Leading resource company, Veolia, has launched a new industrial catalyst management service in the UK to meet the demand for services in petrochemical, ammonia, hydrogen and steel plants, and help manufacturers reduce downtime and improve productivity.
Backed by the latest catalyst loading technology, sites will benefit from increased plant efficiencies, and an enhanced safety performance. Delivered by Veolia's specialised catalyst management handling teams, the services cover catalyst change-outs for different types of petrochemical reactors, single or multibed, tubular reactors and primary reformer type units.
Catalysts are used in many processing operations and their optimised operation has a direct effect on catalyst performance, production and process lifetime. To maintain these vital parameters the service ensures that the spent catalyst materials are safely and efficiently unloaded from the reactors, and new materials reloaded using different patented technologies. Materials can be removed from site, treated or disposed of in specialised facilities.
The most important part of a catalyst change is the loading of new catalyst materials as this has a direct impact on catalyst life and reactor performance. Designed for loading of various catalyst materials Veolia use the latest technology to maximise the effectiveness of these operations through accurate control of the filling procedures. As a result, the catalyst is uniformly loaded with an increased packed density that will eliminate any potential hot spots, channelling and uneven distribution during the reactor operation, and also increase the catalyst lifetime performance.
Most types of catalysts require unloading and reloading under inert - IDLH, N2 conditions, that avoids pyrophoric ignition, catalyst damage or corrosion of reactor shell and internals. To meet the challenging requirements of operating in these conditions Veolia's catalyst handling teams are fully trained in confined space entry, use of breathing apparatus and have the necessary Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG) Safety Passport, backed by NEBOSH, IOSH Managing Safely and COSHH accreditations.
