Inaccurate temperature and pressure measurements are like a “chronic killer” hidden behind the operation of equipment, causing the equipment in an oil refinery to operate in a non-ideal state for a long time. This poor operating state not only accelerates the wear and tear of the equipment, shortening its normal service life, but also may lead to sudden equipment failures, increasing the costs of equipment maintenance and replacement. Therefore, establishing a temperature and pressure calibration laboratory is an effective way to reduce equipment maintenance costs.
Take the heating furnace as an example. It is a key piece of equipment in an oil refinery that provides heat for various reactions. If the temperature measurement is inaccurate, it may result in incomplete combustion of the heating furnace. On the one hand, the fuel cannot burn fully, causing a large amount of energy waste and increasing production costs. On the other hand, impurities such as carbon deposits generated from incomplete combustion will adhere to the inner wall of the furnace tube, causing uneven heating of the furnace tube. Over time, local areas of the furnace tube will be accelerated in corrosion due to overheating and may even rupture.
The existence of the calibration laboratory can detect deviations in temperature and pressure measuring instruments in a timely manner. By using standard calibration equipment to calibrate them, the accuracy of the measuring instruments is ensured. In this way, equipment such as heating furnaces can operate under the optimal working conditions, and the wear rate of the equipment is significantly reduced, extending the maintenance cycle. In the long run, the number of equipment repairs and replacement frequencies are significantly reduced, saving the oil refinery a large amount of capital investment, including equipment maintenance costs, the cost of replacing parts, and production losses caused by equipment downtime for maintenance.
