A novel approach to cleaning

furnace coils
A modified pigging operation aims to greatly reduce the time required for
coke removal from furnace coils

RUPALI SAHU, SHYAM KISHORE CHOUDHARY, UGRASEN YADAV and M K E PRASAD

Technip KT India

A
s the refining industry
moves towards heavier
and dirtier crudes, atten-
tion to maintaining longer run
lengths for furnaces is increas-
ingly important in reducing
downtime. Large numbers of
furnaces with different services
and types require frequent
cleaning due to fouling and
coke deposition in the furnace
tubes. A typical block flow
diagram of refinery units and
associated furnaces that require
frequent cleaning is shown in
Figure 1.
Fouling/coke formation is a
function of fluid composition,

LPG treating
unit

Gasoline
treating unit
Naphtha Catalytic
hydrotreating reforming unit
unit
Diesel
hydrotreating
unit
Crude
Crude distillation
oil unit VGO Fluidised
Crude hydrotreating catalytic
furnace unit cracking unit Products
VGO
furnace

Hydrocracking

Coker unit
Vacuum
distillation Coker
unit furnace
Vacuum
furnace Resid
processing
(Visbreaker)
Visbreaker unit
furnace

Figure 1 Furnaces in a refinery that require frequent cleaning

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1000854 PTQ Q3 2013 1

 residence time and tempera-
ture. Crude oil’s API value and
viscosity play a major role in
fouling and coke formation in
furnace coils. The sodium,
asphaltene, Conradson carbon
residue (CCR) and calcium
content of the operating fluid
enhances fouling/coke forma-
tion. Operating parameters
including a high furnace outlet
temperature, low fluid mass
velocity (high film tempera-
tures), loss of velocity steam,
uneven heat distribution
(formation of hot spots inside
the furnace), and fluid resi-
dence time above the cracking
threshold result in fouling/
coke deposition on the coils
inside a furnace. Furnaces deal-
ing with heavier process fluids
— crude distillation unit
furnaces, vacuum distillation
unit furnaces, coker furnaces
and visbreaker furnaces — are
more susceptible to fouling and
coke formation.
The thickness of the coke
deposits on the inner wall of a
furnace coil can be calculated
from the difference between
the maximum tube metal
temperature (TMT) and bulk
fluid temperature based on the
following equation from API
530:
Tm = Tb + ∆ Tf + ∆Tf + ∆Tc + ∆Tw
Where Tm = TMT
Tb = bulk fluid temperature
∆Tf = temperature difference
across the fluid film propelling a “pig” through a
∆Tc = temperature difference
across the deposited coke
∆Tw = temperature difference
across the tube wall
With this method for estimat-
ing TMT, and available
empirical correlations, refiners
2 PTQ Q3 2013
can plan decoking operations
for a given fluid.
Methods of furnace coil cleaning
Increased pressure drop inside
the coils and high TMTs are
indications of fouling inside
the furnace coils. Hence, clean-
ing of the furnace coils is
required in case any one of —
or a combination of — the
following conditions is
encountered:
• Increased pressure drop
across the coils
• Increased TMTs
• Increased fuel consumption.
There are three generally
accepted industrial practices to
remove coke from the coils:
• Steam-air decoking
• On-line spalling
• Mechanical pigging.
Steam-air decoking
In steam-air decoking, a steam
and air mixture is passed
through the coke deposits
inside the coil walls. Shrinkage
and cracking of the coke occurs
by heating the coils from the
outside while steam and air
flow through the coils. This
results in chemical reactions of
hot coke, steam and air to
produce CO, CO2 and H2.
Although this process is more
effective than the on-line
spalling process, because these
gases are vented to the atmos-
phere, it is not friendly to the
environment. Also, the coils
are vulnerable to rupture
during this procedure.
On-line spalling
The on-line spalling method
was developed to increase the
on-stream factors of units that
process heavy and dirty feed-
stocks. On-line spalling is
generally performed at
pre-planned intervals or when
high TMTs are observed in the
furnace coils. Coke is removed
by delivering thermal shocks to
the coils while the heater is
on-line. Spalling is carried out
in one pass of a multipass
heater while the other passes
remain in operation. By vary-
ing the steam and boiler feed
water flow rate on the fouled
coil, coke breaks off the coil.
This coke is then disposed of to
a downstream coke drum.
Thus, on-line spalling offers
the advantage of allowing the
furnace to continue in opera-
tion while the furnace tubes
are being cleaned and has
fewer environmental issues
than steam-air decoking.
However, on-line spalling may
not remove all of the coke from
the coils, and other methods
such as steam-air decoking and
mechanical pigging are still
required to bring the furnace
back to start-of-run conditions.
The other disadvantage of this
method is that the coils are
susceptible to damage due to
contraction and expansion
during the spalling process.
Mechanical pigging
Mechanical pigging eliminates
the problems associated with
steam-air decoking and on-line
spalling, such as venting of
waste gases to the atmosphere
and the vulnerability of coils to
rupturing due to high-tempera-
ture operation. Mechanical
pigging is the process of
coil with the help of a pig
launcher, for the purpose of
cleaning or inspection of the
coil. A pig is a device inserted
into a pipe that travels freely
through the pipe, driven by the
motive fluid. The pigging
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 Comparison of different methods of coil cleaning

Main features Steam-air decoking On-line spalling Mechanical pigging

Function Remove coke from the coils Remove coke while the furnace is on-line Remove coke from the coils. Measure coil
to prolong the furnace run length prior thickness using “intelligent” pigs
to pigging or decoking
Technique employed Coke is burnt off the furnace coils Coke is removed by using a high-velocity Coke is removed by pumping a metal-studded
in a controlled decoking process by steam flow while thermally contracting foam or plastic pig with water in the coils,
circulating an air-steam mixture at and expanding the coils mainly by scrubbing coke from inside the coils
elevated temperatures
Off-line/on-line Performed while furnace is off-line Performed while the furnace is on-line Performed while the furnace is off-line
operation
Safety concern Potential for coil rupture Potential coil damage due to No damage to coils foreseen
expansion/contraction
Effluent generation/ Environmental concern as Coke is collected in coke drums Dirty water needs to be disposed off
disposal air-steam mixture is vented to
atmosphere
Operating personnel Performed by operating crew Performed by operating crew using Requires an external agency/vendor to
a regular decoking sequence perform pigging operations
Efficiency Removes almost all the coke May not remove all coke; decoking/ Removes all coke from the inside coils
from the inside coils pigging still needed

Furnace run length Fair run length (shorter than that An intermittent operation that helps in Largest furnace run length is achieved
achieved by pigging) is achieved extending the furnace run length prior
since efficiency is less than pigging to pigging

Table 1

assembly consists of the pig
launcher/receiver, pigs, pumps
and motive fluid storage tank.
Pig launchers are temporary
bores used to push the pig into
the coil with the aid of water at
a higher pressure. The pig
launcher/receiver is placed at
ciency and so on are shown in steam-air decoking and on-line
Table 1. spalling.
The type of pig to be selected
Mechanical pigging: for a specific pigging operation
a recent trend depends on the following
In the past, the key method factors:
used was steam-air decoking, • The purpose of pigging
where coke was burnt off the ■ Cleaning/decoking of coils

grade and the pig is launched furnace coils in a controlled (cleaning pigs)
into the coil somewhere near decoking process by circulat- ■ Data recording (intelligent

the pass control valve at grade ing an air-steam mixture at pigs)

or at a suitable location at elevated temperatures. On-line • Characteristics of process
grade. The number of pigging spalling was developed to fluid, properties such as CCR,
cycles is equal to the number increase on-stream days in heavy metal content
of passes in the furnace. visbreaker and coker units. • Driving pressure of motive
Pigging removes almost all the Nowadays, mechanical fluid
coke from the coils. It is a pigging is used to remove • Pig velocity
faster cleaning process and deposits from the coil surface • Coil configuration
comparatively longer run by pumping a pig with water ■ Coil diameter

lengths are achieved with in the same manner as in ■ Length to be covered

respect to the other cleaning offshore and onshore pipeline ■ Bend radius.

processes. transportation systems.

Comparison of different
methods of furnace coil cleaning
The main features of each
cleaning method and a qualita-
tive comparison with respect to
function, safety concerns, effi-
Pigging has become the
preferred method in the refin-
ing and petrochemical
industries to remove coke and
scale deposits from the walls
of furnace coils because it is
more effective and faster than
Pigs for cleaning
A cleaning pig is a plastic foam
cylinder with pins uniformly
studded around its surface.
When these pins come into
contact with the inside wall of a
coil they scrape coke and other

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 Foam/plastic/metal pig Studs/grits/
protrusions
on the pig’s
surface
Figure 2 Cleaning pig through the
bend
contaminants off the coil
surface. As the pig travels
through the coil, dirty water is
routed to a collection reservoir.
After the cleaning pig has been
received from the coil, the
remaining coke is flushed out of
the coil with a high flow of
water over several hours until
clear water is received from the
coil. The appearance of clear
water continuously from the
coils indicates to the operator
that the coils are satisfactorily
cleaned. As a result, effective
cleaning can be done without
causing harmful thermal
fatigue, which happens with the
spalling and steam-air decoking
cleaning methods. Figure 2
shows the movement of a clean-
ing pig inside the bend of a coil
during pigging.
To convection section
1 2 3 4
From process unit
Figure 4 n-pass furnace: arrangement of passes at grade
4 PTQ Q3 2013
Battery module
Sensors and recorders
Figure 3 Intelligent pig through the
bend
Intelligent pigs for coil thickness
surveying
Modern, intelligent pigs are
sophisticated instruments that
vary in their technology and
complexity according to
intended use. These are also
called smart pigs and are used
for health monitoring of the coil
by measuring thickness and
corrosion along the coil. Cracks
and corrosion are often detected
using magnetic flux leakage
pigs. Some intelligent pigs use
ultrasonic devices or electro-
magnetic acoustic transducers
to detect coil deformation.
These pigs consist of various
built-in sensors and electronics
that collect and store data while
the pig is travelling in the coil.
The electronics are sealed to
prevent ingress of coil fluid in
the pig. Data are stored on
n • The above steps are repeated
analogue and digital tapes,
solid-state memory devices, and
so on. These data can be
archived for comparison with
past and future inspection data.
Figure 3 shows the movement
of an intelligent pig inside the
bend of a coil during pigging.
Pigging techniques
n-pass vertical cylindrical
furnace arrangement
The inlet header for an n-pass
furnace branches into n sepa-
rate passes upstream of the
furnace. Of these, n/2 passes
enter the furnace through one
side of the convection section
and the other n/2 passes enter
the furnace through the other
side. From the convection
section, the coils enter the radi-
ant section through internal or
external cross-overs. The outlet
of the radiant coils is at either
side of the furnace. Figure 4
shows the arrangement of n
passes at grade. Figures 5 and 6
show the arrangement of n
passes at the convection inlet
and radiant outlet, respectively.
Conventional pigging
The conventional pigging
process consists of the follow-
ing steps:
• Using a pig launcher, the pig
is inserted into one pass of the
furnace
• The pig travels inside the
pass driven by the hydraulic
force of motive fluid
• Reverse pigging is carried
out using a pump; the pig trav-
els backwards and is received
by the pig receiver
for other passes until all n
passes are cleaned.
Thus, n passes in the furnace
will require n times to connect,
launch and receive the pig.
www.digitalrefining.com/article/1000854
Figure 7 shows the conven-
From process unit
tional pigging process for an
n-pass furnace.
Although mechanical pigging n/ +1
2
n/ +2
2
n/ +3
2
n/ +4
2 n
is faster than other cleaning
methods, there is scope to
make it even faster. To convection section

Considerable time is taken to

clean each pass individually. 1 2 3 4 n/
2
This time taken by conven-
tional pigging can be reduced
by modifying the pigging oper- From process unit
ation as follows.
Figure 5 n-pass furnace: arrangement of passes at the convection section inlet
Modified pigging scheme
A reduction in the number of Heater outlet to process unit
cycles in conventional pigging
can be achieved by intercon-
necting the various passes of n/ +1
2
n/ +2
2
n/ +3
2
n/ +4
2 n
the furnace. The convection
inlets of various passes at
From radiant section
grade are interconnected by
temporary spools; similarly,
the radiant outlets of various 1 2 3 4 n/
2
passes are interconnected by
temporary spools. This modi-
Heater outlet to process unit
fied arrangement reduces the
number of pigging cycles,
making this process faster than Figure 6 n-pass furnace: arrangement of passes at the radiant section outlet
the conventional pigging
process. This arrangement can:
• Minimise the number of Pass 1 Pass 2 Pass 3 Pass 4 Pass n
pigging cycles, in turn reduc-
ing the duration of a pigging
operation
• Reduce the quantity of modi-
fication work, especially at
height (radiant outlet at top)
• Launch and receive pigs at
grade for ease of operation
• Reduce the number of pig
Loop-1 Loop-2 Loop-3 Loop-4 Loop-n
launchers/receivers.
In this modified pigging Launch pig Receive pig
procedure, pigs are launched
from the inlet of the convection Figure 7 n-pass furnace: conventional pigging process
section of the first pass of a
furnace. The outlet of the radi- third pass through the pipe section is received at n/2 pass
ant section of this first pass spool at grade and so on up to in this loop at grade. A similar
will be temporarily connected pass n/2 (see Figure 8). With arrangement and pigging
by a piping spool piece to the this arrangement, the pig that procedure is performed in the
second pass. This second pass was launched at the inlet of the second loop from the n/2 +1 to
inlet at grade is connected to a first pass of the convection nth pass. In this way, a pig will

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Radiant outlet
at top
Pass Pass
1 2
Furnace inlet valve
at grade
Launch
pig
Figure 8 ‘n’ pass furnace: arrangement for modified pigging scheme
go through n/2 passes in a
single cycle. Hence, n passes
are pigged in two cycles.
Figure 8 shows the pigging
loops for n passes.
Steps of a modified pigging
scheme
Pigging can be carried out in
two loops, either sequentially
or simultaneously. In the
sequential approach, a single
pig and setup is used in
sequence for both Loop 1 and
Loop 2. In simultaneous
pigging, two pigs and their
corresponding setups are used.
The pigging steps for Loop 1
(pass 1 to pass n/2) are shown
in Figure 9. The steps for Loop
2 are similar to those for Loop
1 except for the pass numbers
(pass n/2+1 to pass n).
A sequential description of
this procedure is:
Step 1 Pig 1 is launched
through the inlet of pass 1 at
grade. The pass 1 inlet at grade
should be modified temporar-
ily for pig launching
6 PTQ Q3 2013
Interconnections
at radiant top
Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass
3 4 n/ n/ +1 n/ +2
2 2 2 2
Interconnections Receive Launch
at grade pig pig
Loop-1
Step 2 The pig travels the
complete length of pass 1 from
the inlet at grade to the radiant
outlet. At the radiant outlet of
pass 1, the pig enters pass 2
through an interconnection
between the radiant outlets of
passes 1 and 2 at the radiant
top
Step 3 The pig travels the
complete length of pass 2 from
the radiant outlet at the top to
the inlet at grade. At the inlet
of pass 2, the pig enters pass 3
through an interconnection
between the inlets of passes 2
and 3 at grade
Step 4 The pig travels the
complete length of pass 3 from
the inlet at grade to the radiant
outlet at the top. At the radiant
outlet of pass 3, the pig enters
pass 4 through an interconnec-
tion between the radiant
outlets of passes 3 and 4 at the
radiant top
Step 5 The pig travels through
a series of passes via various
interconnections at grade and
at the radiant top and enters
Interconnections
at radiant top
Pass Pass Pass
n/ +3 n/ +4 n
2
Interconnections Receive
at grade pig
Loop-2
the last pass (pass n/2) in the
loop
Step 6 The pig travels the
complete length of pass n/2
from the radiant outlet at the
top to the inlet at grade. This is
the end point for the pig. Here,
the pig is sent back to the loop
by means of hydraulic force.
The pig now travels backwards
and is received from pass 1.
Precautions to be taken during
pigging operations
The furnace coil design pres-
sure is a function of the coil
operating pressure. Different
furnaces have different coil
design pressures. Mechanical
pigging incorporates water as
the driving medium. Generally,
water is pumped using a
manually regulated pump. In
case the pump shut-off pres-
sure exceeds the furnace coil
design pressure, a pressure
safety valve should be installed
in the line to protect the coil
from over-pressure during a
pigging operation.
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 Step 1
Step 2, Pass 1
Step 3, Pass 2 Temporary
Step 4, Pass 3 interconnections
Step 5 at radiant top
Step 6, Pass n/2

Pig
launcher

Pig
receiver
Water
tank
Interconnections at grade
Dirty water

Loop-1

Figure 9 Steps of a modified pigging scheme

Thermocouples at the furnace
outlet are susceptible to
damage during pigging and
may cause hindrance to the
pig. Hence, thermocouples
should be removed before
pigging and placed in their
respective positions after
pigging is completed.
Incorporation of new pigging
techniques during
furnace design
The following points should be
taken into consideration during
the design phase of a furnace
to incorporate new pigging
techniques as well as to ease
operations while pigging:
• The furnace should have an
even number of passes
• Spare interconnection spools
should be provided so that
there is no need to prepare or
procure these while pigging
• The thermowell flanges at
the outlet of passes should be
equal to the coil size so that
they can be used for pass inter-
connections during pigging
• Temperature transmitters
should not be head-mounted to
thermocouples and should be
remote-mounted so that they
can be removed during pigging
• Sufficient space should be
provided on radiant/convec-
tion platforms to accommodate
personnel and material for safe
pigging.
Conclusions
Mechanical pigging is the
preferred method for furnace
cleaning in view of the operat-
ing run length that it provides
compared to other cleaning
methods. Furnace downtime
for cleaning is less during
mechanical pigging compared
to steam-air decoking.
Compared to on-line spalling,
the effectiveness of mechanical
pigging is higher. Mechanical
pigging is the safest method of
cleaning. Intelligent pigging is
the only method by which a
furnace coil’s thickness can be
measured.
Conventional pigging used in
furnaces involves individual
cleaning of each pass. Since the
pigging auxiliaries are individ-
ually connected to the inlet and
exit of each pass, downtime is
greater during conventional
pigging. The modified pigging
scheme eliminates this problem
as half the total number of
passes is pigged in one go by
interconnecting various passes.
Thus, substantial time and
labour are saved as there is no
need to connect and receive
pigs at each pass. By using a
modified pigging scheme,
furnace net downtime is
reduced by approximately a
half to one-quarter of the time
taken for conventional pigging.
Reducing the cleaning time for

www.digitalrefining.com/article/1000854 PTQ Q3 2013 7


furnace coils with a modified
pigging scheme increases the
availability of corresponding
process plant.
References
1 Jegla Z, Design and operating aspects
influencing fouling inside radiant coils
of fired heaters operated in crude oil
distillation plants, Heat Exchanger
Fouling, Jun 2011.
2 Conticello R, Bernhagen P, Fired heater
design & decoking techniques, NPRA
Technology Forum, 2005.
3 Katala K A, Karrs M S, Advances in
delayed coking heat transfer equipment,
Hydrocarbon Processing, Feb 2009.
4 Roberts R D, Increased reliability/
reduced risk by applying intelligent
pigging technology to inspect coils in
8 PTQ Q3 2013
process heaters, 4th Middle East NDT
Conf, 2007.
5 Adams J, Coker furnace - online spalling,
paper presented at AFM, 2012.
6 API 560, Fired heaters for general
refinery services.
7 API 530, Calculation of heater tube
thickness in petroleum refineries.
Rupali Sahu is Senior Engineer, Process &
Technology Department with Technip KT
India Ltd. She holds a bachelor’s degree in
chemical engineering from MIET, Meerut,
India. Email: rsahu@technip.com
Shyam Kishore Choudhary is Principal
Engineer, Process & Technology
Department with Technip KT India Ltd.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical
engineering from BIT, Sindri, India. Email:
skchoudhary@technip.com
Ugrasen Yadav is Deputy General
Manager, Refinery & Petrochemicals, in
the Process & Technology Department of
Technip KT India Ltd. He holds a master’s
degree in chemical engineering from
HBTI, Kanpur, India.
Email: uyadav@technip.com
M K E Prasad is Head of the Process and
Technology Department with Technip KT
India Ltd. He holds a bachelor’s degree
in chemical engineering from Osmania
University, Hyderabad, India.
Email: mkeprasad@technip.com
LINKS
More articles from the following
categories:
Corrosion/Fouling Control
Fired Heaters Heat Transfer
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