che_march-2024 - 14

Lummus
FIGURE 2. Lummus launched a new Polaris breech-lock closure for
high-temperature, high-pressure heat exchanger closures used in the
hydroprocessing industry. High-pressure exchangers with breech-lock
or screw-plug-type closures are used for hydrocracking, hydrotreating,
lubricant oil, slurry and residue upgrade processing
and corrosion resistance, increasing
pressure and temperature limits,
improving ease of service and connected
services. "
Samuel Glover, Jr., global product
manager for plate heat exchangers
with SPX Flow (Charlotte, N.C.;
www.spxflow.com), adds: " Significant
developments continue to take
place that are focused on improving
heat-transfer efficiency of the heatexchanger
unit. Often, this means
working to provide the end user
with their required heat transfer in a
smaller footprint, both in size and energy
consumption, which can result
in cost savings.
" A more efficient system also
means a more sustainable one, "
Glover continues. " By helping processors
optimize their equipment,
in both new builds and existing systems,
we can help them reach goals
around energy use, as well. "
Spirax Sarco Ltd. (Blythewood,
S.C.; www.spiraxsarco.com) is also
working on innovations that increase
not only the efficiency, but the performance
of their heat-transfer solutions,
says Chris Rossi, product
manager for thermal energy solutions
with the company. " Because processors
are always looking to see how
they can continue to make products
to their internal standards, while also
delivering profit to shareholders and
trying to be a more sustainable entity,
it's an important goal for us to de14
velop
solutions that
can deliver. "
As such, the company
recently updated
several heat
exchangers, including
the Turflow, a
high-efficiency heat
transfer solution
and EasiHeat with
dual control. Spirax
Sarco's Turflow heat
exchangers (Figure
1) are compact in
design and suitable
for a range of fluids,
including steam. The
straight, corrugatedtube
design induces
turbulence in the flow
of the fluid, providing
a self-cleaning
effect, which reduces scale buildup
and, therefore, maintenance needs.
And, unlike traditional shell-and-tube
heat exchangers, it delivers a more
consistent and higher heat transfer
rate, creating a solution that also improves
heat transfer efficiency.
While the Turflow relies on design
to increase efficiency, the Spirax
EasiHeat implements enhanced
control to achieve higher levels of
efficiency. EasiHeat is a complete,
ready-to-use steam-to-water heattransfer
system that delivers energy
efficiency performance
in
applications
with
stable load conditions.
The dual-control design
combines the benefits
of both steam and condensate
control and
provides a high level of
set-point accuracy while
providing sub-cooled
condensate under any
operating load changes.
The steam-side control
allows users to heat
only the water that is required
and, by reducing
steam demand, it helps
to reduce CO2 emissions
by using the latent
heat from the condensate.
The condensate
control ensures that all
the useful energy in the
steam is used within the
SPX Flow
unit, resulting in less waste, which in
turn, reduces both fuel demand and
CO2 emissions.
Performance and reliability
However, as heat-exchanger manufacturers
understand that even the
most efficient heat exchanger is
of no use to chemical processors
if it cannot handle the operational
extremes of the industry, they are
working on adapting solutions to
meet the performance demands of
chemical processing.
" In addition to efficiency, the current
trend we are seeing is a real
drive towards increases in operating
temperatures and pressures, "
explains Albert Bedell, technical
director with Solex Thermal Science
(Calgary, Alta., Canada; www.
solexthermal.com). " This seems to
be due to an increase in focus on
energy recovery and overall efforts
to reduce the energy intensity of the
process heat. Processors are taking
a fresh look at their processes and
are taking a 'nothing-is-sacred' approach
to reimagining things. "
He continues: " The rub here is that
a lot of these processes are operating
at temperatures well beyond
what standard heat exchangers can
operate at - say north of 600 or
700°C. The low availability of options
in this temperature range is a chalFIGURE
3. SPX Flow's new plate heat exchanger FastFrame offers
improved usability and durability. The new design includes opening
and closing via a powered wrench in under two minutes, consistent
tightening across the plate pack and improved safety from the leg/
foot design
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
MARCH 2024
http://www.solexthermal.com http://www.spxflow.com http://www.spiraxsarco.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
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