Petroleum Company Increased Their Catalyst Protection Filter Capacity by 214 Percent

A company was using an older Ronningen-Petter REACTOGARD Catalyst Protection Filter. Due to a recent increase in demand, they needed to escalate the volume while at the same time change the composition of the feedstock.

Unfortunately, the existing filter was in need of repair (valves and controls), and as a result, it was backwashing too frequently and generating too much waste during the new process conditions.

They knew they needed a new filter solution to handle the new parameters. To make matters more interesting, they did not have the time available to decommission the filter and set up piping for an updated system.

Another unknown factor was how much bigger the new filter would have to be to effectively handle the changed feed and increased flow. This led the company to contact Ronningen-Petter for a creative solution.

Ronningen-Petter Solution
The Applications Specialists at Ronningen-Petter determined that a staged solution was necessary to keep the customers feedstock line working while an effective upgrade was occurring.

Therefore, they brought in a Petroleum Test Skid to accurately assess the existing filters performance on the new feedstock. Based on this data, a new filter was proposed.

The new filter was designed to fit onto the existing pads and anchor bolts. In keeping with the customers request to keep the line running while the new filter was put into operation, the process connections were designed to bolt up to the existing connections, and the filter control package was designed to allow the new system to be put in place one bank at a time.

This enabled the customer to change out the 5-bank catalyst protection filter system without stopping their process.

Results
The customer increased filtration capacity by 214% without changing anything in the plant besides the filter.

Ronningen-Petter is committed to meeting the customer’s specific needs. In this case the design of the new filter was adjusted to match exact on-site conditions; allowing the customer to minimize the installation costs and eliminate the down time associated with equipment changeouts.

–by Ask Filter Man

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