Boiler Feed Water Treatment Facility Optimized for a Kentucky Refinery

A refinery in Kentucky was experiencing difficulties with the quality and quantity of water from their existing water treatment system.  The water was used for the refinery’s boiler feed water treatment facility.  With 18 filters, 10 softeners, a deaerating heater and a reverse osmosis system with pre-filters, plant personnel were overwhelmed with maintenance issues.  Some of the refinery’s specific challenges:

• Post-precipitation in the filters
• Lime sludge had entered the filters because of a past clarifier upset
• Filter media had passed through the filters into the softeners
• Resin had passed through the softeners into the RO pre-filters and membranes
• Much of the instrumentation was broken or unreliable
• The multiport valves had not been regularly maintained

The process specialist within the refinery’s utilities department needed technical assistance and a quick, dependable solution.