PELATIHAN BALAI BESAR KERAMIK

2019
REFRAKTORI API 936
Applications and Modes of
Failure
FLUID CATALYTIC CRACKING
UNITS

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 Reactor
Overview of Regenerator

FCCU
Refractory
Practice

Castable Types
Medium Weight

Erosion-Resistant / Insulating

Dense, Erosion-Resistant

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Typical Applications and Modes of Failure
Component Operation Conditions Installation Method Failure Modes

Reactor 900-1000°F Gunned Spalling

Vessel Mild Erosion Bypassing
Reducing Atmospheres

Regenerator 1300-1400°F Gunned Spalling

Vessel Mild Erosion Bypassing
Oxidizing Atmospheres

Cyclones 1000-1400°F Hand Packed/Rammed Erosion

Extreme Erosion

Catalyst 1000-1400°F Cast Erosion

Transfer Lines Extreme Erosion Bypassing
Spalling

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Applications Terminology: FCCU
• fluid catalytic cracking unit: Also known as FCCU or Cat Cracker, a refining process
consisting of reactor and regenerator vessels, and interconnecting piping in which
particulate catalyst is circulated at elevated temperatures to upgrade low-value
feedstock to high-value products such as heating oil, gasoline components, and chemical
feedstocks.
• catalyst: A substance that causes or accelerates a chemical change without being
permanently affected by the reaction.
• erosion resistant lining: Single layer of erosion resistant castable refractory retained in
hexmesh or with submerged studs/wires when metal reinforcing is incorporated in the
material.
• erosion service: Installations of refractories in FCCU components, such as transfer and
overhead lines, cyclone linings, and deflector shields, in which erosion resistance is a
determining feature of lining service life.
• reactor (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): The vessel in which cracking reaction occurs or is
completed and product gases are separated from coke and/or catalyst particulate.
Usually operates at 900°F -1000°F (480°C - 540°C). regenerator (of FCCU): Vessel in
which coke and residual hydrocarbons are burned off the catalyst and the flue gas is then
separated from the catalyst. Usually operates at 1200°F - 1400°F (650°C - 760°C).

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Applications Terminology: FCCU
• cyclones (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): Components, usually internal, used
for the separation of particulate solids from flue or product gas.
• plenum (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): Enclosure inside the top head of a
reactor or regenerator vessel which supports the cyclones and in which gases
exiting the cyclone outlets are collected.
• riser (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): Section of transfer line in which flow is in
an upward direction.
• single-layer lining: One layer of refractory with or without an anchoring
system.
• standpipe (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): Section of transfer line in which flow
is in a downward direction.
• transfer line (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): Refractory lined pipe used for the
transport of hot particulate medium and gases between process vessels.
fractionator (of FCCU or fluid coking unit): Vessel downstream of the reactor
used to separate different product fractions.

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Primary Installation Methods

Casting Hand Packing/Ramming

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Gunning
Anchor Terminology
• Anchor or Tieback: Metallic or refractory device that retains the refractory or
insulation in place

• V -anchor: Metallic anchor made Plastic Cap or Coating

1" Typ.
(Optional)
from rod or bar stock that is 1/4" (6mm)
Dia.
configured in a V -shape. 60°

1/2 T
• Footed anchor: Metallic anchor, Weld
1/8" (3 mm)
usually V-stud, which has a foot- Typ.
shaped configuration at the base
to aid weld attachment to the
shell.

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Anchor Terminology
• Stud weld (of anchors): Welding
method utilizing an arc-welding
machine in conjunction with a timer
and a gun.

• Y-anchor: Metallic anchor made from

rod or bar stock that is configured in a
Y shape, usually used for dual layer
linings.

• C-clip (anchors): A C-shaped

metallic anchor used to attach
ceramic anchors to the casing or
shell of a process unit or fired
heater. 10
Anchor Terminology
• Flexmesh: a longitudinally hinged
version of hexmesh supplied in
flexible rolls for easy access
through vessel openings to
installation area and ready fit to
curved surfaces.

• Hexalt anchor: A metallic anchor used as an alternative to hexmesh in

thin layer, erosion-resistant linings, for example, S-Bar, Hexcel, Curl, and
Tacko anchors, and so forth.

S-Bar Hexcel Curl Tacko 11

Anchor Terminology
• Hexmesh: A metallic
anchoring system usually 3/4
in. or 1 in. (19 mm or 25 mm)
thick that is constructed of
metal strips joined together to
form hexagonal shaped
enclosures where erosion
resistant refractory is packed
after welding to the base plate
steel.

• Off-set lance: Hexmesh manufactured with lance tabs off center.

• Biscuit (of hexmesh lining): A refractory piece formed by a
hexmesh cell during lining installation that has a hexagonal
shape and the thickness of the hexmesh lining.
• Termination strip: Steel bar or ring that is attached to the edge
of hexmesh at terminations and sharp bends to retain refractory
in partial hexmesh cells.
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Color Coding for Metallic Anchors

Alloy Material Color of Stripe

Carbon Steel None

304 1 Solid Black

310 1 Solid Green, 1 Solid Orange

405 1 Solid Green, 1 Solid Black

410S 1 Solid Green, 1 Solid Brown

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Applications Terminology
• cold face: The surface of a refractory section not exposed to the
source of heat.
• dual-layer lining: As compared to a "one-shot lining," a refractory
lining consisting of two different types of monoliths. Typically, this
would consist of a low-density insulating refractory behind a
stronger, medium or high-density refractory.
• hot face: The surface of a refractory section exposed to the source
of heat.
• metal fiber reinforcement: Metal fibers, usually 3/4 in. - 1 in. (19
mm - 25 mm) in length, blended into a castable refractory, typically
during the mixing operation, at a quantity of up to 1 volume
percent of the refractory. Metal fiber reinforcement is used to
improve applied lining toughness and shrinkage crack distribution.
• one-shot lining: A lining composed of a single layer of the one type
of castable refractory.
• tolerance: The permissible deviation in a dimension or property of
a material from an established standard, or from an average value.
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Causes of Failure
• Operating conditions too severe for the achievable physical properties
of the refractory.
• Actual physical properties in the applied lining are inadequate to
stand up to startup and operating conditions.
• Failure Mechanisms
• Erosion
• Bypassing
• Spalling
• Structural Deterioration
• Chemical Attack

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 Erosion
• Result of moving catalyst particles contacting the surface of
a refractory lining
• Rate is a function of refractory hardness, the abrasiveness,
velocity and the angle of impingement of the catalyst
• Most commonly affects areas exposed to fast moving
catalyst and/or abrupt changes in flow direction

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 Bypassing
• Hot gases and catalyst being driven
through cracks or voids in a lining to
cause hot spots and/or erosion along the
shell beneath the lining or along nozzles
• Crack gaps form in a lining due tensile
forces from mechanical loads, thermal
expansion and contraction, and/or
refractory shrinkage.
• Process pressure differentials are the
driving force for this short circuiting of
the lining protection

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 Spalling
• Spalling: The loss of fragments (spalls) from the face of a
refractory structure, through cracking and rupture, with
exposure of inner portions of the original refractory mass.
• Thermal shock: The exposure of a material or body to a rapid
change in temperature which may have deleterious effect.
• Thermal spalling: Spalling which occurs as the result of stresses
caused by non-uniform heating and/or cooling.
• Explosive spalling: A sudden spalling which occurs as the result
of a build-up of steam pressure caused by too rapid heating of a
castable refractory on first firing.
• Sheeting: Spalling of layers from the hot face of a refractory
lining.

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Spalling of Refractory on Reactor Sidewall

~1ft

John R. Peterson 19
Aug. 4, 2004
Delamination Cracks in Lining Cross-Section

~1in

John R. Peterson 20
Aug. 4, 2004
Spalling of Refactory Biscuits on Cyclone
Outlet Lining

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Typical 1/4” Deep Biscuit Spall

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 Explosive Spalling
• Definition: A sudden
spalling which occurs as the
result of a build-up of steam
pressure caused by too
rapid heating of a castable
refractory on first firing.
• Stresses arise from vapors
such as steam being
entrapped in the pore
structure of the refractory.

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 Structural Deterioration

• Typically the result of a lining

becoming detached or displaced from
its anchoring due to thermal cycles,
flexing of the lined component or
temperature/corrosion failure of the
anchors.
• Lining separation causes hot spots and/or
bypassing
• Detached refractory can impede or plug
off the catalyst circulation within the unit
or component

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 Other Forms of Structural Deterioration
• bloating: A subsurface defect that can occur in plastic
refractory lining systems caused by steam pockets entrapped
in the pore structure of the refractory during initial heating
due either to rapid heatup or insufficient permeability in the
refractory.
• carbon deposition: The deposition of amorphous carbon,
resulting from the decomposition of carbon monoxide gas
into carbon dioxide and carbon within a critical temperature
range. When deposited within the pores of a refractory, the
carbon may build up such pressure that it destroys the bond
and causes the refractory to disintegrate.
• slumping: Condition of pre-set refractory in which
gravitational forces cause it to lose its desired shape.
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Chemical Attack
• Occurs when refractories are exposed to reactive substances
• Limited primarily to acid condensate on the regenerator side in FCCU service, chemical attack can
cause the refractory to become soft and mushy (punky). Can lead to shell failure due to corrosion
and/or exposure to process gases or erosion.
• alkali hydrolysis: Potentially destructive reactions between unfired hydraulic-setting monolithic
refractories, carbon dioxide, alkaline compounds, and water.
• punky: A condition describing a refractory lining that is soft and friable.
• slag: A substance formed in any one of several ways by chemical action and fusion at furnace
operating temperatures a. In smelting operations, through the combination of a flux, such as
limestone, with the gangue or waste portion of the ore. b. In the refining of metals, by substances
such as lime added for the purpose of affecting or aiding the refining. c. By chemical reaction
between refractories and fluxing agents such as coal ash, or between two different types of
refractories.
• slagging of refractories: Destructive chemical reaction between refractories and external agencies at
high temperatures, resulting in the formation of a liquid.
• dusting: Conversion of a refractory material either wholly or in part into fine powder or dust.
Dusting usually results from (a) chemical reactions such as hydration; or (b) from mineral inversion
accompanied by large and abrupt change in volume, such as the inversion of beta to gamma
dicalcium silicate upon cooling.
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 Back to Index

MODULE3 Q and A

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