Improved Heat Exchanger Cleaning with Efficient New Designs

Tag : Descaling Equipment

Maintenance of a platforms Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) andsimilar shell and tube heat exchangers can be an extremelydangerous process. It needs to be disconnected, taken off line, andmoved to shore for repair. Shell and tube heat exchangers are madeof coiled tubes and can become fouled with carbon deposits. Thetraditional methods for clearing the blockage include bypassing thefouled unit, cutting off bends and cleaning the tubes, thenre-welding the U-bends, and complete unit replacement.

The old methods are becoming more outmoded due to advancements intechnology. It is inefficient to bypass the unit. Just as it wouldbe less efficient to run your car with 2 cylinders not firing. Thisinefficiency, of course, also increases operational costs. It istime consuming and costly to cut the U-bends and re-weld them.Sometimes it can be difficult or impossible to get access toreattach them.

Some of these new methods include the ability to clean areas withlimited access, and clear deposits from U-bends without everremoving them. This can sometimes be done without even taking theunit offline, and usually takes less time and results in a higherdegree of defouling. In fact, many units can be restored tonear-factory efficiency. For big refineries, petro-chemical plants,or power plants, this can amount to six figure savings.

The U-bends themselves also retain many deposits, and continue tobe a bottleneck to the system. Full replacement carries the cost ofcompletely replacing equipment that, other than the heat exchangertube fouling, is still in working order. This method also requiresthe unit be taken offline for the full duration of replacement.obviously this carries a heavy expense and serious loss ofproduction.

Traditional heat exchanger cleaning methods and heat exchangercleaning equipment have changed very little over the last fewdecades. Pressure jetting is still the primary means used by manycompanies, but it is slow, inefficient, and ultimately very costly.Additionally, many companies are skeptical of newer methods,falling back on the thats the way its always been done, chain oflogic. They are also weary of trying new techniques that are not asproven to be effective. Finally, many have long term tube cleaningcontracts that do not allow for a change in heat exchanger cleaningtechnique, unless the contractor were to adopt the new methods.

Newer heat exchanger cleaning equipment and techniques are moretechnologically advanced, and by extension, require a higherskilled laborer than old style pressure jetting. These newdevelopments include the ability to clean tight radius bends, cleanunits while keeping them in place, and even while keeping themonline. It has also resulted in faster, more efficient cleaning.Many tube bundles can now be cleaned more effectively than withpressure jetting, and jobs that used to take days may now take onlya few hours. Difficult to access units are now accessible withthese new technologies.

Some of the technology that has been developed includes specialnozzles that can be used on tight bends, laser cleaning, and newsmart metals that respond to changes in density and pressure toprevent damage to the tubes. With these methods, jobs can befinished with less downtime, because cleaning and descaling can bedone more quickly. Equipment is also less likely to be damaged inthe process. Many of these new processes are safer, create lesswaste, use no chemicals, and have a significantly reducedenvironmental impact.


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Heat Exchanger Design
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