An American multinational oil & gas corporation turned to RYDLYME as a solution for removing scale deposits from one of their state-of-the-art, Midwestern production facilities. A unique deposit identified by the facility engineers as ferric oxide had been deposited within the cooling passages of an alkylation unit.

Alkylation is a conversion process in petroleum refining to produce alkylates for high-octane gasoline. The process is delicate and must be kept within optimum parameters in order to operate safely, and efficiently and maximize production. The deposit prohibited adequate heat transfer, which resulted in elevated pressures up to 34 psi.

CLEANING UP ALKYLATION UNITS

RYDLYME had been successfully utilized to maintain plate and frame heat exchangers in other areas of the facility. After evaluating alternatives with facility engineers, technicians and procurement specialists, RYDLYME was again selected as their solution. The RYDLYME cleaning took place during a single shift of a scheduled shutdown.

After rinsing the cooling passages, a borescope was utilized in visually inspect the internals. Observations were described as ‘Nice and shiny’. Upon startup and the unit achieving full operation, the pressure was recorded at just 4psi (ΔP – 30psi)! The facility engineers now understand how safe and easy RYDLYME is to use and plan to clean the unit every other year moving forward. RYDLYME has been a solution for water scale and mineral deposits at all Big Oil companies for over 75 years.