NOVA Chemicals Corporation

NOVA Chemicals Corporation has developed a unique furnace coil technology that dramatically reduces decoking downtime for its steam cracking furnaces and is now marketed worldwide.

All steam cracking processes are plagued by the formation of coke on the furnace coil, requiring frequent, costly shutdowns to remove it. The culprits are iron and nickel, the main components of high-temperature alloys used as furnace coil materials. They are catalytically active at high temperatures, which lead to rapid coke formation. In a typical steam cracker, this means an average furnace runtime of 30 days between decoking cycles.

NOVA Chemicals Corporation in Calgary embarked on a research project to develop a method to “switch off” this catalytic activity on furnace coil surfaces. The project team – comprised of principal engineer Dr. Michael Oballa, engineers William Wong and Chi Wong, and furnace specialist Les Benum, from the Joffre plant, – took an innovative approach. Counter to the industry practice of applying coatings or additives to coil surfaces, the team focused on the surface properties of the base metal and used them to modify the coil surface.

In another innovative approach, the team continuously applied the results of their ongoing research to the commercial plant operations and used the resulting data to help focus the research. In the normal course of R&D, significant research is completed before it is tested on a commercial scale. By applying small changes to the commercial operation throughout the R&D stage, the team was able to confirm early results and alter their course as required.