Fouling in gas processing facilities: Testing, root cause analysis and mitigation—Part 1

Fouling in gas processing facilities can take on several different forms, depending on the conditions where it occurs and the contaminants involved. In some cases, deposition occurs slowly over a period of years, and monitoring and mitigation requires methods with a high degree of accuracy and trace contaminant detection. In other cases, fouling occurs rapidly and causes equipment failures in a matter of weeks—the onset of issues is often rapid, as well, requiring diligent monitoring and analysis on a frequent or continuous basis. In every case, however, it is critical to have a program in place to monitor for the precursors to fouling and determine the rate of fouling when it is occurring.