(9c) C2 Splitter Revamp with HiFi Plus Trays Part 2

Nova Chem Sarnia in Sarnia, ON wanted to increase their Ethylene Plant capacity to feed their new polyethylene facility. There are two C2 Splitters in this plant. This paper focus mainly on the secondary C2 Splitter. This C2 Splitter was equipped with conventional 2-pass trays. To meet the target capacity, it was found that this column was not able to handle the required loads. Based on previous experience with primary C2 Splitter, NovaChem decided to revamp this column into Shell HiFi Plus Trays with few additional heat exchangers. Nova Chem and Sulzer worked together to implement the revamp and HiFi trays were installed in fall 2022. Then the plant started up and has been in operation for the past several months. This paper will compare operating data before and after revamp and it will also discuss the impact on capacity and efficiency of Shell HiFi Plus trays over 2-pass trays.