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• Can we add valave Before Flash zone in CDU, to use it when we have a maintenance on the heater without the need to empty the tower?

  Sep-2023

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Answers

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• Marcio Wagner da Silva, Petrobras, marciows@petrobras.com.br

  I believe that it's possible to add a valve in this region considering some criteria's.

  The valve will need to be kept totally opened in order to avoid cavitation and consequently short operating lifecycle, especially if the crude oil distillation unit does not have a pre-flash tower. Another key point is that it's important to carry out a balance between the benefits and costs, taking into account that the valve to be installed can be significantly big according to the capacity of the processing unit as well as will add more leak points in a critical section of the processing unit which can lead a severe risks scenarios like fire and process safety accidents.

   

  Nov-2023