Heat Transfer—Asian Research, 40 (5), 2011

Reclassification of SRU Equipment to ASME Section VIII

Division 1

Dhawi A. Al-Otaibi and Salamah S. Al-Anizi

Consulting Services Department, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

This paper investigates the possibility of reclassifying Sulfur Recovery Unit

(SRU) reaction furnace equipment to design rules that meet ASME Boiler and Pressure
Vessel Code (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1, which is the standard for pressure vessel
design. Currently most SRU equipment is designed and constructed following the
design rules of ASME (BPVC) I, as they were considered steam generators or boilers.
Plant inspection experiences difficulties testing and inspecting the components of a
reaction furnace because of the mixture of ASME (BPVC) design rules with different
inspection intervals. These difficulties include limited accessibility for inspecting the
shell side of a Waste Heat Boiler (WHB), with an inspection interval of 24 months,
without removing the tubes that are designed to the ASME (BPVC) VIII rules, with
an inspection interval of 36 months. The objective of code reclassification is to extend
the Testing & Inspection (T&I) period of WHB and steam drum in the SRU to 36
months as allowed by standards for equipment constructed under the rules of ASME
(BPVC) Section VIII Division 1 and the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC). The
results of the evaluation and analyses revealed acceptable component configurations
(thickness, stress levels, etc.) in accordance with the design rules of ASME (BPVC)
Section VIII Division 1. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 40(5),
475–482, 2011; Published online 31 May 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyon-
linelibrary.com/journal/htj). DOI 10.1002/htj.20352

Introduction

Sulfur recovery refers to the conversion of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to elemental sulfur.
Hydrogen sulfide is a by-product of processing natural gas. Sulfur recovery units or Claus plants
normally provide up to 98% of the sulfur recovery capability in a refinery or natural gas processing
operation. To recover sulfur from sour crude, the Claus plant reaction furnace typically combusts air
and hydrogen sulfide, which results from sulfur processing. The hydrogen sulfide is then partially
oxidized and catalytically converted to produce high-purity molten sulfur. The Claus sulfur recovery
unit generally consists of two distinct sections: the thermal (front-end) section, from the inlet up to
the waste-heat boiler and condensers, and the catalytic (back-end) section, downstream of the
condensers as shown in Fig. 1.

The characteristics of the acid-gas feed, such as H2S concentration, mainly determine the
configuration of the thermal section, while the desired sulfur-recovery efficiency generally dictates
the selection of the processes used in the back end, which includes tail gas treatment. About 60% of
© 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
475
 Fig. 1. Typical sulfur recovery process with acid gas and air preheat. [Color figure can be viewed
in the online issue, which is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj.]

the conversion occurs in the thermal section. The balance, plus sulfur recovery, takes place in the
catalytic stage.

Nomenclature

P [psi]: internal design pressure

P* [psi]: maximum allowable working pressure
t [in]: minimum required thickness of shell
D [in]: outside diameter of cylinder
S [psi]: maximum allowable stress value
E [–] : joint efficiency, dimensionless
y [–] : temperature coefficient
c [in]: minimum allowance for threading and structural stability
ta [in]: actual thickness
CA [in]: corrosion allowance
∆t [in]: thicknesses difference between the actual and ASME VIII values
MM [–]: million

Description of Reaction Furnace

The reaction furnace is the most critical equipment in the Claus process. Due to the complex
reactions that take place in the reaction furnace, the design criteria are heavily based on experience,
rather than theoretical calculations. The reaction furnace is composed of three main pieces of
equipment that include: the combustion chamber, waste heat boiler, and steam drum. The reaction
furnace equipment is similar in principle in different facilities. There are several minor differences in
size, material, and (or) operating limits.

476
 Table 1. Present Code Classification for Reaction Furnace Equipment

Present and Proposed Code Classification for Reaction Furnace Equipment

Code classification of the reaction furnace’s three components conforming to the standards is
shown in Table 1.

The present classification of the combustion chamber is ASME (BPVC) Section VIII.
Therefore, its classification will stay the same.

The WHB is divided into two sections: the tube and shell sides. The tube side is classified as
ASME (BPVC) Section VIII equipment, while the shell side is classified as ASME (BPVC) Section
I. There is no valid reason for the different classification for these WHB components. Also, the
inspection units in several operating facilities experience difficulties in testing and inspecting the
components of the reaction furnace. These difficulties include limited accessibility for inspecting the
WHB’s internals, e.g., the difficulty of carrying out inspection for the shell side of the equipment
without inspecting the tubes.

Current code classification of the combustion chamber and the WHB in the reaction furnace
is shown in Fig. 2 and Table 1. As shown in the figure, the combustion chamber and the Front End
Cover are designed in accordance with ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1. The WHB shell is
designed per ASME (BPVC) Section I while the boiler tubes are designed as per ASME (BPVC)
Section VIII Division 1.

Fig. 2. Current code classification of reaction furnace. [Color figure can be viewed in the online
issue, which is available at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj.]

477
 ASME (BPVC) I Exception

ASME (BPVC) Section I makes an exception to certain equipment and allows the use of
ASME (BPVC) Section VIII design. This is stated in ASME (BPVC) Section I preamble as follows:

“A pressure vessel in which steam is generated by the application of heat resulting from
the combustion of fuel (solid, liquid, or gaseous) shall be classed as a fired steam boiler. Unfired
pressure vessels in which steam generated shall be classed as unfired steam boilers with the
following exceptions:

(a) Vessels known as evaporators or heat exchangers;

(b) Vessels in which steam is generated by the use of heat resulting from operation of
a processing system containing a number of pressure vessels such as used in the manufacture
of chemical and petroleum products.”

Hence, the reaction furnace is classified based on part (b) which allows the construction per ASME
(BPVC) Section I or Section VIII.

Proposed Code Reclassification for Reaction Furnace Equipment

1. WHB

Inspection departments experience difficulties due to the different frequencies of inspection

intervals of the two sections of the ASME (BPVC) Codes. Consequently, it is recommended to
reclassify the WHB of the reaction furnace to a Section VIII pressure vessel. Another benefit of this
reclassification is increasing the Equipment Inspection Schedule (EIS) of the reaction furnace
equipment from twenty-four (24) months of ASME (BPVC) Section I to thirty-six (36) months of
ASME (BPVC) Section VIII.

2. Steam Drum

It is also recommended to reclassify the steam drum from ASME (BPVC) Section I to a Section
VIII pressure vessel. This is to unify operation classification of all equipment of the reaction furnace
to ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1, and thereby utilize the EIS span extension as mentioned
in the reaction furnace WHB section.

Mechanical Analysis

A. WHB

To evaluate the reclassification, both ASME (BPVC) Section I and Section VIII Division 1
were reviewed as detailed.

ASME (BPVC) Section I Preamble clearly indicates that the subject vessels (WHB) could be
classified as unfired steam boilers. The vessels are identified in the industry as waste heat boilers.
Additionally, steam is not generated in the boiler using heat produced from operation of a processing

478
system containing a number of pressure vessels. Hence, the Code provides the choice of constructing,
or classifying in this case, the boilers under the provisions of Section VIII Division 1.

Likewise, paragraph U1-(e) of ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1 scope states the
following:

“In relation to the geometry of pressure containing parts, the scope of this Division shall
include the following:

U-1(g) Unfired steam boilers as defined in Section I shall be constructed in accordance

with the rules of Section I or this Division {see UG-125(b) and UW-2(c)}.

The following pressure vessels in which steam is generated shall be constructed in

accordance with the rules of this Division:

U1(g)(1) vessels known as evaporators or heat exchangers

U1(g)(2) vessels in which steam is generated by the use of heat resulting from operation
of a processing system containing a number of pressure vessels such as used in the manufacture
of chemical and petroleum products.”

The above ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1 scope confirms the earlier conclusion of
the possibility of classifying the WHB as ASME (BPVC) Section I or ASME (BPVC) Section VIII
Division 1.

B. Steam Drum

Current code classification of Steam Drum is ASME (BPVC) Section I. As mentioned earlier,
it is proposed to reclassify this drum as a pressure vessel to utilize the EIS span extension for all the
reaction furnace equipment. Therefore, the drum, shell, head, and nozzle should meet the requirements
of Section VIII to be reclassified as a pressure vessel.

Thickness requirements for the shell, head, nozzles, and reinforcing pads of the steam drum
were calculated according to ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1. Results of the calculations
indicated that the existing thicknesses of components of the steam drum meet ASME (BPVC) Section
VIII requirements. Therefore, the drum could be reclassified as a pressure vessel.

Calculations

ASME (BPVC) Section I Requirements

The requirements of thickness and pressure according to ASME (BPVC) Section I are given
by the following two equations:
__
PD __
t= +c (1)
2SE + 2yP

479
 Table 2. Waste Heat Boiler Shell Calculations

__
2SE(t − c)
P= (2)
D − 2y(t − c)

ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1 Requirements

The requirements of the thickness and pressure according to ASME (BPVC) Section VIII
Division 1 are given by the following two equations (Paragraph UG-27):

1. Circumferential Stress (Longitudinal Joints). When thickness does not exceed one-half of
the inside radius, or P does not exceed 0.385SE, the following formula shall apply:

PR SEt
t= or P = (3)
(SE + 0.6P) (R + 0.6t)

2. Longitudinal Stress (Circumferential Joints). When thickness does not exceed one-half of
the inside radius, or P does not exceed 1.25SE, the following formula shall apply:

Table 3. Steam Drum Shell Calculations

480
 Table 4. Reclassification Benefits

PR 2SEt (4)
t= or P =
(2SE − 0.2P) (R + 0.2t)

ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1 Nozzle Thickness Requirements

Nozzle reinforcement calculations were conducted according to ASME (BPVC) Section VIII
Division 1, Paragraph UG-37 “Reinforcement Required for Openings in Shells and Formed Heads.”

Calculations Methodology

Calculations of thickness requirement for the shell, head, nozzles, and reinforcing pads of
WHB and Steam Drum were conducted for two SRU plants using a mechanical design software.
Evaluation of WHB includes calculating reinforcing pad and nozzle thickness of the man-way. Saddle
stability is calculated to insure saddle integrity with ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1. A study
of the steam drum includes calculating reinforcing pad and nozzle thickness of relief valve (PZV),
man-ways, steam outlet, Boiler Feed Water (BFW) inlet, and inspection openings. Reinforcing pad
and nozzles thickness of the riser and downcomer are also calculated.

Analysis Results

Results of the calculations are presented in the following tables. These calculations were
carried out in accordance with ASME (BPVC) Section VIII rules previously stated in the Calculations
section of the report.

Operation Reclassification Advantages

Two SRU trains in two plants were reclassified to the design rules of ASME (BPVC) Section
VIII Division 1. They are located at different facilities. Their EIS is extended from twenty-four (24)
to thirty-six (36) months as allowed by ASME (BPVC) Section VIII. Reclassification benefits are
summarized in the following table.

Conclusion

The study has revealed that the design of waste heat boilers and steam drums could be
classified according to design rules of ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1 instead of ASME
(BPVC) Section I design rules. This would entail major cost saving by extending the EIS from twenty-
four (24) months of Section I to thirty-six (36) months. Therefore, it is recommended to reclassify the
components of the reaction furnaces in SRU, based on ASME (BPVC) Section VIII Division 1.

481
 Literature Cited

1. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section I, Rules for Construction of Power Boilers.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers: New York; 2007.
2. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII, Division 1, Rules for Construction of
Pressure Vessels. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers: New York; 2007.
3. TEMA. Standard of the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association. Tarrytown; New York.
4. Sulfur Production Report, 2006. United States Geological Survey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Amine_gas_treating

"F F F"

482