Systems and methods for efficient on-line pigging of a coker furnace without interruption of the delayed coking process, which will save time and money during the delayed coking process. This system can be retrofitted to existing coker furnaces.

A pig trap of this disclosure may include one or more injectors or nozzles located along a sidewall of the barrel and oriented to deliver a jet of fluid toward a back side of a vertical member of a pig or tool. The nozzle may be part of an assembly that includes a longitudinally extending pipe having a flat-profile flange at an inlet end, a curved-profile flange at the nozzle end, and a bend in between the two ends. When the assembly is installed in a sidewall opening of a pig trap, the nozzle delivers a jet of fluid toward the back side of a vertical member of the pig. A leak path may be provided through flanges or formed between the sidewall opening and a periphery of the curved-profile flange. Launch forces of more than 10 to 15 times that of a conventional launcher may be achieved.

Devices and methods to drive a pig along an interior tube or pipeline are described herein. The pigging unit may be separate from any large trailer to allow for operation of the pigging unit in locations with spatial constraints. The apparatus generally includes a skid, internal components, access points on the exterior of the skid, and a control device.

A modular decoking assembly with a transportable container and multiple prefabricated modules that can be installed within the transportable container, and methods of forming a decoking unit with a plurality of prefabricated modules within a container.

A method of treating a pipeline is performed by selecting a colloidal particle dispersion having inorganic nanoparticles with an average particle size of from 500 nm or less that exhibit properties of Brownian motion that facilitate penetration of solid deposits on interior surfaces of a pipeline. A treatment composition comprising the colloidal particle dispersion is introduced into an interior of a pipeline by at least one of (A) introducing a batch amount of the treatment composition in a selected volume into the interior of the pipeline, and (B) continuously introducing the treatment composition at a selected rate into the interior of the interior of the pipeline. The composition is allowed to act upon the surfaces and materials adhering to the surfaces of the interior of the pipeline.

The present invention concerns a pig launcher comprising a tubular pig housing holding several pigs in line. A main connector is connectable to a fluid flow line at an end of the tubular pig housing. A kicker valve is provided for each pig and includes a control pressure inlet, a flow inlet and a flow outlet. A kicker valve control pipe is connected each of the kicker valves and to a kicker system connector. A kicker header is connected to the flow inlet of each of the kicker valves. A kicker branch pipe is connected between each of the kicker valves and the kicker branch pipe inlet for each of the number of pigs.

There is provided an apparatus for controlling a run of a pig (20) through a tubular object (22), the apparatus comprising: a propulsion device (32) for propelling the pig (20) inside the tubular object (22); a recording device (30) configured to, in real-time, record operating steps and operating parameters of a human-controlled reference run of the pig (20) through the tubular object (22); and a controller (30) programmed to selectively carry out an automatic control mode in which the controller (30) automatically controls a subsequent run of the pig (20) through the tubular object (22) in accordance with the recorded operating steps and operating parameters of the reference run, wherein the automatic control mode includes control of the propulsion device (32) to propel the pig (20) through the tubular object (22).

Methods and systems are provided for treating the tail gas stream of a sulfur recovery plant. The methods including generating a tail gas stream from a sulfur recovery plant, treating the tail gas stream with a hydrogen sulfide absorption unit and a hydrogen selective membrane unit, generating a stream low in hydrogen sulfide and a stream rich in hydrogen. The hydrogen sulfide rich stream is recycled to the sulfur recovery unit. The hydrogen selective membrane unit includes a glassy polymer membrane selective for hydrogen over hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

A self-powered pipeline pig includes a housing defining a trailing end, a leading end and a longitudinal axis. The plurality of internal flow channels extend longitudinally through the housing between the trailing end and the leading end. A power generation device is disposed in a first one of the plurality of internal flow channels. The power generation device generates electric power from a pipeline fluid flowing through the first flow channel during a pigging operation. A battery is disposed on the self-powered pipeline pig to provide electric power during the pigging operation to operate one or more components installed on the self-powered pipeline pig. The power generation device is electrically coupled to the battery to recharge the battery using the generated electric power.

A pig pumping unit is provided that allows eight passes to be made simultaneously with a single pumping unit. A single engine is used to drive three or four pumps, each connected into separate pumping units. Two engines may thus be used to drive up to eight pumps in a single trailer.