Philippines
About 6% of the energy content of each crude barrel processed in an oil refinery is used in the refinery itself, of which a large amount is in the crude distillation unit.
Heat Exchangers E-118A is the use case subject, and is susceptible to heavy shell-side (crude) fouling, causing hydraulic and thermal obstructions. Over six months, duty of the entire exchanger network would drop significantly from 3.8MW to only 2MW.
In 2012, the Process Team decided to implement USP Technology, an Ultrasonic Clean-In-Place system, to improve CDU intake and improve energy recovery.
Quick Outcomes
Heat Recovery Savings
Improvements in energy recovery and furnace efficiency led to savings of $790,000 (USD) in the first year with Ultrasonic CIP.
Preheat Feed Rate
Improvements in preheat throughput unlocked $700,000 (USD) in additional revenues in the first year with Ultrasonic CIP.
Energy Intensity Index
Our customer was able to improve their Solomon Energy Intensity Index by 0.7.
Is your process a candidate for Ultrasonic Clean-In-Place Technology?
Fouled crude bundle E-118A before cleaning or applying USP.
BACKGROUND
The Decision to Implement Ultrasonic Clean-In-Place (CIP)
Between 2009 and 2012, the refinery was cleaning their CDU preheat exchangers in situ every 10-12 months using high-pressure water and steam blasting.
The design duty of this heat exchanger network is 3.8 MW. After only 6 months, fouling in the train would reduce this metric to as low as 2 MW.
In 2012, the Process Team decided to implement an Ultrasonic Clean-In-Place solution on these preheaters to compare them to their counterparts running in parallel.
RESULTS
Reduce Heat Exchanger Fouling with Ultrasonic CIP
See how USP Technology can unlock new capabilities in your process
Engineering sound into superior cleaning technology TM