On-line viscometer ensures best burn

An on-line viscometer from Hydramotion has significantly improved fuel oil burner performance for Hindustan Organic Chemicals (HOCL), a Government of India enterprise

Hindustan Organic Chemicals has been producing cumene, phenol and acetone at its Kochi Unit in Ambalamugal in the southern Indian state of Kerala since 1987.

At this unit, the boilers use low sulphur heavy stack (LSHS) oil or low sulphur furnace oil (LSFO), which is fired in steam-atomised burners.

The burners are designed to operate most efficiently when the fuel oil is at a certain specified viscosity, generally much lower than that at which it is supplied.

The suppliers provide data on the nominal temperature at which the required viscosity is reached and the oil has to be pre-heated accordingly.

The problem was that undocumented variations in fuel composition affect the relationship between viscosity and temperature in ways that HOCL could not predict.

Very often the fuel oil was not at the correct viscosity when heated to the temperature indicated by the data sheet, and the resulting poor combustion led to clinker formation at the burner tip.

To solve this problem, HOCL decided to install an on-line viscometer which would enable them to control the fuel oil viscosity directly.

Having collected information on various viscosity meters and carefully evaluated their suitability, HOCL opted for the Hydramotion XL7, a versatile and powerful system for measuring the viscosity of any fluid in any process.

Production engineers found the viscometer easy and simple to install and are very pleased with its performance.

The fuel can now be preheated to exactly the desired viscosity, giving better control of the burner flame and more efficient burner performance - and the burner tip needs less maintenance.

Moreover, the plant fuel oil can now be sourced from different outlets.

Unaffected by plant vibration, gas breakout or flow rate, the Hydramotion XL7 viscometer can be installed in any location in any orientation using any process fitting.

It does not need field calibration and can be used at temperatures up to 450C without special cooling.

Since every model is available in an Intrinsically Safe version to EEx 'ia' IIC T6, the XL7 can be used in the most hazardous Zone 0 (Class 1 Division 1 Group A) environments.

With ATEX, CENELEC and TIIS certification, the XL7 gives excellent performance in the extreme conditions often encountered in the petrochemical industry.

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