Pressure-related operational problems and their remedies in hydrotreating reactors in petroleum refineries

The main causes for high-pressure drop problems in fixed-bed hydrotreating reactors have been analysed. The pressure drop has been measured for the period of approximately two months for six commercial hydrotreating reactors. The measured values of pressure drop are compared with theoretically calculated values using several models in the literature. It is found that the Larkin et al. and Midoux et al. models for cocurrent down-flow gas-liquid can predict pressure drop reasonably well. The excessive pressure drop problems have been investigated thoroughly and various preventive measures are suggested to encounter pressure-related operational problems. roleum industry the corrective measures for high-pressure drop are very expensive and can rarely be adopted, while preventive measures can increase the useful life of catalyst and minimize the interruption (dumping and reloading of catalyst and inert).