Is the plate heat exchanger at the top of the catalytic main fractionation tower reliable?
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Seeking advice: The process involves the oil and gas from the top of the catalytic distillation tower → plate heat exchanger (to produce hot water) → air cooling... Is a plate heat exchanger a good choice? Is it easy to clean, and is the pressure drop high?
When I was working on the renovation of disproportionation units in the past, I came into contact with plate heat exchangers, and they proved to be effective; low pressure drop is one of the characteristics of plate heat exchangers.
There are no technical issues per se; the main thing is to control the operation of the fractionation tower to prevent surging, thereby reducing the amount of reaction gas and catalyst that end up in the gas system at the top of the fractionation tower. Extra care is required when there is a leak in the settler.
Plate heat exchangers are suitable for clean media; they are prone to clogging, but they offer better heat exchange efficiency.
The oil-gas and hot water plate heat exchanger at the top of the fractionation tower at Sichuan Petrochemical has been in use for almost 3 years now. Hot water should be in a closed-loop system; after processing once, the water quality remains relatively clean, and the likelihood of issues with the water-side structure is low ； It depends on the cleanliness of the oil and gas side. For a catalytic unit with a capacity of 1 million tons, roughly only one fully welded plate exchanger is needed for the overhead oil-gas and hot water streams; whereas for shell-and-tube exchangers, five units in parallel are generally required ； The pressure drop on the oil and gas side can be kept within 10 kPa