System flush process
The Buchen BTS system flush process
Contamination causes a constant reduction in the transfer of heat. The plants or plant components affected are shut down at great cost in terms of time and money, before being cleaned and then recommissioned.
A shutdown usually involves steaming and venting, which is associated with major environmental pollution, labour-intensive dismantling and assembly, and high-pressure water cleaning.
As an alternative to this, the Buchen Group has developed the new system flush, using an associated chemical, which has a proven environmental track record.
The Buchen BTS system flush process is used on heat exchangers, tanks, columns, pipelines, crude oil plants and other plant components in a closed circuit.
System flushing
With the help of special stainless steel pipelines and hoses, the installation being cleaned (e.g. crude oil plant) is connected to the pumps and separator containers. For flushing purposes, an aqueous solution with 1 % of the special chemical is used. It is heated to around 60-65 degrees Celsius and pumped into the circuit. The chemical was developed specifically to absorb oily constituents, such as mineral oil, gas oil and benzene. In a closed circuit at a pressure of up to 9 bar, the hydrocarbon pollutants are dissolved in the aqueous phase and are separated in the separator container. At the end of flushing a splitter is added to the system to effect a separation of the emulsified hydrocarbons. Since both components are biodegradable, the waste water can be fed via an appropriate oil separator into the facility's water treatment plant.
Benefits
- Reduced downtimes
- Better energy consumption
- Increased operating efficiency
- Reduced maintenance input
- Greater safety for staff
- Reduced emissions
