Finned tube heat exchangers in the petrochemical industry

Finned tube heat exchangers play a crucial role in the chemical and petroleum industries. Their highly efficient heat exchange performance, corrosion resistance and structural stability make them indispensable equipment in various technological processes. The following is an analysis of its technological process and specific application cases in the chemical and petroleum industries:

1.The process flow of finned tube heat exchangers in the chemical and petroleum industries

1.1. Reboiler of the distillation tower

1.1.1. Process Flow:

a. In the petroleum refining process, the liquid at the bottom of the distillation column (such as crude oil) needs to be heated to separate components with different boiling points.

b. The finned tube heat exchanger serves as a reboiler, using steam or high-temperature hot oil as the heat source. Through the finned tubes, heat is transferred to the liquid at the bottom of the tower, causing it to partially vaporize and flow back into the tower, thereby enhancing the separation efficiency.

1.1.2. Technical Features:

a. High-frequency welded finned tubes are adopted to enhance heat transfer efficiency and reduce the risk of coking.

b. High-temperature resistant and corrosion-resistant materials (such as stainless steel or titanium alloy) are suitable for sulfur-containing crude oil environments.

1.2. Jacketed heat exchanger for the reaction vessel

1.2.1. Process Flow:

a. In the process of chemical reactions, it is necessary to precisely control the reaction temperature.

b. The finned tubes are installed in the jacket of the reaction vessel and absorb the reaction heat through an external cooling medium (such as cooling water or heat transfer oil) to maintain a constant temperature condition.

1.2.2. Technical Features:

a. The spiral finned tube design can enhance turbulence and improve heat exchange efficiency.

b. It is suitable for strongly corrosive media (such as acidic or alkaline reaction systems).

1.3. Heat exchange system of cracking furnace

1.3.1. Process Flow:

a. During the petroleum cracking process, high-temperature cracking gas needs to be rapidly cooled to prevent secondary reactions.

b. Finned tube heat exchangers are used for rapid cooling heat exchange, rapidly reducing the cracking temperature and increasing the yield of the target product.

1.3.2. Technical Features:

a. Made of high-temperature resistant alloy materials (such as Inconel), it can withstand temperatures above 800°C.

b. The window fin design enhances gas disturbance and improves heat exchange efficiency. 7.

1.4. Condenser (Spent Steam Recovery)

1.4.1. Process Flow:

a. In oil refineries or chemical plants, the spent steam discharged from steam turbines still contains a large amount of waste heat.

b. Finned tube heat exchangers are used for waste heat recovery, condensing spent steam into water, and transferring the heat to the boiler feed water or preheating air, thereby enhancing energy utilization efficiency.

1.4.2. Technical Features:

a. Copper-aluminum composite finned tubes enhance thermal conductivity and reduce the impact of scaling.

b. It is suitable for environments with high humidity and impure steam.

2. Specific application cases related to finned tube heat exchangers of Shandong Beichen Mechanical &Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd.

2.1. Petrochina Guangdong Petrochemical Refining and Chemical Project (The World's Largest Heat Exchanger)

2.1.1. Application scenario: 800,000-ton/year styrene plant (the largest single set in the world).

2.1.2. Heat Exchanger type: Four-unit heat exchanger (finned tube + shell tube composite structure).

2.1.3. Technical Highlights:

a. The total weight is 1,656 tons, the length is 56.5 meters, and it adopts the LUMUS process package technology.

b. The finned tube section is used to efficiently recover reaction heat and reduce energy consumption.

2.2. Hangzhou Oxygen High-pressure Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger (Domestic Substitution for Import)

2.2.1. Application Scenario: Shandong Yulong Island Integrated Refining and Chemical Project (a key project of the 14th Five-Year Plan of the State).

2.2.2. Technological Breakthrough:

a. Adopt domestic high-pressure plate-fin heat exchangers to replace imported ones and avoid supply chain risks.

b. Computer simulation optimizes the fin structure to enhance high-temperature stability.

2.3. Patent technology of High-efficiency finned tubes in Northwest Oilfield

2.3.1. Application Scenarios: Oilfield heat exchange equipment (upgrade of shell and tube heat exchangers).

2.3.2. Innovation Points:

a. Improve the shape of the fins, increase the specific surface area, and raise the contact pressure of the fluid outside the tube.

b. Compared with traditional heat exchangers, energy consumption is reduced by more than 15%.

2.4. Copper-aluminum composite finned tubes from Yunnan in chemical cleaning systems

2.4.1. Application Scenarios: Cleaning of petrochemical equipment (descaling and anti-corrosion).

2.4.2. Technical Features:

a. Copper-aluminum composite finned tubes are adopted, which have strong corrosion resistance and are suitable for chemical cleaning environments.

b. By combining high-pressure water jet and chemical cleaning, the service life of the heat exchanger can be prolonged.

3. Future Development Trends

3.1. Material Innovation: Corrosion-resistant coatings (such as epoxy resin modification) enhance equipment lifespan.

3.2. Structural Optimization: Microchannel finned tubes (such as 5mm small tube diameters) enhance heat exchange efficiency.

3.3. Intelligent control: Optimize the heat exchange process in combination with PLC to reduce scaling and energy consumption.

4. Conclusion

The application of finned tube heat exchangers in the chemical and petroleum industries covers key processes such as distillation, reaction cooling, cracking, and waste heat recovery. Typical cases related to Shandong Beichen Electromechanical Equipment Co., LTD. (such as the Guangdong Petrochemical project of China National Petroleum Corporation and the domestic substitution of Hangzhou Oxygen) have demonstrated its technological breakthroughs in large-scale, high-efficiency and corrosion resistance. In the future, with the development of new materials and intelligent control technologies, the finned tube heat exchangers of Shandong Beichen Electromechanical Equipment in the conventional way will play a greater role in the field of chemical energy.

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