PTQ Q1 2024 Issue

six months, enabling the exchanger to be repaired during a scheduled unit turnaround. This system has operated without a leak for more than two years and without the need for an unscheduled clean- ing. The refinery intends to implement the biofilm detection and control programme in the coming year on an additional cooling tower and the influent water system. Another Marathon refinery has plans to install the biofilm detection and control programme on its two cooling towers. Marathon’s success has motivated other refineries and petrochemical operations. A petrochemical plant using impound water ran a successful trial using the perfor- mance monitoring and biofilm detection and control programmes on part of its pond system, resulting in the expansion of the programmes to two large circulating cooling water systems. Another refinery that implemented the programmes increased the flow through its cooling system by 25% within a month of implementation because of the removal of biofilm. Refinery leadership plans to expand the pro - grammes to several cooling towers. Successful implemen- tation at an ammonia plant allowed continued operation of the plant at a reduced cost, compared with the previous programme, despite a 50 ppm ammonia leak into the cool - ing water system. Thus far, a shutdown for repair has been avoided for nine months. Actual turnarounds at this facility may be yet another year away. The number of success stories continues to grow at an accelerating rate. These examples show that careful

analysis of heat exchanger data to determine the causation of failure and loss of efficiency due to biofouling resulted in the implementation of a biofilm detection and control programme that delivered a large ROI for a wide variety of industrial operations. Thanks to these innovative pro- grammes, biofilm – the hidden threat – can no longer hide.

ClearPoint, OnGuard, and HexEval are marks of Solenis LLC.

Brian Martin is based out of Canton, Ohio, and is responsible for Marathon’s utility water systems at its 17 plants in the US. He holds bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology and has 33 years of water treatment experience, seven of which have been with Marathon. Tim Duncan is based in St. Louis, Missouri, and is responsible for Solenis’ cooling water applications in North America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. During his 35-year career, he has held various water and wastewater management positions in the specialty chem- icals industry. For the past seven years he has focused on providing technical expertise in cooling water chemistry and controls. E mail: tmduncan@solenis.com Gordon Johnson is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is respon - sible for providing technical guidance for Solenis’ petrochemical busi- ness in North America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and has 27 years of water treatment experience in oil refining and paper manufacturing. For the past 18 years he has managed the water treat- ment solutions provided by Solenis for the third largest oil refinery in North America. Email: gwjohnson@solenis.com

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PTQ Q1 2024