Performance Evaluation of the Demineralization Plant of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited, Kaduna, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper provide an over view of the performance of the demineralization unit of Kaduna refining and Petrochemical Company Limited. It also offers to the oil and gas Company the best alternative resin for the ion-exchange processes. Performance evaluation of the demineralization plant of the company has been carried out with the view of enhancing the performance of the unit. Demineralization Plant a major unit in the external treatment of boiler water by the use of ion exchange resins to purify the water. The evaluation was based on the study of three years data: 1997 which parameters (pH, conductivity and silica) were closed to the design values and compare to the most recent past (2000 and 2001), which were discovered to be beyond the design value. To solve the existing problem a resin (Amberlite) different from lewatite presently employed by the KRPC was used for the ion exchange process and at twenty-hour demineralization time, Amberlite resins prove to be more effective than the Lewatite. To safeguard the incessant failure of the boiler tubes and to end the under-utilization of the Demineralizer and boiler units, a rehabilitation of the raw water and Demineralization unit plant is recommended, while Amberlite resins should replace lewatite resins.