-how and/or equipment design often downgrades column performance and reduces unit run length.

This paper will discuss common fouling issues associated with crude distillation column design. Actual retrofits for crude atmospheric columns are demonstrated through two case studies. These studies examine how fouling resistance and efficiency requirements for distillation equipment are balanced and optimized through careful evaluation and design methodologies.