ReforSafE advanced reformer evaluation
Improved safety and performance
Clariant Catalysts provides high-tech monitoring and catalyst solutions to help Syngas plants to perform at their full potential to be competitive. Our ReforSafETM is an advanced technical service solution for a comprehensive reformer survey and performance optimization. Knowing the accurate tube wall temperatures at all tube levels is highly important because the lifetime of tubes decreases exponentially when the temperature increases and exceeds the maximal design temperature. The worst scenario is a tube rupture which will cause a shut-down of the whole plant. On the other hand a too cautious firing artificially limits production capacity and reformer efficiency.
ReforSafE service
Our eye inside your furnace
Clariant’s ReforSafETM service provides a comprehensive survey of the hole furnace at all levels. This not only indicates hot or cold spots, fire impingements or damages in the refractory but also allows to evaluate catalyst performance.
The 3D model enables recommendations to adjust individual burners to eliminate the temperature variations among tubes and adjust all burners to the highest acceptable tube skin temperature. Your reformer operation is safe and optimized.
Monitoring and optimizing Tube Wall Temperature
Benefits you
Safe operation
Reduced downtime
Increased tube life
Increased catalyst life
Trouble shooting
Identify malfunctions like coking
Identify poor catalyst performance
Identify hot/cold spots
Identify refractory damages
Optimize overall reformer performance
Increased methane conversion
Reduce energy consumption
Burner adjustments to optimize the reformer operation
Our service levels
The first level is a quick Tube Wall Temperature (TWT) check, performed with a Land Cyclops 100L pyrometer.
Clariant experts will visit the plant to carry out visual inspection of the furnace, and to collect relevant information such as steam-to-carbon ratio, and methane slip to evaluate the performance of the catalyst. The service includes TWT evaluation through peepholes and temperature correction.
Scope of the first service level:
- Ensuring safe reformer operation
- Evaluation of TWT
- Evaluation of catalyst performance
Both burners and Tube Wall Temperature (TWT) are evaluated through the peepholes with a high-resolution thermal imaging borescope that measures temperatures from 600 to 1800°C (1112 to 3272°F) at a short, accuracy-enhancing wavelength, and provides a thermal image of 656 x 494 px (+320,000 temperature points). This real-time, 3-D heat profile includes all tube rows of the furnace and can be easily examined for areas of inhomogeneous heat distribution and hot spots on the tubes. The equipment also provides live thermal images of reformer tubes, burners and refractory. The comprehensive temperature survey also includes recommendations for burner adjustments.
Scope of the ReforSafE Premium service:
- Same as ReforSafE Standard, plus
- Evaluating the performance of burners and fuel headers pressure
- Providing recommendations for burner adjustment and optimization
Readings are taken with a LAND Gold Cup reflector, which provides superior accuracy, as its near-perfect reflectance blocks background radiation, thus creating a black body for measurements. Using direct tube contact, the Gold Cup creates a seal between the tube surface and the instrument, shielding the thermocouple from additional radiation around the tube.
The data gathered is used to calculate a formula for temperature corrections of future pyrometer measurements.
Scope of the ReforSafE™ Premium Plus service:
- Same as ReforSafE Premium service, plus
- Determination of tube emissivity
- Providing a correction formula for measuring true TWT
- Operator training on how to measure and correct true TWT
Our advanced technology
Thermal Imager
- NIR-b with 600 mm borescope measures at 1μm wavelength
- Temperature 600-1100°C
- Field of view: 900 x 680 px
- Focus: 0.5m to infinity
- Gigabit 30 Hz video
Gold cup pyrometer (3.2 m)
- Gold reflects 99.99%
- Using direct tube contact the gold cup creates a seal between the tube surface and the instrument, shielding the thermocouple from additional radiation around the tube
Enables measurements which are unaffected by the tube emissivity, hot background reflections or side path emissions.- Allows calibration of the thermal scan to determine the temperature distribution.
- The measuring accuracy improves to dT< +-5°C
ReforMax LDP Plus series
High performing catalysts have to be used to boost the chemical reaction in the tubes.
Clariant’s new generation of Steam Reforming catalysts ReforMax LDP Plus series helps to maximize your primary reformer performance. ReforMax® 330 LDP Plus and ReforMax® 210 LDP Plus catalysts for steam methane reforming cause a significantly lower pressure drop in the reactor tubes whilst also providing outstanding activity and selectivity, heat transfer, and physical strength.
Products and Services
