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How to implement effective corrosion prevention techniques for heat exchanger tubes?

2018-12-08 View Original

Thread Content

According to incomplete statistics, in modern large-scale production facilities, especially in integrated production systems for petroleum refining, chemicals, fertilizers, and chemical fibers, various types of heat exchangers are constantly performing the function of converting and transferring thermal energy. According to statistics, heat exchangers account for 20-40% of the total investment in equipment. In industries such as oil refining, chemicals, and fertilizers, tens of thousands of heat exchangers are scrapped each year due to corrosion and scaling. Damaged heat exchangers not only lead to frequent maintenance and replacement tasks, as well as leaks of raw materials and products, posing risks to human health and causing environmental pollution, but they also result in plant shutdowns due to accidents, which incur significant losses in production. Heat exchange equipment is one of the key components in production facilities; most of it is made of carbon steel, accounting for around 30% of all heat exchange equipment. Approximately 60% of the numerous routine repairs for failures and accidents are caused by corrosion and leakage in the tube bundles of heat exchangers. It has severely affected the safe, stable, and full-capacity operation of the production facilities. Furthermore, corrosion forms a rust layer that increases thermal resistance, severely reducing heat exchange efficiency and failing to meet the requirements of production. Therefore, selecting appropriate materials for the tube bundles of cold exchange equipment as well as appropriate control methods to reduce corrosion is an issue that our technical personnel have been focusing on. To date, the corrosion of carbon steel water coolers, condensers, and certain heat exchange tube bundles in enterprises in the petrochemical, coal chemical, and chemical industries has not been properly addressed. In recent years, although some anti-corrosion methods have been developed, they have helped to mitigate the corrosion of tube bundles. A new protection method should be sought to address metal corrosion and scaling on the inner and outer walls of the tube bundle, thereby extending its service life and heat exchange efficiency. If this problem can be solved, it will address a major challenge for the petrochemical industry, and the market potential is huge. I believe that through this discussion, we can exchange the anti-corrosion techniques for heat exchanger tubes that everyone is familiar with, thereby promoting further development of anti-corrosion technologies for heat exchangers in our country.
Reply #2 2018-12-08
Corrosion occurs in carbon steel heat exchanger tube bundles, as well as those made of stainless steel! The cause analysis should take into account factors such as the media inside and outside the heat exchange tubes, the structure of the heat exchanger, and the material of the heat exchange tubes! 1. The quality of the cooling water source for the heat exchangers in our facility is poor, and the water pressure is low! 2. The baffle structure of some heat exchangers is unreasonable, exacerbating erosion and scouring! 3. The material of the tube bundle is of low quality and not suitable for the current process conditions!
Reply #3 2018-12-28
If it’s just a simple tube sheet… applying a polymer coating on the outside for protection would be sufficient. But in the case of an entire unit, it’s necessary to consider using the same material for both the tube bundle and the tube sheet, in order to avoid potential corrosion caused by differences in material. Additionally, the design of some heat exchangers needs to be carefully evaluated…
Reply #4 2018-12-28
Poster Mr. Wang: Hello! Do the heat exchangers and condensers you mentioned have specific operating temperature ranges? Thank you!
Reply #5 2018-12-28
What is the temperature of the heat exchanger in your factory? Thank you!
Reply #6 2018-12-28
Hello! Anticorrosion measures for heat exchanger tubes are generally applied mainly to water coolers or condensers. Generally, process media below 200 are suitable. In fact, this is a good method for addressing the corrosion of carbon steel pipe bundles.
Reply #7 2018-12-28
Under normal circumstances, the materials of the tube sheet and the heat exchange tubes must be the same.
Reply #8 2018-12-28
Thank you for your advice! I’m asking because I’m currently dealing with heat exchanger issues. Thanks again!

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