Advantages and disadvantages of oxygen preheaters
Thread Content
In the methanol production unit using coke oven gas, there is a tubular heat exchanger before oxygen enters the conversion furnace, where steam is used to preheat the oxygen. Does anyone use this type of process? I would like to ask about the advantages and disadvantages of this oxygen heat exchanger
1. Preheating utilization 2. Reducing oxygen consumption 3. I remember that after preheating the oxygen, superheated steam was added to prevent steam from condensing and causing accidents.
Using steam for preheating can’t really be considered as waste heat utilization, right? Are there any empirical data to support the impact of temperature changes on oxygen consumption? Once preheated, the temperature should be above the saturation temperature, so condensation should not occur
The process route is different. Initially, the design by the Second Chemical Engineering Institute called for separate preheating of the oxygen pipelines; in other words, there was one heating furnace containing at least two sets of coils—one set through which gas flowed, and the other set through which oxygen flowed. They go their separate ways until they reach the entrance of the converter, where mixing begins. Another approach is to not preheat the oxygen pipeline; instead, superheated steam is introduced near the conversion furnace to raise the temperature of the oxygen. What you described is similar to this process, which involves indirect heat exchange. The effects should be similar; in principle, oxygen is supplied to raise the temperature, but there may be some safety issues in actual production.
What are the problems? Since you have posted related threads, you must be among those who started working in this field early on and possess extensive experience. I would be very grateful if you could share your insights
The main safety issue is oxygen leaks from the oxygen pipelines or heat exchange equipment