Impact of complex layering structures of organic and inorganic foulants on the thermohydraulic performance of a single heat exchanger tube: a simulation study
File(s)E Diaz-Bejarano et al - accepted 22.9.16.docx (2.14 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Diaz-Bejarano, E
Coletti, F
Macchietto, S
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
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.
Date Issued
2016-09-22
Date Acceptance
2016-09-22
Citation
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 2016, 55 (40), pp.10718-10734
ISSN
0888-5885
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
10718
End Page
10734
Journal / Book Title
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
Volume
55
Issue
40
Copyright Statement
© 2016 American Chemical Society. This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.6b02330
Sponsor
UNICAT Ltd
Grant Number
N/A
Subjects
Chemical Engineering
Engineering
Chemical Sciences
Publication Status
Published