Sep 2019

E3
Since
1976 43

Day 1: Introduction - Types & Components

Day 2: Design - Radiant & Convection areas. Coil, Stack and Burners ~ Worksheets
Day 3: Operational Issues
 Process Fired Heaters Design
 Plant energy flow. Source of high temperature heat  Firebox heat transfer - A primer
 Vertical Cylindrical, Box, Cabin, Multi-Cell  Radiant Section sizing
 Fired Reactors  Convection Section sizing
 Ethylene Cracker, Steam Hydrocarbon Reformer,  Coil Design
Sep 2019 EDC Cracker, Visbreaker, Delayed Coker  Stack
 Firing
 Burners
 Single or double sided, Floor or up-fired, End or Side  Refractory system
wall fired, Multi-level fired and Roof or Down-fired
 Burners
Operations
 Gas or Oil or Combination. Low NOx
 Past safety alerts
 Draft
Dedicated to:  Firebox explosion
 Natural, Forced, Induced and Balanced
Lynn Evans and Bill Handel, Foster Wheeler, UK  Components  Excess Air /Draft control
Acknowledgment  Fuels - Gas & Oil
 Tubes & Supports, Soot blowers, Stack, Refractory
API Standard 560/ RP 530  Waste Heat Recovery:  Coking & Hot Spots
Various Project Standards/ Specifications  Coil Cleaning & Inspection
Today we are able to see further and farther  Steam Generation, BFW Heating, Air Pre-heater,
Pictures from many sources, suppliers, internet Gas Turbine Exhaust WHRU  Start-up
standing on the shoulders of such giants

1 2

Firebox Heat Transfer 2 loops

 A Primer 1. Assume Coil Size4-6”, No
Radiant Section Sizing of Passes 1-4, to calculate
Convection Section Sizing coil velocity, heat transfer
Coil Design coefft etc Fired Heaters
Stack 2. Assume Radiant Duty,
Burner, Fuel Systems Flux, size Firebox/ Radiant
Refractory System Section, find Firebox
Temperature
 Do heat balance; Verify
assumed radiant duty, Repeat,
if required
 Size convection Section; Check
pressure drop
Repeat Coil size/ passes, if
required

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1
 Sep 2019

CRL naphtha leak and heater explosion

Failure to purge firebox: Operators kept attempting
to light a burner. Each failed attempt resulted in
accumulation of fuel: air explosive mix in firebox.
Boiler exploded. Killed 2
 Purge before every light up attempt
Change over from oil to gas fuel or vice versa:
Attempt to maintain a stable gas flame until oil flame
is stable led to air starvation and explosion
 Maintain total firing and Xs air. Stack O2 reading has
inherent delays. Do not rely on it
Change over from low to high Mol Wt Gas fuel: Before
burner pressure was trimmed by temperature
controller, excess fuel resulted in firebox explosion
 Good fuel mixing is a must in fuel gas system with
multiple sources
External hydrocarbon leak entered boiler firebox:
Internal explosion ignited the external gas cloud.
27 died and 56 wounded. One LNG train
exploded and 2 other trains damaged
 HC leak detection and shutdown system are not
common in downstream units
Bad MOC: Sulfur bearing hotoil stream rapidly
corroded and ruptured CS tubes at 300-370°C.
Corrosion leaks caught fire and destroyed a
heater. Use 5Cr½Mo tubes
Flow mal-distribution amongst passes:
resulted in overheat, tube rupture and fire
 Adequate ∆P thru coil, proper size of inlet - outlet
manifolds to evenly distribute flow over passes,
individual pass flow controls and monitoring during
plant start up and operation

5 6

Stack oxygen analyser: may operate above auto-

ignition temperature and ignite unburnt fuel in
flue gas. Flame arrestor on probe may degrade in
service. Ethylene furnace was damaged
Heat slowly, during start-up. Sudden vaporization
of water trapped in steam reformer tubes caused
pressure surge; destroyed 5 tubes, whose
splinters destroyed rest of the tubes. Steaming
out reformer requires attention
 Similar ‘steam boil over’ incidents in hot oil or
heating medium tanks if trapped hydrotest water is
not slowly boiled off

Corrosion under insulation (CUI): In fuel gas piping

went undetected and led to hydrocarbon release
and fire near a heater
 Have inspection windows in insulation

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2
 Sep 2019

IR: 0.7 to 400 µ. Heater 0.7 to 14 µ Why only CO2 and H2O?
Symmetrical molecules O2 + N2 do not absorb

Mol Fractn H2O+ CO2

or radiate in firebox IR range

Partial Pressure or
Heat transfer across space without physical contact. A Binary H2O and CO2 molecular bonds bend 0.35
H2
0.30
surface phenomena related to surface temperature and vibrate.  Kinetic energy 0.25 CH4
Solid radiation is in full spectrum. Surface phenomena.  H2O emissivity is the highest 10° Oil
Gas radiation - Thickness or Depth related. Limited range.  Gaseous fuels radiate better
Wavelengths: Shorter as energy level/ temperature rises Fuel H2O/ (H2O+CO2)
0% Xs Air 20% 40%
 Sun. Much of its radiation in shorter wavelengths, visible light  Heavy oil 1/ (0.3-0.42)
3 0.7
 Distillates 1/ (0.42-0.5) 700°C
2
0.6
It may appear that radiation is from flame,  Natural Gas 2/ (0.6-0.7) 900°C

Gas emissivity, εG
3
0.5
 But bulk is from hot CO2 and H2O in flue gas, in infrared range 1100°C
 90% from gas; 10% from flame
Gas emissivity εG depends on gas temperature, 0.4
partial pressure of H2O + CO2 + SO2 - “p” and 0.3
▪ H2 has no visible flame. Oil flame appears luminous as it cracks to soot depth of gas cloud or mean beam length, L.
during combustion 0.2
High Xs air reduces εG
0.1 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
L = 3.6*V/Ae. Wimpress pL, atm.m

9 10

Flue gas recirculation velocity Tube Spacing Vs. Fraction

increases with firebox height, giving absorbed α c.f. parallel planes
convection coefft hc = 10 to 15 W/~, 1.0 Total = Direct +

Fraction absorbed α
10-15 kCal/~, 2-3 Btu/~) 0.8 Reflected
0.6
Reflection boosts radiation transfer.
Radiation Effective: Direct 75%; 1st reflection 68%; 2nd 61%; 3rd 54% 0.4 Direct
D

Refractory
 Flame and gas (CO2/H2O) to tubes and refractory Take 100 rays from a single point 0.2
 Tubes to refractory and gas cloud S Direct 40 rays x 0.75 = 30 units 0.01 2 3 4
 Refractory to tubes and gas cloud Once reflected 30 rays x 0.68 = 20.4 Spacing S/ tube dia d, S/D
Convection Twice reflected 15 rays x 0.61 = 9.2
Thrice reflected 15 rays x 0.54 = 8.1
 Flue gas recirculates between tubes and refractory - thermo Re-circulating
siphon effect. Heat to front + back of tubes and refractory Total 100 rays 67.7 units
Flue Gas
 Between gas components. 70% heat in non-radiating O2 Gas Cloud
Refractory re-radiation enhances gas emissivity + heats
and N2. Convection to CO2 and H2O that radiate tube backside
Refractory

 From tube to heated fluid Larger the tube spacing or more gap between tubes, OD L
less direct radiation and more reflected radiation
Conduction thru scale and tube wall  Tubes usually on 2D spacing. S = 2D -≈ 1.8 OD
To tubes/ fluid  Tube to wall 1½ D. Beyond 1½ D, rear side absorption  Acp S
Gas cloud remains at Av Radiant Flux:
 Front: Flame + gas cloud radiation + convection
residual or equilibrium  Based tube outside area = πDL
 Back: Convection + Refractory radiation
firebox temperature,  Effective Area of Cold Plane (Acp) receiving Acp = nSL if single side fired
 Thru tube wall. From wall to process fluids radiation = αSL αAcp Acp = 2nSL if double side fired,
receives heat from
flame and radiates it but “α” direct only
 Bulk of heat transfer in radiant section is by convection between gases to tubes and refractory

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3
 Sep 2019

Cgr
Cgt

Refractory
Rgt Rrt CCRra
Rgr
3 Zones: Gradient in Tube and Gas Temperature based on:

Overall Exchange Factor, F

180°
1. Source = Gas cloud + Flame 0.9  Size and shape of firebox
0.8 Ar/αAcp =5
2. Sink = Tubes and 0.7 3 ▪ Squat firebox: Less gas temperature gradient 60°
0.6 1 ▪ Long cylinder: More gradient
3. both enclosed by Refractory that absorbs no heat 0.5 0 Single sided firing
but reradiates back to source, to sink and to itself 0.4  Proportion of wall area covered by tube
0.3  Flow of fluid w.r.t flue gas flow
0.2
Refractory 0.1  Tube to tube spacing
 Enhances heat to tubes - back and front 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7  Tube to wall spacing and Double sided firing
 More effective - close to tube (square-of-distance- Gas emissivity, εG
 Type of firing & firing density impacting recirculation
effect) + high emissivity Ar = Uncovered refractory
area = Total Refractory area,
 Contribution more in side/central/ bridge-wall Single sided firing: Max front or fireside 180°flux
At minus αAcp
fired. But low mean beam length and flue gas 50% higher than average flux on 2D spacing; front
recirculation 60° is 80% more
Once refractory’s role is understood, abandoned Double sided firing: 25% more on front 60°
X

Refractory
 2nd row of tubes common in older designs. Larger tube spacing evens out maximum flux rate
Doubles the cost but adds 25% more area  Peak film temp- 2D = 450°C 3D = 433°C
Why 2 or D only?
 Efforts on polished reflecting surface on refractory X Why not 2.25D?

13 14

Cgr
Cgt

Refractory
Rgt Rrt CCRra
Rgr
Impact of T4 relationship Emissivity, ε and Absorptivity, α depend on temperature/
 Net exchange between two surfaces: wavelength. Higher the temperature, lower in metals; exception
q1 4 - T24)/(1/ε1 - 1/ε2 -1) + convection part, hc Ao(T1 - T2) non-metals like refractory
2 A1F σ(T1
Polished and clean metal surfaces - low ε; oxidized and rough metal
 Changes in T2 hardly impacts T1 surfaces - high ε. Usual tube ε = 0.9
Simple heat transfer analysis - stirred tank or single zone.
 if T2 < ½T1, flux gradients minor Computerized methods - multiple small zones
Tg = 870° Tt = 370
 Temperature gradients expected in wall firing tall and narrow fired
 Crude Oil Heater reactors
▪ Tin = 300°C Tout = 370 Tav = 335 Tt = 370 Tg = 870° Tg4 = (870+273)4
= 17,06,80,89,89,601
Conduction and convection decided by temperature difference or
▪ Tt4 is about 10% of Tg4 ∆t. Radiation decided by temperature level. WB = σT4. Higher
Tg4 = (370+273)4
▪ 10% variation in Tt has little impact on Tg = 1,70,94,00,75,601 sensitivity to temperature
▪ Some correlations ignore Tt. In:Out flux = 1.05:1.0
Multiple sources + multiple receptors @ temperature gradients in
In case of fired reactors T2 and T1 are close different firebox zones - can be solved by a network analysis as in an
electrical circuit with differing potential

15 16

4
 Sep 2019

Qr = Radiant duty S S
Qin = Heat input into firebox
φoverall = Overall exchange factor D
C = Empirical coefft based on Tg L Acp
Se = Equivalent effective area

Wilson, Lobo & Hottel (1932) Literature “bookish” correlations 6” pipe on 12” pitch
 Qr = Qin/ (1+G(Qin/αAcp)½/4200). Only Xs air. Firebox Ar, pL, Tg, Tt not in S = 12/6.625 = 1.81
Hottel (1938) require
 Qr = αAcpφoverallσ(Tg4 - Tt4). pL, εgas,εeffective ,firebox geometry considered
4” pipe on 8” pitch
 Firebox layout to find Tg, as if equations S = 8/4.5 = 1.77
Mekler (1938)
 Qr = 1.74e-8CSe(Tg4 - Tt4). pL, εgas ,εeffective ,firebox geometry not considered
are good for rating only Take S/D = 1.8
Lobo & Evans (1939) - Widely used  Assume a radiant duty, decide firebox lay
 Qr = 1.73e-8αAcpφ(Tg4 - Tt4) + 7φ(Tg4 - Tt4)
out, calculate Ar, αAcp, Tg, and check duty Ao ≈ 2αAcp
 pL, εgas ,εeffective ,firebox geometry + convection considered. εtube = 0.9
 85 tests; 19 different furnaces; Xs air = 6-170% q/A = 3,000 to 54,000 Btu/h.ft2; hc = 10 W/~, kCal/~ , 2
Ar/ αAcp = 0.45-6.65. Error 5-16%. Modern: Xs air = 5-40% Ar/αAcp = 0.5-1 Which tube area? Btu/~ units based on Ao.
Hottel & Sarofim (1967) Tg  Flux specified on tube OD area, Ao = πDL Based on αAcp
 Qr = Acp σ εeffective (Tg4 - Tt4)  Projected tube area, At = DL Taking εeffective = 0.57,
 pL, εgas , firebox geometry not considered. εeffective based
on tube pitch and εtube free to input  Effective plane area, Acp = SL = 1.8DL hc = 10*2/0.57
= 35 W/~, kCal/~
 Ao/π = Acp/1.8 Ao≈2αAcp
Tg = Based on both heat
= 7 Btu/~ units,
transfer and heat balance

17 18

Method Radiant % BWT, °C

Ao ≈ 2αAcp
Qr = αAcp εeffective σ(Tg4 - Tt4) + hc Ao(Tg - Tt) or hc = 10 W/~, kCal/~ , 2
Simple F = 0.35 on OD. - Convection  69 875
Qr/αAcp εeffective = σ(Tg4 - Tt4) + 35 or 7 (Tg - Tt) Btu/~ units based on Ao. GPSA WLH - No Convection 65 930

Based on αAcp Nelson WLH - No Convection 67 900

 Graph of Ttube Vs various Tgas against Ao flux Taking εeffective = 0.57, Hottel & Sarofim (Add Convection) 65 (68) *935 (890) Chart = 890°C
hc = 10*2/0.57
Lobo & Evans - With Convection 65 *940
Convection in a Crude Heater firebox = 35 W/~, kCal/~
* BWT by trial & error. Need to assume firebox layout first to determine heat transfer in firebox
= 7 Btu/~ units,
 Tg=870°; Tt=370°C T-ambient
 10*500 = 5,000 W~ or about 16.6% of 30,000 W~ Parameter 100% Load 100% Load 67% Load
T- Stack
WLH Method 20% Xs Air 60% Xs Air 20% Xs Air
Correlations that ignore convection give a Stack Gas Temp, °C 385 405 340
Tg = BWT Overall
Av Flux - OD

higher gas + lower radiant duty split 950°C

efficiency
Efficiency, % 80.2 74.0 82.7
 Example F = 30,000 W~ 850°C Radiant Split, % 67.4 62.5 72.0
Radiant
750°C
 Tt = 370 Tg = 925° Vs 870 °C efficiency
Bridge Wall Temp, °C 900 825 800
 66% duty in radiant instead of 69% Flame Temp
Arch Draft, mm WC -1.5 +4 -1.5
Tube Metal Temp
Xs air reduces flame temp. Air- Burner Draft, mm WC -6.3 -1 -6.3
preheat increases flame temp

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 Sep 2019

 VC Heater. Duty = 3 MW
 Tin / Tout = 250/ 450°C
 Stack Gas ∆T = 140°C
 Stack Gas T = 390°C
Verify heat duty = ẃ(Hout-Hin)
Select heater type, say VC  No dew point issue
Select stack gas temperature = Fluid inlet  Fuel = Refinery Gas
temperature + 30 ~ 150°C
Check if inlet fluid temperature results in  Fuel LHV = 46,250 kJ/kg
 Flue gas water dew point (≈ 60-70°C) and/or  Ex Air = 20%
 Acid dew point (≈ 150°C). Stack gas T > Dew  Thermal eff = 82.2 %
Point
Find thermal efficiency based on stack gas  Casing loss = 2%
temperature, Xs air and 1-3% casing loss  Fired Duty = 30/0.802
Find fuel fired, flue gas and air demand = 3.74 MW
NHV Air Air kg/  Fuel = 291 kg/h
Fuel kCal/kg kg/kg 10,000 kCal
H2 28,670 34.8 12.10  Air = 5,427 kg/h
C 8,110 11.6 14.30  Flue gas = 5,718 kg/h
S 5,650 4.4 7.80
Methane 13,290 17.3 13.00 Combustion Air Demand: 3.4 kg/10,000
Ethane 12,420 16.1 13.00 kJ;14.0 kg/ 10,000 kcal; 7.8 lb/ 10,000 Btu

21 22

 ∆P, allow = 3 bar

Based on flow and allowable ∆P, select Service Av Flux, W/m² Av Flux, Btu/h.ft²
tube size (4 or 6”) and number of passes  2 pass - 4”
Crude, Charge/ Feed Heater, Reboiler, Hot Oil 32~38,000 10~12,000
Find velocity and heat transfer coefft  Velocity = 17.7 m/s
Vacuum (Fuel), Coker 32,000 10,000
Vacuum heater: Limit outlet velocity to  hi = 1,088 W/m².°C
80% sonic to avoid shearing liquid Vacuum (Lube) 28,000 9,000
 hio = 983 W/m².°C Visbreaker, Raffinate, Extract 22,000 7,000
Ensure flow regime in vaporizing service Asphalt 19,000 6,000
gives wetted wall i.e. bubble, Ethylene Cracker; Hydrogen Reformer 64,000 20,000
froth, plug, slug, and annular
Check ∆P after heater sizing -
total equivalent length
If calculated ∆P is higher than
allowed, change tube size / passes.
Repeat to match specified ∆P
Reaction Heater: Coil size to suit soaking volume

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 Sep 2019

 Fluid Tin = 250°C  Radiant Q = 0.673*3 =

 Tout = 450°C ∆t = 200 2.02 MW
 Radiant Area =
 Radiant 67%;
Convection 33% 2,020/Flux 30 = 67 m²

 Radiant Tin = 250 +  4” NB 4.5” OD

Assume radiant split (% duty in firebox), find Based on radiant duty
radiant section fluid inlet temperature and 0.33*200 = 316 °C  Coil Length = 188 m
 calculate tube area and length
average fluid temperature in firebox  Fluid Tav =  Assume number of tubes, get tube length, tube  Assume tubes = 36
Take average radiant flux given by client/ (316+450)/2 =383°C circle dia or width and L/D ratio or b:h:l ratio
assume  Even no/pass. Top out
A L/D ratio of 1.5 to 3 or b:h: l ≈ 1: 2-3: 5.
 Higher the flux, heater size ; TMT and coking   Av Flux = 30 kW/m² Smaller heaters L/D ≈ 1 or b:h: l ≈ 1: 1-1: 2  Each Tube L = 5.2 m.
From “hio” and tube thermal conductivity,  Assume 2D (8”) pitch Credit 180° bend 4.9m
calculate average tube metal temperature (Tt) L/D lower with more number of burners, as D
 Front 180° Flux = 45 gets bigger with bigger Burner Circle  2D (8”) pitch. Tube
For the flux and Tt, find Tg, the gas cloud
radiating temperature  Tt = 315 + 45/ hio + Tube to Burner distance specified in API 560 Circle Diameter =
 Hottel, Wilson, Lobo & Evans, Mekler correlations ∆tm =435°C 36*8”*/pi() = 2.3 m
In a well stirred heater, Tg ≈ Bridge Wall  L/D Ratio = 5.2/ 2.3 =
Temperature (BWT) or radiant exit gas  Tgas = 900°C (WLH)
D Heat, MW Vertical, m Horizontal, m 2.2 OK
temperature to perform heat balance and  Radiant Eff = 54 %
radiant section efficiency. In tall fireboxes Tg >  Split = 0.54*3.74/3 = 1.5 5.6 0.9  Say 3 burners. 1.5 MW
L
BWT by 100-150°C 2.5 8.3 1.2 @ 120% BCD = 0.7m.
67% H 5.5 11 1.4 
Measured Firebox Temperature could be less by c H-clear = 0.8m V 0.9m
50-100°C, due to heat given up to shock tubes  Assumed split OK B L
Extract. Oil Firing. Full table in RP 560

25 26

Square Pitch Studded

Corbel Finned
Corbel reduces flue gas Bare
bypassing or channelling Triangular Pitch
 Qc = 3 - 2 = 1 MW
Shock Tubes - Bottom 2 - 3 rows
 4” NB 4.5” OD 2 shock
 Bare to avoid high rates. Δ or  pitch
rows. 6/row, 2.5m
 3 modes: Gas convection, gas radiation and
refractory radiation. ho governs  Tube Ao = 1o.8 m²
 Bottom half may get firebox radiation, if  Flue gas V = 3.m/s
located above fire box  Assume q = 0.24 MW
 Gas convection hoc =
k*Cp*G^0.667*T^0.3/Do^0.33 k = 0.018 in  Tg out = 780°C
SI units; 1.6 in British units 900°C
316°C
 Gas radiant: hr = x*T-y x= 0.092 y = 34 in SI 780°C
300°C
units; 0.0025 and 0.5 in British units with t
 Refractory radiation: hrc ≈ 5-15% of hc + hr  LMTD = 530°C
 hc = 21.02 hr = 19.08
 Total = 1.1*(hc+hr)
 ho = 44.17 W/m².°C
 U = 41.57 W/m².°C
Δt/ row: high in bottom rows
 Duty = 0.24 MW

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 Sep 2019

 Qc = 1 -0.24 = 0.76 MW  Pressure Drop

Studs or Fins
 Radiation from hot gas low. Thin gas cloud in between  4 finned rows Pressure Drop Calculations:  Re = 16,35,550 f = 0.017
studs/fins  160 fins/m; 25 mm  Standard friction loss method, for  ∆P/100m = 55 kPa
Fins are less expensive than studs high 1.5 mm thick fins  Eq L = 500 m
 0.05-0.1” (1.25 - 2.5 mm) thick, 2-5 /inch (80-200/m).  Afins = 226 m²
single and two phase flows
Less number of fins for oil firing. More for gas firing  ∆P = 220 Vs 300 allowed
Studs  Flue gas V = 3.4m/s  Packed bed method for catalyst
 ½” Φ. 8-24 studs/ plane with 19.2 planes/ft (63 per m)  Tg out = 385°C tubes
 Height 0.5-1.25” (12 to 40 mm) based on tube spacing 780°C
300°C 385°C  Two Phase: Wetted annular is desired
Max convection flux to may exceed max radiant flux -
on bare surface basis due to high extended area ratio 250°C
 LMTD = 272°C
Options
 Small dia tubes to increase outside coefft ho
 hc = 175.46
 horizontal spacing: increase/ decrease gas velocity  U = 143.35 W/m².°C
 Higher velocity  higher ho  taller stack
 Duty = 0.76 MW

29 30

Two Phase Pressure Drop Equilibrium Flash To API RP 530. Steam coils to ASME
Vaporization Chart

 Use EFV Chart On internal pressure

Corrosion allowance, high in initial
Elastic deformation life, indirectly adds to design life
 Typical vacuum heater chart  linear stress - strain relation
 once internal pressure is removed, metal gets back to original
Pressure

0% Vaporized
state. Stress at that point is called Yield Stress
Plastic deformation, on further stress
 remains permanent even when load is removed
60% Vaporized  Stress causing plastic deformation before fracture is Ultimate
Tensile Stress

 Design stress = 2/3 Yield or 1/3 UTS. For CS plates it is about

Temperature
17,000 psig (117 MPa)
 Yield point at 1.5*design pressure; deform at 3*design pressure.

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 Sep 2019

Service 1¼ 2¼ 5Cr 9Cr 316 317 321 347 HK Issues

Hot tubes undergo Cr Cr SS SS SS SS 40
permanent growth or HP
creep CDU VDU X X X X Creep, External
 Time dependent oxidation, Sulfidic/
Naphthenic Acid
deformation below Corrosion
yield strength at high
temp Delayed X X X Carburization,
Coker Erosion
 Stress rupture - short Creep, External
term; Creep - long oxidation, Sulfidic/
term failure Polythionic Acid
Heater tubes are Stress Corrosion
usually designed for Cracking (TP 347)
20,000 to 100,000 Catalytic X X X X Creep, External
HDS oxidation, H2/ H2S/
hours of creep-rupture Polythionic Acid
life per API RP 530 Stress Corrosion
Cracking (TP 347)
Limiting design TMT

33 34

Tube Wall Thickness

Service 1¼ 2¼ 5Cr 9Cr 316 317 321 347 HK Issues  OD = 114.33mm
Cr Cr SS SS SS SS 40 Tube Supports  Design = 25 bar/540°C
HP
 Dead load and tube expansion  Allowable Stress - Elastic/
Cat Reformer X X X X Creep, External
oxidation, H2
 Horizontal Support: @35D / 6m Rupture @ 100,000 hrs =
attack, Metal  Vertical: 70D or 12m 1,310/ 450 bar
dusting, 1¼Cr
spheroidization
 25Cr-20Ni, 25Cr-12Ni, SS or CS  t calculated =
CO Boiler CS X X Internal corrosion,  High vanadium + sodium in fuel oil may 1.08/3.09mm
X External dew point call for expensive 50Cr-50Ni to  Corrosion Allowance =
corrosion, Erosion, withstand fuel ash corrosion 2mm (Note: Factored CA
Creep, External
oxidation used)
H2 Reformer X Creep  Cast Iron: 425°C (800°F)  t min = 3.6/ 4.8mm
Ethylene  25Cr-12Ni: 815°C (1,500°F)  t average - pipes ±12.5% =
Cracker
 End tube sheets are CS lined with 5.49mm
Spheroidization: Aging of carbon and low alloy steels with loss of mechanical and creep strength castable  t provided = 5.52 mm
when exposed to 440°C - 760°C (850°F - 1400°F) where carbide phases (the strengthening element
of steels) become unstable and begin to agglomerate, which then results in loss of strength

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 Sep 2019

 Stack dia, say = 0.6 m

Sizing based on: Heater performance depends on burner performance
 Buoyancy effect of flue gas  Arch draft min = 1.5mm
 Frictional losses in convection, duct and stack  Firebox T = 900°C
Number of burners decided by flame length
 Standard formulae for friction loss  Service, fuel, firebox layout. Flame length < 2/3 firebox
 Firebox ht = 5.5 m
 Number of stacks or stack intakes based on height. Gas flame 1-2 m/MW (1-2 ft/MMBtu/hr)
convection length  Firebox draft = 5 mm
Draft - by altitude/ atmospheric pressure at site (Draft for burner)  Burner to tube clearance. Min 450mm (1.5’). See API 560
 Stack T = 390°C  3 - in - Cluster burner for small heaters
Height to get draft or suit emission GLC  Burner to burner space: Must avoid flame merging to avoid
 Due to heat loss, stack  Draft/100m = 66 -12 =
draft temperature < inlet temperature 54 mm unburnt fuel and longer flames. May increase NOx
 ∆Pconvn = 2.6 - 0.85  Excess Air: 5-10-20-30%, based on fuel and draft (ND/FD)
Structural design of firebox / stack based on:
 Wind and seismic loads  Damper loss = 3 mm  Burners, duct & stack sized for 110-120% firing and higher
Tall stacks require aircraft warning lights  Stack tip loss = 4 mm excess air
 Draft reqd = 10.4mm  Must avoid flame and hot gas impingement
 Stack Ht = 20 m

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Fuel - MW 11.6 25.8 42.6

HHV, Btu/SCF 700 1,400 2,100
HHV, kcal/kg 12,700 11.425 10,380
Press, barg HP 2.1 1.2 0.9
Press, barg LP 1 0.5 0.35
Turndown Gone!
Low NOx Burners Ceramic fiber and castable are common
 Air or Fuel staging + Internal flue gas recirculation Fire bricks for fired-upon walls & hotter fireboxes
 Flames 25-50% longer. Retrofit difficult
- reaction heaters
Design to limit casing temperature <100°C and < heat loss
 Larger and longer flames. Extra 150 mm (6”) clearance to Insulation + air film resistance (hc + hr)
tubes. More burner to burner clearance for flue gas  Casing surface temperature calculated at still air. Heat losses @
recirculation, min 250 mm (10”) high wind
 Avoid inner circle burners in VC; may not get cool flue gas
recirculation more NOx

Fuel gas at 1.5 to 2 bar. Oil at 5-7 bar. Oil viscosity ≈ 25 cs

 Atomizing steam at dP of +2 bar @ 25-45% oil flow
 Caution: Gas Mol Wt change can play havoc on pressure at
burner. May lead to Xs firing on fuel switch over and explosion.
Why? With wind, casing temperature
Combustion Air Demand. 3.4 kg/10,000 fall off fast while heat loss
kJ;14.0 kg/ 10,000 kcal; 7.8 lb/ 10,000 Btu increase marginally high

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Snuffing Atomizing

Given
 ID = 0.6m (2’) L = 0.9m (3’); Tg = 1,540°C (2800°F) and Tw = 150°C
(300°F). 20% Xs. Q = 1.2 MW (4 MMBtu/h)
qr
 F = Ac/At = πDL/(πDL + 2πD²/4) = 0.75
 pL = 0.24*0.6 = 0.144 at.m (0.48 atm.ft)
 εg = 0.12; εt = 0.79; (1/εg - 1/εt -1) = 8.6
 q/A = Fσ(T14 - T24)/(1/ε1 - 1/ε2 -1) = 53.3 kW/m² ~ (17,000 Btu/h.ft²)
qc
 hc = 7.45 W/~ (1.31 Btu/~). 10.34 kW/ kW/m² (3,275 Btu/ h.ft²)
qr + qc = 63.6 kW/m² ~ (20,300 Btu/ h.ft²)
Application: Water bath, steam bath, salt bath and reboiler
 150 - 750mm (0.5-3’) dia x 1.5 - 9m (5-30’) long
From: Engineering Data Book, GPSA, Section 8, Ex 8-6 and 8-13
Snuffing Steam
 Purge firebox of unignited hydrocarbon, before light up to avoid an
explosion
 Failure to purge - repeated cause of firebox explosions
 LP steam @ firebox volume in 5 minutes. Additional purge connections
to header boxes. Note: Use steam density at atmospheric pressure
 Use snuffing steam to put out any small fire caused by tube leak
 Run FD fan for few minutes, if no LP steam OR use steam/ air ejectors
Atomizing Steam
 Atomizing steam - to shear and froth fuel oil. @ 25-45% oil flow
Soot Blower Steam + Plant Air
 Steam: 4,500 kg/h for retractable. Air: 80-100 Nm³/h for its pneumatic
motor

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Regularly remove internal coking and deposits to avoid hot spots Furnace Operations, R D Reed
and premature tube failure Petroleum Refinery Engg, W L Nelson,
 Gas oil circulation: Softens and removes deposits. Not for heavy coking Chapter 18
 Chemical cleaning: Circulating inhibited acid or chemical + water wash Engineering Data Book, GPSA, Section 8
for salt deposits API Publications
 Hydroblasting: High pressure water jet. Abrasive grit. Shot/sand  Spec 12K Specification for Indirect Type
Steam: air decoking: In-situ combustion with steam and air Oilfield Heaters
 Tubes in 1 pass are decoked. Tubes in other passes kept cool with steam  Std 530/ISO 13704 Calculation of Heater-
Tube Thickness in Petroleum Refineries
Pigging - abrasive pigs with external studs and grit  RP 535 Burners for Fired Heaters in
 Pigging avoids temperature shock. Faster. May damage 180° bends General Refinery Services
 RP 556 Instrumentation, Control, and
 Less damage than decoking or acid wash Protective Systems for Gas Fired Heaters
 May pig with water after steaming. Intelligent Pig  Std 560/ISO 13705 Fired Heaters for
Decoking Pig
 Increase pig size incrementally General Refinery Services
Mechanical turbine thru Mule Ear Plugs  RP 573 Inspection of Fired Boilers and
Also: Pre-heat train and Convection Section cleaning
Heaters
Burner: Oil & Gas gun cleaning

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Stay Safe. The best for many years of safe and sustained operations

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