Squeezing the Most from your Refinery's Cooling Water AM-16-72

摘要

Water saving strategies are a key factor in the design and operation of industrial facilities, especially as raw water is becoming one of the most critical resources available. Oil refining and chemical production processes are not the exception, especially when revamping existing units or increasing the capacity of existing units. Even in regions where water availability is not an issue, associated costs for treatment are increasing year to year. One of the most demanding uses of water in a typical refining or chemical production process is cooling, because many streams are pumped at elevated temperatures and need to be cooled for separation or delivery purposes. Cooling water normally runs in a closed loop, however there are significant losses when it flows through the cooling tower. Evaporation, drift, blowdown and leaks are the most important issues to consider. Opportunities to optimize the cooling water system can be found in reduction of cooling water requirements, in improving the efficiency of the cooling water treatment, and in improving the cooling tower design. Substantial savings can be achieved through a detailed analysis of the water system, the process it is applied to, and the cooling water loop and its users. The objective of this paper is to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of different methodologies for analyzing these systems and to present some simple case studies.