• A polymeric adhesive needs to be used to glue the blocks of glass together and to provide a final

surface coating.

4. The case study

We present the case of five process vessels used for removal of excess Mercaptans from a stream of
natural gas; the Mercaptan removal occurs by adsorption on molecular sieve beds. Three out of five
vessels work in adsorption, one is in regeneration, one is in cooling. The time sequence is such that
adsorption phase lasts for 18 hours while regeneration and cooling phases last for 6 hours each.
An excerpt from the mechanical drawings of one vertical vessel is shown in Figure1.
Operating temperature and pressure during adsorption phase are respectively 35 °C and 65 bar. The
regeneration process occurs at operating temperature of 300 °C and operating pressure of indicatively
22 bar.
The original design of the vessels included thermal insulation for Personnel Protection for Health &
Safety reasons during the regeneration phase when internal temperature reaches 300 °C. Such
thermal insulation was aimed at keeping the outside skin temperature of the vessels at a maximum 60
2
°C and consisted of an 80 mm-thick layer of mineral wool with a density of 70 kg/m and an external 1
mm Aluminium coating.
In normal operating conditions no liquid HC is expected within the process vessels, since the natural
gas stream is dehydrated and separated from its condensable fraction prior to flowing through the five
process vessels. According to the project general specifications agreed with the Client no fire proofing
was originally considered for protection against pool fire based on API 521 (1997) and API 2218 (1999)
standards.
The requirement for fireproofing of the bodies of the five vessels derived from a QRA. The case was
analyzed of a jet fire originated from one vessel and impinging on another vessel. The layout (see
2
Figure 2) is such that heat radiations of 80-100 kW/m could be reached on the vessel skin. Operating
conditions during adsorption phase are such that the blow-down system would be sufficient to
depressurize the vessel to flare avoiding catastrophic damages to the body of the vessel itself.
757

LIFTING LUG H 2
(25)
EL.+9600
A
ELBO W 14"
t15.88 GASKET

L.R.,90°,SC H.40

REDUCE R 16"x14"
S CH.40 ELB OW L .R.90°
S CH.40
1689.1

REDUCER 24"x16"
S CH.40

FLA NG E 900#,W .N.,R.F.

24",SCH.40

2 2
37.36 (15.88 + 5.6 + 15.88)= (HOLD)
4200

1100 2 TOP DIS TR IBUTO R W ITH

CAP O F ME SH (34 ,43,44,40,41)
(BY O THERS)

HEM ISP HERIC AL HE AD,R i=1725

M IN.THK. 54 A FTER FO RM ING (42)
2473.54

(TYP .)

W .L.

T.L. E L.5400
2 2 - TRU NN IO N (25)
300 150

C ERAM IC B ALLS (34) 2 FOR (A /B /C) AT 90°,270°

(BY O TH ERS) FOR (D/E ) A T 110°,290°

EL. HO LD
2
FLO ATIN G SCRE ENS (34,35)
(BY O THE RS )
2
MAIN B ED
(B Y O THERS)

M IN.THK.105 3400
(42)
2
2
5400 (T.L. TO T.L.)

4300

EL. HOLD
SC1
(32)

EL. HOLD
SC2
(32)

EL. HOLD
SC3
(32)
45 °

C ERAM IC B ALLS (34,38)

(BY O TH ERS)
95
0

E L. +625 2
150

E L. +280 W IR E ME SH SCREE NS (36)

500

N 2
(BY O TH ERS)
2
T.L. RE F. 0.00 (29)
S UPPO RT G RID (37) D
292.6
(TYP.)

W .L.

2 HO LD

E L. -900
EL. HOLD
(32) S C4
4000

2120
B OTTO M DISTRIBUTOR
W ITH CA P O F M ESH (34,40,43,44)
(BY O THERS)

N AME PLATE 2
2 E L.-2500 ELB OW L.R.90° EL. -2590
S CH.60 B

SK IRT ID=3470 M IN.THK .35

(23)
Ø 500 ACCE SS HO LE
SA
2-E ARTH CO NNECTIO N
A T 135° , 315° 2
750

300

B AS E E LEV.
2 (109,800)
BO LT CIRC LE DIA . 36 50
36 BO LTS DIA. 36 O FF AXIS
A NCHO R B O LTS TO B E STRADDLED
2 2 -TAILING LUG (25) NO RTH /SO UTH CE NTERLINE.
AT 0°

Figure 1: Mechanical sketch of one vessel Figure 2: Layout of the five vessels (107-R-101A/E)

318