HIGH PRESSURE VESSELS CASE STUDY
Reprocessor Application
Senkox Technologies Inc. has completed various projects in relation to high temperature vessels, pressure vessels and reprocessing vessels. Due to the technologies working principle, sensor design, and stainless steel outer sheath, it is ideal for vessels where the skin temperature is naturally very high. In addition, the system features real-time temperature monitoring, as well as an flexible alarm settings. This makes the Senkox system ideal for such sensitive applications.
Overview:
High-temperature processing vessels are essential in the production of thermally efficient and clean energy conversion, and material reprocessing. Many high temperature vessels reprocess coal to convert it into alternative fuel, reprocess nuclear materials to separate unused uranium, or convert biomass into fertilizer. These processing vessels naturally run at extremely high temperature and pressure, requiring an inner shell made of refractory materials to maintain their function.
Vessel with sensors installed
The integrity of these vessels can become compromised should the inner material begin to degrade over time. In the event that the refractory materials within the vessel are too degraded, the temperature on the inside will begin to seep out into the skin of the vessel, which can cause the structure to warp and bevel outward. This process can happen very quickly once started. If left unnoticed, the structure is compromised and the risk of an explosion is imminent.
Top of reprocessing vessel.
Due to the high risk of property damage and employee safety, the end user required an instrument that can monitor the status of these vessels. Should the vessels structural integrity fail to the point of an explosion, the situation becomes catastrophic. This is due to the potentially toxic materials that would be leaking out of the vessel itself. This is not only dangerous to the employees within the immediate vicinity, but also poses a challenge to safety personnel in responding to the situation.
Approach:
To meet the requirements of the end user, a distributed temperature monitoring system is needed. Due to the naturally high skin temperature of these vessels, the instruments installed would need to be able to resist these temperatures, while also not interfering with the monitoring system’s function.
Brackets being installed
the end user needed a system not only capable of monitoring the skin temperature of these vessels to detect abnormalities, but a system that could also withstand the naturally high working temperature of these vessels. In this particular installation, the skin temperature of the reprocessing vessel reached up to 400° C.
The monitoring system installed would need to provide real time data of the vessels’ skin temperature to alert safety employees of an abnormality. The end user also required a system with a flexible alarm setting, so a pre-alarm is given should a temperature fluctuation occur.
The Senkox HSD-T-CR System™ is an ideal solution to monitoring these types of vessels. The system also overcomes many limitations that similar linear distributed temperature monitoring systems would have in monitoring such installations. The sensor itself is engineered specifically for these vessels, and features a very robust stainless steel outer jacket.
Stainless Steel Sensors and DAQ Module
Installation:
Installation diagram of the sensors configuration.
Conclusion:
The Senkox HSD-T-CR System™ allowed the end user to not only monitor the vessel in real time, but was used to prevent a vessel from failing. Using the system, safety personnel were alerted to a spike in skin temperature, and were able to shut down the vessel before it was damaged so that repairs could begin. Using the Senkox HSD-T-CR System™, The end user was able to respond to an abnormality before it became a disaster.
