Question
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With the enormous potential for reducing the refinery carbon footprint by increasing direct fired heater efficiency, what successful cases provide an example of increased efficiency and reduced emissions?
Jul-2022
Answers
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Hervé Lavieu, Heurtey Petrochem Solutions, herve.lavieu@heurtey.net
To increase the fuel efficiency of existing heaters, several options can be considered depending on the inlet temperature of the process fluid and the temperature of the flue gas rejected to the atmosphere.
The first solution is revamping the heater to increase the heat exchange surface of the coil; this solution has been implemented on natural draft heaters and does not require the installation of additional equipment such as air and flue gas fans.
The second option consists of the installation of an air preheating system (APH) to preheat the combustion air by recovery of heat on the flue gas going to the stack. And when the heater is already equipped with such an APH, the installation of a new generation APH allows the recovery of more heat from the flue gas. In this situation, we have installed an APH with an enhanced exchange surface but also utilising special coated or polymer-based tubes, operating below the acid dew point (ADP) to reach low stack temperatures (<90°C/195°F).
Jul-2022
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