Stainless Steel Converter

Reduced corrosion. Traditional converter designs have carbon steel shells with heavy cast iron catalyst bed support plates, cross beams and posts. High operating temperatures result in corrosion of both the carbon steel and cast iron. The corrosion causes scale formation resulting in catalyst fouling, generating continuing requirements for catalyst screening. The CECEBE converters are constructed entirely from stainless steel, which largely eliminates corrosion, reducing maintenance requirements and extending service life.

Rapid heat-up and cool-down. Traditional converter designs use a carbon steel shell with brick lining around the first catalyst bed. The brick lining is required due to the temperature limitations on the strength of the carbon steel shell. The use of brick lining in converters significantly increases the heat-up time required because rapid heating will result in the cracking of the brick lining. The CECEBE converter is constructed entirely of welded stainless steel. This eliminates the need for brick lining, thus allowing for rapid heat-up and cool-down for start-up and shutdown operations.

Improved overall conversion efficiency.
The use of all-welded stainless steel construction for the converter shell and catalyst support plates prevents gas bypassing between beds. Gas leakage typically occurs in cast iron catalyst bed support construction. Reduction of this leakage significantly improves overall conversion efficiency.

Efficient catalyst bed support plate design. The CECEBE converter employs a catenary shaped curved plate design for catalyst bed support. The catalyst bed is supported by an assembly of fully welded pie-shaped curved plates, bridging the shell and the center support column. The weight of the catalyst bed is taken up entirely in tension within the curved plates. This is a mechanically efficient design that eliminates the requirement for bed plate support cross beams that are used extensively in flat plate bed support designs. The primary benefit of the curved plate design is that plate/shell stresses induced by plate expansion and contraction are minimized by the plate curvature, which extends service life.

Internal hot gas exchanger. The CECEBE exchanger can accommodate the hot gas exchanger in the center core as an option. This eliminates the troublesome external hot duct and hot duct connections between the first bed discharge and the hot gas exchanger.

Noram Engineering and Constructors Ltd., Granville Square, 400-200 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4. Tel: 604-681-2030; Fax: 604-683-9164.