FAILURE OF SECONDARY

REFORMER DOME AND ITS REPAIR

A high pressure drop across the inlet and outlet of the secondary reformer in the Moranbah ammonia
plant suddenly occurred on Friday 10th May 2013. The plant was shut down to determine the cause.
After the catalyst and support alumina balls were removed it was found that parts of the refractory
support dome had collapsed and that refractory balls and catalyst had filled the bottom of the vessel
blocking the outlet transfer line.

Examination of the failed dome revealed that the bricks had primarily sheared at an angle close to 90
degrees to the major axis of the dome. It was concluded that the refractory dome failed as a result of
high thermal stresses introduced as a result of the different thermal expansion between the refractory
brick dome and the water cooled vessel shell. The design had no allowance for thermal expansion.

The dome was replaced with a novel design using readily available alumina blocks. The plant was
returned to service 30 days after the incident.

Nia Aliabadi, John McGrath, David Keen and Venkat Pattabathula

Incitec Pivot Ltd, Australia

David Firth
Quest Integrity, Wellington, New Zealand

This paper outlines the findings from the root

Introduction
A high pressure drop across the inlet and outlet
of the secondary reformer in the Moranbah
ammonia plant suddenly occurred on Friday 10th
May 2013 when the plant was being restarted.
Excessive metal temperature (700oC (1300oF))
was also noted in the refractory lined transfer
line. The plant tripped and was taken completely
off line to determine the cause. It was found that
parts of the refractory support dome had
collapsed and that refractory balls had filled the
bottom of the vessel blocking the outlet transfer
line.
cause analysis and the innovative modifications
made to rapidly return the plant to operation.
Plant Background
The Moranbah ammonia plant designed by ICI
using their LCA process, produces 450 MTPD
of ammonia that is then converted to explosive
grade ammonium nitrate. The ammonia plant
was originally first commissioned in Yazoo,
USA in 1998 and operated there until 2003. It
was then purchased by Incitec Pivot moved to
Moranbah and recommissioned in September
2012.

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 Moranbah in Central Queensland is roughly
1000km (600 mile) from Brisbane in a remote
location. It is strategically located in the heart of
one of the world's largest coal mining provinces
to supply explosives.
Secondary reformer design, history and
normal operational conditions
The plants reformer/secondary reformer system
differs from a standard design as the primary
Figure 1. The Moranbah secondary reformer.
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
reformer is a heat exchanger type system where
the exhaust gas from the secondary reformer is
used to heat the outside of the catalyst tubes in
the primary reformer. However, the secondary
reformer operates in an identical manner to one
in a typical ammonia plant. The secondary
reformer details are given in Figure 1 and Table
1. The refractory design details are shown in
Figure 2.
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 Figure 2. Layout of refractory in the lower portion of the vessel

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 Table 1. Secondary reformer details (dimension for lower catalyst section)

Internal Diameter 2883mm (9ft 5½ inch)

Wall thickness 76mm (3 inch) bottom
Shell material SA516 Gr 70 carbon steel
Refractory in shell 184mm (7¼ inch) of insulation + 127mm (5 inch) of hard face high alumina
refractory.
Water jacket From bottom dome up the shell fed by boiler feed water nominally at 100°C
(212°F)
Outlet temperature Normally 950 to 985°C (1742 to 1805°F). At failure the temperature rapidly rose
to 1080°C (1976°F). Note, in a normal ammonia plant the outlet is about 950°C.
Operating pressure 3400kPag (493psig)
Pressure drop Normally 115kPa (17psi)
At failure 900kPa (130psi)
Reformer outlet gas 11% CO, 6% CO2, 0.6% CH4, 30% N2 and 50%H2
composition
Dew point Approximately 177°C (350°F)
Support dome High alumina refractory bricks - Unicast 98, skew tiles - Greencast 95
material
Support dome layout 120 skew tiles supported on a steel shelf welded to the shell.
Single layer of tapered bricks in a dome with a 1981mm (6ft 6 inch) bottom
radius and 229 mm (9 inch) thick consisting of the followings rows of bricks .
• Row 0: 60 positioned next the skew bricks.
• Row 1: 50
• Row 2: 40.
• Row 3: 30
• Row 4: 14 row
• Central plug
Catalyst bed About 10 tonne of catalyst + alumina balls

The bottom of the row 0 bricks sit on the skew
blocks (also called skew tiles) and are mounted
at 35 degree to the horizontal. The skew blocks
are designed to fit against the inside of the
vessel wall and sit on a steel support shelf.
The operational/history details available for the
secondary reformer prior to being installed at
Moranbah were very limited. However, in 2002
at a turn around and catalyst change, the dome
was found to be damaged in some manner and
was replaced.
After the shipping to Moranbah, the second
dome was found to have collapsed. A new dome
was installed in accordance with the original
vessel design prior to recommissioning in
August 2012.
After recommissioning in 2012, the Moranbah
plant had numerous issues that resulted in the
plant having 42 restarts before the 10th May
2013 incident. These typically were unrelated to
the reforming section of the plant and ranged
from Electrical and Instrumentation faults to
rotating equipment failure. Every stoppage of
the reformer area involves a rapid automated
depressurization and 2 hour purge with nitrogen.
Typically this would reduce the dome
temperature to 650oC (1200oF)

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 Typically the secondary reformer operates at
steady conditions. During start up and shutdown
the secondary reformer is heated at a rate of
approximately 100°C/hour (180°F/hour) from
450 to 670°C (840 to 1240°F) then 230°C/hour
(414°F/hour) from 670 to 925°C (1240 to
1700°F) and cooled at a rate of 315°C/hour
(567°F/hour) from 980 to 750°C (1800 to
1380°F) then 25°C/hour (45°F/hour) from 750
to 550°C (1380 to 1000°F), see Figure 3. The
operational data was reviewed and there were
no trends present such as an increased pressure
drop that were observed.
Figure 4. Pressure drop increase from 20 to
900kPa and temperature during the start-up on
10th May 2013.

When the bottom manway, below the refractory

support dome, was opened it was found that the
dome had failed in a number of locations and
that alumina balls and catalyst had run into the
area below the dome and blocked the outlet, see
Figure 5. This also showed that the lower
portion of the majority of bricks in row 0 and
row 1 had broken off.

Figure 3. Normal temperature and pressure

drop profile during start-up of the secondary
reformer.

The incident on 10th May and observations

The plant had been running in a stable condition
from 5th of May when it tripped on 10th of May
at 2:11 am due to natural gas compressor
discharge temperature high high. At 9:30am
plant start-up commenced. At 17:09 pm after air
cutting to the secondary reformer, the pressure
drop suddenly increased from 104 to 825kPa
(15 to 120psi) in 8 mins and to 909kPag
(130psi) in 5 mins, see Figure 4. The plant
tripped during the start-up due to secondary Figure 5. Below the dome.
reformer outlet temperature high high (1080°C
(1950°F)).

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 The catalyst and alumina balls were removed
from the vessel. Examination from above
revealed that bricks had completely failed and
were missing in three locations. These were in
the West, East (see Figure 6) and South East
Locations. In total 14 bricks in row 0, 7 in row
1, 2 in row 2 and 2 in row 3 had fallen out of the
dome after failing. The bricks from the dome
were removed. Examination of the skew blocks
revealed that a large number had cracked and
section had fallen off. After the removal of the
skew blocks no damage was found to the inside
of the shell or the steel support row which was
present below the skew blocks. The shell
diameter was measured and found to be within
±5mm (0.2in). Examination of the broken pieces Figure 6. The refractory dome from above
of the dome showed that the failure of all the showing the East failure – cracked skew blocks
bricks was consistent with the dome trying to and missing bricks from row 0, 1, 2 and 3.
expand and being restrained from expanding;
see Figure 7, i.e. the resultant force was radial.

Figure 7. Typical cross section of the dome after the failure aligned in comparison with marker to show
the horizontal plane.

The damage in the rows 0, 1 and 2 bricks is all
consistent shear loading across the bricks with
the failures running near to parallel with the
horizontal. The damage to the skew bricks is
consistent with high point loading where contact
had occurred with top edge of the row 0 bricks,
i.e. the loading was no longer evenly spread
across the face of the skew bricks. The centre
plug failed as a result of the compression point
loading at the contact points with the tops of the
row 4 bricks.
High alumina bricks are hard and not readily
crushed. Whenever they are designed to be used
in the high temperature condition the design
should suitably allow for thermal expansion. For
the design of the arch no thermal expansion had
been accommodated for in the design. Typically
this could include a softer mortar that is
crushable, expansion gaps or a flexible outer
portion such as alumina balls.

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 The refractory dome and the outer surface of the
steel will expand or contract by different
amounts as a result of start-up/shutdown. For a
length of 2883mm (9ft 5in), the design inside
diameter of the secondary reformer steel shell, it
is calculated that this will increase in diameter
by 3.5mm (0.14in) when it is heated from
ambient temperature of 20°C (70°F) to water
jacket temperature of 120°C (248°F) assuming
an expansion rate of 12.5x10-6mm/mm/°C (7
x10-6in/in/°F). In comparison a high alumina
refractory brick of the same length of 2883mm
(9ft 5in) will increase in length by
22.5mm(0.9in) when it is heated from ambient
temperature to 950°C (1740°F) (operating
temperature) assuming an expansion rate of
(8x10-6mm/mm/°C (13 x10-6in/in/°F). The
difference in movement is 19mm. For a dome to
be suitable for this application this movement of
19mm then needs to be compensated by a rise in
the height of the dome. However, the movement
is restricted by the weight and friction of the
alumina balls/catalyst and the inability of the
9in (229mm) thick rectangular bricks to rotate.
The design of the dome in a parallel
(cylindrical) walled shell is not ideal as the shell
acts as solid immovable anchor. If the shell is
tapered at the location of the dome this may
allow movement up and down the taper.
Alternatively if the skew bricks
had been at the more typical angle of 45 degree
the forces may have been lower.
There are a number of different designs used for
supporting the catalyst in secondary reformers.
These include:
• A pyramid cone of bricks with each row of
bricks sitting on top of the row below and
each row being in compression from the
weight of the catalyst supported on alumina
balls. This design allows for thermal
expansion by movement in the alumina
balls.
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• Multi-layered brick arch. This structure is
far less stiff than a single layer of bricks and
allows for shear forces between the bricks.
• A single solid plate of alumina mounted on a
row a bricks. This design is similar to the
pyramid cone as the expansions are taken up
by movement of the alumina balls.
There are very few complete failures of
secondary reformer domes that have been
reported to have occurred. However, a failure
occurred in a single layer brick design dome in
1982 at the Columbia Nitrogen fertilizer plant
Augusta Georgia USA in an identical manner
[1] to the Moranbah event. However, the cause
of the failure was not identified. In addition, it
was reported that damage occurred to the dome
of the Moranbah vessel when it was operated in
Yazoo.
Incitec Pivot operates four secondary reformers
worldwide and this case was the first incident of
a dome failure or any significant damage being
seen to the domes.
Autothermal reformer after 4 years of
operation
Partial damage to refractory domes is not
unknown as can be seen by this case study. The
relevant data is shown in Table 2 and Figure 8.
Figure 8. ATR dome design
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 Table 2. ATR
Age
Shell diameter
Outlet temperature
Shell temperature
Support dome
Load supported by dome
A shutdown inspection revealed that all four of
the quadrant centre bricks had fractured
horizontally across the Z step line. The lower
halves were lying on the floor below. The
catalyst was removed so that the dome could be
inspected. Note, health and safety requirements
forbid the entry under the dome with the catalyst
in place. No significant damage was found to
any of the other bricks. However, it was found
that the base of the dome was 25mm (1in) off
being horizontal due to a variation in the
fabrication of the steel shell and the original
installation. The fractured centre plug bricks
were removed and a new insert was cast in
place.
Returning the Moranbah secondary reformer
to service
When the incident occurred at Moranbah the
plant had suffered numerous issues and a spare
refractory dome was not available. For a dome
the bricks designs vary between each row and as
result it is not possible to get delivery of high
alumina bricks urgently off the shelf. In
addition, it was considered highly risky
replacing the dome with the same design
considering the history of the vessel. After the
failure in Augusta they used a “goal” post
design in front of the outlet. This was made
from an Inconel 800 frame.
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
4 years
2.25m (7ft) at base of dome
950°C to1050°C
Water cooled at about 100°C (212°F)
Single layer of 300mm (12in) high alumina
Z bricks with dome radius of 1700mm (5ft
6in). The centre plug was made from 4
quadrant bricks
Approximately 20 tonnes static load and 2
barg differential pressure dynamic load
The Incitec secondary reformer at Gibson Island
(GI) Brisbane Australia has a catalyst support
structure made from alumina blocks spaced in
lattice to allow gas flow. This had been in
service for 10 years and no major issues had
been seen.
A number of alternative designs were
considered at Moranbah. It was decided to
create a structure out of alumina blocks similar
to that at GI using readily available material.
The design used is shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9. The new design for catalyst support
for the Moranbah secondary reformer.
The new installed dome and repaired refractory
required a very delicate dry out process this
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 included four major steps as shown in Figure plant was returned to service after being
10. shutdown for 30 days.

The catalyst support structure was installed, new References

catalyst was used and the plant was returned to
service 30 days after the incident. Since
installation the pressure drop has been within
normal design window ranging from 101 to
108kPa (14.6 to 15.6psi).
1. George E. Connaughton and Robert W.
Clark Columbia Nitrogen Corp. Secondary
Reformer Catalyst Support Dome: Failure and
Repair, AICHE 1983.

Figure 10. Refractory dry out and initial start-

up of the secondary reformer after the
installation of the new catalyst support structure
over a five day period.

The support structure was inspected in March

2014. Upon inspection by a refractory expert it
was seen that the refractory was in serviceable
condition with no areas of spalling or significant
cracking. Minor repairs were required to the
refractory on the associated transfer piping to
remove minor hotspots.

Conclusions
The Moranbah catalyst support dome failed as a
result of high thermal stresses introduced as a
result of the different thermal expansion
between the refractory brick dome and the water
cooled vessel shell. The design had no
allowance for thermal expansion and high
number of thermal cycles.

The dome was replaced with a novel design

using readily available alumina blocks and the

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