Catalyst beds are found throughout the hydrocarbon processing industry.  Catalysts beds reach end of run prematurely due to contaminants that create pressure drop or reduce catalyst activity.  These systems can be readily improved once the critical contaminants are identified.  Increasing catalyst bed life increases overall profitability by increasing up time, reducing catalyst replacement cost and aligning shut-downs to plant wide maintenance schedules.

Mass transfer operations such as absorption, extraction and distillation utilize trays and packing to facilitate mass transfer and separations.  Fouling of tower internals can create increased pressure drop and reduced throughput as well as foaming within the column.  Critical contaminants are system specific and are often solids or liquids which are present in trace quantities in dimensions that preclude their separation using conventional methods.  Reducing foulant or foamant ingression increases reduces overall operating costs, creates more stable systems, and reduces overall operating costs.

Custody transfer operations require exceptional attention to quality factors that are specified for fluid quality.  Solid and liquid contaminants can very easily create “off-spec” products.  Identifying systemic issues that generate or enable such contamination, along with robust technologies that mitigate these contaminants are essential for incident free custody transfer.  And since custody transfer is ultimately the point at which a company derives revenue, up-time is invaluable.

Heat exchangers require high surface area and small channels to maximize heat transfer efficiency.  These factors are also those that are highly susceptible to contamination due to the surface conditions.  Poor contamination control can create fouling that reduce heat transfer efficiency, incurring considerable energy costs both in terms of increased pressure drop and reduced heat transfer.  Improved contamination removal generally impacts operating economics immediately.

Chemical production involves separations operations that impact profitability in countless ways. Chemical synthesis often involves catalysis and process aids resulting in the need to remove these compounds before the product can be packaged. Chemicals are produced in batch and continuous operations, so achieving finished product quality is critical, as is the speed of packaging. Effective removal of contaminants and reaction byproducts with high efficiency separation technology can reduce processing times, increase process equipment utilization, increase throughput and profitability.