Common Refinery Distillation Design Errors Part 1: Reboilers and Condensers

Based on the authors refinery process troubleshooting experience, a list of a dozen common process design errors has been extracted from their seminar outline.

These errors range from the realm cause of the B.P. Texas City Raffinate Splitter Explosion, to a steam reboiler bottleneck that the authors corrected just a few weeks back in India on a Sour Water Stripper. Exactly why refiners persist in failing to identify the same errors, decade upon decade was a question posed by the mother of one of the authors.