Problems with heat exchangers and reboilers in delayed coking units
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1. For some heat exchangers in the delayed coking fractionation area and stabilization area, with a capacity of 1 million tons, spiral corrugated steel tube bundles are being used in their design. I would like to know if there are any precedents for this approach, and what its effectiveness is 2. Regarding the finned tube bundles used in the design of the reboiler at the bottom of the stabilizer and the reboiler in the desorption tower, I would like to know what their effectiveness and practicality are – are they just a gimmick? ? I always feel that spiral tubes have a shorter lifespan than straight tubes; I’m not sure how they perform in actual use ； Could the fin gaps of finned tubes get clogged by coke, further reducing the heat exchange efficiency?
It seems that spiral bellows provide good heat exchange performance, but when used in the distillation section, there might be issues such as clogging caused by coke particles and salts, after all, the oil isn’t very clean; it should work fine in stable areas
The heat exchange efficiency should be good in theory, but what about under actual operating conditions? It seems that the corrugations on the spiral tube were formed through post-rolling; this raises many questions such as whether it affects the service life, etc. Unfortunately, it still relates to the main topic at hand – I hope colleagues can provide answers
Heat exchangers that use corrugated tubes are generally used for heat exchange with higher temperatures and heavier components. The initial design of such heat exchangers was aimed at increasing the heat exchange area and thereby enhancing the efficiency of heat transfer. However, the problem arises from the increased resistance faced by the heavier components outside the tubes, which can lead to coking issues; carbon buildup between the tubes can also be severe, and in some cases it may cause the surrounding tube bundles to become deformed.
1. For some heat exchangers in the delayed coking fractionation area and stabilization area, with a capacity of 1 million tons, spiral corrugated steel tube bundles are being used in their design. I would like to know if there are any precedents for this approach, and what its effectiveness is 2. Regarding the finned tube bundles used in the design of the reboiler at the bottom of the stabilizer and the reboiler in the desorption tower, I would like to know what their effectiveness and practicality are – are they just a gimmick? ? I always feel that spiral tubes have a shorter lifespan than straight tubes; I’m not sure how they perform in actual use ； Could the fin gaps of finned tubes get clogged by coke, further reducing the heat exchange efficiency? We were using them before; during the last maintenance check, serious problems were found, so we replaced them all. I really haven’t seen any; they all use ordinary tube bundles, and some are just U-shaped tube bundles – that’s all I know.