Prevention of crystallization fouling during eutectic freeze crystallization in fluidized bed heat exchangers

Eutectic freeze crystallization is a promising separation technique to produce salt and ice crystals with very high purities and requires less energy than competitive evaporative crystallization techniques. A drawback of this technique is crystallization fouling, which seriously reduces heat transfer rates. Solid–liquid fluidized bed heat exchangers may be attractive crystallizers for this purpose, since they have demonstrated to prevent severe crystallization fouling, for example of ice crystals. This paper presents crystallization experiments with a single-tube fluidized bed heat exchanger. A first experimental series showed that fluidized beds are also able to prevent salt fouling during cooling crystallization from KNO₃ or MgSO₄ solutions. A second series revealed that fouling during eutectic freeze crystallization is more severe than during separate salt or ice crystallization and is therefore difficult to prevent by the fluidized bed. The explanation for this phenomenon is that the salt crystallization process strongly reduces the solute mass transfer limitation for ice crystals growing on the wall resulting in an increased growth rate and more severe crystallization fouling. The addition of a non-crystallizing component strongly reduces fouling and enables to perform eutectic freeze crystallization in fluidized bed heat exchangers for industrial applications.     

Experimental Study on Microbial Fouling Inhibition Performance of Ni-P-NanoTiO2 Composite Surfaces

Microbial fouling of heat exchangers causes serious issues including increased fuel consumption, flow resistance, and maintenance cost expenditure. Composite Ni-P-nanoTiO₂ coatings were prepared for inhibiting and mitigating the heat exchanger microbial fouling deposition. The surface energy components and wall adhesion work of microbial fouling medium had a significant effect on the microbial fouling deposition process. Compared with carbon steel coupons, the microbial fouling deposition on Ni-P-nanoTiO₂ coatings was reduced by about 90 % and the wall adhesion work and microbial fouling deposition rate of these coatings were less. The Ni-P-nanoTiO₂ coatings might not only be advantageous for controlling the initial microbial adhesion, but also effective for reducing the fouling deposition rate.     

Anti-fouling surface modified stainless steel for food processing

Fouling on food contact surfaces (e.g. heat exchangers, work tables, conveyors) during food processing has a significant impact on operating efficiency and can promote biofilm development. Processing raw milk on plate heat exchangers results in significant fouling of proteins as well as minerals, and is exacerbated by the wall heating effect. The surface of 316L stainless steel heat exchanger plates was modified to resist fouling during food processing. An electroless nickel plating process was used to co-deposit fluorinated nanoparticles onto 316L stainless steel. The ability to resist fouling was demonstrated on a pilot plant scale plate heat exchanger. The fluorinated nanoparticle modified steel reduced surface energy from 41.4 to 24.7 mN/m, and reduced foulant accumulation by 97%. The anti-fouling coating was demonstrated to improve heat transfer efficiency. Repeatability studies were performed and confirmed that the EN-PTFE surface coating maintained its anti-fouling properties through 10 independent processing runs. Co-deposition of fluorinated particles during electroless nickel plating represents an effective and commercially scalable method to prepare anti-fouling coatings on stainless steel.     

Heat Exchanger Network synthesis with Detailed Heat Exchanger Design

Pressure drop and fouling are important issues in heat exchanger network synthesis, which are usually neglected. Heat exchangers were designed in detail during the heat exchanger network synthesis, and pressure drop and fouling effects were taken into account. Pinch analysis combined with exergoeconomic analysis was used for determining optimal minimum approach temperature (ΔT_min) for heat exchanger network synthesis. Exergy consumption of heat transfer in HENs was calculated using a subsection integral on balanced composite curves. The heat transfer coefficients of all heat exchangers in the network were calculated iteratively to meet the requirements of optimal area and allowable pressure drops. The proposed method was applied to an industrial case. Numerical results indicate the importance of the detailed design of heat exchangers in HENs synthesis.     

板式换热器Ni-P-TiO2复合纳米镀层微生物污垢特性

换热器微生物污垢问题普遍存在于能源化工领域,污垢的聚集会导致设备的流动阻力、燃料消耗和维护成本支出大幅度增加。本文采用复合纳米镀层来抑制和减轻换热表面的微生物污垢的附着和沉积。首先采用化学镀的方式,在板式换热器的不锈钢316板上镀覆 Ni-P-TiO₂复合纳米镀层和对照性的Ni-P 镀层。基于板式换热器的微生物污垢在线监测实验系统,研究了镀覆Ni-P-TiO₂复合纳米镀层的板式换热器微生物污垢特性。结果表明,清洁状态下,镀覆两种镀层的板式换热器其摩擦系数（f）和Nusselt数（Nu）相较未镀覆板式换热器均略有增加;微生物污垢实验后,相比较未镀覆的板式换热器,镀覆Ni-P镀层的板式换热器污垢热阻减少了8.36%~23.07%,而镀覆Ni-P-TiO₂复合纳米镀层的板式换热器污垢热阻减少了16.6%~30.96%;在相同微生物污垢实验工况下,镀覆Ni-P-TiO₂复合纳米镀层的板式换热器的摩擦系数（f）相比Ni-P镀层的低2.54%~11.82%,但Nu却明显高于Ni-P镀层达8.47%~9.45%,并且污垢热阻明显小于Ni-P镀层达10.66%~18.18%,镀覆Ni-P-TiO₂复合纳米镀层的板式换热器展现了优异的强化传热性能和抑垢性能。     

An experimental study of the air-side particulate fouling in fin-and-tube heat exchangers of air conditioners

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the chronological performance variation such as pressure drop across a heat exchanger and cooling capacity due to the air-side particulate fouling of fin-and-tube heat exchangers for air conditioner evaporators used. Thirty samples of air conditioners used in the field such as inns, restaurants, and offices are collected in chronological order of use. This study was intended to provide factual long-term fouling data under actual operating conditions. It was found that the important parameters to influence the fouling of heat exchangers are the concentration and size of indoor pollutants, the filter efficiency, the hydrophilicity of fin surfaces, fin spacing, and the structure of fins. The pressure drop of heat exchangers increases from year to year due to the deposition of indoor pollutants larger than 1 Μm in size and increases up to 44% in the samples used for 7 years. Also, the air-side particulate fouling degrades the cooling capacity by 10-15% in the samples used for 7 years.     

Numerical method for heat transfer and fouling analysis of a shell and tube heat exchanger using statistical analysis

Through proper monitoring, problems can be identified and isolated well before the economics of the process are threatened. In contrast to most conventional methods, fouling can be detected when the heat exchanger operates in transient states. Statistical analysis is used to develop a fouling growth model of a heat exchanger subjected to fouling. The statistical analysis was considered for four different types of distributions out of which the lognormal distribution was found to be most suitable. Experiments were conducted with a single pass shell and tube heat exchanger with water both as the hot and cold fluids. The results show that the proposed tool is very effective in detecting critical fouling in a heat exchanger, which can be utilized for predicting the optimal maintenance schedule. Hence, the results of this work can find application in predicting the reduction in heat transfer efficiency due to fouling in heat exchangers that are in operation and assist the exchanger operators to plan cleaning schedules.     

Thermo-hydraulic channelling in parallel heat exchangers subject to fouling

The thermal and hydraulic impacts of fouling by crude oil on the tube side of shell-and-tube heat exchangers is analysed for cases where a centrifugal pump and control valve determine the throughput. For co- and counter-current heat exchangers where the fouling layer thickness does not vary markedly over the tube length a new method of calculating the mean fouling rate was derived based on (i) a ‘threshold’ fouling rate model and (ii) an estimated linear profile in film temperature along the tubes. Over-design of exchangers, using guidelines such as those provided by TEMA, is shown to be capable of exacerbating fouling problems. The new mean is also used to evaluate the operation of parallel heat exchangers, such as are often employed at the hot end of a preheat train; a phenomenon that we call ‘thermo-hydraulic channelling’ is identified. It is shown that this may substantially impair network performance but that its effect may be countered by introducing a simple retrofit option of flow measurement and control.     

基于智能预测和机理模型的换热网络清洗决策

原油石化装置的换热器常受到结垢影响,导致换热器性能衰退严重,换热网络性能也会随之衰退,同时换热器之间的耦合关系,导致不同换热器的性能衰退对换热网络整体性能变化的影响不同。以往的清洗决策主要是根据单台换热器性能衰退到一定程度来制定的,这会导致换热网络整体可能处在较差的运行状态。因此,本文提出一种基于智能预测和机理模型的换热网络清洗决策方法,基于换热器的运行数据建立智能预测模型,获得换热器性能变化趋势,结合换热网络的性能模拟模型,进一步获得换热网络的性能变化趋势,从而从换热网络整体性能变化的角度来制定清洗方案。研究表明,对收集到的原油换热器运行数据,建立神经网络预测模型,具有较好的预测精度。通过对原油精馏装置换热网络的案例分析,当HE1、HE2和HE5三台换热器同时发生性能衰退时,换热网络年度公用工程能耗费用将增加12.1%。与传统基于单台换热器性能衰退情况制定的清洗方案相比,从换热网络整体性能衰退角度制定的清洗方案,年度额外公用工程费用减少13.1%,损失费用减少14.1%,年度总费用减少13.8%,而清洗次数仅增加3台次。     

考虑关键换热器备用的原油预热系统清垢周期优化

原油结垢是原油预热过程面临的一个严峻问题,它使换热器的传热系数降低,影响正常的生产过程。应对原油预热过程的结垢问题最普遍的方法就是对换热器进行周期清洁,并优化清洁周期。许多结垢严重的行业都采用换热器备用的方式来减少因换热器离线造成的热回收减小,但原油预热系统尚未考虑,因而进一步考虑了关键换热器的备用来进行原油预热系统清垢周期优化。首先选取关键换热器,再通过模拟退火算法进行清洁周期优化。应用所提出的方法对简化的原油预热系统进行了清垢周期优化,结果显示,考虑换热器备用时所得到的清垢周期经济效益更好。     

Roughness and constriction effects on heat transfer in crystallization fouling

This contribution addresses apparent negative fouling resistances for crystallization fouling. Two effects contribute to this phenomenon; surface roughness enhances heat transfer in the roughness controlled phase. In the crystal growth phase, surface roughness as well as the constriction of flow cross section due to the fouling layer build-up is taken into consideration. Fouling experiments were carried out in a double pipe heat exchanger with a supersaturated aqueous CaSO₄ solution at a Reynolds number of 17,500 corresponding to a flow velocity of 0.65 m s⁻¹. The measured pressure drop between inlet and outlet allowed the calculation of the integral friction factor for the current surface roughness. With the given friction factor it was possible to estimate the actual heat transfer coefficient of the inner tube. Accounting for the increase in heat transfer caused by surface roughness in the roughness controlled phase, the fouling resistance was recalculated. In the subsequent growth phase flow acceleration due to constriction effects is considered in addition to the roughness effect. Overall the integral fouling resistance and consequently the deposit thickness are underestimated by a factor of up to 2.5 when simply using heat balance. With the proposed approach apparent negative fouling resistances can be eliminated quantitatively.     

Constrained thermohydraulic optimization of the flow rate distribution in crude preheat trains

Crude preheat trains are heat exchanger networks which heat the crude oil stream in the petroleum distillation using hot product streams and pumparounds. The final heating step is executed in a furnace. The thermal efficiency of this process is strongly dependent on the crude preheat train performance, and, during the refinery operation, the heat load of the exchangers may decrease due to fouling. Associated to the reduction of the thermal effectiveness of the heat exchangers, fouling also causes an increase of the flow resistances along the thermal equipment. A potential approach to mitigate this problem is based on the optimization of the distribution of the flow rates in the crude preheat train for maximizing the final crude temperature. In this context, this paper presents a constrained nonlinear programming formulation for this task. The equality constraints encompass mass, energy and mechanical energy balances and heat exchanger equations for describing the thermal and hydraulic behavior of the system. The performance of the proposed approach is explored using two examples, a simple network and a crude preheat train based on a real Brazilian refinery.     

Impact of deposit ageing on thermal fouling: Lumped parameter model

The thermal and hydraulic performance of heat exchangers can be seriously impaired by the formation of fouling deposits on the heat transfer surfaces. The thermal effect of fouling can be complicated when the deposit is subject to ageing, represented here as a change in deposit thermal conductivity (but not thickness) over time. In this article, we revisit the ageing concept for crude oil fouling proposed by Nelson (Refiner Nat Gas Manufacturer. 1934;13:271–276, 292–298), using a numerical model incorporating first order kinetics to generate quantitative comparisons of different ageing rates. Results are reported for lumped parameter systems (which also simulate point measurement methods commonly used in laboratory testing) that demonstrate that ageing can have a substantial influence on the rate of heat transfer and hence on the surface temperature and rate of fouling. Rapid ageing (compared with the rate of deposition) does not pose problems, but slow ageing, or the use of constant heat fluxes in experiments, can lead to modified thermal fouling behavior. It is concluded that deposit ageing dynamics should be considered alongside deposition rate dynamics when interpreting experimental fouling data and when modeling fouling behavior in support of heat exchanger design or operation. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

Experimental performance comparison of shell-side heat transfer for shell-and-tube heat exchangers with middle-overlapped helical baffles and segmental baffles

Presented in this paper are experimental test and comparison for several shell-and-tube heat exchangers, one with segmental baffles and four with helical baffles at helix angles of 20^°, 30^°, 40^° and 50^°, respectively. The results show that, based on the same shell-side flow rate, the heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger with helical baffles is lower than that of the heat exchanger with segmental baffles while the shell-side pressured drop of the former is even much lower than that of the later. Further enhancement techniques should be incorporated in order to enhance shell-side heat transfer based on the same flow rate. The comparison of heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure-drop (and pumping power) versus shell-side volume flow rate shows that (1) the heat exchanger with helical baffles have significant performance advantage over the heat exchanger with segmental baffles; (2) for the same shell inner diameter, the performance of heat exchanger with helical baffles with 30° helix angle is better than that of 20°, and the performance of 40° helix angle is better than that of 50° helix angle. The heat exchanger with helical baffles of 40° angle shows the best performance among the five heat exchangers tested.     

Augmentation of heat transfer performance in coiled flow inverter vis-à-vis conventional heat exchanger

In the present work, primarily two studies were carried out to ascertain the performance of coiled flow inverter (CFI) as heat exchanger at pilot plant scale. In the first study, performance of CFI heat exchanger has been compared with conventional heat exchangers, i.e. shell and tube heat exchanger (SHE) and plate type heat exchanger (PHE) under identical heat transfer area and process conditions. Experiments were conducted with water flowing under laminar flow regime within the flow range of 30–300 kg/h in the tube side of SHE and PHE. Friction factor and Nusselt number calculated from present experimental study in SHE and PHE were compared with the experimental data previously reported for CFI heat exchanger (Kumar et al., 2007). The Number of Transfer units (NTU) calculated in the present study for CFI was nearly 3.7–7.5 times higher as compared to SHE and 2–2.5 times higher as compared to PHE. In the second part of the study, experiments were performed first time to investigate the pressure drop and heat transfer of compressed air flowing under turbulent flow condition in CFI heat exchanger at pilot plant scale. Hot air at elevated pressures (10–30 kg/cm²) in the tube side of CFI heat exchanger with flow range 3×10⁴<N_Re<1.4×10⁵ was cooled by either cooling water or ambient air. The friction factor and Nusselt number values for compressed air flowing in the CFI were also compared with the experimental data reported in the literature for coiled tube at ambient conditions. On the basis of experimental results, new correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number of compressed air flowing under turbulent flow condition in CFI heat exchanger have been developed.     

The effect of heat transfer characteristics of macromolecule fouling on heat exchanger surface: A dynamic simulation study

At the city gate gas pressure reduction stations (CGSs), to prevent natural gas from forming a hydrate in the throttle valve, the natural gas is heated by the heater before reaching the pressure relief valve. Heat exchangers are an essential component of industrial processes that contribute significantly to total system energy. Since the element impacting heat exchanger performance is the fouling process, all fouling processes and models were dynamically simulated in this study. Through coding in the C++ language and simultaneous use of fluent functions, or, in other words, user-defined function (UDF), fouling-related models were defined for this software. The dynamic simulation was performed, and parameters such as fouling strength and layer thickness were calculated. The effects of changing operating conditions, such as gas inlet velocity, surface temperature, and fouling species concentration on fouling growth, were also evaluated. As the concentration of fouling species increased, the fouling rate also increased. The amount of supersaturation and fouling rate increased as the surface temperature increased. Due to the operational limitations of the system, to reduce the fouling rate, the gas inlet velocity should be as high as possible, and the fluid inlet temperature, surface temperature, and concentration of fouling species should be as low as possible. In this study, the required time to reach the efficiency of 70% of the heat exchanger was calculated using the modelling of this chamber, which was equivalent to 190 days. Additionally, the critical thickness of the fouling layer at this time was 3.5 cm.     

Untersuchungen zum Kristallisationsfouling in Mikrowärmeübertragern

The advantages of microstructure devices concerning heat and mass transfer are well known. However, the usage of microstructure devices in chemical industry is still limited today. A limitation for industrial application is the liability of microstructures to blocking due to impurity of the fluid or by unintended deposition (fouling) in the microchannels. Fouling can lead to a degradation of the heat transfer performance, to an increase of the pressure drop, to a change of the fluid distribution in the microstructures and to a shorter residence time of the fluid. In the framework of this research project a micro heat exchanger for fundamental experimental investigations on crystallization fouling of CaCO₃ in microchannels was developed and manufactured.     

Methoden zur Verminderung der Ablagerungsbildung in Wärmeübertragern

Methods for Reducing Deposits in Heat Exchangers. The formation of deposits has long (too long) been considered to be unavoidable and to lie outside the responsibility of the designer. Owing to the enormous operating and investment costs caused by deposit formation and to the development of new processes which are precluded by deposit formation, a number of methods have been developed for reducing or completely preventing the fouling of heat exchangers. The lowest investments are required for chemical fluid processing, which can be retro-fitted to an existing plant. However, for long term operation with large flow volumes or on use of toxic additives this advantage can shift towards mechanical cleaning processes. Consideration of the reduction of fouling already during the design of a heat exchanger means that it becomes feasible to build much smaller (and hence also lighter) heat exchangers.     

Performance of plate heat exchangers during calcium sulphate fouling — investigation with an in-line filter

The uncertainty about the fouling behaviour is one of the main reasons why plate and frame heat exchangers are not more widely installed in the chemical process industry and in power generating facilities. In the present investigation, the deposition of calcium sulphate in two different plate heat exchanger geometries was investigated. The deposition process was deliberately focused on crystallisation fouling through the installation of an in-line filter and the mode of preparation of the test solution. The investigated operating parameters were solution concentration, flow velocity, and bulk and surface temperatures. The heat exchangers were opened after each experiment to record the appearance and distribution of the deposits. The key result of this investigation is the strong correlation between the plate design and the tendency for deposit formation.