Carbon formation on stainless steel 304H in convection section of ethane cracking plant

Abstract

The coking of stainless steel 304H alloy (SS304H) has been investigated in ethane–steam mixtures in the presence/absence of a few ppm of H₂S at 700°C. In this, first detailed study of the influence of H₂S on carbon morphology on SS304H, we show that the addition of H₂S greatly altered the carbon morphology, in the long-term experiments (90 h). For shorter exposure times (4 h), carbon formation decreased as H₂S concentration was increased. This improved carbon tolerance of SS304H is likely due to adsorption of sulphfur on its surface. Addition of H₂S did not change the ethane cracking initiation temperature or the product distribution.

Keywords

Stainless steel 304H Coking Sulphur adsorption Carbon morphology Carbon nanofibres

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