Regenerator head

replacement project
How one of the world’s largest FCC regenerator heads with cyclones was removed and
replaced during a 30-day turnaround. Meticulous attention to pre-planning aided by 3D
modelling helped overcome tight space limitations and clearances during construction

John Payne Foster Wheeler Energy

Rob Tarbard and Peter Johnson Esso Petroleum Company

H
ead removals to change out
reactor and regenerator internals
are quite common, so what
made the regenerator head replacement
at Esso’s Fawley refinery in the UK
different? The 17m head diameter, 20
pairs of cyclones and a total lift weight
of approximately 700 tonnes, all to be
achieved in a limited plot space, made
the Fawley regenerator head replacement
one of the largest head replacements ever
carried out in the world (Figure 1).
By paying meticulous attention to
detail, investing in pre-turnaround
activities and making important
decisions early, the Fawley refinery was
able to execute its fastest ever fluidised
catalytic cracker (FCC) turnaround. In
fact, the 30-day turnaround duration
was not dictated by the regenerator head
replacement, but by other project and
maintenance work. Figure 1 Post-shutdown showing crane and old head in elevating head frame
The FCCU was originally site built in
the 1950s, and the regenerator cyclones install a new top head, complete with — Shutdown schedules
and plenum were last replaced in 1981. new cyclones. Two initial options for — Project schedules
Due to limited crane capacities at that the head replacement were studied: — Risk management
time, work was done piecemeal, with — A very large steel bespoke gantry — Head frame design concepts, with
the cyclones removed and installed as system using strand jacks with sliding tonnage
pairs. This resulted in an extremely long frames — Piling and foundation requirements
turnaround. — A very large crane. — Build method for both crane and
From the previous 2001 turnaround, The study assessed the following gantry
Esso had determined that, after 20 years’ factors: — Estimated lift weights
operation, the cyclones were coming to — Safety — Head cutting methods
the end of their life and any repairs in — Cost — Cyclone layouts and budget costs
the planned 2006 turnaround would from cyclone suppliers
not be practical and would present a risk — Concepts for plenum design and
to future operational reliability. “This was a safe, world- cyclone hanger system
— Identification of existing equipment
Early study class turnaround, and a to be relocated.
In April 2003, approximately three-and- schedule that was less The gantry system was more costly,
a-half years before the proposed shutdown and there were a number of technical
date, a study was initiated to determine than half that of previous challenges relating to the build and
the best way to change out the cyclones, turnarounds. The attention operation that proved difficult to resolve.
deliver the new head, plenum and For these reasons, this option was not
cyclones, and then build them on-site, all to detail in the engineering considered any further and the crane
within a 30-day turnaround. and construction of the option was developed in detail.
The team quickly discounted the use Mammoet was awarded a contract to
of a large window in the side of the regenerator head was a carry out some detailed conceptual
regenerator shell, as it would require a major contributor to this studies to evaluate various crawler
shutdown in excess of 60 days. Instead, and ringer cranes, and how they could
the team decided that the only way to success” be built and operated within plot
achieve this short turnaround was to constraints.

www.eptq.com REVAMPS 2008 29


Figure 2 New regenerator head in final stages of assembly
Figure 3 New regenerator head, part constructed, showing petal plates being offered
up to the central dollar plate. Plenum and cyclone hanger system at this stage are
sitting on a temporary support shell can
Removal of existing plant
Considerable investment was required in
relocating the existing plant, to
accommodate the assembly and operation
of the main crane and head frame
assembly. A spent catalyst unloading
hopper, fines skid and a section of pipe
rack were dismantled from within the
live operating plant and relocated. The
pipe rack included a substantial amount
of redundant piping, but also the main
feed line to the FCCU.
New regenerator head
The FCCU at Fawley is in the middle of
the refinery, making the delivery of large
components difficult. At 17m in
diameter, the new head could not be
delivered to site in one piece and had to
30 REVAMPS 2008 www.eptq.com
be designed to pass underneath the
existing pipe racks en route to the final
location that had a limited transportation
height and width restriction of
approximately six metres.
The new head (Figure 2) was designed
to minimise site work by taking into
account transport restrictions. The
optimum design was found to be a head
supplied in eight petal plates (the
minimum number possible) and a
central dollar section (Figure 3). The
dollar section would be supplied
complete with a plenum and refractory
lining. The central plenum was designed
sufficiently small to be supplied attached
to the dollar plate. A 1.6m additional
straight side of regenerator shell was
required for the new cyclone design and
this was supplied attached to the eight
petal plates, again minimising site work.
Originally, the new head was specified
as a 2:1 ellipsoidal design, but finite
element analysis carried out by Foster
Wheeler indicated that the shell thickness
would have to be greater than 38mm to
avoid distortion from internal pressure
and possible damage to the refractory
lining. At this thickness, the new head
would have to be post-weld heat treated
in accordance with the code. Additionally,
the extra weight would have caused
problems with the crane lift. So the team
agreed that the new head design would
be a hemispherical design, similar to the
existing head.
Trial assembly
Trial assembly of all components was
undertaken off-site at the vendor’s works
to minimise fit-up problems in the field.
In the fabricator’s works, G&G
International, Belgium, the complete
head was trial-assembled, complete with
plenum and cyclone hanger system. The
fabricator’s scope of work also included
two top modules fully fitted out with
relief valve manifolds platforms and
ladders. These components were also
part of this very large trial assembly,
during which precision surveys were
carried out and all parts were match-
marked to ensure re-assembly at site was
a repeat of the shop trial assembly.
The head build and sequence of other
pre-turnaround activities included:
1. Remove existing plant in areas required
for crane foundations and head frames
2. Pile and build foundations for crane
and head frames
3. Erect head frames
4. Assemble cyclone hanger system to
dollar and plenum at grade, then lift
onto a temporary 6m-diameter steel can
5. Assemble head petals to the central
dollar
6. Fit platforms and ladders to head
7. Refractory line head
8. Raise head frame
9. Install pairs of cyclones from
underneath
10. Install cyclone dip leg valves and
bracing
11. Trial assemble relief valve modules
12. Assemble main crane and trial lift
using new head as test weight.
Head frames
Due to the limited space available for
locating two very large head frames, one
head frame had to be built at elevation
above the operating equipment and
existing plant had to be relocated to
accommodate the other. More than 200
tonnes of steel was required to build the
two head frames. The head frames were
specifically designed for quick and easy
assembly on-site without the need for
scaffolding. The frame assemblies were
built at-site in approximately four weeks,

Figure 4 Old 17m-diameter regenerator top head being lowered onto head frame
with many sections being lifted over the
existing live plant.
One of the head frames had a novel
elevating facility that allowed the new
head to be built as close to grade as
possible, and then raised to an elevation
of approximately 10m for cyclone
installation. The cyclones were delivered
underneath the head and then lifted
into position using a crane hook
protruding inside the top of the head.
The elevating head frame consisted of
four twin tubular legs with a fabricated
box beam frame. To raise the frame,
strand jacks mounted on the top of each
of the four twin legs were used and
attached to lifting lugs positioned lower
down on the main beam assembly.
At the end of the turnaround, the
main crane was used to lift the old head
into the elevating head frame (Figure 4).
Cyclone dip legs, bracing and dust bowls
were then removed piecemeal in a safe
and controlled manner. The frame was
lowered to grade so that the old head
could be cut up and removed for scrap.
The static head frame had only four
legs due to limited floor space being
available over the existing plant. Large
tubular legs were supplied and lifted as
columns onto bolted foundations. At the
top of each tube was a location pin onto
which head frame beams were lowered.
Mammoet crane and lifting
Thirty-three months before the
turnaround, a contract for the main
crane was placed with Mammoet for the
use of its PTC ringer crane. With the
crane location fixed, engineering could
start on crane foundations and head
frame designs. The crane foundations
included more than 130 piles. The total
weight of the crane was 3500 tonnes,
including counter weights that were
supported on the crane ring.
32 REVAMPS 2008 www.eptq.com
Throughout the engineering and
shop fabrication phases of the project,
close attention was paid to the lift
weight, estimated at the early stage of
the project to be within just 20 tonnes
of the crane’s capacity. A detailed weight
monitoring programme was developed
to ensure the lift weight was not
exceeded, and all major components
were weighed at the fabrication shop.
The accuracy of the total estimated lift
weight also increased significantly, well
in advance of the final head assembly.
The logistics of building and operating
the huge Mammoet ringer crane on the
very tight plot was a major challenge.
From laser scanning, a 3D electronic
model was produced of the existing plant
in the zone adjacent to the crane build
and operation. Mammoet provided a 3D
model of the crane, and the two models
were combined and used to check
clearances during various stages of the
crane build and operation with the
existing operating plant. From this
exercise, additional clashes were identified
and the crane build adjusted accordingly.
It would have been difficult to identify
these clashes without the use of the 3D
“This was an excellent
example of Esso and Foster
Wheeler working together
with the sub-contractors
to complete a successful
project safely and ahead of
schedule. Also, the resulting
plant is working better than
expected”
model and laser survey, and this was
proven to be a major success where some
clearances were as small as 50mm.
Also during this development phase,
Mammoet changed the original PTC
ringer crane to a platform ringer crane
due to a commitment on another project.
The platform ringer crane was of similar
overall dimensions, but another 3D crane
model was generated and clash detection
with existing plant carried out using the
same laser scanning details. Minor re-
positioning of this crane was required to
ensure there were no clashes with existing
plant during crane assembly.
Twenty-four individual slings were
used to lift both the new and old head.
The use of so many slings was intended
to minimise local loadings in both
heads. The new head was so large and
relatively thin that finite element
analysis was carried out to confirm that
shell distortions would not damage the
refractory. For the old head, the main
concern was the condition of the original
shell plate, which had a history of
lamination problems. Ultrasonic
examination of the old head around the
lifting lug locations later proved that
laminations were not present. However,
the project team was not prepared to
take the risk with the old head.
The team had to overcome the problem
of achieving 24 equally balanced slings,
each taking an approximately equal load.
This was originally going to be achieved
by using turn buckles in each sling,
which would be adjusted and balanced
so that each sling was carrying an equal
load. However, it was felt that this would
take considerable time and may be
difficult to achieve. A better solution was
developed, where each lifting lug eye on
both heads was surveyed and each sling
length measured under tension to
calculate the overall differences in sling
length. Any differences in length would
be accommodated by introducing link
plates into each rigging length.
Head and overhead
line cutting
The team investigated two options for
head cutting: water cutting and
machining. Water cutting would be
faster if the head could be cut while the
regenerator was still hot, so that water
would be evaporated away as steam.
However, if the regenerator was allowed
to cool, large qualities of water would
get into the regenerator, affecting the
ceramic packing behind the air grid skirt
and mixing with the remaining catalyst,
making it difficult to remove later. The
machine cutting option was therefore
selected, involving milling away the
outer shell then disc cutting through the
refractory. Cutting tracks were set up
pre-turnaround, with a little skim taken
off the surface to ensure a level cut.
For the overhead line cutting, machine
cutting was not possible due to their
relatively small diameter, so they were
water cut.

Modularisation of the top

head relief valve assemblies
The Fawley regenerator has 13 relief
valves in four manifolds. These were
modularised in steel frames with all
associated small-bore piping and pilot
lines. Once the new head was installed,
these modules could be quickly lifted on
and connected up (Figure 5). Relief
valves were reused from the existing
head, so dummy spools were used to
replicate these in the system. Pre-
turnaround, the relief valve modules
had been assembled on the head, with
all interfaces trial fitted and checked.

3D modelling
Two 3D electronic models of the new
head were produced: a proprietary Solid
Edge model to determine clearances Figure 5 3D piping model of new head showing relief valve modules
during the construction phases of the
project and a proprietary SmartPlant
model for structural and piping interfaces
(Figure 6). Examples of Solid Edge
modelling being used to confirm
clearances during the complex build
sequence include:
— To minimise work on-site, the
cyclones were delivered as pairs,
complete with dip legs; only the valves
were left for site welding
— Solid Edge enabled a sequence of
cyclone installation to be determined,
and it identified that the last pair could
only be installed without dip legs on
— The amount of platforming that
could be left on without clashing during
the old and new head lifts
— Clearances for the 24 slings as they
passed down through the platforms
— Clearances between platforms on
both new and old heads when they were
both on the head frames
— Fit-up and clearances for the new
cyclone hanger system
— Clearances between existing internals
in the base of the regenerator and the
new cyclone system as it was lowered
into final position.
The turnaround sequence was then Figure 6 The 3D proprietary Solid Edge model used to determine clearances and fit-up
limited to the following main activities:
— Lift off overhead line Esso’s Fawley refinery notable was the Email: john_payne@fwuk.fwc.com
— Machine cut head meticulous attention to detail required Rob Tarbard is Turnarounds, Majors
— Lift old head to perform one of the largest head and Contracts Section Head with Esso
— Break back refractory at site weld replacements carried out in the world. Petroleum Company Limited. As a chemical
— Lift on new head Even so, investment in pre-turnaround engineer, he has worked for ExxonMobil
— Fit, weld and non-destructive activities and making major decisions at the Fawley site for 28 years. In 2005
examination of new head to old shell early in the process enabled the Fawley he worked with Foster Wheeler as
— Lift on relief valve modules refinery to execute its fastest-ever FCC Construction Manager of the Low Sulphur
— Lift back overhead line turnaround in 30 days. Mogas Project (Scanfiner) at Fawley.
— Make good refractory at site welds. Peter Johnson is Construction Engineer
for Esso Petroleum Company Limited at
Attention to detail John Payne is Principal Consultant Static the Fawley refinery. He worked for Esso
As previously noted, head removals to Equipment Engineer at Foster Wheeler for over 40 years, specialising in catalytic
change out reactor and regenerator Energy Limited, Reading, UK. He is cracking unit projects and turnarounds.
internals are quite common. What made currently providing consultancy services to The catalytic cracker regenerator head was
the regenerator head replacement at several refineries in the UK and overseas. his last project prior to retirement.

www.eptq.com REVAMPS 2008 33