We supply inert gases such as nitrogen (N2) to bring oxygen concentrations down to a safe level in environments with the potential for fire and explosions. This enables operators to enter inert confined spaces such as refinery reactors safely.
Reactor Turnaround Services for Refineries
Inert Entry Support, Accelerated Cooling and LEL Freeing of Refinery Reactors
Here at Linde, we understand that efficiency is key and downtime is not an option in today’s refining complex, so we support fast, efficient reactor turnarounds with a comprehensive service portfolio
Reactor Turnaround Services for Enhanced Safety and Productivity
Turnaround services and related maintenance play a key role in keeping your refining operations moving forward safely and efficiently. Without regular inspections and maintenance, small unattended issues have the potential to create dangerous and costly scenarios down the line.
We provide industry-leading expertise in industrial services for your reactor turnaround projects. We coordinate our industrial nitrogen services with your team to execute your project safely and effectively, contributing to both your asset efficiency and availability.
Our Services Include:
Inert Entry Support
LEL Freeing
Catalytic reactors, guard beds and packed media require periodic decontamination and change-out to restore performance. Inert gases such as nitrogen can help to safely remove heavy hydrocarbon deposits and trapped explosive and toxic gases in situ. It does this by lowering the oxygen concentration to exclude ignition sources and raise the lower explosive limit (LEL) of potentially flammable substances. Once decontaminated, the spent catalyst or media can then be fully cooled and safely changed out.
For dramatically improved decontamination time and reduced chemical waste disposal effort, we offer IN2ERT™ Reactor LEL Freeing.
Accelerated Reactor Cooling
The time required for reactor cooling can slow down turnaround times. Our accelerated reactor cooling service (NiCool™ or CATCOOL®) uses liquid nitrogen to rapidly cool down catalyst beds prior to change out. The controlled injection of liquid nitrogen into the recirculating process gas rapidly cools the recirculating stream to 15°C in a matter of hours instead of days, significantly shortening production downtime as well as accelerating inerting of the catalyst.
If direct liquid nitrogen injection is not the preferred option, a once-through cooldown of the reactor with gaseous nitrogen can also be performed.