Finding and Eliminating

‘Vacuum Leaks’ in a
Multiple-Effect Salt Crystallizer
David A. Crea, P.E.
Creative Process Engineering
3353 C.R. 30, Watkins Glen, NY 14891
607-535-6124
Ultrasound World II “Top Gun” Conference
November 6-9, 2005
1
 Author Bio – David A. Crea
dba Creative Process Engineering
• Idaho Professional Chemical Engineer
– BSChE U of Idaho, 1974
• 17 years in Elemental Phosphorus Mfr’g
– FMC Corp; Electric P4 Furnaces, ran 220
megawatts load typically; “World’s Largest”
– Plant now being scrapped due to EPA
• 4 Process Patents in P4 Wastes Processing
• Now in upstate NY ‘temporarily’ 5 years,
making food & pharmaceutical-grade salt in
quad-effect evaporators
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
Terminology--‘Vacuum Leaks’ a Misnomer
• You really can’t leak ‘vacuum’ !
• They are really ‘air leaks into equipment
intended to run under vacuum’
• But it is easy, common terminology…
• And…they’re much more difficult to
detect and deal with than compressed
air leaks!
– Noise doesn’t radiate as well in your
direction

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Quad-Effect Evaporator/Crystallizer Process

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 Benefits of Ultrasound
Technology Application
• Find leaks easily during operation
– Fix most leaks ‘on the fly’ – keep onstream
time high
– Without traditional “water testing”
– Without an outage, its downtime & costs,
plus multi-personnel effort
• Find leaks hidden from easy visual view

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Overall Benefit of Ultrasound
Listening Equipment Application*
• Extended ‘process runs’ between
outages from 2-6 weeks to 12-16 weeks
• Found/understood/fixed a long-standing
steam jet ejector problem
• Attained excess production capacity
over sales
• >10% increase in annual salt production
• ~20% decrease in energy/ton
* (plus a few other de-bottlenecking tricks!)
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -1
• Economic evaporation processing key: Boil-
off LOTS of water from brine CHEAPLY!
• Evap Trains are an “energy cascade” driven
by delta-T – Differential Temperature – ‘dT’
• Low-pressure steam sets the ‘driving’ temp
• Tail-end condenser sets the ‘heat sink’ temp
• ‘Vacuum Leaks’ add undesirable ‘Non-
Condensible Gases’—NCGs—into process

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -2
• Excess Non-Condensable Gases—NCGs:
– 1. Interfere with Condensing Steam Heat Transfer;
 Lower Steam Rate  Lower Production
– 2. Overwhelm inert gas pumpout capacity –
increases dT approach to barometric condenser
water’s exit temperature
 Lower Train dT  Lower Steam Rate etc.
– 3. Promote Internal Corrosion
O2 + Wet Steel  Corrosion  More Leaks etc.
– 4. Hurt Energy Efficiency
Higher Train Temps  More Thermal Losses
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -3
• 1. NCGs interfere with Heat Transfer
– Even small amounts concentrate near
condensing surface
– NCGs hinder mass transfer of steam to
condensing surface
– Heat transfer rate drops significantly
– See graphic illustration—next slide

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 NCGs Hinder Heat Transfer –3A
C o n d e n s a t io n C a n B e
'D r o p w is e ', o r 'F a llin g F ilm '- -
S te a m D e p e n d s o n S u rfa c e S te a m
o r P r io r o r P r io r
E f f e c t 's E f f e c t 's
V a p o r V a p o r

H ig h -V e lo c ity
S a lt S lu r r y

N o n - C o n d e n s a b le N C G s
G a s e s C o n c e n tra te , V e r t ic a l A c t L ik e
Im p e d e M a s s T ita n iu m 'In s u la t in g
T ra n s fe r, H ea t B la n k e t'
H e a t R a te D ro p s E x c h an g e r
T u b e

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Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -4
• 2. Excessive NCGs Lower Train dT
– Steam jets or vacuum pumps have limited
capacity
– Pressure rises as NCG capacity is
exceeded
– Pressure changes ‘seem’ small, < in in. Hg
– But effect is large, because of vapor
pressure curve’s ‘flatness’ in that region

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Why a Little Vacuum "Pulling" Is More Important
Than a Lot of Pressure "Pushing"
to Attain Energy Flow Through Evap Train
35 Water Vapor Pressure Curve
30
Slope difference makes vacuum
25 ~60x as important as pressure
Pressure, psia:

to provide dT across Evap Train. Typical

20 Typical Temp Range, Temp Range,
45-70 oF 238-250 oF
15 w/ 0.2 psi dP w/ 6.0 psi dP
Slope = 125 oF per 1 psi Slope =
10
Water Vapor Pressure
2 oF per 1 psi
5 Curve

0
0
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Ultrasound II "Top 6-9, Conference,
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Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -5
• 2. Excessive NCGs Lower Train dT
Steam Temp (begin) 250 oF
Heat Sink Temp (end) - 65
Boiling Point Elevations - 55
Vapor Duct & Short-Circ’g Losses - 16
Heat Sink Approach Velocity - 35
= dT Left to Drive Heat Transfer: 87 oF
So: 5, or 10, or 30 oF of additional dT uses a large
fraction of available dT; drops steam throughput;
drops salt production sharply!

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -6
• 3. O2 Promotes Internal Corrosion
– Heaters, at Steel Sidewall to Monel
Tubesheet welded joint
– Heater walls & sidewall welds
– Vapor ducting
– Barometric condenser
 Still more ‘Vacuum Leaks’

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
Why are ‘Vacuum Leaks’ So Terrible? -7

• 4. They Hurt Energy Efficiency

– More vessel ‘skin’ conduction losses
– Higher temperature bleed streams
– Higher temperature product streams
– More energy lost in tail-end vapor
• Temp up  Enthalpy up
• 20 oF = ~1% change = ~35,000 btu/ton, plus
other thermal losses (2x these)

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -1
• Came to Salt Plant 2/1/01—visit promoted by
another Plant Manager
• Instigated by Energy Cost & Production Crisis
– Natural Gas shot up $5$11/million btu Jan ’01
– Plant couldn’t make enough salt to meet sales
• Situation: Scary!
– Operating Management in “Crisis of the Hour”
mode – like trying to swim upstream in a river –
understaffed; burned-out
– Personnel unsure if plant could/would survive
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 My Story -2
• Physical Plant:
– 105 years old
– Constrained on delta along lake
– Equipment had been force-fit into small area
– Plant looks ready to fall down—the effect of salt on
steel isn’t pretty!
– Shorted on Major Maintenance for years
• Process:
– 2 ‘quad’ (4 effect) evaporator trains
– Lucky to run at 80% capacity
– “Energy Island” –no electric utility connection!
– Cogen’d Power: 400 psi Boiler + 5MW Generator
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -3
Assessments:
– Not pretty, when in ‘Crisis of the Hour’ mode!
– “Trains can’t run like they used to….” –why?
– Lots of repetitive equipment failures…– why?
– I’m lone engineer; no mentor on process; files
mediocre; learning curves long and steep…
– Lots of ‘low-hanging fruit’ to be picked…
• Where to start?
– Preheaters; star feeders; pumps; process?
• So much to do….so little time….
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -4
• Initially: Partial Misdirection in Efforts
– Began looking for classical “energy
conservation” projects:
• Thermal: Insulation; boiler economizer; heat
recovery options, steam leaks?
• Electrical Power: Fan & pump VFDs?
• But: Must first have salt to sell to survive…
– “Process Tuneup” was most-needed key
first necessity; then Energy Projects later…
– Plant must regain ‘Process Stability’
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -5
Philosophy to promote change, attain ‘Process
Stability’:
• Notice & question ‘Repetitive Failures’
• Log ‘Reasons for Downtime’ & Time Impacts
• Understand why failures occur—dig &
understand technologies
• Enlist collaborators…talk things up!
• Go after repetitive failures one by one!
• Eventually you will have some spare time…
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -6
• Blind Dumb Luck Offers Opportunity in
Later ’01
– Poor process operation; vacuum leaks
suspected
– New UE 2000 Kit in Production Office
• Unused; no one proficient in use
• No one even knew who/why purchased kit
• Production Manager had heard it was
supposed to be ‘good for finding leaks’…
– Could it be a valuable tool for vac leaks?
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -7
• Challenges of Application
– No one to teach me how to use UE 2000
– Didn’t know way around Pan Room eqpt
– LOTS of confusing ultrasonic noise
• Cyclone cooler; exhausters; steam jets
– Poor access to many possible trouble
areas (get a ladder supply!)
– HOT up in Pan Room; ~125 oF, humidity
• Sweat -soaked after 40 minutes time
• 2-3 hours recovery time
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -8
• How to Gain Notoriety…
– Punch a few holes in thin metal…
• Take operator ribbing with a smile!
– Write lots of Maintenance Work Orders…
• Contrast with ‘verbal’ work order system
• Aggressive de-scaling has its risks…
– ‘Crystallized’ steel shattered to 1-1/4” ø
hole, with 28 inches Hg vacuum across it!
– 1# duct seal sucked into hole while gone to
get reinforcement metal (cut-up coffee can)
– Process quickly ‘tanked’
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -9
• The Good News…Benefits of Efforts…
– Detailed searching makes you intimately
familiar with equipment
– Most leaks found w/o disturbing process
– Most fixable by myself—even if temporary
– Other leaks ID’d for next-day maintenance
or major outage work
– After 3 weeks, process ‘purring’ again
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -10
• Ultrasound cannot find them all
• Some leaks still well-hidden; outages and
water-testing occasionally required
– Corrosion under thick rust scale layer
– Seeps—low-velocity entries
– Under insulation
– At pipe threads
– Through salt powder blankets
– Across shrunken red rubber gaskets
• Careful visual scanning required
•Ultrasound
Test all valves manually (loose stem glands)
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -11
• Subsequent to Initial 3-Week Effort:
– Usually able to find vacuum leaks quickly
when process suddenly changes
• Copper tube cracked from flexing/corrosion
• Corrosion pinholes in pipes, vessels
• Find ‘visually hidden’ leaks
– Ultrasound useful for identifying leaky
water valves also
• Water intrusion = energy waste
• 1 gpm intrusion = 750 tons/yr lost salt prod’n
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 My Story -12
• Plant ‘Stabilization’ -- Effort Encompassed:
– Operator education
• Cost of water intrusion vs Operator Philosophy—
’Water is Good for Process’
– Equipment reliability attainment
– Vacuum leak removal (UE 2000)
– Process de-bottlenecking (flow & thermal
resistance removal)
– Data management (via Excel)
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Leak Findin’ Tools -1
• UE 2000
• w/ Parabolic Detect’r
• w/ Rubber Shield
• Frequency Set’g:
– ‘Fixed Band’
• Meter Mode Set’g:
– ‘log’

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Leak Findin’ Tools -2
• Mason’s Hammer
• Slag Chipping
Hammers
• Wire Brushes
• Putty Knife
• Ladders (not shown)

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Leak Findin’ Tools -3
• Flashlights
• Knife
• Adjustable
wrenches
• Water
• Companion & Safety
Gear?

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Leak Fixin’ Supplies
• Duct Seal
• Epoxy Putty
– “QUICKSTEEL”
• PC-7 epoxy kit
• Duct Tape
• Electrical Tape
• Sheet Metal (cut-up
coffee can)
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 Noise Contamination -1
• Compressed-air
cyclone cooler on
electrical cabinet

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 Noise Contamination -2
• Cover noisy cyclone
air cooler with rags
• Or: Shut off valve!

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Noise Contamination -3
• Even a 250# steam
leak from a union
can be quieted with
enough rags!

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Noise Contamination -4
• Condensate flash
tank bottom-violent
boiling inside
• RUST FLAKES--
each acts like a
speaker diaphragm -
- makes very
confusing noise!
• De-scale…
• Visually inspect…
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -1
• Rust carbuncle—
sidewall of
Barometric
Condenser
• Internal + external
corrosion meet

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -2
• Pinholes thru paint
on bottom head of
barometric
condenser
• 4 in a line along
where metal was
rolled
• Corrosion from
inside-out
Ultrasound II "Top Gun" Conference, 37
Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -3
• More barometric
condenser leaks
• Problem: Cold flow
by duct seal
– Build cone shape
– Bridge-over hole
• Epoxy putty can be
better for long run

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -4
• Corroded weld—
condensate drain to
heater shell

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -5
• Gate valve stem
packing glands are
problematic
• Ball & plug valve
stems also…

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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -6
• Instrument tubing
connection not
properly tightened
long ago
• Had ½” salt dust
“filter” built up all
around it
• Not ‘noisy’; sighted
visually
Ultrasound II "Top Gun" Conference, 41
Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -7
• Condensate Drain
– Drainage problem was
process clue to leak
• Odd weak noise in UE
2000—seep perhaps?
• Descaling w/ mason’s
hammer--knocked 1-
1/4” hole thru left
side…oops!
• Sucked-in 1# duct seal
• Process tanked!
Ultrasound II "Top Gun" Conference, 42
Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Vacuum Leak Sites -8

• Defects in metal
• Areas of high-
velocity mist impact
• Corrosion cells—
particularly at welds

Ultrasound II "Top Gun" Conference,

Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 Overall Result of Efforts
• 18% drop in energy per unit produced
• Production up 9%--records set
• 135 jobs saved
• “Step change” in operation – quite rare
in industry to see such a dramatic
change!
• See charts next pages
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Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea
 BenefitofProcessStability
Process Stability: Energy--LessEnergyRequiredperTon
Required Per Ton Record
$2.5million/yrsavingtocurrentenergycost
6
Chart
5

3
BeforeStabilizing: AfterStabilizing:
2
4.58millionbtu/ton 3.77millionbtu/ton
1

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 Process Stability:
BenefitofProcessS tability
--MoreProduction,--HigherSales
Production/Sales
26,640tpydifference(+9%)
Record
35,000
30,000
Chart
25,000
20,000
15,000
BeforeStabilizing: AfterStabilizing:
10,000
24,119tons/monthavg 26,339tons/monthavg
5,000
0

Ultrasound II "Top Gun" Conference, Month 46

Nov 6-9, 2005, DACrea