A reactor cooling system at LyondellBasell's Mumbai facility had a reliability problem no one could fully explain. The system wasn't meeting design requirements, maintenance costs were climbing, and the piping kept needing to be cleaned. The initial design had been built on simplifying assumptions in another hydraulic modeling tool. Those assumptions, it turned out, had missed something critical: solids deposition.
LyondellBasell engineer Rajitha Papagari rebuilt the analysis using Datacor Fathom with the Settling Slurry (SSL) add-on module. The model was validated against live plant data, incorporated temperature-dependent fluid properties across heat exchangers, and applied non-standard resistance curves for accurate frictional loss calculations throughout the system.
Fathom's SSL module flagged multiple pipe segments where fluid velocity dropped below the deposition threshold. Every flagged location was later confirmed physically during a system turnaround. The model wasn't approximating the problem. It was mapping it exactly.
The fix didn't require a bigger pump. It required a reducer tee, targeted pump suction and discharge piping modifications, and a clear understanding of where velocity was being lost. Recirculation rate increased 15%. A planned pump upsizing was canceled, avoiding $435K in capital cost. Improved reliability and reduced shutdowns added another $247K per year in operational savings.
The original tool couldn't see the problem. Fathom found it, quantified it, and made the solution defensible.
Download the case study to see the model output, the deposition velocity warnings, and the piping modifications that made the difference.