It Pays to Modify Existing Crude Preheat Trains to Conserve More Energy!

Abstract

With the cost of fuel now being so high, maximum recovery of available waste heat to preheat crude oil is an essential step in reducing the fuel consumption in a refinery. Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation has developed a special computer program called EXTRA (EXchanger TRAin) which can be used to determine which modifications to an existing crude preheat train will be most effective in economically recovering additional waste heat. The program can rigorously develop temperature profiles and heat exchanger duties in any existing, new or modified crude preheat train. Rating of existing exchangers, design of new exchangers and total capital and utility costs for new equipment is also provided.

The program allows the user to specify any type of configuration that he may want to explore. The resulting cost and other information developed by the program can then be used to find the exchanger train network which will provide the maximum crude preheat for any specified economic criterion on new capital investment. A detailed case study is shown in which EXTRA is used to modify an existing crude preheat train.