Polykettle Replacement

Challenge

A resins manufacturer had three polykettle (PK) reactors that required replacement due to old age and increasingly costly maintenance. In addition to the replacement of the PK reactors, new reflux condensers for each reactor were needed. Lastly, existing chilled condensers needed to be relocated to the building roof to improve safe access for inspection and cleaning.

Solution

Valdes performed the front-end engineering to develop preliminary models and material take-offs so that construction bids could be obtained. The relocation caused re-route of a significant amount of small bore piping and generally cleaned up years of field additions. Additionally, this effort required relocation/modification of an existing scrubber structure, installation of new PK condenser wash systems, and installation of new vapor balance line and building ventilation system. A process cooling water study was also completed to verify sufficient cooling water would be available at the higher roof level for the condensers. The detailed engineering involved developing hundreds of stress-analyzed piping isometrics as well as new drawings for the reinforced roof structure.

Impact

The client benefitted from the experience that Valdes has accumulated having been an early adopter of the laser scanning and 3D modeling technology. Due to the years of field additions and the many moving parts within this effort, it was important to capture the existing conditions accurately in the design process. The Valdes team was able to deliver a high-quality product to this client because of their ability to incorporate the 3D modeling into their design process.