Luoyang Wohong Petrochemical Equipment: Introduction to Annual Maintenance Services for Waste Gas Treatment and Recovery Systems

The exhaust gas treatment and recovery system operates continuously throughout the year, with gradual changes occurring to the heat exchange surface due to fouling, seals due to aging, and instruments due to drift. While routine inspections can identify some of these changes, a systematic check is necessary to confirm the overall status of the system. Annual maintenance provides a comprehensive physical examination and upkeep for the system: it replenishes the operational consumption over the past year, corrects the gradual deterioration, and ensures the system enters the next operational year in a state close to its initial condition, thereby reducing the risk of unplanned downtime.

What does maintenance include

The maintenance is carried out in four lines: the process line - cleaning or replacement of heat exchangers, replacement of packing and filtering materials, and drainage and dredging of low points in pipelines; the equipment line - lubrication of fan bearings, replacement of pump seals, and maintenance of compressors; the instrument control line - instrument calibration, interlock testing, and control logic verification; and the safety line - electrostatic grounding inspection, explosion-proof electrical inspection, and concentration detection at discharge outlets. These four lines are arranged at once to avoid prolonging the maintenance window due to batch shutdowns. The depth of maintenance is determined based on the system's operating years and annual data.

How to organize maintenance

The key to organization lies in aligning with the production plan: the maintenance window should be determined in advance, and the scope of downtime, isolation plan, and management of hot work and confined space operations should be implemented item by item; prefabricated parts and spare parts should be in place in advance, reducing on-site workload to disassembly, assembly, and commissioning. Temporary discharge paths during maintenance should be arranged in advance, and the connection between maintenance operations and production recovery should follow a checklist to prevent omissions. The division of labor within the maintenance team should also be determined in advance: dedicated personnel are responsible for each line of process, equipment, and instrument control, and the sequence of cross-operation is arranged to prevent mutual waiting; the requisition of spare parts and the recycling of old parts after replacement should be registered together, with consumption corresponding to the ledger. Weather factors should be taken into account - maintenance of outdoor parts should be arranged to avoid rainy days, protective measures for high-altitude operations should be confirmed during disclosure, and safety matters should be prioritized over progress. The entire process usually takes two to four working days, depending on the scale of the system and the depth of maintenance. The more accurate the window, the less disruption to production.

How to close the loop for acceptance

Maintenance is not just done and forgotten. Only after the acceptance loop is completed can it be effective: after cleaning the heat exchanger, verify that the pressure difference returns to the benchmark; count and record the model and replacement reason of each replacement part; after calibrating the instruments, conduct an interlock linkage test for confirmation; after the system resumes operation, observe it continuously for several days, compare the operating parameters with those before maintenance, and form a maintenance report - including what was done, problems found, handling results, and what to focus on next time. The report should be fully documented along with the equipment files, and any remaining items should be included in the next round of tracking list.

Maintenance content reference

Steps for implementing maintenance

1. Summarize annual operational data to determine maintenance priorities and scope;
2. Align the maintenance window with the production plan;
3. Ensure that spare parts and prefabricated components are in place in advance, and conduct a thorough disclosure of the plan and isolation measures;
4. Conduct maintenance according to the four lines, and keep images and records of key procedures;
5. Sub-item acceptance plus system linkage acceptance, parameter comparison and confirmation;
6. The maintenance report is archived, and the remaining items are listed in the tracking list.

Frequently Asked Questions

The system has been operating normally, can we skip the annual maintenance?

It is not advisable to save. Gradual deterioration is not reflected in daily parameters, and by the time it is, it is often close to failure. The cost of annual maintenance is far lower than the loss of unplanned downtime, and the calculation is not difficult.

Do we need to shut down completely for maintenance?

Most systems can be maintained in sections, with key standalone machines and shared components scheduled within the planning window; the specific scope of downtime is determined during the planning phase, in consultation with the production department, and components that can remain operational are kept running.

How is the maintenance depth determined?

Based on the operational years and annual data: systems within two years of operation should primarily focus on inspection and maintenance; component replacement should be incorporated after three to five years; for systems over five years, the depth of maintenance should be determined based on condition assessment. Major overhauls should be carried out as needed, rather than uniformly based on operational years.

This article is compiled by Luoyang Wohong Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd., which provides design, manufacturing, and operation and maintenance services for condensation recovery, membrane separation recovery, and complete solvent recovery equipment to chemical and pharmaceutical enterprises. If you need process evaluation or scheme configuration, please feel free to contact us for discussion.