Impact of Wear on Key Components of the Main Reactor on Equipment Operation

Impact of Wear on Key Components of the Main Reactor on Equipment Operation

Wear of key components of the main reactor will directly impair the operational stability, process controllability and production safety of the equipment, and also affect the pyrolysis efficiency and product quality. The impacts caused by wear of different components vary significantly, as detailed below:

Wear and Corrosion of Reactor Inner Wall

Thinning of the inner wall steel plate will reduce the pressure resistance of the reactor. The originally maintainable slight positive pressure environment of 0.02–0.05MPa can no longer be sustained, which is prone to air leakage, undermining the oxygen-free conditions required for pyrolysis. This leads to raw material oxidation, which not only reduces oil-gas yield but also generates more impurities, impairing oil product quality.

Severe corrosion will pose a risk of reactor wall leakage. Leakage of pyrolysis gas or high-temperature oil may cause odor pollution in the workshop and even fire hazards. If cracks appear on the inner wall, the equipment has to be shut down for overhaul, directly interrupting the operation of the production line and increasing maintenance costs.

Wear of Reactor Door and Sealing Components

Aging of sealing gaskets and wear of sealing surfaces will cause continuous air leakage into the reactor. On the one hand, it will increase the oxygen content inside the reactor, triggering local combustion of raw materials, resulting in sudden temperature rises and drops inside the reactor and damaging process stability. On the other hand, it will increase fuel consumption, because the leaked cold air will take away a large amount of heat, requiring the burner to continuously increase fire power to maintain the set temperature.

Thread slipping or deformation of locking bolts will exacerbate the sealing failure of the reactor door. In extreme cases, the slight positive pressure inside the reactor may push the door open, causing splashing of high-temperature gas and leading to scalding accidents of operators.

Wear of Rotating Components of Horizontal Main Reactor

Wear of rolling rings and supporting rollers: When grooves or uneven wear appear on the contact surfaces, the rotation of the reactor body will experience shaking and jamming, failing to maintain a stable speed of 1–3r/min. Raw materials cannot be fully tumbled, tending to accumulate at the bottom of the reactor and cause local overheating and coking, which not only prolongs pyrolysis time but also increases cleaning difficulty.

Bearing wear: When bearing balls have pitting or excessive clearance, the rotating system will produce strong abnormal noise and vibration, which not only affects the service life of the equipment but also may cause uneven stress on transmission components, leading to chain damage of gears, chains and other parts. In severe cases, bearings may seize up, making the reactor body completely unable to rotate and forcing the production line to shut down.

Wear of transmission components: Peeling of gear tooth surfaces and loosening/elongation of chains will cause the rotation speed of the reactor body to fluctuate. Raw materials are heated unevenly, resulting in inconsistent pyrolysis reaction levels, lower proportion of light oil in products, and more heavy oil and carbon black impurities.

Wear of Safety Accessories (safety valves, pressure gauges, etc.)

Wear of the safety valve core will reduce its sensitivity, preventing it from timely relieving pressure when the pressure exceeds the safety threshold of 0.08MPa. Continuous pressure rise inside the reactor may lead to serious safety accidents such as reactor bulging or even explosion.

Wear of pressure gauge sensing components will cause distortion of pressure monitoring data, making it impossible for operators to accurately judge the pressure state inside the reactor. This is likely to result in incorrect adjustment of process parameters due to misjudgment, further increasing the operational risks of the equipment.