Fired process heaters are one of the most critical pieces of equipment within many refinery and petrochemical facilities. Proper instrumentation and control of the equipment has direct bearing on the successful operation of the process, as well as on overall facility process safety.
Piping and process equipment that operate at high temperatures experience thermal expansion. If free thermal expansion is restrained, mechanical stresses are created within the component.
A few years ago, managers at a US-based oil refinery called in an expert to inspect their oil furnaces with an infrared (IR) camera.
Hay, G.,
Rasouli, G.,
Carbognani-Arambarri, L., Virtual Materials Group Inc.;
Suzuki, R.,
Urata, K.,
Inoue, M., JX Nippon
Steam cracking furnaces produce olefins, which are high-value feeds in the petrochemical industry. Coke formation is an unavoidable part of a thermal cracking furnace.
The crude oil refining and petrochemical industries make extensive use of condensers that operate under vacuum (i.e., below atmospheric pressure). Distillation is the most common process using these condensers, either as a process precondenser ahead of an ejector system, or as an intercondenser within an ejector system.
Cracking furnace operations (e.g., for the steam cracking of naphtha feedstock into olefins) are an essential part of hydrocarbon (HC) refining; however, they are known to be potentially dangerous and complex to manage.
Technip was awarded a contract to provide engineering and procurement of three proprietary SMK grassroots furnaces at Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.
The last few years have been an extremely challenging period for the oil industry due to the adverse global economic environment and the impact of unfavorable external factors.
The long-term viability of a plant depends on maintaining continuous output and reducing production costs.
A refinery process fired heater system consists of multiple sub-units, of which the fired heater is the most critical, as it impacts the overall efficiency of the system.