Improving thermal energy recovery systems using welded plate heat exchangers

摘要

The aim of this paper is to show the use of welded plate heat exchanger (WPHE) technology in energy recovery systems to reduce the number of units and the potential benefits in revamping projects. The implementation of multifluid units allows for the reduction in the number of units in heat exchanger networks. A thermohydraulic model is developed to determine the unit dimensions that fulfil the required heat duty within the pressure drop restrictions. The approach to multifluid cases is demonstrated on a crude oil preheat train that contains a total of 12 heat exchangers. Various options for the simplification of the network structure are analysed but in principle, with the possibility of implementing multifluid structures, two options are analysed, the reduction to seven units and the reduction to three units. The total heat exchanger area using conventional shell and tube exchangers for the original structure is 9350.96 m(2), compared to 3598 m(2) required by the proposed multi-stream arrangement. An additional revamping projection consisting of the direct replacing of the original exchangers with WPHE technology using the same installed area, shows a potential energy reduction of 25% and a payback of 1.6 years. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.