Types of Reformer Design: GBH Enterprises LTD

GBH Enterprises Ltd.
Types of Reformer Design
Gerard B. Hawkins
Managing Director
 Four main types

• Pre reformers
• Primary reformers
◦ Main different designs
• Secondary reformers
• Compact reformers
WWW.GBHENTERPRISES.COM
• Need
◦ To contain the catalyst - use tubes
◦ High heat transfer area - lots of narrow ID tubes
◦ To supply heat - combustion of fuel
◦ To distribute feed - headers
◦ To collect effluent - headers
◦ To supply fuel/combustion air - headers & duct
◦ To contain combustion gases - casing
◦ To recover heat - flue gas duct and coils
• Three main types considered

◦ Top Fired
◦ Foster Wheeler Terrace Wall
◦ Side Fired
• Many other types
◦ Not considered
◦ Not encountered frequently
◦ Same principles still apply
Side
Bottom Top
Wall
Tube Support
Pigtail
Burner
Tube
Coffins
Exit Header
Transfer Line
Risers
Tubes
 Nearly all heat transfer is by

radiation
 Radiation from the flue gas to
the tubes
 Little direct radiation from
refractory to tube
 Refractory acts as a reflector
 Radiation from flame to tube at
tube top
Top Fired Temperature Profiles
1600 2800
Fluegas Temperature
Process and Outside
1500 2600
Temperature (°F)
1400 2400 Outside Tube Wall

Tube Wall
1300 Temperature
2200
(°F)
Process Gas
1200
2000 Temperature
1100
Fluegas Temperature
1000 1800
900 1600
800 1400
0 20 40 60
Distance Down Tube (ft)
• The key advantages of this design are

• Small catalyst volume
• A relative small number of burners
• Combustion air preheat is simple to install
• The key disadvantages of this design are
◦ High heat fluxes at the top of the tubes can lead to carbon
formation and hence to hot bands
• The heat flux down the tube can not be varied
• Burner control is coarse due to the low number of burners
used on top fired reformers
• A temperature pinch between the flue gas and process gas at
the exit of the tubes
NG Feed MP
Steam
Fuel
HP
Steam
Air
BFW
Fluegas Fans
Convection Section
Tubes
Upper Firing Level
Lower Firing Level
Cell 1 Cell 2
• Nearly all heat transfer is by

radiation from flames and
refractory
◦ Major portion is from Convection
refractory
◦ Some from flame
◦ Some from flue gas Radiative
• Heat is transferred from heat flows
flame to the walls
◦ By convection/radiation
Foster Wheeler Temperature Profiles
2000
Fluegas Temperature
1800
Temperature (°F)
Outside Tube Wall

1600 Temperature
(°F)
Process Gas
1400
Temperature
1200 Fluegas Temperature
1000
800
0 20 40 60
• The key advantages of this design are,

◦ Ability to alter the firing between the two levels to either,
 Reduce methane slip,
 Or increase the flue gas temperature and hence raise more
steam,
◦ A low heat flux which means carbon formation should not be
an issue.
• The key disadvantages of this design are,
◦ Relatively high catalyst volume,
◦ The feed and fuel gases must be balanced between the two
cells,
◦ A large number of burners.
 Convection section is placed

above transfer duct
 Elevated - makes
modifications difficult
 Long tubes in coil
 Multiple fans in some cases
 Can include auxiliary burners
Pigtail
Fluegas Extraction
Tube
Burner
Burner
Peephole
Burner
Burner
Outlet Collector
Tubes
Burners
Peephole
Staggered
Single Lane
• Nearly all heat transfer is by Convection

radiation from flames and
refractory
◦ Major portion is from
refractory
◦ Some from the flames - less
than for Foster Wheeler
• Some from flue gas
• Heat is transferred from flame Radiative
heat flows
to the walls
◦ By convection/radiation
Side Fired Temperature Profiles
1700 2200
Fluegas Temperature
Process and Outside
1600 2100
Temperature (°F)
1500 2000 Outside Tube Wall

Tube Wall
1400 Temperature
1900
1300
(°F)
Process Gas
1800
1200 Temperature
1100 1700 Fluegas Temperature
1000 1600
900 1500
800 1400
0 10 20 30 40
• The key advantages of this design are,

◦ Ability to alter the firing between the burner levels to either,
 Reduce methane slip,
 Or increase the flue gas temperature and hence raise more
steam,
◦ A low heat flux which means carbon formation should not be
an issue.
• The key disadvantages of this design are,
◦ Relatively high catalyst volume,
◦ The feed and fuel gases must be balanced between the two
cells,
◦ A large number of burners.
 Issues
• Variation of tube wall temperature
• Tubes are at different distances from burners
• Leads to high methane slip
• Variability of tube life
• Most of these reformers are

◦ Upfired
◦ Upflow
◦ Therefore same as a top fired
reformer
• Small plant capacities
• Always have uneven heat flux and
therefore un-even temperatures
• One side hotter than the other
 Offered by
• Howmar
◦ Now designing Top Fired furnaces
• Howe Baker
◦ Now designing Top Fired furnaces
• Chemico
• Use low grade heat from

flue gas duct to preheat air
• Maximize efficiency as stack
temperature is reduced
• Minimizes fuel used
• No preheating in primary of
the combustion air
• Must ensure symmetry
◦ Prevents mal-distribution
Burner Tube Feed Header

Burner Tube
Burner Tube Fuel Header

Burner Tube
 Main types include

• Gas Heated Reformer (GHR)
• Advanced Gas Heat Reformer (AGHR)
• Enhanced Heat Transfer Reformer (EHTR)
• KRES
 Aim is to
• Minimize plot area
◦ Eliminate large fired box
◦ Eliminate convection section
• Maximise heat integration
• Eliminate HP steam system
• Developed for ammonia process - LCA

• Early 1980’s - Paper exercise
• Mid 1980's - Sidestream unit at Billingham
• Mid 1980's - LCA design developed
• Late 1980's - ICI Severnside plants start up
• 1991 - BHPP LCM plant designed
• 1994 - BHPP plant start up
• 1998 - AGHR Start Up
• 1998 - MCC Start Up
Steam Oxygen
Preheater
Purifier
Natural gas
Saturator
Refined GHR Secondary
methanol
Purge Converter
Refining Topping
Column Column
Fusel oil Purge

to fuel
Process
condensate
water
Crude methanol
Air / Oxygen
Steam + Gas
Secondary
Reformer
GHR
Steam
2,590 Nm3/Hr
30`C Oxygen
22.0% Methane
43.7 Barg 39.2 Barg
21,000 Nm3/Hr 701`C
425`C
Gas/steam
37.9 Barg
1200`C
515`C
Syngas 0.4% Methane

38.6 Barg
975`C
GHR 742`C
Secondary
40.6 Barg Reformer
16.6% Methane
• Shellside heat transfer usually poor

• Minimize tube count with expensive alloys
• Tubes are externally finned
• Designed as double tubes
• Sheath tube
• Produces much smaller tube bundle
• Allows scale up to higher capacities
Double tube
Catalyst tube Fins
Hot shellside gas

Gas &
Steam Hot Reacted
Gas
Scabbard
Tube
Catalyst
Bayonet
Tube
Support
Grid
End
Cap
Hot Gas/Steam
gas
Twin
tubesheets
Syngas
Refractory
• GHR operates in extremely corrosive duty

• Metal dusting - catastrophic carburization
• Need for materials research
• Suitable high temperature alloys identified
• Many years of operation in LCA plants
• Also confirmed in Methanol plant
• Retain
• Series reforming scheme
• Shellside heat transfer enhancement
• Mechanical & process design methods
• Change to
• Non bayonet design
• Hot end tubesheet
• Sliding seal system
• Novel seal system

• Prevents leakage from tubeside to shellside
• Not sensitive to wear of sliding surfaces
• Allows independent tube expansion
• Proven in full scale pilot plant tests
• Easier to replace tubes

• Easier to load catalyst
• Capacity of up to 6,500 mtpd in single shell
◦ Would need 2 conventional primaries
• APCI / KTI
• EHTR
• Kellogg
• KRES
• Uhde
• CAR
• GIAP
• Tandem
• Johnston Matthey
• GHR
Feed &
Steam In
Cylindrical
Distributor To Heat
Recovery
Catalyst
Tube
Reformer
Effluent
Perforated
Distributor

Types of Reformer Design: GBH Enterprises LTD

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Types of Reformer Design: GBH Enterprises LTD

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

GBH Enterprises Ltd.

Types of Reformer Design

 Four main types

• Three main types considered

 Nearly all heat transfer is by

Top Fired Temperature Profiles

1400 2400 Outside Tube Wall

• The key advantages of this design are

Upper Firing Level

Lower Firing Level

• Nearly all heat transfer is by

Foster Wheeler Temperature Profiles

Outside Tube Wall

• The key advantages of this design are,

 Convection section is placed

• Nearly all heat transfer is by Convection

Side Fired Temperature Profiles

1500 2000 Outside Tube Wall

• The key advantages of this design are,

• Most of these reformers are

• Use low grade heat from

Burner Tube Feed Header

Burner Tube Fuel Header

 Main types include

• Developed for ammonia process - LCA

Fusel oil Purge

Syngas 0.4% Methane

• Shellside heat transfer usually poor

Hot shellside gas

• GHR operates in extremely corrosive duty

• Novel seal system

• Easier to replace tubes

You might also like