Basic Facts about JPX Decontamination Turnaround Chemical Cleaner

The main purpose of JPX is to reduce clean up time for entry and to provide a cleaner unit for inspection and repair work.

JPX reduces the steam purge time required to reach the LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) and Benzene permissible exposure levels. This time is typically cut by half when JPX is used (from 2-3 days to 1-1.5 days). JPX, whether applied by steam injection or water circulation, will break, disperse, and lift the hydrocarbon contaminants from the surface of the internals and shell of process equipment. Thus the hydrocarbons are floated and flushed out of the system for external disposal.

JPX allows for a hydrocarbon free transition for entry into vessels or confined space such as tanks, so that hydrocarbon vapors that were previously and unavoidably vented to the atmosphere are abated.

For sour systems (overhead accumulators and sour water strippers), where H2S may be present we recommend JPX-E for specific applications to the vessels of concern.

The excellent capacity of JPX to disperse and carry out hydrocarbons allows the minimum application strength to be used by the customer, saving cost while still providing excellent clean up of internal parts. This is particularly apparent in heat exchanger bundles that have been pulled for inspection and repair after JPX circulation. Experienced mechanics have remarked on the superior appearance of the bundles in comparison to what they normally experience.

JPX FAQs Vapor Phase Cleaning in Oil Refinery Turnarounds

Jayne Products’ Approach

On the Job Problem Solving

F.A.Q.s

Q-1     How is it determined if the JPX-JPX-E solution is spent?

Collect the circulating JPX/JPX-E solution in a glass jar. Tighten the lid and shake the jar vigorously. After shaking the jar, slowly rotate the jar on its side and see if the jar wall is coated with oil. If the jar wall is coated with oil, the circulating solution is spent. If the jar wall is water wet, then JPX/JPX-E solution still has emulsifying power. If the jar wall is coated with oil, then either:

a)     Drain the circulating solution and make up a fresh JPX/JPX-E solution or:

b)    Add additional JPX/JPX-E to the circulating solution.

Q-2     How much JPX/JPX-E should be added to the circulating solution?

Since this will be difficult, if not impossible, to learn the quantity of hydrocarbon contamination in the system, one way to determine how much additional JPX/JPX-E will need to be as follows:
Measure the volume of circulating JPX/JPX-E collected in the glass jar. (A-1) to this Jar, add a known quantity of JPX/JPX-E. For example: If the volume of circulating JPX/JPX-E is 400 ml, then add 0.5% of JPX/JPX-E or 2 ml. Shake the jar vigorously and see if the glass is coated with oil. If the glass is coated with oil, add another 0.5% of JPX/JPX-E and repeat the test till the oil no longer coats the glass wall. If you have used more than 1.5% to 2.0% JPX/JPX-E, then you will be better off draining the current circulating JPX/JPX-E solution and starting fresh because there is too much hydrocarbon left in the system.

Q-3     What happens if you see “mayonnaise” in the circulating solution?

Increase the temperature, if possible, to 200º to 220ºF. If that does not break the “mayonnaise”, then dilute it with water keeping the temperature between 200º-220ºF.

Q-4     How much JPX-EE to use in rinse to eliminate pyrophoric problem and how to test

            results?

Use about 5% JPX-EE in the rinse water. (this is not practical to calculate) so rule of thumb is to use a third of the total of the JPX/JPX-E that was (Vapor Phase) injected into the column. To test take a 5ml sample of rinse water and add 95ml water and 5% Potassium Permanganate to the solution. If the result shows light pink or light brown the pyrophoric material is passivated, if dark brown add another drum of JPX-EE and continue rinse.

Q-5     How long will it take for the JPX/JPX-E oil emulsion drained from the column to break.

Test by pulling a 1 liter sample in a bottle typically you will see an oil separation in less than an hour, as the sample settles and cools. To assure a more rapid separation one can add ½% calcium chloride to the effluent. For jobs greater than 25 drums used in 24 hours the drained effluent can be routed to a slop tank to provide additional separation of oil and water. Typical small jobs, the drained effluent is routed directly to the API separators of the refinery ETP unit.

Calculation Example for using JPX Vapor Phase Cleaning during Turnarounds

Calculation Examples

Jayne Products, based on 20 years’ experience in vapor phase clearing uses 4 liters of JPX for 1 cubic meter of column or vessel internal volume.

To calculate the volume requires the following calculation:  

For example

·      Let’s take a crude atmospheric tower that is 30 meters high and has a diameter of 7 meters. Internally, it has 40 trays, all of a bubble-cap design.

·      To calculate the tower volume, without taking account of the dished-ends, use

V= πR²xL    V=π3.5² (30) =1,154m³

The volume of JPX required would be calculated a 1,154 x 4 = 4,616 liters.

1 drum JPX = 208 liters so 4,616 ÷ 208 = 22 drums of JPX. This is equivalent to a liquid circulation: fill column 20% to cover the trays and provide a positive pump suction will require 1,154 x 20% = 230m³ and using 2% concentration of JPX will require 230x .02 or 4.6m³ JPX = total of 22 drums.

We always favor the vapor phase over liquid phase to cut the decontamination time by 2/3 and eliminate the disposal of the circulation solution.