Diagnosis of Distillation Column Problems Using New Generation Gamma-Ray Scanning Gauge

Khalid Laraki¹, Rachad Alami¹, Rajaa El Morsli², Abdessalam Bensitel¹, Lhachemi El Badri¹, and El-Mehdi Hamzaoui¹

¹ National Centre of Nuclear Energy, Sciences and Techniques (CNESTEN), Morocco.

 ² LPNR, Mohammed V-Agdal University, Faculty of Sciences, Morocco.

Abstract: The Gamma-Ray scanning technique effective means for the diagnosis and identification of installations and process's problems in general and in particular in the case of distillation columns without aborting the production process.  Because of the different difficulties that can complicate a scan's profile interpretation and in order to benefit from the continuous advent of the new technologies in the electronics and the data processing fields, the team of the division of instrumentation and industrial application at the National Centre of Nuclear Energy,  Sciences and Techniques conducts a project aiming the elaboration of an expert system for acquisition, processing and interpretation of the data delivered by the gauge used for the Gamma-Ray scanning. This system consists of two main modules. The first one is for the preparation and control of the scans' progress conditions. The second is developed in order to make the automatic analysis and interpretation of the scans' profiles more reliable, easy and effective. In a first step, we have developed software which permits real time control of all the elements that come into play at the time of the realization of an exploration by Gamma-Ray scanning.

Keywords: Gamma-ray scanning, distillation columns, expert system.