BM 70A provides level measurement throughout entire coke-making process

Problem
A California petroleum refinery sought to improve their coke production output. They could only measure coke with nuclear level switches, however they knew that to achieve a better yield, a continuous level measurement from all phases of coke processing was needed. They wanted one unit that could monitor the process of introduction of oil, heating, foaming, and de-foaming and cooling.

Solution
KROHNE’s BM 70A FMCW Radar Level Gauge provides a continuous non-contact level measurement. It was tested head-to-head against a well-known competitive pulse radar product for this application. The KROHNE representatives performed due diligence in monitoring the installation, configuration and trouble-shooting, discovering that the coking process was a high temperature (850+ degree F) and violent process that would contaminate any instrument located in the actual coke drum. With these factors in mind, the BM 70A was mounted on a ten inch diameter, three foot high nozzle, in an area at the top of the drum that was least exposed to the process. In addition, a steam purge was introduced into the cone antenna through the flange. These precautions reduced the temperature at the flange to within the operating temp of the BM 70A of 482 degrees F, as well as keeping the antenna clean from the spattering coke. Nuclear gauges were used for back up and the refinery was able to achieve 10% more coke per batch.

Total cost of the solution was less than $25,000, but the value to the refinery was $710,000 per batch saved, in terms of labor expense and wasted product due to “foam overs.” KROHNE BM 70A is now listed as the preferred level device on coke applications worldwide.

Key Words: Level, radar, coke, refinery, level switch


AP0056