Jason Rubin worked on several projects over the summer co-op involving reactor jacket A-14. Initial issues with efficiency led to an investigation that found the inlet pipes were clogged. After cleaning, process time was reduced from 1 hour 36 minutes to 55 minutes. He also helped remove an unused steam/water mixer, saving $3,893 annually. Additional tasks included authoring training materials, procedures, and predictive maintenance plans to improve safety and reduce costs. Overall, the co-op provided valuable skills across various areas of the plant operations.

1. Summer Co-op 2016
Jason Rubin

2. Reactor Jacket A-14 (building 115)
• There was presumable fouling in jacket A-14 in
building 115 because of poor efficiency results
• The process ran much faster and then steadily
became slower so an investigation on what was
affecting the reactor began
• I contacted Veolia about commencing an effective
cleaning on the jacket to restore it to its proper
working conditions

3. Reactor Jacket A-14 (building 115)
• Veolia contractor (Jeffrey Fithian) than helped
determine a procedure to use based on the
specifications of this reactor and the process it is
used in
• Veolia estimated this project to be about $10,000 and
take around 1 full day
• Five new chemical introduction forms were completed
for the presumed strong acid cleaning to take place
on the jacket

4. Reactor Jacket A-14 (building 115)
• These five chemicals were…
• Hydrochloric acid (strong acid) and its corrosion
inhibitor Rodine 31A
• Sulfamic Acid (weaker acid) and its corrosion
inhibitor Rodine 213
• Sodium Carbonate as the surfactant
Hydrochloric Acid Sulfamic Acid
Advantages Stronger, will clean jacket better Less likely to damage jacket
Disadvantages May destroy jacket May not clean sufficiently

5. • It was now time to borescope the jacket and view all
of the fouling we are expecting
• After all of the research and hard work the borescope
determined there was no fouling inside the reactor
• If the jacket was not fouled and clogged we needed to
determine what was causing this efficiency drop in the
jacket.
Jacket inlet nozzle impingement plate bottom head of jacket
Reactor Jacket A-14 (building 115)

6. Reactor Jacket A-14 (building 115)
• The next step was to check the inlet and outlet streams of
the jacket for fouling as well
• Bingo! The pipes leading into the jacket were completely
clogged up with rust and other unwanted materials
Example of the debris that was built up in the piping

7. Reactor Jacket A-14 (building 115)
• Results: When clogged the average time to complete
the cooling process took 1 hour and 36 minutes
• After the cleaning of the piping the average time to
complete the cooling process took only 55 minutes.
• These results show this cleaning largely enhanced the
thermal conductivity in the process, which will result in
Chemours saving both time and money.

8. Helping Hands
• During the completion of this project I met with countless
coworkers who helped teach me about the industry, their
roles in the process, and gave me helpful advice to
advance my knowledge in their area of expertise.
• Michael Elliot – helped with the forefront of this project
helping teach me the steps of what to do
• Kathryn Cuento – helped with the new chemical
introduction forms explaining many of the significant
effects of the hazards of these materials and what was
needed to be known about them before we are able to
introduce them into the site and/or building

9. Helping Hands
• Michael Drees – helped explain different aspects of the
jacket and was a key person in deciding how we should
go about the jacket
• Kurt Draybold – helped complete the borescoping of the
jacket to determine the actual amount of fouling inside
• Ron Howard – helped tour me around the building
showing exactly where certain aspects of the process
were and what they did
• Mike Ohm – helped advance my knowledge on the
regulatory information about the new chemicals being
introduced

10. Steam/Water Mixer (ZI building)
• There was a steam/water mixer that was leaking process
water at about 2.5 gallons/minute
• Research was done on the mixer to determine it had no
use in any process
• This led to the solution of completely removing the
equipment from the building and replacing it with a blind
flange
• I than wrote a Test Authorization for this procedure to be
completed

11. Steam/Water Mixer (ZI building)
• I then led a hazard screening review to confirm this
procedure was a safe process
• It was determined that no extra support or insulation was
needed to be added to the process
• The removal of this steam/water mixer saves
approximately $3,893.10 a year based on the amount of
water the equipment was wasting and the average cost
of process water over the past year

12. Miscellaneous Tasks
• I helped author a TLM (the learning manager) or training
module for the chemical anhydrous hydrogen fluoride
• HF is considered a highly toxic material and an
extremely hazardous substance
• I helped revise multiple questions on the required safety
exam to be able to be around and use the substance
• I also helped author operating procedures for all
processes completed in the plant based on emergency
shutdown and operator safety

13. Miscellaneous Tasks
• I worked on predictive maintenance for check valves
throughout the entire plant site.
• I helped evaluate their life expectancy and how often the
valves should be replaced
• We concluded to extend the lives of many of the check
valves helping save Chemours thousands of dollars on
an annual basis.
• I revised piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&ID)
helping me learn more about how the processes work
and how they are formed

14. Conclusion
• Throughout this summer I learned many intensive and
important skills that will help grow me both as an
employee and as a person throughout the rest of my life
and career.