炼油厂脱前原油换热网络的设备优化

利用夹点技术对某炼油厂脱前原油换热网络进行了改造。与原换热网络相比，换热网络的换热设备数目减少了4个，使设备数达到最优化，从而节省了设备的投资。     

Evaluation of Crude Oil Heat Exchanger Network Fouling Behavior Under Aging Conditions for Scheduled Cleaning

Heat exchanger network (HEN) fouling is an endemic operational challenge prevalent in many process industries. Its impact on both plant operating cost and productivity is significant and can be compounded by aging effects of the foulant. In this paper, we model and simulate the effect of aging on tube-side fouling and cleaning dynamics in a crude oil refinery preheat train (PHT) comprising a 14-unit HEN. A prescient, HEN modeling and dynamic simulation were performed wherein the transients of fouling and aging as well as the interactions between individual units were captured. To assess the temporal effects, different crude oil deposit (gel) aging scenarios (no aging vs. slow, medial, and fast aging) in the downstream units were considered for the PHTs’ overall heat recovery, cleaning options, and operability. The results show that the deleterious impact of fouling and concomitant aging, quantified in terms of thermal resistances, was significantly reduced by fast aging as opposed to medial, slow, or no aging of the gel deposit. Faster aging rate reflected improved heat recovery and a lesser demand for and lower cost of PHT cleaning. The concomitant higher growth of coke deposit due to aging, however, resulted in greater hydraulic resistance, which is inimical to operability.     

Fouling Reduction Characteristics of a No-Distributor-Fluidized-Bed Heat Exchanger for Flue Gas Heat Recovery

Heat exchangers and heat exchanger networks are extensively used for the purpose of recovering energy. In conventional flue gas heat recovery systems, the fouling by fly ashes and the related problems such as corrosion and cleaning are known to be major drawbacks. To overcome these problems, a single-riser no-distributor-fluidized-bed heat exchanger is devised and studied. Fouling and cleaning tests are performed for a uniquely designed fluidized bed-type heat exchanger to demonstrate the effect of particles on the fouling reduction and heat transfer enhancement. The tested heat exchanger model (1 m high and 54 mm internal diameter) is a gas-to-water type and composed of a main vertical tube and four auxiliary tubes through which particles circulate and transfer heat. Through the present study, the fouling on the heat transfer surface could successfully be simulated by controlling air-to-fuel ratios rather than introducing particles through an external feeder, which produced soft deposit layers with 1 to 1.5 mm thickness on the inside pipe wall. Flue gas temperature at the inlet of heat exchanger was maintained at 450°C at the gas volume rate of 0.738 to 0.768 CMM (0.0123 to 0.0128 m³/sec). From the analyses of the measured data, heat transfer performances of the heat exchanger before and after fouling and with and without particles were evaluated. Results showed that soft deposits were easily removed by introducing glass bead particles, and also heat transfer performance increased two times by the particle circulation. In addition, it was found that this type of heat exchanger had high potential to recover heat of waste gases from furnaces, boilers, and incinerators effectively and to reduce fouling related problems.     

Impact of Nonuniform Fouling on Operating Temperatures in Heat Exchanger Networks

ABSTRACT

Investigations of fouling in heat exchangers are mainly focused on two factors: commercial impact due to energy losses, and environmental impact manifested through higher CO₂ emissions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a third factor relating to safety in operations. This paper presents two case studies, one for a hydroprocessing unit with feed/effluent heat exchangers and another for preheat train exchangers installed upstream of the atmospheric furnace in a refinery crude unit. Due to a wide range of process temperatures examined in both case studies, the heat exchangers in the network are subject to various fouling mechanisms. As illustrated in the pictures of actual tube bundles, some of the exchangers within the network are heavily fouled, while the other exchangers operate in nearly clean conditions. Detailed simulations indicate that nonuniform fouling results in heat exchanger operating temperatures that are significantly higher than those predicted by conventional analyses using uniform fouling. Higher than anticipated process fluid temperatures may result in exceeding the threshold limits for certain corrosion mechanisms and/or significantly higher than expected rates of corrosion.     

Optimization of Flow Direction to Minimize Particulate Fouling of Heat Exchangers

The influence of flow direction with respect to gravity on particulate fouling of heat exchangers is investigated experimentally to determine the optimal flow direction to minimize fouling. Four orientations of flow have been investigated: horizontal flow, upward flow, downward flow, and a flow under an angle of 45°. It is observed that fouling starts at the point of stagnation irrespective of the flow direction, and also at the top of the heat exchanger tubes. Particulate fouling grows from these two points till they meet and the fouling layer covers the whole surface of the heat exchanger tube. Fouling at the upper half of the tubes is much faster than the lower half of the tubes, and the fouling rate is faster at the bottom tubes of the heat exchanger section than at the upper tubes. The best orientation for lingering particulate fouling is the downward flow, where the flow stagnation point coincides with the top point of the heat exchanger tubes and the growth of the fouling layer only starts from one point.     

Heat Exchanger Fouling in Phosphoric Acid Evaporators

Multistage shell and tube evaporators are frequently used in phosphoric acid plants to increase the concentration of dilute phosphoric acid to 52–55 wt% P₂O_5. The concentrated phosphoric acid solution is supersaturated with respect to calcium sulfate. As a result, part of the calcium sulfate in the liquor deposits on the heat exchanger tube walls. Because the thermal conductivity of these scales is very low, thin deposits can create a significant resistance to heat transfer. Therefore, regular cleaning of heat exchangers is required, frequently at shorter than biweekly intervals. As the major costs in modern phosphoric acid plants are the cost of energy, a thorough understanding of the fouling kinetics and of the effects of various operational parameters on the behavior of calcium sulfate is required to improve operation and design of the shell and tube heat exchangers, which are extensively used. In this investigation, a large set of heat exchanger data was collected from shell and tube heat exchangers of the phosphoric acid plant of the Razi Petrochemical Complex in Iran, and the fouling deposits were analyzed with respect to appearance and composition. The overall heat transfer coefficients and fouling resistances were evaluated at different times, and a kinetic model for the crystallization fouling was developed. It is shown that the crystallization rate constant obeys an Arrhenius relationship with an activation energy of 57 kJ/mol. The average absolute error of 12.4% shows that the predictions of the suggested model are in good agreement with the original plant data.     

Crude Oil Fouling Research: HTRI's Perspective

For 20 years, Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI), has conducted dedicated, ongoing research into crude oil fouling behavior, specifically on developing test methods to measure fouling resistance over time and comparing fouling tendencies of different crude oils. More than 250 test runs with nineteen crude oils have been conducted. While current methods are sufficient for comparative fouling studies, general methods to predict fouling tendency remain elusive. Recent initiatives have focused our efforts on chemical characterization to screen crude oils and blends for fouling tendency, as well as on identifying thresholds for low fouling. Increasing the shear stress on the heat transfer surface as much as possible can mitigate heat exchanger fouling. Long-term success in controlling fouling depends upon a deeper understanding of the chemical characteristics of an individual crude oil and sound heat exchanger design practices. Current predictive fouling models are limited in their application, but improvements based on chemical characterization look promising.     

Real Time Fouling Diagnosis and Heat Exchanger Performance

The issue of fouling in preheat trains of crude oil distillation units in Petrobras's refineries is a major concern—especially now, as heavier Brazilian crudes with higher asphaltene content are being refined. As the efficiency of the preheat train plays an important role in the energy consumption of a distillation unit, its performance must be tracked as precisely as possible in order to identify operational problems. This work describes an online heat exchanger performance evaluation system based on rigorous simulation of the equipment in order to predict both the operational and clean overall heat transfer coefficient. A real-time comparison between these two values indicates the actual performance of the heat exchanger and of the preheat train. The use of a rigorous process simulator (Petrox from Petrobras) together with a rigorous calculation of the global heat transfer coefficient (using the program Xist from HTRI) allows one to consider aspects that are not usually taken into account in this kind of evaluation. These aspects include crude vaporization after the desalters and variations of crude and products composition with the distillation unit run. The system is being implemented at the biggest Petrobras refinery (360,000 bpd) in a 25 heat exchanger preheat train.     

Controllability of Heat Exchanger Networks

A heat exchanger network (HEN) is the heart of a heat-integrated plant, and classical synthesis methologies assume all design operating conditions are constant values and overlook controllability issues. The controllability measures presented in this paper are intended to assess the controllability of a HEN through a simple and comprehensive methodology consisting of five steps that allows an easy screening process to determine a more controllable HEN.     

Fouling of Heat Exchanger Surface: Measurement and Diagnosis

Fouling in heat exchange equipment results in a significant energy toss by increasing heat transfer resistance and fluid frictional resistance. This paper deals with an effective way to monitor fouling and describes a potentially useful diagnostic approach for discriminating different types of deposit in situ. Information regarding deposit type would be useful in selecting an appropriate treatment procedure. Some cautions regarding the indiscriminate use of fouling factor or fouling resistance are also discussed.     

烟气换热器堵灰原因及解决办法

介绍了数家电厂GGH堵灰情况，总结出GGH堵灰的主要原因，并且提出了对策。     

一种监测换热器污垢的新方法

在考虑污垢对换热器传热性能影响的基础上,提出换热器当量总污垢热阻和污垢函数的概念,并给出换热器当量总污垢热阻的监测方法,讨论了换热流型、传热有效度ε和冷热流体热容量率比R对换热器当量总污垢热阻的影响。     

Measuring Local Crystallization Fouling in a Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger

Abstract

Although fouling is a problem varying in space and time, sizing and assessment of a process apparatus is almost always based on one single integral fouling resistance value. Furthermore, the integral fluid dynamic behavior, e.g. the development of time-dependent pressure drop in a heat exchanger, can be influenced by local constrictions. While it is generally possible to determine the time dependency of the integral fouling behavior, local differences are not taken into consideration at present. Therefore, this paper introduces a metrological, an incremental and a segmental approach to study the local development of crystallization fouling by calcium sulfate in a countercurrent double-pipe heat exchanger. The consecutive approaches allow for thermal, volumetric, gravimetric, and optical fouling investigations, aiming to examine the axial distribution of deposit as well as local differences in the deposit morphology. All methods provided congruent results and local fouling could be described properly. An almost clean surface at the colder end of the heat exchanger and an exponential increase of deposit thickness were observed towards the hot end. Hence, the section near to the hot water inlet turned out to be a key area with regards to increasing fouling mass and structural changes of the layer.     

Thermal Fouling of Heat Exchanger Tubes due to Heavy Hydrocarbon Droplets Impingement

ABSTRACT

This work discusses fouling in the vapor–steam mixture overheater in the convection section of an industrial steam cracker due to the thermal degradation of heavy hydrocarbon droplets deposited on the tube wall. A spray of heavy hydrocarbon multicomponent droplets is injected in a tube of the vapor–steam mixture overheater and the path of the droplets through the tube is followed by an Eulerian–Lagrangian computational fluid dynamics simulation. To study tube fouling, the droplet impingement behavior on the wall, the evaporation of the deposited liquid, and a coking model describing thermal coke formation due to degradation of heavy hydrocarbons are required. To describe the droplet impingement behavior, a regime map for single component millimeter-sized droplets is taken from the literature. Two simulations are performed to study fouling problems in a vapor-mixture overheater tube. Simulation results are found to be grid sensitive. By analyzing and comparing simulation results it is concluded that reliable fouling data require a regime map for the impingement of multicomponent heavy hydrocarbon micron-sized droplets.     

船用海水换热器污垢状况的模糊评判方法

基于模糊聚类分析原理，在不具备完善的污垢形成过程的物理或数学模型的条件下，提出了一种依据结垢后换热器性能参数的变化来评判换热器污垢状况的方法。     

Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger Geometry Modification: An Efficient Way to Mitigate Fouling

Abstract

Crude oil fouling of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger sized according to TEMA standard is compared to a No-Foul design under industrial operating conditions. For similar operating conditions, TEMA and No-Foul heat exchangers have the same behavior regarding fouling. Since the No-Foul one has less tubes by design for the same heat duty, shear stress is increased. Consequently, the No-Foul heat exchanger is less prone to fouling at the same throughput. Impact of tube bundle geometry is then investigated. Helically finned tubes are compared to plain tubes in the No-Foul heat exchanger. Under similar operating conditions, fouling rates measured are up to an order of magnitude lower than plain tubes (respectively 10^?11 and 10^?10 m² K/J). However, pressure drop across the tube-side in both No-Foul plain and finned setup are increased in comparison to the TEMA heat-exchanger.     

Industry-Recommended Procedures for Experimental Crude Oil Preheat Fouling Research

Of all heat transfer research arenas, few have the investment return potential of crude oil fouling mitigation. However, crude oil fouling is a very complex phenomenon that occurs via the simultaneous activity of multiple mechanisms. Advances in this field of research are complicated further by the lack of standardized procedures, which would permit unequivocal comparisons of non-proprietary data. As a result, Heat Transfer Research, Inc. formed the Crude Oil Fouling Task Force (COFTF), which is composed of heat transfer experts from many of the world's leading energy companies. The principle endeavor of the COFTF is to ensure that crude oil fouling research is both standardized and industrially relevant. The COFTF recommendations are detailed in this paper.