(192c) Designing Ethylene Plants for Fouling - a Primer

The designers, owners and operators of ethylene plants must consider the reality that foaming and fouling will occur. Knowledge is required to understand how these problems occur. Experience and expertise is needed to select design features of the olefin plant to deal with the impact of these unwanted actions.

For crackers to operate safely and profitably, the design must incorporate features to minimize or eliminate fouling. These range from process scheme selection and equipment design details to operating and maintenance procedures. This paper presents fundamental principles for the design of these systems such as performance objectives, configuration choices and design procedures. This paper is focused on providing basic knowledge to people relatively new to the ethylene business.