New products cut tar deposits
By Staff -- Purchasing, 3/12/1998
Ciba Specialty Chemicals recently added a retarder chemical to its Prostab line of inhibitors. These products reduce deposit formation in a number of different monomer processes, including ethylene, propylene, styrene, butadiene, and isoprene.During monomer processing, raw material tends to polymerize. The resulting tar deposits plug up equipment, causing plant shutdowns for cleaning. "This is a costly process," says Geoff Broadhurst, director of new-business development at Ciba Specialty Chemicals. Production losses can add up to $1 million/day.
There are several negatives to the deposits. First, product is wasted. Second, sometimes the deposit is drained continuously, or the process has to be stopped to collect the deposits. Once collected, the tar is removed and incinerated, which releases effluents into the air.
Ciba's line of Prostab products include 5415 and 5198, fast-reacting chemical inhibitors, and the new 6007, a slower-reacting retarder. The new retarder is a nontoxic, more effective substitute for the highly toxic nitroaromatic product used for the past 20 years. In addition, customers can use a smaller amount of Ciba's retarder. "Our product is a better performer environmentally," says Broadhurst.
Ciba's new products offer a number of benefits. Although each plant is different, Prostab products reduce the amount of tar deposits by as much as 70%. Cleaning is also easier, because Prostab produces a freer flowing tar. In addition, Prostab products are low in nitrogen and sulphur content, so what is incinerated is lower in NO(subx) and SO(sub2) effluents.
The time between maintenance shutdowns is lengthened. For example, a company had a heat exchanger that was cleaned every ten days at a cost of several thousand dollars. "Our products extended the time between cleanings to eight months," says Broadhurst. Another monomer company extended cleaning times for a tower from three months to nine months using Ciba's products.
Ciba's Prostab products cost the same as the older products on a dosage basis but win out on a value-analysis basis because of the benefits. Shutdown, incineration/disposal, and clean-up costs are lower. In addition, the Prostab products are safer to handle and better for the environment.
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