Among all types of heat exchangers, shell-and-tube heat exchangers are in huge demand for industrial applications.
Thermal imaging technology has evolved over the years, and investment costs have decreased significantly.
Refineries and petrochemical plants are comprised of a series of crucial processes to produce transportation fuels, products and chemicals demanded by the global market. These processes consist of capital-intensive units that must be maintained to provide reliable performance. Failure to adequately maintain these assets can have a detrimental effect to not only operations and profit, but also to worker safety.
Standards such as API, ASME and NFPA are applied widely in the refining industry.
As refiners consider renewable, low-carbon alternatives, renewable diesel—refined from agricultural products using petroleum refinery processes—is gaining traction.
In 1896, Whitham1 reported the successful use of twisted tapes (originally called retarders, and now also called turbulators) to increase heat transfer in boiler fire tubes—their effectiveness in increasing heat transfer is well known.
It is often incorrectly assumed that the burner tile is simply a piece of refractory or firebrick. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A sour water stripper (SWS) system is a common process in petroleum refineries and other processes where hydrogen sulfide is present.
Revamping an existing column in an operating plant for higher throughput is a challenge, especially when the column is already operating at its rated capacity.
Oxidation of external tube surfaces is responsible for metal loss at around 0.25 mm/yr, which limits tube life.