Fired capital equipment: key plant
components
Fired capital equipment is an often neglected asset associated with
plant operations
CARL RENTSCHLER, HARALD RANKE and GOUTAM SHAHANI
Linde Engineering North America
T
he global petrochemical and
refining industries remain
volatile as natural gas and oil
prices fluctuate. In recent years, the
shale gas discovery created an
industry boom as prices returned to
pre-2000 levels. This led to a posi-
tive impact in the refinery and
petrochemical industries as owners
moved to take advantage of this
attractive fuel and chemical feed-
stock. The industry hit an
unanticipated snag as oil prices
plummeted by over 50% in the
second half of 2014 and into early
2015. Companies pulled back on
planned projects as they assessed
the likely trend for the future. The
message learned from this industry
volatility is that trends can change
suddenly, and the outcome is not
always predictable.
The challenge for the petrochemi-
cal and refinery industries is to
effectively manage their assets and
planned expansions through the ups
and downs. This means that equip-
ment must be economically
integrated into the plant, keeping in
mind that the lowest total cost is not
always the lowest upfront cost. Even
the smallest equipment can have a
huge impact on plant economics,
and this makes it necessary to care-
fully integrate all components. This
is best done by companies that offer
expertise in all components and
equipment of a plant.
An often neglected asset is the
fired capital equipment associated
with a plant. Fired capital equip-
ment can represent relatively minor
capital costs of refineries and chemi-
cal plants, and is often overlooked
as a major contributor to plant life
operating costs. In fired capital
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equipment we are referring to
hydrogen reformers, ethylene crack-
ing furnaces, fired heaters and
oxidisers. These components are
often ‘life organs’ of a facility, yet
they do not receive the attention
deserved as major contributors to
the profitability of a facility. Often
treated as buy-out items, these
components must be carefully inte-
grated into the plant design to
facilitate optimum plant perfor-
mance. The lowest cost fired heater
is usually not the best long term
solution. Instead, the total life cycle
cost including initial capital, energy
efficiency and maintenance cost
must be evaluated.
While fired capital equipment
generally does not have many
moving parts subject to wear, it is
subject to extreme temperatures
which can create significant degra-
dation. The components common
to most fired capital equipment
include burners, refractory, casing,
tubes, piping, stack, crossovers,
tube/piping supports, and perhaps
air preheaters, fans and pressure
vessels. In simple terms, using
these components the design goal
is always to create economical and
safe designs that can withstand the
elements over time. There is
constantly a battle over how far to
take designs in an attempt to
fend off possible issues. Some of
these issues will be discussed
later as they relate to fired capital
equipment. The point is that fired
capital equipment typically repre-
sents 5% to 15% of the plant cost
and may not always receive the
same focus as larger components,
although their failure can have
the same consequence on plant
operation as a major component.
Fired capital equipment can
consume a significant portion of the
energy used in a refinery. It has
been estimated that fired heaters
alone can consume 40-70% of total
energy consumed in a refinery. In
addition, the design efficiency is
typically in the 75-90% range15, with
the operating efficiency even less.
Given this scenario, there is a large
opportunity to optimise plant opera-
tion by focusing on fired capital
equipment. A few of the papers
listed in the bibliography have
addressed this topic.
In addition to the energy
consumption side of fired capital
equipment, its critical value is
demonstrated by the extreme condi-
tions under which this equipment
operates. Table 1 gives typical oper-
ating conditions for various types of
fired capital equipment. As can be
seen, these conditions are severe
and require special consideration
during design. Thereafter, the equip-
ment must be monitored over the
life cycle to assess potential prob-
lems. Typical trouble spots will be
highlighted later in this article.
Keeping the fired capital equipment
operating as efficiently as possible is
a challenge for refineries and petro-
chemical plants.
Linde has designed and built
fired capital equipment for a vari-
ety of applications covering a wide
range of operating conditions in
terms of temperature, pressure and
heat duty. Examples of these differ-
ent applications are presented in
Table 1.
The expertise gained from design-
ing the most sophisticated steam
methane reformer under extremely
PTQ Q4 2015 71

Fired capital equipment
Process temp. range, °F
Refinery heater 600-1150
EDC furnace 900-1000
Steam – methane reformer 1720
Direct reduction of iron (DRI) 1832
Ethylene furnace 1550
Table 1
Figure 1 Large US Gulf Coast ethylene furnace
demanding conditions is available
within the Linde organisation for
optimising even the simplest of
refinery heaters. The design tools
and methodology are based on a
combination of theoretical and
empirical techniques, which have
been compiled over decades.
Design considerations
The design objectives of fired capital
equipment are to maximise heat
delivery of the process-side feed
while minimising fuel consumption,
account for varying fuel quality,
minimise equipment wear and
maintenance intervals, minimise
emissions (for example, stack and
noise) and maximise safety. This
requires the careful balancing of
different parameters during design.
Typical heater specifications
address: (1) heat duty, (2) process
flow rate, (3) temperatures in/out,
(4) pressure drop allowable and (5)
fuel consumption. Special require-
ments often include: (1) fouling
factor, (2) heat flux, (3) inside
surface temperature limit, (4) tube
72 PTQ Q4 2015
ments, including more demanding
service, more stringent environmen-
tal regulations and the advent of
Process pressure, psia Heat duty, BTU/hr new materials of construction that
30-1650 10-400
160-300 75 can withstand extreme conditions.
510 1000 One of the major drivers has been to
135 830 improve energy efficiency. While
35 530 energy prices have recently
declined, especially in North
America, this is not expected to be a
permanent situation. Additionally,
higher energy efficiency is associ-
ated with lower emissions.
Therefore, it is always good engi-
neering practice to maximise energy
efficiency, taking capital cost into
account. For example, it is possible
to add an air preheater to recover
sensible heat from the flue gases.
However, this adds capital. The
appropriate level of air preheat has
to be selected based on the current
and future price of energy.
Heat flux is another important
design variable. The higher the heat
flux, the lower will be the heat
transfer surface area and therefore
capital cost. New higher Ni and Cr
alloys enable higher heat flux. These
have to be selected based on cost
and expected life.
Finally, it is important to consider
velocity requirements and (5) resi- modularisation. Typically, modulari-
dence time requirements. sation reduces field construction
Fired heaters have been designed time and improves quality.
and built for over seven decades. However, shipping costs will likely
While this is a mature technology, increase. It is important to consider
improvements continue to be made. and then balance various design
This is due to changing require- considerations to develop an opti-
mal design. In this regard it is
important to work with a company
that has extensive experience across
a wide range of applications – both
small and large – that has been
developed over decades.
An example of a large ethylene
furnace recently completed on an
EPC basis in the US Gulf Coast is
shown in Figure 1. A key challenge
in executing this project was to
obtain the necessary construction
resources in a very active market.
Another equally challenging
project is one for the direct reduc-
tion of iron in Abu Dhabi and is
shown in Figure 2. This fired heater
operates at 930°C and 136 MW with
204 vertical radiant tubes in 34
passes.
Figure 2 Fired heater in DRI service in Various innovations and design
Abu Dhabi considerations have been applied to
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Engineering
6%
Construction
30%
Equipment
64%
Total EPC = $18.2MM
Figure 3 Initial capital cost
the engineering of fired capital
equipment, and a few are noted
here:
1. Design for improved emissions2
2. Optimisation through use of
oxygen and combustible analysers4
3. Advanced process controls14
4. Film temperature control3, 5,13
5. Improved efficiency through
mathematical modelling12
6. Air preheaters for waste heat
recovery6,11
7. Refractory innovations9
8. O2 monitoring and excess air.4,8
With oxygen enrichment, Linde
has an approach to enhancing
furnace performance and reducing
nitrogen oxide emissions without
requiring high capital expenditure
to be invested in new equipment.
The company’s new low level
oxygen enrichment technology is
tailored specifically to the needs of
fired heaters. By modifying the
burner design, this technology
increases the efficiency, capacity and
lifecycle of furnaces.
Economics
In today’s competitive climate,
economics are always a primary
factor for any investment decision.
In this regard, it is important to
Cost considerations
Initial capital cost
(EPC perspective)
Size (heat duty, heat flux)
Temperature, pressure, fluid
Materials of construction
Modularity
Fuel flexibility
Emission control
Table 2
74 PTQ Q4 2015
Labour Overhead
0.3% 3.0%
Maintenance Capital related
2.4% 14.3%
Fuel
80%
Total annual cost = $17.5MM/y
Figure 4 Annual operating cost
distinguish between the initial capi-
tal cost of a piece of equipment and
its ongoing annual cost. In most
grassroots projects, fired capital
equipment is a plant component
that is usually in the scope of the
overall engineering, procurement
and construction company. For the
EPC company, the initial capital cost
is usually the focal point. This is
because it has to compete primarily
on price. Other factors such as
schedule, quality and reputation
also enter the decision making
process. In contrast, for the owner/
operator the ongoing annual costs
for the entire life of the equipment
are even more important. The key to
a successful project is to align the
interests of the EPC contractor with
those of the owner-operator. This
will be examined in more detail.
EPC company perspective
The typical capital costs for a fired
heater used to heat a process fluid
are presented in Figures 3 and 4.
This design is based on a process
duty of 616 MMBTU/h using 10%
excess air with natural gas as the
fuel. By using convection coils and
air preheat it is possible to achieve
thermal efficiency of 92%. It can be
Annual operating cost
(owner-operator perspective)
Capital related costs
Energy consumption
Labour
Maintenance
Reliability
Safety
seen from Figure 3 that engineering
is a relatively small portion (6%) of
the total installed capital cost.
However, as noted in a previous
article,1 engineering is a critical
activity that has a large impact on
overall project success. Also, the
construction estimate is highly
dependent on location. In some
regions, construction can even
exceed 50% of the total installed cost
of a fired heater.
Owner-operator’s perspective
For the owner-operator, it is impor-
tant to consider today’s annual cost
of the fired capital equipment
instead of just the initial capital cost.
The owner-operator must also
consider operating considerations
such as fuel, labour, maintenance
cost, as well as plant reliability and
safety. A summary is presented in
Figure 4. It can be seen that even in
today’s environment of relatively
inexpensive natural gas ($2.5
MMBTU), fuel is by far the domi-
nant cost component. This is why
equipment design has evolved to
achieve maximum thermal efficiency
by minimising heat loss and having
extensive heat recovery. In the
current case, this has been achieved
by using extensive convection coils
and air preheat.
A schematic depicting the impor-
tant cost considerations is presented
in Table 2. While some EPC compa-
nies may focus on initial capital cost,
owner-operators have to pay equal
attention to annual operating cost.
In reality, both capital and operat-
ing costs are important. These costs
have to be carefully balanced to
achieve an optimal solution. Ideally,
if possible it is good to also consider
the entire life cycle costs. This
requires a forecast of future costs
including energy costs. Predicting
future energy costs is very difficult
as seen from recent history. As a
result, for the sake of simplicity,
only current costs have been consid-
ered in this analysis.
Organisational considerations
Balancing the design and opera-
tional constraints of fired capital
equipment versus overall plant
equipment is critical in achieving
optimum plant performance. As
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 noted earlier, it may be possible to
improve plant economics by
improving the efficiency of fired
capital equipment operation. But
this should not be done if there is an
undesirable impact elsewhere in the
plant. The most effective approach
to balancing all plant elements
(including fired capital equipment)
is to involve a company that offers
expertise in all areas.
Conclusions
Fired capital equipment is a critical
component of most petrochemical
complexes and refineries. However,
it is often not given as much atten-
tion as is warranted since fired
capital equipment represents a rela-
tively small part of the total plant
capital cost. Ideally, the following
factors should be considered:
• Initial capital cost
• Energy efficiency
• Reliability and maintenance costs.
Equipment design must be
Anzeige-CS-09-2014b.qxp 10.09.14 15:49 Seite 1
coupled with pertinent operations
know-how for an optimal design.
Linde has developed technical capa-
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bilities across a variety of process
technologies over decades to
develop fired capital equipment.
References
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How to select the best fired heater for your
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capacity, Hydro Proc, Jun 1998.
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Hydro Proc, Jun 2012.
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Carl Rentschler is consultant for the fired
capital equipment business unit at Linde
Engineering North America. He holds BS and
M Eng degrees in engineering from Penn State
University and Cornell University, respectively.
Harald Ranke is Managing Director of Selas-
Linde GmbH, a subsidiary of The Linde Group,
Engineering Division. He holds a Dr.-Ing. (equiv.
PhD) degree in mechanical engineering from
Technische Universität München, Germany.
Goutam Shahani is Business Development
Manager at Linde Engineering North America
(LENA) in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. He has over
25 years of experience, specialising in industrial
gases for the energy, refining and chemical
industries. He holds bachelors and masters
degrees in chemical engineering and an MBA.
PTQ Q4 2015 75