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Content archived on 2022-12-27

ENERGY RECUPERATION SYSTEM INCLUDING THE USE OF HEAT PIPE BETWEEN FUMES AND COMBUSTION AIR

Objective

With the aim of improving the efficiency of vacuum distillation furnaces, Feyzin refinery decided to preheat the combustion air by the waste gases going to the stack. Rather than using a proven solution with a conventional heat exchanger (static or rotating), ELF FRANCE chose to test a heat pipe exchanger disigned and manufactured in France. This demonstration was European "first".
Inlet air temperature : same as ambiant air
Preheater air temperature : 354 deg.
Temperature of waste gases at heater outlet : 400 deg.
Temperature of stack : 160 deg.
Increase in heater efficiency : 14 %
Energy saving : 2 200 toe/year
- The furnace has a power capacity of 15,400 th/h. It is of the vertical cylindical type. a) UPSTREAM EXCHANGER : this exchanger (classical type) receives flue-gas from the furnace (400 deg. ) which is then lowered to a temperature of 330 deg. by exchange with the combustion air. b) HEAT-PIPE EXCHANGER : flue gas from the upstream exchanger (330 deg. ) passes across the heat-pipe exchanger and emerges at 160 deg. The rated heat transfer output is 1300 KW.
Characteristics : . finned heat-pipes : length 5 m - OD 44,5 mm - t 2,6 mm thickness. number of heat-pipes : 345 (15 rows of 23 pipes). materials : TU 42 C steel. contained fluid : toluene
c) EXTRACTOR FAN : to overcome pressure drops within this exchanger assembly, a blowing fan and an extractor are installed in the air and flue gas circuits respectively.

Call for proposal

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Coordinator

Elf Aquitaine Production
EU contribution
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Address
26 avenue des Lilas
64018 Pau
France

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Total cost
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