Footage of StaBlox flue gas tunnels being installed on the floor of a top-fired reformer.
Inside the furnace, during a real turnaround.
The blocks come in on a conveyor and go up without mortar.
The StaBlox installation video shows the engineered, stackable StaBlox parts being installed as reformer flue gas tunnels inside a furnace, much faster than brick and mortar tunnels are built. At the first two installations, in US ammonia plants in 2018, a refractory crew set one 43 ft tunnel in about 4 hours and nine tunnels in about three days, including the orifice inserts and the connection to the outlet.
The footage follows the work on the furnace floor. The floor is leveled and the insulating brick laid, then the base blocks are set along a line with the correct gaps. The side wall blocks, fed in on a roller conveyor, are stacked with their fiber seal. Lids and tie rods close the tunnel, and the numbered orifice inserts go into the openings according to the opening plan.
When tunnels take hours instead of days, they move from the critical path to the end of the turnaround, and the rest of the furnace work no longer waits for the masons.
If your reformer runs with a damaged tunnel, the video shows what a repair looks like in practice: one tunnel can be rebuilt with stocked blocks, lids and bases, next to the brick tunnels that stay in place. That case is described on the page for StaBlox compromised tunnel replacement.
For a full rebuild with sized orifice inserts for every position, see the complete StaBlox tunnel system. Watch the StaBlox drop test to see what the parts are tested against.
At two US ammonia plants in 2018, about 4 hours for one 43 ft tunnel and about three days for nine tunnels, including inserts and the outlet connection.
A refractory contractor with a general crew. No refractory masons were needed, because the blocks are set dry and need no cutting.
Common sizes of blocks, lids and bases are kept in stock for collapsed or damaged tunnels.
Send the tunnel dimensions and what has failed. A Blasch engineer checks which stocked parts fit your furnace.
