by admin | Feb 3, 2015 | Heat Exchangers Servicing
Running your refinery at maximum throughput – what does it mean for heat transfer plant maintenance and reliability? A recent article by Heinz Bloch, the reliability editor of Hydrocarbon Processing has drawn attention to the record amounts of crude oil that were processed by US refineries in the Midwest and on the Gulf Coast last summer and the implications of running at maximum throughput, for extended periods, for reliability-focused plant operators. One of Bloch’s suggestions is that: “refineries and petrochemical plants with elevated throughput should incorporate equipment upgrading as part of the turnaround planning.” At Heat Exchangers Southwest, we agree with this approach as we know of a number of different ways to significantly improve the ease at which heat transfer equipment can be cleaned and inspected through making relatively simple modifications. Record throughput also suggests a powerful economic incentive to delay turnarounds for as long as possible. This does have consequences – when you finally get round to cleaning your fired heaters and heat exchangers, the extent and severity of the fouling may have reached the point where local contractors may not be able to guarantee the standard of cleanliness you require. Should you take what appears to be the cheap option, there is a risk that not only will the cleaning contractor with the lowest bid may fail to clean the unit altogether or it may take so long that additional downtime is incurred at the painfully high cost associated with lost production. Furthermore, in such circumstances, every bottleneck hurts your bottom line. If the convection banks of your fired heaters are fouled, then they may be...
