Coke drums are utilized in the coker section of several oil refineries worldwide. Delayed cokers are generally constructed of large vertical vessels which can reach 80’ – 100’ (24m -30m) in height and between 7’ - 15’ (2m – 5m) in diameter. The coke drum is filled with the tar which is cracked when it enters the coke drum. Once the drum is full of coke, a process which can take up to 18 hours, the feed supply (tar) is redirected to the next drum to be filled. The full drum is cooled, or quenched, with water. Increased quench time results in a decreased amount of stress on the drum’s metal components.
When the drum is sufficiently cooled, the coke is cut out by way of a waterjet delivered through a vertically-orientated drill stem. This explains why the coke drums are usually the tallest structures in the refinery. In fact, you can usually see a drilling derrick atop the drums. A mechanical flange must be removed from the top and bottom of the drum in order to cut the coke out and allow it to fall.
The constant thermal changes which occur between quench cycles ultimately lead to bulging and cracking throughout the drum. Quest TruTec's proprietary Laser and Video Scan technology allows plants to better manage the life cycle of coke drums.
Applicable Condition Assessment Technologies