LPG Loading Terminal Arms Contaminated with Black Powder

Problem

The plant inlet conventional filters allowed Black Powder contamination to enter the facility which damaged pump and compression equipment.

During the loading process, small quantities of Black Powder plugged off the basket screens, extending loading hours, creating costly downtime, and average demurrage penalties of $50,000/incident.

Solution

Installed BPS’ Magnetic Separator system upstream of the conventional filters to clean the Black Powder (Figure 1) before it plugs the basket screens.

Results

After one year, there were no unplanned shutdowns during loading. This eliminated financial penalties, and excess labor costs required for the isolation, venting, purging, cleaning, and venting of the screens. The facility owner/operator has since ordered additional BPS Magnetic Separator Systems for deployment in various NGL applications. Reduced Black Powder volumes will increase reliability and improve production and profitability, while also providing a cleaner product to the customer.