Advanced Decoking & Cleanliness Verification (ADCV)

Our Advanced Decoking And Cleanliness Verification service is available to work on all heater configurations — even on the most challenging assets such as those equipped with manifolds. Our in-house developed Header Delivery System (HDS) will be applied to overcome unpiggable heater challenges.

With our Twin System Cleaning Units, we have the capability to clean two coils at the same time, significantly reducing the overall cleaning per furnace.

Quest Integrity is known for its innovation. Our solution combines state of the art mechanical cleaning and advanced inspection technology resulting in a more progressive and more efficient cleaning methodology.

Q: What is Advanced Cleanliness & Decoking Verification (ADCV), and why is it important for optimizing heater operations and reliability?

A: ADCV is a progressive, technology-driven approach to removing internal fouling, reducing cleaning time, and avoiding unnecessary wear to tube walls caused by overcleaning. It uses existing ultrasonic (UT) technology to detect internal fouling, identify operational inefficiencies, and establish a cleaning plan tailored to each heater, ensuring the most efficient and least invasive removal of fouling.

The location, amount, and distribution of fouling in fired heater coils are measured prior to full-scale cleaning, providing process engineers with valuable insights to further optimize heater performance by identifying operating inefficiencies. Ultrasonic verification also confirms that coils are completely free of fouling before startup, ensuring tube temperatures begin at a normalized baseline for the next operating cycle.

This approach allows operators to achieve expected run times and production targets while reducing the risk of overheating or tube damage caused by residual fouling.

Q: How does Quest Integrity’s ADCV solution compare to traditional decoking verification methods?

A: Traditional mechanical decoking relies on subjective methods to confirm fouling removal. These typically include visual inspection of return water clarity, checking foam pigs for coke tracking marks, and comparing pre- and post-cleaning coil pressures and flow rates, often without accounting for design flow conditions.

As a result, hard fouling deposits may remain undetected due to the lack of precise verification methods. ADCV was developed to address these limitations by using ultrasonic technology to quantitatively measure and locate remaining fouling. This provides a clear, objective assessment of coil condition and removes uncertainty associated with traditional verification approaches.