Oil Quench In Ethylene Process

By BETE Fog Nozzle, Inc.

Worldwide demand for ethylene is approximately 100 billion pounds per year and growing. It is a base product for many other products including polyethylene. In fact, about 35 to 40 percent of the ethylene manufactured worldwide goes to polyethylene production. Ethylene feedstock is usually ethane, propane, butane, or a number of other feedstocks. The feedstock is mixed with steam and heated to a temperature of about 1500 degrees F to cause the reaction that converts it to ethylene in the pyrolysis furnace. It is downstream of the pyrolysis furnace where the need for nozzles occurs. It is necessary to cool the process stream in order for the chemical reactions to take place correctly. Cooling is accomplished by injecting oil into the process stream to reduce the temperature. It is critical to have a good pattern distribution into the process stream.