A complete, systematic approach is presented for the analysis and characterization of fouling and cleaning in refinery heat exchangers. Bringing together advanced thermo‐hydraulic dynamic models, some new formulations, and a method for dynamic analysis of plant data, it allows: extracting significant information from the data; evaluating the fouling state of the units based on thermal measurements and pressure drops, if available; identifying the range of deposit conductivity leading to realistic pressure drops, if pressure measurements are unavailable; estimating key fouling and ageing parameters; estimating the effectiveness of cleaning and surface conditions after a clean; and predicting thermal and hydraulic performance with good accuracy for other periods/exchangers operating in similar conditions. An industrial case study demonstrates the performance prediction in seamless simulations that include partial and total cleanings for over 1000 days operation. The risks of using thermal effects alone and the significant advantages of including pressure drop measurements are highlighted. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 984–1001, 2017
A comprehensive model-based thermo-hydraulic methodology is used to investigate fouling behaviour in refinery heat exchangers where high concentration of inorganics in the deposits was reported. The method combines a data-driven analysis of plant measurements (including pressure drop) with a model-based analysis using advanced models of shell-and-tube heat exchangers undergoing fouling. A deposit model capable of tracking composition and deposition history was extended to include thermal-conductivity mixing models appropriate for various deposit structures. Substantial new and useful information can be extracted from the plant measurements in comparison to current practice: the thickness, the effective conductivity, and the radial conductivity and composition profiles of the deposits, reflecting the exchanger operation history. Episodes of rapid and acute fouling, and deposition of inorganic materials could be identified and quantified. A validation of the approach was carried out by (i) a comparison of averaged predicted and experimental inorganic weight fractions in a mixed deposit sample collected at the end of run, and (ii) an initial comparison of predicted radial inorganics profiles and experimental ones (obtained with SEM-EDX) in deposits from similar exchangers. Both steps yielded surprisingly good agreement. The study indicates that the method employed represents a new powerful, model-based analysis tool for monitoring, diagnosis and troubleshooting of fouling in heat exchangers
Modelling of crude oil fouling in heat exchangers has been traditionally limited to a description of the deposit as a thermal resistance. However, consideration of the local change in thickness and the evolution of the properties of the deposit due to ageing or changes in foulant composition is important to capture the thermal and hydraulic impact of fouling. A dynamic, distributed, first-principles model of the deposit is
Crude oil fouling in preheat trains in refineries is usually dominated by organic matter deposition at high temperatures. However, malfunction of desalting equipment, human or technical errors, or changes in feedstock may lead to substantial deposition of inorganic salts or corrosion products, compromising heat exchange performance, pressure drop (hence throughput), and even safety. Understanding how such abnormal deposition and the resulting complex deposit structure affect the thermohydraulic performance of heat exchangers is key to developing adequate monitoring tools for the early detection, diagnosis, and control of the underlying causes. Here, a novel multicomponent fouling deposit formulation is applied to the simulation of deposits composed of organic and inorganic foulants within a single heat exchanger tube. The model enables the tracking of changes and history of local composition in the fouling deposit, thermoconductivity profiles including layering effects, and impact on the overall thermohydraulic performance. The results show that appropriate monitoring of measurable stream conditions, including thermal and hydraulic effects, in combination with reliable predictive fouling and heat exchanger models, allows the detection and (potentially) diagnosing of the abnormal fouling behavior. The model is easily incorporated in full-scale heat exchanger models and is applicable to other processes.
Crude oil fouling on heat transfer surfaces is often described as the result of two competing mechanisms: a deposition and a deposition-offsetting mechanism. There is uncertainty whether the offsetting mechanism is suppression (due inhibition of attachment or back-diffusion of foulant from near the wall into the bulk) or removal of foulant already deposited, due to i) difficulties in experimentally identifying and isolating the key phenomena; ii) the cumulative measurement of deposition rates by monitoring thermal exchange rates (or resistance) alone. Here, the question is addressed of whether it is conceptually possible to distinguish such phenomena, and if so, in which conditions. A recently developed 2D deposit model and a thermo-hydraulic model of a heat exchanger tube are used to assess the system response to removal, suppression, ageing and consolidation (for which a new model is proposed). It is shown that whilst suppression or removal lead to undistinguishable behavior during overall deposit growth, thermal and hydraulic responses will differ in certain conditions, for which an experimental procedure is suggested. Simultaneous consideration of thermal and hydraulic effects and accurate characterization of the deposit ageing and consolidation processes are suggested as a way to allow the unambiguous identification of the dominant deposition-offsetting mechanism.
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