Q8's jumbo order for ABB multipoints

London - ABB has supplied Q8 National Petroleum with twelve 23-metre long multipoint temperature measuring devices for the refurbishment of atmospheric residue desulfuriser reactors in the Mina Abdulla Refinery in Kuwait. Manufactured at ABB’s Workington, UK plant in the, the multi-sensing elements make measurements along the length and width of the reactor, allowing a range of distributed temperature measurements to be derived from a single entry into the pressure vessel.

With three measuring points each, plus duplex sensors for redundancy, the multipoints are made with full stainless steel sheath for high corrosion resistance. Each thermocouple head incorporates Type N protection of the sensor connections, and a non-sparking protection for hazardous zones where an explosive gas mixture is not expected, but could occur. They will be used to measure temperatures over a multiple positions with a single reactor access point.

The size of the multipoints, plus the need to get the equipment to the installation site during Q8’s plant shutdown window, led to a Boeing 747 aircraft with an opening nose cone being used to carry the equipment to Kuwait, noted Andrew Dunbabin, temperature products manager at ABB's Workington factory.

“Flying the multipoints to their final destination presented the best option not only in terms of meeting the tight project timeframe, but also because it allowed us to deliver them in one piece,” said Dunbabin. “Had the multipoint thermocouples assembly been delivered in several sections, the customer would have had to reassemble and retest each one on site, which would have added extra time, cost and complexity.”