Cross sectional examination of a fouled tube removed from a crude oil preheat exchanger

A first attempt to characterize intact foulant of a refinery preheater is presented. A tube was removed from an exchanger located postdesalter and preflash-drum at a 4-year shutdown, and dissected into undisturbed cut-out rings. Following visual inspection, elemental analysis (X-ray maps and line scans) was carried out and radial concentration profiles of the existing elements were established. A stratified colored foulant layer inside the tube appeared in sine waves fluctuating at both axial and angular directions, likely evidencing for the first time a shadow effect and erosion process. Results agreed with our studies on a comparable exchanger of the same refinery. They confirm the proposed deposition mechanism and simulation results, indicating formation of a stratified foulant consisting inorganics ranging 50 wt %, the presence of an acute inorganic deposition period along the chronic organic–inorganic fouling, and the identification of the foulant phases arrangement, among possible conductivity mixing models, as cocontinuous and effective medium theory structures